Ok, so with Hades 2 getting an update and one step closer to finally coming out of early (hopefully), out of pure excitement, I decided to make this based on patterns I've seen in the past two games. Buckle up, because this is a long one! I bring you
Hades 3: Macaria (Max) - Goddess of Blessed Death
I don't care what the Mythology Guy on YouTube says, multiple sources have accepted her as a daughter of Hades and not just a mix-up of Heracles' kid. Even if it was, Zagreus had a similar problem with Dionysus and the game was able to circumvent that so I don't see why that couldn't happen again here.
Also, I'll say this now, I'm not against woke stuff being in the game as long as it doesn't overstep any boundaries (gotta remember this is someone's religion after all). But even though it literally says she's Hades' daughter, I think it would be amazing to make her She/them (hence, the neutral name "Max") just for the sake of Persephone going around screaming "I collected the whole set!"
Using Pokemon's Gen 6 starters as a reference point (and then Google), I found out the basic RPG classes are Fighter, Mage, and Rogue and noticed a pattern in the games' fighting styles. Mel is obviously a Mage, Zagreus could go either way but with how much he just brute forces his way through his game, I opted more for Fighter.
So that leaves Rogue for Macaria which is actually pretty interesting that a child of Hades hasn't had a more stealthy role yet. Imagine your character having times where you don't have the option of forcing your way through like where you could instantly die or lose an important item or something. Instead, you work from the shadows and find yourself in situations where you have to sneak by, like a boss you're completely under-leveled for or a chamber that'll lock if you're caught and then you have to fight your way through.
It also fits because with how little sources there is on her, the only logical explanation besides it being fake is that she's so sneaky that no one can get any solid information on her!
Zagreus: Red/fire colors and Black
Melinoe: Green and Orange (plus Arachne's dresses)
Macaria: Yellow/White and Blue/Purple
This is more of an aesthetic thing that I noticed where Zag wore red and Mel wore orange and they had cooler colors as accents to their looks. I figured Macaria could continue the trend of warm colored clothing with a darker accent or as a change go dark with light accents instead. Maybe a cloak over her clothes like Raven from Teen Titans for extra mystery.
Zagreus: Left Red Right Green
Melinoe: Left Green Right Red
Macaria: Switch on command?
Another aesthetic that a lot of people probably noticed was that the siblings had one of each of their parents' eyes and they were inverse to one another. I figured to be different, something could be done where Macaria can actively switch both of her eyes to change from Overworld green to Underworld red and that could have some impact on gameplay such as how she sees the world, switching between the dimensions to get to different areas.
That or she could just have an inverse where one eye is White with a Red iris and the other is Black with a Green iris because genetics are fun like that.
As much as I want Hadephone to give at least one of their kids a happy childhood, I think we all know where this is headed. Something will go wrong and Max will end up with a foster parent and according to the pattern, it's minor deities with some role in the story of how Hades "kidnapped" Persephone. Nyx is the river they crossed into when they entered the Underworld and Hecate is the goddess that helped Demeter figure out what was going on.
So, by that logic, I figured the next logical step would be the old retired sun titan that saw the whole thing go down. Of course, I'm not saying Apollo or anyone like him is fit to raise children, but I'd imagine this version of Helios would be more like an older version of him that's a lot more mellow and less likely to rant for two hours about his hit single after you asked him what time was on the sundial. Something more like a chill old man that also had a lot of energy (which is a HUGE help in raising a kid), kind of like Jiraiya from Naruto only he's not a total perv.
Zagreus: House of Hades (Castle)
Melinoe: The Crossroads (Camp)
Macaria: The Chariot (Mobile home)
This one's a little tough but I figured if Zag was raised in a permanent structure while Meg was raised in a stationary campsite, maybe Max could grow up in a structure that moves, kinda like a mobile home. And no, Helios' Chariot would definitely not be the same as Chester's place from the Fairly odd Parents. But since he's retired, it would have little power and be more like a dimly lit abandoned mansion creeping slowly on the ground to the tune of the sun's position as if instinctually following an old routine.
Zagreus: Achilles (Illiad)
Melinoe: Odysseus (Odyssey)
Ok, this one was also tough because the Iliad and the Odyssey were the two major Greek mythology works and the other two games already covered them. Meanwhile, Homer's other works cover literally everything else so it wasn't like I could just pick the protagonist from it for Max's teacher.
Why Perseus? Well, while he's not exactly the only Greek hero, he's one of the more iconic ones that strangely haven't been covered yet by the other games. Hercules was in 2, Jason's ship was there by reference, Theseus was a villain in 1 (and for good reason) even though his idiot brother who was into Persephone wasn't (but that could change here, who knows?) I mean, there's also Atalanta but at the same time her story basically goes raised by a bear (badass) kills a boar (also badass) and then gets "tricked" into marriage by a clever dude with Golden apples who stops her competition leaving a bunch of dead suitors in her wake (again, badass)
But I chose Perseus not only because he's iconic enough to stand out (not nearly as Jackson but I digress) but also because his main myth was focused on stealth. He didn't fight Medusa, he snuck her while she was asleep using a magic invisibility helmet (much like Hades' helm!) and chopped her head off. Perfect hero to train a rogue ninja like Max!
