Playa

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Template:Infobox character The Protagonist is the main character in the Saints Row series.

In Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third, The Protagonist's gender can be set as either male or female. For simplicity, this article will refer to them as male.

Description

The Protagonist is the main character of Saints Row, Saints Row 2, and Saints Row: The Third. The Saints Row series concerns The Protagonist's adventures as a 3rd Street Saints gang member, starting as an initiate to the gang,Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter) second-in-command,Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter) and finally leader.Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter) Throughout this journey, The Protagonist takes the 3rd Street Saints from a small-time gang from the Row to a "household brand name" in Stilwater.

The Protagonist does not have a given name throughout the series, and has been referred to as "playa", "son" and "the boss" throughout the games, and even "MC" (main character) by the community.Template:Fact Along with the lack of a name, The Protagonist also lacks any definitive physical appearance, as the player can change The Protagonist's appearance at an Image as Designed plastic surgery. In addition, Saints Row 2 allows the player to change The Protagonist's gender, thus retconning The Protagonist's established gender as a male and further adding to The Protagonist's customizability.

Biography

Saints Row

Main article: Saints Row

One night, the Protagonist (the player character, his name is never specified in the game, and he is instead referred to by nicknames; "Playa" being the main one, given to him by Julius Little) walking through the Saint's Row District in Stilwater when he finds himself caught in the middle of a gang war between several gang factions. After being hassled by a crooked salesman, he notices some Vice Kings spray painting over a Westside Rollerz tag. Some Rollerz show up and they engage in physical combat until Los Carnales gang members perform a drive by upon both gangs.

The Protagonist attempts to maintain distance, but another member from the Vice Kings tries to gun him down simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the 3rd Street Saints street gang, led by Julius Little accompanied by Troy Bradshaw step in and save him. Despite Troy's protests to flee the scene, Julius offers the Protagonist a chance to join their gang, as the Saints are in need of all the help they can get.

The Protagonist makes his way to the Saints' hideout, and after proving himself to them, he's initiated into the gang and accustomed with fellow members. Julius informs the gang that it is time to take the fight to the three rival gangs: Los Carnales, Westside Rollerz, and the Vice Kings. Gradually, the Saints begin taking over Stilwater and their gang expanded in numbers. Eventually, Troy reveals himself as a cop, and arrests Julius.

Saints Row epilogue

The Protagonist is forced to take temporary leadership and along with the other Saints, helps kill the mayor and the corrupt police of Stilwater in order to try to free Julius. Once the chief of police is dead, the Protagonist is invited to the private yacht of Alderman Richard Hughes, the only other candidate for mayor in the upcoming election. Hughes thanks him and the Saints for eradicating his political rival, revealing that he plans to use his mayoral power to destroy the Saints. During his speech, the yacht explodes, leaving the fates of all on board unknown.

Saints Row 2

Main article: Saints Row 2

Picking up several years after the events of Saints Row, it is revealed that the Protagonist was the only survivor of the explosion aboard Hughes' yacht, though was heavily injured and placed into a coma. His injuries are treated via surgery and he awakes inside a prison hospital, just off the coast of Stilwater. With help from fellow convict Carlos Mendoza, the Protagonist escapes the prison and heads back to the mainland. On the way, Carlos informs him that a lot of things have changed while the Protagonist was comatose. Firstly, following the death of Alderman Hughes, the Ultor Corporation, a clothing company had since moved to Stilwater, and began using their riches to restore the crime ridden streets, particularly the Saint's Row District, and over time have evolved into a powerful company with influence over everything in the city. Carlos explains that the Saints fell apart without nobody to lead them, and dropped their flags before they were killed. He advises the Protagonist to lay low for a while.

