Franklin made GTA V's narrative work. Spoiler warning.

[JackyG]

Having recently finished GTA V I can say that very confidently. Franklin was not only vital to the story but he was the central character. He was the least developed of the three but the central one nonetheless.

My reasoning? He was the link we as players had to the game's world. Like Nico Bellic or Carl Johnson before him, he had a level of self-awareness that kept the player personally involved in the story.

His purpose for Michael was to bring out the father figure again after all these years and his purpose for Trevor was to be the match to the flame (not that Trevor needed much of one) the "new model" so to speak.

Trevor clearly liked Franklin as much as Michael did in the end and his chief worry throughout was that Michael was going to ruin his life like he did Trevor's and his own family's. Michael is just as much a psychopath as Trevor, he just spent his whole life learning how to mask it while Trevor embraced it. Franklin is both our window into and the rock from which their dynamic is able to exist.

Without Franklin, Michael and Trevor would be enemies. The game would have been from a single perspective (either Michael or Trevor with the other relegated to antagonist duties). Would that have been better? I say no now having played it but it's up for debate, sure.
I think that Franklin and Lamar's relationship felt very artificial because Lamar's plot didn't really go anywhere. He was really only there to support what little character development was required for Franklin. As funny as their dialogue together was you really could easily cut him out.

So there you go, overall I really enjoyed the three character system and the creepy-maternalistic-love-triangle thing that they had going on. That together with GTA Online means it's easily my game of the year.

Happy new year everyone!

 

[shootthebandit]

Having recently finished GTA V I can say that very confidently. Franklin was not only vital to the story but he was the central character. He was the least developed of the three but the central one nonetheless.

My reasoning? He was the link we as players had to the game's world. Like Nico Bellic or Carl Johnson before him, he had a level of self-awareness that kept the player personally involved in the story.

Franklin is the sensible straight man of the team and hes the voice of reason. He is the glue that holds the trio together and probably why hes the central character

Trevor clearly liked Franklin as much as Michael did in the end and his chief worry throughout was that Michael was going to ruin his life like he did Trevor's and his own family's. Michael is just as much a psychopath as Trevor, he just spent his whole life learning how to mask it while Trevor embraced it. Franklin is both our window into and the rock from which their dynamic is able to exist.

The funny thing is that micheal and trevor are 2 sides of the same coin. In the beginning we assume micheals rage comes from him trying to protect his family but deep down he as much a selfish psychopath as trevor. Without franklin we would never have noticed the similarities between these 2 characters

Without Franklin, Michael and Trevor would be enemies. The game would have been from a single perspective (either Michael or Trevor with the other relegated to antagonist duties). Would that have been better? I say no now having played it but it's up for debate, sure.
I think that Franklin and Lamar's relationship felt very artificial because Lamar's plot didn't really go anywhere. He was really only there to support what little character development was required for Franklin. As funny as their dialogue together was you really could easily cut him out.

I like lamar. He represented franklins past and while being about as useful as a chocolate fireguard he was a good friend. Its always important to have friends and not forget where you came from

So there you go, overall I really enjoyed the three character system and the creepy-maternalistic-love-triangle thing that they had going on. That together with GTA Online means it's easily my game of the year.

Happy new year everyone!

The dynamic between the three characters is superb and its probably one of the best narratives in a videogame ive ever played. It may have been a tad on the short side and a little cliche (although thats rockstars thing). It was still chock full of content and it was well paced. Id say GTA:O is its only downfall (its really unpopular on these forums) but even with a terrible multiplayer its still game of the year, game of the decade and game of my lifetime

 

[JackyG]

Woo!
That's interesting to hear about GTA:O It's so dynamic and intriguing that it's kept me hooked since November. The crazy stuff I've gotten up to that's all been unique is unlike anything I've experienced in an online game. Wicked stuff.

 

[elvor0]

I like lamar. He represented franklins past and while being about as useful as a chocolate fireguard he was a good friend. Its always important to have friends and not forget where you came from

I dunno, I didn't really like Lamar either, guy was a bit of a dick. And always seemed to be trying too hard to be gangsta, yo home dog, blud etc. I didn't have a connection with Franklin because he has nothing I can relate to character wise, but I felt sorry for him having to pick up Lamars mess all the time, especially with him being like "what about the ghetto homes?" every five seconds, felt like Frank should've just turned round and said "Fuck the ghetto man, the ghettos shite, full of wasters like you dragging people down!" Lamar didn't seem like a good friend, just a useless leech hanging around with Franklin because he's too kind to just tell him to do one.