Zagreus: Escape the Underworld by going up
Melinoe: Save the Underworld by going down (and up as a side quest)
Macaria: Explore the Underworld? Spy/Reconnaissance? Go sideways?
So, one thing that Hadephone ficlets from Webtoon said that caught my attention was that Macaria was known to help souls escape the underworld without Hades' permission. Not sure if this is mythologically accurate but it does suit her rogue role really well so I'm using it here.
Her goal could be to travel around the Underworld looking for lost souls that want to go back for something in the Overworld (like finding out how they died, leaving a message for a loved one, etc.), taking pity on them, and sneaking them above and then sneaking them back down when the time comes. It shows her mother's compassion and even a little bit of a rebellious side like her brother!
So, what I noticed is the three bosses you have to fight in each run fall under three categories:
Someone close that the MC regularly interacts with in the main hub: Meg and the Furies; Hecate
Rampaging beast that has to be put down: Lernie the Hydra; Cerberus
Annoying egotistical jerk that won't listen to reason: Theseus; Scylla and the Sirens (and Eris)
I won't count the Olympus route in Hades 2 though since that part doesn't seem to be finished yet and I haven't seen the update.
Since Zag did Friend-Beast-Jerk and Mel did Friend-Jerk-Beast, I think Max should do Beast-Jerk-Friend. It would be a nice twist to have her have to fight through a friend before reaching her goal. Also, she could start with Jerk, but it doesn't seem right to put them through a Jerk fight at the beginning of every run since the first boss is the one she has to fight the most and the Jerk has a tendency to be straight up obnoxious and annoying.
Also, since Zag fought a group of familiar friends (except Alecto) and Mel fought a group of jerks (mainly Scylla), I think it would be fitting to have Max fight a group of beasts at the start.
So, I probably would pick these three:
Ok, before you say it, yes, I know Chimera is one monster. However, both beast bosses were monsters with multiple heads so this one should follow the trend. Plus, it's practically three different monsters because when fighting it, Max would have to fight the Lion head, the Goat head, AND the Snake tail. I figure it's gonna be one of those monsters that just happened to settle near where Max has to lead the souls between the worlds.
Jerk: Cottus the Hecatoncheires
Ok, Zag's jerk was a Greek Hero while Mel's jerk was a Greek Monster, and I was thinking the next logical step would be a minor deity, but then I remembered Eris covered that. Then I thought we could do a Titan instead but Chronos is a titan who was the final boss in 2 so that wouldn't really work either.
However, I remembered that the three main groups tossed into Tartarus during Titanomachy were the furies, the cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires who weren't even mentioned yet. So let's fix that!
Percy Jackson already used Briaries so even though he's the most famous and was said to be the only one left, I decided to keep the three of them this time and chose Cottus instead because his name either means the Striker or the Furious which definitely sounds like someone who won't listen to reason. Plus neither Theseus nor Scylla worked alone so this sorta follows the trend while also keeping it separate since, again, he has multiple heads, literally a hundred. In fact, he could even be made bipolar or have multiple personalities to reflect this, leaving him prone to extreme mood swings and be hard to reason with.
I imagine he'd be imprisoned around where Max is sneaking souls back in since she logically can't use the same entrance twice or she'd risk getting caught.
Yes, you read the name right. This one is interesting because while Zag's friend was a love interest, Mel's friend was her Foster Parent so to follow the trend, we have to pick someone close that they regularly interact with. I was thinking the usual child of Nyx but again, Eris already did that so that's out. (I know, she's even making my work difficult -_-)
Looking at friendly characters, there was usually two love interests (one a child of Nyx), the mentors, and the comic relief friend with a mysterious past (Skelly and Pandora)
So, what bigger twist than to have your comic relief friend be that final boss? The obligation to fight Max could be related to their past and they could still be on good terms with Max back at the hub.
Seeing that Skelly is a skeleton and Dora is a shade, they pretty much cover a dead body and spirit already, leaving just straight up living mortals left. UNLESS we went with something more mechanical.
I was thinking Max could find an abandoned Automaton in the Overworld (perhaps near Hephaestus' workshop), find a way to fix him, and when he activated he has no memory because his microchip or something is missing. For the time being, seeing that he's an auTOMaton, Max decides to call him Tom and he goes with it.
As for the boss fight, I was thinking Tom gets hacked somehow, which explains why he has no idea what Max is talking about when she brings it up. In the first half of the fight, Tom is normal sized and uses a barrage of mechanical weapons, but after getting him down to about half health, Max finds out he can actually change form to become colossal sized and she has to sneak her way into his head to temporarily shut him down. By the time Max gets back to the Chariot, Tom's miraculously back to normal, meaning the hacker can only trigger him at the entrance to the final level. As the game progresses, Tom keeps going back there to find out what's going on, only to get hacked every time and end up in a Re-Zero situation.
