Character Profile: Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

Before I start this "character profile" I must explain that this will be the first in a series of character profiles analysing all my favourite video characters, be that protagonists, antagonists, npc's and more, the character profile will go into who the character is and why I, and many more, like them. I will also document a "defining moment" that the character has that sums up their persona and why gamers love them. Throughout this series of profiles I will document many characters from the gaming universe but for now look forward to the first character profile in this brand new series.

Tali has a unique appearance 

So onto the first character profile ... Tali'Zorah nar Rayy 

Who is She?
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is a quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. She is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member of the Admiralty Board. Though young, Tali is a mechanical genius. When Shepard first meets her during the events of the first game  she is on her Pilgrimage, a rite of passage to prove her worth and bring something of value back to her people aboard the Migrant Fleet. Early in the second game, having completed her Pilgrimage, Tali has been entrusted with leading an important research mission for the Admiralty Board.


Why We Love Her 
There are many video game characters that appeal to us as gamers and the reasons behind this can mostly be derived down to them looking "cool" and being a "brave hero" and many other clichés, but once in a while a character will come along in a game that is much more than a cliché, a character that we can relate to, emphasise with, and love, a character that is much more than just a character, and for me this is the notion Tali embodies.

But what is it about her that I love, while I was asking myself this in preparation for this profile the first thing that came to me was that she is so easy to relate to, and the primary reason for this is the vulnerability that she shows throughout her time in the Mass Effect series. Tali's vulnerability comes from many things but the most prominent is her feeling of wanting to belong and to prove herself, this in essence is why she is so easy to like because she relates to us as humans more than most video game characters, she wants the same as us, all we really want is a place to be and be loved and a purpose in life. Vulnerability is something that links everyone together, and even though intuitively you would think that it would be easier to relate to human characters in the game it is this Quarian that I could relate to most, and it was Tali who's story I was most interested in.

It is important though not to confuse vulnerability with weakness, because Tali is one of the most metaphorically strongest characters I've seen in the video game world, and this is another big reason why she is more than a character, her strength is amazing. Anyone who has played any of the Mass Effect games will know that the in-game characters are facing the extinction of all life in the galaxy and are trying to combat that happening, as you would expect the pressure on the characters is immense so you forgive a character for feeling scared yet throughout the events of the three games Tali was always there in my game to share each problem my Shepard had. Tali had her own pressures to deal with, she had the fate of her entire race resting on her shoulders yet she would always talk to the other crew members and help them with there problems, even when the world around her was falling she would remain strong, and this strength in character makes the player envy Tali even more.

Tali's real face revealed in Mass Effect 3

You would not think that innocence in this environment would be a defining part of a character but when coupled with her vulnerability and strength of character it is a major piece of the puzzle that makes Tali a great video game character. Before embarking on this epic adventure upon the Normandy Tali was a recluse, as a result of this her people skills and social skills are practically none, this leads to initial problems when she is living with the other crew members on the Normandy, she starts off very uncomfortable around the other races, and although initially this is grounds for comedy it quickly turns into another emotional attachment between the player and the character with my Shepard always trying to help her grow as a person. I don't think Tali's innocence was defined better than in her romance with my Shepard, the journey that she made between being a socially awkward Quarian on the Normandy to learning how to better understand human emotions which culminates in a unbelievably emotional, and more importantly for a game believable, romance with Shepard.

Defining Moment
This may be a hard choice for most characters but for Tali there can be only one defining moment, the goodbye said between Tali and Shepard at the end of Mass Effect 3. For me one of, if not, the most emotional scene I've seen in a video game, after meeting this "alien" looking for a place to belong in the first game to growing to love the character by the third game and taking in to consideration all the events that happened in between is what make this an overwhelming moment, both characters knowing that there journey is about to be over as they face obliteration by the reapers. And the line that makes this the scene it is? when Shepard is forced to leave Tali to make is the very final assault on the reapers he says that he wants better for her, he wants her to go on living, to build a home on her native planet Rannoch to which she simply responds with tears in her eyes "I already have a home".