Hanako Games

Christina as a Protagonist

#1 by Mistral - Dec 3 2007

Hello~

I was running a search for otome games in English and found a link to the Fatal Hearts page. I was wondering a few things about the protagonist:

1. Is Christina a "strong" protagonist? Or is she kind of neutral, and how she is depends on the choices you make in game?

2. ....does she ever cry in the game? >>

I've played through one too many games where the female protagonist is really weak and just gets in the way or cries >>

Though it's wonderful that you can actually *see* Christina's face in some of the screenshots, instead of...shadowed-out eyes.

Thanks for making great games, can't wait to see Cute Knight Kingdom in the future

#2 by hanako - Dec 4 2007

I was hoping someone else would pipe up, since obviously an author's opinion is going to be a bit biased. (Please, guys, feel free to join in!)

For the first question, it's a combination - Christina definitely has some personality of her own, but you can nudge her in certain directions. Game events will also shape her personality to an extent - if you take a path in which really awful things happen to her, she will end up with a different outlook on life than if your choices make things turn out well.

She's not a blank slate.


If I remember correctly, she does cry on at least one path, but not because she's standing around uselessly waiting for someone to save her. There are some places where you have the CHOICE of standing around whimpering or doing something about it. It really depends on choices... Christina can end up passively letting other people take care of her and boss her around, or she can end up in charge of everybody else. There's a lot of ways it can turn out.

#3 by phoenixgirl - Dec 4 2007

Ok, I'll give my thoughts here as well.

In my opinion, Christina is more of a neutral protagonist since her fate (or destiny-not sure which word is more appropriate) depends on the choices that the player makes. I like the choices in which Christina takes control more rather than the ones in which she allows others to make choices for her. But then again, I've always been one for strong female characters.

#4 by infinity777 - Dec 4 2007

Christina isn't a really weak protagonist, and she doesn't really cry or feel sorry for herself through most of the game. With that said, she does not really have a 'strong' character, since most her personality revolves around what choices you make for her.

#5 by Mistral - Dec 7 2007

I see, thanks for the replies!

I just went to play the demo, and Lucy seems to be the pretty mischievous one, while Christina seems semi-neutral, depending on the answers she gives. It seems like a weird friendship, since Lucy used to bully Christina around, so I wonder how they even became friends in the first place >>

>>phoenixgirl: I've always been one for strong female characters too

Disagree!

#6 by maldemer - Dec 19 2007

I see Christina as a very strong character. She's imaginative, a dreamer, sweet, shy... I mean, look at her bedroom. And remember her fantasies about goblins in the walls? Or how about the fact that she just happens to have Zener cards and books on tarot in her room? I think the game makes it pretty clear what kind of person she is, and she's very likable, too.

And yes, it's true that you can change Christina's path in the game, but in every path her actions are guided by doing what she thinks is right. That's central to her character. You can't make Christina evil or cruel. Overall, I think she's really quite inspiring!

#7 by Hesquidor - Dec 19 2007

I'm a big fan of otome games and I've played more than a few. In my opinion Christina is really quite well done. She's not strong in the sense that she charges around shouting her mouth off. However she does have a quiet strength about her and she doesn't let other people push her around (or if due to various options and/or circumstances she atleast lets her outrage on the subject quite well known).