Games Where the Main Character Should Have Been Different

DmC should have starred this guy.

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Halo 3: ODST. The character you play as was so forgettable I cannot even say a single thing about him, good or bad, and I loved the game.

Reach had the same flaw, but at least you died in an epic way, and were sort of an unsung hero considering what you accomplished. I have a bad feeling that Destiny will suffer of the same.
 
Asbel pretty much ruined Tales of Graces for me; I would have enjoyed the story more through almost any other character's perspective.

Sub Zero said:
Nico Collard should have been the protagonist in the first Broken Sword. She had a lot more reasons to get involved in the plot than Stobbart. Also it didn't help that they made Stobbart annoying and dumb
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He's supposed to be the naive "American in Paris" stereotype, so I thought he worked quite well as the protagonist in that one. Could have done with more of a Nico focus in the other games though (like they did with Grace in the Gabriel Knight series).
 
Any direct game sequel where the protagonist from the previous title is no longer the protagonist or no longer in the game. This is just a subjective view for me like if the sequel to TLOU did not have Joel and replaced him with Ellie. I would give that game a miss.
 
Kraftwerk said:
To the people saying FFXII...he is just a PoV character, that is why he is so useless and powerless in the grand scheme of things. It's as if YOU were there, just along for the ride.

Also, whoever says MGS2, you are completely wrong. No Offence, but Raiden being there was the whole point of MGS2.
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Anytime someone argues the supposed benefit of a main character as a soulless, character-less cypher, I immediately think of John Marston and find comfort in their wrongness.

Think how little the impact of that narrative would be if he were a blank slate like Claude Speed.

Player characters (at least in non-user created scenarios) need to be as strong or stronger than their supporting cast. You can't just ignore them for the sake of player agency. Well written player characters should be identified with and understood, and should encourage the player to help pursue their character's clearly defined goals. When this works, players' behavior begins to model itself after their character.

They roleplay.

Who here went a little more crazy when playing as Trevor in GTAV than as Michael or Franklin (for the most part)? I've talked to multiple friends that were a little more aggressive, a little less prone to forgiveness in situations as Trevor. That's the power of a well defined player character.
 
I'm with the people that said Tidus is an irritating mouth breathing oaf of a character, but I don't think he made a main character per se. He helped the play ease into the world and customs of Spira, since much of it was as foreign to him as to us. The idea behind it was good, I just don't care for the characterisation beyond it.

Now as for my pick, I'd probably go for Connor in Assassin's Creed 3. He had plenty of potential, but was so boring and bland. It's even less fortunate that AC3 sort of did have a better lead character for a little bit.
 
Magus for Chrono Trigger. His motivation for wanting to destroy Lavos was a lot more interesting than Crono's "i dun bumped into this girl and holy crap time travel gotta kill this dude what gonna destroy the world".
 
GTAV would have been such a tighter story if they'd cut out Franklin.

Every NPC in Silent Hill 1 is a more interesting character than Harry.
 
doofy102 said:
GTAV would have been such a tighter story if they'd cut out Franklin. .
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See, im of the thought that GTA V would have been tighter if they cut out Trevor.
It would have made GTA V this really tight mentor and new-guy-on-the-block story.
But I suppose it doesn't help that Trevor insta-wins most annoying character of 2013 IMO.
 
AniHawk said:
uncharted.

instead of playing as unrelatable genocidal maniac nathan drake, who has the vague and uninspired career of 'treasure-hunter', we should have been playing as elena- a person who comes from our reality with an everyman background.
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Came here to post this.

Except for the Elena line, because she is a genocidal maniac as well. Kills plenty of dudes too. btw. why are there no females to kill as well?

Would also have been acceptable, if it was somewhat realistic. Drake kills hundreds of people. Friends say "fuck you, you are a monster".
 
KJRS_1993 said:
See, im of the thought that GTA V would have been tighter if they cut out Trevor.
It would have made GTA V this really tight mentor and new-guy-on-the-block story.
But I suppose it doesn't help that Trevor insta-wins most annoying character of 2013 IMO.
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The main drama of the story was Michael vs Trevor, and if they didn't have to give Franklin a role at the end those two would have been able to really have a great face-off in the last third of the game.
 
How are they genocidal maniacs because they kill soldiers who shoot at them? Makes no sense. Sure it's very exaggerated and game-y that they'd have so many enemies shooting at them to begin with, but they don't go out of their way to eradicate people. Silliness.
 
doofy102 said:
The main drama of the story was Michael vs Trevor, and if they didn't have to give Franklin a role at the end those two would have been able to really have a great face-off in the last third of the game.
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True, I never really thought of that at all, that's a sweet idea. Just a shame he was so unbearable :(
 
MGS4.

There was no reason to have Old Snake at all.
Kojima could have kept the same tones and theme's without having to resort to that. Especially when the change to that age for snake didn't really add anything to the game.
 
Playing mainly as the New Kid and one other party-member instated of four main-characters like Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny in the South Park: The Stick of Truth.

I miss the group dynamic between the kids outside of story-sequences. You just go to places and only sometimes get a comment of your party-members. it makes especially Kenny the worst partner, since you can't understand what he is saying and miss a lot of jokes (that he also sucks in battles doesn't help either).

I understand, that the writers need a stranger to explain the world. But butchering the group dynamic was a worst tread off. We properly can blame the engine for those limitations to at least have the New Kid walk get a bigger party.
 
I love all the FFXII answers, yet so many different opinions on who the actual lead should be. XD

I guess the correct answer is "anyone but Vaan."
 
