One of my favorite aspects about role-playing games are their stories and the unique approach each one takes in telling their tale.
I love games that take me on an adventure and have a lot of lore to further build out their worlds. Even if the story is lackluster, I still prefer narrative gaming over others.
Many RPGs tend to focus on one protagonist and their journey. This works really well and some games, such as Final Fantasy VII, can play around with the single protagonist with some unique results.
One approach, however, that has started to become more prominent is using multiple protagonists with their own unique story or perspective of the narrative.
While it’s not a new concept, it seems to have gained more popularity recently with the likes of Octopath Traveler. It’s also seen in several remakes of older games such as Star Ocean: The Second Story R and Live A Live.
Despite its seemingly growing popularity, it can be difficult to pull off. One of Octopath Traveler‘s biggest complaints was the lack of connectivity between the characters.
Other games opt for a minimal change. Star Ocean‘s newest iteration The Divine Force offers two protagonists that have different introductions but their paths join quickly and their stories are largely the same.
Another unique approach to multiple protagonists is spreading it over multiple games. Valkyria Chronicles did this with the first and fourth games happening during the same war, just in different locations.
Admittedly, properly utilizing multiple protagonists can be tricky. Many games opt for the easier approach of providing two characters but with the same general story or they try to offer alternate chapters with different protagonists.
While difficult to do, it is great when done properly.
Many praise Suikoden III for its approach of juggling three protagonists and their perspectives. Star Ocean: The Second Story R gets praise for its use of dual protagonists and viewing major game events through the lens of either Rena or Claude.
I look at games like Xenoblade Chronicles where one of the main characters missed a large chunk of the game. It would’ve been a lot of fun making her a protagonist so we can explore her story and where she was during most of the game.
I’m not suggesting all RPGs should follow this format. I do think it has a place in the genre and developers should try to experiment with the concept more. Storytelling in video games can be a lot of fun and this approach could provide some cool narrative devices.
But what about you? Do you enjoy the approach of multiple protagonists? Which RPG with multiple protagonists is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Square Enix (via Inverse)
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The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.
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