Nier: Automata creators deny characters "were problematic overseas" and blame mistranslated subtitle for censorship rumours Nier miss. Image credit: Square Enix News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on June 14, 2025 Nier: Automata producer Yosuke Saito and director Yoko Taro have denied that any of their character designs were restricted for Western audiences. As spotted by Automaton, the developers were compelled to comment after a mistranslated Japanese-to-English subtitle intimated Nier: Automata had been subjected to censorship from Square Enix to meet global standards. GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE | Producers' Creative Dialogue Special Livestream.Watch on YouTube In the interview above (skip to 28:12 for the segment concerned), Sony executive Yoshida Shuhei asked the developers about their design process. "Our concept is always to do something that's 'not like anything else'. What I mean is, if Nier: Replicant had a boy as the main character, Nier: Automata would have a girl protagonist. If Western sci-fi is filled with Marine-like soldiers, we might go in the opposite direction and use Gothic Lolita outfits, for example," Taro said. "We tend to take the contrarian route." "There are, of course, certain things that are ethically or morally inappropriate – even if they're just aspects of a character," Saito added, according to the subtitles. "We try to draw a line by establishing rules about what’s acceptable and what’s not. "While certain things might be acceptable in Japan, they could become problematic in certain overseas regions, and even characters could become problematic as well. These are the kind of situation[s] we usually try to avoid creating. As a result, there are actually countries where we couldn't officially release Nier: Automata." This immediately caused consternation with fans but as Automaton points out, this "could be a little tricky to translate, even for an advanced Japanese speaker". When asked directly about the claim, Taro denied it, saying on X/Twitter: "I've never heard of such a thing happening". Saito simply said he thought the things he'd mentioned had been mistranslated, and would clarify this in a future livestream. In the same interview, former PlayStation exec Shuhei Yoshida called Nier: Automata the "game that changed everything", as it was responsible for reviving the Japanese games industry on its release. In a recent interview, Yoshida discussed how during the PS3 era, sales of Japanese games had declined, and increasingly studios there were chasing "overseas tastes". That changed with NieR: Automata in 2017, released for the PS4. "I think Yoko Taro created it without paying any mind at all to making it sell overseas, but it was a tremendous success," Yoshida said.

As AI faces court challenges from Disney and Universal, legal battles are shaping the industry's future | Opinion Silicon advances and design innovations do still push us forward – but the future landscape of the industry is also being sculpted in courtrooms and parliaments Image credit: Disney / Epic Games Opinion by Rob Fahey Contributing Editor Published on June 13, 2025 In some regards, the past couple of weeks have felt rather reassuring. We've just seen a hugely successful launch for a new Nintendo console, replete with long queues for midnight sales events. Over the next few days, the various summer events and showcases that have sprouted amongst the scattered bones of E3 generated waves of interest and hype for a host of new games. It all feels like old times. It's enough to make you imagine that while change is the only constant, at least it's we're facing change that's fairly well understood, change in the form of faster, cheaper silicon, or bigger, more ambitious games. If only the winds that blow through this industry all came from such well-defined points on the compass. Nestled in amongst the week's headlines, though, was something that's likely to have profound but much harder to understand impacts on this industry and many others over the coming years – a lawsuit being brought by Disney and NBC Universal against Midjourney, operators of the eponymous generative AI image creation tool. In some regards, the lawsuit looks fairly straightforward; the arguments made and considered in reaching its outcome, though, may have a profound impact on both the ability of creatives and media companies (including game studios and publishers) to protect their IP rights from a very new kind of threat, and the ways in which a promising but highly controversial and risky new set of development and creative tools can be used commercially. A more likely tack on Midjourney's side will be the argument that they are not responsible for what their customers create with the tool I say the lawsuit looks straightforward from some angles, but honestly overall it looks fairly open and shut – the media giants accuse Midjourney of replicating their copyrighted characters and material, and of essentially building a machine for churning out limitless copyright violations. The evidence submitted includes screenshot after screenshot of Midjourney generating pages of images of famous copyrighted and trademarked characters ranging from Yoda to Homer Simpson, so "no we didn't" isn't going to be much of a defence strategy here. A more likely tack on Midjourney's side will be the argument that they are not responsible for what their customers create with the tool – you don't sue the manufacturers of oil paints or canvases when artists use them to paint something copyright-infringing, nor does Microsoft get sued when someone writes something libellous in Word, and Midjourney may try to argue that their software belongs in that tool category, with users alone being ultimately responsible for how they use them. If that argument prevails and survives appeals and challenges, it would be a major triumph for the nascent generative AI industry and a hugely damaging blow to IP holders and creatives, since it would seriously undermine their argument that AI companies shouldn't be able to include copyrighted material into training data sets without licensing or compensation. The reason Disney and NBCU are going after Midjourney specifically seems to be partially down to Midjourney being especially reticent to negotiate with them about licensing fees and prompt restrictions; other generative AI firms have started talking, at least, about paying for content licenses for training data, and have imposed various limitations on their software to prevent the most egregious and obvious forms of copyright violation (at least for famous characters belonging to rich companies; if you're an individual or a smaller company, it's entirely the Wild West out there as regards your IP rights). In the process, though, they're essentially risking a court showdown over a set of not-quite-clear legal questions at the heart of this dispute, and if Midjourney were to prevail in that argument, other AI companies would likely back off from engaging with IP holders on this topic. To be clear, though, it seems highly unlikely that Midjourney will win that argument, at least not in the medium to long term. Yet depending on how this case moves forward, losing the argument could have equally dramatic consequences – especially if the courts find themselves compelled to consider the question of how, exactly, a generative AI system reproduces a copyrighted character with such precision without storing copyright-infringing data in some manner. The 2020s are turning out to be the decade in which many key regulatory issues come to a head all at once AI advocates have been trying to handwave around this notion from the outset, but at some point a court is going to have to sit down and confront the fact that the precision with which these systems can replicate copyrighted characters, scenes, and other materials requires that they must have stored that infringing material in some form. That it's stored as a scattered mesh of probabilities across the vertices of a high-dimensional vector array, rather than a straightforward, monolithic media file, is clearly important but may ultimately be considered moot. If the data is in the system and can be replicated on request, how that differs from Napster or The Pirate Bay is arguably just a matter of technical obfuscation. Not having to defend that technical argument in court thus far has been a huge boon to the generative AI field; if it is knocked over in that venue, it will have knock-on effects on every company in the sector and on every business that uses their products. Nobody can be quite sure which of the various rocks and pebbles being kicked on this slope is going to set off the landslide, but there seems to be an increasing consensus that a legal and regulatory reckoning is coming for generative AI. Consequently, a lot of what's happening in that market right now has the feel of companies desperately trying to establish products and lock in revenue streams before that happens, because it'll be harder to regulate a technology that's genuinely integrated into the world's economic systems than it is to impose limits on one that's currently only clocking up relatively paltry sales and revenues. Keeping an eye on this is crucial for any industry that's started experimenting with AI in its workflows – none more than a creative industry like video games, where various forms of AI usage have been posited, although the enthusiasm and buzz so far massively outweighs any tangible benefits from the technology. Regardless of what happens in legal and regulatory contexts, AI is already a double-edged sword for any creative industry. Used judiciously, it might help to speed up development processes and reduce overheads. Applied in a slapdash or thoughtless manner, it can and will end up wreaking havoc on development timelines, filling up storefronts with endless waves of vaguely-copyright-infringing slop, and potentially make creative firms, from the industry's biggest companies to its smallest indie developers, into victims of impossibly large-scale copyright infringement rather than beneficiaries of a new wave of technology-fuelled productivity. The legal threat now hanging over the sector isn't new, merely amplified. We've known for a long time that AI generated artwork, code, and text has significant problems from the perspective of intellectual property rights (you can infringe someone else's copyright with it, but generally can't impose your own copyright on its creations – opening careless companies up to a risk of having key assets in their game being technically public domain and impossible to protect). Even if you're not using AI yourself, however – even if you're vehemently opposed to it on moral and ethical grounds (which is entirely valid given the highly dubious land-grab these companies have done for their training data), the Midjourney judgement and its fallout may well impact the creative work you produce yourself and how it ends up being used and abused by these products in future. This all has huge ramifications for the games business and will shape everything from how games are created to how IP can be protected for many years to come – a wind of change that's very different and vastly more unpredictable than those we're accustomed to. It's a reminder of just how much of the industry's future is currently being shaped not in development studios and semiconductor labs, but rather in courtrooms and parliamentary committees. The ways in which generative AI can be used and how copyright can persist in the face of it will be fundamentally shaped in courts and parliaments, but it's far from the only crucially important topic being hashed out in those venues. The ongoing legal turmoil over the opening up of mobile app ecosystems, too, will have huge impacts on the games industry. Meanwhile, the debates over loot boxes, gambling, and various consumer protection aspects related to free-to-play models continue to rumble on in the background. Because the industry moves fast while governments move slow, it's easy to forget that that's still an active topic for as far as governments are concerned, and hammers may come down at any time. Regulation by governments, whether through the passage of new legislation or the interpretation of existing laws in the courts, has always loomed in the background of any major industry, especially one with strong cultural relevance. The games industry is no stranger to that being part of the background heartbeat of the business. The 2020s, however, are turning out to be the decade in which many key regulatory issues come to a head all at once, whether it's AI and copyright, app stores and walled gardens, or loot boxes and IAP-based business models. Rulings on those topics in various different global markets will create a complex new landscape that will shape the winds that blow through the business, and how things look in the 2030s and beyond will be fundamentally impacted by those decisions.

