More than any other conversation Leon has with other characters, this monologue concretely establishes his sexuality and motives for joining the game’s cast while also showing that Nintendo is becoming more varied in the characters they include and the stories they tell. Such a thing really motivates one to get out there and save it.” It’s hardly my fault that the world is full of wonderful, lovable people. “You’re thinking I’m a tramp, aren’t you? Well, I’m not. What can you do with a man like that but fall in love? Every time he saw me, he’d take the time to say something. I cried so hard, I thought my eyes were going to float clean out of my skull. “When I was a kid, there was this guy that I was head over heels for. Even though Leon has a small amount of dialogue to himself throughout Echoes, he has some of the most impactful text given to any character in the game - and it’s hidden in an entirely optional ‘town conversation’ in the title’s final few hours. Of course, Leon’s portrayal isn’t perfectly rounded, partly stemming from the limitations of being a character in a game series that’s stuffed to the brim with playable units, limiting the amount of dialogue written for anyone outside of the main half-dozen characters.Ĭompared to characters in other franchises, Leon is given fairly little text and nearly all of it is related to his sexuality and crush on Valbar, but there’s a layer of depth to this characterization that reaches beyond the stilted archetypes that have tripped up other implicitly gay characters. Leon’s concept art from the Fire Emblem Echoes official art book. Instead, Leon’s story uses the mutual acknowledgement of his attraction as a way for him to emotionally mature. The premise of Leon’s character arc lines up with a trope that so often falls into a storytelling pitfall that prioritizes making (often homophobic) jokes about the situation over significant storytelling and character development. The crush is acknowledged by both parties, and Valbar lets Leon down gently, allowing him to move on at his own pace. Though an unrequited crush isn’t a particularly original concept for a gay character’s storyline in any form of media, Echoes handles it respectfully, developing Leon as a multifaceted person that isn’t defined by this crush as much as it first appears. His support conversations and heart-to-hearts in town revolve around his unrequited love for Valbar, one of his straight travelling companions. Leon is an openly gay character whose development is grounded in experiences many queer people have had.Ī first for the series, Leon is openly gay, and his sexuality is an undeniable point of reference in many of his interactions with those he travels with. Leon is the only character of these three with support conversations with both of the other two, giving him more opportunities to flesh out his character over the course of the game. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, the latest entry in one of Nintendo’s largest franchises, came out last month for the Nintendo 3DS, bringing with it dozens of new characters to level up and become attached to as you campaign across the continent as a sword wielding 19-year-old, just like nearly every other Fire Emblem game.Įarly on in Echoes, protagonist Celica is introduced to a group of three traveling adventurers who join her group for the remainder of the game: Leon, Valbar, and Kamui.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |