Clem and Crystal

United States
April 11, 2007 3:05am CST
Everyone who has ever played Psychonauts will know and loath the cheerleading duo. "Punch it, Raz!" is their cry as you complete a drill in Coach Oleander's mind. "Punch, punch, punch!" Their delightfully idiotic ways will soon become familiar to you, but is there a side to Clem and Crystal that we never see? Yes, there is, if we look carefully: When using the clairvoyance power, we see that Clem and Crystal see all other campers as football players, or all-stars. Through various campers, we discover that Clem and Crystal are the least powerful psychics in the entire camp. Later, we see them mixing what appears to be poison into several beakers! The plot thickens. The culmination comes when we sight the dumbnamic duo atop the camp lodge- "What could they be doing up there?" we ask. To investigate, we head on up and listen to their conversation. "I'm so happy, Clem," says Crystal. "Me too, Crystal," replies Clem. "Just think of how powerful we'll become." "Yeah. So, are you ready?" Aha! Now it becomes clear! Clem and Crystal both have suicidal, homicidal tendencies, and mask it with their cheerleader personas. The final confirmation comes when, when Clem is re-brained, he rushes off quickly, muttering Crystal's name, saying that she might hurt herself. Clem is Crystal's safeguard, apparently. Then, when Crystal is re-brained, she says, "OMG! I feel so stupid for throwing myself off that building!" "Why did you throw yourself off of a building?" asks an incredulous Raz. "Duh, because the poison didn't work!" Crystal replies emphatically. "I bet the others could do with some leet (1337) cheering right now!" All is now clear: Clem and Crystal see themselves as inadequate, and as the others as all-stars. They pander to their homicidal and suicidal sides, attempting both in efforts to become stronger. They both suffer from extreme depression, and act as friends and helpers- Clem stops Crystal from hurting herself, and Crystal stops Clem from hurting others. But do we really know all about Psychonauts' mysterious duo? The answer is probably no. Please discuss all about Clem and Crystal, surely two of Psychonauts' most interesting characters.
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