Thread: Should the silent protaginist of the games talk and have a personality?

One thing that bugs me about the Pokemon RPG games is that your character never talks. At all. So it makes me wonder as to whether your character should talk and at least show a personality or not.

What do you think?

P.S. I know that your character talks in the Mystery Dungeon games but I'm talking about the games where you're a trainer.

I think it would be hard, as the player is supposed to be you. In the anime and such, I agree, but In the games, the player has the right to remain silent.

It'd be cool if you had options of what to say. But I agree with the above, the protagonist is supposed to be you. If you want your character to talk, make him/her say whatever witty things pop into your head.

If the games were more advanced, you could probably typ it in, and if there was a typo the one your talking to says 2Sorry, didn't quite catch that?"

Nah, it just wouldn't be the same

I prefer them to be an avatar of myself (which makes no sense when I'm playing the girls...wait...what?)

Dialogue trees would be cool as a way of having the protagonist talk, but aren't really necessary in an RPG series like Pokemon.

Originally Posted by Lawnmowergirl

Dialogue trees would be cool as a way of having the protagonist talk, but aren't really necessary in an RPG series like Pokemon.

Not necessary but nevertheless cool.

No. That tiny little character is supposed to be you. He has my personality. In my imagination he talks, because it is me talking. I pretend I am him, I put myself in his shoes, and add the dialogue in my head.

It's great fun as well if you have an Action Replay like I do, to manipulate events to make your own story.

As it was said earlier, the protagonist is supposed to be you. A silent hero is usually easier to identify with, and the games would need stronger stories if they were to have talking protagonists. For example, another Nintendo series, Star Fox has a talking protagonist, Fox McCloud, but that series has a much more involving story and each character has a complicated background. Fox can only be identified with when you watch his story unfolding and feel his emotions during his interactions with other characters. In a game like the Legend of Zelda (another Nintendo series, if that wasn't obvious) however, though there is a very strong story, the emphasis is not on the characters and events, but on you, the player and your actions. Link never talks, and most players would probably like it to stay that way. Even in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, the protagonist never actually talks, but thinks generic thoughts, usually as questions for the player to answer in his or her own mind. It was YOU who was turned into a Pokemon, not some random Japanese kid who you control. The Pokemon series has never had talking protagonists, and I don't think it will ever need one.

I was basically gonna say the same thing others have. The player character is supposed to be you so you have to use your imagination to imagine what your character is saying. But technically you can count the Yes or No responses as your character talking.

The games wouldn't be that funny if the protagonist talked.

Agreeing with everyone else. Like Zelda games, I feel like I have a connection to the protagonist if he/she is silent cuz it's supposed to a representation of myself. It's my adventure, my pokemon, etc. I am the protagonist (he has my name after all...)

The game would be messed up if you could type stuff because if:
Cyrus: I will build a new world
(Insert name here): $h*t...... Want pancakes, Lil Wayne?

Everytime I play Pokémon, I feel conected with the protagonist, because he doesn't talk and I'm a little bit like that, I usually don't talk a lot.

Originally Posted by SamPilgrim

Everytime I play Pokémon, I feel conected with the protagonist, because he doesn't talk and I'm a little bit like that, I usually don't talk a lot.

Same here. A non-talking player is a part of Pokémon games' "magic".