No offense to Sal fans, but what's so great about him?

edited July 2010 in Sam & Max
I'm sorry, but I found him a boring character. Why is everyone else so bowled over by him?

Comments

  • edited July 2010
    :eek: WHAT?? C'mon he's awesome! Such a character of mystery in Season 2 then meeting him in TDP and finding out he a cool roach working in a museum as a security guard, formerly working as a cook in Stinky's until Granpa Stinky firing him... Yes he's awesome
  • edited July 2010
    The circumstances of his character within the plot are mildly interesting, yes, and we'll learn more in the next episode. But personality-wise, he's a complete zero, the most bland character ever in a Sam & Max game.
  • edited July 2010
    He certainly wasn't the funniest or most interesting character in the Sam & Max series, but he was one of the few that was just genuinely likable. He's the type of guy that you'd wanna be friends with in real life, that is, if he wasn't a giant cockroach. If you think about the other characters in the games, the most normal ones are a paranoid conspiracy theorist and the most indecisive woman this side of Timbuktu. Unlike the other characters with their weird little quirks, Sal is just a plain ol' nice guy.
  • edited July 2010
    It's because Sal is Pure, he's like the most honest bloke in the Sam & Max universe, he hasn't dealt with these two characters before and their events so he's somewhat Gullible, I mean, of course he's going to follow his bosses orders even if that boss is a recording saying Poke the Eyes of some Monster! He doesn't suspect anything crazy will happen, I mean, why would it?
  • edited July 2010
    He's even referenced in Season 1 when you examine the posters of Stinky's Diner vs. The Health Department
  • edited July 2010
    I think lombre got it: He's just a normal and likeable, under our standarts, guy, who happen to be a cockroach and a maybe, part of a Star Crossed Lovers Story. He's so nice and friendly at first sight you only can feel good for him.
  • edited July 2010
    Agreed that lombre hit the nail on the head. Sometimes, just the shear force of Niceness and Guilelessness Embodied in a world full of nutcases is enough to grab people by the lapels and make them go, "Aww, I really like that fella!" On the other hand, I have to wonder if part of the reaction has to do with such a (apparently) sweet soul like Sal being, well, a giant cockroach. That his personality defied expectations to the extent of endearing a lot of us to him more than if he'd actually been, say, the big teddy bear that he is, or a member of a more approachable species. I think both the element of surprise and what I mentioned above are enough to overcome Sal's lack of overtly interesting character traits for a lot of people. You could even argue that in the case of Sam & Max's universe, such genuine niceness is in and of itself an interesting character trait.

    Of course one of the next episodes could go ahead and quash that notion of "Gee, what a swell guy!" into a mushy, broken-hearted pulp, but for now, I share the warm and fuzzy sentiments.
  • edited July 2010
    Is it just me, or did Sal's voice actor sound a bit like Patrick Warburton?
  • edited July 2010
    lombre wrote: »
    He's the type of guy that you'd wanna be friends with in real life, that is, if he wasn't a giant cockroach.

    I'm not speciesist - I'd be friends with him even in the form of a giant talking cockroach ;)

    Seriously, though, I think Sal's magic lies in his attitude of caring and interest in other creatures - I know a few people with this character trait, and they're all very popular. It's a bit similar to how the "magic" of Carrot works in the Discworld books.

    Having said that, there's one thing that surprises me - that Sal is not only among the favourites, but is actually leading the favourite characters polls. Probably people are more attracted to dependable friendly characters than cool villains, after all?
  • edited July 2010
    Sal is great because of the voice actor!
  • edited July 2010
    It's a bit similar to how the "magic" of Carrot works in the Discworld books.

    Well, that explains it for me, being a reader of Discworld. Good comparison.
  • edited July 2010
    I'm not speciesist - I'd be friends with him even in the form of a giant talking cockroach ;)
    Alright, well, I probably would too once I got past the creepitude that comes with seeing a giant cockroach in real life.
  • edited July 2010
    I like Sal because for once we actually got a game-making bug... :D

    np: ISAN - Channel Ten (Glow In The Dark Safari Set)
  • edited July 2010
    Assuming you're right, that it is that he's just so likeable, that makes him likeable but not nearly so awesome as this forum makes him out to be. He's like the that one character from Tales for The Devil's Playhouse, but with even less reason to be so.

    ...

    :winslow:
  • edited July 2010
    Assuming you're right, that it is that he's just so likeable, that makes him likeable but not nearly so awesome as this forum makes him out to be. He's like the that one character from Tales for The Devil's Playhouse, but with even less reason to be so.

    ...

