The Power of Two
February 27th, 2009
I’ve recently being playing through Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin on the Nintendo DS and although the successful “metroidvania” formula doesn’t seem to have changed much there are at least some elements that make the game feel slightly different from all the others I have had the pleasure of playing.
Probably the most noteworthy aspect in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is the introduction of two new playable characters, namely Jonathan Morris, and Charlotte Aulin, whom have to work together to overcome the Castle’s obstacles.
Both characters can be switched between at will, yet individually they’re sufficiently different to one another to help keep things interesting. Whilst Jonathan plays the role of the self assured warrior with a grudge, Charlotte is the powerful, but vulnerable magician. In itself this dynamic character switching wouldn’t be enough to ensure long term success, but Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin seems to have been thoughtfully designed to make the best use of this cooperation with regards to exploration, puzzles, and of course boss battles.
Throughout the adventure - what I’ve played of it so far at least - it’s frequently necessary to call upon the AI player to help out. Although it isn’t entirely necessary to have them following you around all the time, what I have discovered, however, is that I prefer to have my companion chasing my coat tails rather than dismiss them to the sidelines while I am exploring.
This started me thinking. Although I generally profess to be a solo video game player, I do genuinely enjoy games where there is some form of “companionship” – especially if it’s integral to the game and there is a binding relationship between the characters. But with the exception of traditional style role playing games, which by and large have always featured companions, could you name some truly memorable partnerships? Who could forget the churlish imp Midna [1], The completely believable Alyx Vance [2], the helpless Yorda [3], and perhaps more recently Elika [4], but beyond that I’m really struggling. Any suggestions?
[1] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
[2] Half Life 2: Episode One and Two.
[3] Ico
[4] Prince of Persia
