If you have not already listened to the podcast of this category, these are the final results, so this will spoil the course of the discussion on that podcast! Be warned!
Whereas “Best Fighting Toolkit” almost explains itself, “Best Action Toolkit” is trickier. We don’t tend to think of action games in such terms- we think about “the combat,” certainly, but many games don’t encourage us to think of mechanics being tied to the character, more to the game. And so in many cases, nominees are a stand-in for their entire game. In Celeste 64, you play as Madeline, and only Madeline, so to talk about how Madeline plays is to talk about how the entire game plays.
Other times, it’s not worth distinguishing. You may be able to pick Luigi instead of Mario in Super Mario 3D World, and the difference between him and his big brother IS mechanically represented, but it’s so minor it’s not worth a full discussion. For the most part, 3D World plays like 3D World. But finally (and to me most excitingly) are games where each character is a sub-game within itself. Dante and Nero in Devil May Cry 4 have such different tools and mechanics that criticisms of one might not make sense to the other. (Nero is a more fun character.)
So bear with us, because we phrase it how we have to so we can include everyone. Yes, our winner is the only playable character in his game, and so naming him specifically feels a bit silly. But so would alternating game titles and character titles.
The Winner
Sargon (Prince of Persia The Lost Crown)
Moveset innovation is hard to come by in platformers, especially triple A platformers, that tend to be more conservative with their design. Fortunately, it’s a platform where tuning is everything, and the Ubisoft budget allows for very precise tuning. Enter Sargon, a character that combines some of the best of PS2-era Prince of Persia acrobatics with the highlights of the last twenty years of indie platformers. Air dashes, wall jumps, and time powers combine to create a joyously responsive, fluid, and exciting toolkit.
The combat is overshadowed by the platforming’s excellence, but it’s no slouch either. Sargon uses a lot of the modern favorites like parrying and finishers along with old classics to create a pretty satisfying combat experience.
The Runners-Up
Globule (Decline’s Drops)
With all due respect to Masahiro Sakurai, the refusal to make something like the Subspace Emissary again for a Smash title is cowardice. While the cutscenes were posted online, that was only a small part of the appeal. The ability to move through a platforming challenge with a full movelist allowed for a sense of freedom as you beat up enemies in fun ways. From this desire of pairing Smash Bros mechanics and whimsical platforming, Decline’s Drops gives us Globule- a wooden doll with a penchant for boxing. While her moves are not particularly unique (any seasoned Smash player will recognize many of these moves) it’s how well these moves naturally flow together. It’s that enthralling mix of simple to grasp moves and boundless possibilities that make Globule a joy to control and play.
Miyabi Hoshimi (Zenless Zone Zero)
You’ll have to forgive me for repeatedly saying “Hoshimi Miyabi” on the podcast: that’s how she’s referred to everywhere. It was only when adding her to this that I went “hang on, isn’t her family name Hoshimi? The Hoshimi school of swordsmanship?” And indeed. If they want to do that in-game, that’s a style choice, and it’s fine, but fan works should know better. Don’t give me this “keikaku means plan” bullshit, just put the name in Western style, family name second. No one’s impressed.
Ahem. Anyway. Zenless Zone Zero is a team-based character action game, and as a side effect, often individual characters don’t end up having very deep toolkits, because they’re just one part of the team. It’s true for Miyabi as well- if you played as just Miyabi, you’d get pretty bored. But as one member of three, the foxgirl swordswoman clearly stands out. Katana bladework and iaido evocative of Devil May Cry‘s Vergil, with calm combos building resources for explosive bursts of style and damage. To date, she’s the most compelling character in a pretty fun game.
That brings our first week of the Gimmick Awards 2024 to a close! Take the weekend off, catch your breath, because we’re back on Monday with Best Major Character! See you then!
Our art is a commission from Sarracenian on Bluesky.