ReFantazio: Silent Protagonists in Modern RPGs

RPG veterans Yuji Horii and Katsura Hashino, directors of Square Enix's “Dragon Quest” and Atlus' “Metaphor: ReFantazio,” discuss the use of silent protagonists in games amidst advancing technology and the evolving landscape of game development.

Dragon Quest Creator Discusses Modern Challenges of Silent ProtagonistsSilent Protagonists Appear Increasingly Inappropriate in Modern Games

image (c) Den Faminico Gamer

Yuji Horii, the creator of the renowned Dragon Quest RPG series, discussed RPGs with Katsura Hashino, director of Atlus’ forthcoming RPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. This conversation was highlighted in a recently released interview excerpt from the "Metaphor: ReFantazio Atlas Brand 35th Anniversary Edition" booklet. The RPG directors addressed diverse storytelling facets within this specific video game genre, including the difficulties faced by established franchises like Dragon Quest as video game visuals become more lifelike.

A core element of the Dragon Quest series is its utilization of a silent protagonist, or as Horii termed it, “the symbolic protagonist.” Employing silent protagonists enables players to imbue the main character with their own feelings and responses, potentially enhancing one's engagement with the game's setting. These silent characters generally act as player surrogates, interacting with the game world mainly through dialogue choices instead of spoken words.

Horii explained that due to the simpler visuals of earlier games, which didn't depict detailed character expressions or animations, using silent protagonists was easier and logical. "As game graphics evolve and become increasingly realistic, if you make a protagonist who just stands there, they will look like an idiot," Horii remarked jokingly.

Horii mentioned he initially aimed to be a manga artist, and stated that his love for storytelling and fascination with computers propelled him to enter the video game industry. Dragon Quest was ultimately born from Horii's passions, along with the game's premise of story progression through game boss encounters. "Dragon Quest basically consists of dialogue with townspeople, with very little in the way of narration. The story is created using the dialogue. That’s what’s fun about it," he explained.

Horii acknowledged the difficulties of maintaining this approach in contemporary games, where lifelike graphics can make a non-reactive protagonist seem incongruous. In the early days of Dragon Quest, the simplistic graphics of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) era meant that players could readily Envision their own emotions and responses filling the gaps left by the silent protagonist. However, as games' visuals and audio—along with other factors—become more elaborate, Horii conceded that silent protagonists become increasingly hard to portray.

"That’s why, the kind of protagonist featured in Dragon Quest becomes increasingly hard to portray as games become more realistic. This will be a challenge in the future too," the creator concluded.

Metaphor ReFantazio Director Believes Dragon Quest Prioritizes Players' Feelings

Dragon Quest is one of the few major RPG franchises that continues to feature a silent protagonist, who, apart from making a few reactive sounds, remains mute throughout the game. On the other hand, other RPG franchises like Persona have incorporated voiced lines for their protagonists during battles and cutscenes, prominently since Persona 3. Meanwhile, Hashino's upcoming game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, will feature a fully voice-acted protagonist.

While the Dragon Quest creator considered the limited emotional impact of silent protagonists in modern games, Hashino praised Horii for the unique and emotionally resonant experience the game offers. "I think Dragon Quest puts a lot of thought into how the player will feel in a given situation," Hashino told Horii, "even when it's to do with an ordinary townsperson. I feel like the games are consistently created with the player in mind, considering what emotions will arise when someone speaks."