LogFAQs > #895969256

3. Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)

http://i.neoseeker.com/n/2/super_smash_bros_shulk_wii_u_01.jpg

"...I won't do it."

"If you do not kill me now, my blade will annihalate every last one of your people. Even then?"

"I can't kill you, but I can stop your blade. And I'll do it. Over and over again. Until...we understand each other."

The JRPG genre struggles with its protagonists. While my list may have a decent number of them, for every Velvet and Vyse there's two Lloyds or Lightnings, or - god forbid - even a Marche. Due to the story-driven nature of the genre and the highly visible role of the protagonist (unlike say, an FPS, where you will literally never see Gordon Freeman) it's important that the player can invest themselves into the protagonist. That means either taking the cop-out answer by utilizing a self-insert silent protagonist, which is safe but almost never improves the overall experience, or creating a protagonist that is his/her own character. The result is usually a character with a weak personality, or a poorly-written story arc, or a questionably overdone character design, or a character whose decisions frustrate the player, or some combination of the above. They may not even be a bad character, just decidedly underwhelming.

Then there's Shulk, who I consider to be the perfect JRPG protagonist. Characters like Velvet or Tidus have more unique characterization, but if a developer wanted to make a more 'normal' JRPG protagonist who could act as a vehicle for the player to immerse themselves in the world while also being a good character at the same time, I would point them straight to Shulk. He avoids all of the pitfalls endemic to the genre. He has plenty of room to grow at the start of the game but doesn't start off as so weak or immature that it's frustrating. He's intelligent but not a genius to the point where it becomes unrelatable. His character motivations always makes sense, even when the actions he takes sometimes surprise you. He possesses a lot of inner strength but isn't perfect, showing emotional vulnerability when things get really bad. He accomplishes great things but it's by no means guaranteed that he succeeds in everything he does - and some of his failures have real, tangible consequences. He's very honest and generally optimistic but never comes across as naive. He's a special case and the only one who can wield the Monado without frying their nerves, but also never loses his status as a relatable everyman even when stuff starts getting wacky in the endgame.

What it all boils down to is that Shulk has the best possible personality and characterization for his archetype. There was never a moment in Xenoblade where I stopped wanting to be Shulk, and that's saying something as that game has a lot of playable characters with interesting gameplay mechanics. It just felt wrong to experience the world of Xenoblade through anything but his eyes.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.