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The Character: Lowell
I guess theres nothing for it. Ill have to bite the bullet. You can be my 42nd wife.

One of the main reasons Im not overly bothered by the derivative nature of the plot in this game is that the cast almost never displays any interest in taking either that plot or themselves very seriously unless theyre forced into it. They frequently take delight in poking fun at the more cliche story beats and the parts theyre playing to make them happen, though theyre always careful to maintain the GOOD kind of self-awareness. They never cross the line into getting so aggressively meta that it threatens to break immersion or become mean spirited in the way that more aggressively deconstructive stories often can. It just gives the sense that, yknow, theyve got books about knights and princesses in their world, too, and theyre not immune to being swept up in the appeal.

No one makes better use of that supporting role in the tale than Lowell, the mercenaries resident flirty ice mage. If this was indeed a DnD party, Lowell would be the bard. While not a musician, as far as we know (though he does speak rather poetically and rhythmically sometimes, as in the quote above), hes womanizing, carefree, and a magnet for getting himself into no small amount of humorous pratfalls, but no less capable because of it. As a matter of fact, hes a little older than the rest of the group, and he increasingly shows throughout the game that those few extra years have brought him a seasoning that makes him its most reliable member. Where he appears to be carefree, he may actually just be calm, having the past exploits to have seen it all and the wisdom to understand the importance of keeping a level head. Where he appears to be prone to misfortune, he may actually just be a man who enjoys seeing his companions laugh and doesnt mind being the butt of the joke that triggers it. And where he appears to be a womanizer Well, he is, but that comes with the backstory that all of his prior love interests have died, so hes a bit exhausted by the heartbreak.

I have to shout out the voice work of Derek Riddell here, who along with the majority of the other main characters voices, is a television and theatre performer instead of a voice actor (Im not sure how that casting came about - some of these folks havent worked on any other video games that I can tell - but Id love to know). I imagine I dont have to tell anyone here that thats often not a recipe for success; its not difficult to find traditional actors, especially those with any sort of classical training, who struggle mightily with voice acting. But while pretty much everyone is surprisingly good here, Riddell is pitch perfect, imbuing Lowells dialogue with the exact warmth that it almost always needs to succeed. He nails the comedic moments, too. Theres one late boss fight in which Lowell is suddenly afflicted with a horrible foot cramp after running up a bunch of stairs, and for whatever reason, Riddells delivery of his complaints always makes me crack up.

When I did the Trails character ranking last week, I mentioned in Zins blurb how much I appreciate the grounding presences in JRPG parties - those quiet rocks that fill some small gaps in chemistry by virtue of being pleasantly predictable - and though hes a little more zany at times than some examples, thats still exactly what Lowell is. Hes learned most of his lessons already, and though hes never pushy or preachy about it, hes accepted that his resulting role is to help his comrades do the same. He teases Yorick incessantly as an urging not to take himself so seriously, breaks down Syrennes extreme wariness of men even further than he ever meant to, and becomes a great older brother type for Zael. That last one is, obviously, the most important - its played for laughs early on as Lowell tries and fails to educate the lovestruck boy in matters of the heart, but he also sneaks in some genuinely good advice at times, and as Zaels relationship with Dagran progressively gets more complicated and strained (leading up to him becoming the endgame villain), this one becomes more mature. In fact, its Lowell who receives the honor in the postgame of offering some poignant and nuanced thoughts on Dagran himself, musing that the mercs were maybe a little too content to let him chart their course without ever really putting in the effort to learn what made him tick, but also condemning the betrayal in no uncertain terms and recognizing that it all could have potentially been avoided if the man in question hadnt been so determined to keep all of that rage and bitterness to himself when he had such steadfast friends as allies. Lowell even manages to pull Zael out of his funk a bit in that scene with a few words on the beauty of their newfound peaceful lives, though true to form, he claims he was just echoing what Mirania had said.

This isnt a particularly complex character, and though that doesnt bother me in this instance, I do think the Last Story couldve gotten a bit more out of him. Hes implied to be descended from nobility in some way, and it wouldve been an interesting wrinkle to see that explored more expansively when high society is such a significant piece of this story. When my biggest critique of a party member, however, is that we didnt see enough of them, thats fairly high praise. This game has so much fun with its cast that its most purely likable fellow deserves recognition, and I dont think it would be nearly as charming without him.