After being reunited with Johnny Gat and Aisha, they plan on taking back their city once again. Three new gangs have taken control: The Brotherhood of Stilwater controlling the south, the Sons of Samedi taking all central Stilwater, and the Ronin having a tight grip up north. Their first move is to get a new hideout. This time, its an old underground hotel in Old Stilwater beneath an abandoned mission house. After "evicting the current tenants" (the homeless and some members of the Sons of Samedi), they get new lieutenants and slowly take back what was once theirs, and defeat the three gangs.
The Protagonist also finds time to sneak into Troy's office in the police headquarters and listens to some wiretaps that confirm Julius' betrayal. He meets up with Julius in the old church, after both were led their by Dex as a trap. They fend off a Masako attack and eventually escape into a Greek Theater. Julius argues that he saw no other way to end the Saints, believing that the Protagonist would not stop after gaining control, which he confirms. The Protagonist tells him that regardless, Julius should have never tried to kill him, before killing him by shooting him in the head.

Saints Row 2 epilogue

After taking back the city, conflict ignites between Ultor and the Saints, starting when the Protagonist is ambushed at a nightclub by a Masako Unit, and the lieutenants are kidnapped. After escaping the ambush and rescuing Shaundi and Pierce, they all meet up with Johnny Gat and plan to assault The Pyramid, Ultor's secret facility built underneath and in the perimeter of Mount Claflin. They hope that it will expose Ultor's rather dastardly plans for the city, and to destroy their weapons and warheads. The Protagonist and Johnny head there, and the assault goes well. Soon, Pierce gives the Protagonist a hint that a luxury cruise ship in the middle of the ocean is where the Ultor executives are having a meeting. The Protagonist goes there and kills all the executives and guards, and shoots down some attack helicopters. This all happens in front of Dane Vogel's eyes, who watches from his top floor office in the Phillips Building.

Later on Dane holds a press conference outside the Saint's Row church about the incident, and the Protagonist and Johnny plan an assassination. Johnny is spotted by a guard who followed him to the rooftop, and accidentally shoots the sniper rife in the struggle, which alerts Dane and his bodyguards. The Protagonist rushes towards Dane with a pistol, while Johnny takes down any resistance after throwing the guard off the rooftop. The Protagonist jumps onto Dane's limo, but is shaken off, and he is forced to assault Dane by hijacking an attack helicopter, taking out the AA Guns on the Phillips Building, and eventually jumping off the Helicopter's fuselage, onto the top floor of the Phillips Building, where he then confronts Dane. Dane tries to bribe the Protagonist, who responds by shooting him in the mouth, sending him backwards through the top floor window. Shaundi and Pierce are late and miss the confrontation, though thankfully Tobias arrives in his helicopter and then flies them away from the scene. Johnny agrees to meet up with them all later on, after he is finished killing the advancing police officers.

Pierce asks the Protagonist "So...What do we do now?", in which the Protagonist responds "This is our city, we can do whatever the fuck we want.", and the game ends.

Saints Row: The Third

Main article: Saints Row: The Third

A couple of years after the events in Saints Row 2, the 3rd Street Saints became a household brand name in Stilwater and partnered up with the Ultor Corporation. After many years on the top the Protagonist, Johnny Gat, Shaundi, and Josh Birk decided to rob a bank owned by Phillipe Loren, the leader of Morning Star and the chairman of the Syndicate. The Robbery goes wrong and the S.W.A.T. Team comes and catches the Saints. The Protagonist, Johnny Gat, and Shaundi are caught, inprisoned and later bailed out by the Syndicate but it seems that the new recruit, Josh Birk, was able to escape.

