My quest to find the perfect video game archetype (class) to role-play has come to an end.
After a lot of self-doubt and second-guessing myself, I finally found everything I was looking for.
Suffice it to say, it was there all along, I just had to learn to accept myself.
I’ll be writing today about my journey to find my class and a bit about the playstyle I use in various video game titles.
Vohris Origins
My adventure first began in 2020, when I finished Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age on Steam.
I fell in love with the idea of the hero, who reminded me a lot of Link in many ways.
I grew up a fan of The Legend of Zelda, and for a long time, I didn’t think I’d ever find a series of games I’d enjoy just as much.
Dragon Quest changed my mindset — it changed everything; it changed my life.
This is when I truly began to shift my focus.
I wanted to find that class-archetype that would suit me and make me feel as important to the hero.
However, I didn’t start out claiming “Vohris The Hero” right away.
Unfortunately, the idea of committing to that gave me an immense amount of anxiety that I would eventually have to fight off.
Buying JRPG — Starting my Backlog
Around this time, I was starting to gain a following on Twitter.
I think I had maybe 600 followers.
I didn’t really know anyone like I do now, nearly 4.5 years later. I had some mutuals I interacted with, got solid engagements on my tweets, and generally tried to follow and talk to more gamers as a means to introduce myself and — most importantly — make new friends.
I was still calling myself “Vohris”, but I hadn’t settled into the archetype of the “hero” just yet. I still had a lot of groundwork to cover.
Back then, a trend known as Follow Friday was very popular.
Players in the Twitter Gaming Community would often tweet out a list of gamers to follow so we could all meet each other and make new mutuals. I still credit people like SegaMasterTim, Helexzura, and GamerDadKMO as very early mutuals of mine who gave me a space at my very early beginnings as a gamer on the platform.
If I recall correctly, Tim and K-MO could probably still remember the very first archetype I claimed for myself…
The Pugilist
As embarrassing as it is now, it’s funny to look back and remember that I originally joined Twitter trying to make that image of myself work.
I liked the idea of martial arts heroes who fought with fists, gloves, claws, knuckles, etc. I wanted to be characters like Kiryu, Knuckles, Wolverine, Akihiko, and such.
In fact, I bought several new JRPGs, trying to get into the genre as that archetype. Games like Final Fantasy 7, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Graces F, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Final Fantasy 8, Shenmue, and Shadow Hearts were all added to my backlog early on, in an attempt to meet and play as the respective Martial Artist characters in these games.
I struggled hard to get into any of these games because I was trying very hard to commit to the brawler fighting style and was forcing myself to use characters that I didn’t feel suited me.
Regal wasn’t found until closer to the end-game of Symphonia, for example, and I found myself loving Lloyd even more.
I even tried forcing myself to use only hand-to-hand combat in games like Red Dead Redemption and The Witcher 3, which worked out horrendously for me.
In the end, I realized that pugilist characters were bad ass, but they didn’t fit my vibe like I was looking for.
I was looking for characters that fit my soul; characters that blend my favorite combat style, but also my personality.
WRPG vs JRPG
It was a bumpy road for me, trying to implement the class idea into Western RPGs and the like.
Western games such as World of Warcraft offer a class selection of Warrior, Thief, Mage, or Healer — but throw the generalized role of the hero to the side.
Team-focused multiplayer games and other westernized games threw me for a loop at the start, but now I know I’d choose your standard, warrior-like class and play a more Tank or DPS role.
Other western games like The Witcher 3, FARCRY 5, and Red Dead Redemption all have set ways to play them as well.
I often thought to myself, “how can I play these games my way”?
Clearly, I was overthinking it back then, but I wanted to roleplay my own way.
I wanted to be different and take my own path.
I knew I had to play more Japanese-made games in general, but I still stuck with games like South Park, Uncharted, Fable, FARCRY, and BioShock, because I didn’t really understand how to implement my style into those games.
Missing My Target
Eventually, I was like, “okay, I really enjoy shooter games like Resident Evil VII, Tomb Raider, and Bioshock”.
Maybe I am “Vohris The Marksman”.
I rolled with that moniker for a while.
I figured if Link was good with the bow, I’d main the bow, too. I’d prioritize playing every game at a range or with a gun or bow.
I even finished Far Cry New Dawn and Fable Anniversary using only the bow…
But I wasn’t satisfied at all.
Something still didn’t feel right, even with my new title as Marksman and all these unique ways to play games.
I didn’t see myself as the sniper guy, or the archer. Those seemed like secondary classes.
I still loved Link and Hero, who were always up at the front, gallantly using the sword while saving ranged attacks for secondary options.
I needed… I wanted … I had to have more.
Something more…
I wanted to be a hero!
CARVING MY OWN PATH
I knew the type of characters I loved all along, I just had to fight off my anxiety to commit to such a highly honorable and righteous archetype.
Wanting to be the “main hero” is a difficult task.
People either really love the main character or they don’t.
Not everyone is going to understand you or support you.
Historically speaking from my past, I have always wanted to be the main character. I’ve always loved important, idealistic heroes who fight for their friends and want to be the good in the world.
In real life, it’s insanely difficult.
Even if I am just a video game player, I still strive to do what’s right. I try to defend people, help people, and be compassionate and understanding.
To me, being a “hero” is something anyone can do, and that’s why I love it so much.
It’s easy to fail when trying to do the right thing all the time.
