The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely: April Ryan (The Longest Journey, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey)

"The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely" puts female characters under the microscope and then injects a healthy dose of feminism.

April Ryan is perhaps my favorite video game heroine. Oh, let me count the ways... (*spoilers to follow*)

In The Longest Journey, April possessed a power called "shifting" which allowed her to travel between two twin worlds as the balance between them was threatened. During the game she travels around both worlds and beyond to restore the balance and ensure the safety of the peoples and creatures contained within.

April is the everywoman: She goes to school, has a job in the local cafe, hangs out with friends, and even has an obnoxious neighbor who hits on her constantly. The first part of the game is almost solely devoted to showcasing April's life and concerns. She worries about avoiding creeps and finishing her homework until she discovers the very world could fall apart without her help. April is endearing to the player because of these real-life struggles and also because she's practical, witty, smart, self-reliant, and caring. Not only is that the sign of a good producer or writer, but also much credit needs to be given to April's voice actress, Sarah Hamilton (who you will hear for hours during gameplay and not tire of).

Notice that nowhere above did I mention a love interest or a beloved family member (in fact, she has all but abandoned her family) or picking up the mission of the game just on a whim. April takes on the adventure because of the powers and talents she possesses, but most importantly because she is the only one that can, not because she's fighting for a certain person or for her own self gain. There is no personal gain in her adventure at all- in fact she has to let go of all her ties to her life and herself to complete the journey (making her personal one "The Longest Journey"). It's a selfless act which exposes her pain, her passions, and her insecurities (and, thankfully, none of her naughty bits).

But, she discovers that she was not destined to fix the balance after all.

She played an integral role in restoring the balance, yes, but she was not destined to end her journey there as its Guardian. Suddenly she is abandoned by fate and left without purpose. She discarded her life, her friends, her world, and her very soul to restore the balance only to find out that the role she was to take was destined for another. Relieved of the responsibility she had prepared for, she felt lost.

Enter Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. We learn that, since the last game, April has lost her shifting powers and can't return to her own world, confining her to the twin world she discovered in TLJ. Since then she has struggled to understand what her purpose is, if not to maintain the balance. However, the world in which she now lives has troubles of its own and she creates a resistance to the forces who are beginning to seize control. In Dreamfall she becomes disillusioned, but still has the will, strength, and independence she gained in TLJ and continues to do what she believes is right, regardless of the consequences.

April is a great character who is relatable and realistic in almost all aspects. She's very strong-willed and thoughtful (and sensibly dressed). Her purpose is to fight for the greater good and to improve the lives of others without compromising herself or falling into the pitfalls of other female protagonists (love interests, sexualized image, etc.). Most of all, April is great because she embodies the aimlessness and helplessness we all feel about our purpose while she struggles to make a difference and follow her heart and mind. Her struggles can be epic, but she also has personal and universal troubles we can all relate to.

April Ryan, you're my hero.

The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely: Hana Tsu Vachel (Fear Effect and Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix)

"The Good, the Bad, and the Lovely" puts female characters under the microscope and then injects a healthy dose of feminism. I'd like to start with one of the favorite female protagonists of my Playstation-crazed adolescence:


Hana Tsu Vachel was the heroine of the Kronos developed action game Fear Effect and its prequel, Retro Helix, which were released for the Playstation near the end of its life cycle. Along with her two comrades- the portly and psychopathic Aussie, Deke, and the sufferer of the perpetual five o'clock shadow, Glas- Hana undertook secret and deadly operations which usually to lead to unexpected and supernatural places.

Not surprisingly, Hana is the typical temptress-assassin: she lures the men in with her sly, womanly charm and then strikes like a viper. She's all too aware of her feminine power, using her assets to her advantage when possible. This may or may not stem from her history as a prostitute for much of her young, orphaned life. Along with that history comes a detachment which allows her to accomplish kills effortlessly and battle to the depths of Chinese hell without being phased. Hana is also of Chinese-French heritage, but I won't go into the related notions of exoticness of her character because of race (perhaps another time, another article).

Fear Effect has much to say about the exploitation of women, whether it intends to or not. The game's initial mission is purely exploitation: the team wishes to procure a triad leader's missing daughter before she's found in order to ransom her. However, the bigger themes are that of prostitution and general sexual exploitation. Prostitution is not just Hana's history, but she's forced to confront it during a portion of the game which takes place inside a brothel. Ruthless as she is, Hana still has a soft spot for the plight of prostitutes and wishes to save young girls from the misery of such a life.

Sadly, this is not where the exploitation ends. In true action heroine fashion, Hana is subjected to skimpy outfits and near nudity throughout the games and also in the 'scandalous' girl-on-girl ads for the prequel game featuring Hana and her partner, Rain. The generous proportions and tight, revealing outfits are, unfortunately, expected. A real curve ball was thrown, however, during the second game (besides the tentacle assault against Rain during the first section) when Hana and Rain engaged in elements of a homosexual relationship beyond the campy suggestions of the game's advertisements.

I don't wish to downplay the importance of including homosexuality in what could be argued is a sphere of heteronormativity, but a homosexual relationship between Hana and Rain is problematic, at best. Hana's history of prostitution and "love 'em and kill 'em" assassination of men could implicate that the feelings she has for Rain are only possible because 1) Hana has been victimized emotionally and physically by men and 2) because Rain is a woman. Whether or not you like to believe it, there are certain members of humanity who truly think (with little or no evidence) that homosexuality is a result of sexual victimization of a person by a member of either sex. To my knowledge, it was never explicitly stated that Hana preferred one sex to the other or had any ill feelings about men in general simply because of prostitution, but it doesn't help that Hana's history of sexual preference or any misandry on her part is not clarified.

Another element of the Hana/Rain relationship is the exploitation of the girl-on-girl fantasy. Fear Effect is edgy and action-packed, so I never expected such games to be free of female objectification, but the team seemed to want to further push the exploitation by introducing scenes in which the women express lustful sentiments toward each other and act playfully about their sexual relationship in front of others. This game is all for the "male fantasy", D.E.B.S.-style action with two girls getting it on, but there is something to be said that there are very few pieces of media which portray homosexual relationships (or even just women in general) as being genuine, thoughtful, compassionate, and loyal. Fear Effect does nothing in the way of improving the portrayal of homosexual relationships in any medium.

Sure, the game is not out to make any great statements about feminism, female sexual victimization, or lesbian relationships. Instead it does what it sets out to do: present an edgy, futuristic, bloody, mature action-adventure with elements of mythology and folklore seeping into the modern-day grit of the underground. Hana is therefore everything to be expected from an action heroine, but it should still be conceded that her portrayal is not one which is always empowering or enlightening. The game is admirable on many points, especially including Hana as the biggest lead amongst two other male playable characters, but more could have been done in the way of female or lesbian empowerment with this character than the creators seemed willing to put forth the effort for.

Overall, I still highly recommend the games and have great esteem for Hana's character though she does fall short of the great female protagonist she could have been.