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veil-over-miitopia · 1 year

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The Hero’s Torment

This is the second - hopefully final - part of the “Intertwining Strengths” theory. The link to the first part will be in the notes, because, as of writing this, Tumblr is still figuring out its head from its ass.

As usual, I will be referring to the MH, Great Sage, and Dark Lord using They/Them pronouns

🌋⚔️🌋⚔️🌋

(It’s a lot more immersive when you listen to The Lost Sigils of Enkanomiya while reading all this; trust me on this one)

So, we last left off on the source of the supposedly “divine” power that grants the Main Hero power, the significance of relations - whether familial, platonic, or romantic - within the lore of Miitopia, and the reason behind the Dark Lord kidnapping our teammates and leaving us powerless.

As a quick tl;dr, we have established that the “Divine Power” that was echoed throughout the story was an example of the Indomitable Human Spirit taken to a literal extreme. Looking back at this revelation, I was surprised by how well it meshed with the theme/feel of the game and its contrast to the Dark Curse’s birth - an origin tied to sorrow, isolation and self-hatred, unlike the community and trust that our team starts to irradiate as time goes on -.

As I was discussing this theory with one of my friends, they have mentioned the similarities between this hypothesis and Warhammer 40k’s Warp - and how every living being’s desires/emotions are made material there -, and while it isn’t exactly a 1:1 comparison, it isn’t hard to see the resemblances between both games’ worldbuilding. You could say that Miitopia is a more hopeful 40K, seeing that even positive emotions and memories can act as literal sources of power.

What I have failed to mention was the reason why their third attempt at sealing our powers backfired miserably. While I haven’t exactly figured out a solid cause behind that and how it ties to said theme of healthy communities, the answers that I’ve managed to guess happened to be quite simple; it can range from the accumulation of new friends as we wandered through the fairy forest, the hopes everyone placed within us reaching the point where it overturned the dark magic, or the burning determination to save everyone we’ve met along the way growing so much that the DL was unable to seal it away.

Frankly speaking, I’d rather keep this one up to the interpretation of the player, and see how much they cherish their goal in mind/their lost teammates through their own answer to this riddle. This is the magic of Miitopia; its customizability, and that, no matter how many times you would replay the story over and over again, you will get different events leading up to each penultimate moment. There will be new characters, new lore, new roles to fill in, and the only limit is one’s imagination (and their determination to keep on replaying the same game over and over again).

This somewhat reminds me of the Commedia Dell’arte, in which stock characters represented by masks are thrown into new whacky hijinks without the need to introduce these characters to the audience - for their masks alone are enough to identify them -. What differentiates Miitopia from the Commedia, however, is that it somewhat functions in the polar-opposite way: the setting and overall story staying consistent and true to form, while the castmembers change roles with every replay time and time again.

Returning to the topic at hand, all this talk about healthy relations, growth, and determination- it all returns to the Dark Lord’s purpose, their interactions with the hero, and the less-than-conventional way of dealing with MH during the end f each chapter. Truth be told, all of them are more than likely to be what the Dark Lord desired to destroy; your spirit, your hopes, your ideals, and, most importantly, your compassion, and there ain’t no better way to do so than to capture and control the very sources of our powers to do their own bidding.

This is what the topic of today shall cover; we shall be analyzing the Dark Lord’s final solution to break the hero’s will, how the status of the monsters that bear their faces tie into the memories we made with them - the very power that pushes us through these hurdles life throws at us -; and how the Dark Lord seeks to taint and even break them in order to finally render us powerless.

We first begin with the start of the hero’s darkness, Karkaton Ascent, where we meet the third teammates of each team- those we have the least amount of memories with them, and, therefore, the lowest bond (usually), so it would make sense that their faces are plastered onto boss monsters that are of the more “common” variety. Guardians of the Ascent if you chose to interpret it, yes, but they are evidently of a lower rank than the next two categories of monsters that I will be talking about.

By looking at these behemoths and when we meet their first iterations, it becomes evident as to what the DL was aiming for; the Magma Slime, Paincloud, and Burning Golem all belong to same line of monsters we meet in Greenhorne, and the order in which we fight them reflects that on fleek.

From that alone, we can see that the goal here was to mock us; to tell us that we made a grave mistake by confronting the Dark Lord ever since he ravaged that little town. Had we stayed in our lanes, then our friends wouldn’t have become another drop in the ocean of the DL’s madness- indistinguishable from every other monster we had to slay before them.

Next we cut to Karkaton Volcano itself, and the titan that was waiting for us at the end of the road; Cerberus, Guardian of the Underworld, and the Dark Lord’s guddest boi. It is there that we witness the mii equivalent of body horror AND, when you think about it, psychological horror; the monster possesses three faces at once - each belonging to the second teammates of each party -, so one can imagine the psychological implications of all this. What kind of pain were they in with every attack? How much of their thoughts were one another’s? Was there still a hint of their former selves within them? Or just a hound that is hungry for juicy human flesh?

A guard dog, a possible shared consciousness, and the implication that they’ve more or less lost their minds in the process- that is surprisingly brutal, even for the Dark Lord, and, to my dismay, I believe that this was the point.

