There’s no question that any good RPG has to have a bad-ass hero. Or in many other cases (like Final Fantasy) a bad-ass villain. But being old school like I am, I’ll take a hero like Lloyd Irving any day over some emo looking clown with antisocial personality disorder*. Lloyd Irving, protagonist of the masterpiece Gamecube rpg Tales of Symphonia, makes my favorite video game character of all time for several perfectly flawless reasons.
For starters, he’s one of the most likeable protagonists in any game I’ve ever played. Immature, well… yes, but his unbending spirit and good natured heart make for one hell of an inspiring character. Not to mention, through the progression of the game, you notice a definite growth in his strength and maturity that other RPG games neglect to give very much focus. For example, Tales of Symhonia 2: Dawn of a New World starred Michael Cera* as the whiniest preteen pushover character to ever grace a video game: Emil Castagnier. There was little appeal to any heroism Emil could possibly muster up when constantly overshadowed by his timid histrionics. Lloyd, on the other hand, was a fearless, courageous beast when confronting the worst of enemies, as well as traitorous friends.
Lloyd was not only a lauded symbol of virtue and honor, but a funny and multidimensional character with an abundance of personality. In contrast to other RPGs like Legend of Zelda, where Link has all the expression of a gasping mime, Lloyd is known for pulling funny gags (pinching Genis’s nose in his sleep) and getting caught up in occasional mischief amidst his heroic acts.
For those who get a lot of enjoyment from special attacks and abilities, it’s safe to say Lloyd has many of the best in the game. Sure, he can’t grow three times his size like Mario, or curl up into a morph ball like Samus, but it’s a shame Lloyd couldn’t even make it into a Smash Bros game when his Sword Rain attack would make such an awesome final smash. No need to forget his Rising Falcon which averages nearly 1,000 damage once unlocked. In Tales 2, the introduction of Mystic Artes shows us his “Divine Justice”, which is also pretty awesome.
There’s no denying that Lloyd makes for an all-around near perfect video game character, meeting practically all the criteria no less. I mean, a character that starts off a human with enhanced physical abilities, but ends the game with angel wings spanning like an eagle counts for quite a bit in my book.
*Note: No disrespect to anyone with APD. The actual condition is serious, unlike parts of this article. *Note: Michael Cera is NOT in Tales of Symphonia 2, but honestly you’d swear otherwise.