Later they're taken aboard a plane owned by the Syndicate and met with Phillipe Loren and DeWynter sisters. Phillipe Loren offers the 3rd Street Saints to join the Syndicate, an offer quickly refused by the Protagonist. Phillipe, disappointedly tells the Morning Star members to kill them, fortunately Gat is able to free himself, beat up the Morning Star members and bashes Phillipe's head through one of the planes windows. Gat then frees the Protagonist and Shaundi and urges them to bail, informing them that he'll take care of the Morning Star members and fly the plane back to Stilwater. The Protagonist moves through the plane with Shaundi, taking care of any Morning Star members they come across, eventually making their way to the back of the plane. They then talk to Johnny on the speaker but he is interrupted by a gun shots and the line goes dead. The Protagonist and Shaundi are thrown out of the plane, and are pursued by more Morning Star members. The Protagonist manages to grab a parachute from one of the rival gang members and catch up with Shaundi. However the plane banks toward them and, with little warning the Protagonist drops Shaundi and crashes through the cockpit and kills more Morning Star members whilst falling out the plane again and catches Shaundi a second time.

Personality

In Saints Row 2 the Protagonist has 6 different personalities for the player to choose. Depending on the voice chosen, the Protagonist may break the fourth wall by randomly mentioning a few aspects of the game during gameplay. For example, Male Voice 3 can be heard saying "You know I never see a dog around here? Weird." Although the Protagonist's dialogue for the cutscences is always the same in Saints Row 2, the in game dialogue differs for each personality. In Saints Row 2, The Boss is portrayed as very power hungry and sociopathic with no remorse in his killings and torturing of people and infact enjoys them which is one of the reasons he has a strong friendship with Johnny Gat. The Protagonist is very strong and durable as well, he was caught in an explosion and only suffered some burns and was in a coma for many years which she/he woke up out of without muscle astrophy or brain damage. In the trailer for Saints Row he said how life changed for him after meeting Julius but wants more power and money etc, this indicates that despite being the main character and protagonist of the story it shows that he is truly villainous with no heroic qualities except when it comes to saving trusted gang members such as Shaundi and Johnny Gat. The Protagonist also killed his mentor, saviour and friend in cold blood although it was revealed that Julius was the one who planted the bomb, Julius tried to defend his actions and claim that the Protagonist was too power-hungry to give it all up to which the boss confirms and from his personality it proves Julius right. The Protagonist has killed Julius, tried to kill Dex and makes comments about Troy indicating he does not take betrayal lightly.

In Saints Row: The Third, the Protagonist has 7 different personalities. The Protagonist is portrayed as being less power hungry due to already having the power, and more focused on being a celebrity. He is still cleary a psychotic killer, as Male voice 1 says, "These kids and their video games, when I was their age I spent time outside...Killing people in the fresh air," Male voice 3 shows relief when Pierce tells him he can kill on their current assignment, as the boss thought the mission was going to be blood free, also when Pierce comments on Shaundi being less crazy than the Protagonist. He still continues to show no emotion for his killings other then excitment, as he will comment on killing people. He still cares for his gang members, since the game is mainly centered around him, Shaundi, and Pierce getting revenge. However, it seems that the Protagonist is not as quick to kill his enemies as before, given he agrees to spare Matt Miller's life when the Deckers Leader promises to cut ties with the Syndicate, as well as abandoning his role in the gang war, and leave Steelport, which Matt actually follows through on, so it seems the Protagonist has learned to control himself when the enemy no longer has any desire to fight his gang.

Quotes

In a trailer for Saints Row, the Protagonist has a small monologue:

I started out with nothin'... just a kid from the streets, with nothin' to lose. Then I met Julius,Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter) and everything changed. Once I joined the 3rd Street Saints, everything started going my way. I'd run some jobs, get paid, and lady luck was on my side. Now I have the women, the clothes, the rides, but it's not enough, I want more, I want it all. That's the great thing about this city, it's there for the taking. If you've got what it takes.

