Sometimes we're in such a hurry to slay the dragon or collect the seven crystal bananas that we forget to take a look around and appreciate the little things in life. The gang at the NeoGAF forums are discussing some of those nice little touches in video games, covering everything from idle animations (Chrono Trigger characters wave to get your attention) to the unexplained dead astronaut found in Super Metroid. Forum member Sapiens ruminates on the poor soul's fate:
I was just going through Super Metroid again and happened upon the dead astronaut in Kraid's lair. Even though the story of this poor soul is never divulged, I like to think as him/her as a survivor of the abandoned space ship you encounter later in the game. He or she must have ventured out into the depths of the interesting planet Zebes before succumbing to fatigue, illness, or injury before passing on. What is also interesting is how parasites are attached to the corpse and scurry away as Samus approaches. Does this suggest a recent death? Or was the suit keeping the body "fresh" for years before corroding away, allowing for the consumption of the innards.
I love the little touches like these. One of my more recent favorites is how Link will sometimes swing his sword triumphantly before putting it away in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but I also love Mario's sleepy mumblings in Super Mario 64, Dixie Kong sipping from a juice box in Donkey Kong Country 3 as an idle animation, and how Banjo-Tooie allows players to revisit some areas of Banjo-Kazooie that were destroyed or otherwise impacted in the previous adventure (Spiral Mountain and the entry of Gruntilda's realm come to mind).
