Hanako Games

The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#1 by hanako - Dec 9 2014

This is a separate topic to talk about your student council girls, which ones you like, which ones drive you mad, and so on. Basically so that HOT DATE TIPS conversation doesn't get lost in the bug reports.


... and I apologise for Althea's taste in poetry.

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#2 by Franka - Dec 9 2014

I totally did not have ulterior motives hugging Mallory all the time. I swear!

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#3 by Oki - Dec 9 2014

I kind of like them all in their own ways. Somehow, I preferred the tsundere the most...

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#4 by hanako - Dec 9 2014

Oh, actually I should ask - if I set up built-in forum avatars for Black Closet, should I use the ingame art or the chibis?

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#5 by wendymarlowe - Dec 9 2014

Comment from my 6-year-old daughter, who insisted in sitting in my lap and reading everything aloud as I play: "Is this a school where only girls with light skin are allowed?" (When you take Vonne as your Harvest queen it makes it more obvious she's at least got some Asian heritage, because you see her full name, but if you've got additional art anyway, it would be nice to see a few obviously darker-skinned individuals!)

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#6 by hanako - Dec 9 2014

Randomly generated students should include black, dark-asian, and light-asian in the options. There's no relationship between the visuals and the names on random students, though, so they may not be as noticeable. Elsa is black herself, of course, although you can't see very much of her until the CGs are in.

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#7 by Franka - Dec 9 2014

hanako:

... and I apologise for Althea's taste in poetry.

...
...
...
Rosebud...

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#8 by wendymarlowe - Dec 10 2014

hanako:

Randomly generated students should include black, dark-asian, and light-asian in the options. There's no relationship between the visuals and the names on random students, though, so they may not be as noticeable. Elsa is black herself, of course, although you can't see very much of her until the CGs are in.

Cool - I just mentioned it because I had kind of wondered the same thing, although I don't think of it quite the same way as a first grader does :-P (Race is kind of a big deal at that age, so I know why she asked - age 5-6 is when kids start noticing skin color - but seeing that Elsa is black will balance that out a lot.)

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#9 by Franka - Dec 10 2014

I know this looks horrible, but I couldn't help myself.

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#10 by hanako - Dec 10 2014

Heheh. When we get the base game working smoothly we can get back to working on make-your-own-characters!

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#11 by wendymarlowe - Dec 10 2014

Ha! Finally got a kissy scene and got to see Elsa for the first time (until the school spontaneously combusted into a drug ring the next week and I got kicked out). It's all "forbidden romance" that way, I guess?

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#12 by Franka - Dec 15 2014

Oh Rowan...


You went from my favorite minion...


...to my favorite romance.


I need your kissy CG...


...like I need you stalking me...


...and reading my personal mail.


Here's to happily ever after!

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#13 by seangmz - Dec 17 2014

I think Vonne is my favourite so far, she actually got an 'Awwww!' from me.

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#14 by Cerberusia - Dec 25 2014

I've not done her path yet, but from what I've seen of her, I'd say Althea's my favourite. The bit where her reaction to Mallory bumping into her is 'I don't mind. You can do it again, if you'd like,' with a little smirk is great. I look forward to playing her path and seeing if she's actually capable of embarrassment! I'm particularly curious to know whether she really doesn't remember bullying Vonne, or is lying in that scene.

I'm also fond of Thais for similar reasons, even if she is a stuck-up git. The hair-tossing proclamations that of course she's the best are very entertaining, as are all the bits where she's not intent upon projecting a cooler-than-thou air. Again, I've not played her path yet.

Vonne is marvellously competent, charmingly devoted and, I'm afraid, kind of a creep. I like excessive devotion and lovesickness as character traits, as it happens, so I enjoyed her path, but the bits where she just poured out her heart and soul to you were both heart-wrenching and a bit alarming. I suppose it had all been festering for a long time, but yikes.

Mallory I wasn't always sure how to deal with, but her path was a nice, cheerful contrast to Vonne and Rowan. I liked that in many ways she looks and acts younger than her years - the hand-print turkey, for example - but isn't infantilised: she's pretty bright and like most 16 year old girls, she's interested in sex - and is surprisingly frank about it. It's nice that she joins in with the St. Claudine spirit of not-gay-just-good-friends-with-lots-of-physical-affection in the end - takes me back to my own girls' school days

Rowan's like Vonne in some ways: very repressed, so when you get talking to her about her problems it all comes out rather explosively. She's a very valuable minion, but I'm not sure what Elsa really sees in her as a romance: she's nice enough, but pretty dull aside from her class-angst. I'm on the hunt for the Devoted Minion ending for her, because I've seen that it apparently involves boot kissing, to which I can only say phwoar.

I found Talmage untrustworthy long before the reveal: the scene where she tries to get you to sign a document for fewer cases triggered a bunch of red flags for me. I wouldn't sign anything she put in front of me!

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#15 by zeru57 - Jan 14 2015

I've played through a few times. Am starting to win more consistently, and get accepted to better colleges. So, my initial thoughts on minions below. Keep in mind, I'm not super familiar with either the genre or conventions that Hanako may be playing with.


