animism [an-uh-miz-uhm]
noun
1. The belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls.
2. The belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies.
3. The doctrine that the soul is the principle of life and health.
4. Belief in spiritual beings or agencies.
EX. I am sorry. I am really sorry. But I just don't like the subject for today's word of the day. There have been some annoying companions in the Zelda franchise, but not sidekick has pushed harder to be disliked while simultaneously doing nothing to make me care either way. The idea of the Master Sword having a persona? Potentially brilliant...the outcome is how the animism of Fi, rather than inspire me to enjoy the sword work better in the classic idea of singing sword, she drove me to dislike her...more than Navi.
Today's subject is...
FI
SWORD IN THE MUD
Now, I'll try to keep this simple and short because, I know this is a character that somewhat splits the fans. So, let me start by saying what I like about her; the character design is solid, the concept of her robotic talking was a fun idea, and the idea of a singing sword is a classic way to personify the Master Sword in a meaningful way in a series where music is so vital. But, they fail in executing the character in several ways.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
And this comic above just sums up the first problem with the character. She is extremely annoying; if you find something, she is going to tell you about it, even if its obvious. The game already has plenty of pandering to explain things (they put the controls on the screen for christ sakes) and Fi feels the need to tell me when I am low on hearts or find a room. The majority of dialogue from the character is telling you stuff you already know and, if you ask her advice, she'll usually not having anything too terribly useful. So, she is annoying, but that's not damnable. C3P0 was a bit annoying, but we also grew to like him a proxy to the audience. We don't get a chance to really like Fi because, rather than allowing her to develop a character like Zelda, Groose, or even the side characters, by the time you say goodbye to Fi, you just don't care.
The worst offense? Fi managed to make the annoying beeping noise you hear when Link is low on health even more annoying, by literally telling you that you're about to die, when there is already red flashing hearts and a high pitched beeping noise alerting you. Fi, to me, just represents the over-handicapping that Nintendo has put in several first person titles lately, not as bad as God Gorilla from Donkey Kong Country Returns, but more of a game function than a companion. Lets hope we get more Midnas in the future.