Perplexity this week released Perplexity Labs, a new tool for Pro users that can craft reports, spreadsheets, dashboards, and visual representations, to meet users’ increased demand for AI productivity tools with greater autonomy and ever more sophisticated capabilities. The platform, a rival to Anthropic Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google Gemini, can even work on its own for 10 minutes (or more) as it reasons through complicated assignments. “Labs underscores a broader shift toward multi-agent AI systems that plan, execute, and refine full workflows,” said Thomas Randall, research lead for AI at Info-Tech Research Group. Designed to handle more complex assignments Perplexity launched Perplexity Search, its proprietary search engine, in December 2022, just after ChatGPT dropped, and earlier this year released Deep Research (now to be rebranded as Research), which scours the web, reads papers, reasons through materials, and creates comprehensive reports for users. The company says that Perplexity Labs is like “having a team” that can bring projects from ideation to reality. The platform creates reports, spreadsheets, dashboards and simple web apps. It can perform at least 10 minutes of self-supervised work, uses web browsing, writes and executes code to handle tasks like organizing data or applying formulas, and can create charts and images. “In some respects, this is a continuation of Perplexity’s original capabilities as an AI-driven search engine that provides deeper answers,” said Hyoun Park, CEO and chief analyst at Amalgam Insights. Indeed, Perplexity explained that Labs was designed to handle more complex assignments than Deep Research. “While Deep Research remains the fastest way to obtain comprehensive answers to in-depth questions —  typically within 3 or 4 minutes — Labs is designed to invest more time (10  minutes or longer) and leverage additional tools, such as advanced file generation and mini-app creation,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post. “This expanded capability empowers you to develop a broader array of deliverables for your projects.” With its longer research workflow, Perplexity Labs can generate spreadsheets, visual representations, and high-quality reports, the company said. It iteratively searches through hundreds of sources, reasons about that data, and refines its approach as it gets deeper into a project, similar to the way in which a human researcher might approach a new area of study. To create interactive dashboards without the need for coding expertise or external development tools like Ploty and Dash, users just describe what they’re visualizing in natural language, and Labs will generate it in real-time. Dashboards could, for instance, visualize business finances or other complex datasets, incorporating clickable elements to allow non-technical users to quickly act on insights. In one example from the blog, Perplexity prompted Labs from the position of a leader at a tech consulting firm looking to create a potential customer list. It specified that it wanted to partner with US B2B companies in seed, series A, or series B stages, and asked Labs to list 20 relevant companies and include key details including contact information. Labs compiled a comprehensive dataset of potential customers, organizing them by stage (A, B, or seed) and identified their core focus, intended customers, and funding to date. The platform cited links from Forbes, YCombinator, and Exploding Topics that it had used as sources. When further prompted, it crafted introductory emails to the CEOs of the series A startups. To simplify workflows, Labs arranges generated files in a dedicated tab for easy access, supports integration with other tools such as Google Sheets, and allows users to pull out and format citations to bring credibility to its research. Finished materials can be exported as PDFs or documents, or converted into a shareable Perplexity Page. Pro subscribers ($20 a month) can now work with Labs on Web, iOS, and Android; Mac and Windows apps are coming soon. A good fit for enterprise users? This new capability joins an increasingly competitive space, as users look for AI productivity tools that are ever-more performant and can handle more and more tasks autonomously. Park pointed out that Perplexity Labs is a response to tools and models such as OpenAI o1-pro (launched in March), Claude Opus 4 (released in May), and Google’s recent Flow and Firebase announcements. “There is a massive Hunger Games in the AI world right now,” said Park. “Every major vendor is ferociously trying to one-up each other in providing more functionality, either in a native model or with an agency of AI agents designed to work together and create digital assets such as documents, apps, and videos.” However, Perplexity Labs does provide differentiation from other providers in the market, Info-Tech’s Randall noted. In particular, Perplexity is betting that users will prefer a “low-cost, open, tool-agnostic sandbox” for web crawling, code execution, and the creation of finished artifacts including mini web apps. “These capabilities cannot yet be found in other enterprise platforms, such as Microsoft or Google offerings,” said Randall. But enterprises should approach Perplexity Labs with a governance-first mindset, he emphasized. Assets live in Perplexity’s cloud and, for now, lack the private data grounding and compliance controls that CIOs expect, and that they find in tools such as Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini. From an enterprise perspective, Park noted, the biggest challenge is that every asset-creating model and agent is “still opaque” when it comes to understanding the assumptions, training, and reliability of assumptions used to create a document or app. He compared it to the way the iPhone bypassed BlackBerry and Windows through “sheer consumer delight.” “At some point, AI vendors seeking serious business usage will need to provide more transparency and governance tools to the business world, just as mobile device management and mobile security solutions eventually came to the iPhone,” said Park. Otherwise, businesses may be compelled to build their own clunky but secure versions of Perplexity Labs, “which are guaranteed to be less accurate and useful just [based on] the history of business apps trying to imitate viral consumer apps,” he said.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that AI's being crammed everywhere. From Taco Bell drivethrus to eye glasses to schools, the AI boom is forcing the tech anywhere it can fit.That means it'll also be in your toilet soon, at least if one tech startup has its way.Based out of — where else — Austin, Throne is a bold new startup leveraging AI to revolutionize the way we interact with our toilet. The new company just raised $4 million in venture capitalist funds, courting some angel investors like famed bicycle doper Lance Armstrong, according to TechCrunch.By now you might have some questions: why do I need AI in my toilet? Four million dollars? Lance Armstrong!?Relax. You'll give yourself an ulcer. Luckily, Throne can help.At its core, Throne is a toilet-mounted camera that pairs with your phone to analyze your ones and twos. "It’s time to stop flushing away valuable data," as Throne's website greets.Throne proports to help health-conscious users monitor all kinds of important metrics from your waste, such as your "personalized Urinary Flow Score," which it tracks by listening "to the rhythm of your stream... [and turning] those sounds into easy-to-read trends."Other metrics include users' "Digestive Pattern," which it categorizes by "hard, healthy, loose, and liquid," as well as a urine "Hydration Score," which it tracks in real-time, "empowering you to stay hydrated, one insight at a time."And apartment dwellers who share a bathroom, don't worry — Throne's for you too. "Just set up individual profiles in our app," the startup's website advises, "and thanks to Bluetooth, Throne knows exactly who's who." What a relief!That goes both ways. Say your awful house guest decides to leave you a floater. Unless they've set up a personal profile and connected to your toilet via Bluetooth, Throne's state-of-the-art AI is trained to ignore it.Users can currently pre-order Throne for just $399, plus a $5.99 recurring monthly fee.One can imagine many ways tech like this could come in handy. If it works as its website advertises — and that's a big if, given the growing landfill of failed AI devices — it could certainly help folks with issues like Crohn's disease or liver problems.TC, for example, tells the story of Throne's founders lurking outside Armstrong's bathroom as he "used" a prototype. Armstrong, the former Tour de France winner, has since been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Some cancers can be detected through changes in urinary habits, the American Cancer Society notes, which probably explains why Armstrong felt compelled to cut Throne a check.Still, as Throne's uncanny ad-copy intones, the startup also represents a perfidious trend in healthcare, where buzzy tech gadgets snatch millions of dollars from wealthy investors while deep structural problems go unaddressed.Throne has the added quality of feeding into a frenzied wellness culture, where similar tracking gadgets help feed an unhealthy obsession with monitoring every possible thing our bodies do.We'll let Lance take this one.More on Startups: A Billion Dollar AI Startup Just Collapsed SpectacularlyShare This Article

Start SlideshowStart SlideshowDisney has enchanted us for decades with its resplendent animation and fantastical stories of princesses, wicked witches, and fire-breathing dragons, but music has always been its most indelible sprinkle of pixie dust. There are songs that move us, make us dance, and help us understand the characters that have already been so lovingly drawn. With over 350 songs in the Disney canon, it’s nearly impossible to narrow them down, but we’ve chosen the 23 in honor of the year 1923, when Walt Disney founded the company. These songs are the most magical and remind us why Disney has endured for over a century.Previous SlideNext Slide2 / 25List slides23. “Whistle While You Work” from Snow White and the Seven DwarfsList slides23. “Whistle While You Work” from Snow White and the Seven DwarfsWhistle While You Work - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Larry Morey and Frank Churchill’s merry tune about finding the joy in the most mundane of chores is quite simple, with only nine lines, yet incredibly catchy. Adriana Caselotti’s warbling, baby voice is fitting for this old-fashioned, operetta-style number and the entire sequence that features the big-eyed, adorable forest creatures helping her out. The squirrels sweep the dust with their tails, and the raccoons wash dirty clothes in a nearby watering hole to every sprightly beat. It’s difficult not to be beguiled by this little ditty, and you’ll find yourself humming it the next time you do your spring cleaning. Previous SlideNext Slide3 / 25List slides22. “The Family Madrigal” from EncantoList slides22. “The Family Madrigal” from EncantoStephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz, Encanto - Cast - The Family Madrigal (From “Encanto”) Lin-Manuel Miranda’s fingerprints are all over modern Disney soundtracks. He is a master at crafting clever, fast-paced, and genre-blending earworms. The biggest ones to emerge from Encanto are “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure,” where he blends classic Broadway stylings with punchier salsa and reggaeton genres. “The Family Madrigal” may not have reached the same level of pop culture infamy as the other songs in this film, but it’s a clever and economical way to introduce the Madrigal family and their powers. Stephanie Beatriz’s bubbly voice as Mirabel suits the song’s bouncy rhythm perfectly, while the Colombian folk instruments such as an accordion, caja vallenata, and guacharaca match the colorful energy of the magical town the Madrigals call home. Previous SlideNext Slide4 / 25List slides21.“Dig a Little Deeper” from Princess and the FrogList slides21.