Althea is a complete dirtbag. Cocky, lazy, hits on anything that moves, shows up drunk/caffeine crashing/whatever, flakes out 90% of the time, pisses away all her loyalty at the start of second semester. I honestly found very little to like about her character when it was all said and done. I didn't even *want* to romance her on her path. It felt icky, like, when is she going to force herself on me. And whenever possible, I find I use her very little in the game unless I have to - not helped by the fact that she could give a flip the second half of the game. So, mission accomplished? Oh, her somewhat broad skill band in terms of being useful for questioning/harassment/detention feels like it goes to waste.

Thais, I like her play through and her as a character. She has some interesting turns. I have not found the kissy CG yet. But overall, I enjoyed her path more than I thought I would. Her narrow skill band fits her character well. Occasionally I'll pair her with Mallory to ransack a room or two, but it's far from my first choice.

Vonne, yeah, she is creepy to the point where I feel kind of bad indulging in a relationship on her path. It's always like, geez, there's got to be something wrong here. But she likes to role play and create adventure games, there's redeeming qualities here. Anyway. Perhaps there could be some dialog or choices that address and/or help her come to terms with her creepiness? As it is, the Bondage CG probably surprised me the most of all the CG's, and still makes me smile. So to that, I say, moar!

Her skill band is fitting - if you're willing to take the Karma hit or use an item (and/or pair her with Mallory), she's as good a ransacker as Rowan at the start. Surprisingly versatile, I use her for stake outs, supply closet, questioning, classroom searches, and the occasional detention in combination with another girl.

Mallory, I like her play through. It's an interesting choice to make her the one definitively (save for maybe Thais?) straight character, but it works. Her play through is often pleasant and interesting. I usually push her social up, which means she's perfect for tough persuasion, questioning, and even harassment if I need it. As noted above, her stealth makes her a great partner for Vonne in searching rooms.

Rowan is by far my favorite. She's like the secret leading cast member of the game. Hands down the most useful minion, if she is the mole things are a lot harder in the early going. Her romance path is very, very satisfying to me. There's a real sense of personal growth and confidence building, like Elsa really made a difference in her life. You don't get that with Althea, Thais, or even Mallory. Vonne, is, well, Vonne. Again, you need Rowan's skill set (supplemented!) to solve two of the three central mysteries of the game. You can do it without her, but come on, man, why would you want to? Again, I would like even more information on how her relationship with Elsa develops.

I liked her slave path, too. Good stuff all around.

I dislike how much other girl paths subsume once you choose one. I recognize on repeated play throughs scene skipping could get absurd, but I'm disappointed when I have a weekend with nothing to it.

I wish for more detail for the romantic relationships, either epilogue based or through more weekend events. I suppose that is a good sign that I want more.

As for mole motivations, Thais, Mallory, and Rowan all strike me as compelling. I can't even remember Vonne's or Althea's right now.


I'm sure I'll have more thoughts to share as I think about the game. Which is a good thing.

Re: The Cast of Minions - Character Discussion

#16 by Darksilverhawk - Mar 27 2015

Thoughts on the girls, finally, spoilers abounding. I like Vonne a lot for her devotion and imagination. I found her route a lot of fun to play, and it was nice to have such an old friend who wasn't a jerk. I did her route first because she's so obviously in love with you that I felt guilty doing otherwise.

Althea. I do not like Althea one bit. I did her route second just to get it over with, and she did nothing to endear herself to me. She's selfish and lazy and flippant. Rebellious, but not in any useful way, and her tendency to flake out really annoys me. She's just lazy and it's so clear from the get-go that her heart isn't in the student council stuff that it's a complete mystery to me why she ran at all.

I'm pretty neutral on Rowan. I feel sorry for her, but once I finished her romance route I didn't find much memorable about her. Her angst is sort of generic. She doesn't seem to have any really driving forces or anything she's trying to change, she just kinda angsts about being poor a lot and likes soap operas. Her family problems are interesting but that's all I can ever really remember about her route. I got a little bit of a "why is she here if she hates it so much?" vibe out of her, too, particularly since she angsts so hard about not being able to go to college so it's not like she's pouring herself into her studies for scholarships or anything. Her minion path was a little more interesting (if kinda abrupt- I just told you to clean my desk, why are you suddenly pouring your heart out to me about how you're looking into scholarships?) and I liked her character arc better, as it seemed like she had a goal in mind then. Though I was certainly expecting something different when you called it the "devoted" and "loyal" minion path. Her heart doesn't really seem into it.

Back to characters I do like, Thais! Ok, I was pretty neutral on her at first, but once I played her route I became really fond of her boundless confidence. Thais doesn't take shit from anybody, and it's great. She really loves fashion and art, and it really shows on her route. I got her kissy CG by accident (Sorry Thais, but you picked the week I had to finish cleaning up a cheating ring and track down a drug dealer at the same time, I had no resources to allocate to your problems) and I was going for more of a friendship route anyway, but whatever.

And Mallory. I always liked Mallory, she is so happy and cheery and friendly. I sympathize with her, too; I've done the long distance relationship thing before and it's tough, even if her (ex? I was a little fuzzy on how that turned out for her) boyfriend is kind of a jerk. (also, her "you ALL can't be lesbians!" scene is probably my favorite part of the game. I mean, small sample size and all that, but judging from current patterns...) The fact that she has a definite passion in bugs is really awesome and memorable, too.

I would so love an alternate ending where you all just stuff Talmage in a supply closet or something. As much as I like framing her for crimes against goats it would be so cathartic to just shove her in a locker and walk off.