Why is Kaiden Alenko so popular?
- Thread starter bluebrino
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Kaidan has a small but devoted fanbase of mostly female fans. The fact that he's hated so much probably causes some people to never admit openly that they like him, and I know that I didn't admit I liked him online before ME2 came out and he got a support thread on the Bioware Social Network, because I didn't want to argue with haters.
That being said, I like Kaidan because he is "just" a soldier who is dedicated to his job, and loves what he does and does it well (if you don't autolevel him and use him correctly!). Kaidan doesn't brag about his past, and he doesn't complain about it, but he will tell you about Jump Zero to illustrate why he is worried about Shepard, and the status of the current mission. He has always been reserved, and held back when it came to his powers as a biotic, but on this mission, when it really counts, he will give it everything he has. He is also the most "paragon" party member in ME1, and I like to play do-gooders, and appreciate the fact that Kaidan is very stable, responsible, and decent. Add to that some nice looking pixels and a great voice actor, and I was hooked in the first game.
Bear in mind that I'm a female who romanced him in the first game and stayed faithful. I don't expect everyone to like him, and I wouldn't expect every female player to want to romance him either, he's a very specific "type". Just wanted to give my own perspective on why he's popular with me.
That being said, I like Kaidan because he is "just" a soldier who is dedicated to his job, and loves what he does and does it well (if you don't autolevel him and use him correctly!). Kaidan doesn't brag about his past, and he doesn't complain about it, but he will tell you about Jump Zero to illustrate why he is worried about Shepard, and the status of the current mission. He has always been reserved, and held back when it came to his powers as a biotic, but on this mission, when it really counts, he will give it everything he has. He is also the most "paragon" party member in ME1, and I like to play do-gooders, and appreciate the fact that Kaidan is very stable, responsible, and decent. Add to that some nice looking pixels and a great voice actor, and I was hooked in the first game.
Bear in mind that I'm a female who romanced him in the first game and stayed faithful. I don't expect everyone to like him, and I wouldn't expect every female player to want to romance him either, he's a very specific "type". Just wanted to give my own perspective on why he's popular with me.
So the guy doesn't exactly break a mirror, he has hella emotional issues that need to be fixed, he will tell you about said issues if you ask but not if you don't, he toughs out migraines (which isn't exactly easy), he has empathy for his fellow man/woman/alien/mono-gendered-wierdos, doesn't shirk away from what needs to be done and is loyal to the core.
He may come off as a bit of a whiny ***** sometimes but its not like he's crawling in his skin or anything.
He may come off as a bit of a whiny ***** sometimes but its not like he's crawling in his skin or anything.
But he isn't whiny, he never whines, tbh.0bserv3 said:
I do have a theory that people think he whines because
A) Carth's voice actor (Sbarge)
B) Shepard tells him that talking about his history doesn't make him a whiner.....
C) If you have renegade Shep he will question your choices and male gamers hate being questioned.
Mostly C, I think......... ;-)
I thought he ended up killing a guy because of his biotic powers? And that business with the girl he liked? And the horrible training facility he was forced to be put through as a child?chemlight said:
Just because someone appears to be 100% a-okay doesn't mean they are. People can have a lot of emotional baggage. Kaiden's just managed to bury it all so it makes him appear a 'deeper character' than the in-your-face Thane with his terminal illness and issue with his son(?). The point is to make Kaiden appear to be operating properly but have some skeletons in the closet that players opened up through dialogue, so to speak. Just look at Jack. She's like Kaiden taken to the extreme without his childhood issues having been repressed in a healthy(?) way.
Kaidan is quite popular, because he is apart of ME1 main characters, most of which were well-written. I think he might have become more popular, once his fans realized how awful his cameo was in ME2, so they made their presence more known. For some reason, people have a hard time with Kaidan, because he is a good, decent, quiet guy, who only gets passionate when needed to. Oh, and he's also a guy, that is sensitive. Most gamers are male, and some of them don't like Kaidan and call him wimpy because he is not this overly macho badass like Zaeed or Wrex.
Okay. Here's the reason why both Kaidan Alenko of ME1 and Jacob Taylor of ME2 rock socks. Are you ready? This reason is crazy, but it's totally true.
*ahem*
They're both decent guys with no huge personal fault.
The moment I went into ME1 and heard Kaidan's voice actor being the same as Carth I was a bit worried that it'd be hard for me to seperate the two characters. But immediately he started laying out the kinds of observations that Carth wouldn't even dream of and would sooner whine about. And with that there was no problem in me seperating him from the previous guy.
Jacob in ME2 is really pretty much the same thing, only he on the other hand has an even less troubled past than Kaiden does (or at least one that has a whole lot fewer personal regrets of his). Even with his personal mission, involving his father, you can easily understand him being utterly furious with his lack of responsibility. And not surprisingly posts immediately popped up ala "Jacob Taylor is so boring, he ain't worth shit."
As the old saying goes. We like people for their virtues, but we love them for their mistakes. Both Kaiden and Jacob have very few mistakes and as such some people just can't help but do a /spit routine on them whenever their names are mentioned, while others just look at them as really nice guys. Perhaps a bit boring, but still...nice guys and good characters certainly.
*ahem*
They're both decent guys with no huge personal fault.
The moment I went into ME1 and heard Kaidan's voice actor being the same as Carth I was a bit worried that it'd be hard for me to seperate the two characters. But immediately he started laying out the kinds of observations that Carth wouldn't even dream of and would sooner whine about. And with that there was no problem in me seperating him from the previous guy.
Jacob in ME2 is really pretty much the same thing, only he on the other hand has an even less troubled past than Kaiden does (or at least one that has a whole lot fewer personal regrets of his). Even with his personal mission, involving his father, you can easily understand him being utterly furious with his lack of responsibility. And not surprisingly posts immediately popped up ala "Jacob Taylor is so boring, he ain't worth shit."
As the old saying goes. We like people for their virtues, but we love them for their mistakes. Both Kaiden and Jacob have very few mistakes and as such some people just can't help but do a /spit routine on them whenever their names are mentioned, while others just look at them as really nice guys. Perhaps a bit boring, but still...nice guys and good characters certainly.
I feel the same waylacktheknack said:
I mean, Kaidan was, as many say, a kinda average but nice guy that I really could just hang with and chill.
Garrus is basically Turian batman.
Wrex is a proud warrior race guy done right, I.E., he had brains, feelings and a sense of humour.
Ashley felt like a very real person, for better and for worse.
Liara was kind and sweet to everyone.
Ditto for Tali, although they're still kinda hard to compare..
I suppose I can see why some people hate some of the companions you pick up, but I also see why some love 'em
No way, Zaeed shows more personality in a few lines of dialogue than Kaiden ever has. I can't even remember Kaiden's backstory.Lolth17 said:
