Power armoured marine or girlish boy with big sword?

[rossatdi]

This wasn't supposed to be just an attack on generic Japanese heroes. It was an attack on both! The coolest bloody protagonist of the gaming world is a physicist with ginger hair and glasses - why can't we have poor interesting heroes on both sides?

Nero is a good recent example. And the washer-woman looking guy from the last Dragon Quest grind-a-thon. And all the Final Fantasy games I've seen since 7. And Infinite Undiscovery.

 

[khululy]

I still think Earthworm jim is the best character in a super armor

 

[BigKingBob]

The problem I have with most JRPG characters (although I'm by no means experienced) is that they are so unrealistic, even from the POV of other computergames, that I cant identify with them nor can I suspend my disbelief.

I dont see how a 5'6" tall, 130 lb 15 yr old with a 50/60 lb longsword is even feasible as a hero, let alone one that will save the world and beat up giant monsters and the like.

Whereas if you take a space marine for example (I'm a big 40k geek) then you have someone that was abducted from their homes at the age of 12, messed around with genetically until they have 2 hearts, 3 lungs, a skeleton made of a combination of ceramics and metal, super dense muscle fibres, a super-hyperactive metabolism and a bony carapace under his skin.

He has no (functional) reproductive system, has been psychologically screwed with until he has an OCD about war and fighting and he has to constantly shield his mind against temptations because if he loses it then he will go mad on a big scale.

Add in the fact he uses a 0.75 cal assault rifle, can spit acid and has been given a hyperadvanced suit of armour that gives him the edge he needs to be able to puch through the side of a battletank.

This is a hero I can get behind. He has a tragic past and a gloomy future, he will die in battle at some point. He has flaws and problems and lives a desperately sparse and unforgiving life. Add into the fact that he can lift a truck over his head, sustain unbelievable amount of damage and survive and suddenly my ridiculously high health bar now makes sense.

If I'm honest then something like that isnt so interesting to play, the best characters are the everyman characters like gordon freeman, max payne and the like. But I'd much rather have some uberpowerful but semibelievable hero than some mincing nancy boy with an overlarge sword, a tonne of hairgel on his head and some father issues.

Especially when I know that if it came down to it I could kick his arse from here to next friday, thats not a hero, thats one of the whiny twats I never talked to in high school.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

While I am tired of the "tormented girly boy" I'm EQUALLY tired of the "badass space marine"

I'd rather play...
- Spoiled royalty forced to deal with the consequences of his selfish actions.
- A suave airship captain who fancies himself the leading man.
- The princess of a conquored kingdom desperately trying to free her people.
- A mousy robotics scientist caught up in events far beyond her control.
- A sarcastic martial artist who can transform into demons.
- A gay pro wrestler superhero vampire
- An outcast kid with horns
- A quippy everyman adventurer

 

[cainx10a]

The problem I have with most JRPG characters (although I'm by no means experienced) is that they are so unrealistic, even from the POV of other computergames, that I cant identify with them nor can I suspend my disbelief.

I dont see how a 5'6" tall, 130 lb 15 yr old with a 50/60 lb longsword is even feasible as a hero, let alone one that will save the world and beat up giant monsters and the like.

Whereas if you take a space marine for example (I'm a big 40k geek) then you have someone that was abducted from their homes at the age of 12, messed around with genetically until they have 2 hearts, 3 lungs, a skeleton made of a combination of ceramics and metal, super dense muscle fibres, a super-hyperactive metabolism and a bony carapace under his skin.

He has no (functional) reproductive system, has been psychologically screwed with until he has an OCD about war and fighting and he has to constantly shield his mind against temptations because if he loses it then he will go mad on a big scale.

Add in the fact he uses a 0.75 cal assault rifle, can spit acid and has been given a hyperadvanced suit of armour that gives him the edge he needs to be able to puch through the side of a battletank.

This is a hero I can get behind. He has a tragic past and a gloomy future, he will die in battle at some point. He has flaws and problems and lives a desperately sparse and unforgiving life. Add into the fact that he can lift a truck over his head, sustain unbelievable amount of damage and survive and suddenly my ridiculously high health bar now makes sense.

If I'm honest then something like that isnt so interesting to play, the best characters are the everyman characters like gordon freeman, max payne and the like. But I'd much rather have some uberpowerful but semibelievable hero than some mincing nancy boy with an overlarge sword, a tonne of hairgel on his head and some father issues.

Especially when I know that if it came down to it I could kick his arse from here to next friday, thats not a hero, thats one of the whiny twats I never talked to in high school.

Just because he is a badass doesn't make him a hero, Space Marines remind of me of Japanese soldiers during WW2, thinking their emperor is god, and his will is supreme. They are just mindless killing machines, like any other W40K races, maybe except for the Tyranids, they just want to eat.

On Topic: I don't care, as long as the gameplay is fun, story is immersive, and characters doesn't come off as whiny little dudes or bunch of patriotics zealots, then this will a damn good game to play. And yes, I prefer fantasy/sci-fi games over realistic ones, I fail to see the fun in realism really.

 

[The Thief]

Armored girly space marine with a huge sword!

I prefer whatever fits the story/game. If you're in space fighting aliens, why not be a space marine? Also, if you're in a super-stylized fantasy world you should definitely have the biggest sword possible.