“Dig a Little Deeper” from Princess and the FrogDig a Little Deeper (From “The Princess and the Frog”/Sing-Along) Randy Newman’s toe-tapping blend of big-band swing and gospel choir refrains perfectly captures the vibrant soul of the New Orleans setting. The feisty Jennifer Lewis leads “Dig a Little Deeper” as Mama Odie, backed by the rousing Pinnacle Gospel Choir. The song’s brassy rhythms help Tiana let loose and Naveen to realize that he’s in love with her. The lessons Mama Odie imparts through the lyrics are wise and grounded: it doesn’t matter what you have or where you come from—that doesn’t define who you are. True fulfillment doesn’t come from material wealth, status, or outward appearances—it comes from understanding what you really want on the inside. The song crescendos with Anika Noni Rose’s powerful belt and the soulful shouts of Mama Odie’s bright flamingo chorus. Previous SlideNext Slide5 / 25List slides20. “I See the Light” from TangledList slides20. “I See the Light” from Tangled“I SEE THE LIGHT” | Tangled | Disney Animated HD The dreamy melody of “I See the Light” begins with a soft guitar. Glenn Slater and Alan Menken’s composition is fairly simple, allowing the glittering visuals to take center stage. The song takes place during the lighting ceremony that Rapunzel has yearned to visit after observing it from her tower for 18 years. Flynn and Rapunzel float on a gondola, surrounded by over 45,000 glowing lanterns floating in the air, dotting the sky and reflecting off the water that surrounds them. The characters sing the verses separately in their heads before their emotions burst, then they harmonize the chorus loudly, compelled by their realization that they’re in love. It’s a unique and touching way of framing a Disney love song. Previous SlideNext Slide6 / 25List slides19. “Friend Like Me” from AladdinList slides19. “Friend Like Me” from AladdinAladdin - Friend Like Me (HD 1080p) Howard Ashman’s playful lyrics and Alan Menken’s up-tempo, syncopated, vaudevillian song was the perfect musical playground for Robin Williams to fill with the zany impressions and quirky voices he was renowned for. A trumpet warbles in between one of the clever lyrics, sights and sounds so jam-packed with hilarity that you can barely stop to catch your breath. Robin Williams was so adept at improvisation that he had nearly an entire day’s worth of material. The animation is just as bonkers as his vocal performance, where Genie morphs into countless creatures—from a train whistle to a maître d’, a boxing trainer, a bunny, and a dragon. The Broadway-style showstopper culminates with a kick line under bright spotlights with monkeys, elephants, and dancing girls in crop tops and harem pants. “Friend Like Me” is a shining showcase for one of our finest comedic talents, the great Robin Williams. Previous SlideNext Slide7 / 25List slides18. “Baby Mine” from DumboList slides18. “Baby Mine” from DumboDisney’s “Dumbo” - Baby MineSongwriters Frank Churchill and Ned Washington are responsible for childhood traumas everywhere with “Baby Mine,” which takes place when Dumbo’s mother has been jailed as a “mad elephant” for fiercely protecting her son against his bullies. She reaches her trunk through the bars to cradle Dumbo to the soft, slumbering melody accompanied by haunting strings. Betty Noyes’ has that rich, rounded tone found in vintage singing, and it conveys Mrs. Jumbo’s maternal strength. The images of all the animals—zebras, tigers, monkeys, and even the underwater hippos—nestled in the love of their mothers, except for poor Dumbo, set against the song’s soothing orchestra, is absolutely heart wrenching. “Baby Mine” is the kind of song that inspires dreams of being comforted and cared for by a loving parental figure.Previous SlideNext Slide8 / 25List slides17. ”Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping BeautyList slides17. ”Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping BeautyOnce Upon A Dream | Sleeping Beauty Lyric Video | DISNEY SING-ALONGS Jack Lawrence and Sammy Fain craft a solo-turned-duet with a woozy, mysterious quality that perfectly complements the story of Sleeping Beauty. Mary Costa has such an elegant and operatic voice, with rich tones that make her sound far more mature than a 16-year-old girl. She’s soon joined by the strong, handsome voice of Prince Phillip, who appears unexpectedly in the forest. Their romance unfolds quickly, twirling together in the woods, surrounded by beautiful medieval-inspired, Gothic-Renaissance style visuals. The lilting orchestration and the grand choral ensemble add to the old-world mystique. The lyrics—of knowing someone before you truly know them, of seeing them in your dreams—add a tinge of mysterious excitement and mystical fate to their romance. Previous SlideNext Slide9 / 25List slides16. “Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre DameList slides16. “Hellfire” from The Hunchback of Notre DameHellfire - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz crafted one of Disney’s darkest songs. It’s hard to imagine Disney taking this type of creative risk again. “Hellfire” is sung by a corrupt priest consumed by lust for the Romani woman Esmeralda. The deep-voiced Tony Jay plays the dishonorable Frollo, who paints himself as a virtuous man—even though he killed Quasimodo’s mother and nearly killed Quasimodo. A true Catholic would have helped them. Today, Disney would never dare to show that authority figures—especially religious ones—can often be wrong and hypocritical, if not outright evil. This is one of the most provocative villain songs, in which Frollo essentially confesses his horniness. He sings of being enraptured by Esmeralda’s smoldering eyes and raven hair—a desire that burns and threatens to turn him to sin. “Hellfire” also has a spooky quality in its use of Latin and the intense religious choir that looms over Frollo in judgment, cloaked in red with faces like empty black holes. It’s a haunting song of operatic grandeur, with notes that flare and fade like the flames dancing in front of him. Previous SlideNext Slide10 / 25List slides15. “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from CinderellaList slides15. “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from CinderellaA Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes (from Cinderella) Sung with silky warmth and a shimmering, ethereal vibrato by Ilene Woods as Cinderella, “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” is soft and soothing, yet carries an undercurrent of quiet determination. She sings to her loyal companions—adorable flocks of birds and mice—who wear the tiny outfits she’s lovingly made for them. They join in during a break of the song that is more playful and buoyant while she prepares for another grueling day of chores, yet she stays positive by believing her dreams will come true. “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” has become a marketing anthem for the studio—used in various ads to evoke nostalgia, magic, and the promise that dreams really do come true, with Disney theme parks as the place where that magic can happen. Previous SlideNext Slide11 / 25List slides14. Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride from Lilo & StitchList slides14. Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride from Lilo & StitchHawaiian Roller Coaster Ride (From “Lilo & Stitch”) The rich voice of Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu and the cheerful Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus come together for a song that is as sweet and breezy as a summer’s day. “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” takes place during a touching moment of family bonding as Lilo, Nani, and David go surfing, gliding through the waves with ease. Stitch has been naughty, so he feels a little shy about enjoying the day with them, but he slowly begins to warm up to what it feels like to have a family. We see the adorable progression as the little thrill-seeker ends up riding the waves too. The song’s instrumentation—featuring ukulele, traditional Hawaiian fingerstyle guitar, and steel guitar—evokes the ocean waves and open skies, giving it that relaxed, beachy vibe. Both the animation and the song itself honors the film’s beautiful Hawaiian setting. Previous SlideNext Slide12 / 25List slides13. “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from MulanList slides13. “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from MulanMulan | I’ll Make a Man Out of You | Disney Junior UK “Let’s get down to business, to defeat the Huns” Donny Osmond sings in his perfectly crisp voice. The rousing number “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel is the pump-up song for a training montage. It starts out comical as we see Mulan and her clumsy friends attempt to become the ideal Chinese soldier. The catchy chorus uses evocative nature metaphors for the type of strength and calm that Mulan needs to find, and the deep-voiced punctuation “Be a man!” at the end of each line adds to the hype. When Donny Osmond belts “Time is racing towards us, ‘till the Huns arrive,” you feel a thrilling rush of urgency and swell with courage. The final chorus plays against no instrumentation, the manly voices of the soldiers booming, allowing you to focus on Mulan and her friends now kicking ass. Previous SlideNext Slide13 / 25List slides12. “A Whole New World” from AladdinList slides12. “A Whole New World” from AladdinAladdin - A Whole New World (HD 1080p) Brad Kane’s voice carries an excited, breathy quality that draws you in as he whisks Jasmine away on a magic carpet ride. He sounds bright and earnest as he describes the shining, shimmering, and splendid world that Jasmine has never seen and he’s eager to show her. Lea Salonga, who is a Broadway legend in her own right, has an angelic innocence as Jasmine. Their voices come together in perfect harmony for this sweeping duet. “A Whole New World” is one of Disney’s most romantic love songs, with a melody that flutters and glides like the magic carpet itself. Written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice, the orchestration has lush strings that propel the adventurous animated sequence where they soar through the clouds, pass the Sphinx, and touch down near a group of horses. Previous SlideNext Slide14 / 25List slides11. “Strangers Like Me” from TarzanList slides11. “Strangers Like Me” from TarzanStrangers Like Me (1080p Full HD) - Tarzan (1999)Opening with a pulsing drum track, Strangers Like Me evokes the spinning wheels in Tarzan’s mind as he learns more about what lies beyond the jungle. The montage is gorgeously animated, featuring old-fashioned ink illustrations that Tarzan looks at through a magic lantern. He sees the city of London, a giant castle, the Sphinx, and even outer space for the first time. This flood of information drives the song’s urgent pace.The filmmakers craft the entire animated sequence as a response to the lyrics, as Tarzan watches Jane (“Every gesture, every move that she makes / Makes me feel like never before”) or shows off a pocket of the rainforest filled with parrots (“Come with me now to see my world / Where there’s beauty beyond your dreams”). Phil Collins’ bright voice captures Tarzan’s wonderment, especially in the soaring chorus, where Tarzan expresses his desire to learn more about strangers like him. You feel his hunger for the great, wide world in the song’s pounding, tribal drumbeats. Previous SlideNext Slide15 / 25List slides10. “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” from HerculesList slides10. “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” from HerculesHercules (1997) │ I Won’t Say (I’m In Love) [DPU HD 4K] The story of the ancient Greek hero Hercules has such a unique musical style, with lyricist David Zippel and composer Alan Menken blending doo-wop, Motown, and gospel soul. The muses serve as a literal Greek chorus, commenting on the action with their sassy perspective. In “I Won’t Say I’m in Love,” Megara’s velvet-voiced, sarcastic Susan Egan stands apart from other Disney heroines, who often sing fluttering arias about dreaming of a prince. Instead, Megara resists her feelings because she’s been burned too many times before, creating a comical juxtaposition with the Muses, who cheekily insist that she’s in love. They tease her with “Check the grin, you’re in love.” It’s a playful and flirtatious song that celebrates an unconventional Disney princess and musical choices. Previous SlideNext Slide16 / 25List slides9. “How Far I’ll Go” from MoanaList slides9. “How Far I’ll Go” from MoanaAuli’i Cravalho - How Far I’ll Go (from Moana/Official Video) Ever since their introduction in The Little Mermaid, Broadway-style “I Want” songs have become a hallmark of Disney princess films. They are passionate solos that reveal what each heroine desires most in the world. Whatever her heart longs for becomes the emotional engine driving the story forward. In “How Far I’ll Go,” composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana is torn between her dream of exploring what’s beyond her remote island and her duty to her family. She’s genuinely torn, even wondering if she’s wrong to yearn for what lies beyond the horizon. Auli’i Cravalho’s pure, heartfelt voice captures all the wistfulness and uncertainty of growing up. The melody swells and crashes gently like ocean tides, mirroring the push and pull of Moana’s inner conflict. Previous SlideNext Slide17 / 25List slides8. “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the BeastList slides8. “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast - Be Our Guest (HD) Music Video Broadway royalty Jerry Orbach helms this showstopper with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman. The suave candlestick Lumière uses the number to lure Belle out of her bedroom, and show that the enchanted castle is more friendly and exciting than spooky and depressing. “Be Our Guest” has clever, fast-paced lyrics sung in a classic “patter song” style which then explodes in a lively, French can-can finale. The living castle objects just want to serve and make someone happy again, offering Belle elaborate meals and dazzling entertainment. Everything is on the plate for Belle, from soup du jour, hot hors d’oeuvres, beef ragout, cheese soufflé, and of course, the grey stuff. What’s just as exciting about the number as its giddy music is the animation, with spoons swimming in punch bowls like a Busby Berkeley number, prismatic spotlights, sumptuous, brightly-colored cakes, a glowing chandelier, and dancing flatware. Previous SlideNext Slide18 / 