No Country for Twins

Ok, Number 1: Today's blog is very pic intensive, but since you're here and reading this, that means the page'll be at least 1/3 loaded anyway.
Number 2: Huge spoilers for obscure games (Fatal Frame, Devil May Cry, Mother 3, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates and Clock Tower). Thank me later.

Ok, last night I was talking to my sister about some of my current obsessions, the least of which is my precious Lucas of Mother 3/Super Smash Bros. Brawl. We then got onto the topic of twins in video games. Let's be honest, twins are special; they don't occur very frequently (unless you're in inbred Japanese village, but more on that in a bit), nor do identical twins occur terribly frequently either.

Recently, there has been a new classification about a third type. If one egg is fertilized by a single sperm and then during development, it splits into 2 embryos, and that's how we get identical twins. Fraternal twins are created by 2 different eggs fertilized by 2 different sperm, and this is much more common. The third type comes about when 2 sperm fuse w/ 1 egg, which was up til now unknown, and let's face it, pretty damn rare. This makes this particular type of twin more genetically similar to one another than fraternal, but less genetically similar than normal identical twins.

This post will now go through all the series I can think of regarding twins in video games, and how one twin is always given the short end of the stick, or is dealt with in a dramatic and traumatic manner. I have included rare caveats and evil twins only because I can and I ran out of twins to use. I will do follow-ups to this article if I am given more examples, but today we're going to talk about a few relatively popular games (ok, one is insanely popular, the rest are probably sleepers).


All Fatal Frame 2 images courtesy of Beyond the Camera's Lens
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2, X-Box)
Let's start with a big one. FFCB (my snazzy abbriviation) is about twins, and practically every main character in the game is one. Mio (right) and Mayu (left) Amakura wander into the Lost Village, are mistaken for a pair of dead priestess twins that were responsible for keeping the well-being of the village.
Mio and Mayu are very close sisters, and once when they were playing in a forest near where they lived, Mayu (the elder, born-first twin) slipped and fell while chasing Mio (the younger, born-second twin). Mayu's leg was broken to such a degree that she would forever walk with a severe limp (if you are quick to catch it, in the flashback, Mayu's right leg is literally twisted in the opposite direction). Mio blames herself for letting her elder sister get hurt, and this is the crux of her story during the game. Her guilt creates a bond and attachment to Mayu, whom must now rely on her younger sister. Most of the game, you'll be trying to find and protect Mayu (not unlike the escort mission-heavy Resident Evil 4), whom is slowly becoming possessed by the last set of twins who fled the village during a ritual to calm the gate to hell beneath the town.

The ritual, referred to in books only as X as it is taboo to speak of it, requires that a pair of twins (boy or girl, it does not matter) become priests/priestesses, to spend a period of isolation for purification, then are led to the gate of hell itself (the Abyss), where the "elder twin" (according to tradition, the elder twin is born second, because it allows the "younger" sibling to be born before it) strangles the "younger" to death with their bare hands. The dead twin is then tossed into the Abyss, whose pain calms the gate to hell until the next ritual. This strangulation creates a butterfly like mark on the neck of the dead twin (hence the "crimson butterfly" theme), and this twin becomes a crimson butterfly that protects the village. The remaining twin (called The Remaining) lives on in reletive obscurity, also having the red butterfly on their own neck as a reminder of their ascent to a god-like deity through the ritual of becoming one.


The previous set of twins, Yae and Sae, ran from the village with the help of the Remaining from the last ritual, a boy named Itsuki (whose now dead twin's name was Mutsuki), and the villagers were only able to capture Sae. Sae was then hung at the Abyss and then tossed in, hoping that she would suffice as a sacrifice, only she came back (w/ a little help from another sacrifice) and slaughtered the entire village (an event referred to as The Repentence). Suspended in unending night, All God's Village ensnares people who wander into it, including a pair of twins who look strikingly like Yae and Sae (but there is no evidence of Mio and Mayu being related to anyone in the village).

One theory as to why Itsuki and Mutsuki's ritual failed (and thus the need to use Yae and Sae later) is that the twins must have some sort of hatred to one another (ie one twin with strng feelings against the other), and that Itsuki and Mutsuki had none of the animosity that perhaps Yae and Sae had (Yae wanted to leave the town, while Sae felt obligated to stay). These lingering feelings of regret are key to Mayu and Mio's endings, of which there are 4. We will talk only about 2 (as one was a game over ending, and the other was a happier, but not as satisfying X-Box director's cut ending).

