Vagrant Story Analysis
Vagrant Story's Ashley Riot is an interesting protagonist as he does not seem to have a particular ideological perspective informing his actions. This is interesting for the simple reason that the story takes into account that it is a video game and Ashley is partially under the control of the story tellers, ala the developers, and partially under player control. The following will contain spoilers for those that have not played the game through.
Ashley Riot General Characteristics
Ashley Riot is a member of an elite group called Riskbreakers, named so because they are picked based on their manner of breaking the statistical risk of a mission failing time and again. Ashley's ability to repeatedly survive is linked to his ability to remain emotionally detached and logical in situations.
Ashley Riot and the Player
One of the most interesting things about Ashley Riot as a character is the manner in which he represents both himself and the person playing. Sydney Losstarot notes this when he informs Ashley that his soul is detached from his body like a Knight in a child's book, in other words he is like a fictional character being directed by some other force. This other force is, of course, the person playing the game. The player is thus Ashley Riot's soul.
Ashley Riot's History
Ashley Riot's history is left somewhat vague. At first it is revealed that he lost his family to a pack of bandits, which is one possibility. Another, more likely, possibility revealed by Sydney and Rosencrantz is that he was the one that murdered the family in a political assassination alongside his partner Rosencrantz. This idea is more likely for the simple reason that Ashley has a collection of skills associated with being an assassin.
Ashley's Character Design
Ashley has a strange character design, especially for a lead character. Overall, it appears the developers have gone for function in his clothes design rather than appearance, which makes sense. He does, however, wear a necklace which is said to be from his wife Tia.
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