|
It's important to have a good main character in any type of story. That doesn't necessarily always mean a righteous and justice oriented character, but a complex, interesting character. After all, especially in video games, this main character's going to be onscreen for more than fifty percent of the time you play; it usually helps in the enjoyment of the game if you at least can tolerate him/her. But the mold for main characters' personalities in RPGs tends to be reused. A lot. You know the standard one. A good hearted lad (girls are reserved for side character spots) who usually comes from a small but friendly village (that, with luck, will be destroyed early on in the game, just to give our hero some angst to work with) and has a hefty sense of right over wrong. I don't mind this character type too much. He's usually likable enough, and makes for a good hero that everyone believes in. You might also be aware of the angsty, chip-on-my-shoulder character type (Cloud, Squall, I'm looking at you). But, these types of main characters rarely stick out in my mind later on. I do have my favorites though, but they don't really fall neatly into either category.
My favorite Final Fantasy was Final Fantasy IX, and this was mostly due to its odd character design and my love of its main character. Cloud and Squall are both alright characters in my book, but boy, can they get depressing to listen to. In comparison, Zidane was a refreshing change of pace. He was cheerful with a good portion of mischief mixed in. He was street-wise. He was one of the few main heroes in an RPG to not use a sword (yea for daggers!). And he had a tail. He won me over early, and (save for a slightly pathetic meltdown concerning Garnet at one point of the game) was a wonderfully warm and funny character. I wanted so badly to see him make an appearance in the Kingdom Hearts games (I haven't finished the second one. Does he show up?).
I don't get why people say it's so hard to find the first Shadow Hearts games. I see it every time I go to Gamestop. Anyhow, I got my copy long before Covenant was announced. I wasn't sure what I was getting into. But I realized quickly that my hero for the ride, Yuri, was not quite by the book. He seemed a bit...uncouth. Ill-mannered. Cocky. Of course, when your main character entertains ideas about groping the female lead while she unconscious, you start to wonder about his morals. Emotionally, he's an awkward young man who tends to stumble. But Yuri proves his capacity to do good, and just how deeply he can care about others. His immensely strong feelings are probably as much of a flaw as they are an asset.
And then there's Laharl from Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. The most headstrong, full of himself, brat of a character you can find. To say he has delusions of grandeur is to belittle the magnitude of his ambitions. The kid is the son of the king of the underworld, after all. And he's out to get what's his, no matter how many demons he has to plow down in the process. And yet, Laharl still has a spark of kindness inside him. It's not something he likes to entertain, but despite his best attempts, he will let it through when it's needed most. Of course, no one wants Laharl to turn into a totally good person. His snarky, bad-tempered, and destructive nature is what makes him such a fun character, complete with an evil laugh that you can't help but chuckle at. It's got so much gusto behind it.
Those are the few that stick out in my mind. Chopin from Eternal Sonata and Keats from Folklore also seem like intriguing characters I would like, but unfortunately I have yet to play those two games. But it's always great to play an RPG with a hero that you really end up liking, rather than just saying, "Meh. I could take or leave him/her."
|
RSS feed
iTunes
