Why Lea is a Great Character

[@jeremalice]

I almost cried multiple times since I've been through this game, Lea's emotions were probably one of the strongest point of this game

[@leonardodelgado7573]

True one of the most engaging characters i have seen in a big time

[@jeremalice]

which is saying a lot considering she is unable to speak @@leonardodelgado7573

[@andrewcook8300]

Bro I’ve played through this game multiple times already, and teared up at THIS VIDEO when he mentioned the make up scene between Emily and Lea…

[@jeremalice]

@@andrewcook8300 amen to that brother

[@ezergilechimekazikura6855]

Honestly, Lea's breakdown upon confronting Shizuka and learning of her nature was heart-wrenching to watch. Her facial expression and body language really make you feel like she is about to collapse from what would be her version of a heart attack, and as much shit Sergey deserves for this, I am glad that he tried to talk to her and actually got Lea to pop off on him, because I can't phatom her holding up for long if she would've been left in that room in silence in a state like that.

[@VonTachyon]

Crosscode is such an underrated gem. I can't believe this game gets so little publicity nowadays...

[@spirittail4958]

If I had to guess the reason for this is because of how lengthy of a game it is and how incredibly unique it is due to the way the story goes along with the pacing people are often put off by a long game especially for the current era of content being more focused on short term-ish things outside of specific scenarios that keep people invested which is more or less why lots of great RPGs don't get the recognition tbey deserve

[@yoster39]

​@@spirittail4958I mean, the popularity of baldur's gate 3 kinda condraddicts your point. The problem is the game was not marketed well. I happened to find it by pure happenstance.

[@spirittail4958]

@@yoster39 I'm sure your probably right I never looked into baldurs gate 3 myself but I have heard of it and you do also make a good point that on top of the other things I mentioned advertisement can also really make or break whether these games get recognized

[@angeldude101]

Probably the biggest things in the DLC for Lea herself is the very _very_ end after the final boss. I'm referring to the Lea-board. The Lea-board is an honest to goodness _AAC,_ or Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This gives Lea a way to communicate with full words without actually removing her disability. AACs are tools that many disabled people use to assist with communicating what they otherwise couldn't, and Lea is probably the first fictional character I've ever seen with one. The fact that it's effectively in the form of a holographic deck of flash cards means that she can make it look cool with dramatic Yu-gi-oh poses if she really wanted to.

[@CommRio]

And you know Lea would absolutely do as many dramatic poses as she could.

[@franconunez925]

I imagine Lea'n friends playing a board game or something until someone falls in her trap and she starts doing a array of poses as she calls her opponents as many synonims of fool as she can find(extra points if it is Apollo who's on the other side of her verbal assault).

[@Heavens_Gate_op]

THATS CHEATING WHERE IS JUSTICE@@franconunez925

[@gamerprince-tl5hg]

Sergey mentions that when an Evotar's true nature is revealed to them, there's a chance they start to malfunction. I like to think that Lea's emotionless state after Shizuka confronted her was an example of that and that if it wasn't for Lukas giving her hope and love that made her cry and feel again, she would've ceased to function and basically die.

[@CommRio]

Yeah and it would help explain why the Evotars were malfunctioning after the revelation because they didn't have support and help.

[@arikaaa69]

I figured the reason why Lea survived the revaluation and didn’t completely shut down was because of all the time she spent with Emilie and the rest of her friends, giving Lea a chance to carve her identity. Because of those experiences, she developed into something very different from a faithful copy of Shizuka. Unlike any other evotar in Vermillion Wasteland who would just be a clone of their original, except stuck in prison. If Schneider met his evotar and was half as ruthless to him as Shizuka was to Lea, evotar Lukas would have shut down, at least that’s my reading of the evotar finding out their true nature. I think Lukas before the raid says it best. Really shows how much of life is shaped by happenstance

[@Keykey70]

Honestly I thought the blank stare looked like she was trying to keep her emotions in check and not let the floodgates burst open, aided by the absence of music that finally comes flooding out when Lukas starts prodding at it. Like she still knows what was happening and what they were going to do, but saying anything at all is gonna make her break down in tears so she's trying her best to hold it together.

