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6/8/2025, 7:56:15 PM
>>3777496
It's a general issue with the writing of Graces, it's like they attempted to tackle heavier subjects involving growing up and childhood mental/emotional trauma or whatever but this coming from the devs behind Rebirth's exhilarating "racism bad" plot which you know, it's a fine story on its own for a JRPG but once you try to go more nuanced with the characters and the power of 3D cutscenes and whatnot... fell you either write better or it falls flat. For me the impression I ended the game with was that Asbel was an immature manchild that remained largely static in terms of growth and development and received next to no repercussions for his actions. Like you say the Childhood arc was the best, there's little issue there because it's all characterization setup. Asbel is a retarded kid but he's just that, a kid. He has flaws, he madkes mistakes, he's set up to fail in a way so he can get back up and grow/redeem himself into Adulthood. The big issue in comparison with a characters like Luke is that once Richard gets back in contact with him it all goes downhill. Asbel isn't given more time to pick himself up and truly grow as a character, he's instead rewarded immediately after by getting the chance to run back to his fujo prince to find purpose there. That moment where he seemingly lost everything should've been a BIG character changing moment but it's handled so sloppily that all its weight is lost almost immediately after. Asbel remains the dense manchild he is, and when challenged by the story he seems to be told to stay the same and keep doing what he was doing beforehand because the power of friendship and anime will solve all. The game can have him questioning repeatedly what's worth doing at different points in the story and yet he keeps winging it instead and keeps winning but without the charisma and determination that made Lloyd doing the same work well in that game's narrative framework.
It's a general issue with the writing of Graces, it's like they attempted to tackle heavier subjects involving growing up and childhood mental/emotional trauma or whatever but this coming from the devs behind Rebirth's exhilarating "racism bad" plot which you know, it's a fine story on its own for a JRPG but once you try to go more nuanced with the characters and the power of 3D cutscenes and whatnot... fell you either write better or it falls flat. For me the impression I ended the game with was that Asbel was an immature manchild that remained largely static in terms of growth and development and received next to no repercussions for his actions. Like you say the Childhood arc was the best, there's little issue there because it's all characterization setup. Asbel is a retarded kid but he's just that, a kid. He has flaws, he madkes mistakes, he's set up to fail in a way so he can get back up and grow/redeem himself into Adulthood. The big issue in comparison with a characters like Luke is that once Richard gets back in contact with him it all goes downhill. Asbel isn't given more time to pick himself up and truly grow as a character, he's instead rewarded immediately after by getting the chance to run back to his fujo prince to find purpose there. That moment where he seemingly lost everything should've been a BIG character changing moment but it's handled so sloppily that all its weight is lost almost immediately after. Asbel remains the dense manchild he is, and when challenged by the story he seems to be told to stay the same and keep doing what he was doing beforehand because the power of friendship and anime will solve all. The game can have him questioning repeatedly what's worth doing at different points in the story and yet he keeps winging it instead and keeps winning but without the charisma and determination that made Lloyd doing the same work well in that game's narrative framework.
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