Friday 1 January 2016

Video Game Character of the Month - January 2016 - Yangus - Dragon Quest VIII

Video Game Character of the Month
January 2016
Yangus
Dragon Quest VIII
Overview:
'Cor Blimey!!!' I've got an award 'ave I?! Just wait 'till I tell Guv about this! He's the one that helped me go straight, you know. Anyway, 'it's gonna get dark if we 'ang about 'ere much longer.' Let's 'ead into the info an' then onto the rest of the award!

He is human
He is 31/32 years old
His father is called Yanpa and he is the leader of a group of thieves
He was once a bandit...
...but then became a merchant after venturing with the Hero (or Guv)
He is from the town of Pickham
He is not especially bright but is apparently aware of this fact
Yangus had a history with a female bandit named Red which is strongly implied to be romantic
They later go into business together
He is a tank character
He has the highest physical strength of all the Dragon Quest VII party members
He can use Axes, Clubs, Scythes and Fisticuffs as weapons and his special ability is Humanity
He calls the Hero 'Guv' as a sign of respect for the Hero saving his life
He calls King Trode 'Grandad' as a sign of friendly derision
He is often surprised by King Trode appearing from nowhere which leads him to strike an unusual pose and say 'Cor Blimey!!!'
In the Japanese version of the game he speaks in dockworker slang while in the English version he speaks in a cockney accent
He tried to 'go straight' earlier on in his life but failed as people didn't give him much of a chance due to his appearance
This led to him returning to a life of crime which manifested itself in his attempt to toll a bridge
After King Trode refused to pay, Yangus attacked them the Hero, King Trode and Medea but missed and ended up hanging onto a broken bridge for his life
The Hero saved his life which led to Yangus pledging his loyalty to the Hero and joining the party

Origin of Yangus:
While I can't find too much about the creation of Yangus in terms of development, there is a bit of lore to explore. In the prequel/spin-off game Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon, Yangus is shown to have visited a magical world, called Pottal Land, inside of a magic pot (right... are we sure it was an actual pot or were they just implying something...?) where he traveled through a series mystery dungeons fighting and capturing monsters with the help of some of his old friends including Red, Poppy, Morrie and Torneko. As I have already stated in the opening section of the post, Yangus once tried to give up his life of crime but failed due to the prejudice he faced because of his appearance. He then tries tolling a bridge but encounters the Hero and after a series of misplaced attacks ends up holding onto the bridge or dear life. The Hero disobeys King Trode and saves Yangus' life, leading him to pledge his loyalty to the Hero. And so appears the Yangus we all know an' love! In terms of development, the main thing that I could find is that in the Japanese games, he speaks in dockworker slang (voiced by Fumihiko Tachiki) whereas in the English version he speaks in a Cockney accent (voiced by Ricky Grover).

Evolution of Yangus:
Over the course of the Dragon Quest VIII Yangus can level up and obtain a variety of weapons and armour to further increase his stats. Throughout the game he is always ready to help the Hero and his friends in a variety of tasks. Then, at the end of the game, he leaves the bandit life behind him forever and joins with his childhood friend Red as a merchant. Later on, or before as I'm not really sure when the game takes place, Yangus joins the party in Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below as well as the video game board games Fortune Street.

Games:
Dragon Quest VIII: released (Japan) on November 27, 2004/(North America) on November 15, 2005/(Australia) on April 12, 2006/(Europe) on April 13, 2006 on PlayStation 2/(Japan) on December 12, 2013/(World Wide excluding Japan) on May 28, 2014 on Android and iOS devices/(Japan) on August 27, 2015/(Europe/North America) in 2016 on Nintendo 3DS
Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon: released (Japan) on April 20, 2006 on PlayStation 2
Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable: released (Japan) on May 25, 2006 on PlayStation Portable
Itadaki Street DS: released (Japan) on June 21 2007 on Nintendo DS
Fortune Street: released (Japan) on December 1, 2011 on the Wii/(North America) on December 5, 2011/(Part of Europe) on December 23, 2011/(the Other Part of Europe) on January 6, 2012/(Australia) on January 5, 2012

Well that's all on the heroic bandit, Yangus! And, as always, if you notice a mistake that I've made or have an idea on who should win the award in the future, then don't hesitate to comment!

Goodbye for now, Harry

Sources:
http://dragonquest.wikia.com/wiki/Yangus
http://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Yangus
http://dragonquest.wikia.com/wiki/Shounen_Yangus_to_Fushigi_no_Dungeon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Quest_%26_Final_Fantasy_in_Itadaki_Street_Portable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_Street#Dragon_Quest_.26_Final_Fantasy_in_Itadaki_Street_Special
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_Street
http://www.giantbomb.com/yangus/3005-1483/games/

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