I am human. I fail all the time. I make major mistakes.
I can hurt people, lose friends, and easily make people not like me.
That said, I am not perfect, and I’m allowed to continue growing.
I cannot save everyone, no matter how hard I try.
It hurts me.
Even if I’m only expressing myself through video game characters at the age of nearly 30, I still want to give others hope and keep smiles on their faces.
I want friends to feel safe and comfortable around me and allow them a space to be themselves.
Being able to do that is what makes hero characters so amazing.
I knew that if I was going to continue roleplaying this archetype, I had to play more JRPGs with characters I was yearning for.
HEROISM & SWORDSMANSHIP
In 2021, I focused on playing a game called Chrono Trigger.
Chrono Trigger is a classic Japanese role-playing game developed by Square and originally released for the SNES in 1995.
It is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.
The game features the red-haired swordsman, Crono as he quests through time to stop a looming threat called Lavos, a parasitic alien life form that emerges in the year 1999 AD to destroy the world.
At the start, I had an extremely difficult time deciding if I wanted Frog, the noble knight to represent me.
People would often say things like, “Frog is the main character in Chrono Trigger”, and he even had an important plot point and in-game theme song.
Towards the middle of the game, I finally decided on Crono becoming my third “spirit character” (a term I use for characters that fit my class), as he checks all the boxes.
He’s a hero, uses a sword, time travels, leads a party of friends, and saves the world through his actions.
Frog is my second favorite character in that game, but he’s no Crono!
After finishing Chrono Trigger, a game that vastly helped with my decision-making, I began exploring more Japanese games with characters like that.
It was like something finally clicked in my brain, and I became hungry for more answers.
What other characters and games would fit my criteria?
As it turns out, a lot of the games on my backlog had heroes like Crono, I just had to play more.
GAINING EXPERIENCE
In the year 2022, I really did my best to branch out and find more of myself.
I wanted to find myself, my style, and truly start loving myself again.
I found through playing Paper Mario that Mario was my favorite character in the Super Mario franchise and would be the character I choose for myself in all Mario-related media such as Mario Party, Mario Kart, Mario Golf, and the Mario & Luigi titles.
I like Mario’s abilities, bravery, and red is also my favorite color!
Skies of Arcadia: Legends on Nintendo GameCube solidified Vyse as my favorite character, although I really loved the Prince of Justice Enrique for his sword and shield abilities.
Vyse just hit all the notes for me and landed the number one spot. I used both characters equally in the end.
Skies of Arcadia also helped me discover the Hero title, but I wouldn’t use the moniker for a long time.
Games like Resident Evil and Dead Space had me leveling up the starting handgun to max.
After looking up which modern-day firearm would be closest to the one-handed sword, a Reddit post said the pistol or handgun would be the most similar. I saw it as a way to develop my own style. I used shotguns as a defensive tool for tougher enemies in Resident Evil, and they became one of my favorite secondary tools next to explosives.
In the original God of War trilogy, I prioritized using the sword over the chains of chaos, as to further express my individuality as a sword-user. In the new one, I like to use Axe and Shield!
Leonardo became my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to use in Shredder’s Revenge, as he’s a sword-user and a natural born leader to his brothers — as am I, due to being the oldest of nine.
I used the Swordfighter class in Strangers of Paradise over other classes, and I liked Serenoa Wolffort out of all characters in Triangle Strategy.
I love the blue lightsaber color because it represents the guardian Jedi of the force, and all Jedi Knights use them — including my favorites: Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker, and Cal Kestis
I went with the Paladin class in Fantasy Life for the Nintendo 3DS over the Mercenary class because the straight-sword and shield vibe fit me more.
2022 was the true year of experience and self-discovery. I found more characters I loved and developed a playstyle I enjoyed for myself.
I found what I liked and learned what didn’t work for me.
All that was left was for me to cement myself and…
VOHRIS THE HERO
Eventually, I moved out with my wife, and we got our own place for the first time. We were recently married.
By this point I was super active online and so many of my friends heard my story.
They believed I was just like Ichiban Kasuga…just like Link.
They knew I loved Dragon Quest.
Friends were even starting to use my character in their Dragon Quest games, which I thought was really cool!
I finally became Vohris The Hero!
The only thing left to do was just go on more adventures both in life and in video games.
I became the person I wanted to be by finding my own playstyle through gaming.
There are still many unplayed games and undiscovered characters left to meet, but as the years go by, I’ll be able to find more and more characters for my repertoire!
Soon, I plan to play games like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Kingdom Hearts, and Lies of P where I’ll be focusing on a one-handed blue lightsaber stance, choosing the sword at the start of KH, and going for a more balanced-quality playstyle — somewhere between strength and dexterity in LoP.
SECONDARIES & CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it took a long time to find my playstyle in games.
Even now, I get stumped. I have the heart of a strength user with the playstyle of a quality build.
I love one-handed light swordsmen, slight usage of artes, and using a shield in my off hand.
Perhaps I can save heavy strength-types and knuckle-brawlers for secondary playthroughs, but it’s always good to have a main playstyle.
I love who I am and how far I’ve come thanks to this journey of self-discovery.
I will continue playing games and watching anime in hopes to find more characters that remind me of myself.
This journey has helped give me immense motivation to fire up my consoles and continue the passion of video games as my hobby.
I hope that someday I can encourage more players to find their own archetype.
Life is an RPG.
