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What makes a gamer to be invested on a game or even a whole series and maybe the spin-offs too?
Most notable reasons are the gameplay, music, graphics, story and the characters.
Characters not only there to convey the narratives but also serves as your representation to that world.
More often than not we were drawn to these characters mainly because we can relate to them.
And what if a certain character kinda share the same roots as you do? Most notable example is a fighting game character. Yes fighting games where the most common theme is strong individuals from all over world come together to compete. The usual suspects came from Japan, U.S.A, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, China and Russia to name a few. Back then I wasn’t really expecting someone to represent my homeland the Philippines.
So imagine how I flipped when I learned that this waifu would be joining the Tekken roster. Yes guys and gals I’m talking about Josie Rizal who uses our native martial arts Arnis and Eskrima. A little fact did you know Josie made quite a stir in my country when she first came out. You see Josie was inspired by our national hero Dr. Jose P Rizal. Some people overreacted saying that it was a sign of disrespect for one of our national symbols. It even came to a point that Namco almost deleted the character because of the said controversy. It only stopped when the Philippine Historical Commission said that there’s no such disrespect happened. The PHC pointed out that the game dev only used the name to give character much deeper representation. And what more better way to do it than naming her after the most iconic symbol of Philippine Independence. Still Josie isn’t the first Filipino video game character. Prior to her there’s Talim of Soul Calibur series. She first debut on Soul Calibur 2 that was released 2002. Talim’s name means “blades edge” in Filipino the word’s ambiguous nature is often used to describe someone who is sharp, swift and nimble.
And if you think Talim’s the one?Maybe you’re right if you’re only talking about fighting games. But there’s this genre that uses mostly fictional fantasy world in most of it’s games. Yes you’re right I’m talking about RPG.
I would’ve not known about this character if I weren’t a retro JRPG dork…I mean fan , retro JRPG fan. The game is Front Mission 3 the first of the series that was released outside Japan.
This TRPG series is set on the near future real world places. For me the most notable of which is the story arc chapter where depending on the route you choose you’ll be able to recruit Pham Luis a 17 year old heiress of the Luis family one of the richest in the country. Another notable character is Jose Astrada a boss character that you’ll encounter. You’ll be fighting him in the closing part of the Philippine chapter arc.
There you have it my retrospective on the first Filipino Video Game Character which something that still confuses me. Why you may ask? Because if you Google this topic Talim’s name will come as a result even though that title should belong to Pham.
Here are some notable Filipino Video Game Characters in modern gaming, first is Lapu-Lapu from Mobile Legends Bang Bang. Inspired by a tribal chieftain of the same name. Lapu-Lapu and his tribesmen are the ones that repel Ferdinand Magellan’s forces out of the Mactan shores.
Second is Isabella Reyes from Call of Duty Warzone. Inspired by Remedios Gomez-Paraiso aka “Kumander Liwayway” who engaged in guerilla warfare against the Japanese forces in WW2.
What about you guys, what’s your initial reaction when you learned that your favorite character is a homeboy/homegirl of yours.
Thank you very much for opportunity. May you have a great rest of the day!
Most notable reasons are the gameplay, music, graphics, story and the characters.
Characters not only there to convey the narratives but also serves as your representation to that world.
More often than not we were drawn to these characters mainly because we can relate to them.
And what if a certain character kinda share the same roots as you do? Most notable example is a fighting game character. Yes fighting games where the most common theme is strong individuals from all over world come together to compete. The usual suspects came from Japan, U.S.A, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, China and Russia to name a few. Back then I wasn’t really expecting someone to represent my homeland the Philippines.
So imagine how I flipped when I learned that this waifu would be joining the Tekken roster. Yes guys and gals I’m talking about Josie Rizal who uses our native martial arts Arnis and Eskrima. A little fact did you know Josie made quite a stir in my country when she first came out. You see Josie was inspired by our national hero Dr. Jose P Rizal. Some people overreacted saying that it was a sign of disrespect for one of our national symbols. It even came to a point that Namco almost deleted the character because of the said controversy. It only stopped when the Philippine Historical Commission said that there’s no such disrespect happened. The PHC pointed out that the game dev only used the name to give character much deeper representation. And what more better way to do it than naming her after the most iconic symbol of Philippine Independence. Still Josie isn’t the first Filipino video game character. Prior to her there’s Talim of Soul Calibur series. She first debut on Soul Calibur 2 that was released 2002. Talim’s name means “blades edge” in Filipino the word’s ambiguous nature is often used to describe someone who is sharp, swift and nimble.
And if you think Talim’s the one?Maybe you’re right if you’re only talking about fighting games. But there’s this genre that uses mostly fictional fantasy world in most of it’s games. Yes you’re right I’m talking about RPG.
I would’ve not known about this character if I weren’t a retro JRPG dork…I mean fan , retro JRPG fan. The game is Front Mission 3 the first of the series that was released outside Japan.
This TRPG series is set on the near future real world places. For me the most notable of which is the story arc chapter where depending on the route you choose you’ll be able to recruit Pham Luis a 17 year old heiress of the Luis family one of the richest in the country. Another notable character is Jose Astrada a boss character that you’ll encounter. You’ll be fighting him in the closing part of the Philippine chapter arc.
There you have it my retrospective on the first Filipino Video Game Character which something that still confuses me. Why you may ask? Because if you Google this topic Talim’s name will come as a result even though that title should belong to Pham.
Here are some notable Filipino Video Game Characters in modern gaming, first is Lapu-Lapu from Mobile Legends Bang Bang. Inspired by a tribal chieftain of the same name. Lapu-Lapu and his tribesmen are the ones that repel Ferdinand Magellan’s forces out of the Mactan shores.
Second is Isabella Reyes from Call of Duty Warzone. Inspired by Remedios Gomez-Paraiso aka “Kumander Liwayway” who engaged in guerilla warfare against the Japanese forces in WW2.
What about you guys, what’s your initial reaction when you learned that your favorite character is a homeboy/homegirl of yours.
Thank you very much for opportunity. May you have a great rest of the day!
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