The story of Forspoken appears to have high hopes for Frey Holland and her Isekai adventure from modern New York into the fantasy world of Athia. However, as high as the stakes of both worlds reach or as deep as the melodrama digs into Frey Holland's struggles, the heart of this adventure is going to rely much more closely on the characters and how well Luminous Productions has built their relationships to each other.
Of these important characters in Forspoken, protagonist Frey Holland and her companion Cuff might be the two that much of the drama and heart is going to rely most heavily on. While one of these characters is the magical wrist cuff that the other wears, the relationship between them will be the one that players will spend the most time viewing over the course of a playthrough.
Frey and Cuff's Banter in Forspoken
For as much time as developers put into writing dialogue and crafting scenes for AAA titles, the majority of the moments that players remember and resonate with come in the gameplay between cinematic sequences. These are the moments where characters casually talk to each other, bonding and bantering over the enemies they're fighting and the treasures they've found. So, it would greatly benefit Luminous Productions to make sure that these bantering moments between Frey and Cuff are able to propel the story of Forspoken forward by building the relationship between these characters.
In the current state of Forspoken, Frey and Cuff do speak quite a bit already, quipping back and forth at each other as they travel all over the world of Athia. These conversations even change tone depending on the current situation that the player finds themselves in, such as after taking damage or when burning through all of their stamina. Notably, while Cuff is often standoffish to Frey, he is still very protective of her whenever she starts to dip into low health or is put into a dangerous position. This can actually be a sweet change of pace for the two characters, and acts as a more comforting way to let the player know that they are close to death.
Cuff Needs to be Three of Four Humors in One
The dynamic between Frey and Cuff appears to be a bit of an Odd Couple, with the two having mismatched personalities that are otherwise able to work together in the end. However, while this archetype of character relationship is a tried and true trope for this type of fantasy story, the comparisons between Forspoken and Final Fantasy 15 hint at another popular writing convention. Specifically, it is the four humors that Square Enix previously used to define Noctis and his traveling companions Ignis, Gladiolus, and Prompto.
This archetype of the four humors can be broken down to a simple description for each of the four main characters: the leader one, the smart one, the strong one, and the funny one. With the group in Forspoken reduced from four to two, it looks like those roles are going to have to start combining within the characterization of its protagonist and her companion. Then considering that Frey is already set to be the reluctant leader character in her debut title, the remaining three roles might fall into Cuff's hands.
Of course, from what has already been advertised of Forspoken and Frey Holland, she isn't beyond the use of quippy one-liners and MCU Avengers-style comments. So, this might be a much more even split in the final product, where Frey takes on the awkward comedy of Prompto and the brooding leadership of Noctis, while Cuff combines Ignis' intelligence with Gladiolus' strength. Considering the way that some of these archetypes tend to conflict with each other, this type of characterization could still lead to some interesting tension and heartfelt moments by the end of the game.
Forspoken is set to release on January 24, 2023, for PC and PS5.
