I'm spending my weekend with a very beautiful (but very stupid) man named Leon Kennedy. While he's not my all-time favourite 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil character - that 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:is and always will be Ada Wong - Leon represents my favourite kind of video game hero. As games have begun to take themselves more seriously and trended into darkness, our heroes have become gruff and stoic, barking or muttering lines about their disinterest in their ongoing quest. That, or they push further and just become horrible and unpleasant, as was the case wit💙h Atomic Heart. But the beautiful idiot still has a place in the world, and even though 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Resident Evil 4 is a remake, I hope it can🌳 help 🦹usher in a return of the himbo.
While Leon is young and naive in his first appearance, by the time Resident Evil 4 rolls around he's a little more confident in himself, and has a campy, sarcastic sense of humour. He's charming, and it's surprising how little charm video game heroes have these days. Kratos, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Jin Sakai, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Joel Miller are all cold and unfeeling, which is typical of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Sony's game design. Aloy and Ellie, though designed slightly differently as younger women rather than middle-aged men, are the same. They bottle up their emotions and are hardened by the world around them. The point of this is when they do show emotion, when something pierces their armour, it's a moment of significance that the audience is supposed to feel deeply. It's a very 'games are art' approach, but it can sap a lot of the fun out when it happens over and over again.
Leon is responsible for rescuing and keeping Ashley Graham safe, which means he has to grow up a little bit as the campaign progresses. He's no longer the wet behind the ears rookie who can stumble into situations then tumble out of them unscathed. He's now cast in the role of protector, much like Kratos or Joel. However, unlike those two he doesn't close himself off from everything, and doesn't need to be a living metaphor for the weight of fatherhood. He's able to carry the game and stand as a strong lead for the adventure without needing to become unfeeling and dull.
Leon perfectly fits the tone of Resident Evil, and it obviously wouldn't be as impactful if Kratos acted like him, but we do need more heroes who are focussed on fun. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nathan Drake and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Spider-Man are on the right lines, but both are a little too goofy and enthusiastic for exactly what I'm looking for. The closest modern day versions would be Zagreus in Hades and Ichiban in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and while it remains to be seen what Zag's role will be in Hades 2, Ichi is the face of the franchise in Like a Dragon (Yakuza if ya nasty) going forward. Nature is healing, if only a little bit.
Emblematic of how much these sorts of heroes have faded in recent years, the only himbo better than Leon this past decade is Cloud Strife, returning to the fore in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The remake (which is more of a reimagining, the first chapter of which is called Remake, a twist so confusing I doubt Cloud's brain could cope with it) fleshes the characters out and allows Cloud to interact more with the gang, especially Aerith, allowing for his brainless personality to shine through even brighter. The Honey Bee Inn and Cloud's escapades in drag were once mere visual gags, but Cloud's delivery adds an extra layer to things, making both scenes far warmer - maybe that's all it is. Himbo characters offer warmth to the audience, not 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:cold and distant masculinity.
A lot of Cloud’s personality in FF7R comes from how he was fleshed out in Advent Children. Though the original game had him as a fairly thin everyman, supporting media made him a himbo and the fans responded positively, so this was baked into the revival. Similarly, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Breath of the Wild’s Link has himbo characteristics that are there in part because fans for decades have made Link seem a little silly by wanderin♓g around smash𝓰ing open pots or imagining him not as a brave hero just a Some Guy.
Characters like Leon, Cloud, and Ichiban are much easier to root for, and as anyone who has played Yakuza: Like a Dragon can tell you, having a loveable protagonist with a heart of gold 🅰and brain of rocks does not soften the emotional punches one bit. It feels like himbos are finally coming back to our shores, and I🅰 hope Leon is the latest in a long line of heroes with soft heads instead of hard shells.