More often than not, games have different types of enemies. In Mario, this can be seen in the variety between Goomba, Koopas, Piranha Plants, etc. In Braid however, there are very few types of enemies to be seen. Most of the time, you are dealing Braid’s “Goombas” otherwise known as Monstars.
While we are aware of Braid’s current undertones now, I was highly suspicious of Braid’s seemingly upbeat tone due to these guys. Mainly, I was struck by one question: What are they? In Mario, you know what Goombas are: they’re enemy soldiers who are out to get you. But what are Monstars? They do not seem to have any malice as indicated by their blank stare. Compare this to Goombas, which are constantly eyeing Mario down.
And yet, despite their seeming passivity, parts of the game (including earlier on) rely on Tim exploiting them and their deaths through time travel. He even does it with a smile! Mario smiles when beating Goombas, but that’s because he’s beating enemies barring the path to save his real princess. The interaction between Tim and the Monstars seems to be incredibly deliberate given the type of person he is. Furthermore, it is another layer of warning that Braid gives the player. It shows that Tim isn’t the hero at all. Rather, he is a sociopath who exploits those around him to stalk the Princess.
I think that this is a very interesting layer to analyze Braid on that we did not touch upon in class. Given that these are the creatures Tim interacts most with, they form a large part of the gameplay narrative. What are some other ways one might interpret the Monstars and their effect on the narrative?
You bring up a really interesting point in this post. When I first played Braid I had no idea what these enemies were supposed to be, but your discussion of their blank stares and Tim’s use of them to further his goals makes me wonder what role they would play in the atomic bomb metaphor – perhaps some sort of bystander who was unintentionally affected by the testing of the atomic bomb? I hadn’t paid attention to their faces while playing, but you bring up an interesting point that they have no emotion while walking. I did notice that, when one dies, it gets a very pained look on its face and its eyes tear up. I think this especially relates to your point about how these Monstars show Tim is not a hero, since these creatures go from emotionless to pained in Tim’s presence.