The fact Poppi has absorbed information and influences from around her is shown in more subtle ways, too, perhaps most notably in the manner in which she speaks. Is that something that is even possible for an artificial Blade such as herself? Apparently so. She screeches at him that he needs to stay, to keep on being true to himself she sounds like she’s crying. Several tragic events over the course of the game’s narrative see Rex expressing himself through shouting, crying and screaming, and in an oddly heartbreaking scene somewhat later, Poppi tries to convince a seemingly utterly defeated Rex that he needs to keep fighting with an uncharacteristically powerful display of what appears to be genuine emotion. Protagonist Rex’s willingness to clearly show his emotions seemingly has something of an impact on Poppi, too. That’s not the only influence Poppi has absorbed, however. Considering one of the members of the group she spends all her time with since being awakened for the first time is the rather abrasive Nia, it’s understandable that she would pick up at the very least a bit of cheekiness. Indeed, the later revelation that she has a hidden “dog mode” that Tora is very embarrassed to have revealed in front of everyone else would seem to suggest at least part of her personality was crafted to appeal to her “end users”.Īnother theory is that Poppi is capable of learning and absorbing information from all around her, and her more “human” tendencies have been acquired from the company she is keeping. One interpretation of it all could be that Tora is somewhat masochistic, and deliberately programmed her personality to be this way in order to indulge his fancies. She frequently pokes fun at him in a distinctly disrespectful but good-natured and endearing manner, and makes it pretty clear that she continues to follow along with the group because she wants to, not because she “has” to.Įxactly how this side of her came about is left a little ambiguous. On top of that, the design for her subsequent iterations - based on a large-breasted teenage maid and a distinctly curvaceous young woman in a rather revealing leotard and stockings combo - were obviously designed with… aesthetic as well as practical considerations in mind, shall we say.Īlthough it would have been easy for Poppi to be represented almost like a “slave” to Tora, and for this to be a negative thing, her character is written in such a way that it’s clear she wouldn’t actually take any crap from her “master”. Indeed, Poppi happily admits during one memorable scene that she has a bunny-girl outfit designed to cheer up her master, and that the “cheer-up effect can be enhanced by initiating tail-wiggle protocol”. We’re given numerous suggestions over the course of the narrative that the original intentions behind the design of Poppi may have been somewhat less than wholesome - and this is true of all three generations of Tora’s family that have worked on her. Poppi is an artificial Blade, however, so there is no need for resonating, nor any aptitude for resonation instead, she is programmed to be loyal to her master, and equipped with a variety of functions that enable her to be useful in a variety of ways. Tora finishes the work his father and grandfather began on her in an attempt to stand alongside his new friends as a Driver of a Blade, even though he himself has found on several occasions to have no aptitude for resonating with Core Crystals. It’s clear that she’s something very different to the other people in the cast, but she nonetheless has sufficient personality about her to make her interesting right from the outset rather than being either a “blank slate” or a stereotypical dry and emotionless robot. Poppi is introduced fairly early in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and when we first meet her, she is presented as both child-like and, in some ways - particularly her movement - awkwardly robotic. She’s also a character who undergoes some of the most obvious and recognisable growth - in more ways than one - over the course of the narrative. One of Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s best characters is Poppi (aka Hana in the Japanese voice track), the artificial Blade created by the Nopon Tora as an attempt to finish the work his dadapon and grampypon started.Īlways endearing, surprisingly empathetic and understanding to her friends and companions, highly capable in a variety of situations and owner of probably the sharpest tongue in the whole cast - though she has some stiff competition from Nia - Poppi is an absolute delight to spend time with, and a highlight among an already very strong ensemble of characters.
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