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[Pretty much everyone who commented on that last post was commenting on the two paragraphs at the end, so I went ahead and split them. Made more sense that way, in my head, than a really long post where the comments were only relevant to a fifth of it. That's what I get for referencing current controversy as an aside on a post about an ancient game.]
Replaying Star Ocean 2 on the PSP, while fun, is reminding me of some of the things that annoyed me about the game when I was playing it the first time. And yes, this version fixes some of them (they haven't censored quiet as much, although they did dummy out the various "teas" and make them into non-alcoholic cocktails. Some sound tasty. Others... less so.)
This game has a lot of fun, quirky characters in it, characters that I really like - especially the female characters. None of them are the traditional swordsmen - you have one martial artist, one engineer, one who has a big gun, a black mage and a white mage, basically. But they can all pretty much hold their own in battle, and in fact some of them are indispensable. And all of them are fairly strong and competent people... except for when the game calls for them to be otherwise. Then all of that goes out of the window.
Rena gets the worst of this, I think, because she's the Female Lead, and of course the female lead has to be kidnapped and rescued to prove that the Male Lead really is a kind-hearted tough guy. The very beginning of the game really gets to me, especially - the sequence with Allen Tucks, or whatever the translation you're playing is calling him. The sequence where Rena - who canonically has magical powers (including healing, but not JUST healing, although you'd never know it from the dialog) and according to some of the character writeups also learned martial arts from a master in the town - gets herself kidnapped by her childhood friend and three guys. I can never watch that bit without thinking, "C'mon, she should be able to take those guys. They can't be very powerful. Punch a couple of them out, Crush the other, and run like heck. It couldn't be that hard!"
Granted, in the end she goes along with Allen after he physically attacks her mother, who truly does seem to be defenseless. And instead of worrying about how she's going to get out of it, the first thing she says is, "I've got to get out of here!" and she immediately starts hunting for a way out... only to stumble into Allen's trap, get captured by guards again, and then strapped down to an altar with Allen strongly implying that he's going to force her into some sort of "marriage ceremony" and then turning into a monster. It might be fair to say that Rena's dealing with something too big for her to deal with alone, but I do wish that the game hadn't made her give up quite so easily! (And then, of course, it turns out that Allen was possessed by something the whole time, doesn't even know what he's done and apologizes profusely... and Rena forgives him immediately and they all go on, and can even visit and have a nice conversation later. That... could turn into its own rant, if I don't stay focused. >_<)
I just wish she wouldn't turn into such a pushover whenever the game required it. Whenever I play with Rena as my POV character in this game, there's one particular Private Action that I always do, probably my favorite one in the game. It isn't one about her relationship with one of the other party characters, although there are a few of those that I really like (and this one does affect her relationships with some of the other party members, in an incidental way.) As much as I do love the relationship system in this game, this isn't my favorite because of it. It's my favorite because I just like the way that Rena's portrayed in it. She isn't a pushover; she can actually fight for what she believes in, and she can win.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might want to play it later, so to be vague about it - there's a sequence in the game where you can trigger a one-on-one fight between Rena and a mob boss. Not only that, but she attacks him, because she is angry at him for how he has treated someone she knows. And you can actually beat him - a good thing, especially in a game full of boss fights that you literally cannot win - and basically show the guy who ran in to rescue you (and got himself nearly killed) that Rena didn't really need rescuing after all. (To be fair, it IS possible for Rena to be defeated - in fact it's a really tough battle, and if you're doing it early in the game you'd better be ready to spam healing and attack items like crazy just to survive long enough to drop the guy - and the PA goes on if she is. I've never seen that, to be honest. I always make sure that Rena wins, because I want her to win.)
All of the girls get this treatment, to some degree. Chisato, for instance - intrepid journalist and martial-arts master, one of the most versatile fighters in the game, first shows up as a clutzy girl who keeps tripping over her own feet in attempts to get away from the group when they spot her. If anyone shouldn't be clumsy in the least, it's a martial artist who can basically kill a behemoth with a tazer. Precis is a brilliant engineer, but since she's the cute kid she almost has to end up being ridiculous at times. Opera and Celine probably get the least of it (despite the fact that Celine is one of the people who gets bashed by fans, solely because of her clothes... thanks, fans) but still get a few moments where they get to be shallow and boy-crazy. (And, of course, if you're playing with Claude as MC, every girl in the game has to develop a crush on him - although that's more because Claude is Main Character and everyone has to love him.)
Do the guys get this sort of treatment? Well, some of them do. Claude and Ashton are both sort of goofy, for one. But it's sort of different, because they're allowed to be goofy in an endearing way. Or is it more that their goofiness seems endearing because they're guys? That they're already assumed to be competent, and so they don't have anything to prove, so it seems less jarring. It's a sad double standard.