— The Protagonist

In the game itself, the Protagonist has just four lines:

I got ran over by a mothafuckin' truck, what you think?
File:The Protagonist's WSR line.ogg

— The Protagonist in the Westside Rollerz final mission "Semi-Charmed Life"Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter)

Actually, they're this season's new--"
"Bullshit, that's last year's Fall collection.
File:The Protagonist's LC line.ogg

— Luz Avalos and The Protagonist in the Carnales final mission "What Goes Up..."Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter)

Hope you don't mind hepatitis.
File:Hepatitis.ogg

— The Protagonist's quip in the Vice Kings final mission "All the King's Men"Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter)

} Invalid Audio file

Trivia

• In the trailers and screenshots for Saints Row, as well as the default appearance, the Protagonist is Caucasian. In Saints Row 2, his default appearance is that of an African-American male, also used in loading screens. In the official guide book the Protagonist is shown to be an East Asian female. In the released screenshots and trailer for Saints Row: The Third, he is again depicted as Caucasian male. There are other character models demonstrated in the customization screenshots.
• His Saints Row original costume (default) is a black t-shirt with long jeans. In Saints Row 2, pre-release screenshots as well as the the loading screens show him wearing a white tank top and track pants. In the Saints Row: The Third trailers, he wears a grey jacket, brown vest and purple shirt, with sunglasses on his head. This could also represent how high he has become in criminal life, starting out as a gangster from the streets to a respectable boss.
• In Saints Row 2, he is often called the "Boss" by the other Saints, referring to his status as their leader.
• In a Snatch activity in Saints Row 2, the Protagonist reveals that he grew up in Stilwater and visited a massage parlor often.
• He is considerably taller than most of the other characters in the game in Saints Row 2, but only of average physical size in Saints Row.
• When listening to the radio in Saints Row 2, the Protagonist may begin singing along, see Soprano for more details.
• Civilians and Saints members constantly comment that his clothes smell if he doesn't change them for a few in-game days.
• In Saints Row 2, he wonders if he is in Benjamin King's book, Regicide.
• In Saints Row 2, during the first cutscene for the Brotherhood mission, "Bank Error in Your Favor", he mentions liking a TV show called Bobby and Amber to the point where he almost didn't care about Shaundi's message while the show was on.
• It's somewhat suggested that the Protagonist was raised around guns if the player chooses to have Female Voice 1. Your character will sometimes say in a nostalgic tone "You can never have enough guns...That's what my Daddy always said...".'
• Julius calling the Protagonist "Playa" may be referring to the person playing the game. "Playa" is also street gang slang, similar to "Gangsta".
• A running joke in Saints Row 2 is that everyone apparently fails to notice that the Protagonist underwent surgery to treat his wounds, often just asking him "Did you do something with your hair?".
  • The Saints Row 2 Bonus mission Revelation references this, when Julius begins to ask the infamous question, to which the Protagonist pulls a gun and interrupts him with "I didn't do shit to my hair!".
• Another running joke in Saints Row is that nobody refers to the Protagonist's lack of speech in Saints Row, other than in Saints Row 2 when Male voice 2 may say "That mute shit was getting old."
• Another running joke is that the Protagonist's name is never said by anyone, and that the Protagonist may not want anyone to know it.
• The Protagonist is labeled a sociopath by Julius Little and some civilians. Some Brotherhood members call him a "psycho". This is because he comes across as power-hungry and merciless in dealing with his enemies. He does however show great empathy and remorse for those he trusts, mainly his fellow Saints (this is most noticable in his interactions with Carlos).
• The first game takes place during the Autumn and Winter of 2006, early 2007, according to an article in the game manual, meaning that if the second game takes place roughly 5 years after the first and in the summer then the second would be set in 2011 or 2012, although the length of the Protagonists coma is never stated in the second game dialogue.Template:Verify
• In Saints Row 2, the Protagonist can perform multiple actions if the game is left idle.