25List slides7. “You’ll Be in My Heart” from TarzanList slides7. “You’ll Be in My Heart” from TarzanPhil Collins - You’ll Be in My Heart /Tarzan(ターザン)Phil Collins knocked it out of the park with the entire Tarzan soundtrack. Somehow his earthy voice, drum-infused instrumentals, and heartfelt lyrics were the perfect mix for this jungle story. Rather than a traditional Disney musical, Phil Collins acts as an omnipresent narrator, commenting on the action or voicing the character’s thoughts. “You’ll Be In My Heart” rightfully earned the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Originally written as a lullaby for his own daughter, the song starts off tender, with Phil Collins almost gently whispering against soft marimbas. Its lyrics of true love and devotion are moving, especially in the scene where Kala sings it to a baby Tarzan, who, despite being a different species, experiences a bond where love and care know no bounds. The song eventually crashes into driving drums, moving toward a bridge that sees the child fly free on their own: “When destiny calls you / You must be strong / I may not be with you / But you’ve got to hold on.” This song is touching for anyone who has ever loved someone and watched them grow, no matter what type of relationship. Previous SlideNext Slide19 / 25List slides6. “Under the Sea” from The Little MermaidList slides6. “Under the Sea” from The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid - Under the Sea (from The Little Mermaid) (Official Video) Those solo calypso opening notes of “Under the Sea” immediately get you excited, and Samuel E. Wright delivers a rollicking underwater bash. His booming voice and vivacious energy are perfect for the overdramatic crustacean and his mission to convince Ariel that living under the sea “is the bubbles” with no troubles. “Under the Sea’ buoys the rainbow-colored montage of marine life that fills Ariel’s world—fish, dolphins, and coral reefs. The scene cleverly ties the instruments to various creatures and animation — harps echo the swirling school of fish, shells mimic steel pans, and a pair of octopuses intertwine their legs like bass lines. With its infectious Caribbean beat, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s song is a true banger and impossible not to love, which is why it won the 1990 Oscar for Best Original Song. Previous SlideNext Slide20 / 25List slides5. “Colors of the Wind” from PocahontasList slides5. “Colors of the Wind” from PocahontasPocahontas - Colors of the Wind (Blu-ray 1080p HD) “You think the only people who are people / Are the people who look and think like you / But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger / You’ll learn things you never knew, you never knew.” In this increasingly polarized world, that message has never been more relevant. Pocahontas is not immediately smitten with John Smith; instead, she condemns his entire culture, which prioritizes gold and hatred over acceptance and the beauty of nature. Stephen Schwartz’s lyrics paint gorgeous pictures of the American wilderness, questioning why the white men who have invaded these lands cannot appreciate the world around them — from the grinning bobcats to the sweet berries to the trees that stretch toward the sky, if only we let them grow. Alan Menken’s surrounding score is rapturous, carried by Judy Kuhn’s passionate vocals. More than just the profound lyrics, it’s the visuals that make this musical number so unforgettable — particularly John Smith and Pocahontas dancing in a pastel-colored wind. It’s no surprise that “Colors of the Wind” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Previous SlideNext Slide21 / 25List slides4. “When You Wish Upon a Star” from PinnochioList slides4. “When You Wish Upon a Star” from PinnochioPocahontas - Colors of the Wind (Blu-ray 1080p HD)Written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington, “When You Wish Upon a Star” has come to define Disney itself, typically playing over the castle logo that opens every movie. The ethereal ballad is sung by Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket, whose resonant yet quirky voice feels like someone sharing a story by a crackling fire. “When you wish upon a star / Makes no difference who you are / Anything your heart desires / Will come to you,” he tenderly sings over the opening credits. The gentle melody wraps you in a warm embrace of possibility. People often make fun of Disney adults, but perhaps one reason we hold on to Disney films long after growing up is that they offer hope in an increasingly grim world. This aspirational song reminds us there is more to life than the ordinary—if we just dare to imagine.Previous SlideNext Slide22 / 25List slides3. “Beauty and the Beast” from Beauty and the BeastList slides3. “Beauty and the Beast” from Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast Tale As Old As Time HD As Mrs. Potts, Angela Lansbury’s warm, cheery English voice adds a rosiness to this powerful love ballad, backed by an orchestra of sumptuous strings. The lyrics aren’t the pure romanticism of past Disney love stories; there is no love at first sight here. Instead, Mrs. Potts gently reflects on how true love can take time to blossom, and how relationships sometimes require change, admitting your faults and working hard to set aside your vices and worst qualities. It’s a surprisingly mature outlook for a Disney love song. The accompanying animation is one of the most exquisite sequences in Disney history: Belle’s golden dress glides delicately across the floor as she and the Beast dance in the grand ballroom, the camera swirling to reveal the sparkling chandelier and Michelangelo-esque ceiling of painted cherubs above them. That Howard Ashman wrote this song while dying from complications of AIDS makes it all the more poignant. Previous SlideNext Slide23 / 25List slides2. “Part of Your World” from The Little MermaidList slides2. “Part of Your World” from The Little MermaidJodi Benson - Part of Your World (From “The Little Mermaid”)Before The Little Mermaid kicked off the Disney Renaissance (a period of more sophisticated storytelling and box office success) princess songs were mostly focused on their prince charmings. They had very few aspirations outside of dreaming about their prince or wishing for their prince. But the introduction of the songwriting team Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who had worked on the off-Broadway show Little Shop of Horrors, helped develop a Disney princess that had greater ambitions. Ariel wanted to see the human world, and she would express that within a Broadway-style solo called the “I Want” song, where the protagonist sings about, well, what they want. “Part of Your World” has a flowing melody and a sweet yearning in Jodi Benson’s voice (and given a more soulful power in the live-action version from Halle Bailey). We see her comical misunderstanding of what her treasures are, all whozits and whatzits galore. “Wouldn’t I love to explore that shore up above?” her voice soars while reaching out through the top of her grotto towards the sun. In that moment, with her big eyes and aching voice, you completely understand how much the human world means to her.Previous SlideNext Slide24 / 25List slides1. “Circle of Life” from The Lion KingList slides1. “Circle of Life” from The Lion KingCarmen Twillie, Lebo M. - Circle of Life (From “The Lion King”) No Disney song is quite as epic as Elton John’s “Circle of Life.” The image of the rising sun, paired with the opening lines sung passionately in Zulu by Lebo M., without any instrumentals, immediately hooks you into this sweeping story of the African savannah. The title, “Circle of Life,” is fitting for this tale of birth, death, and everything in between. The lyrics somehow encompass everything about our big, beautiful world — how finite life is, and the experiences, both good and bad, that give us balance. There’s despair and there’s hope. There’s faith and there’s love. The lyrics are poetic and make you think about the wonder and mystery of existence. The song reaches a powerful peak at the end when the chorus rises together. It’s impossible not to get full-body chills on that final soaring note, “It’s the circle, the circle of life,” punctuated by the thunderous drumbeat, where the sight of Rafiki lifting Simba on Pride Rock cuts to black. “Circle of Life” is a beautiful song with a grand vision, especially for a film geared towards children.

oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,372 UK And why is the answer obviously Ezio's Family View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSVHx23ByhM The only other piece that I think even comes close is Gusty Garden Galaxy View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rZkej57cU But even then, it's surely Ezio's Family Are there any other contenders? What do you think, Era?  dom ▲ Legend ▲ Avenger Oct 25, 2017 12,382 Last edited: Today at 5:32 AM RockmanBN Visited by Knack - One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 31,941 Cornfields Wii Shop Channel View: https://youtu.be/yyjUmv1gJEg View: https://youtu.be/2gmQYBZPV7g   blueredandgold Member Oct 25, 2017 8,668 This was my ring tone for a properly twelve months I think.  Jubilant Duck Member Oct 21, 2022 9,247 RockmanBN said: Wii Shop Channel Click to expand... Click to shrink... Was gonna be what I said. Truly iconic in a way no single game's song could be.  Exist 2 Inspire Powered by Friendship™ Member Apr 19, 2018 4,680 Germany I take Home in Florence over Ezio's Family personally. Man i love this game so much.  Musiol Member Oct 27, 2017 70 For me probably Maiden's Astrea theme from DS. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPJUQg_U5HY   Blue_Toad507 Member May 25, 2021 3,807 If you owned a Wii, you knew this song.  Tsaki Member Feb 12, 2019 466 Ezio and Wii Shop like were already said. I'd put Uncharted's theme and probably some Call of Duty main menu soundtrack like Black Ops. - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. youtu.be - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com   Adryuu Master of the Wind Member Oct 27, 2017 6,519 Uncharted Worlds View: https://youtu.be/7ZoFw9uXJwk?feature=shared And while I'm at it, also this one, why not: View: https://youtu.be/kgcq_ZtqbO0?feature=shared  MegaSackman Member Oct 27, 2017 20,706 Argentina Nate's Theme from Uncharted for sure. It started as generic for people, ended up being iconic. View: https://youtu.be/kgcq_ZtqbO0?si=5Co-INQ6d-6sx7Xn Edit: Beaten!  Kotetsu534 Member Dec 31, 2022 545 My first thought was the Uncharted 2 Main Theme, but Gusty Garden Galaxy probably outranks it actually. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42tMX5UEAS8   ItsOKAY Member Jan 26, 2018 1,779 Frankfurt, Germany 100%  Adryuu Master of the Wind Member Oct 27, 2017 6,519 Tsaki said: Ezio and Wii Shop like were already said. I'd put Uncharted's theme and probably some Call of Duty main menu soundtrack like Black Ops. - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. youtu.be - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com Click to expand... Click to shrink... MegaSackman said: Nate's Theme from Uncharted for sure. It started as generic for people, ended up being iconic. View: https://youtu.be/kgcq_ZtqbO0?si=5Co-INQ6d-6sx7Xn Edit: Beaten! Click to expand... Click to shrink... Kotetsu534 said: My first thought was the Uncharted 2 Main Theme, but Gusty Garden Galaxy probably outranks it actually. View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42tMX5UEAS8 Click to expand... Click to shrink... all right lol  Duncan Member Oct 25, 2017 15,482 HotsauceDragon Member Oct 25, 2017 3,645 ClivePwned Member Oct 27, 2017 4,214 Australia Gusty Garden, Wii Shop, Portal all mentioned, so: Adrenaline from Call of Duty Black Ops 2 View: https://youtu.be/hPR_hKpwXbI?si=Wq3mpSVzka2I5SST or Suicide Mission from Mass Effect 2 View: https://youtu.be/VTsD2FjmLsw?si=NiyXJ3sTV7vgJH-J  GTAce Member Oct 27, 2017 4,615 Bonn, Germany Motorstorm, baby!  OhhEldenRing Member Aug 14, 2024 2,868 It's the Wii Shop music and nothing comes close   Tsaki Member Feb 12, 2019 466 ClivePwned said: Gusty Garden, Wii Shop, Portal all mentioned, so: Adrenaline from Call of Duty Black Ops 2 View: https://youtu.be/hPR_hKpwXbI?si=Wq3mpSVzka2I5SST or Suicide Mission from Mass Effect 2 View: https://youtu.be/VTsD2FjmLsw?si=NiyXJ3sTV7vgJH-J Click to expand... Click to shrink... So good.  ReplacementPelican Member Oct 29, 2017 4,932 oni-link said: And why is the answer obviously Ezio's Family View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSVHx23ByhM Click to expand... Click to shrink... I'm tempted, I suppose, to think of any others. I'd say either the Uncharted theme or Far Horizons from Skyrim do, for me, just live on so strongly and vividly. But, really, I think you've got it in one with Ezio's Family because it feels like the defining track of a franchise that is still going very, very strongly and in almost every game, sometimes arranged a bit differently or interpreted differently but it feels like its become the theme song of the series, really. Its also just an incredible piece of music.  OP OP oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,372 UK I made this thread after hearing Ezio's Family for the first time in a while and thinking "damm this slaps", but looking at all the answers so far, I clearly forgot just how many certified bangers there were this generation   BeansBeansBeans Member Jan 14, 2025 1,093 RockmanBN said: Wii Shop Channel Click to expand... Click to shrink... And we're done here.  