I’d say that these days, this sort of thing is in the minority. Superheroes have been deconstructed, parodied, satirised, and reconstructed for decades now. In the last year or so, two of the most major superhero films released were explicitly about superheroes fighting one another (both sparked by villains, admittedly, but the tension was there even without said spark, and in both cases the villain thought he was protecting the world).
Well, that’s already one step more complex than “goody good guys v world-destroying bad guys”. And that’s not really a “superhero” thing as much as it’s an X-Men thing (which other superhero franchises have indeed borrowed since the X-Men’s success). And I don’t think it’s a bad moral, especially given how many people out there still need to learn it.
Regarding the romances, that may be one reason why I’m still so attached to Alan. The other “romances” basically boiled down to a couple of dates (and it didn’t help that I was going for Damian…), and I guess it made the original RO feel “special”. I get the feeling that there are quite a few people like me who’d be happy to see a return from Alan (or Dawn) in a sequel.
I’d rather Alan (or Dawn) stay right where they are, myself. It would kind of cheapen the tragedy, and water down a good motivation for the MC if they were to somehow come back.
I also don’t really want either of the twins to come back, but I do agree that more romances options wouldn’t be a bad idea at all, along with fleshing out the non-twin romance routes. I already stated my issues with the way the ending for a romanced Naomi plays out, so ideally I think that’d be adjusted somewhat, but even other than that I definitely got the impression that the story treated the twin as having a more notable and impactful relationship with the MC than their team romance, which is something worth adjusting in any potential sequels
I’d have to disagree; not just because Alan’s cute and I don’t like doomed first loves (especially in choice games).
Firstly, while our inability to do anything to help them (or even having the choice to try) fits the theme of not having any real choices, as described by @Rhodeworks above, I’d say that for a sequel to work, it would have to start being more about the MC’s empowerment. While this doesn’t necessarily mean bringing them back, it would certainly open up the possibility.
Second, the death itself feels pretty flat. They leave, and then we’re standing in front of the grave. No death scene, no explanation, no real chance to grieve. What could have been milked for the tragedy it deserved felt almost like it was just being added in to tie up a loose end. And I’m not suggesting that they just pop out of nowhere at the start of the next story; saving them would have to be part of the story (potentially an optional part), and it could be made far more emotional than the death itself was.
Thirdly, why did the government even kill them? They’d already talked to us, potentially telling us everything; killing them would only make us more likely to believe them (and rebel). Wouldn’t it be a better idea to take them hostage to potentially use against us if we ever defected? I mean, it’s not like we even saw the body, is it?
I just think that bringing them back would be far more interesting than just leaving them dead (but not as a villain, please; we’ve already had one traitor RO, and we don’t need any more). Besides, this is superheroes; it’s not like anybody ever stays dead…
EDIT: Forgot to say:
I’ve never really seen revenge as a particularly compelling motivation. Saving a loved one, now that’s compelling to me.
The sequel would definitely focus on the protagonist’s sense of empowerment. It’s part of the reason why I’m letting ideas brew for a while, because I’d want the overall story to allow for the player to really have an effect – while still maintaining a consistent tone and narrative.
I enjoyed the battle scene with Courser after he betrays SOLAR and the options given to us on how to deal with him.
I too believe that the romance option should be improved. I did like the Dawn option but the later romances in the game felt a bit underwhelming. I suppose I also dislike the fact that every time Dawn chooses to run we don’t have anything else to do than just watch.
My favorite moment was the death of Dawn. It was really a turning point in my MC’s life. I played the character as a typical good hero till that point and after that he turned into a ruthless character almost devoid of empathy.
In the sequel I would be mostly interested in finding out the truth behind the conspiracy and figuring out what to do with it. And I would also be interested in exploring the world a bit more since most of our MC’s life was spent in a walled city and he still has more to know about the reality of the world and how it works.
Thematics, narrative and to make the stat screen look nice.
The categories are an element of control over the powered populace. They’re an institutional label and not set in stone. During the climactic chapter, the player goes well beyond their IPSA classification.
Looking at the Android store, I feel I underestimated the amount of people who would be very upset that I included nb options and/or that they would have to pay for the full thing.
I just finished playing this and it was great, it has become one of my favorite HGs. The story had some predictable stuff (like your childhood love dying) but it was very good. It satisfied my thirst for a superhero game that took itself seriously (unlike Heroes Rise or its sequels) and that was more mature (says the 17 yo).
I agree with you wholeheartedly; there were a lot of things left unresolved (as you have pointed out) and I am honestly anxious for the prospect of a sequel.
I am very satisfied with the ending I got because even though it was way too bleak to be labelled a happy ending (I believe it was, in fact, the happy ending) it felt real and managed to be fulfilling despite its bleakness. The consequences of my actions were felt at the Tribunal and the fact that they actually mattered (unlike in some other games) nearly made me burst with joy.
@Rhodeworks, great game, I hope to see more from you in the future
One thing I will mention, @Ylva, is about something you mentioned.
A big reason why I started Paradigm City, beyond having the characters bouncing around my head, is that I felt like there was a big hole in superhero choice games.
Simply put, there were none that felt serious.
Heroes Rise felt like a grab-bag of ideas, and a lot of people like the grab-bag of ideas, but I found its politics really concerning because it got political without being serious about it. Community College Hero I never got far into because it veered too far into comic book territory. And Best of Us just failed to grab me.
Weird, right? To think superheroes are cool but not be a fan of the comic book feel. I do, however, want to be clear that I’m not bashing Sergi or Moser. They both do great work and a lot of people enjoy their work. But it just wasn’t for me and wasn’t what I was looking for. It would be unfair of me to criticize either of their work for not meeting my expectations because I don’t think either game was trying to, and that’s great!
In general, though, I feel the superhero story can grow beyond superpowers being an allegory for young oppressed people (LGBT or otherwise). I feel like the genre can examine ideas of class, social status, privilege, self-determination and the ability of an individual to enact socio-political change. Logan did this, for example, and did it well. A lot of reviews have said Paradigm City is very political, and they are correct. I’m a history teacher and it comes with the territory.
Actually, I feel that none of the superhero stories on here are comic-booky enough. That’s one of the reasons I’m writing my (currently on hiatus) second WIP, which is designed to be as comic-booky as possible, while still giving a good story.
As I said earlier, that was originally an X-Men only thing, not something that was applied to superheroes in general before the X-Men got popular. There are a lot of things that superhero stories have already said, both in and out of comic books.
True. I only bring it up again because Heroes Rise, for example, put itself in that field and built a mighty fortress there. I don’t know enough about CCH to comment.
The only ro I liked died so I ended up forever alone lol and I agree with one of the comments above about the tribunal, I actually felt my heart speed up a bit waiting for their decision.
It and a few other things, such as the Seven/the Transcended, are things the sequel will get stuck into. There was no real space to talk about some of the bigger, crazier concepts in the setting in what amounted to a whodunnit where the protagonist was extremely mission-focused.
There’re hints there, particularly if you got access to Anima’s complete file and log transcript, but also some of the things the Twins and the Tribunal say should give some idea of how it all fits together.