[@cullenlatham2366]

i dont fully agree. Lea was mentally broken, yes, but she was still functional. Would it have progressed to match the effectively death level of malfunctions of the other evotars? most likely, but the key is simply that she wasnt completely gone yet. We dont entirely know what the malfunctions in question were, but self-harm and reckless abandon to deny reality are both heavily implied. Lea did neither, but she was clearly on the brink of falling into it. I guess the timeline is my bigger issue, since the lack of detail makes it sound like the malfunctions happened quickly, if not immediately. Lea was clearly in the process of.... well, processing the information, which is already more than is implied of the other evotars. Without support, Lea almost certainly would have spiraled, but the important part is that she didnt. She TRIED to process the revelation, but the subtext implies other evotars directly rejected such a revelation and denied their own existence as a result.

[@antoniogaravo9289]

1:16 *occasionally* snarky - spend half of the in-game dialogues in smug mode

[@CommRio]

I wish I could reply to this with a smug Lea face, but alas

[@verdantabyss5951]

I love this video essay. I already understood CrossCode primarily through the lens of disability, but had never taken too much note of Sergey's handholding. Now that I see it, the independence Lea develops is even more visible now. I like that in A New Home, she and Sergey seem to have a very sweet friendship, even though she doesn't "need" him anymore per se.

[@CommRio]

Yes their friendship growing over the course of the game and into the DLC is great. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@nickrl113]

(I've only just started the DLC) I like that it's directly established by Sergey first showing himself as literally on the same level by finally standing face to face with Lea through his own avatar. Well, he still does his classic telepathy-esque thing, but you do have to admit that it's pretty convenient.

[@atomheart7907]

my favorite line from lea is in NG+ after you muder everything in her path and she just goes 'Lea~"

[@Hawk_of_Battle]

"Bye!"

[@johnprice6271]

"HIIII!!!!!!!"

[@emblemblade9245]

Byebye~!

[@joelbrich2538]

Ohh, you mean if you have Sergey hax turned on?

[@AdamTheFanatic]

Before watching: Please say that you reference the "That is nothing like me." line. That is absolutely my favorite line in this entire game, and as I go over in my review of this title, an absolutely brilliant piece of writing despite its simplicity. EDIT: You do mention it- I do a more general overview of the plot than focusing on Lea specifically, but I briefly home in on this line and extrapolate it more and why I think those five simple words are so astounding, even going so far as to compare it to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. All-in-all, this is a wonderfully in-depth analysis of Lea as a character, her emotions, and why this game finally did justice to the "silent protagonist" trope. EDIT 2: Okay, you DO go a little more into the Shizuka versus Lea thing a little more in the epilogue.

[@CommRio]

Glad to be able to provide, as I said in the video particular lines don’t always stand out in CrossCode because of Lea’s speech issues but that certainly was a big one. I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@ARandomNope]

13:30 something you forgot to mention here is that during THIS ENTIRE SEQUENCE, the music that usually plays during the whole game goes COMPLETELY silent, no sad track, no regular track, just silence.

[@silvershine2261]

Thats one my favorite parts aswell. You dont notice how hard the music is carrying until it just stops outright. its eerie and in combination with her blank stare it perfectly displays her lowest point Not really relevant to the topic of this video but I wanna highlight how the game conditions you on feelings with its recurring tracks. Both Emilies and Apollos theme are introduced very early and recurr to evoke either lightheartness and joy or happyness with Emilies theme and competetive urge and pride with Apollos theme. Emilies theme also starts playing when they both start to tear up after vermillion and reunite in Gaias Garden, which makes the scene all the more emotional. The seekers theme you hear when talking to the leader of operation pathfinder also gets reused when your friends declare that they join in on the vermillion raid, evoking the feelings of progress, determination and confidence. Great choice And then there is Shizukas battle theme. Its my favorite theme in the entire game, tears me up every single time I hear it. And it is only so powerful because of the journey and all the emotions that came before it. The duel had the perfect setup and the payoff was incredible

[@deadboyo2773]

​@@silvershine2261 shizuka theme? Don't you mean goatfather theme?