Z'ard "This guy are sick" Member Mar 5, 2019 1,549 Ukraine Uncharted 2 theme is the first thing that came to my mind.   IMCaprica Member Aug 1, 2019 11,031 It's Wii Shop Channel theme for sure. Probably followed by Wii Sports theme. And then in an incredibly distant third, maybe "Dovahkiin" from Skyrim?   BGBW Member Oct 25, 2017 15,459 Well since the obvious candidates like the Wii themes and Still Alive have been posted I present that track that haunted all your dreams: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOxqgLUPFHg WAH WAH!  Izanagi89 "This guy are sick" and Corrupted by Vengeance Member Oct 27, 2017 18,842 Gaur Plain defines that era for me, at least on Wii View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJtsfR51To   Nintenleo XIV Member Nov 9, 2017 5,137 Italy tadaima Member Oct 30, 2017 3,137 Tokyo, Japan Everybody with a Wii was forced through the Mii create flow, so I guess the Mii theme. Which, although not going as hard as the Shop channel theme, is great. View: https://youtu.be/po-0n1BKW2w?si=NBQktoBzY4b06420   Last edited: Today at 6:16 AM Akai Member Oct 25, 2017 6,244 Like always with these threads. Too many great ones to name as the examples already shown. Here's is an other one: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJq-F51QblI   Last edited: Today at 6:26 AM GMM Member Oct 27, 2017 5,799 Tons of great entries here, I will throw in a dark horse from Deus Ex: View: https://youtu.be/FUy87tpfNe4?si=0DT6_tEJpgNPZWZK   OP OP oni-link tag reference no one gets Member Oct 25, 2017 17,372 UK every time someone posts this I'm compelled to watch the whole thing from start to finish lol  Nakenorm "This guy are sick" The Fallen Oct 26, 2017 27,206 Yeah it's definitely Uncharted for me at least. Probably the Wii channel theme in general tho.   FarSight XR-20 Member Jan 4, 2018 9,511 Squid Icarus Member Jul 11, 2019 370 I think the biggest ones have already been mentioned (I think Ac2 is the winner). Here's a few more memorable highlights: View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99lHz11ElkA View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xHttYIwocY   Nintenleo XIV Member Nov 9, 2017 5,137 Italy I was obsessed with this trailer and its music  StarErik Member Oct 27, 2017 606 The Mii Channel theme is used in so many TikToks, YouTube videos and Instagram reels so that theme is probably the most recognizable and has the biggest reach. My personal favorite is Gusty Garden Galaxy, though.  Transistor The Walnut King Administrator Oct 25, 2017 41,658 Washington, D.C. I'd say this has become pretty iconic (The Last of Us theme) - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. youtu.be   Last edited: Today at 6:42 AM Sordid Plebeian Member Oct 26, 2017 19,866 Never Forget  SolidSnakex Member Oct 25, 2017 28,046 TLoU main theme - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com   JamboGT Vehicle Handling Designer Verified Oct 25, 2017 1,531 Am probably going to be in the minority, but for me it was this, I watched this trailer so much and still unironically love this song. 5oul on D!splay from GT5 View: https://youtu.be/MXh25i7_3Is   Exist 2 Inspire Powered by Friendship™ Member Apr 19, 2018 4,680 Germany GMM said: Tons of great entries here, I will throw in a dark horse from Deus Ex: View: https://youtu.be/FUy87tpfNe4?si=0DT6_tEJpgNPZWZK Click to expand... Click to shrink... Probably my favorite video game track ever, so damn good.  Jawmuncher Crisis Dino Moderator Oct 25, 2017 44,841 Ibis Island If we're talking "truly iconic" as in world view, Halo 3's Menu and anything Wii Sports/Menu related would be at the top.   Bishop89 What Are Ya' Selling? Member Oct 25, 2017 42,778 Melbourne, Australia AstronaughtE Member Nov 26, 2017 13,171 The Barbarian Choir: View: https://youtu.be/AVy7YPNP_zI?si=lNiLhHE40iyby0VE Wet Hands: View: https://youtu.be/MSepOYJxB64?si=NIFMpP7z1VQbAMNd  Doopl Member Oct 25, 2017 287 Ballad of the Goddess (Zelda Skyward Sword) View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4ReyoNpyrM Build That Wall (Bastion) View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3SZee4YZX8  wrowa Member Oct 25, 2017 4,794 Wii Shop Channel is weirdly big on TikTok etc, so it's probably that.   Zyrox One Winged Slayer Corrupted by Vengeance Member Oct 25, 2017 5,182 The first thing that popped into my head reading the thread title was Super Smash Bros. Brawl's main theme (probably because the game really drills the theme into your head with multiple different arrangements) View: https://youtu.be/zeKE0NHUtUw Looking at the thread though there were lots of really memorsble tunes. Some good shouts in here.  Mafro Member Oct 25, 2017 9,118 It's absolutely the Wii Shopping Channel.   Stef Member Oct 28, 2017 7,732 Rome, Italy, Planet Earth This, and not even close. Still listening to it after all these years. (it is the Halo 3 soundtrack, but linking something from Youtube has become a nightmare...) View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0GdEIkGQOk 

The Chinese game industry has grown immensely in the past few years. Online free-to-play titles, such as Genshin Impact and Wuthering Waves, have millions of players around the world, while others like Etheria: Restart gear up for their full release. Companies have also marveled at the success of Black Myth: Wukong, which sold 10 million copies in under a week when it launched in August 2024, and subsequently honored as Game of the Year at the 2024 Steam Awards.Indeed, game studios in China are firing on all cylinders, with multiple offerings vying to become the next big global hit. This is further bolstered by rising incomes among consumers, high enthusiasm among developers, and robust support from regional governments. This raises the questions—what's driving growth in the region, and where is this emerging industry headed next?To learn more about the inner workings of the Chinese games industry, Game Developer spoke with several experts like China Independent Game Alliance (CIGA) founder Simon Zhu, Li Shen, former Tencent Games China and Epic Games China chief technology officer, and Siyuan Xia, the co-founder of Chengdu-based Leenzee Technology and director of soulslike action-roleplaying game Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.Single-player game development is becoming sustainable in ChinaRelated:Chinese developers have historically been reluctant to work on single-player games. The challenges of premium single-player production are immense, and the popularity of free-to-play titles makes those kinds of games a better business prospect. Zhu gave us a brief history lesson on how free-to-play offerings became the norm for many decades. "If you recall, 1995 was a landmark year that saw the birth of The Legend of Sword and Fairy series," notes Zhu. The franchise, which combined elements of Chinese mythology and wuxia (Chinese martial arts), was a huge hit for nearly a decade."Unfortunately, even with the series' popularity, piracy was so rampant back then that the single-player market could not truly flourish. It wasn't until the online game boom in the 2000s that China's video games market and history truly began—which was then dominated by free-to-play games. We had to wait until March 2015 when the PlayStation officially entered the Chinese market for single-player console games to be formally introduced to gamers. Even then, single-player games still occupied a small niche until Steam's emergence significantly expanded access."Studios and publishers also have to contend with the disparity in gauging the success of a single-player title compared to a free-to-play offering. "The fate of the former is often determined on launch day—(making those projects riskier ventures)—while the latter has more room for recovery if issues arise on the first day," Xia tells us. It all boils down to how each team adapts, just as how the Wuchang team had adjusted to a new development cycle to make the overall rhythm and work process more manageable.Related:Image via Lenzee/505 Games.Experts are indeed well aware of the opportunities brought about by breakthrough titles opening doors to a wider audience, though these are uncharted waters for many studios in the country.Shen (who now heads his own investment company, Re³ Lab) also adds that Chinese players and developers have always had interest in single-player games, but it wasn't until Black Myth: Wukong sold millions of units globally that publishers became more willing to invest.Other single-player offerings, such as S-Game's Phantom Blade: Zero and Leenzee's Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, also hope to capitalize on Black Myth: Wukong's success. Wuchang, while set during the fall of the Ming Dynasty, even shows a glimpse into the culture and history of the Bronze Age Ancient Kingdom of Shu given that the studio is just an hour away from the archaeological site of Sanxingdui.Related:Wuchang and other games wear their cultural identity proudly on their sleeves, and Xia emphasizes its importance. "I believe Chinese games are gradually forming a distinctive identity in global markets. Cultural outreach isn't an overnight phenomenon but a long-term evolution fueled by collective efforts. For our part, we aspire to contribute foundational work through our endeavors.Shen echoes this sentiment as well. "Black Myth: Wukong was hailed as 'China's first AAA breakthrough' and I believe this instilled pride not just in the developers, but across the industry as well. Many view their work as challenging the Western-dominated games landscape and elevating Asian cultural representation. This collective mission drives innovation and a deeper exploration of local/regional narratives."That said, there's also a balancing act between highlighting cultural uniqueness and navigating geopolitical sensitivities, as Shen points out. "Look at Phantom Blade: Zero, for instance," says Shen. "It garnered nine million views on Bilibili (essentially China's own version of YouTube), but it required rebranding for Western audiences."Challenges and opportunities in a fluctuating marketThe experts we spoke with agreed that Chinese game developers benefit from unique comparative advantages—and struggle with some disadvantages. "Chinese companies, owing to their experience in making online free-to-play games, are global frontrunners in commercial design and operations, excelling at creating monetization models, balancing numerical values, and guiding user behavior," says Zhu. "Sadly, game design and overall quality may fall short, particularly in narrative and script writing. The industry still suffers from limited experience in game design, insufficient market insight, and inadequate industry exchange."Shen agrees that China has achieved world-class capabilities, particularly when it comes to mobile game platforms and substantially profitable products in the domestic market. "Unfortunately, increasing production costs and market competition raise the barrier to entry for commercial games," says Shen. "This has made some developers grow increasingly conservative in genre selection, prioritizing production polish over innovative differentiation."Zhu also shares the stark differences between Western and Chinese industries, particularly when holding events and expos. "To give you an example: The Game Developers Conference (GDC) in the United States has long been established as a key platform for industry exchanges and B2B meetings. The event hosts approximately 1,000 sessions, with an access pass that costs around 10,000 RMB (approximately $1,350), yet it manages to draw attendees from across the globe, fostering an excellent environment for communication and networking.""In contrast, the events I organize in China offer tickets at about 500 RMB (approximately 70 USD), which already includes a one-day access to the WePlay Expo. Despite this, we still face challenges in ticket sales and in engaging local speakers, some of whom are hesitant to share their expertise. I believe that this is due to the general public's understanding of the games industry and culture, especially since China's video game history and cultural integration only span around 20 years. The disparity with overseas markets is notable, but it also indicates substantial growth potential."Crunch culture, too, remains a controversial topic in China. "Long hours are common especially during project deadlines," says Shen. "Some studios adopt a 9-9-6 schedule–i.e. