Staff Writer – Ready Up
Name: Susan Marmito
Age: Twenty-four going on six.
Current Location: London
First gaming memory: Playing with other toys while waiting for the California Run tape to load, the tape failing to load, watching my sister try to set it up again and then aaaages later playing California Run for 10 minutes before getting bored. Don’t ask me what system it was on, though. I also have a few other memories with the NES.
Longest gaming session: A paltry 10 hours or so non-stop playing Pokémon Silver after taking it home from the store. Happy days! More recently, around six hours playing Mass Effect 3, and an additional few hours spent weeping over the scenes with Kaidan. I LOVE YOU, SPACE BOYFRIEND!
Least favourite genre: Either first-person shooters or driving games. The former because of the pressure and because I suck and the latter because I have terrible spatial awareness and keep crashing into things. The exceptions are Outrun (because you can’t be a friend of Fran’s and not like that game) and Burnout (because the point is kind of to crash into things and therefore I am much more successful).
Favourite gaming snack: I used to play games a lot in the mornings before work, so for a time it was cereal and tea but that’s not really a snack. Um, maybe Minstrels or peanut M&Ms, something bitesized, chocolatey and crunchy with a shell so that my pads don’t get sticky.
Reaction to dying in-game: Depends on the game, and how unfair or scary the death was. Like in bits of Dead Space, I remember just going “Fuck this!” and going back to dashboard. If I die in something like Super Mario, it tends to be no big deal, although in Galaxy it’s pretty horrible to see Mario spinning off into space.
Favourite game character: Do I have to choose just one? Maybe Yoshi, Amaterasu or Pikachu. If it’s cute and/or fluffy you can guarantee it’s my favourite. Other non-cute, non-fluffy favourites include my fem!Shep, my fem!Hawke, and 75% of the available party members in Mass Effect or Dragon Age.
Most hated game character: Character is a loose term, but that fricking hand from the Legend of Zelda. Floormasters – those really really annoying hands that come out of nowhere and pull you back to a previous room or the beginning of a dungeon. They are the worst in Ocarina and Majora’s Mask because they’re so creepy-looking. Yeuch.
Favourite game EVER! It could be Pokémon Silver, it could be the Mass Effect series, it could be Viewtiful Joe 2 or The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker…. but I think it’s definitely Yoshi’s Story on the N64. Absolutely adorable, completely full of Yoshis and to win, they have to STAY HAPPY IN THE FACE OF GREAT ADVERSITY. Seriously. That’s what they have to do. Oh, and eat fruit. It also has the cutest opening theme and the sweetest ending you’ve ever heard/seen, guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye (unless you’re made of stone, you heartless creature, you). The Yoshis! They’re so happy, they sing! Excuse me for a minute, I need to go and sob joyfully in the corner.
Duncan asks: Which game developer would you most like to work for and why?
Susan: Ooh… Capcom or Namco Bandai so I could poke people about localising kooky Japanese games or play with endless pieces of merchandise. Speaking of, hey Capcom, where’s the localised version of Gyakuten Kenji 2? Also Kairosoft, so I could spend time designing new versions of Kairobo (or I like to call him Mr. Kairoboto) and figuring out how, logically speaking, using fertiliser to upgrade your robot house is a good thing. Oh! Oh! and if they were still around in that form, Clover Studios so I could stare at beautiful art all day. Why do you make me choose just one? I like so many!
Kirsten asks: What secret ambition do you harbour?
Susan: Why, do you plan on foiling my schemes?
It’s not a secret, but I would like to re-create Kirby’s Epic Yarn in actual yarn which would basically involve various knitted plushies of Kirby’s ‘forms’. Especially tank!Kirby. Or, as Fran suggested last week, perhaps knitting a scarf which depicts a scrolling scene from the game. Ooh, now that sounds like a project to add to the list!
Ryan asks: What is your favourite Rhythm game and how did you get so good at them?
Susan: Just one?! I have so many! Stop asking me to choose! Taiko no Tatsujin (you can’t do better than bashing a huge taiko drum), ParaParaParadise (because I like the dances and have some good memories of Parapara), Jubeat/Ubeat (because PRETTY LIGHTS) and an honourable mention goes to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, its English sibling, Elite Beat Agents and Rhythm Paradise because those games are so zany that they deserve to be in everyone’s playlists. Also, if you think I’m good, you clearly haven’t seen some other super-human people:
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