• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Protagonists with disabilities

C

City 17

Member
Red, your protagonist in Transistor, is a singer that has lost her talking ability due to the events happened in the game, and it's done pretty well.
 
M

MagnaderAlpha

Member
Barret Wallace of FFVII
latest
180


Gun grafted to his arm after he lost it.
 
C

Creaking

He touched the black heart of a mod
Fergus Reid in Wolfenstein: The New Colossus. Unlike some other examples in this thread, his advanced prosthetic arm seems to be a less-than-perfect replacement.

52f.gif
 
D

Dr. Worm

Banned
Dunban from Xenoblade becomes paralyzed in his right arm from using the Monado to defend Colony 9. When he joins the party later, he uses a katana in his off-hand.
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
Goro Majima from Yakuza has only one eye but can still mope the floor with you playing darts.

Oh and yeah, that The Surge example is great, I was impressed by it when I started the game. Pretty clever motivation.

lucebuce12 said:
From X-Men: Mutant Academy 2.

gFxq0Hs.gif
Click to expand...

I remember this lmao, what a game.
 
M

mas8705

Member
After looking through the comments, I'll give my vote to Bentley from Sly Cooper. Poor guy got screwed out when he got stuck in a wheelchair, and yet he made the most of it by turning his chair into an all-purpose weapon of destruction.
 
R

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
Neoleo2143 said:
The side of the Screen darkening in MGS3 was lovely even if it wasn't hugely impactful (it at least was a mechanical acknowledgment of the situation). If they could have gone one step further with some depth stuff that would've been the icing on top.
Click to expand...
They did that on the 3DS version. Once Snake
loses his eye
, you no longer get the 3D effect when aiming in first person.
 
C

Cameron122

Member
I use a wheelchair, and I was sorta hoping for Agent Venom in Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite haha. Hmm, the beginning of the surge starts you in a wheelchair. I'm pretty positive Stephen, the creator of the demon summoning device in Shin Megami Tensei getting you started on your journey. Like a grim dark professor oak
 
S

Star Orpheus

Member
I feel it's worth pointing out that in some cutscenes Big Boss does show him having trouble with his depth perception at first.

Also while Raiden may have prosthetics his body in 4 required him to have dialysis.
 
J

Jangowuzhere

Banned
Ascenion said:
How is Big Boss part of this? He never gets a new eye. He literally has to adapt to losing that eye. Limbs are different and I'm guessing you didn't actually finish MGSV.
Click to expand...

I never said he specifically got a new eye. And no, he isn't inconvenienced by the loss of his sight. The right side of the screen darkens a little in MGS3, but that really doesn't matter. The later games don't even bother with that detail. When he aims his guns, he positions the sights using his dead right eye, that makes zero sense.

Not sure what brought on the finishing MGSV comment.
 
mortal

mortal

Gold Member
Man, a few of the characters posted in this thread could hardly be considered "disabled."

Some of them have enhanced prosthetics that make them more able-bodied when compared to the average person.

Yeoman said:
I mean technically...
fired.jpg
Click to expand...
What? He is literally transhuman lol
 
petran79

petran79

Banned
Had no idea about Baiken fighting one armed!

Anyway,the last encounter in the adventure game The Cat Lady.

a guy who drives others to suicide via his online site, is tied to his wheelchair, unable to speak or move. His only mean of communication is his eye. He has a sensor on his PC that follows his eye like a mouse in order to type text.
 
W

wandering

Banned
Somnium said:
Man, a few of the characters posted in this thread could hardly be considered "disabled."

Some of them have enhanced prosthetics that make them more able-bodied when compared to the average person.


What? He is literally transhuman lol
Click to expand...

He never asked for it tho
 
M

Mephala

Member
Somnium said:
Man, a few of the characters posted in this thread could hardly be considered "disabled."

Some of them have enhanced prosthetics that make them more able-bodied when compared to the average person.


What? He is literally transhuman lol
Click to expand...

I agree. A better argument could be made for characters such as Glory from Shadowrun Dragonfall who opted for cyber enhancements
in order to destroy her own humanity to sever her magical ties
leaving her somewhat hollow and emotionless.

Malkavians and Nosferatu from Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines could probably make a better argument too.
 
