Thursday's Child Has Far to Go: Character Development in Games

Today, for all you Thursday's Children out there, I will take a look at how "far to go" characters in certain games have, in other words, their character development.

1. Kanji from Persona 4 - At first glance, Kanji might seem like a stereotypical thug with an attitude problem. However, the game explores his insecurities that mainly revolve around his hobbies, such as sewing, which are generally perceived as feminine, as well as his attraction to Naoto before he even discovers that "he" is a "she". He slowly but surely learns to come to terms with who he is and who is he attracted to, and realises that it doesn't matter what your hobbies are or who you're attracted to, as long as you're happy and not hurting anyone. Therefore, even though Kanji is never explicitly stated to be bi or gay, he still serves a great message to LGBT people everywhere, which is, quite simply: "Be yourself - no shame, no fear."
2. Geralt from The Witcher 3 - Geralt comes across as very gruff and even cynical at first, but as the game progresses, you get to define how he develops as a character - within the limits of how he was written of course! You get to choose if you want "harsh, tough Geralt", "kind, good Geralt", or "somewhere-in-between Geralt". The best part? The game dishes out consequences for almost every single action or sentence performed on Geralt's behalf, but it never ever judges you with any kind of hackneyed morality system. This makes choice vs consequences framework feel truly organic, unlike, say, BioWare's games.
3. Estelle from The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC & SC - Estelle starts off as a pretty obnoxious "genki" (energetic) girl stereotype, but gradually matures into a compassionate, wise and determined young Bracer, while never treading into "Mary Sue" territory. All of her growth and accomplishments feel earned, and all of her relationships with the main cast are interesting, or at least enjoyable. Her relationship with Joshua in particular is very bittersweet at first, but they do finally get their "happily ever after" by the end of SC. You can buy the first Trails in the Sky right here.

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Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe: Depictions of Suffering in Games

I am a "Wednesday's Child". I have endured depression for the better part of my life, and therefore I am drawn to depictions of suffering.

Depicting suffering that arises from misfortune or the deaths of loved ones is a common theme in videogames. In this article I will go into four games that I feel depict suffering in sensitive and deeply moving ways.

1. To The Moon - This game is about two doctors' attempts to fulfil the last wish of a dying old man. The gorgeous piano-heavy music and the simple but evocative visuals transform an already moving story into something transcendent. I delve deeper into the game's mechanics and themes in this article. You can buy To The Moon here.
2. Persona 3 Portable - One of my favourite Persona games of all time (link contains a fairly minor late-game spoiler), mostly due to its moody, ominous atmosphere and the in-depth tackling of themes like terminal illness, family matters, suicide and apathy. You can buy Persona 3 Portable here.
3. Unrest - An unusual indie game that explores what it means to be a young girl in a society where arranged marriages are the norm, and how trying to fight against that norm can often lead to suffering many forms, e.g. social ostracisation and sexual harassment. The game also explores political upheaval and questions of faith, sometimes a little heavy-handedly, but mostly intelligently. You can buy Unrest here.
4. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - Last but not least, a game I recently reviewed, that covers  suffering so comprehensively that it sets a new bar for other games wishing to tackle it. I mean, what aspect of suffering ISN'T covered in this game? Let me count the ways: guilt, abandonment, sexual abuse, torture, implied child prostitution, military experimentation (even on minors!), trauma - the list goes on and on. However, none of these themes EVER feel forced - they all arise naturally from the characters' backstories and they are all explored with a deep, deep sense of compassion and humanity. I applaud Falcom for daring to tread where few others would dare to, and I applaud XSEED for their absolutely brilliant localisation of what will surely be viewed as a classic, must-play Japanese role-playing game. If you loved Trails in the Sky FC and SC, do yourself the favour of buying Trails in the Sky the 3rd here. You will NOT regret it.

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The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - Spoiler-free Review

Although Joshua and Estelle's story came to a satisfying conclusion in SC, this game effortlessly continues their stories, as well as delving deeper into the stories of Kevin Graham and Ries Argent. It also explores matters of faith, love and regret with a delicacy rarely seen in the realm of games.

💌 I loved:

• The music - some of the best tunes in the Trails series can be found right here, including Cry for Me, Cry for You, and the title screen theme.
• The characters - Kevin is love, Kevin is life. Oh, and Anelace is cool too I guess.
• The combat - this aspect is the most refined and arguably the most challenging out of all the TiTS games, although the turn effects can feel a little unfairly weighted towards your enemies' advantage, even on Easy.
• The story, which has some genuine tears-inducing moments in Renne's Moon Door (not a spoiler!) and the various amusing little moments of banter between your party members, e.g. Olivier and his pervy creeper ways! The party members' and NPCs' constant banging on about the goddess Aidios and how wonderful she is do get a bit grating though - the only people that seem to have any sort of criticism or issue with the church are the villains! What gives?

😕I was ambivalent about:

• The reused areas from FC & SC - although these are justified by the narrative, it can be a little dull to trek through so many dungeons from previous games, particularly when the developers apparently couldn't be bothered to do anything more than reverse the map or add a few glowing barriers. At least these areas don't overstay their welcome (for the most part), and there are a couple of new dungeons, albeit basic ones.

💩I disliked:

• Not being able to change the difficulty mid-game - why tho Falcom? I can understand this sort of nonsense in MMORPGs and other online games, but in a single player game? No. Just no. This is exactly why I stick with Easy mode in all Trails games.
• The overly random nature of the fishing and gambling mini-games - because screw you fishing lady and Gambler Jack. None of them are required to beat the main story though, and they're actually pretty fun when RNGesus isn't screwing you over.

OVERALL: A must-play JRPG for those that liked or even loved TiTS FC & SC, and a shining example of how to do a moving, thoughtful narrative right.

You can buy this game from GOG! Do eet!