Would S3 have been better recieved if Clementine was the main character?

edited August 2017 in The Walking Dead

First off. Hi! I have been a fan of Telltale Games since the first season of The Walking Dead! This is my first post on the forums!

Now to the topic. Do you think people would have liked S3 more if Clementine was the only main character? I think the concept for S3 was great but people have said they did not like how Clementine was "edgy" or that their choices in S2 did not effect her character in the new season. Tell me what you guys think!

Comments

  • Yes. I mean all the side-characters would be worse than S2, but yes, it would have been much better

  • She didn't had to be a main character, but she should have an important role in the story. What she is in ANF is a walking reminder of how we didn't get a true S3 and that S4 is coming soon. They ain't done grabbing that cash yet!

  • I think watching the Javier family drama unfold as Clementine while influencing it in a more subtle way, rather than being in the middle of it would have been more interesting, also the fact that Javier had so many relations that is established before the player even takes control makes him more fitting for a side character, since I barely cared about my supposed "family" before the last episode

  • Clem had flashbacks , so that was good input for the season. I think it was a good decision not to play with Clem.

  • As someone who loves Clem more than any other character in this game, I think the season would have been better if she wasn't even involved and it just decided to solely focus on Javi. She contributed barely anything, her "story" added nothing to Javi's arc but still was something that the writers diverted attention and effort to. Get rid of her and put all the emphasis on Javi's story, the entire season would have been better.

  • Assuming TT still went with "you get to play as BOTH veteran Clem and newcomer Javier": no, her being the only main character would've been just as bad. We were told we'd get two characters, and a lot of us found that interesting and appealing, since some of us wanted just Clem, or someone else, or both a la Tales from the Borderlands. If it was mostly Clem, the dynamic would've been skewed just as much if not more so.

  • Not really, The problem why i hated S3 was because of the Endings and bad writing for the story. I mean the Writing for Episodes 1, 2, & 5 were god awful IMO. So no S3 didn't suck just because clem wasn't playable, it sucked because the writing and characters were poor and they just threw away plots of S2 in a matter of a Second so they could focus on stupid lazy ass Newcomers.

  • edited August 2017

    No, not at all. There are several different problems in A New Frontier that are not in any way a result of Clementine's more marginal role.

    To name probably just a few - the crap dialogue, the one dimensional and forgettable bland characters, the lack of any solid character or plot developments, the sped up pacing, the constant need to shove in stupid "action" sequences, said action sequences which aren't even creative or enjoyable, the inability to actually explore hubs, no character interactions, a poor story with no emotional weight that goes nowhere, a forgotten main antagonist, cheap shock deaths, and choices not meaning anything (though that's a Telltale problem, in general). You could remove Clementine from the game or make her the main character, but it wouldn't matter because those issues would still prevail and be present.

  • The sad thing is, A New Frontier could have been awesome if it was Season 2 or 3 of Javier's story. I think Javier could have made a good main character to succeed Clem in future Seasons, but A New Frontier was a mess and now he is tainted by that.

    As someone who loves Clem more than any other character in this game, I think the season would have been better if she wasn't even involved

  • I'm not too sure about the critical reception about this game but as far as fans go no I don't think so. There were people who were biased from the start that Javier was the main character and not Clem, but I think there were a lot of people who were just upset with the overall weak writing of the season. If Clem had been the main character yet the writing was still poor, I don't think it would have been much better received. Just look at Season 2, Clem was the main character but it got a lot of criticisms for weak writing from the fans.

  • I'm not sure, on one hand people would like it out of bias because it's Clementine and on the other hand, having her as a playable character with no set personality or impact of past choices would've given Telltale just as much heat I think (especially with the lies and flashbacks). So it would've probably been slightly better received, but anything more? The game had more flaws than a single character's role in the story...

  • OneWayNoWay said:
    The only thing that would've made ANF better received is if Telltale had employed good writers to carry the season. That, as anyone with a brain cell can see, didn't happen.

    Let's keep discussion focused on the content and not the creator, please.

    Forum Guideline 2.2: Be respectful of personal boundaries towards Telltale Staff members (past and present) and do not personally insult, harass, or scapegoat them - whether or not they post on the forums. Keep all game discussions focused on the content and not the creators. [...]

    OneWayNoWay posted: »

    No, not at all. There are several different problems in A New Frontier that are not in any way a result of Clementine's more marginal role.

  • edited August 2017

    Season 3 would have been better without Clementine being there at all. Her inclusion was forced, and that's why we were given so many disappointing moments. Having Clementine out of the picture would have angered most fans, but it would have prevented the mess that season 3 came to be. TellTale felt bullied and spitefully (imo) provided us with all the inconsistencies we got. Every reoccurring character should serve a purpose, have a goal (with some resolution, at least), and an arc; Clementine's goals were not met, and her purpose was either too thin or non-existent. Javier's story was interesting, and I believe that if TellTale was bold enough to leave Clementine out - they would have had something surprisingly good. Even with a character like Gabe, he had potential in those first two episodes. Heck, I'll even be willing to bet that they would have been more motivated to build the story if they were given some space from Clementine. But yeah; I'm not one of the people that think Clementine's story is old, I just feel like TellTale wanted to be done with her by the end of season 2.

  • one of my biggest problems with ANF was how the season 2 endings were handled which pretty much came from the fact telltale was a little too exagerated when it came to the endings if Telltale did not add endings like the wellington ending ((Althought i did favor it over leaving with Kenny when i played thought it the first time.)) And the ending where you let Kenny kill Jane and then immediatelly shoot him.
    If telltale made only the Kenny and Jane endings real then Telltale could have easily just made Jane and Kenny Carley/doug type determinants and having them share similar scenes but with some different dialogue because of their different personalities For example:
    The flashback where you meet Ava could have been different with Jane and Kenny being distrustful of Ava but Ava eventually convincing Kenny while Jane would continue to be distrustful .
    althought that is far from the only problem with ANF since there was a severe lack of Hubs and talk options with Characters to known more about them .

  • It would have been better if they cancelled A New Frontier and not Season 3.

  • NO.

    Seriously, there were WAAAAYYY more problems with season 3 than just Clem not being the PC. Honestly, I wish Clem wasn't even in it.

  • 100% better. Either have Clem as a main character, or don't have her at all.

  • There'd definitely a few people who'd defend the game purely because of her, but it'd likely still have a fair amount of the same problems. Her not being there is a bit of a double edged cutlery, but one that you can definitely walked away from.

    Tbh, they pretty much set themselves up for trouble when they started trending the whole #My!Clementine nonsense. And at times, it feels like they've long since realized this and thus are finalizing their license so they won't have to deal with it anymore.

  • I guess I’m one of the few who thinks her role in Season 3 was justified.

    In order to fully develop a character, I feel like it makes sense to see them from all possible angles. I appreciate the fact that we had to be re-introduced to Clem, because naturally she would go through some major changes after Season 2 and wouldn’t likely be the same person we parted with. Also, it was important for us to know Javi’s family intimately so that Clem could actually see a somewhat functional family, and I don’t think the game could have done that from Clem’s perspective. We would only have known Javi as well as Clem’s dialogue allowed us.

    Besides, I like edgy Clem. You need to be a little edgy to make it in this world, and she could never be the same after dealing with Carver and all that BS. So no, I like the game the way it is.

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