[@silvershine2261]

@@deadboyo2773cant tell if just trying to be funny, but the theme im talking about is called "Shizuka" in the original soundtrack. The one that plays during the duell

[@deadboyo2773]

@@silvershine2261 I am in fact trying to be funny, I was referring to the goatfather fight in the dlc, for some reason they decided to play shizuka's theme during his fight

[@ailill5458]

I like games like this and Blasphemous where the protagonist *actually* has a reason to be silent, and is acknowledged as such.

[@CommRio]

It takes work to get right, but it really enhances the experience in my opinion.

[@CrazyDoodEpicLeaves]

Ichise pfp, very nice to see that other people watched Texhnolyze aswell, amazing anime.

[@justawaffle4630]

Lea is easily my favorite protagonist in any game, but I could never put it into words why she is. Heck, I can't even put into words why I like any character! This video does a really good job explaining why Lea is such a well written and overall great character.

[@CommRio]

Thank you! She deserves the recognition and is just a wonderful character.

[@joelbrich2538]

She is my favorite video game protagonist, in my favorite game ever made.

[@Dark__Thoughts]

CrossCode really quickly became one of my favorite games of all time, and Lea one of my favorite & most beloved characters of all time. It's a huge testament for the devs to be able to create a character with so much personality, despite her not being able to talk much of anything herself. I also have to compliment them in being able to create a game that is essentially all about friendship and compassion, without it becoming cringey or overly cheesy (Edit: I think the graphic for the DLC also really encompasses what this game is about). The only real downside is how freakishly unknown the title is, that and the NWJS file issue, causing mouse input to crash the game for me if I don't run the game through Proton GE, which 90% of the time launches without audio. There's a detail you missed in the reveal with Shizuka though, the zen garden that she gets thrown into, which is disturbed all the way until Lea is finally okay with herself again. I also have seen a lot of people being mean towards Shizuka, without realizing that up until their personality split when Lea was created, that they were basically the same person. In the following years though, Shizuka got blackmailed and lost her brother, which is a trauma that she unloaded on Lea out of frustration. Lea on the other hand was, for the most part, on ice until Sergey put her back into the game, at which point she then was more or less happily strolling around the playground & making friends instead. This little timeframe of completely different experiences was enough to push their personality development apart, but all the good things within Lea that we liked about her, still come from Shizuka (which starts to open up a bit more later on too). You also kinda missed that Emilie did not realize that Lea cannot talk, when she was offering that Lea could always talk to her, noting how quiet she always is. That was part of a funny revelation later on, where pretty much everyone else already knew or rather suspected it, except for her, who was completely oblivious to it.

[@CommRio]

The divergent paths of Lea and Shizuka are certainly a cause for the difference between them, but even based on the glimpses we get of Shizuka prior to all the events that unfolded she still seemed very different from the Lea we know and love. The clone/AI comparison makes their divergences fascinating. Lea definitely seems like a product of her environment and the people around who have influenced her

[@verdantabyss5951]

I agree about Emilie. Part of the "oof" of the Maroon Valley chapter was that Emilie is unknowingly insensitive about multiple things. She even says something like "let's not let real life fall by the wayside"

[@hyperjarb4502]

I lost the duel with Apollo after escaping the Vermilion Wastelands because I was just as out of it as Lea was that just shows how well her emotions were portrayed if I felt them that strongly. I love the game and this video explanes how I feel about Lea's character very well.

[@silvershine2261]

Its crazy how small moments like this can make every playthrough different. My first time duelling Shizuka I got demolished at first but we ended up at 4:4 tied, and I was determined to not loose to her on the final round. But it just so happened that 4:4 is exactly the amount of points needed to end the duel and we had to leave on a tie. It was in my second playthrough that I realized, that she just restarts the duel again if needed

[@Jiroxys25]

This video is what CrossCode deserves! I don't get to see this kind of thorough character analysis pretty much anywhere, but to see it for my favorite game of all time? I very nearly cried watching this and reflecting on how much this game and its themes mean to me. Incredible work!

