Cliche Hero or Mentally Unbalanced Hero? You decide

by Gabriel Ang

Over the years we have seen the slow but steady evolution of the RPG hero. These heroes were made to cater to the desires of those who wanted to play them. There were swordsmen, axe-wielders, thieves and gunners among others, yet we could see that their personalities and backgrounds were quite limited. This was mostly due to the rather limited data space of the game mediums then which were barely exceeding single digit megabit ranges. Other factors were the relatively small number of development staff, the small market size of that era and their limited resources. Faced with these obstacles, game developers needed games populated with appealing characters while staying within their limits. This is why they went with the tried and tested character format found in many fantasy novels: The Pure-Hearted Hero (PHH). This character format stayed with them for many years and is still in use today. However, with the growing popularity of RPG's in the 1990's, game developers could get bigger and more talented staff, more money, and had access to a larger and more diverse market. And thus they found time to develop new character formats which I generally call the Real-Person Hero (RPH). Of course the RPH came into conflict with the more traditional PHH, as the more veteran players were more in favor of the old Hero. The newbies of the RPG age would then argue that the RPH was a sign of the times, and Heroes needed to evolve. Which is better, in truth?

The Pure-Hearted Hero falls into the concept that I call the "What We Want to Be" mentality. One of the main reasons why this hero archetype is so popular is because he reflects the greatness and outworldliness that many of us so desire. This is in retrospect to our seemingly dull and boring lives as compared to them. In a sense, they are the epitome of perfection that we want to be. In most cases they do the good deeds that need to be done, not for some personal gain, but because he/she believes it is righteous. He does it out of the goodness of his heart, and has no ulterior motive for doing so. During the course of the game he/she traditionally isn't swayed to evil or doubt by the outside forces, and thus is almost completely infallible. One more recent example of this would be Vyse of Skies of Arcadia. In a few words, he is what we long to be but we cannot achieve in this world, but the game gives the chance to live the greatness that we ourselves cannot reach.

Now the Real Person Hero is a more complex archetype, and he/she falls into what I call the "Who We Are" Mentally. He/She is very popular for the fact that he/she reflects the person within the player. The Hero is no God or Superman with rockhard abs and a (completely) pure heart. This Hero goes through the same angst, emotional stress and trauma, loneliness and doubt that we all feel. Basically speaking, the hero goes through the same things in life that we ourselves go through. At times the hero questions his/her existence and purpose, fails his/her allies and friends, becomes afraid of the road ahead, doubts his/her abilities, lies to him/herself and even at times gives up completely. It is in his/her imperfection that we find ourselves reflected, and because of that we become attached to him/her and wish to play ahead and unravel the future of the Hero and his/her party. Probably the most widely known, though rather eccentric, example of this would have to be Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife. On a side note, the name "Strife" already denotes some kind of strife in the game, notably in himself.

Of course I'm just speaking purely from personal opinions and from my observations of other games, and reasons may differ to different people, but one thing I am certain of: RPG heroes are reflections of our inner selves. It is in their uniqueness and deepness, whether they be some legendary holy warrior or some street punk, that make them so appealing to gamers everywhere. They are our avatars in the game and help us achieve great goals. The different kinds of characters appeal to different gamers and their own personalities. This is why I can say that niether type of hero is better. It all depends on the player. The greatness of the hero is dependent on the one who assumes him.