Character Select All Articles

Kain Highwind Character Select
TR Originals

Character Select: Fighting Your Inner Demons - Kain Highwind (Final Fantasy IV)

Moral ambiguity is incredibly difficult to pull off in video games. It is a medium that prioritizes heroic protagonists by nature of the player’s role as them; it's always easier to shape your…

May 11, 2020 | 11:00 EDT

Eddie Riggs Brutal Legend
TR Originals

Character Select: Subverting Power - Eddie Riggs from Brütal Legend

Video games are known for being escapist media. For many, it is the chance to live in a world that is beyond their own, using their skills to overcome challenges before them. Many games fall into the…

December 4, 2019 | 01:00 EST

lost odyssey cover full characters
TR Originals

Character Select: The Long and Winding Road - The Immortals of Lost Odyssey

If you could live for 1,000 years, what would you do? It’s a very simple question, one that people can possibly give in their sleep if they wanted too. Why not wish to fulfill your wildest dreams?…

July 11, 2019 | 02:00 EDT

vivi final fantasy 9 headshot
TR Originals

Character Select: Vivi

We often go on a journey of excitement with larger-than-life characters in video games. The simple fantasy of defeating a great evil, overcoming death-defying odds, enjoying the self-fulfillment of…

May 16, 2019 | 02:00 EDT

mass effect two shepards header character select
TR Originals

Character Select: Biblical Themes in Mass Effect Part 4

  And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there were given unto them seven…

November 7, 2018 | 02:00 EST

mass effect 2 legion character select
TR Originals

Character Select: Biblical Themes in Mass Effect Part 3

  When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.  For he had…

November 1, 2018 | 02:00 EDT

Mad Professor
TR Originals

Character Select: Biblical Themes in Mass Effect Part 2

  God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled…

October 24, 2018 | 02:00 EDT

garrus vakarian mass effect character select
TR Originals

Character Select: Biblical Themes in Mass Effect Part 1

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding…

October 17, 2018 | 02:00 EDT

frog and magus official character art
TR Originals

Character Select: Mirrored Foil - Frog and Magus

Chrono Trigger is perhaps the end-all and be-all of RPGs. Created by the “dream team” of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yuji Horii andAkira Toriyama, with collaborations from various greats like Masato Kato,…

July 20, 2018 | 01:00 EDT

joseph seed far cry 5 headshot
TR Originals

Character Select: The Fate of Freedom - Joseph Seed

There is a lot of chatter surrounding Far Cry 5 this week. The strong review scores have been followed by a smattering of critique over its flaws, criticisms of the apparent “toothless story” and,…

April 6, 2018 | 01:00 EDT

kreia header star wars kotor 2 character select
TR Originals

Character Select - True Neutrality, Kreia

It is established that many RPGs today tend to follow a system of “choice” that can lead to a more definitive role-playing experience. Whether we see the likes of Dragon Age to Dragon Warrior, often…

January 8, 2018 | 09:00 EST

Anders Dragon Age 2 Screenshot 1920 x 1080
TR Originals

Character Select: Justifying the Means - Anders

When one thinks of the current events that plague us today, it is hard not to get political. The world over has seen divisive rhetoric regarding politics, identity, religion, and freedom of…

August 28, 2017 | 12:00 EDT

Martin Walker Spec Ops Headshot
TR Originals

Character Select: Crossing The Line - Martin Walker

The duality of humans is often a common trope in fictional media. Mostly stemming into a form of moral dualism, the classic “good vs. evil” scenario is so prevalent in modern media that it's…

May 25, 2017 | 09:00 EDT

character-select-n-pokemon-black-and-white-art
TR Originals

Character Select: Confronting Truth and Ideals - N

With the release of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, the 20-year franchise has hit a high in terms of worldwide popularity once again. Pokémania has swept the world, and with over 10 million units…

November 23, 2016 | 09:00 EST

glados-portal-character-selects
TR Originals

Character Select: The Ghost in the Machine - GLaDOS

Machines are almost always a major enemy in the gaming world. Alien to human beings, these automatons can be as ruthless and sadistic as any madman in existence but twice as horrific because of this…

October 7, 2016 | 01:00 EDT

TR Originals

Character Select: A Rebel Without a Cause – Garrett

Often portrayed as clever rogues, anti-heroes are loved primarily in the way they conduct themselves when compared to other strangers. Typically, it is easy to say anyone who does not follow the…

September 17, 2016 | 01:00 EDT

Rise of the Tomb Raider Lara Croft
TR Originals

Character Select: More Than a Sex Symbol – Lara Croft

If there is one enduring facet of the video game industry, it is the ability to create symbols. Every entertainment media has their own stable of recognizable superstars. From Audrey Hepburn to…

August 13, 2016 | 01:00 EDT

James Sunderland Silent Hill 2 Character Select
TR Originals

Character Select: James Sunderland

This week is going to be a tough nut to crack, because the protagonist in question is one of the most psychologically complex characters in a video game, in a genre that warrants some prior knowledge…

May 20, 2016 | 11:00 EDT

Character Select Dorian Pavus
TR Originals

Character Select: What Pride Had Wrought – Dorian Pavus

BioWare is increasingly becoming a game studio with a mixed reputation by some, in part due to an arguable drop in quality of their products. The almost comical rage found at the end of Mass Effect 3…

March 17, 2016 | 01:00 EDT

Link Legend of Zelda Character Selects
TR Originals

Character Select: A Modern Myth – Link

“I am not Link, but I do know him! Even after 18 years, the Legend of Zelda never stops changing and this game is no different. We are now taking you to a world where Link has grown up–a world where…

February 21, 2016 | 01:00 EST

Character Select Squall Leonhart
TR Originals

Character Select: The Value of Compassion – Squall Leonhart

NOTE: The following contains spoilers. You have been warned.Fans of Final Fantasy will endlessly debate the pros and cons of the various protagonists and antagonists that have graced the ever-growing…

January 6, 2016 | 01:00 EST

TR Originals

Character Select: The Identity of the Idealist – Arcade Gannon

Welcome to a new series, titled Character Select. This series will focus on character discussions and dissections, starting with Arcade Gannon from Fallout: New Vegas. These discussions are going to…

December 17, 2015 | 01:00 EST