[@CommRio]

Thank you! Lea’s journey and CrossCode as a whole are incredible

[@You-fools]

Wow, great essay. It's funny listening to your analysis as it is only now hitting me how much this game has influenced me. After completing CrossCode I became more affectionate, empathetic and expressive. I began to recognize the value of truly listening and being someone to bounce conversation and ideas on. I truly believe that I played this game at the perfect time to integrate the great parts of this game into my personality that really have made me a better person. The points about disability are also brilliant. CrossCode does an amazing job displaying the maturity of those who are disabled. It also opened my eyes to the feelings that come with being unable as well as the ways that people treat those with disabilities. I think playing as and dwelling on Lea has completely shifted my view of people with disability. Lea's character journey is genuinely the best storyline I've ever experienced in a game and you do such a brilliant job of breaking down most of the story beats, characters, actions and points of interest. 10/10 video on a 10/10 game.

[@thisisntevenmyfinalform6814]

You glossed over the duel between Lea and Shizuka a bit and I want to mention something about it as I consider it the emotional climax for lea. Projections of blame aside, Shizuka views Lea as little more than a carbon copy of her; just someone who's the result of her getting sloppily copy/pasted while she wasn't looking. When they met in the Vermillion Wastelands she pushed that onto Lea and Lea sadly internalized that but she managed to break out of that mindset by talking to Lucas who not only gave her a pep talk but also reminded her that she has made friends, friends that Shizuka doesn't have and by extention experiences as well as hardships that Shizuka doesn't and will never have. When they clash in Sapphire Ridge they both have something to prove. Shizuka viewing Lea as just an inferior copy wishes to prove this by beating her, after all how can a copy beat the original; she has more experience anyway so it will be a cake walk. Meanwhile Lea wishes to prove that she's not just a copy of Shizuka, she's her own person with her own qualities. She doesn't have to win, she's not trying to prove that she's better than Shizuka she just has to show that she's capable of being more, not just to shizuka but also to herself. And then she does; to me the PVP fight against Shizuka isn't just a cool boss fight, it's Lea loudly stating that she's her own person for the first time and it's a statement Shizuka can't ignore.

[@shilohmagic7173]

I've been told the canon ending to that fight is a perfect tie: 4 to 4

[@averybruhman5060]

​@@shilohmagic7173yeah, the developer confirmed that is was canon that the duel end in 4 - 4. In fact, there were originally going to be an achievement for defeating Shizuka 6 - 0. But instead it got replaced by a simplier one: win one round against Shizuka

[@sonicrunn3r895]

Finally, the video I've been looking for most. Lea is one of my favourite protagonists, and it comes entirely through how much she's able to communicate emotional moments so well even with just a few words and emotions. Sergey is also a great compliment to her personality, especially the moments of cute snarky moments when Lea gets new words to mess with him (the moment she first gets to use “why” is too good)

[@funguy3259]

I usually dont care about dialogue in these kinds of games, but, something about Lea managed to make me interested in all these characters, all of them are unique in their own way, especially during the part where (spoiler alert go away) Sergy says the stuff about the Vermillion Wasteland to the First Scholas HQ, everyone reacts differently and has different reasons as to why they wanna help, anyways back to Lea, her quietness made me even more attatched to her, im generally a person that rarely cries but wow, when she cried with Emilie it just, it felt so different.

[@_zurr]

Thank you for covering this absolute gem of a game and articulating the greatness of its character writing in ways I never could. It holds a special place in my heart and I squeal with delight any tine someone new mentions it.

[@silvershine2261]

This is everything I tried to put into words after replaying the game for the third time just recently Impressive how you managed to really only talk about her in a nutshell, because there is a ton more to say. So many things work together in making us identify with her, music atmosphere gameplay design and more. But that would probably nuke the scope of a video

[@CommRio]

Absolutely, scope is always the limiting factor in these videos. At a certain point you just start recommending someone replay the whole game to catch each little moment

[@silvershine2261]

@@CommRio Couldnt be me, ending up not sharing anything about the stories I enjoy because I couldnt give them justice in a conversation and dont want others to have a diluted or influenced experience of what I consider to be supreme. And then people are like "Yeah probably good game but I dont like the artstyle, reminds me too much of mega man so im not going to play it" And I die a little inside

[@HakimJamil94]

Probably the most beautiful indie game I've played so far.

