The Mute Protagonist

It's a mechanic I rather like...Too often, my interest in a game wanes because I just don't like the main character (not just RPG's) and the way they handle themselves, so taking the focus off the main guy and putting it on the events and characters around them is a good idea.

So far, the only game I've encountered where I didn't like this was Chrono Cross, but that was because:

1. There was no reason for everyone to be rallying around Serge and joining the party...It just kind of "happened". Like most events in the game.
2. I didn't care for almost any of the party members or NPC's, so Serge ended up looking even more pathetic.

Conversely, the Suikoden series does it to great effect because the character is right in the middle of everything and usually in high standings, so it spreads the responsibility around the rest of the party to advance the storyline and introduces new characters to great effect. Really though, I'm glad Suikoden 2 wasn't bogged down with scenes of the hero and Jowy going back and forth word-for-word. Or when Hero McDohl just picked up Gremio's axe after he died and didn't say a word...I don't think a long-standing speech would have worked as well as that did.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Leknaat

Suikoden IV had several of those in-game scenes, and the Hero still didn't talk. Their only concession to the speaking hero was: "Choose his battle voice." It still worked for me.

Same for V. Lyon makes an effective mouth-piece though and there are a lot of instances where you get to make decisions.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Soluzar

Was it the voice, or the dialog? Personally, I didn't find his dialogue quite so annoying as some people seem to have, but I did find his voice grated on me after some time. Mind you, I didn't like the voices in general. Unless they are going to actually hire decent actors, and write good lines, I suggest that games would do well to avoid voiced dialog.

I think the main argument people have in favor of mutes is that if they don't like the main character and his/her personality, it'll negatively affect their take on the game. Especially if the bulk of the game is centered around them. If you don't like the main FF lead, you're generally screwed as far as really getting into the game's story unless you pick up on someone else and they get sufficient facetime. FFVI worked well, since I thought Terra was downright boring, but the whole of the cast was what made it stand out. They easily could have muted her and not lost much of anything. Personally, I was more than content with not knowing what happened to Tidus at the end of FFX because I didn't care about him or the supposed impact he had on the world. Ditto for Squall and Cloud, though both grew on me simply for their actual gameplay roles.

Think of wrestling and say you think the current champ is a douche. Yet, all of the major storylines revolve around him. At best, you're rooting for something bad to happen to him. At worst, you lose interest in the whole thing. That's why I like the idea of eliminating the lead and passing the torch onto the remainder of the party, because I'm much more likely to pick up on a favorite character than to have one forced onto me by the game's storyline.

Then again, there's always the occasional lead character who gets by with a certain amount of charisma and I actually care what happens with them...Valkyrie was a good example of this and it made the events later on in the game have more of an impact, once her past was uncovered. Grandia leads are generally pretty good (I haven't played 3, but Justin and Ryudo were good). And I haven't seen a Nippon Ichi strat lead I haven't liked yet...The Prince wouldn't be nearly as great as a mute.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Quote:

That's true, but it's not going to make me like mute protagonists any more. I tend to just avoid those games entirely, this far into my gaming life.

Not trying to convince you at all, but I don't think offering a good explanation hurts.

Originally Posted by Soluzar

You didn't play Phantom Brave, then? The lead character of Disgaea 2 is nothing to write home about either.

Guess I should have just said La Pucelle and Disgaea to avoid confusion.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Solis

In RPGs with TOTAL mutes like Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross, hmm, well it does get annoying after a while seeing everyone boss you around and tell you what THEY think without your character ever getting a word in. In that case, they don't really seem like characters as much they are shells, which kinda hurts the whole understanding-the-characters thing. I've never seen a case where it makes me "feel" like my character as it's supposed to, I guess my imagination just isn't wild enough to envision myself as a delivery boy that never talks. They could at least give a REASON for your character not talking though...old war injury, birth defect, whatever. It's a little strange thinking that you're supposed to be a character that simply refuses to talk.

Hmm, I don't think you're really supposed to "understand" mutes like that...I think there has to be an understanding that they're just a vehicle to drive the story forward. It's another storytelling method, which completely de-emphasizes the main character (as you say, they're more "shells") and puts the focus on practically everything else. It's intentional in other words...Explaining it with a birth defect would work against what the scenario writers were trying to accomplish (read: concentrate attention on the overall scenario and other cast members, while having a suitable vehicle to drive the story forward). I mean, mutes are obviously not an accident.

But in most cases, talky main characters aren't saying anything important anyway and their dialogue isn't hard to predict...They're mostly just along for the ride with everyone else. IMO, it slows everything down and, at worst, causes me to lose interest in the game because I get tired of it focusing on someone I'm controlling and hope dies.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

Granted I liked Chrono Trigger more than FFX, but FFX at least had a main character who developed over time.

Crono sort of developed...By the time his death scene rolled around, he had been through enough ingame that it felt like a pretty huge loss. Again, clearly a case where the strength of the events around him helped shape the character. This is probably when mutes are most useful...When the characters and events surround the main character are powerful enough that they don't need to say anything.

If I had to listen to Tidus' whining throughout Chrono Trigger, I'd probably be fast-forwarding the dialogue anyway and the game's events wouldn't have meant as much (unless he got some decent high-spots with the other cast members). I might even have thrown a party to celebrate his death at the hands of Lavos and finished the game without him.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Enkidu

Suikoden V does a better job at this, but I still feel underwhelmed during some scenes, when the prince calls on your army, and you don't get any voice, just some other character cheering for victory. Also, it annoyed me to no end that you still had to give him a name, so that everyone continues to call him "Prince".

Wow, I actually thought those moments where you have the single option to pick from before a huge battle were a great touch. I mean, the Prince really didn't have to say anything because everyone was already pumped up. Besides, Boz always chimed in with a burly, "To Victory!" incase anyone missed the message.

Besides, I think it was more of a carryover from earlier games. I know 2 did it and I'm fairly certain 1 did as well.

Suikoden V just played on the whole mute thing really well, by having different mouthpieces carry the load. Sometimes it was Sialeeds, sometimes it was Georg, most of the time it was Lyon and then it was whoever the main group was for a given scenario. The whole cast ended up carrying the load nicely...While I definitely felt for the Prince, any angsty whining he might have done would have really slowed things down (I'd have LOVED to have seen Tidus go through all of the shit he had to endure, though).

FELIPE NO