Alex And Hiro

[Arlia]

I've been wondering what makes people prefer Alex and Hiro over each other. (Did you note how carefully I worded that? =p) So, please share, but also share why; that's the most important part. Cheers!

Myself, I like Alex more- He has a more colorful look, and although he's quiet, he's not mute. Had he been a "mute-main-protagonist", that wouldn't mean much, but it's actually a more prominent personality trait then "normal". This also lets Alex of course always be there, but also allow room for the other characters.

Hiro- I like that he has a cape full-time, and a more active haircut, but I hate the rest of his outfit. There aren't any surprises in what he has to say, he has little charm to me. I've long since been able to overlook the name. While I don't particularly dislike Hiro, I prefer Alex.

[Alunissage]

Hiro was a bit improved in EBC, but mostly I wanted to smack him for being a dumb teenager. Goggle, goggle... girl is pretty, therefore she is Virtuous and Good and I should disobey all authority figures and at least some common sense when all I know about her is that she can in fact destroy things, just as advertised. (The fact that it was the right thing to do is irrelevant; he does it for the wrong reason.) Oh, but I don't think so highly of her that she has a right to privacy when changing! (original only; he was made an innocent bystander in EBC) And the one time the girl actually is relaxed and happy and singing and stuff, let me bust in on her quiet time and clumsily yank her back to awareness, only to be totally idiotically clueless about why she gets upset.

Alex may have had some stupid thoughts too, for all we know. But, you know, it's better to be silent and be suspected of being a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

I exaggerate the above for humorous effect, of course. I did warm to Hiro a bit in the remake and it's nice to have a protagonist with a distinct character rather than a bland stand-in for the player that never worked for me because hello, I am not a teenage boy like 90% of the protags, whose stature in the eyes of the other characters is totally inexplicable because they never SAY anything that conveys anything about themselves. (Crono, I'm looking at you. Marle could've married your clone doll and gotten more personality in a spouse.) However, I never felt that Alex was character-free, like that; he just didn't have a lot to say. The main development of his character has already occurred before the game starts -- he looks up to Dyne and wants to be a Dragonmaster; he has a devoted sidekick in Nall; he likes his friend Ramus and sees his worth even when the rest of the village doesn't; and of course he's been with Luna her whole life and they're already obviously committed to each other, banal song lyrics aside. The rest is just his fulfilling the potential that he already shows. The other main party members grow, and his quest facilitates that, but he's pretty likeable and mature already.

When I think of it, as a coming-of-age or growing-into-herohood story goes, Dyne (as established in the remake and the manga, not in TSS) would fit that arc better. It's pretty clear that he's impulsive and happy-go-lucky... and, as Laike shows, none too obsessed with the formal trappings of do-gooder ideals (I'm thinking of how Laike doesn't try to stop the Nanza racketeering, just doesn't let them extort him). Alex is a very different type of hero, which is also refreshing. Hiro, while not without virtue, is more in the boy-grows-up mold (for the first time I see a reason for Ghaleon to compare him to Dyne, but it's not the romanticized reason in the actual scene), and it's still unclear to me whether he'd do any sort of heroic sacrifice if it were asked of him. There isn't much to suggest that he'd do any heroing for the principle of the thing, rather than just to sort out Lucia's trouble long enough to ask her on a date.

[Arlia]

In Hiro's defence, Lucia was a goddess, and if Althena/Luna knew about Hiro (as said by Nall in EBC; not sure about the SEGA CD) it may well be that Hiro's divine purpose was to be entranced by her.
Also, without someone who was willing to blindly follow Lucia back to the Blue Star, where would that have left it? Lucia seems in a better position to understand the humans after her little adventure, but could she really have lead it back to decent civilization herself? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe Lucia can't cook, or even understand fire. That's what Hiro's there for.

But don't think Hiro hasn't made a sacrifice- he just left his entire planet of family, familiarity, and home for some wasteland. He has his dream woman, yes, but it's probably a rather unfair compromise on their relationship.
Also, having Hiro be simple leaves room for the story to center around Lucia's growth. Besides, it's not like Hiro was really doing anything with his life, anyway. He explored old things, not helped to make anything new. Now he can do that.

But I still like Alex more. He has a better sword, too (although I HATE the armor.)

I'd sum them up like this:
Alex:"What? You wanna do evil stuff? Get the **** out! Don't make me come over there!"
Hiro:" Hey! Don't push my girlfriend!"

