From the beginning, each character has a motivation that makes it obvious why they’re joining - or if the reason isn’t given, it’s implied to be Very Important. If you do it right, you’ve got Abyss or Berseria. If you write the recruitment part wrong, you end up with a party like Vesperia’s, which is essentially a bunch of (admittedly likable) dorks making a guild because………idk we’re all in the same place so why not. Yeah, being Chosen is an important job, but Tethe’alla doesn’t need to be regenerated atm and they make it abundantly clear that he’s got nothing better to do than be beautiful and dirty rich. Zelos, meanwhile, is the perfect way to subvert that. Like, dude, I get that you’re grateful for our help, but don’t you have a company to run? And Rowen! You’re the Sharil butler and you’re just gonna let Driselle deal with what happens to her all on your own, are you? Gah. This can work at the start - I do like how Pascal joins just because she thinks Sophie is neat, and Magilou seems to be around so she can mock us - but it is a bit of a trap for later.īut really, any of these motivations can go horribly wrong, particularly if it seems like the character has something else important they should be doing. Then there are characters like Pascal and Magilou, who are there just because the party is interesting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ motivation was acknowledged from the beginning as completely unbelievable - and that made his quadruple-crossing all the more effective. Tales is self-conscious about this now, which is why Alvin’s The hidden motivation can work, but it’s usually a cue to start suspecting somebody - as I did almost instantly with Kratos. Either their motivation is hidden, or they are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about joining. cart him around.Īnd of course there’s sometimes a character who joins because ?. Karol, conversely, is a bad example of the Lost Kid archetype, because he’s a kid with adult problems and I honestly don’t know why Yuri and co. But there are ways to do it wrong and right: Elize’s story is a good example, because you’re worried for her - she’s an outcast and an orphan, and Jude doesn’t want you to leave her locked up in a cellar, and that helplessness is actually important because it’s a foil for Alvin’s helplessness later and thus Elize is one of the only ways Alvin can redeem his shifty self. I find lots of the kid characters (Elize, Sophie, Laphicet to an extent, and Karol) join because they have no one else to take care of them, and that’s fine. This doesn’t mean you can’t have characters who seemingly have no motivation to join the party. Then you’ve got the ever-reliable Friendship, which is pretty much everybody in the first chunk of Symphonia, Leia, Cheria, Guy, Repede (a doge), Asbel (FRIENDPROTECT) and, in his own way, Yuri (WHERE THE FUCK IS FLYNN). As for the characters who join later or more voluntarily, similar or coinciding goals are a good way to start - Eizen is one, Jade is another, Hubert is a third, and Flynn’s a fourth for his cameo appearance. Fleeing authority or punishment is another - and that’s how Jude, Milla and Alvin get their start, as well as Velvet (short-term), Rokurou and Magilou. If the protag’s goal doesn’t come in until later, kidnapping’s always a good way to start - see Abyss and a voluntary variation in Vesperia, as well as Laphicet’s and arguably Eleanor’s reason for joining in Berseria. Protagonist with goal begins journey (say, the journey to regenerate the world or w/e). So the first one seems pretty straightforward, and it is the easiest at first. Sometimes, this may manifest as a reason to leave and come back later.ģ) an interesting relationship with characters other than the protagonist And when it works best, every character has the following things:Ģ) a reason to stay with the party, even if their goals are accomplished, and potentially through great adversity. Persona games have pulled off 7 , but Tales is best with six. Six appears to be the magic number for a Tales party. Here’s what it is, here’s what Berseria nailed that only Abyss had ever really figured out before: party building. I legit don’t get it it’s been, what, a decade since they’ve made anything so good?
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