Working Title 05.10.07: Working Rant - Sidekick Appreciation
Posted by Jordan Williams on 05.10.2007
Sidekicks are always behind thier heroes. But I think it's time for them to bust out and get the spotlight for once. What do you think?
Welcome back to the #1 Column to openly admit that it LIKED The Super Mario Bros. Movie, WORKING TITLE. Since my (triumphant) return to 411, I have been trying something new. For the rest of this month I'm NOT going to write in the episodic style I was writing in before my break instead the rest of this month will be dedicated to Working Rants.
Translation: I'm going to be making my columns up two hours in advance. Yay!
So, what's on tap today? Well, as I was sitting down playing Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (that review will be on the site eventually.) I noticed that Chocobos are just some of the sidekicks from games that eventually end up getting a chance to carry the games themselves. What other sidekicks need a chance to run with the ball nowadays?
This weeks Working Rant is Sidekick Appreciation.
Everyone needs a Sidekick
It's just a common rule of heroes. You need a sidekick. The sidekick could be there for comic relief, support, help, or they could just be there because they suck too much to be a hero on their own. Whatever the reason, its still holds true that everyone needs a sidekick and in video games it's not different.
Some sidekicks, however, end up getting so good that they could sometimes end up carrying the whole world on their back, we usually see this in the form of spin-offs and other things, but some characters that have started off as sidekicks have actually gone off to have successful franchises of their own.
Here at Working Title we appreciate the idea of sidekicks getting from under the shadow of their respective hero (or heroine) and stepping up to kick some ass. That's why this is Sidekick Appreciation, where I will show you what sidekick needs to break out from their shell and begin to whoop some ass.
Toad Games: Various Mario games
Toad, we know him. We love him. We all want him to get his OWN game. Sure, Toad has played second banana in a lot of titles. He was a selectable character in Super Mario Bros. 2; he is easily one of the BEST characters in ALL of the Mario Kart games. He's been a supporting character in nearly all of Mario's sports games. But when does Toad get the chance to shine on his own?
Think about it, outside of Bowser, Toad is the ONLY Mario-centric character that hasn't gotten a game completely to him or at least one where he is the main point. I think Toad is a stand up sidekick to anyone, sure he isn't all that active, but he's hell of a lot more competent than Luigi.
I secretly thing Toad is a Ninja. Look at Mario 64, he was everywhere at once. I don't buy that there were more than one. Toad is a Ninja, and his first game will be the first Rated M game to come from a Mario Franchise.
You heard it here first.
Tails Games: Various Sonic games
You know I couldn't leave out this little bastard. If there is one thing that Sonic has too much of, it's DEFINATELY sidekicks. Back when Sonic 2 was all new and stuff, Tails had the whole market to himself. But with the release of every new game, a new character got tacked on to the franchise and eventually poor little Tails got lost in the shuffle. Seeing as Sonic isn't exactly the money making machine I used to be. Why not just give Tails a show? I mean someone somehow though it was a good idea to give SHADOW a game, so why not made up and let Tails have a little game on the DS or something? It could be fun, and it couldn't be any worse than Shadow's game.
Sure, some people would say that Knuckles should be one the next in line to get his own game, but screw that. Knuckles has had enough spotlight already and he should be fine where he is. Besides, ever since Knux debuted Tails has been getting the short end of the stick. No fair.
Cid* Games: Final Fantasy Series *= FF7 Cid pictured, but I'm referring to Cid in general
Cid. That three lettered name always managed to find its way into a Final Fantasy game. Be it spin off or not. Sure, Cid has actually been playable in a few of the games. But you know what? It's time for Square-Enix to make the leap. It's time for them to do the one thing that every Cid fan around the world wants them to do.
Cid needs to be a main character. Not just a main character...THE main character.
That's right, let's make the next Final Fantasy game revolve around CID. It'll be awesome and everyone and their mother already know it. If there is one sidekick that has earned either due, it's Cid. He takes shit in some games, he talks shit in other games, he's died, he's lived, his been shot out of cannons, he's ridden chocobos, build air ships, he's been old, he's been young, his been annoying, he's been cool.
Besides being a female, the only thing Cid HASN'T been is the lead character. Let's make it happened Square-Enix. Let's make Cid the focal point for once, he's deserved it.
...You know, a female Cid doesn't sound like too bad of an idea.
And then there was HUNK. Resident Evil is home to many a badass. We have Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, and the ultra badass Leon Kennedy. But there is one person who surpasses them all, and his name is HUNK. HUNK has only been playable in two games (you had to use a Gameshark to play as him in Outbreak), but his story has been fleshed out over the entire series not counting 1 and 0. He's due for a run in the game and if you've played the Mercenaries mini-game in Resi 4, you know that HUNK can handle himself quite easily.
In fact, it even reads in his bio that HUNK for some reason is always the only member of his team to survive when sent on a dangerous mission. That alone should slate HUNK to be in a Resi Game as the focal point.
Plus, I mean the guy wears riot gear and a gas mask. There is NOTHING more badass than a gas mask. NOTHING.
Otis
You get no picture because I hate you. Games: Dead Rising. My Nightmares.
Otis, I hate you. Please die.
Working Feedback
This week we got a letter from Jason McCord:
Great column. I play PS2, Xbox 360(I just got it as a gift and it's my first exposure to Xbox) and PC games mostly. I don't understand why it takes so long to come out with sure fire big sellers. I can't wait for KoToR 3 to come out; I hope it ends a little better than 2. I used to be a big PC gamer, big Blizzard fan. Can't understand why Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 haven't been made yet.
It would be nice if the Zelda/Mario series would be across multiple platforms, but then I guess no one would buy the Nintendo machines if they did that. Haven't played one since Ocarina (sp?) of time on the n64 I think. Punch-out was the shiz back in the day, super punch-out was even good, guess they ran out of ideas for cartoonist boxers...
I need some help finding some good Xbox 360 games. The only game I have at the moment is madden 07. I've played Gears of Wars, Marvel Alliance, and Smackdown vs. Raw. Normally Id rank my interest in gaming as: Sports, RPG, RTS, Action, Shooters. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
You know in my rush to get the column out last week, I COMPLETELY forgot to mention Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3, both of which were on the list I had made up originally. I seriously don't know why they haven't released any information on these games yet, or why they haven't MADE them. I really hope that they haven't just decided World of Warcraft is the end all be all for them, because if that's the case than it's going to be sad if instead of getting a Starcraft 2 we get a World of Starcraft.
And I never like to say never, but I think the day Nintendo finally stops making games (which I don't think they EVER will), I think Mario and Zelda will die right along with them. I don't see them ever being cross-platform games.
Seeing as I don't own an Xbox 360, constantly steal my friends when he isn't looking. I can say that Dead Rising, Saint's Row, Dead or Alive 4, and Tony Hawk Project 8 are VERY good games. You should check them out.
Thanks for the email.
That's it...
Well that wraps up another week of Working Title. I think I like this idea of just ranting across my columns and hoping they end up making sense at the end. It's a lot less stressful on the mind and I'm not that pressured to come up with ideas.
Next week expect another Working Rant. Why? Because I like them.
Until next time, I'm Jordan Williams...and while this column doesn't have a name, it's a lot better than Capcom's reason for ever putting Otis in Dead Rising.
