Sort of unrelated, but on my blog I started a series (well, I only ever did one post) about bit characters in games I enjoy. The blog is in swedish but I did a quick and rough translation:
Captain Viscen (Majoras Mask)
Majora's mask deals, let´s face it, with death. In three days, the moon will hit the country of Termina and wipe out all life. The Hero Link can travel back in time to the first day which unfortunately causes everything you do to return to square one. In the capital, Clock town, you can enter the mayor's office where there is a ongoing debate between the builder Mutoh, Mayor Detour and the City Guard's leader Viscen. Mutoh is responsible for the city's carnival, a chance he has been waiting for a long time. As you can imagine, he declares that the moon will NOT fall down, so there is no need to do anything but continue the festivities as planned.
Viscen demands a large-scale evacuation effort to bring the people out of the city and and flee into the mountains. The mayor, for his part, thinks mostly of his son Kafei, who disappeared a few days before his wedding. The scene is very well done, has a good script and soundtrack, although the sequence is only the focus of a short side-quest (find Kafei and let him marry his girlfriend, bring their gift back in time and show to Dotour to get a heart-piece , which gives Link extra health).
What I particularly like about this sequence is that Mutoh is not portrayed as a villain (even though he should not be neglecting the meeting) but more like a crushed and pitiful man who got his great chance spoiled for reasons beyond his control.
But now for the character this post is actually about! Viscen is a man with great sense of duty, and no matter what choice the mayor end up making (which the player can influence) he stands behind it one hundred percent. However, he always does what he can to help those who nevertheless choose to flee, and given the order to evacuate, he still stops until the very last moment to help those who are left. Viscen is, simply put, a hero, a hero without the help of supernatural forces like Link. His defeated expression when the moon goes down is all you need to fight for another three-day round.
Now also available in Opera form!