[Sonic#]

To address Alunissage's point about protagonists goggling, it is weird that they made the voyerism of the second game into a required plot event, whereas for the first it required the player to make Alex go to one of two gender-segregated baths. Both are voyeurs, but because the first game makes that voyeurism a player action, it's not clear what Alex's reaction is. (As you note, EBC makes the incidents of voyeurism into accidents.)

(Arlia, concerning the fated destiny of having a hero goggle after a goddess who has found them, I have a similar interpretation of Weird Science.)

Alex is more my kind of hero. He wants to be dragonmaster, and has a naive but developing idea of what a hero stands for. His love for Luna is a constant; he doesn't need to learn how to avoid walking in on Luna in the bath. Instead, the widening circles of Alex's journey in the game progress through ideas of the hero: the opportunist (Ramus, Alex, and Luna trying to acquire and sell a dragon's diamond), the followers of authority (seeking the approval of Mel, the shrine, the Magic School and then Lemia/Ghaleon), the acquirer of virtue (seeking the higher wisdom and trials of the dragons, trying to save them and gain their blessing, within the larger arc of saving Luna), the wielder of justice (Alex as dragonmaster going in pursuit of Luna and Magic Emperor Ghaleon in the Frontier), and the guide of a higher ideal (Alex sacrificing his powers to restore Luna's humanity). Dyne is a similar kind of hero, but moves as a kind of trickster through the narrative, generally self-serving (in a kind of pure adventure) while recognizing the need to give Alex and his friends assistance. When I've played the games, I haven't thought of these as conscious patterns, but I think that's why it works for me, and why I have a sense of Alex's development even when he's the less vocal protagonist. It's classic, but well-developed.

I do also like Hiro. Like Percival, he's a country boy who incessantly asks questions and does naive things out of a sense of boundless enthusiasm. His motives are partly correct from the start (he does want to help Lucia), but there's this need to resolve his wish to aid Lucia with his puerile obsession for her. I'm less interested in that conflict.

[Shiva Indis]

It's nice to have a protagonist with a distinct character rather than a bland stand-in for the player that never worked for me because hello, I am not a teenage boy

Being in the same boat, I have always preferred protagonists that are decently integrated into the story. To me, the player stand-ins always seem to lack justification for the things they're doing. I guess that means I like Hiro better, but it's not a strong preference.

Alex: So earnest and wholesome! He practically doesn't have any faults! How does he manage to be so likable?? He comes off as sort of shy; must be nerdy boy charm. I feel like he couldn't tell a lie to save his life and that strikes me as adorable.

Hiro: Gives the impression of being resourceful; he keeps getting in over his head, but makes it through...often messily, but still. When you put it like that he really does sound like Indiana Jones, doesn't he? He's sort of self-absorbed, and thanks to that, not always quick on the uptake. Has some serious facepalm moments.

He's been with Luna her whole life and they're already obviously committed to each other, banal song lyrics aside.

That's a great summary of the concept that underlies Alex and Luna's relationship. I've been trying to come up with a good way to explain why their relationship isn't creepy (or at least, not meant to be creepy) and that's it.

[Temzin]

I loved what they did for Arhes/Alex in the remake and think it reflected an intelligent evolution in the way RPG protagonists were being handled by that time. Alun rightly mentions Chrono, though he was actually one of the few silent protagonists who actually struck me as still having a lot of personality as opposed to being a stand-in for "me," whoever that might be. I'm speaking to the point that while Chrono never says a word and does not have a strongly established character outline in the instruction books, the game intelligently gives you a very clear look at what the people around think of him (and not just that they are excited to join his party). I'm thinking of the royal trial where he's graded based on what kind of person you made him act like during the fair. I'm thinking as well of they way people speak of him in his temporary absence post-Zeal: people miss him, the sage at the Brink of Time wonders what's become of him, people feel his loss. I've seen no other silent protagonist accomplish this, and certainly not TSS Arhes. SSS redeemed him to my eyes.

Which is to say, Hiero always appealed to me because he, for once, did match my demographic when I first played the Mega CD version (okay, he was maybe a few years older at that point) and was an inspiring figure in terms of his devotion to Lucia and his wonder at the world around him. The narration he provides at the beginning of the game is fairly unique among protagonists, and amazingly effective at giving a human side to the typical "earnest youth" archtype in terms of his fascination with history. In having so much dialogue and even in his foibles, he also creates a living, breathing character who enables dramatic moments that don't work with a more stoic Arhes type. I cannot imagine his final words with Ghaleon being moving in the same way with Arhes, whether TSS or SSS.