Macaria: At first Ouranos, then Gaea
Ok, hear me out: the pattern here is generational. First it was Hades, then it was his dad, so logically, what would come next is his parent's PARENTS.
More importantly, both games have a twist-but-not-such-a-twist in the boss reveals. "OMG, you mean the guy running the underworld DOESN'T just sit at his desk all day?!?" "WHOA, the guy showing himself as a silhouette was the guy in the phrase 'Death to Chronos'?!?" So, I figured I'd complete the chain of iconic Greek myth villains by having Ouranos appear as a puppet for Gaea. "Wait, I thought I was listening to Ouranos hatch a plan to get revenge on the gods, you're telling me it was his ex-wife?!?"
Yup, you read right. The plot would follow that Max would keep sneaking shades to and from the Underworld and whenever you complete a run, Max first overhears someone talking about manipulating the Gods to have them overthrown, talks to Helios who says it sounds like Ouranos trying to get his body back and take back control, only for the later twist to be it's actually Gaea. I know, big surprise, Mother Earth hates the gods. Go figure.
Mel: Moros and Nemesis (and Eris, I think?)
Max: Oizys/Miseria and Hermes?!?
Ok, just gonna get the token child of Nyx love interest out of the way and I thought it would be interesting to make it the girl this time. Oizys is a daughter of Nyx who is the goddess of misery (hence Miseria. I imagine she tells Max to call her Miseria because it's easier to pronounce). I figure she'd be introverted and quiet much like Thanatos but in a more awkward and shy way, kind of like Dusa in 1 and Echo in 2. She would be timid especially because some interpretations have her also be the goddess of Anxiety.
The other love interest is usually someone else related to Hades' realm. So, for the guy, my thought is this time it could be Charon...just kidding! No, as tempting as that is because this one was REALLY hard (seriously, I couldn't find any non-Nyx male characters related to Hades' realm and there's nothing online about Max having a canon husband or anything!), Charon is too weird an option as he serves more as an uncle figure for the three of them (ugh, there's a Hadephone joke in there that I don't wanna touch)
I was also considering one of the three kings picked to judge the shades, but they're just dead mortals. The others were deities with Meg as the exception but the furies are still a huge part of Hades' gimmick.
Then, I thought of something insane. There is one god that's related to Hades' realm, extroverted (since Miseria's already an introvert), and they even have something in common because he's also the god of stealth.
...ok, before you call HR, hear me out: Hermes. The man's known as a psychopomp which is very similar to what Max does, he's one of the younger deities and doesn't even have a wife, and he's basically the ninja of greek mythos. Ok, maybe he does have his dad's promiscuous nature that makes him unlikely to settle down with anyone, but we're talking dating here, not necessarily marriage.
Look, I couldn't find anyone else to fill the role besides mortals and the man's already got the favor of Max's siblings. I can at least see it working, but I am open to better ideas for guy deities related to Hades' realm.
Zag: Aphrodite; Ares; Artemis; Athena; Chaos; Demeter; Dionysus; Hermes; Poseidon; Zeus
Mel: OLD - Aphrodite; Ares; Chaos; Demeter; Poseidon; Zeus; NEW - Apollo; Hephaestus; Hera; Hestia;
Max: Chaos; OLD - Artemis; Athena; Demeter; Dionysus; Hermes; NEW - Apollo; Hephaestus; Hera; Hestia; Rhea; BONUS: PERSEPHONE
Lastly, we've gotta have a list of 10 main Gods that they can get boons from. (It's dangerous to go alone, take this!)
First, Chaos is pretty much indispensable. Their boons are the most interesting of all of them because they all have a big help coupled with a big detriment.
Next, we can pretty much cut out all of the old gods used again in 2 because we gotta keep this interesting! Except for Demeter tho, because Grandma. Or, we could also throw in Rhea because she hasn't been mentioned yet either and actually likes her kids so DOUBLE GRANDMA
But, that just means bringing back the rest of the old ones from 1 that got either cut out or side-tracked. And yes, I also suggested Hermes as the love-interest AND am bringing him back as a boon.
Finally, that leaves the four newer gods from 2 to make things fair. But I'm not keeping it all old though, because as an added bonus, I think Persephone should finally be around to give one of her kids a boon. After all, she's more likely than Hades to condone what Max is doing, so of course she's gonna lend her support. I imagine it'll be kind of a cross between the boon Hades gave in 2 and what Demeter has been giving only for grassy spring magic instead of icy winter magic. Something to show her duality as the Goddess of Spring and the Queen of the Underworld.
On that lovely note, that's all I could come up with for now, so reblog with what YOU think should be in Hades 3 if Supergiant decides to make it a trilogy.
