Since HoYoverse mentioned Shaoji would be part of the Honkai Star Rail staff, players who also played Honkai Impact had an instant PTSD moment. If you didn’t know, this developer is the grim reaper of HoYoverse’s titles. Trailblazers got even more concerned when this writer showed up in Penacony’s presentation, where he announced that nothing bad would happen to the characters. Since we all know now that was a lie, I felt shocked when I learned about Robin and Firefly’s deaths in Honkai Star Rail. Well, that feeling didn’t last long because the only higher power that can resurrect characters is a gacha banner.
Certain Honkai Star Rail’s Character Deaths Are Not as Meaningful as We Thought
The first character who met a tragic end, or so it seems so far, was Tingyun. The Xianzhou Luofu story introduced us to this lady from the beginning, and the events made her join our team on most of the missions. I became attached to the young Foxian. Looks and personality aside, she was a fantastic addition to the group, even if it was momentarily. However, nothing prepared me for the pain of seeing her fall in such an unhinged way when Phantylya showed up. Even though the Emanator apparently occupied Tingyun’s body, the fate of this Fox Lady is unknown.
On the other hand, other characters gave me the same uncertainties and suffering as with the loss of Tingyun. Some of these were the deaths of Robin and Firefly in the latest Honkai Star Rail main quests. At least, that’s how I felt until Version 2.1 came. I was devastated by all the anguish The Trailblazer suffered after spending wonderful dreamlike moments with Firefly, only to have her vanish into thin air. Even though it was a dream, and the death inside didn’t seem as dangerous as in Inception, I felt so attached to her that I cried at the end of 2.0’s story.
To add salt to the wound, I also felt terrible seeing Robin’s body in her bathtub. Her “death,” despite being off-camera, seemed more “real” for not being in the Dreamscape. And then something happens that takes the weight off of these events. Weeks later, Honkai Star Rail revealed Robin as a playable character, and not so long ago, Firefly became one as well. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of reaching overdraft on my credit card to get them, but if all dead characters return to life to become playable, where’s the danger?
On the one hand, I like having new waifus to collect. But on the other hand, I also treasure the emotional moments in games that are usually seen as “colorful.” However, I might be jumping the gun too quickly. If Tingyun is playable but the real lady isn’t anywhere in the game, that could happen with these Penacony ladies. Robin and Firefly could be truly gone, well, the latter not so much, and the writers might pull off some narrative twist to keep them around. In any case, I hope this is the last death we see in Penacony because my heart and wallet can’t take this anymore.
