Hump Day Husbandos: Percy Sinclair (Arcade Spirits)

Hump Day Husbandos

With Arcade Spirits‘ sequel, The New Challengers, arriving with us on May 27, 2022, I felt that it was well worth celebrating the original game. And who else could I possibly give the limelight to but the giant teddy bear that is Percy Sinclair?

Who is Percy Sinclair?

Percy Sinclair is one of the seven romanceable characters in Arcade Spirits, a visual novel set in the arcade paradise Funplex. He’s the score chaser of the bunch, determined to rack up 3.75 million points for reasons unbeknownst to the player until later in the story. He’s one of the warmest and friendliest characters in the Arcade Spirits universe — though Grace in Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers makes for tough competition.

He has many surprising traits and a hidden depth that only adds to his appeal. So let’s get right into that — with minimal spoilers for those yet to enjoy his company!

Why you will love Percy Sinclair

Arcade Spirits: Percy Sinclair

I’ll be the first to address the obvious reason as to why we love Percy Sinclair, and it’s for Fiction Factory Games making a point of providing us with a diverse and inclusive dating pool. This includes the dad bod Percy bears, which is a blessing we’ll always be appreciative for. The gaming world needs plenty more Dream Daddy Brians.

Outside of more shallow reasons, Percy is immediately likeable upon his first introduction, which made me very glad I chose to flirt from the outset. His most notable appeal elements are his inherent competitiveness — he is a score chaser, after all — but he’s also got a heart of gold. He’s very considerate of others, despite being financially well off.

He’s a big softy, but throughout the main storyline, his attention is mostly on his ambition of racking up points. There is, of course, a much deeper meaning behind his goal, and he won’t provide that information to you until you bond enough. You can then reach a satisfying conclusion with him only if you rack up enough relationship points with him — or romance him to uncover exactly what it is that he wants to express and overcome.

Either way, Percy, with or without the romance, is a wonderful member of the Funplex gang. He loves a good laugh, making others feel better when he’s not completely focused on his score chasing, and, most importantly, provides undeniably amazing hugs. He is a supportive team player to everyone he’s around, and even then, he still has plenty of room to improve as he learns to move on from his past and expand his horizons beyond a difficult situation and emotional baggage.

Before we get too far into spoiler territory, let’s just say that Percy’s arc can be summed up as learning to live life to the fullest with the most positive outlook for the future possible. It’s a heartfelt message for sure, and is the main route I recommend everyone who plays Arcade Spirits experiences for themselves.

All right. Let’s hit up the spoilers. Stop reading now if you’re yet to learn the truth behind Percy!

Why we love Percy Sinclair

Arcade Spirits: Percy Sinclair

Percy is dying, and shares the same terminal illness as his deceased sister. His story is unexpectedly tragic as he learns how to overcome his grief, but has a heartfelt core message to it with a rewarding light at the end of the tunnel when players see it through with him.

He never stops fixating on the moment in his life where he raised money for his sister’s terminal illness, was there for her throughout her battle, and continues to aim to fulfil the goal she was never able to achieve for herself: getting the top score on Moopy’s Magic Maze.

Percy’s plotline goes through multiple emotional story beats as you might expect from such a heavy arc. It goes from him explaining his condition into him telling you about the reasons he refuses a possible treatment for his illness when the opportunity later arises. He feels guilt over the prospect of being able to survive and live longer when his sister didn’t get that chance. And at the same time, he also has a somewhat strained relationship with his parents.

With all this in mind, romancing Percy is one of the most rewarding paths available in Arcade Spirits. It feels like the most heartfelt out of all the relationships in the game; his eventual acceptance of a hopeful future is a wonderful sight to behold and a great experience to share with him after everything he has to say. He also helps turn around the player character for the better, which in turn helps him build up his own self-esteem, and opens his eyes to the idea of embracing the future rather than remaining stuck in the past, or limiting his viewpoint to the present.

Percy comes a long way from when we first see him. He comes to understand that fighting for his life will not only benefit him, it will also allow his parents to see their only living child be happy. He learns to overcome deep-seated emotions surrounding his sense of guilt, and builds himself up from there.

His route moved me to my very core, and I will always say that he deserves to be fought for — raise those relationship points or romance him and help him see that his life is absolutely worth living. He deserves to be as happy as possible.

In the end, Percy acts as a reminder to the player to appreciate what we have in life, and to not take it for granted. But there’s still a hopeful conclusion, too: no matter anyone’s circumstances, they deserve to love and be loved in return, even if only temporary.

For Percy, everything is topped off when he finally gets to type in his sister’s initials on the Moopy’s Magic Maze scoreboard as he turns to the next chapter of his life after fulfilling his “duty”. His arc is peacefully and satisfyingly concluded with an emotional send-off; very fitting for such a plotline.

If you’re yet to enjoy Arcade Spirits for yourself, you’ve still got time before the sequel arrives at the time of writing! It’s an ideal way to spend your weekend, so grab it either physically on Switch or PS4, or digitally via Steam or itch.io, and please consider spending as much time as you can with Percy. He means the world to us.

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Lilia Hellal
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