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. While labor reforms are underway, intense competition and a culture of 'dedication' [to your work] tend to normalize overtime as well."Image via CIGA.While government guidelines do exist, enforcement remains inconsistent as it depends on each company or organization. "Our company, Leenzee, does not encourage overtime since we view that as inefficient and counterproductive," notes Xia. "In spite of this, some team members still voluntarily stay late. For them, Wuchang is the first Chinese-developed single-player game that they've worked on, and there's an emotional attachment to it.""In CIGA, we have consistently eschewed the practice of crunch or overtime, even going so far as to avoid rigid clock-in/clock-out times," explains Zhu. "The reality is that crunch, feeling compelled to stay until the boss leaves, or project pressures that lead to mandated overtime—these are all outdated formalities. They do not enhance inefficiency or quality. Instead, they only lead to increased stress and dissatisfaction among team members. Knowing how much the younger generation values work-life balance, I'm optimistic that outdated practices wane as the attitudes of newer generations continue to shift and the work environment evolves."In a period of growth for Chinese game development, one might think there were fewer layoffs going around. That's not true, says Zhu. "I'm based in Shanghai, the city that's at the forefront of the industry," he says. "In the last two years, numerous companies have experienced layoffs, including the termination of entire projects, teams, or subsidiaries. The approach differs from company to company, with some offering compensation to affected employees."Shen points out that unlike many other game development communities, China benefits from a strong social safety net reinforced by unemployment insurance and state-backed retraining programs. "Though specifics depend on regional policies," he clarified, noting it's not a perfect solution.Local governments are investing in game developmentRegional policies that often play a huge role in supporting game development in China. Most games that are set to be published in the country require a license from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), with key steps that include content review (i.e. cultural sensitivity or historical accuracy) and technical compliance. However, each regional administrative district may have additional programs in place to aid companies and studios."The Sichuan Provincial Government has been highly supportive of our work," says Xia. "Since Wuchang: Fallen Feathers takes place in Chengdu and parts of Sichuan Province, the government even helped us locate more cultural heritage locations available for digital preservation through our scanning process.""Depending on the regional policies, the initiatives might include tax breaks for cultural projects or grants for technology/R&D," adds Shen. "Also, games recognized as key to 'digital cultural industries' have mandates to integrate traditional themes, and there might even be state-backed campaigns to export games globally as cultural ambassadors."Zhu, meanwhile, gestured to the 'tech park' we were in, one of several in the city that was built by Shanghai's administrative government. "This entire complex is home to several tech companies, both large conglomerates and startups, and most only pay a small expense for rent," says Zhu. Zhu also adds that local governments across the country have policies that help address game incubation, operations, local releases, and international distribution.There's no denying that China is the largest video games market in the world. While challenges, such as a lack of experience in making single-player games and a reluctance to risk on day-one launch revenue, do exist, experts remain hopeful. Developers, project leads, experts, and the government all contribute toward a collective effort to drive the expansion and global reach of the Chinese games industry."Rising incomes and increased demand for high-quality content will continue to drive growth," says Shen, arguing that there's a brighter future ahead.Zhu, meanwhile, remains steadfast in CIGA's support of the indie games community. "We know that the development of this sector in the country remains a long-term endeavor," notes Zhu. "Transformative change may not be achieved within a single lifetime, but this undertaking demands continued dedication and resilience.""We have a saying in China: 'When everybody adds fuel, the flames rise high'—it's the equivalent of saying that 'there is strength in numbers,'" posits Xia. "Our team hopes that, through our efforts, we can contribute further to the games industry, making it easier for future creators and allowing for more interesting works to emerge."

A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s Build developer conference in Seattle, Washington, this morning, protesting against the company’s cloud and AI contracts with the Israeli government. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had only been onstage for a matter of minutes before protesters started interrupting his speech, with one shouting, “Free Palestine!” Nadella continued his keynote, ignoring the protesters as they were escorted out of a hall inside the Seattle conference center.Microsoft employee Joe Lopez, who has spent the past four years working as a firmware engineer on the company’s Azure hardware systems team, was one of the protesters who interrupted Nadella. He was also joined by a fired Google employee who was part last year’s sit-in protests against Google’s cloud contract with Israel.We asked Microsoft to comment on today’s protest at Build, but the company did not respond in time for publication.Shortly after Lopez’s interruption, he sent an email to thousands of Microsoft employees, telling them he was “shocked by the silence of our leadership,” just days after Microsoft responded to employee protests by claiming it hadn’t found any evidence that its Azure and AI tech has harmed people in Gaza.“Leadership rejects our claims that Azure technology is being used to target or harm civilians in Gaza,” says Lopez in his email. “Those of us who have been paying attention know that this is a bold-faced lie. Every byte of data that is stored on the cloud (much of it likely containing data obtained by illegal mass surveillance) can and will be used as justification to level cities and exterminate Palestinians.”Microsoft announced last week that it had recently conducted an internal review and used an unnamed external firm to assess how its technology is used in the conflict in Gaza. Microsoft says that its relationship with the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) is “structured as a standard commercial relationship,” and that it has “found no evidence that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software, have been used to harm people or that IMOD has failed to comply with our terms of service or our AI Code of Conduct.”This latest employee protest comes just weeks after after two former Microsoft employees disrupted the company’s 50th-anniversary event, with one calling Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a “war profiteer” and demanding that Microsoft “stop using AI for genocide in our region.” A second protester interrupted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former CEO Steve Ballmer, and Nadella later on in the event.The protests have been organized by No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft employees rallying against Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli government. The group accuses Microsoft of “supporting and enabling an apartheid state” by not suspending sales of cloud and AI services to Israel. It has also highlighted media reports that detail the Israeli military’s increased use of Azure and OpenAI technology to gather information through mass surveillance and use AI tools to transcribe and translate phone calls, texts, and audio messages.Hossam Nasr — an organizer of No Azure for Apartheid and a former Microsoft employee who was fired for holding a vigil outside Microsoft’s headquarters for Palestinians killed in Gaza — called the company’s latest statement contradictory last week. “In one breath, they claim that their technology is not being used to harm people in Gaza, while also admitting they don’t have insight into how their technologies are being used,” said Nasr. “It’s very clear that their intention with this statement is not to actually address their worker concerns, but rather to make a PR stunt to whitewash their image that has been tarnished by their relationship with the Israeli military.”Here is Joe Lopez’s email in full:Fellow Microsoft workers and Microsoft leadership, By now you may have seen or heard of my disruption at the Microsoft Build keynote this morning. I have been working as a firmware engineer under Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure (AHSI) for the past 4 years. As a Microsoft worker - while I’ve had positive experiences here, working and learning with many incredible people - I can no longer stand by in silence as Microsoft continues to facilitate Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.Like many of you, I have been watching the ongoing genocide in Gaza in horror. I have been shocked by the silence, inaction, and callousness of world leaders as Palestinian people are suffering, losing their lives and their homes while they plead for the rest of the world to pay attention and act.Like many of you, I have tried to do my part in small ways. Staying informed, sharing information with friends, signing petitions, making donations. All the while continuing my work at Microsoft.My disillusionment with MicrosoftThen I came across the No Azure for Apartheid movement, whose members have been organizing, taking action, and speaking out no matter the cost. I saw Ibtihal and Vaniya’s disruption of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary on April 4 and was shocked to hear the words coming from their mouths. Microsoft is killing kids? Is my work killing kids?I was also shocked by the silence of our leadership. By the silence of Mustafa Suleyman, Brad Smith, Kevin Scott, Scott Guthrie, and Satya Nadella. “Why aren’t they responding”? I asked myself. “If we are truly not guilty, shouldn’t they deny these horrible accusations?”I started to look deeper. I read the articles, saw the evidence, heard the testimonies of employees who were horrified to find out that the technology that we are building is being used by Israel in their mission to erase the Palestinian people.A switch had been flipped. Presented with this information, I went into work everyday plagued by thoughts of the suffering that is being inflicted by a United States-Israeli war machine that runs on Azure. I joined Microsoft because I truly believed that it was the “more ethical big tech”. I thought that the work that I was doing was empowering people, not causing harm.Microsoft’s admission of complicityMicrosoft recently uploaded a blog post, marking its first official response to the concerns that many have been shouting into their ears for years. Their statement falls far short of what we are demanding. Nontransparent audits into our cloud operations in Israel (conducted by no other than Microsoft itself and an unnamed external entity) that declare no wrongdoing by the company do not give me any sense of relief. In fact, this response has further compelled me to speak out. Microsoft openly admitted to allowing the Israel Ministry of Defense “special access to our technologies beyond the terms of our commercial agreements”. Do you really believe that this “special access” was allowed only once? What sort “special access” do they really need? And what are they doing with it?Leadership rejects our claims that Azure technology is being used to target or harm civilians in Gaza. Those of us who have been paying attention know that this is a bold-faced lie. Every byte of data that is stored on the cloud (much of it likely containing data obtained by illegal mass surveillance) can and will be used as justification to level cities and exterminate Palestinians. We don’t need an internal audit to know that a top Azure customer is committing crimes against humanity. We see it live on the internet every day.As one of the largest companies in the world, Microsoft has immeasurable power to do the right thing: demand an end to this senseless tragedy, or we will cease our technological support for Israel. If leadership continues to ignore this demand, I promise that it won’t go unnoticed. The world has already woken up to our complicity and is turning against us. The boycotts will increase and our image will continue to spiral into disrepair.Call to actionMy future children will one day ask me what I did for the Palestinian people as they were suffering and pleading for our help. I hope they will forgive me for my previous inaction. Many of you have children who may be asking you that question today. What will you tell them?As Israel continues its deadly blockade of Gaza, and Netanyahu continues to assert that he will not rest until Gaza is fully occupied, we know that this situation is beyond dire. I wouldn’t have risked my career and my livelihood if I didn’t believe that to the core of my being. It’s terrifying to speak up, especially right now. Imagine your home being demolished as soldiers stand by cheering.Your friends and family members dismembered by bombs that drop daily in your neighborhood.Every member of your community on the brink of death due to starvationStrangers staking claims to your home, awaiting your death.Wouldn’t you hope that someone would speak up for you?I recognize my privilege as a young person with little financial responsibility to anyone but myself and little risk of deportation as a US citizen. Not everyone can afford to do what I did without great risk to themselves and their family. But no act is too small when human lives are at stake. Sign the petition, join the movement, start the conversation with colleagues, please contribute whatever you can to the cause.I know many of you out there are also considering leaving Microsoft for the same reasons I am. You are not alone. If you find it is too debilitating to work at this company and you wish to leave, please lean on our campaign to support. If we continue to remain silent, we will pay for that silence with our humanity.Looking back, I’m ashamed of my past silence. But as the saying goes: “The best time to act was yesterday, the second best time is today.”Best,JoeSee More:

