Four days ago, one of my seven brothers told me he had a riddle for me. He already told it to five of the others, but only two got the answer right, so I had to give it a try. One thing I can tell is that he's crazy with video games, and indeed I had to find one of his favourite. Now, january the 8th, I'm still puzzled. Five of my brothers already know the answer, and I'm feeling a bit stupid. Here's the riddle, can you help me find the video game it is about?
There was a Guy, a Marine, a Slayer
Can you feel his anger?No arms, no legs, but not defenseless
I punch and I run nonetheless!First I wondered : are you Ken?
Then I knew : sure, you Ken!To pyramids, I want to go so bad
Two pyramids, some time ago I hadI'm not her, stop saying that!
I'd rather be made fun of my hatRushed and botched for Christmas season
Now resting in a desert, an abominationMelancholic island, crimson ashes
Captive until the prophecy unleashesRise and fall, where human cultures lie
Always fear the little indian guyRadio noises in the fog, what do I hear?
A distant sound, now my worst fear
1 Answer
Each couplet is a reference to a video game:
There was a Guy, a Marine, a Slayer
Can you feel his anger?
DOOM: The protagonist is known as "Doom Guy", "Doom Marine", and "Doom Slayer".
No arms, no legs, but not defenseless
I punch and I run nonetheless!
Rayman: Rayman (the protagonist of his eponymous video game series) has hands and feet that float rather than being connected to his body.
First I wondered : are you Ken?
Then I knew : sure, you Ken!
Street Fighter: One of the characters' names is Ken, and a shoryuken ("Sure, you Ken!") is an attack in that game.
To pyramids, I want to go so bad
Two pyramids, some time ago I had
Tomb Raider: The protagonist, Lara Croft, is known for exploring pyramids... and for her noticeably pyramidal breasts in the original character model. (Thanks, Francesco Roggia!)
I'm not her, stop saying that!
I'd rather be made fun of my hat
The Legend of Zelda: The protagonist, Link, is known for his green hat, and often mistaken for Zelda based on the title.
Rushed and botched for Christmas season
Now resting in a desert, an abomination
E.T. (for the Atari 2600): This is a reference to the infamous Atari video game burial.
Melancholic island, crimson ashes
Captive until the prophecy unleashes
Morrowind: explained in comments
Rise and fall, where human cultures lie
Always fear the little indian guy
Civilization: the first line is a direct reference to the premise, and the second refers to a well-known bug where Gandhi would become extremely aggressive due to integer underflow.
Radio noises in the fog, what do I hear?
A distant sound, now my worst fear
Silent Hill (thanks, AmagicalFishy!)
So what next?
The intro text has a suspiciously large amount of numbers in it: 4, 1, 7, 5, 2, 1, 1, 8, 5. This is also the number of video games mentioned. Indexing into the video games by these numbers gives
MRFREE?AN, which seems to say "Mr. Freeman". This would refer to Gordon Freeman, the protagonist of the Half-Life series.
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2$\begingroup$ I believe the "Radio noises" refers to Silent Hill, and, though I've never played it, does FarCry involve someone captive on an island fulfilling a prophecy? $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 8, 2018 at 14:08
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4$\begingroup$ Maybe the pyramid part is a reference to Tomb Raider? She used to visit some kind of pyramids to raid tombs, and the first Lara Croft Characters had two "pyramids" as boobs $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 8, 2018 at 14:40
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3$\begingroup$ @Saeïdryl Vvardenfell, the main area of Morrowind, was volcanic, and far more ashy than Solstheim. Said ashes came from Red Mountain, hence crimson, perhaps? And Morrowind could easily be melancholic, and the main quest definitely involves a prophecy. But captive, particularly “until the prophecy unleashes”? Morrowind was a province of the Empire, and not happy with that situation, so that might be called “captive,” but they enjoyed full rights of citizenship rather than any second-class captive status, and in any event the province wasn’t liberated by the Nerevarine. $\endgroup$– KRyanCommented Jan 8, 2018 at 15:49
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3$\begingroup$ @KRyan but you start the game as a prisoner, no? $\endgroup$ Commented Jan 8, 2018 at 16:25
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5$\begingroup$ @JoshuaDrake Oh, true! And the “prophecy unleashes” could refer to the beginning of the prophecy (“In the waning years of the Third Era of Tamriel, a prisoner born on a certain day to uncertain parents was sent, under guard, without explanation, to Morrowind, ignorant of the role he was to play in that nation’s history.”) rather than its completion/fulfillment. $\endgroup$– KRyanCommented Jan 8, 2018 at 16:31
>) start later? $\endgroup$