#when it comes to Strohl and how vocal he is... i actually don't mind. people just have personalities like that sometimes

[tekablade-chronicles-3]

While I find it actually interesting that this boy is basically hope personified at this point, I think it's worth remembering he is also an actual person.

There's something that was struck me at just about the point you're at rn : I realized, he's not cried a single time. Like you said, "even Jesus wept". I feel like that's one of the things that make him a bit unsettling (?) to me. He is kindhearted to a fault, and he can express emotions, but it feels like there's a gap somewhere.

That being said, if he was just like Makoto P3, that would be kinda of a shame. People already compare them enough just based on appearances, I don't want to have a printer copy just because Makoto is a great protag.

Will gets to snap/express rancor basically only twice in the game ( that i've seen ) and they're both optional, and still polite. I know he isn't allowed to lash out at people for the sake of his campaign, but it really feels like he should talk about it with his friends more. I mean heck there's a eugief on the team ! We know a few paripuses ! There's plenty of room for discussion.

tekablade-chronicles-3 i agree !!!! though i feel there's a reason that Will as a protagonist in particular is more hopeful and one-track in his mind, it's kind of scary to me that he does not break, at least so far. how much can one child endure ?? he's been the target of seething racism, rampant distrust, the witness of many corpses, several hangings and other horrors beyond words, I mean jfc is he just compartmentalizing all this ?? is he okay ???

So I'm doing this the old fashioned way cause the dialogue box was too small to say everything I wanted.

Atlus made it pretty clear from jump that they wanted Will to be the most hopeful out of all of the protagonists they've made thus far. Which is fine, I get the reasoning; "Light of Hope" and all that. But it feels like they over corrected. It reminds me of what Tales of Arise wanted to do with Alphen. They wanted him to be their most mature protag yet and they succeeded but at the same time he started coming off as preachy toward the end.

So while I understand what they're doing with Will as a character being the "guiding light" and all, even Jesus wept, you know? With that coupled alongside Strohl's Yosuke Curse (being the one that comes up with all the ideas therefore accidentally overshadowing the MC, also known as the "Mitsuru Curse" or the "Makoto Curse"), Will comes across as a Passive Pollyanna at best and a Gary Stu at worst especially during Montario where the player has so few dialogue options and Strohl does all the talking.

That being said, this isn't a dealbreaker at all and a paltry complaint next to Metaphor's miles of accolades especially for such a vast departure from Atlus's usual fare. It's really the first of is kind for them and they'll likely improve in the future, they always do. I think it could be fixed by giving Will some more character flaws than just "soft spoken with a bit of a martyr complex". Making him a bit more adversarial to the blatant racism or at the very least giving him more than one scene where he has the option to say that he hates it. I would at least like a few eye rolls and making him look a little less clean cut. Or you could keep him the same and make Strohl or Hulkenberg "Captain" while Will's the emotional heart of the group.