Replaying Star Ocean 2 on the PSP, while fun, is reminding me of some of the things that annoyed me about the game when I was playing it the first time. And yes, this version fixes some of them (they haven't censored quiet as much, although they did dummy out the various "teas" and make them into non-alcoholic cocktails. Some sound tasty. Others... less so.)
This game has a lot of fun, quirky characters in it, characters that I really like - especially the female characters. None of them are the traditional swordsmen - you have one martial artist, one engineer, one who has a big gun, a black mage and a white mage, basically. But they can all pretty much hold their own in battle, and in fact some of them are indispensable. And all of them are fairly strong and competent people... except for when the game calls for them to be otherwise. Then all of that goes out of the window.
Rena gets the worst of this, I think, because she's the Female Lead, and of course the female lead has to be kidnapped and rescued to prove that the Male Lead really is a kind-hearted tough guy. The very beginning of the game really gets to me, especially - the sequence with Allen Tucks, or whatever the translation you're playing is calling him. The sequence where Rena - who canonically has magical powers (including healing, but not JUST healing, although you'd never know it from the dialog) and according to some of the character writeups also learned martial arts from a master in the town - gets herself kidnapped by her childhood friend and three guys. I can never watch that bit without thinking, "C'mon, she should be able to take those guys. They can't be very powerful. Punch a couple of them out, Crush the other, and run like heck. It couldn't be that hard!"
Granted, in the end she goes along with Allen after he physically attacks her mother, who truly does seem to be defenseless. And instead of worrying about how she's going to get out of it, the first thing she says is, "I've got to get out of here!" and she immediately starts hunting for a way out... only to stumble into Allen's trap, get captured by guards again, and then strapped down to an altar with Allen strongly implying that he's going to force her into some sort of "marriage ceremony" and then turning into a monster. It might be fair to say that Rena's dealing with something too big for her to deal with alone, but I do wish that the game hadn't made her give up quite so easily! (And then, of course, it turns out that Allen was possessed by something the whole time, doesn't even know what he's done and apologizes profusely... and Rena forgives him immediately and they all go on, and can even visit and have a nice conversation later. That... could turn into its own rant, if I don't stay focused. >_<)
I just wish she wouldn't turn into such a pushover whenever the game required it. Whenever I play with Rena as my POV character in this game, there's one particular Private Action that I always do, probably my favorite one in the game. It isn't one about her relationship with one of the other party characters, although there are a few of those that I really like (and this one does affect her relationships with some of the other party members, in an incidental way.) As much as I do love the relationship system in this game, this isn't my favorite because of it. It's my favorite because I just like the way that Rena's portrayed in it. She isn't a pushover; she can actually fight for what she believes in, and she can win.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might want to play it later, so to be vague about it - there's a sequence in the game where you can trigger a one-on-one fight between Rena and a mob boss. Not only that, but she attacks him, because she is angry at him for how he has treated someone she knows. And you can actually beat him - a good thing, especially in a game full of boss fights that you literally cannot win - and basically show the guy who ran in to rescue you (and got himself nearly killed) that Rena didn't really need rescuing after all. (To be fair, it IS possible for Rena to be defeated - in fact it's a really tough battle, and if you're doing it early in the game you'd better be ready to spam healing and attack items like crazy just to survive long enough to drop the guy - and the PA goes on if she is. I've never seen that, to be honest. I always make sure that Rena wins, because I want her to win.)
All of the girls get this treatment, to some degree. Chisato, for instance - intrepid journalist and martial-arts master, one of the most versatile fighters in the game, first shows up as a clutzy girl who keeps tripping over her own feet in attempts to get away from the group when they spot her. If anyone shouldn't be clumsy in the least, it's a martial artist who can basically kill a behemoth with a tazer. Precis is a brilliant engineer, but since she's the cute kid she almost has to end up being ridiculous at times. Opera and Celine probably get the least of it (despite the fact that Celine is one of the people who gets bashed by fans, solely because of her clothes... thanks, fans) but still get a few moments where they get to be shallow and boy-crazy. (And, of course, if you're playing with Claude as MC, every girl in the game has to develop a crush on him - although that's more because Claude is Main Character and everyone has to love him.)
Do the guys get this sort of treatment? Well, some of them do. Claude and Ashton are both sort of goofy, for one. But it's sort of different, because they're allowed to be goofy in an endearing way. Or is it more that their goofiness seems endearing because they're guys? That they're already assumed to be competent, and so they don't have anything to prove, so it seems less jarring. It's a sad double standard.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-06 02:51 am (UTC)From:It's like how Estelle in Legend of Heroes, despite being clearly really competent in battle and smart enough to be accepted into the police academy, is constantly treated as a ditz and unable to remember things from one second to the next, while her adopted brother has a cool head in all situations and an exceptional memory. Like, I'm happy to have a female lead, but.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-06 03:19 am (UTC)From:It's so frustrating to watch it happen.