In this point of no return, you are presented by one of the Dark Lord’s magnum opuses; all three of your teammates fused into one loyal - yet ferocious and lost - pet. As the fight goes on, the message becomes as clear as glass; they are under his command, and, if he so asks, they will bare their teeth and tear your flesh apart. These are no longer your friends, but an ungodly amalgam that has forgotten all the good times you’ve spent with them in the midst of all their shared agony.

Even after you save the day, will you be able to look into their eyes again without flinching? Without remembering the unthinking ferity that was in their eyes as they gnashed and gnawed at their own teeth whilst all they could think of was tearing you apart?

As grim as all this sounds, we still haven’t reached the final stage- the Dark Lord’s castle, where the first party member of each team await for our rescue.

They were the first friendly faces we’ve met throughout each and every region of Miitopia, and all were kind enough to lend us a helping hand to assist us in our journey. It will be these very hands - those that once provided assistance to our lost hero - that shall be covered in our own blood soon enough.

Upon getting separated from our party members, we find the first party members of Neksdor and RotF respectively; one becoming a demon, and the other a picture of the DL themselves. After we rescue them, we finally find our very first friend, the person who saved us as we were surrounded by monsters, as a monster themselves- the armor beast wielding a sword and a shield; the final roadblock presented to us before we are able to reunite with our entire team once more.

This is the final frontier; the last push to test the limits of the main hero’s drive and even mind. These are not just high-ranking monsters and the Dark Lord’s direct servants, they also are the reflections of each of their traits- extensions of themselves, each imbued with parts of their own power so that they can command the monsters alongside them.

The Demon reflects the unholy nature of the Dark Lord, the aura of command they emit - as presented by the imps that apparently serve them -, and sheer strength. A beast that has clawed themselves out of Hell itself to serve this reign of chaos and darkness bearing the face of someone you once trusted- in the midst of battle, all you can do is cry out for help in your frightened state, only for their hammer to instantly slam you to the other direction. This monster is one of the Dark Lord’s commanders.

The Painting is...a little too on the nose. It is the Dark Lord’s image (yeah, nooooo shit, Sherlock), a symbol of their pride and status, and their everlasting gaze. Bow to your knees, for you have been blessed by sight of their otherwordly grace, for even the earth beneath you heeds to their will and shall enact judgement upon the nonbelievers. I am not 100% sure on what role they serve in the Dark Lord’s army other than a sentient symbol, but if we’re gonna take the trope of haunted paintings whose eyes follow you in every corner to heart, then, perhaps, the job of the intel is most befitting a monster like that.

Finally, comes the Armor, which surprisingly bears a lot more symbolism than I expected (and is exactly why it is my favorite boss monster). This monster dons the face of your very first teammate, someone who has, quite literally, shielded you from the swarm of rock moths, so, of course, the role of a knight in shining armor who has come to save the day is perfect for the one who has initially unlocked the power of trust within us.

As for the traits they share with the Dark Lord, the best that comes to mind are the themes of royalty and, much like the Demon, power- albeit, in this case, it is evident that they are under direct servitude of their boss. Able to create monsters like them, this beast is the closest to the Dark Lord’s perfect image of his dominion; the old world shall burn in order to pave way for his new utopia. This beast is not only the Dark Lord’s general, but also their trusted knight- a guardian that has betrayed you to serve another. A sour cocktail of ridicule, powerlessness, and heartbreak.

How will you be able to rest well at night? Even with their faces restored, all you can see as your gaze falls upon them are not the happy times you shared with them long ago- these people, these faces...they’re all a blur now- your mind is just no longer able to connect the dots between them and whatever breath of fresh air you had in between trials.

No, these faces stared down at you, cackling as they bludgeoned you during your weakest times, and no longer whispered words of reassurance- but instead spat venomous insults at you.

How will you be able to trust your team once again after they have each taken a turn to beat you until you were gravely wounded and a mess of tears, blood, shattered bones and drool? They had no power over what had happened to them, but the memories still stand, the experiences have seeped into your nerves and mind, and one more minute with them is enough to metaphorically burn you up- to have you screaming in a fit of horror and fear. Even if they tried to comfort you, all you can do is instinctively slap their hands away, afraid that this will all happen again.

Of course, one can still fight without having to worry or focus much on the faces plastered unto them; they’re just monsters, you would repeat to yourself- just slice them down, free those faces, and it’ll be a sunny day tomorrow; promise.

They’re just monsters, you would repeat to yourself- just slice them down and it’ll be a sunny day tomorrow; promise.

They’re just monsters, you would repeat. Just slice them down.

They’re just monsters.

Just monsters.

Monsters.

....After striking down countless beasts with the faces/souls of fellow humans standing in your way, one must look within themselves and see whether they still had the humanity and empathy within them to look at these monstrosities bearing the eyes of their beloved. Are you able to look at a human face and recognize the person in front of you? Or does a face hold so little meaning to you nowadays? That it is just there, and no longer something to be registered within your mind?

From the thought alone, this quote nigh-instantly came to my mind:

“He who fights monsters should look to it that he himself doesn’t become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

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