The first ending, the canonical one, has Mio fnding Mayu at the Abyss, who is ready to accept her fate as the twin who would die to protect the village. Mio is then forced to strangle her sister, and as Mayu falls into the Abyss after her death, Mio realizes her actions and chases the butterfly that is Mayu out to the village, where hundreds, even thousands, of red butterflies flutter and then fade as dawn climbs over the trees, ending the eternal night over All God's Village. After the credits, Mio watches a man-made lake that was built over the village, on her neck is a red butterfly mark.

The second ending sees Mio defeat a possessed Mayu, forcing Sae's soul back into the Abyss. Mayu falls but Mio catches her, and though she has been warned to never look into the pit of Hell, Mio does, and goes blind from the horror. Somehow, the twins make it out of the village, and after the credits, they are seen at the lake (as in the first ending). Only there's a difference. Mio is completely blind (shown wearing a blindfold like some of the enemies of the game), and Mayu has a secretive smile on her face; now Mio must rely on Mayu, instead of the other way around.

Its no surpise that the subject of the death of a twin is paramount to the plot in FFCB. Not only does the main character lose a sibling/loved one (a common theme in Fatal Frame), but in certain instances, they are forced to kill the sibling. Its a painful, and palpable feeling. No one should have to go through with watching a sibling die, nor should they have to kill them either, and in that way, the player is drawn into the story. Both girls are the victim, and thus get the short ends of the stick. What happens to them is neither of their faults, but a fulfillment of destiny that was out of their hands perhaps long before they were born. On the other hand, it does suck to be possessed by a murderous spirit and have the ability to only limp 2 miles and hour, so perhaps Mayu is a little more pitiable. I'm still thinking of her smile at the end of the second ending.

Also: All God's Village has an abnormal amount of twins occurring at an abnormal constant rate. Thsi may be due to the village's reclusive nature, and it was caused by many, many years of inbreeding (just look at how many butterflies you see in cutscenes; that is a stupid large load of butterflies, and thus a stupid large load of twins). My theories stand that all the twins in All God's Village and Mio and Mayu are identical twins.


All Devil May Cry images courtesy of Devil's Chapel
Devil may Cry (PS2, X-Box, PS3)
Speaking of twins killing twins, let's talk about DMC. Evil threatens world, Dark Knight Sparda saves world by standing up to demonic breatheren, evil defeated and day is saved, and Sparda settles down w/ a human wife and they have 2 children, twins named Dante and Vergil. If you've never played a DMC game, then the Inferno references may confuse you. Barring that, you start the series off as Dante, ass-kicking devil hunter with a huge sword and two guns. You eventually encounter a knight in awesome armor, Nelo Angelo, that kicks the living crap out of you. Said knight is quite interested in the amulet that Dante wears. Remember this.

Years previous (DMC3), Dante was starting out his bidness of kicking devil ass when his twin brother Vergil suddenly shows up after being missing for a few years. Let's cut to the chase: they fight. No surprise. Vergil's serious in his quest for power, be it for following in daddy Sparda's footsteps or just to prove himself. Dante's much more lackadaisical, doing what he pleases because he can. This doesn't quite gel w/ Vergil, who is seen to kicking the ever-living shit out of you in your first encounter. Its evident that the absence, or perhaps Vergil and he never got along to begin with, that the two aren't going to reconcile easily, or at all. Both of the twins carry and amulet, two pieces of one whole amulet, that seal off the gates to hell. Yeah. This whole time they were all being manipulated by another character, Arkham, to his own whims.

There's a battle. If you've played the series in numerical order, then its safe to say that this time Dante beats Vergil, and we assume Vergy dies (a sacrifice? you bethe judge). Let's cut back to DMC1, wherein we last left our hero recieving a beat down from a devil knight, whom was distracted by Dante's amulet. Yes, you guessed it, the Nelo Angelo is indeed Vergil, corrupted by head devil honcho Mundus, who appears in DMC3 to Vergil. Chronologically, the last battle with Nelo Angelo in DMC1 is the last battle you have w/ Vergil, whom we assume dies after their epic battle.


The tension between Vergil and Dante is popular, especially with the female fans. Nothing is more sexy than twin brothers fighting to the death. However, there's an element of sadness, since I felt that neither brother really hated the other, only that they could never agree. There is no reconciliation between the brothers; they straddle two very different, but very related worlds: the Demonic World and the Human World. Eva, their mother was human, and their father was a devil, so they are, in fact, only half-blooded on both sides. Vergil cannot see himself on the human side, and seems to reject his human half, whereas Dante embraces it and rejects his devil lineage. In this way, they will never agree as they only can see themselves as one or the other (as of DMC3 and 1, because I feel Dante has come to terms with his devil half by 2 and 4).

