The Hero with a Thousand Bytes.

[McMurphy]

There is little argument that Joseph Campbell's breakdown of the stages a hero goes through in a typical science fiction or fantasy tale is a great tool for both fans and writers alike. What may be less recognized or, at least, discussed is how Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces manifests itself in video games.

Due to the achievements of technology and an understanding by gaming publishers that there is a market for a story-driven video adventure, applying the prescribed stages of a hero's quest is becoming easier by the year. For example, the recently released Final Fantasy XII often reflects a Star Wars (original trilogy, mind you) influence. Perhaps, it could be argued that a comparison between Final Fantasy XII and Star Wars is only relevant because of both media's inherent ties to an archetypal hero's journey.

These tie-ins got me wondering. What are some great examples of games that seem to utilize Campbell's thesis? Below is the basic outline for a hero's quest from The Hero With a Thousand Faces:

A.) The Departure

-The call to adventure
-Refusal of the call
-Supernatural Aid
-Crossing the first threshold
-The Belly of the Beast

B.) Initiation

-The Road of Trials
-The meeting with the goddess
-Temptation away from the true path
-Atonement with The Father
-Apotheosis (i.e.: becoming god-like)
-The ultimate boon

C.) The Return

-Refusal of the return
-The magic flight
-Rescue from without
-Crossing the return threshold
-Master of the two worlds
-Freedom to live

I found Campbell's outline posted at SpookyBug, which provides examples via Star Wars and the Matrix if anyone should need clarification in regards to what any of these elements above may be referring to.

Can anyone plug a story from a video game into the outline?

[Thadlerian]

Aha, let's see if I can fit Final Fantasy VII into that frame...

That means I'll have to use some
SPOILERS
though.

Oh well.


A.) The Departure

-The call to adventure
Well, when Cloud is about to push the button to blow the first Makou reactor, he hears a voice in his head, something you'd just have to explore. Or it could be the concept of the initial setting: Shin-Ra is ruining Planet, and has to be stopped.
-Refusal of the call
And, as you know, Cloud retains his hard who-the-hell-cares-mood, doing it all solely for (or at least pretends doing it for) the money.
-Supernatural Aid
Here Aeris/Aerith (Earisu in Japanese - an obvious japanization of "Earth") immediately comes to mind. There's obviously something supernatural about the girl.
-Crossing the first threshold
Breaking into Shin-Ra's headquarters (one of the most memorable parts of the game), then fleeing from the city.
-The Belly of the Beast
I don't quite understand what is meant by this one. Is it getting a pre-warning about the enemy that must be fought in the end? In that case, there's a lot of Sephiroth stuff within the Shin-Ra building.

That was the easy part.

B.) Initiation

-The Road of Trials
Straightforward: Travelling across Planet with random encounters.
-The meeting with the goddess
Another uncertain one. Jenova immediately comes to mind as the closest thing to a goddess in FFVIII, but I'm sure she's not Campbell's vision. She doesn't help the party much, either, if that's the purpose of the goddess.
-Temptation away from the true path
Sephiroth is mind-controlling Cloud, and has him give up the Black Materia. And then there's the business with him slapping (? - it's hard to tell from the graphics) Aerith.
-Atonement with The Father
I believe you go to Bugenhagen's place right after that part. He's pretty close to being "The Father", and he's consolating Cloud for what's happened.
-Apotheosis (i.e.: becoming god-like)
You're starting to get the characters' Ultimate Weapons and Ultimate Limit Breaks. They're all pretty god-like now.
-The ultimate boon
You've gotta play a while for this, but the ultimate boon would probably be the Knights of the Round materia. Or, alternately, collecting all the Huge Materiae and getting Bahamut ZERO.

C.) The Return

-Refusal of the return
They're pretty close to giving up in the end, I believe.
-The magic flight
I love this one! Cid pushes the big red button, and Highwind casts off its lame propellers and produces some huge jet engines!
-Rescue from without
It's in there all right, but not in that order. This comes after they've beaten Sephiroth, and the whole place is falling down.
-Crossing the return threshold
After a certain point, you can't go back into the main world and get supplies.
-Master of the two worlds
Don't know, might be that Cloud's unbeatable both above the ground and down in the cave. You have to be if you're gonna win.
-Freedom to live
Planet destroys Meteor.

[McMurphy]

Nice! I was hoping someone would use FFVII. I did not dare because there was not enough of the story fresh in mind to nail it down like you did.

As far as the "Belly of the Beast" trial, it refers to a (sometimes literal) trial for an adventuring party in which, after ascending from it, the party is truly unified as a team. For example, the original Star Wars "Belly of the Beast" trial is getting out of the trash compactor. When one thinks about it, it was the first time that all the characters who would play the most important parts in the epic had to work together to survive.

Now, FFVII....hmmm. Would it be when Cloud and the others need to save Tifa from, well, let us just say, being sold. It was the part where Cloud had to dress up like a woman. I am not sure if that fits the bill, however. Maybe it is the confrontation where Cloud, near the end of the trial, breaks out the motorcycle. Is it not after that point that the party ends up on the world map? Out of the two examples (now that I rethink it), I believe the latter example is more likely the Belly of the Beast moment.

[Thadlerian]

No, wait, I see what you mean. And I see precisely the moment in FFVII: When they fight Rufus Shin-Ra, at the end of the Shin-Ra HQ part; he asks them who they are, and they all (Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Red XIII and Aerith) reply in turn. That's when they're a full team (Cid and Caith are too peripheral to the main plot, Yuffie and Vincent are optional characters).

[McMurphy]

Yeah, that must be it! I am starting to remember it. Is that the same headquarters where you first encounter Red?

[Thadlerian]

Yeah, you've just broke him and Aerith out, got arrested, and then followed the blood trails after Jenova/Sephiroth to find President Shin-Ra with a masamune in his back.

I've read that link now, and from the example of "Meeting with the goddess" in Star Wars, I'd say that one correlates more with the Golden Saucers date.