The gaming world has evolved in many ways due to the technologies that are now available for it. In the case of video game protagonists, certain series are known for having “silent ones” that have other characters talk for them. After all, the player can’t speak through them, and having dialogue options wasn’t always available for games, even for RPGs. One franchise that has embodied this throughout its run is Dragon Quest, which always had a silent protagonist trying to save the world in one form or another. However, with today’s technologies, even the series creator admits that things might need to change on the “silent” front.
Creator Yuji Horii spoke with Automaton and noted that “as game graphics evolve and grow increasingly realistic, if you make a protagonist who just stands there, they will look like an idiot.”
That’s true in many respects, and many other franchises have had this problem, too, where their protagonists “stare blankly” at other characters or events as things go down.
“That’s why, the type of protagonist featured in Dragon Quest becomes increasingly difficult to depict as games become more realistic. This will be a challenge in the future too.”
Horii also noted that they can’t simply go and make the protagonist ‘explicitly react’ to situations, as that could lead to a disconnect between players and the characters.
It is a tightrope, especially for the fantasy RPG setting that Yorii likes to make. It’s not impossible, though, to make a protagonist who talks and fairly reacts to everything that’s going on around them. There are also waits to cheat the system to keep the protagonist silent.
A great example of this is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While Link doesn’t talk outside of his usual grunts and shouts, there are scenes where you can specifically see him ‘talking’ with others like Purah, and they react to what he’s saying. That might be how Horii and others get through this challenge. We’re not saying that it’s something everyone should use, but there are examples of how to get around this.
Plus, since Horii’s series is set to have its next mainline entry release soon, it’ll be interesting to see how they overcome this obstacle so that they can keep the franchise alive and growing. There’s a ton of pressure on Square Enix and its various teams right now due to its “restructuring” and focus on having bigger hits. Hopefully, Horii will deliver a home run with the next entry.