In this set of twins we see not only the death of a twin at the other's hands, but irreconcilble differences between them that creates a wedge. Our hero is Dante, like Mio, and so we sympasize with him since we spend the most time with him. However, unlike Mio, Dante is almost as pitiful as Vergil, whom not only opposes his twin, then gets possessed/corrupted, only to die again. Despite his power and his ability, Vergil cannot be saved like Mayu because Vergil does not need saving from Dante; both brothers need saving from themselves and their inability to straddle the line between human and devil. In this relationship, both Vergil and Dante get the short ends of the stick.

In terms of types, I think that they are identical twins. Seriously, they look exactly the same.


image courtesy of Squaresoft
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates (DS)
RPGs are infamous for the twin tragedy plot twists, so let's look at FFCC: Ring of Fates. Like the first Crystal Chronicles, you can play as one of 4 races: The human like Clavats (melee swordsmen in RoF), the dimunitive Lilties (now an alchemist class), the sexy and scanitly clad Selkies (once melee, now ranger class w/ bows and arrows), and the mysterious magically inclined Yukes (magical class, but w/ a melee/ranged attack). The story mode of RoF tells the story of Yuri (brown-haired boy) and Chelinka (blonde haired girl), two young clavats who have mysterious powers regarding crystals. They, with their Yuke friend Alhanalem, Lilty friend Meeth, and Selkie friend Gnash, battle the evil Hierophant, who wants to harness the powers of crystal users in conjunction with the blood-red moon to control time and space.

Chelinka and Yuri's father was a knight to the king, and protector of Lady Tilika, the princess, whom was also a crystal user. Their mother was Aleria, another crystal user, whom was taken and used in Hierophant's plan to summon the moon. Note here that the loss of a mother keys in here, almost as importantly as the relationship between the twins themselves. Nearly all these stories have the loss of a mother (not so much in Fatal Frame 2, but other Fatal Frames, the loss of a parent is there). Their father Latov dies protecting the twins in the first few chapters of the game, so the twins are left to care for themselves, mostly through Yuri, the younger of the twins.

At the event of their father's death, Yuri and Chelinka use their powers to fight, and in doing so, Chelinka loses the ability to speak (she uses telepathy unitl she is able to regain the ability to speak later). Chelinka spends most the beginning of the game bossing the less than bright Yuri around since she was the first to be born. Her role of being big sister is important to her, even though deep down, she doesn't think she's up to it. Their childhood is marked with tragedy (losing their mother as infants), and trials (they, rather Yuri, must become self-sufficient to take care of his catatonic sister without Al or Meeth). But their bond is strong; for Yuri nothing more important than Chelinka, and vice versa.

Because their powers are liked, they are unable to use their powers seperately. Chelinka's crystal only glows for her, but only if Yuri is around. Yuri's powers, which concern command over time and space, are much more powerful, but only if Chelinka is with him. Time and space, as well as alternate dimension, plays a key role in the game. Those who can use the crystal can alter time and space, even stop it, or remake it. When Yuri uses his power, it leaves him near death twice in the game. The first time, his demise is averted by the spirit of the now dead Tilika, the second is a much sadder event.

When they defeat the Hierophant, Yuri and Chelinka effectively trap him in an unending loop of time, but doing so shaves time off Yuri's life as well as reduce Chelinka to a catatonic state like earlier in the game. They have altered their reality to that of a happier time, though they lose their old friendship with Meeth, Al, and Gnash. Eventually, time catches up with Yuri, and as he lays dying, Chelinka uses the last of her power to restore him his life, though it does lead to her death. Chelinka's final act of saving her brother was her final act as his older sister, accepting her role completely. This, however, devestates Yuri, pleading with her to, for once, stop being the older sister.

Her final act leaves him with power over time and space, which he uses to remenice over his past (the first chapter of the game). Through Chelinka's past self, he makes the decision to redo everything, and makes up his own destiny: a happy homelife with Meeth, Al, Chelinka, and their parents, whom are alive and well. Playing multiplayer on your own allows you to speak to the family, whom are unaware of the change in reality (with the acception of the twins, whom both reatin their older memories.


image courtesy of Ulysses Powers
Chelinka and Yuri are bound by a fate that transcends time and space. As their power is linked to each other's presence, the Hirophant tried to find realities where they were no longer together, but the love and fate that surrounds the twins proves that there is no singular reality where the two are not together. This bond is much stronger than other twin bonds in other games, to me. In all the infinite realities of the universe, the fact that Yuri and Chelinka were ALWAYS together was the only constant in their world. It transcends time and space itself, and in this way, makes them much more powerful.

