The baby, not to be mistaken for the damsel in distress, who I'll get to shortly. The baby is not quite as helpless as the damsel, in that they at least have enough agency to move around and occasionally outsmart their enemies, but they're generally useless offense-wise, and require the player to go out of their way to protect them. Two classic examples come in the form of "escort" characters who have to be shepherded to safety for fear of a Game Over screen. The first is Ashley Graham, the incredibly annoying daughter of the President in Resident Evil 4, turning the bulk of the game into one giant escort mission with only a few benefits (that Ashley can reach areas that Leon cannot). The second instance is Emma Emmerich, Octacon's step-sister in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, who is afraid of water and as such has to have her hand held by Raiden as they navigate a water-logged section of the Big Shell. Did anyone enjoy these two aspects of what were otherwise pretty awesome games? Would it have killed Capcom and Konami to make them a little less helpless, if only for the player's sake?
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