 

[rossatdi]

They have those!
http://uk.games-workshop.com/witchhunters/getting-started/images/sister-big.jpg

 

[Iron Mal]

I'll have to go with the power armored marine, mostly because that suggests the game is going to be a shooter (not a bad assumption) which happens to be my favorite genre, the girlish boy with the huge sword...more likly to be a JRPG (not my favorite genre).

That and the fact that if you were given the choice of who you would want to send on a journy to save mankind from destruction...I would go with the guy who gets paid to kill anything 20 times bigger than himself rather than the fairy obsessed farmboy who has dreams of being a knight/warrior/insurance salesman and has determination.

 

[RedBeta22]

An armored space marine.

 

[nathan-dts]

I have some emotions about him too - most of them disgust. At least the Japanese guys aren't arrogant.

I really aspire to be as big a SONY fanboy as you. (not sarcastic even though it seems it

 

[Myself0101]

halo is crap, just so you know! on and i accidently clicked report on your thread, so sorry about that...

 

[DarkLordofDevon]

How about a mix? A power armoured girlish boy with a normal sword?

I have nothing against either. Its fun to send legions of Marines into battle, or use one to slaughter hords of enemy aliens, but its also a laugh to mow down enemies with a sword that defies physics.

Each game style has its merits.

Then again, I prefer playing the badguys, so if I had a little more selection I'd choose some evil psychopath with undead legions and the power to rip citys in half >

 

[Kahuna-Kurt]

My personal favorite is your character in the fable franchise. Yeah, swords that are at least possible as aposed to swords the size of a toyota. having guns where the weilder isn't a zealot or a doomed orphan taken into the military who will die in a big explosion/implosion. Also you make your character who they are, not a stereotype.(at least I hope that's true for fable 2)

But what I'm trying to get at is a character where the player makes them who they are in order to match the stlye of the player.As in evil baby eater, militant, stereotype, or the pope.

 

[pieeater911]

I like playing characters and playing with other characters who feel realistic.

I don't really like playing as overly muscular manly men or annoying girly men. Then again, there aren't many characters who feel real at all in video games. I think I can count most of them on one hand.

Oh well.

 

[Redlac]

I don't care as long as the game is fun, so it doesn't matter if who I'm playing is a chap with spiky hair and a sword the same size as he is, or a dude who looks like he's been dragged through a hedge wielding a gun the same size as he is.

 

[Digitalpotato]

You know this is easily the first time I've ever actually heard something negative about the non-japanese-heroes, who tend to range from Sock Puppets of Dragon Quest and Adventure Heritage *cough*GORDON FREEMAN!*cough* to stock characters who have a "Hi, I'm Duke Nukem XIV"-type personality. At least some of the Japanese heroes have something called a "personality" that's not just "BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS!" or "...." while the other characters act like they are talking. (Again, you know who I'm talking about...)

I'd rather see a character who's less like them - you know like say maybe someone who says "Nah" when the villain tries to tempt them with power or someone who goes from intolerable emo with amnesia to someone who isn't as avoidant of social contact or a whiny spoiled brat who matures and then actually reverts to whiny-spoiled-brat for a little while.

 

[LewsTherin]

AS the armoured space marine path will inevitably lead to 12 year olds telling me I'm gay/a girl/ a pussy/ a n00b/teh I-I4>04, I'm usually willing to go with the JRPG path, which has, by the way, pretty much consistently put out games with better characters and storyline.

 

[Digitalpotato]

I

AS the armoured space marine path will inevitably lead to 12 year olds telling me I'm gay/a girl/ a pussy/ a n00b/teh I-I4>04, I'm usually willing to go with the JRPG path, which has, by the way, pretty much consistently put out games with better characters and storyline.

I agree with that - Playing on an island that's really a massive ancient ship with a girl who attacks by blowing bubbles out of a straw really sticks out, even in games where you see six year old girls smacking an enemy with a flute.

 

[rossatdi]

I'm sorry but I call bullshit on the following statement: " the JRPG path, which has, by the way, pretty much consistently put out games with better characters and storyline."

Quick wiki dive into the average (3 random characters from 3 random games) Square Enix game character:

Heroes of Mana - Roget, A young warrior skilled with his sword who is forced to fight against loved ones at the cost of never returning home. His concealed emotions will never let anyone know he is quite lonely. His weapon is the sword.

Final Fantasy II - Leila, an adventurous girl who speaks in pirate-like jargon and first encounters the party by offering them transportation to the island of Deist.

Code Age Commanders - Gene, a young man who becomes amnesic after the Arks accident. He is the son of professor Alvin, one of the builders of the Arks, who disappeared some time after the accident. While searching for his sister Aliz kidnapped by a strange creature, Gene is mutated into a Warhead and watches his arm turning into a weapon during a battle against some Otellos. He is assisted by a small floating companion named Pake.

Christ, shoot me now. Is that creativity? I'd never thought I'd say this but give me Solid Snake's cast of rejects over this!

 

[RedElectric]

I've really gotten tired of both, though in all honesty, i find the powered armor cliche more palatable than the girly-manboy that fights evil with the power of angst. Which is HORRIBLE 'cause i've got this penchant for JRPGs.

Maybe I'm secretly a masochist....