[@CommRio]

It's an amazing game

[@bluewhale656]

I wish more people played it

[@GretgorPooper]

Because she is adorbz.

[@Hawk_of_Battle]

"Lea!" :)

[@thisguy.-.]

God damn you know a game is good when a video essay discussing it is enough to make you almost tear up. Seriously good analysis of the bond between Emilie and Lea, thank you for making this

[@CommRio]

You are most welcome, I certainly teared up while reading the section about Lea and Emilie (among others)

[@phyren8301]

Hey, I appreciate how in depth you went on what is likely, in all honesty, my favorite game of the past decade.

[@CommRio]

Glad you enjoyed, and it's fans like you that encouraged me to play it in the first place. The passion around this game is noticeable

[@dogethe2nd410]

After finally beating the base game, I can watch this video. And a good video it was! Thank you for your hard work!

[@CommRio]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed the video and (presumably) the game

[@reshi606]

Loved the video and couldn't agree more. All of the facial expressions in this game are gold and so is the dialogue.

[@CommRio]

Whoever made all the expressions needs a raise

[@ItzyTheSlime]

Long-analysis, just found it on Reddit Very nice video, Lea is my fav char in all video games

[@bucktae]

I really love this video you said everything that I thought about Lea and how great Lea was for the story and how different. I wonder how new MC for Radical fish next game is going to live up too Lea.

[@CommRio]

I'm so ready to see what Project Terra turns into, the protagonist has big shoes to fill, but I'm planning on going in with an open mind like I did for CrossCode and hope it'll be an enjoyable ride.

[@elyjahkidnot]

You've got the same professional quality of voice and speaking like a lot of other KZbinrs, and I appreciate you using a wide variety of video clips! I think what Lea does better than a lot of other silent protagonists is that even though she can't speak, she actively participates in conversations and has her own personality. I also think that surrounding characters help to bring out the personality of the protagonist, and can really shape a character from being involved vs along for the ride!

[@CommRio]

It wouldn't be right for me to do the video without the variety of clips to show many of Lea's moments, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes the surrounding characters are very important to bringing out Lea's personality mainly that's the louder ones like Emilie and Apollo, but it can also apply to Lukas, Evotar Lukas, Shizuka, Sergey, and C'tron. It is an ensemble effort to make CrossCode a special game and story.

[@Dark__Thoughts]

A good example for bad mute characters would be Link, from the Legend of Zelda series. Always mute, always the same stare, usually nothing but yes or no answers to give. So many games, but the character itself does not really have much of any personality to it. He's only really defined to rescue his princess, Zelda, which is basically on the same level as Mario.

[@elyjahkidnot]

@@Dark__Thoughts I agree, he's got emotions obviously but we only get so much personality from him. I know some of the folks who worked on the game wanted anyone to be able to insert themselves in Link as the hero however. I think it works well for what it is and the stories do a lot of lifting to bring some characterization I think that Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild did add a lot more flavor to the dialogue responses though, and he's come a long way from Ocarina of Time!

[@yahavlivni3002]

Cross code is such a special game to me, even though I originally dropped it right before the fire temple. I came back and restarted the game from the beginning and could not put it down. Every element is tuned to perfection and it's insane how big the game is for how little "filler" there is even if you go for 100% like I did. I can't wait for the team's next game whenever it does come out.

[@CommRio]

I'm really looking forward to Project Terra even if it won't be coming for likely a few more years

[@SlyHikari03]

For a character that only says 3 things (Hi, Bye and her own name) and nods (speech issues basically), she's actually the most relatable character for some. the game basically does the storytelling for her,

[@CommRio]

The creative storytelling is one of the standout features of CrossCode, I will never not be impressed by how well done it is

[@KKx-dq6ed]

Idk if it’s just me but for some reason the video is shown as 49 mins but is actually only 26

[@p-i-es-u-c-c]

me too

[@PeruvianPotato]

Same

[@jacquesbosse7394]

Great in depth video. Thanks for sharing!