    :winslow:

    The difference goes Winslow appears in the first chapter, so Telltale got some time for make some fun about his popularity, but Sal is just in the middle and with less time for Telltale for make up with something based in that (The two other chapters were already written at that point). Maybe they could do something about it next season, if Sal is still as popular as now.
  • edited July 2010
    GinnyN wrote: »
    Maybe they could do something about it next season, if Sal is still as popular as now.

    If something bad doesn't happen to Sal or he's revealed to be not what he seems to be...please don't kill Sal, Telltale (metaphorically or physically)
  • edited July 2010
    tabstis wrote: »
    He's even referenced in Season 1 when you examine the posters of Stinky's Diner vs. The Health Department

    which episode was that?
  • edited July 2010
    richforce wrote: »
    which episode was that?

    I THINK abe lincoln must die
  • edited July 2010
    Hatley wrote: »
    I'm sorry, but I found him a boring character. Why is everyone else so bowled over by him?

    I dunno. I guess he's pretty much the only character that seems geniunely pleasant and friendly and easy to talk to. He seems like a decent person, while everyone else in the series is crazy or sadistic or evil or just plain rude and selfish. He seems like a good guy. Err, cockroach. Whatever. You know what I mean.

    I know everyone else has already said that, but I need something to do. It's almost one AM here and I'm very tired.

    Plus, he sounds like Sylvester Stallone.
  • edited July 2010
    Hatley wrote: »
    I'm sorry, but I found him a boring character. Why is everyone else so bowled over by him?

    Well, he's such a genuinely nice guy, which is surprising in the Sam & Max universe. Plus he has a great voice actor, and also, he's a giant talking cockroach!

    I want him to come back in season 4
  • edited July 2010
    he sounded like that guy you can all whys trust
  • edited July 2010
    Agreed that he sounded like Pat Warburton. But it's Vegas E. Trip -- Chuckles from Season 1. Also, he has the coolest name in the world.

    I like Sal because, as mentioned, he's a nice guy in a thoroughly not nice world. While I don't go crazy over him, I would like to see more genuinely nice and personable characters in future Telltale Games. Not too many per series, though. Then they lose their touch.
  • edited July 2010
    Hatley wrote: »
    I'm sorry, but I found him a boring character. Why is everyone else so bowled over by him?
    I just think that he is a very likeable character.
  • edited July 2010
    His voice actor was awesome. :D Also, for some reason he reminds me of Gumshoe from the Phoenix Wright games. Dunno why.
  • edited July 2010
    IT'S ALL JUST AN ACT! Sal is tricking sam and max to think hes a nice guy while he tries to infulltrait them. Why do you think girl stinky likes him so much
  • edited July 2010
    For some reason, Sal kind of reminds me of Kronk from "the Emperor's New Groove." Anyway; yeah, I think Sal is a pretty cool character.
  • edited July 2010
    His voice actor was awesome. :D Also, for some reason he reminds me of Gumshoe from the Phoenix Wright games. Dunno why.

    You know, I think you just perfectly summed up my reasons for liking him so much.
  • edited July 2010
    I almost agree with lombre's post, he's a fun likeable guy who you just wanna hug. Well I do at least. I think he's sexy for a cockroach.
  • edited July 2010
    He's awesome because he sounds like Brock Samson.
  • edited July 2010
    Majus wrote: »
    he's awesome because he sounds like brock samson.

    this is exactly what i thought
  • edited July 2010
    Sal? :(
  • edited July 2010
    People forget- at the end of the day this is a satirical series. Sal is in himself a parody- as has been said earlier, the fact he's a giant cockroach and yet finds everything else weird is a brilliant joke. It's also so we can have moments where the nicest and most innocent character in the entire sam and max saga is horribly punished in order to solve puzzles. His laid back attitude is something we just haven't really come across before in the Sam and Max universe, and yet despite the fact that he plays everything so nice and reasonable, he seems to incur the most wrath from everyone else. Goes to say a lot for the way Sam and Max's world works.

    In this way, I love that Sal is in the game, but i'm not exactly emotionally attached to him or like him because he's awesome. I just think he's a great tool for comedy.

    Seriously, I laughed my socks off at the reaction to paperwate's tour. 'That's the nicest thing you've said to me since I joined!'
  • edited July 2010
    Just look at that sad, puppy dog stare-- how can you resist being charmed by it?

    I thought he sounded a bit like John Wayne, myself. :)
  • edited July 2010
    Epic Kiwi wrote: »

    I thought he sounded a bit like John Wayne, myself. :)

    ...CANNOT...UNSEE....

    'I'll just be moseying off, boys.'
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