This list contains spoilers for the Mission: Impossible franchise.A new Mission: Impossible film is hitting theaters this month – the final one in the franchise, if we’re to believe Tom Cruise and the suits at Paramount – and if you’re like us, you’re probably knee deep in a series rewatch right now.The focus of the films, spectacular action set pieces aside, has been Cruise’s lead spy, Ethan Hunt. Fellow team agents have often come and gone, and supposedly impossible missions have varied time after time, but Ethan has remained. The only other constant has been a steady supply of villains – men and women with big plans fueled by greed and/or malice, who think they’ll be the one to outwit, outsmart, and outrun Hunt. Fools.It might seem counterintuitive ranking the Mission: Impossible villains under the banner of “best,” but every great hero needs an equally great villain. Numerous elements come into play when determining the best villain, but we’re zeroing in on the scale of their threat, the weight of the violence (both physical and emotional) they commit against Hunt and his team, and the palpable degree of villainous charisma they exhibit.So cue up that classic Lalo Schifrin theme, here are the 10 Best Mission: Impossible Villains, Ranked!Top 10 Mission Impossible Villains10. A.I. The Entity (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 | Runtime: 163 mins“A self-aware, self-learning, truth-eating digital parasite infesting all of cyberspace” sounds like a pretty cool threat in any other high-octane thriller, but in the Mission: Impossible franchise it’s only good enough to land at number ten. It underwhelms compared to its human counterparts, because let’s be real – zeroes and ones ain’t got shit and madness and guns – but its power and immense reach are undeniable. The Entity began “life” as a digital weapon designed by the U.S. government before going rogue and hopping through cyberspace with the giddiness of a puppy experiencing its first snowfall.Most villainous act of villainy: While toying with and killing a submarine filled with Russian sailors is an act of murderous cruelty, it’s the Entity’s bigger, broader acts of deception that mark it as a true villain. Its early days of online manipulation saw it shifting public opinion and behavior through social media, and it’s a brutal reminder of events in the real world. We live in a present where people with nefarious agendas are influencing easily shaped minds, and with the increased use of A.I. in our online dealings, it’s not hard to imagine something like the Entity stepping in and really turning our daily lives into a nightmare.Where to WatchPowered by9. John Musgrave (Mission: Impossible III)Director: J.J. Abrams | Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, and J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan | Release Date: May 5, 2006 | Runtime: 126 minsNot every villain has direct blood on his hands, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less dangerous. Musgrave is Hunt’s Operations Manager at the IMF, and it’s suggested they may even be minor friends – understandable as he’s played by Billy Crudup, and who wouldn’t want to be friends with Billy Crudup. He brings Hunt in on a mission to rescue one of his proteges, Lindsey Farris, and when that goes wrong and Hunt is blamed for the fallout, it’s Musgrave who helps the agent escape to pursue justice. See? A friend.Surprise! It’s all a ruse, and Musgrave is actually a traitor working with a man named Owen Davian on some elaborate plan to retrieve a piece of tech nicknamed “the rabbit’s foot.” Musgrave’s a hero in his own mind, though, as he’s hoping to use this as motivation for first strikes against enemy forces. He wants the U.S. and the IMF to play a more aggressive role in the fight against terrorism, and if that means supporting terrorists along the way, well, he’s all for it.Most villainous act of villainy: Musgrave might think his heart is in the right place here, but in addition to enabling a murderous terrorist in Davian, he crosses an equally big line by pulling Ethan’s wife, Julia, into danger. Worse, he lets Davian shoot Julia in the head right in front of Hunt. Sure, she’s revealed to have been a minor henchwoman in a mask, but the emotional damage is real.Mission: Impossible IIIParamount PicturesMay 5, 2006PG-13Where to WatchPowered by8. Kurt Hendricks (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol)Director: Brad Bird | Writer: Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec | Stars: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvist | Release Date: December 21, 2011 | Runtime: 132 minsWhile some villains act out of greed and others cause misery simply for the fun of it, Kurt Hendricks is a man who only wants the best for humanity. What is the best, you ask? Well, in Hendricks’ mind, our species would benefit from something of a cleanse. From the great biblical flood to the atomic bombing of Japanese cities during World War II, immense disasters lead to rebuilding, recovery, and real improvement… apparently.Sounds logical, so Hendricks sets out to trigger just such a global debacle starting with a massive attack on the Kremlin in Moscow and leading to the acquisition of nuclear codes. He proves himself to be one of the greatest threats Ethan Hunt has faced to that point.Except, and this is where casting comes into serious play, the film wants us to see him as a physical threat to Hunt – but that’s nearly impossible. Michael Nyqvist was a fantastic actor, and he makes for a compelling villain through dialogue and intent. But a serious contender in a fight with Cruise? It’s difficult to buy, but that doesn’t stop director Brad Bird from letting him go toe to toe with the film’s star for a weirdly long fight. (To be fair, Chad Stahelski started it by letting Nyqvist seemingly hold his own for a bit with Keanu Reeves in John Wick.) So, while Hendricks is a grand threat on the world stage, he tumbles some in the ranking here as an unserious brawler against the highly trained and in far better shape Hunt. Most villainous act of villainy: Like Musgrave above, Hendricks seriously thinks he’s doing the world a favor by causing harm. His final act results in a nuclear missile being fired towards San Francisco, something that would have killed tens of thousands of people immediately before triggering the death of millions more. That’s no small thing, and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling IMF agents.Where to WatchPowered by7. August Walker (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 27, 2018 | Runtime: 147 minsHunt and his IMF team have been betrayed by double agents and traitors on numerous occasions, but most of them are greedy middle-aged men in suits who don’t pose an immediate physical threat to our intrepid hero. August Walker is something different entirely. He towers over Hunt and is jacked from his mustache on down. Henry Cavill’s portrayal ensures that he’s already menacing even while pretending to be on Hunt’s side, but once the truth comes out, the gloves come off.Walker is revealed to be working in cahoots with the brilliant Solomon Lane, and together they frame Hunt and once again pull the love of his life, Julia, into harm’s way. His motivation for it all is a bit over the top and dramatic – he wants the old world to implode and give rise to something better – but what else would you expect from a man who seems to cock his arms like guns during fist fights.Most villainous act of villainy: Walker and Lane are planning to detonate nuclear bombs, and while the latter stays behind to die in his greatest act of terror, Walker is on a chopper heading to safety. Hunt, of course, catches up to him in pursuit of the detonator that’s needed to stop the countdown. While Walker could have easily escaped by giving up the detonator, his desire to cause suffering – especially Hunt’s suffering if Julia were to die – leads him to a one-on-one fight to the death with the agent. It’s a decision built on rage and self-righteous justification, and it rightfully ends in his painful demise.Mission: Impossible - FalloutParamount PicturesJul 27, 2018Where to WatchPowered by6. Paris (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 | Runtime: 163 minsWhen it comes to villains in the Mission: Impossible universe, few can touch Pom Klementieff’s Paris on style and charisma points. A henchwoman to Gabriel, she lets her gleefully murderous skillset do most of her talking, and it’s a refreshing change of pace from baddies who seem compelled to share their life stories before pulling a trigger.Her costume and face makeup see her stand apart from the crowd, but don’t let her doll-like appearance fool you. Paris is a merciless fighter who refuses to quit despite the odds, as evidenced by a shootout and car chase in Rome that sees her literally plowing through obstacles both human and otherwise in her pursuit of Hunt. Most villainous act of villainy: While Paris makes mincemeat out of numerous threats, she ultimately succumbs to Hunt during an alleyway brawl. He spares her life, though, and after being punished by Gabriel – he basically tries to kill her – she chooses to betray both him and her villainous tendencies by saving Hunt’s life. Maybe I’m stretching the definition here, but it takes a real badass to turn your back on villainy with the discovery of unexpected morals and a change of heart.Where to WatchPowered by5. Gabriel (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 & May 23, 2025 | Runtime: 163 mins & 169 minsThe mysterious Gabriel arrives in the penultimate entry of the franchise, and he’s a man with deadly skills and an alliance with the Entity. He also comes with a backstory suggesting an integral role in Ethan Hunt’s life. It seems Gabriel killed a woman named Marie thirty years ago, someone Hunt was apparently fond of, and it’s that murder that landed Hunt at the IMF – where he went on to save thousands of lives. Hundreds of thousands, even. So maybe Gabriel is a hero? I kid, I kid.He’s obviously a villain, and he may even be something of a seer (?), but while his late-to-the-party franchise arrival unavoidably undercuts his dramatic weight, the character’s casting lifts Gabriel right back up again. Esai Morales brings real charm and a calm menace to the character, and it’s immediately made clear that he’s not someone to be trifled with. You believe both his physical abilities and deadly intentions, and Morales’ added dramatic weight makes him a real threat to Hunt. He also earns a bump in the rankings by gifting viewers with the best, most unforgettable villain death in the entire franchise.Most villainous act of villainy: Gabriel’s killed a lot of people, and he even destroyed a rolling Agatha Christie landmark, so it’s clear he’s a bad guy. His most vicious act, though, comes as a bookend to having “fridged” Marie three decades earlier. Gabriel threatens to do it again by killing either Ilsa or Grace – Hunt’s current love interest or the woman who just landed in his lap mere hours ago – and while the film wants to trick viewers into thinking it’s going to be the latter, it’s Ilsa who dies by Gabriel’s blade instead. McQuarrie and Cruise are obviously the real villains here for introducing this tired trope of a woman’s death being responsible for a man’s life, but it’s ultimately Gabriel who thrusts the knife into Ilsa’s gut. It could have been Grace who died. Hell, it should have been Benji. Instead, Gabriel extinguishes the franchise’s brightest flame this side of Hunt himself. J’accuse!Where to WatchPowered byNot yet available for streaming.4. Jim Phelps (Mission: Impossible)Director: Brian De Palma | Writer: David KoeppSteven Zaillian, and Robert Towne | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno | Release Date: May 22, 1996 | Runtime: 110 minsJim Phelps wasn’t the only friend/fellow agent to betray Hunt over the years, but he was the first – and arguably the most shocking. The character, as played by Peter Graves, was the IMF’s lead agent for the bulk of the television series’ seven-season run from 1966 to 1973. He was unquestionably a good guy, so there was no reason to suspect that his presence in the first Mission: Impossible film would be anything different – well, Jon Voight in the role was probably a clue.Audiences expected Phelps to essentially hand the reins over to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, but while he did just that, he did so with a major act of betrayal. As he tells Hunt once his ruse is discovered, the end of the Cold War threatens to end the need for the IMF – this is as naive a statement as ever uttered in the entirety of the franchise – and he was worried about becoming a relic barely scraping by on sixty-two thousand dollars a year.Most villainous act of villainy: The betrayal itself is already brutal as Phelps turns his back