[@CommRio]

You’re welcome and thank you!

[@bellidragon540]

Came here to comment on the best OTP ever, LukeLea :3 I finished the DLC yesterday and I'm just so glad, my soul is healed. Watching this video really was a nice way of letting all the stuff I've experienced with the game so far. I finished it over the course of three months because I dropped it once in-between but when I picked it back up, I didn't expect that I would regret having dropped it. The events just all seem so far from each other! Why's it always gotta be the indie games which take the biggest toll on my heart..

[@CommRio]

The games built with the most heart have the best chance to hurt the heart as well

[@wyatt9949]

an added detail about Leas breakdown is that she's thrown onto the Zen garden (iirc that's what it is) proving that all her calmness and balance has been thrown off

[@terraglade]

if the story wasnt good, id have probly dropped this game. The puzzles were extremely difficult for me (i had to turn down the timer after the desert temple). But i loved the characters and story so i kept going

[@DrillToPierceTheHeavens]

I loved crosscode. Lea will be a part of my video game tattoo collage. I put almost 200 hours into the game and that does not include NG+.

[@psachickennugget8617]

Commenting here to say yes it’s true, please play crosscode if you haven’t.

[@yoster39]

"the first one and most important is emily" right after trying to melee apollo

[@kaxymonoxy]

incredible video

[@simplyeyeronic1443]

One thing that sold the emotional weight of the post shizuka encounter is that the game takes away your dash. Like. Your so used to charging forward, spinning almost full screen so just. Having you walk feels like such a slog.

[@silvernowell1124]

[NOD] ...HI!

[@Roftastic]

7:20 I don't think the reason Lea is sad because Emilie 'insulted' CrossWorlds, honestly Lea might have a few complaints herself, I think it's more about Lea experiencing the blunt reality that she *cant* reciprocate & relate to her beyond 3-words & some ambiguous facial expressions. At this point Emilie STILL hasn't clued in onto her mute condition after 2-3 days of playing together.

[@CommRio]

To be fair I wasn't saying Emilie insulted Crossworlds it was Emilie's coworker who did, but yes there is ambiguity as to why Lea is upset. Maybe it is the continued missing of Lea's mute condition or maybe just simply that Lea wishes she could communicate better. Perhaps hearing Emilie talk about her life outside of Crossworlds is making Lea wonder about her own life outside of the game (since at this point she still thinks she had one). There are plenty of potential reasons I just highlighted what I think was the main one and everyone will have their own interpretation.

[@jmh8817]

Good observation with how Sergey patronizes Lea. The clash with Emilie is obvious but the moment you said it happened multiple times I realized Sergey did it his own way too. Good stuff.

[@CommRio]

Thank you, it was only when I was rewatching the game when writing the script for this video that I realized that is what was happening. I do enjoy games that reward replaying (or in this case rewatching)

[@mayasuxs]

Hi!

[@CommRio]

Lea! Hi!

[@chara90999]

Sorry 😑

[@CommRio]

Wait. Why?

[@kevinburke1325]

No she isn't. Throughout the majority of the game it's: hi lea hi, bye. Dang the most annoying character of all time.

[@arikaaa69]

Counterpoint: Smug Lea face

[@kevinburke1325]

@@arikaaa69 And? Her facial expressions hardly cover anything that she might say. In fact, it is impossible to understand her because it is constantly just using those three words.

[@arikaaa69]

@@kevinburke1325 they express how she feels, which I think is much more important than what exact words she says, but the ways she uses her few words do a lot, especially after getting Why and How. Her lack of vocabulary and expression that often lines up with what the player would feel makes her connect to the player emotionally than any other protagonist, silent or not, really can. At least if you're actually playing and not watching a no commentary youtube walkthrough

[@ryanamburgy2791]

Ratio

[@kevinburke1325]

@@ryanamburgy2791 nope, you got ratioed.