• In the original Saints Row, the Protagonist holds his guns "Gangster style" (sideways). In Saints Row 2 he holds his weapons normally, possibly to show that he has become much more experienced with using guns.
• The Initiation Station will allow players to customise their Protagonists for free before Saints Row: The Third is released.
• In Saints Row: The Third, one of The Protagonist's voice actors is Troy Baker. Troy Baker also voiced Alec Mason in Red Faction: Guerilla, a game that is set in the same universe as Saint's Row.
• In Saints Row: The Third, The Protagonist has seven voice options. They Include: Caucasian Male (Troy Baker), African American Male (Kenn Michael, who voiced the Protagonist in Saints Row 2), British Male (Robin Atkin Downes), Caucasian Female (Laura Bailey), Russian Female (Tara Platt), Hispanic Female (Rebecca Sanabria, who also voiced the Protagonist in Saints Row 2), and Zombie growls (Steve Blum).
• During Heli Assault in Saints Row: The Third, Kinzie says she knows the Protagonist's real name, the Protagonist interrupts her mid sentence telling her not to disclose it.
• As of Saints Row: The Third, The Protagonist is the only member of the 3rd Street Saints still in the gang since Saints Row.
• During the final mission Three Way, the Player, Pierce and Oleg travel to various locations to kill both S.T.A.G soldiers and Luchadores, the fight continues to the National Guard armory, where Pierce asks if anyone wants to say anything, since they might die there. The Player reveals something based on which voice the Player has at that time, (i.e that they've read Jane Erye thriteen times, that they call chips 'fries', or they're on a coed Curling team).
• A recurring joke is The Protagonist's apparent lack of technical expertise and electronics, this first appears in Saints Row 2 when The Protoganist agrees with Shaundi's plan of hacking the traffic cameras around the city. When the Protoganist leaves, Shaundi wants to join only to be stopped by The Protoganist. When Shaundi asks if he is going to hack the traffic cameras, The Protoganist doesn't immediately answer, to which Shaundi replies; " Yeah, That's what I thought ". This also occurs in Saints Row The Third in the conversations with Kinzie, hinting at an apparent lack of higher education.
• During The Ho Boat, Female Voice 3 will make a comment about the various BDSM objects reminding her of her freshman dorm, implying that she went to college.
• When Idle, Female voice two in Saints Row: The Third, mentions she hasn't heard from cousin Niko in a while and wonders what he is up to. This could refer to Grand Theft Auto IV protagonist, Niko Bellic.
• The Protagonist has superhuman strength, able to throw people through the air with ease and rip payphones out of the ground and use them as weapons.
• According to Male Voice 3 in Saints Row: The Third, he suffers from PTSD. In the quote, he refers to Zimos as Pierce. Broken {{ref}} (blank parameter)
• The Protagonist (Voice 1) say when the song "What I got" comes on, "Dude, this was like...this was my high school. Right?". The song came out in 1996 so this might be the year he went to high school.
• While Car Jacking the Protagonist can sometimes be heard saying " If you live in Stillwater you would be used to this " .
• When having Male voice 1 in Saints Row: The Third , the Protagonist can some times be heard ranting on about how he does not understand how " Young people could spend so much time on video games " , and that " When I was a kid I used to kill people in the fresh air. "
• Depending on what voice you have in Saints Row: The Third, The Protagonist can be heard saying:"Gat would be proud", or ''Just like Johnny did", and "This one is for you,Johnny" when killing someone.
• With Male Voice 2, the Protagonist will admit having "an irrationally fear of bees."

Gallery

• The three protagonists.jpg
  The Protagonist from Saints Row trailer
• Saints Row 1 protagonist bald.JPG
  Ditto, but bald.
• Saints row 2 protagonist trailer.JPG
  The character as he appears in the Saints Row 2 trailers and on the cover
• Saints Row the third.JPG
  The character as he appears in Promotional artwork for Saints Row: The Third
• Saints Row 3 protagonist trailer.JPG
  As the character appears in Saints Row: The Third trailer and some demos demonstrating the game.
• The boos and shaundi.png
  The Protagonist with Shaundi
• Saints-Row-3-Screenshots.jpg
  Default appearance in SR3

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References

Template:3rdStreetSaintsGangMembers