March 15th
Today's challenge is: Favorite Protagonist
I was dreading this one ever since I looked at Trevor's meme template for the challenge. It's also been a topic of discussion with fellow gamers, since for years I couldn't really think of a protagonist I was that much a fan of. Deuteragonists are another story entirely, but protagonists, I can think of some pretty good ones, but none truly satisfying, considering I can only pick one.
On top of that, I threw myself 3 dumbass rules for today's theme, and it made it quite a bit harder. The main character had to originate from the game and not from another medium, the game also had to have been released physically, and most of all, it had to be a girl. So, why the last one? Because while I can actually think of some great male characters, I've also picked the girl first in any game I could choose to (unless she was lame or if there was a ninja guy instead), and thus, picking a guy would feel like betraying myself. I didn't want to make this a waifu pick however, so this has nothing to do with it.
Before I get down with the main topic, here are some of the characters I was considering (this post is gonna be really long I'm afraid). First, there was my safety option, Aya Brea from the Parasite Eve franchise. She's not the best character ever, but I got into her world a whole lot and absolutely enjoyed her perspective of being thrown into the fray alone simply because she was naturally the only one with the means to survive the challenge. Whether or not she was the protagonist of The 3rd Birthday (fantastic game that is grossly overrated, by the way) is debatable, but despite her acute gasp syndrome, she was still awesome for the same reason.
Next, there's Ashley Mizuki Robbins, from Trace Memory. She had a fun sense of humor, and displayed a wide range of emotions that you could always relate to. You could make a similar case for Max Caulfield from Life is Strange, which was fantastic (and the cel shaded graphics probably made me appreciate her a lot more, as they really eased my way in my immersion).
As far as retro games, Ellinor Waizen from the Aleste series (specifically, from MUSHA) left a great impression on me. I thought her circumstances were quite epic, and as weird as it sounds, I loved how fucked up she got through the game. It's not that I enjoy girls getting hurt, but pushing through the pain and stuff like that is just a great heroic trait regardless of the gender, and it's not something you'd often see in games like this. For example, I think Samus Aran would be multiple times more badass if she finished the game bloodied and beaten up.
Then for some left field options, I think Neptune from the Hyperdimension franchise is incredible in her own right. She's mostly a quirky parody character, and how much she (and the other characters) make fun of other gaming related companies, games or events was a guilty pleasure for me.
These are a but a few examples of protags I had in mind, but none of them felt right for today. So how did I make up my mind? Well, I asked Thesunfan for a fresh perspective on the topic, and while we both didn't know how well it would turn out, it definitely did clear up my thoughts. Therefore, I will talk about Faith Connors' debut game,
Mirror's Edge.
Faith is not really the greatest main character ever, and nowhere close to that if you ask me. However, a lot of things were done right with her design. She wasn't the kind of character you're supposed to project into, but a character that tries to tell you her story, which is something I MUCH prefer over the former option. There aren't that many flaws I can point out otherwise, other that she's a little too much of an edgelord sometimes, but she's interesting enough, and her looks are appropriate for the kind of game she stars in.
About Mirror's Edge itself. Well, that's another game that completely changed my life. I had the chance to play the pre release demo on launch and on a few occasions afterwards on my friend's PS3, and I knew I had to buy the console just to play that one game. It took a little while for that to happen however, and sure, it did come out on PC and Xbox 360, and at the time, it might not have bothered me a whole lot to pick either of those systems, but I was slowly getting interested in the trophy system.
So yes, I ended up buying a brand new PS3 on a random whim while at Best Buy simply because I was craving this game too much. Also bought my first flatscreen the next day. And yes, this is THE game that got me into trophy hunting, which is the one activity I ended up dedicating myself to the most in my entire life. I'm currently sitting at 151 platinums, and I'd have exactly zero if this game didn't come into my life.
Anyway, what is Mirror's Edge, exactly? And why did it speak to me this much? Well, the sum of my gaming experience led me to imagine something like this, and when I saw it, if felt like getting my dreams served on a silver plate in the form of a Blu Ray disc. It's a first person, high speed parkour game, with minor combat mechanics and extremely stimulating yet minimalistic graphics. The controls are a little janky, but they work perfectly when it comes to making the player feel fully immersed into the action.
The story isn't all that great, and the characters are all kind of lame, but the universe is the best representation of a dystopian future I had ever seen until its reboot came out (sorry Cyberpunk, but you can't touch this thing). The way sound effects are used is unbeatable by any game ever. The cutscenes are animated in a different style entirely, but it was a nice artistic choice. And honestly, if it wasn't for the impact this game had on my life, I might have actually leaned towards Mirror's Edge: Catalyst instead. Sure, you couldn't use a gun in that one, but the free roaming was a major upgrade, and HOLY SHIT that last mission. The sense of vertigo was always a fantastic aspect of the game, but it outdid itself there.
Now, if this franchise gave me full VR support, and did it well, it might jump dangerously close to being my favorite franchise ever, but regardless, I will forever cherish this title, and I'm 200% sure it will forever be my favorite game of the 7th generation for video game, as well as having a solid spot in my top 5 games of all time. It's this fucking good.
As mentionned before, it's available on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
