Minus the forced romance we were given... Arguably the best protagonist we currently have yet. We got to play a troubled little boy questioning his life and battling his doubts to being a Hero not in that he wanted to be a govt lapdog but doing what he thought was right and finally.. being a Divine Blade and accepting himself. We got to play a Divine Blade in the makings. His journey was well worth the 300+hours i've poured into Cold Steel 1-4 and Reviere/Hajimari. Can't wait for his next Trails appearance.
Wow. I was already a big Rean fan (bigger Crow fan, but I love their mutual friendship dynamic), but this was such a beautiful retrospective on his journey as a boy growing into a man, and all the hardships he faced to do so. As was said elsewhere, I really can't wait to see him show up again. No doubt that he's going to be hella cool when he does. Honestly, I was already really happy with how Reverie treated him. (spoiler marking that, because I do want to discuss it a bit. Read ahead at your own risk.) A lot of people criticized his route in Reverie for rehashing his growth arc, but I really didn't get that impression. Pre-Reverie, his outlook (exaggerating slightly) boiled down to "I suck, I don't deserve good things, but I can at least be cannon fodder for someone else". His arc in Reverie is him actively trying to fight that instinct, but given how long he's been like that, it's easier said than done. Especially when he has encounters like in the Heimdallr sewers. But then he comes face-to-face with the personification of the endgame of his old mindset in Ishmelga-Rean, which shows beyond all reasonable doubt that nothing good is waiting for him at the end of that road, clearly. With that resolve, he moves forward with his life, for good. Kind of irrelevant, but I also appreciate just how little Rean is beaten in the game. The only reason the magic knights were an issue was because he couldn't hack through them quickly enough to get to Ymir, but he himself was in no danger. With some support he was able to defeat Rufus (whose INFERIOR doppelganger floored the entire SSS and friends... which I admit is some whack-ass powerscaling but it's what Falcom is running with) *and* his top-class assassin buddies. Never mind that Kurogane shows up to fight him and gets his ass kicked in short order. About the only time he's challenged is Zoa-Gilstein, but that's about it. Real nice contrast to the constant saves he was getting before. ... that went on longer than I expected, lol. Yeah, I really enjoy Rean as a character. Can't wait to see more of him.
We also can't forget how imo well his case of depression was written. There were times in the game were he just wanted to die (and got shouted at because of it by Laura iirc) but thanks to his friends he was able to pull through everything his own mindset and the world threw at him. Just imagine thinking your biological father abandoned you and then has the audacity to call you "my son". Trying to keep the inner power you have in check so you don't accidentally hurt your friends or sister. Rean feels like he was fighting on two fronts constantly. And then after he defeats Ishmelga in tocs4 and gets to talk to his biological father who can finally say goodbye and reveal that he tried his best to protect his son but also is happy and proud that Rean, his own son, was the one who ultimately saved Erebonia. And we can't forget all the shit his friends have to endure as well which weighs on him because he tries to help everyone he cares about. Overall one of the most likeable protagonists in my opinion.
I really disliked Rean in the beginning of Cold Steel 1, but after finishing Reverie and concluding his character arc, I have to say he indeed has one of the best written character arcs of the entire series. Even tho Estelle is still my favourite protagonist, Rean left me seriously impressed at the end.
My opinion I think REAN was the best protagonist than Lloyd and Estelle. We get more involved with the character than with Llyod and Estelle with their story arcs. With Lloyd I Felt completely numb with Llyod's story because it became Anit climatic for me being it had two games. But if you really think about it none of the characters thought on a larger scale they just stayed in their lane. following Rean you see him elvolve more and thinks on a larger scale trying to figure out what his future is leaving his journey to never being officially over
A heartwarming journey of Rean, i always liked his determination, skill and willpower to move on even in the darkest hour ( eitherway it was a very good video of him, it would be perfect for me if you keept the japanese VA ) (^_^) /
