IdleMind
BANNED FOREVER
Why do I find Lightning distasteful?
It's a multi-layered question more complicated than "FF sucks" (Though I certainly believe that to be true).
What does a guest character bring to a game? Attention. My goal, or job, is to point that attention to learning the game instead of button mashing through story mode and playing dress up. That get's harder when the guests chosen to promote the game appeal to the pre-pubescent or mid-teenager set (10-15). Lighting falls right into that, as do most of the guest choices. They are all "cult of personality" kind of characters that appeal largely to a subset of fans who squeeeeeeee wildly over characters like they are real.
That makes my job harder, because instead of socially adjusted adults who buy the game because "oh neat a cool guest character" and I can speak to them on their level and introduce them to the wider world, the guest character instead attracts 10-15 year olds, or their mental/social equivalents. I'm not looking for the kind of character 14 year old girls who like anime draw in their sketchbooks. I'm not looking for the kind of character who people write fanfics about. I'm looking for a guest who appeals to the late teen-early 20 something subset, because generally that is the cut of people I find easiest to convince to actually learn how to play the game. Otherwise, not only is my job harder, but the board becomes flooded with people who want to have "who is better" style comic-book shop masturbation arguments; on what is essentially a dedicated competitive site for the Soul Series.
Hope that answers your question.
-Idle
