Underage party members in western RPGs?

[deuxhero]

These are a dime a dozen in jRPGs, but what western RPG examples are there? All I can think of are Spark (Ultima 7) and Mission Vao (KotOR). Are there any others that are full fledged party members (not escortees, not part of a prologue)?

 

[Humanophage]

JRPGs generally seem quite paedo. Even the average protagonist seems to be a teenager of some sort.

This focus on children in anime has always appeared quite odd to me. Of course there is some seemingly normal anime like Fist of the North Star or Vampire Hunter D, but the bulk of the popular stuff depicts children - and I don't just mean the "lolicon" but also boys.

 

[agris]

These are a dime a dozen in jRPGs, but what western RPG examples are there? All I can think of are Spark (Ultima 7) and Mission Vao (KotOR). Are there any others that are full fledged party members (not escortees, not part of a prologue)?

There's a child companion in numanuma, but given that game she's probably, actually, a 350 year old cyborg.

 

[Camel]

Wild Flower in the Jade empire but she's possessed by two demons.

 

[Goliath]

I never really noticed the utter lack of underage party members in Western RPGs until you pointed it out..

Makes sense though. You can't kill children in Western RPGs either so an underage party member would be problematic.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

This focus on children in anime has always appeared quite odd to me. Of course there is some seemingly normal anime like Fist of the North Star or Vampire Hunter D, but the bulk of the popular stuff depicts children - and I don't just mean the "lolicon" but also boys.

In before you realize that computer games and shounen shows are meant for kids first and foremost.

 

[deuxhero]

Oh right, I forgot about Wild Flower.

 

[Morblot]

Myron in Fallout 2 is a teen, though I'm not certain if he's underage.

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Kids are weak and stupid, realistically speaking they should not be able to overpower a grown warrior no matter how hard they train. JRPGs tend to ignore this not only because of the younger player base, but also because they never cared about simulationism or world consistency, all their games tend to have huge ludonarrative dissonance problems.

 

[JarlFrank]

I never really noticed the utter lack of underage party members in Western RPGs until you pointed it out..

Makes sense though. You can't kill children in Western RPGs either so an underage party member would be problematic.

Also who would want a kid in their party when you can pick seasoned adult adventurers who know what the fuck they're doing.

Here's the companions you can recruit:
- Gornak the barbarian who has been fighting orcs in the wasteland for 10 years of his life. He is covered in scars and obviously an expert in fighting.
- Minerva the sorceress who spent years studying ancient tomes she wrested from the bowels of dusty tombs. She definitely knows what she's doing when it comes to magic.
- Rollo the ranger who has lived as a loner in the woods for twenty years. He knows the forest like the back of his hand and you can be sure that you'll never get lost in the forest with him in your party.
- Bob the 12 year old boy. He's 12 and technically should still go to school, but he wants to join up with an adventurer party instead. What skills does he bring to the table? None. He's 12. What the fuck do you expect him to be an expert at. Nagging? Lol.

Who do you pick?
I know I'm not gonna pick Bob.

 

[wishbonetail]

- Bob the 12 year old boy. He's 12 and technically should still go to school, but he wants to join up with an adventurer party instead. What skills does he bring to the table? None. He's 12. What the fuck do you expect him to be an expert at. Nagging? Lol.

Bob maybe a schoolboy, but he's a japanese schoolboy. And as we know japanese schoolers are usually have a latent superpowers or the abilities to control the giant humanoid mechs.

 

[Mikeal]

Sirin from Tyranny comes to mind.

 

[Fedora Master]

Saerileth.
And its just as bad as a normal, mentally developed person would assume.

 

[The_Mask]

I say this while disgusted with myself that I know this: Rhin - Torment: Tides of Numenera.

 

[Cross]

Annah in Planescape: Torment is described as a teenager.

 

[JarlFrank]

Annah in Planescape: Torment is described as a teenager.

Does that mean her tits are going to get even bigger? Damn...

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Mission Vao (KotOR)

She never struck me as underage. Young, yes, but underage ? How old is she ?

 

[Pink Eye]

the threads u find on codex are magical

 

[Nano]

You can't kill children in Western RPGs either so an underage party member would be problematic.

Mission would disagree if she were still alive.

She never struck me as underage. Young, yes, but underage ? How old is she ?

14, believe it or not.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

She never struck me as underage. Young, yes, but underage ? How old is she ?

14, believe it or not.

Officer, I swear I didn't know !

Must be a Twi'lek thing I guess.

 

[spockthewok]

If my ISP notices me browsing this thread:

 

[Erebus]

Rhin was actually one of the better elements in Tides of Numenera. She had a special skill, but was downright normal compared to all the exhaustingly crazy shit that filled 99,99% of the game. She behaved pretty much like a pre-teen taken away from her family would and was largely useless in combat (except for using cyphers), which made it satisfying to protect her.

 

[Lim-Dûl]

This focus on children in anime has always appeared quite odd to me. Of course there is some seemingly normal anime like Fist of the North Star or Vampire Hunter D, but the bulk of the popular stuff depicts children - and I don't just mean the "lolicon" but also boys.

Anime is made for kids primarily. The adults who obsess over anime were unfortunate accidents that have since become a big enough market. Also adulthood for normal people in Japan there's supposed to be no fooling around and the last time you are supposed to have adventures or fun with friends is high school so naturally there is more focus on high school or high school aged people in Japanese cartoons.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Annah in Planescape: Torment is described as a teenager.

"Annah is a tiefling, a brash girl on the brink of womanhood."

 

[Humanophage]

This focus on children in anime has always appeared quite odd to me. Of course there is some seemingly normal anime like Fist of the North Star or Vampire Hunter D, but the bulk of the popular stuff depicts children - and I don't just mean the "lolicon" but also boys.

Anime is made for kids primarily. The adults who obsess over anime were unfortunate accidents that have since become a big enough market. Also adulthood for normal people in Japan there's supposed to be no fooling around and the last time you are supposed to have adventures or fun with friends is high school so naturally there is more focus on high school or high school aged people in Japanese cartoons.

This focus on children in anime has always appeared quite odd to me. Of course there is some seemingly normal anime like Fist of the North Star or Vampire Hunter D, but the bulk of the popular stuff depicts children - and I don't just mean the "lolicon" but also boys.

In before you realize that computer games and shounen shows are meant for kids first and foremost.

Console games are meant mainly for kids, but I don't think computer games were meant for them. They're more for teens or older. Also, console-damaged adults and weebs continue to play JRPGs even when they grow up and never really drop anime. By contrast, non-weeb adults don't tend to watch things like Hey Arnold.

That said, just because a show is aimed at kids doesn't mean it should be about kids. In white countries, shows aimed at small kids tend to feature kids, while shows aimed at late 0s and early 10s generally feature adults. E.g.:




When they added kids to Conan, they really ruined it.