Do you really belive Nintendo characters have no personality?

[Zhukov]

Uh, I hadn't really thought about it.

...

Well, yes, actually, since you mention it, I do think that.

Nintendo characters aren't really characters in the literary sense. The most they get is a sort of one-note summation. Y'know, "He's the brave leader, she's the funny ditz, he's the cocky one, she's the clever one etc etc.

I'm not sure that they really need to be more than that either. I mean, Mario is a game about jumping over stuff and navigating obstacles. I don't think it need the titular hero to be a multi-layers, fully realised human character with hopes, flaws and complex motivations.

Nintendo have the thing that they do and that thing doesn't really involve characters. Which is fine and seems to have worked for them so far. And this is coming from someone who couldn't give a damn about Nintendo products.

 

[themistermanguy]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

 

[StriderShinryu]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

 

[themistermanguy]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

So basically, unless its an RPG, or a game intended to be character driven, video game characters in general are pretty one-note.

 

[StriderShinryu]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

So basically, unless its an RPG, or a game intended to be character driven, video game characters in general are pretty one-note.

I think that's a little narrow of a definition as most games these days are designed at least completely enough on the "world and character" side of things to allow for their characters to have more robust personalities. Even platformers, like the ones I listed, are painted in enough detail to allow for that sort of character definition. When, however, you built characters back when Nintendo built most of it's staple cast (or if you build a game nearly purely on it's mechanics as in some modern indie titles) that just wasn't part of the plan. It's not really a complaint about Nintendo's games, even if it is part of what can make them feel slightly archaic, it's just what fits within what they do. In the same sense, it's not wrong to point at a large number of Nintendo's characters and say they lack robust personalities but it's also not really always a valid complaint depending on what exactly is being discussed.

 

[forgo911]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

So basically, unless its an RPG, or a game intended to be character driven, video game characters in general are pretty one-note.

When I first read that, I said to myself, there is no way that's correct. Then as I looked through my games I realized that you were right. If it isn't a rpg, the characters suck. I could really only think of two companies that can make good characters and they are Blizzard (starcraft) and Rockstar (pick one).

Now about nintendo's characters, people who enjoy nintendo games are not those that enjoy rpgs or strategy games. People who play nintendo games are those who enjoy simple games (not to be confused with easy games, which they certainly are not) and for a simple game, you don't need complex characters.

 

[gamernerdtg2]

They have no personality because it helps with immersion. I don't want to play a character with a personality that I can't stand. That's why I don't do Metal Gear Solid.

It's better if the character feels like you. The best way to do that is to make it generic - Mario is the generic "happy type" character. Samus was a serious character, but her gender was a nice surprise. It still didn't change the immersion factor for me.

When gameplay is the focus, then characterization should not be the driving force in the game. If we're playing RPGs, then character personalities and back-stories are all important. We play the game to learn more about the characters. The player is on the outside looking in.

When it's a game where you design your own character, that's a whole other thing.

 

[themistermanguy]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

So basically, unless its an RPG, or a game intended to be character driven, video game characters in general are pretty one-note.

When I first read that, I said to myself, there is no way that's correct. Then as I looked through my games I realized that you were right. If it isn't a rpg, the characters suck. I could really only think of two companies that can make good characters and they are Blizzard (starcraft) and Rockstar (pick one).

Now about nintendo's characters, people who enjoy nintendo games are not those that enjoy rpgs or strategy games. People who play nintendo games are those who enjoy simple games (not to be confused with easy games, which they certainly are not) and for a simple game, you don't need complex characters.

Hey, I enjoy Nintendo games, and I enjoy RPG and strategy games. Plus, have you forgotten that Nintendo has several RPG and strategy games?

 

[themistermanguy]

So from what I got from these posts so far is that people both agree, and disagree. If you agree with the topic title, can you give me other examples of characters with personality from another company?

Within the scope of what Nintendo generally does, I don't think are many real quality examples simply because the characters with a simple one note personality are often the best. Most times where an "Iconic" character in the Mario style is given a more robust personality it fails completely. It either feels forced like what has happened with Sonic throughout the years or it just quickly gets annoying like in the cases of characters such as Gex or Bubsy.

I think the best examples of icon/mascot style characters that have successfully found themselves with more personality would probably be Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank and the Sly Cooper cast. Then again, those characters were all generally designed from the outset to have more character and exist in a more defined world so it's not really a fair comparison. Going a little more retro and minimal, I think Earthworm Jim is a pretty solid example but he's still pretty one note.

So basically, unless its an RPG, or a game intended to be character driven, video game characters in general are pretty one-note.

I think that's a little narrow of a definition as most games these days are designed at least completely enough on the "world and character" side of things to allow for their characters to have more robust personalities. Even platformers, like the ones I listed, are painted in enough detail to allow for that sort of character definition. When, however, you built characters back when Nintendo built most of it's staple cast (or if you build a game nearly purely on it's mechanics as in some modern indie titles) that just wasn't part of the plan. It's not really a complaint about Nintendo's games, even if it is part of what can make them feel slightly archaic, it's just what fits within what they do. In the same sense, it's not wrong to point at a large number of Nintendo's characters and say they lack robust personalities but it's also not really always a valid complaint depending on what exactly is being discussed.

Well, if we're still listing franchises, Nintendo has games like Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, certain Zelda games (Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword), Mario RPG's, Chibi-Robo, and Nintendo's other RPG series (minus Pokémon). All of which I feel are pretty character driven, each in their own way.

 

[Piorn]

Each of the franchises has a lot of personality, and the characters are an integral part of these franchises.
The Super Mario franchise would be nothing without the titular Mario.
But the same goes the other way around. Remove the entire franchise except the person Mario, and it would not be worth one paragraph of text.
The characters might be the heart of Nintendo, but taken for itself, the heart is just a muscle.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Well, if we're still listing franchises, Nintendo has games like Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, certain Zelda games (Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword), Mario RPG's, Chibi-Robo, and Nintendo's other RPG series (minus Pokémon). All of which I feel are pretty character driven, each in their own way.

Oh, of course. It's not that Nintendo can't make characters with more robust personalities, it's just that they choose (or chose) not to in many cases. If you look at the average Nintendo game featuring one of it's staple characters you're far more likely to find a one note character than not, and that works perfectly fine in most of what Nintendo does.

 

[themistermanguy]

Well, if we're still listing franchises, Nintendo has games like Kid Icarus, Fire Emblem, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, certain Zelda games (Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword), Mario RPG's, Chibi-Robo, and Nintendo's other RPG series (minus Pokémon). All of which I feel are pretty character driven, each in their own way.

Oh, of course. It's not that Nintendo can't make characters with more robust personalities, it's just that they choose (or chose) not to in many cases. If you look at the average Nintendo game featuring one of it's staple characters you're far more likely to find a one note character than not, and that works perfectly fine in most of what Nintendo does.

The only instances where I feel this is true is with Platformers and Mario spin-offs (with the exception of Mario RPG's). Of course, there are a few other cases as well like Metroid and F-Zero, but as I said, it just depends on the games. Your not going to expect a Nintendo platformer with with likeable characters, but you will expect them in say, Star Fox.