Game analyses

RPGs, and games in general have characters. Shockers, I know. But I think that having a good cast of characters helps a game, or any type of story for that matter, be an enjoyable experience.

 

A game serie that, I believe, has found it's spot on the video game scene this last decade for characters is Fire Emblem. From Awakening saving the series, and Three Houses giving it an insane second wind, to Engage who has the most engaging (haha engage pun) gameplay yet, I believe it's fair to say that, for a serie who's rooted in perma death, the player's engagement in the characters has to be one of the most important aspect of the game. This begs the question : what do the developers use to make players care about those character ?

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First, I do believe that they focus on unit performance. By that I mean how can said unit be used on the battlefield, how do they compare to other characters in the roster available to the player in term of stat bases and growths, what are the skill available to them etc... Some characters, like Felix in Three Houses, are offensive power houses, and have both decent bases and growths, making them usefull throughout the entire game, while others, like Donnel, from Awakening, demand more attention and investments from the player to become truly wonderfull units granting intense gratification.

 

Then again not all units are these powerfull all rounders. Some fit small niches, making them still more usefull than most in specific situations, while others are down right bad. Not unusable of course, but still bad. The best example of poor units performance is Nil, in Fire Emblem Engage's Xenologues. Nil, during most of the maps, is an absolute liability, and his only key to relevance is to use the Micaiah ring, to give him healing staves and pray that he doesn't get even sneezed at by any ennemy, or else he would die. Nil is literally saved by Engage's key mecanic, but it is not enough to save his case towards most of the players who will most likely curse his existence for the duration of the DLC.

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Of course, unit performance is not the only thing that the game can do to make their characters enjoyable. Their personalities, overall characterisation, and character growth can also make them enjoyable, and cherishable by the players. Sigurd's righteousness (although not his most prevalent feature as his unit performance is through the roof) makes him an easy character to root for, or Griss' insanity makes him disturbing but overall enjoyable to have on screen. Some character are unlikable at first, but through the support conversations turn out to be well meaning, and overall great characters, like Cyril.

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Another point of interest and attachement is the visual aspect of a character. If they meet a player's standards, they will naturally gravitate towards them.

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The last point I want to bring up is the story relevance. If the player sees a character more often, they will tend to at least tolerate, and at most enjoy the character more. There are exceptions of course, but being a relevant character tends to help.

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In short, they use performances, looks, personnality, and story relevance to endear these characters, and make the player want to protect their lives, to see their endings and many other things.