You play the game solely through Yuri and the other characters (you can only play as Chelinka, technically, if you choose the female model for the Clavat race in multiplyer, but you ca customize her appearance, including hair and clothes), so you feel a special attachment to Yuri. Chelinka's death devastates Yuri, and also the player, since this takes place at the end of the game (I mean, who dies in endings??). As the elder sister, her death helps Yuri discover his true purpose and power, and thus allows him to create his own happiness. Few games allow for that kind of feeling. While it is Chelinka who I feel got shafted, it was for the best, since everything turned out for the best in the end.

I could say Yuri and Chelinka are fraternal twins, but there is a possibility that they may be semi-identical, as Yuri looks like Latov w/ Aleria's hair color, and Chelinka has her mother's features, only with blond hair like her father.


image courtesy of Daisuke Ishiwatari, and Sammy
Guilty Gear (arcade)
Ok, real brief, as I know next to nothing about the Guilty Gear backstories outside of whatever Wiki and the official site tells me. Bridget, shown above, was born in a village where identical twins were bad juju. So to cover up the fact that the family ha twin BOYS (yes, you heard me, twin boys), they raised Bridget as a girl. Bridget's a bounty hunter, easily fooled, but good at heart. Othern' that, that's literally all I know about him. That and he has a bear named Roger. Yeah.
I'm gonna call this one a shaft on Bridget, but to a lesser degree, as Bridget doesn't really seem to care that he's not really a girl. I dunno. I know nothing about his brother. I'll bet he's cute.

They're identical twins. Period.


images courtesy of Nintendo
Mother, AKA Earthbound (NES, GBA, Wii)
Come ON, people, you all knew it was going to come to this. XD Ok, Mother 3, released on the GBA, features Lucas and his family going on an adventure to save their island from the evil Pig Mask Army, led by, as we learn later, Porky from Earthbound/Mother 2. Note, everything I know about Lucas comes from sources other than the game as I cannot read Japanese, so bear with me.

When i made my accquaintence w/ Lucas, it was through Super Smash Bros Brawl, wherein his story had him hanging w/ Pokemon Trainer, avoiding being turned into a statue by Wario, and watching Ness be frickin GodAWESOME. In the space of a few chapters, he goes from, OMGHELPme-Niichan-Ness to I'm-gonna-bust-a-PK-Thunder-CAP-in-your-ASS, which was pretty awesome all things considered, as no one speaks a line in the whole game. As a result, I also think PT is fucking sassy.
Back to Lucas. Early in M3, you play as Flint, Lucas's papa, wherein you find out that their mommy Hinawa had died. Yes, another dead mom. It never fails. I'd like to think that Lucas is a cuter and much more vulnerable Dante, only he wears stripes rather'n red, and doesn't use guns.

Why? Cuz later on, when you're able to play as Lucas, the mysterious Masked Man you encounter and fight turns out to be none other than your twin brother Claus, whom was thought dead when he left to avenge their mother's death. Yeah.
Now, unlike the other twins (w/ the exception of Bridget), we know which twin is the older and which was the younger, yet with Claus and Lucas, we don't know. Fans project Lucas as the introverted twin, which logically makes Claus the extroverted one. This says that perhaps Claus is the elder brother (taking into account that he takes it upon himself to avenge their mother). On the other hand, as in the case w/ the Sparda brothers, Vergil was the elder, and he was the quiet one. Its up to speculation (or just better research as I'm too lazy to double check my work XD). Um....prolly semi-identical? Their hair is different.

Who got the short end of the stick? Prolly Claus, who, like Vergil, gets to die at the hands of his own twin. I personally will say its Lucas, since he's so quiet and introverted, but he does grow up quickly (quite quickly when you consider the million story plots in the Brawl story mode). But then, I'm biased. I think Claus is a dirty whore. XD Kidding.

Sorta.

Ok. I'm biased towards Lucas.


Come on. Wouldn't you be?


Caveats


image courtesy of Agetec
Clock Tower 2/Ghost Head
Not so much as a twin, or evil twin, so much as a latent, homicidal personality. Alyssa, the main character, is host to a brutal alternate personality named Mr. Bates. Yeah. Evil twins count, but only barely.

honorable mention:



images courtesy of Konami
Silent Hill
The Alessa, Cheryl, Heather thing is complicated at best, so if there's anyone who wants me to go in depth, I'll do it in the next follow-up. Suffice it to say its ot so much as twins as splitting up Alessa into another person (Cheryl), and then Heather being born again after the events of SH. Yeah. Its complex. But its less like twins and more like reincarnation.

Ok, this article has gone on long enough, much like Mary's letter in SH2, but I'd like to offer you this food for thought. I like twins. Cuz Twincest is the new black

Unless its w/ Lucas, cuz then its just wrong.

*Til Next time, Lunies*