Ascenion

Ascenion

Member
Jangowuzhere said:
I never said he specifically got a new eye. And no, he isn't inconvenienced by the loss of his sight. The right side of the screen darkens a little in MGS3, but that really doesn't matter. The later games don't even bother with that detail. When he aims his guns, he positions the sights using his dead right eye, that makes zero sense.

Not sure what brought on the finishing MGSV comment.
Click to expand...

I’m not gonna say he isn’t affected since you the player aren’t for gameplay reasons, I’d have to say in universe Big Boss misses that eye and is at least somewhat worse off for it. I brought up finishing MGSV because (spoilers for the end follow)
Big Boss never even loses a limb it’s venom snake that does
 
A

Aaron Strife

Banned
More of an anime/manga franchise than a game franchise, but it has a million games and that X-Men example was posted earlier, so

latest
Click to expand...

Shanks from One Piece loses his arm in the very first chapter. Still in the highest tier of characters.
 
M

Mephala

Member
Rogue Legacy's Traits include some interesting things.

Some examples
  • ADHD - You move 30% faster
  • Ambilevous - You have two left hands and can't cast spells properly (spells cast behind you rather than forward)
  • Alzheimers - No map
  • Clonus - Occasionally your controller rumbles suddenly for 5 seconds (muscle spasms).
  • Colour blind
  • Dementia - Insanity. Hear voices and laughter. Hallucinated enemies.
  • Ectomorph - You are skinny, look skinny and hits send you flying.
  • Dyslexia - "You hvae trboule raednig tinhgs."
  • Far-Sighted - Vision blurs near your character.
  • OCD. - Gains 1 MP per environmental object destroyed (vase, chairs, table, etc.).
 
D

Death Penalty

Member
I think I agree that characters who have replacements or augments that are exactly as good or better than whatever equivalent a non-disabled person would have don't really count. I definitely get that it must be really nice seeing a disabled person in a role that shows them to be just as competent/badass as a non-disabled individual, but if their disability is essentially canceled out then I'm not sure how effective the representation is. It's excellent as a power fantasy, and it's great to imagine a world where nobody is truly disabled, but otherwise it seems to gloss over the very real issues that disabled folks face every day.
 
S

Sacul64GC

Banned
Jangowuzhere said:
Any character that has some overpowered magic or weird sci-fi enhancement that totally undermines the character's disability hardly qualifies.

Yes, Big Boss and Raiden lose limbs and sight, but it hardly inconveniences them when they get their bionic/cyborg replacement. Honestly, It undermines the loss and horror that disabled people go through. Characters like these shouldn't talk about loss and shit. They got a free upgrade and can actually do their jobs better as a result.
Click to expand...

Big Boss does not have a cyber eye, that was solid snake. BB sticks with an eye patch. Kaz Also does not receive replacement limbs.
 
I

Interface23

Member
Death Penalty said:
I think I agree that characters who have replacements or augments that are exactly as good or better than whatever equivalent a non-disabled person would have don't really count. I definitely get that it must be really nice seeing a disabled person in a role that shows them to be just as competent/badass as a non-disabled individual, but if their disability is essentially canceled out then I'm not sure how effective the representation is. It's excellent as a power fantasy, and it's great to imagine a world where nobody is truly disabled, but otherwise it seems to gloss over the very real issues that disabled folks face every day.
Click to expand...

Yea, exactly. If you gave me an arm and leg that functioned I wouldn't consider myself disabled anymore even if the limbs were cybernetic
 
B

BomberMouse

Member
Poltergust said:
Seeing the ending to Sly 2 was one of the most shocking things I've ever experienced in a video game back when I was a kid, especially since it came from this series.

I love how he adapted and still is doing what he does best in the future games.
Click to expand...

I agree, it was a big shock for me too. It's like Sucker Punch hate the character, considering what happens to him in Sly 3.

First they break him physically and then mentally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Persona 5: The Phantom X New Gameplay Footage, Characters Revealed
News Trailer
10
1K
Thick Thighs Save Lives replied
Dual Protagonist Games
46
2K
Cert.in.Death replied
LTTP: Alan Wake 2's story sucks. Best Narrative?? (ENDING SPOILERS)
2 3 4
156
7K
Roni replied
Like a Dragon 8 Will Star YouTuber/Vtuber Boycotted by China After Mentioning Taiwan
News
28
5K
rkofan87 replied
Shin Megami Tensei Vengeance releases June 14th 2024 [Multiplatform]
News 3 4 5 6 7
335
15K
Danjin44 replied
Top Bottom