on friends and agents who’ve risked their lives together over the years, but it’s the specifics of his traitorous act that hits hardest. In his effort to frame someone else for his crime, Phelps kills off three members of his team during an operation and then fakes his own death. What could have been a simple theft, instead becomes an act of cruelty making his betrayal sting even more.Where to WatchPowered by3. Sean Ambrose (Mission: Impossible II)Director: John Woo | Writer: Robert Towne | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Ving Rhames | Release Date: May 24, 2000 | Runtime: 123 mins“That was always the hardest part of having to portray you,” says ex-IMF agent Sean Ambrose to a beaten and angered Ethan Hunt, “grinning like an idiot every fifteen minutes.” That line alone makes Ambrose a top villain as it’s a terrific zing at both Hunt and Cruise himself. He’s equally dismissive of women as evidenced by his comment that they’re like monkeys when it comes to the men in their lives, that they “won’t let go of one branch until they get a grip on the next.” Say what you will about his greedy desires, but Ambrose (Dougray Scott) understands the assignment when it comes to being a charismatic villain.That greed has led him to steal a deadly plague with plans to unleash it on whole populations if his demands aren’t met. While cash money is his primary motivator, though, Ambrose also seems fueled by a splash of jealousy towards Hunt. That makes their faceoffs all the more entertaining whether they’re jousting on motorcycles or sharing beatdowns in the sand as only the great John Woo can capture it.Most villainous act of villainy: The film opens with Ambrose masquerading as Hunt in order to acquire the Chimera plague, but rather than just kill one man, Ambrose and his team crash an entire passenger jet filled with innocent civilians. Acts of terror would claim higher body counts in later films, but this puts faces to the dead in a far more direct way making it more personal and affecting.Mission: Impossible IIParamount PicturesMay 24, 2000PG-13Where to WatchPowered by2. Solomon Lane (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris | Release Date: July 31, 2015 & July 27, 2018 | Runtime: 131 mins & 147 minsWhether due to low pay or poor benefits, the world is seemingly overflowing with ex-government employees ready and willing to betray their nations and jump on the train to villain town. Solomon Lane is one such agent, but he goes a step or three further by helping create an organization called The Syndicate that’s built entirely on those bitter, trigger happy ex-agents. They want to sow chaos and reap financial rewards, and they’ve been doing it for years.Lane is introduced killing a young, unarmed female agent right in front of Hunt, and it’s soon revealed that he’s responsible for thousands of deaths over the years through events made to look like accidents or the work of wholly unrelated perpetrators. Lane’s history of manipulating trust and the world’s various systems makes him one of the most dangerous villains in the franchise. He’s ahead of Hunt at every step, and his mantra – “The greater the suffering, the greater the peace.” – marks him as a man willing to do anything to accomplish his goals.While many actors go big playing villains, Sean Harris takes the opposite approach and makes Lane a weasel of a man who you just want to see get beaten senseless. It’s an unusually bold choice that leaves him without a darkly appealing persona or personality – he’s just a very bad man who couldn’t care less about you or your loved ones.Most villainous act of villainy: As the rare villain to be an active threat across more than one film, Lane inflicts plenty of pain, suffering, and stress on Hunt and his team. The bulk of his evil acts were committed before Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation even begins, but his cruelest and most personal action unfolds during the followup, Fallout. Along with August Walker, Lane manages to activate two nuclear bombs threatening not only the water supply for billions of people, but also the life of Hunt’s greatest love, Julia. Seeing her in harm’s way is the kind of gut punch that Hunt felt only once before, and it’s clear just how sorry he is that his choices have once again brought her so close to dying.Where to WatchPowered by1. Owen Davian (Mission: Impossible III)Director: J.J. Abrams | Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, and J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan | Release Date: May 5, 2006 | Runtime: 126 minsThere’s a lot of competition when it comes to selecting the best villain in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but there was never any doubt who’d land at the top of the heap. Davian doesn’t care about much beyond his own wants and needs, and the film reflects that by never revealing exactly what his end goal is – we know he wants the so-called rabbit’s foot, but what it is and what it does are never made clear. We just know that Davian will cut through anyone and anything to get it, and that makes him an exceptionally dangerous man.J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III is unfairly maligned, but even those underwhelmed by the film itself can’t help but applaud Philip Seymour Hall’s frighteningly effective and highly entertaining portrayal of Davian. His blistering stares, his lightning quick shifts from dead silence to raging outbursts, and his deceptively calm way of threatening everything that Hunt holds dear all work to make him a villain who commands the screen and even steals every scene from Cruise himself.There may not be a big, global threat at play here, but Davian is the man who arguably gets closer than any other villain to actually killing Hunt. He injects the agent’s head with an explosive device that gets within seconds of churning Hunt’s brain tissue into ground beef, and he even gets some serious licks in while brawling. You wouldn’t think a Cruise versus Hoffman fight would convince, but the latter’s pure ferocity paired with Hunt’s incapacitation due to the pain in his head makes for a viciously compelling bout.Most villainous act of villainy: Davian is a mean bastard who, while still in restraints, coldly threatens to murder Hunt’s fiance Julia. “I’m gonna make her bleed and cry and call out your name”, he says, and it’s one of the few times where Hunt’s legendary control tips into real fear and emotion. Davian later comes close to doing just that after abducting Julia, tying her up, and appearing to shoot her in the head. Hunt’s pain is palpable, and it’s enough to damage his heart to the point that he’d go on to never let someone that close again. Davian has literally halted Hunt’s ability to connect with someone on a deeply personal level, and it’s the kind of attack that bullets and bombs just can’t compete with.Mission: Impossible IIIParamount PicturesMay 5, 2006PG-13Where to WatchPowered by

In recent days, it has become nearly impossible to move through the world without being confronted by the latest high-profile case of interpersonal violence — the ongoing trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs, following the harrowing testimony of singer Cassie Ventura, Diddy's ex-wife. Ventura's detailed allegations of prolonged abuse, coercion, and exploitation have dominated headlines and social media feeds, making the coverage inescapable. For many, this constant exposure brings up waves of complex feelings, including pain, anger, confusion, or even numbness. And for those of us with a personal history of trauma, these waves may at times feel like a tsunami.This collective reaction is not only understandable, it’s deeply human.As a trauma therapist and mental health professional who has worked alongside hundreds of survivors of interpersonal violence with a focus on human trafficking and sexual violence, I want to offer a framework for understanding what many of us are experiencing, and gentle tools for protecting our mental health as we navigate this moment. You May Also Like Our reactions are personal and validThere is no single way to respond to trauma exposure. Our reactions are shaped by our own lived experiences, including any past histories of violence. They are intersectional based on our identities, the communities we belong to, and the broader histories of injustice we carry. They are also adaptive as our minds are constantly working to make meaning, to find understanding, and ultimately, to protect us.Sometimes, this means we feel an intense pull to learn more. We read every article, scroll through every comment thread, or watch every video in the hope that information might help us feel a little safer, more in control, or closer to justice. This search for meaning is not a flaw; it is a natural function of a brain seeking safety and clarity in a world that can often feel unsafe and chaotic.When meaning-making becomes overexposureThere can be a point where our quest for meaning tips into overexposure, sending us into a state of disregulation. Even when we’re not seeking it out, constant exposure to the Diddy trial coverage can have an impact on our mental health. As we find ourselves reading one more post, watching one more reel, and clicking one more headline, the exposure adds up and our nervous system, especially those who have experienced past trauma, becomes activated.  Mashable Trend Report: Coming Soon! Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! We begin to move outside our "window of tolerance,” a concept in trauma healing that describes the range of emotional states where we feel grounded and able to respond effectively to stress. When we're pushed beyond that range, we may shift into hyper-arousal, where we feel speedy, agitated, angry, panicked, or unable to stop scrolling. Or we might move into hypo-arousal, where we feel numb, detached, exhausted, or checked out.In hyper-arousal, we might feel compelled to argue with strangers in the comments section or rapidly consume articles. In hypo-arousal, we might shut down, avoid contact with others, or feel disconnected from our bodies and emotions. Both are nervous system responses to overwhelming situations, and both are signs that we need care, not judgment.Recognizing disregulationHere are a few signs that our media consumption may be impacting our mental health:Losing track of time while reading about the caseFeeling emotionally exhausted or detached after reading updatesTrouble sleeping or concentrating after trial exposure Thoughts of our own past experiences of violence arising Spiraling into despair, hopelessness, rage, or any intense emotional stateFeeling disconnected from your bodyIf you recognize yourself in any of these, you are not alone. This response is an adaptive human reaction to graphic trauma exposure. Related Stories Tools for regulation and grounding Caring for ourselves in the face of the Diddy trial coverage means tending to our nervous systems. Here are a few ways to support our well-being:Create social media boundaries. Consider limiting screen time, setting app timers, or pausing before engaging with sensitive content. Check in with your body. Are you breathing shallowly? Clenching your jaw? Holding tension? Gentle movement, deep breathing, or stretching can help regulate our nervous system and bring us back into the present moment. Name your feelings. Say them out loud or write them down. Naming emotions helps us metabolize them. If you’re having trouble identifying them, try looking at the emotions wheel. Protect your peace in comment sections. Online space, especially comment threads, can reflect common misconceptions about violence that place undue scrutiny on survivors rather than those who caused harm. It’s okay to disengage from these conversations. Preserving your mental health does not mean you care any less; it means you are choosing where to place your energy.Reach out. Talk to someone you trust. Community care is essential to healing.Practice grounding. Sensory-based techniques like holding a cold object, naming five things you see, and engaging your full five senses can bring you back into your body.Seek support. Whether through therapy, community support, or a trusted friend, reaching out to others to process what is happening can be an important lifeline. At the Sanar Institute, we specialize in providing this type of trauma-specific care to ensure that individuals and communities that have experienced interpersonal violence have access to life-changing support.A call for collective compassionAs we navigate through this trial, this is an invitation to us all: we do not need to consume every update to care deeply about what happened. We are allowed to set boundaries. We are allowed to care for our bodies, our spirits, and to prioritize our psychological safety.Each of us processes trauma exposure differently. Let’s offer compassion for our own responses and grace for the ways others may be showing up. The goal isn’t to disconnect from the world but to stay rooted in it, with care.Kate Keisel, LCSW is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of the Sanar Institute, which creates holistic access to trauma-conscious and person-centered care to support individuals and communities healing from the traumatic events of interpersonal violence. This column represents the opinion of the author. Topics Social Good Social Media