I know I won't have time to play through this game before the deadline, so I'll have to go from memory and Wikipedia (which as we all know is a shining beacon of professionalism and integrity). So for this writeup I'll only be touching on why Ark, the main character, is my vote for the ultimate tragic hero. I'll do a proper write up on the game after I've replayed it. ^_^

As is probably the case for every entry in this contest, this post basically spoils the story. This game is one of my favourite games of all time and has one of the saddest video game endings ever. If you haven't played this game yet, please do before reading this. ^_^

When the game starts Ark is the carefree trouble making boy in his village Crysta. After accidentally unleashing a sealed ancient power he learns that what he knows as his home is actually part of the underworld of Earth, and the overworld (essentially our world) is currently a dead and barren land that needs to be resurrected. The village elder (who was hiding the power) tasks him with leaving his village (passing through a seal that won't let him ever return) and literally rebuilding the world, resurrecting life, and guiding humanity's development, which he does through the course of the game (which spans thousands of years).

Eventually Ark learns that he has been used all along by the Evil - representing the darkside of Earth and is called Dark Gaia - in order to take over the world. In addition Ark discovers that he, along with his entire village and everyone in it, were created by it solely for this purpose and as such their fate is tied to Dark Gaia's.

Despite his fate being sealed if he defeats Dark Gaia, Ark not only sacrifices his very existence, but the existence of everything he's known and cared for prior to leaving the underworld for the benefit of the overworld and humanity. At the end of the game he is given one last day in his village to see everyone, to have another moment of peace and happiness that was commonplace before his journey began. After putting off the inevitable, Ark eventually goes to sleep and dreams one last dream where he is a bird flying around the world, forever watching humanity's development.

Here is both parts of the ending. You can give Ark another name, which is why he is called Blake in these videos:





So for unknowingly being created as a tool of evil (which I would say is quite the character flaw), and sacrificing everything to stop said evil, Ark is my choice for a Tragic Hero.

...

PS: I'm looking for a copy of this game. It was never released in North America ( :'( ), so I'm looking for an English PAL version. If you can help me with that, preferably with a complete version (including box and instructions), please PM me.

I'll do my best to make it worth your while, as I'd rather do it this way than buy a copy from some random eBayer who might not visit Destructoid. *gasp!*