Hello, hello!
Welcome to the second Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven blog! *confetti* This is Brittany, Production Coordinator of XSEED Games and the editor of this fine little RPG. I’ve got plenty to talk about, so let’s get this show on the road.
When I first started editing, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of the protagonist, Luchs (and yes, not only can you change his name, but we nearly doubled the character limit for any particularly long/creative names, so go nuts). I was given the game’s script a couple months before the game came out in Japan, so the only things I had to go off of were the same Japanese press releases everyone else was seeing and an early build of the game. The press wasn’t really covering Luchs, so I didn’t know what kind of man he’d be while interacting with the many heroines who happened to walk into his life. Would he romance them all? Was he going to be kind of a pervert? What else would you expect from something that looked like a harem title, right?
By the end of the game, Luchs ended up being one of my favorite characters—partly because of his personality, and partly because of how the team designed him in relation to the heroines. Luchs is relaxed, but not necessarily lazy; the type who doesn’t mind taking a back seat to those with stronger personalities, yet not a pushover. In other words, he’s naturally as chill as you can get. He’s also trusting but perceptive, and while not a social butterfly (and this part of him is further explored throughout the course of the story), he’s not cold or distant either. For reference, I’d peg his chill-level right around that of another hero I love from another game, Jude Mathis from Tales of Xillia.
One of my favorite parts about Luchs is that his welcoming, overall positive personality isn’t necessarily shaped by what’s socially acceptable or morally right and wrong, nor even by real-world standards. Diving too deep into this would go into spoiler territory, but let’s just say that each of the heroines have their own quirks—a few of these being on the very strange and questionable side—and upon discovering these quirks, Luchs doesn’t try to “justify” them, change them, or calculate what speech to roll out based on morals or social norms. Rather, he’s content to say, “If that’s what makes you happy and you’re not hurting anyone, then I’m happy, too.” Except, you know, in a much more detailed and personal fashion. Again, spoilers.
I explained in the last blog that his interactions with each girl are custom-tailored. For some girls, it’s clear that there’s romantic chemistry, while for others, their relationships fall more along the lines of that of siblings or good friends. I feel like if every girl were a clear romantic prospect, even if it didn’t make any sense for a guy like him, then Luchs’ attitude would feel a whole lot less genuine. In otome/dating games, many protagonists suffer the problem of having bland, cardboard personalities—if they have a personality at all—in order to help the player insert themselves into the role and feel like they’re interacting more directly with their love interest. For Lord of Magna, Luchs, despite his easygoing ways, is not quite so malleable; he’s his own character, and the way he gets to know each girl doesn’t feel like an awkward romance being forced down your throat. Instead, it always just feels…right.
While the game does have a certain city boy with a personality that’s much more in line with what you might expect – that being childhood friend Bart (Maids, Maids, MAIDS!) – I feel like Luchs himself was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t give him a whole lot of credit in the beginning due to how deceptively simple he was, but now I couldn’t picture a more perfect and surprisingly complex protagonist for this story. I hope everyone playing will come to like him just as much as I have.
By the way, for those who are pre-ordering Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, we’re hoping to announce a release date along with a nice surprise for you soon. Keep an eye out for more news!
– Brittany