Benzychenz said:
Eh, I think it's more that she's too sexy to the point where it's uncomfortable to play the game around others. A game like Tomb Raider can sell just fine.
And I say this as someone who loves Bayonetta.
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Sexy or not, female characters are rarely popular unfortunately and gamers will actually avoid games that star female protagonists. Only thing that saved Lara imo is that she is a legendary, iconic character. I am glad they put Bayonetta in the game because I feel like she added a unique flavor to the game. A male protagonist wouldn't of stood out as much.



vxXJordanXxv said:
I almost didn't buy TLOU because I thought you played as Ellie based on the cover. Would have killed the purchase for me.
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Lol. I proved my point.
 
GTA IV. I hated Nico Bellic and his cousin Roman with a passion. I was so disappointed with them that I never really could get into GTA IV. GTA III, Vice City, San Andreas were awesome and I enjoyed V a lot, but IV? Worst of the series.
 
MormaPope said:
Er, what? How do women act?
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They're always doing cartwheel-kicks and attacking terrorists with their swords. Amirite, fellas?

The real answer, endlessly repeated: FFXII had at least three more interesting and dynamic characters that could have been the protagonist. I can see leaving Balthier as a supporting character since he's basically just Han Solo and there's something inherently "cooler" about that type of roguish character not being the lead, but that still leaves two perfectly good options on the table.

The not-so-real answer: Atelier Rorona's protagonist should have been someone with a name that didn't sound like the result of vigorously shaking a Welsh corgi.
 
Kazerei said:
FFXII shoulda been all Balthier
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exactly my thoughts and the thoughts of millions. I guess SE wanted to make you feel less important and just an onlooker in this major story instead of being in the center of it all. What made them think that would be a good idea is beyond me...but after X I don't think they knew what they were doing anymore
 
Laughing Banana said:
The only thing it needed is to change *all* the protagonists, not just Luke.
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HOW CAN YOU HATE GUY?????????

carfo said:
exactly my thoughts and the thoughts of millions. I guess SE wanted to make you feel less important and just an onlooker in this major story instead of being in the center of it all. What made them think that would be a good idea is beyond me...but after X I don't think they knew what they were doing anymore
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To each their own but I still think XII is X. While XII lacked in several departments, in the areas it got RIGHT, it excelled. X to me was simply a good game throughout.
 
Far Cry 3

instead of Jason you should have been
his brother with the military background that gets killed in the first 5 minutes.
 
Patryn said:
Wait, what?
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I think he meant 'ME3, it never should have been.'


EDIT: Now that I think about it I really didnt think Anya should have been a playable character in Gears 3. It just felt like they needed gender diversity and couldnt think up anything beyond that australian girl so threw a secondary character who didnt fit into it.
 
MormaPope said:
This mentality is how and why MGS4 got made.



So you want Metal Gear Solid game to not be a Metal Gear Solid game?
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What gives you that idea? Is MGS now all about giving you a different character/altered Solid Snake? Is that the identity of the series now? Give the player either a character who looks like Solid Snake or give them Solid Snake but with a catch.

Is Kojima scared that he knows he cannot top the original MGS?

Its been clear as daylight that Kojima simply does not want to give you that very same character again, but he will shoe horn Ocelot in every game, in any way possible, and he will give you some T&A for you to zoom in during overtly long cutscenes. There is time to do that, but not the legendary character that is the trademark of the series.

There is a bigger chance that you will play Baby Snake in MGS6, as you try to stealth your way around the house to get to the baby bottle than young, prime Solid Snake. I am not even trying to be cute or funny here, with Kojima that is realistically very accurate.
 
Into said:
What gives you that idea? Is MGS now all about giving you a different character/altered Solid Snake? Is that the identity of the series now? Give the player either a character who looks like Solid Snake or give them Solid Snake but with a catch.

Is Kojima scared that he knows he cannot top the original MGS?

Its been clear as daylight that Kojima simply does not want to give you that very same character again, but he will shoe horn Ocelot in every game, in any way possible, and he will give you some T&A for you to zoom in during overtly long cutscenes. There is time to do that, but not the legendary character that is the trademark of the series.

There is a bigger chance that you will play Baby Snake in MGS6, as you try to stealth your way around the house to get to the baby bottle than young, prime Solid Snake. I am not even trying to be cute or funny here, with Kojima that is realistically very accurate.
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What you said was "I want to play as Solid Snake in his prime doing missions around the world". That isn't Metal Gear Solid, that's Mission Impossible or James Bond. The core of MGS 1-3 is infiltrating urban compounds or guarded areas. There is one main location, one. I suspect MGS V won't even be a globe trotting affair, there'll be four or five huge land masses all on one continent.

Secondly, "Is Kojima scared that he knows he cannot top the original MGS?". He already has, MGS2 and MGS3 trump MGS1 when it comes to area design, boss battles, soundtrack, mechanics, tone, meaning, themes, enemy AI. You have to be incredibly ignorant to claim otherwise, MGS1 has great boss battles, but the actual sneaking is incredibly dated.

When it comes to narrative and such MGS1 has been topped. MGS2 can spawn pages of discussion based on narrative alone. MGS3 provides a much more grounded perspective on why being a soldier leads to a tragic outcome. MGS1's main theme is your genetic history or biology in general should never alter the will and drive to live. Thing is MGS1's theme doesn't influence gameplay and vice versa. MGS2 and MGS3's gameplay influence the theme of each game.

The hard on people get over Solid Snake baffles me. Apparently it baffles Kojima as well.

"There is time to do that, but not the legendary character that is the trademark of the series." The trademarks of the MGS series are stealth mechanics of any nature, focused narrative, and rad boss fights. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Riposte said:
Vaan should have been a better character, is all. The game's plot has way bigger issues anyway.
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Vaan should have been fleshed out far better. He calls people on their shit sometimes, but that's rare, and could have been a super neat character trait he'd have.
 
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