GET SHREK'D

Anon you just unlocked the gates of hell because if someone gets me talking about Kat I honestly won’t stop HAHA. I’ll make it easy and break it down into a couple of simple points. Bear in mind this will mainly be for newcomers and people who might be interested in playing the games, so I won’t go too deeply into plot related things explaining her character. So, ya’ll sit your butt down and let me explain to you why Kat is probably one of the best female protagonists in any video game ever.

(Light spoilers ahead)

1) Kat is multidimensional and likable

One major thing that seems to be a trend in video games is that a strong female character is solely defined by how badass she is and what her physical feats are. While yes, those are great traits, a good character doesn’t just rely on that. Personality and charm is important if we’re going to be following the character throughout the game. (FFXIII to me is an example of a game that missed the mark with how rigid Lightning was, for example. She may have developed later on, but she didn’t leave a great first impression.)

In the beginning of Gravity Rush, Kat is a girl who starts off with amnesia, yet awakens to these powers to shift gravity in whatever direction she desired with the help of her space cat, Dusty. The game doesn’t waste time to show you she’s a pretty tough cookie, and that she can even go hand to hand combat if need be. 

But, that isn’t what defines her. She’s resourceful. (She refers to the sewer system below and makes a home out of it)

She’s sarcastic. 

She’s confident. 

She’s a romantic.

She’s easily flattered.

She’s this whole package of endearing dorkiness with both strengths and flaws that makes it a very fun experience to follow her exploits. The best part is that if you put her in any setting, she’d still have this sort of personality. Her core isn’t defined solely by the circumstances around her since the amnesia served as an introductory blank slate.

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2) Kat is principled

While a lot of people can get their kicks from characters who bleed edginess or from protagonists who are very rigid, Kat is a character who makes it clear to you that she’s this super hero girl with a heart of gold. 

Of course, a girl who starts off with amnesia isn’t just ready to fill into that role immediately, but rather it happens organically when she sees how downtrodden the people around her are. 

It takes a bit of time, but her natural inclination to assist those in need are shown everywhere in the games.

Her sense of right and wrong is also unaffected by those in higher power. The people who would impose that ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few’ wouldn’t make a dent into her resolve.  She’s the type who doesn’t exactly think of the big picture, which could be a flaw, but that naivety in her immediacy to help others shows the hallmark quality of being a hero. She does things to the beat of her own drum, but isn’t hot-headed or reckless in how she handles it.

One instance puts Kat in a position where she has to make a choice between saving the lives of the public or saving a military fleet. 

While the military leader in charge, Commander Yuri, makes it very clear to focus on the lives of the citizens, Kat doesn’t acknowledge him and tries her best to save the both of them.

 (And thankfully, she does in the end.) The military’s ideology of putting the people first and doing as you’re told didn’t bode well with her, yet she still followed her own sense of justice and knew she was capable of doing more than following orders.

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3) Kat is your everyday hero who can do everyday tasks

One thing I really liked about Gravity Rush was that it didn’t take itself too seriously despite having some pretty dark parts here and there. While yes, there are some crazy conflicts that arise that threaten the world, there are down periods with fun subplots that don’t take away from the story, but rather elevate her character.

Kat interacts with the world around her much like how you’d see Spider-man interact with the citizens of New York. When she’s not saving the universe, she’s making extra cash by working part time as a maid. 

She helps deliver newspapers to people around town. 

She helps a kid by giving them money for their mother’s medicine. 

Hell, she even helps a dog get over its depression by finding its favorite toy. 

Yes, there’s a meter for Doggy Joy. If that isn’t a reason to buy this game I don’t know what is. But back to the point, Kat is fueled by her drive to help people, and that sort of order comes in all shapes and sizes. Helping people isn’t just saving them from immediate peril. Sometimes it’s just being a friendly neighborhood shifter who’s willing to lend a helping hand no matter how simple the task is. This shows us that there’s more to Kat than just being the big named monster kicking hero. To reiterate from point two, if somebody is in trouble, she helps them. No matter how small the task may seem.

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There’s also some small points here and there that I can list below before finishing this off.

4) Kat’s language is a made up hybrid of french and japanese and she sounds so frickin’ cool when she talks.

5) Is so extra and over the top with her shoujo-like gravity abilities I mean look at this.

6) Very willing to give her hard earned income to the poor despite working hard for it.

7) Decided an entire sewer would be her home. Even decorated it to be extremely homey, though she probably needs to be wary about what furnishings are ‘free for the taking.’

8) Has confidence in her looks.

9) Comical uses of changing the subject.

10) Game art shows her as this badass when she’s really just a dork.

All in all I probably could’ve gone more in detail about Kat, but then it’d end up making this much longer than need be and I’d be edging along the lines of spoiler territory. Hope this was a good enough read in explaining my undying love for the hobo queen.

Info help and screenshot credit to @nebty @stumblingcamelid @buwaro-tof

Thanks again for making this possible guys.

Felt like giving everyone a refresher course to my Kat love. Feel free to give it a read if you got time~