Arcs where the main character changes

[korvas]

I think you have to choose either to stick with the main character for 90% of the story or go with a full 'ensemble' of characters. Either way you want to the player to be invested in these characters in a personal level. In an ensemble you have to make sure the stories are equally interesting, and can relate to each other in some way. Killing them would be undoubtedly cruel, because at that point you've built up a character to love and then swept out the rug from the audience.

The main character 'disapearing' for a bit is doeable, as in Mario Superstar Saga has Mario or Luigi venture off on their own sometimes. But I believe this works because the two are almost like a main character themselves, so separating them doesn't necessarily create disconnection. It would be jarring to switch to a character you might of met recently, and haven't gotten to know.

The only exceptions where dissapearing characters worked alright for me was in Akira. But idk, that's kind of a masterpiece so...

Also Pluto (Naoki Urasawa) but they had to do this in order to stay canon with the source material of Astro Boy

 

[SinのAria]

Which one? I remember every Jojo from 1-7 having their own stories have a definitive closure.

Spoiler alert!

Dio Brando.

He kept coming back. While each series had a sort of closure, as a whole, it was unfinished until they finally truly defeated Dio Brando.

My point being that it doesn't have to be an immediate close.

The Lufia series (except for Ruins of Lore), was unfinished stories essentially or potentially unfinished stories. I won't go too far in depth, but each story within itself did conclude that MC's story.

 

[Nebuerys]

Spoiler alert!

Dio Brando.

He kept coming back. While each series had a sort of closure, as a whole, it was unfinished until they finally truly defeated Dio Brando.

My point being that it doesn't have to be an immediate close.

If Dio were the focus of the show, yes. But we are talking about main and playable characters(in video games) here and Jonathan fits that bill. He and the viewers were given definitive closures when the antagonist was 'seemingly' defeated by the end of part 1, which is what the average player wants to see is their games, an ending that he is satisfied with because the main character made it through to the end, be it tragic or otherwise. The event where Dio, or any other video game/show's bad guy who reappears in a sequel only to be faced by another hero is merely considered to be a twist to the conclusion of the earlier arc mostly because no one ever thought that the bad guy was actually still alive to cause more trouble.

There's a whole lot of difference between a main character getting swapped midway into the story of a single game and MCs changing on a sequel.

 

[SinのAria]

If Dio were the focus of the show, yes. But we are talking about main and playable characters(in video games) here and Jonathan fits that bill. He and the viewers were given definitive closures when the antagonist was 'seemingly' defeated by the end of part 1, which is what the average player wants to see is their games, an ending that he is satisfied with because the main character made it through to the end, be it tragic or otherwise. The event where Dio, or any other video game/show's bad guy who reappears in a sequel only to be faced by another hero is merely considered to be a twist to the conclusion of the earlier arc mostly because no one ever thought that the bad guy was actually still alive to cause more trouble.

There's a whole lot of difference between a main character getting swapped midway into the story of a single game and MCs changing on a sequel.

Even so, in at least one Arc, (I'm pretty sure it was the closing arc for Dio Brando, but I could be wrong), the grandfather passed down the MC role to the grandchild.

Essentially, what I am saying is that as long as it is done well, it can work even midway into a story.

 

[Nebuerys]

Even so, in at least one Arc, (I'm pretty sure it was the closing arc for Dio Brando, but I could be wrong), the grandfather passed down the MC role to the grandchild.

Essentially, what I am saying is that as long as it is done well, it can work even midway into a story.

Yes, the series has always been about younger generations inheriting the MC spot from older generations, but my point is, JJBL has always completed each MCs stories first before swaps were made making the series a poor example to use when explaining midway MC changes.

 

[SinのAria]

My point was more of that it is an example of a midway MC change done in a way that is easily acceptable. Not all MC changes midway have to be inconclusive. They can feel like it is a proper ending.

 

[Nebuerys]

My point was more of that it is an example of a midway MC change done in a way that is easily acceptable. Not all MC changes midway have to be inconclusive. They can feel like it is a proper ending.

I agree with you on that, characters changing, be it midway into an unfinished story or in between installments, so long as it is well done is great. I merely stated that JJBL wouldn't be considered to have done midway swaps because stories were concluded before any change was done, yet you pointed that it does because the antagonist, even after being defeated by the hero was revealed to be alive, albeit in a later part when no one expected it.

Take the Castlevania series for example, it's very similar to JJBL's formula of character changes through generations of Dracula's persistent reincarnations. Each reincarnation one being defeated by different people. For each installment, there would most likely be a new MC which is an easy and generally acceptable way to perform swaps. Assuming that the OP plans to make a series of games with interconnected stories but with different MCs, then this formula would be a great way of approaching swaps, in fact it is a very common approach. But if he plans on making a single standard-length game and perform the change right in the middle of the story, then it would be more difficult to pull off without upsetting a few people who've expected to reach the end with the characters they've spent so much time with.

 

[Euphony]

A shining example for me with regards to your examples is Kalas from Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. 

OMG I love you for referencing this. My sweet baby Baten Kaitos gets no love.

 

[Zoltor]

OMG I love you for referencing this. My sweet baby Baten Kaitos gets no love.

Hm, I never even heard of that RPG before, probally in no small part, due to the fact It's a GC game(the console is known for ports, not much else), seems like It's a pretty good series too.  I'm going to have to check them out.

 

[Mouser]

One question I didn't see asked: How long is the game?

You can do things in a 50-60 hour epic story that just don't fly in a 5-6 hour adventure.

If the game is long enough, it's certainly a viable option (it's doable in shorter games too,  just more difficult to pull off). Like anything else, it comes down to execution. Plenty of great games use the technique.  I'm sure there's loads of crap games that try it too, but they aren't as memorable.  Well, there's Resident Evil 6 where you have different chapters with different protagonists - that's another way you can handle it.

 

[M.I.A.]

I don't mind a little Joss Whedon-ing here and there, but it has to be done tastefully. Not so much of a cliche. It's all in the delivery and the story telling.