Elena Fisher is a fictional character in the
''Uncharted'' series, developed by
Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, LLC (formerly JAM Software, Inc.) is an American first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001. Gav ...
. Elena appears in four video games in the main series: ''
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'', ''
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'', ''
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'', and the final installment in the main series, ''
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End''. While partially playable for short sections of the first game, Elena also acts as both a sidekick and love interest for
Nathan Drake.
Emily Rose Emily Rose may refer to:
* Emily Rose (actress) (born 1981), American television actress/voice actress
* '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'', a 2005 supernatural horror crime film about demonic possession, loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel ...
both provided her voice and did the motion capture work for the character.
Though originally a brunette, Naughty Dog made her a blonde with a more severe chin before the first game's release. She is an independent, strong female who acts as an equal to the series' protagonist Drake. In the games, she is a reporter who accompanies Drake on his adventures. Reception of her character has been mostly positive. She has been called one of the strongest video game females and her equality with male characters has been praised; however, the character has drawn criticism for her unrealistic combat prowess.
Creation and conception
Emily Rose Emily Rose may refer to:
* Emily Rose (actress) (born 1981), American television actress/voice actress
* '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'', a 2005 supernatural horror crime film about demonic possession, loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel ...
, Elena's voice actor, also performed the motion capture work for the character, acting as if performing in a movie. Motion capture was done on a soundstage, and the dialog was recorded while the scenes were being performed.
Elena was meant to act as both a sidekick and a romantic interest for the main series protagonist
Nathan Drake.
Originally, Elena was presented as a brunette with a soft face. However, close to the release of the first game, ''
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'', her chin was further defined, and her hair made blonde. When questioned about the purpose of the change response, Sony said "they just preferred her blonde".
Naughty Dog further elaborated on the reasons for the change, saying that towards the end of development the team's
pixel shader
In computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that calculates the appropriate levels of light, darkness, and color during the rendering of a 3D scene - a process known as ''shading''. Shaders have evolved to perform a variety of spec ...
s improved and when they added it to Elena's blonde hair, it looked considerably better paired than it did with brown, as it was originally. They stated that the change was purely cosmetic as she remained exactly the same character except now with blonde hair and that these changes are all part of game development.
Attributes
Personality
Elena Fisher is a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, originally out to make a name for herself through documentary work, then later news broadcasting. Regarding her career, she has been described as a "spunky and nubile camerawoman". She proves herself a resourceful and capable ally to Drake.
Elena Fisher is the "female version of Drake", as creator
Amy Hennig put it; she is just as charming, intelligent and tenacious as him, and can hold her own when climbing or under fire. Rose, the character's voice actor, commented that Elena matured between the first game and the sequel: "In the first game, she's a lot younger, she's a lot more naive, and she looks at things as being very possible, and in the second (game), has seen murders and adventure...the way that any person grows, you see that in her. She's a little bit more hesitant, a little more cynical".
Outward appearance
In the first game, Elena wears a dirty purple tank-top and cargo shorts, with a white tank top underneath. For the remaining games, she wears a number of articles of clothing, including button up shirts, casual shirts, khaki pants, jeans, and a parka. Originally, Elena was a brunette, and Sony showed her this way in the original advertising, but shortly before the first game's release, her hair was changed to a dirty blonde tone.
[
]
Appearances
In the 2007 game '' Uncharted: Drake's Fortune'', Elena follows Drake around, videotaping his findings for her cable television show.[ As the game opens, she and Drake uncover the coffin of Drake's ancestor Sir ]Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...
, which Drake located from coordinates inscribed on Francis's ring he wears around his neck.[Nathan: Don't I wish. No, this was, ah... this was Francis Drake's ring. I, y'know, kind of inherited it. Elena: "Sic parvis magna"? Nathan: "Greatness from small beginnings" - it was his motto. Check out the date. Elena: 29th of January, 1596. Nathan: One day after he supposedly died. Elena: Wait, what are these numbers, right here? Nathan: Coordinates. Right off the coast of Panama. Elena: Oh, so that's how you found the coffin. ] The coffin contains Sir Francis Drake's diary, which gives the location of El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
. Pirates attack and destroy Drake's boat, but Drake's friend Victor Sullivan rescues the two. Once safe, Sully and Drake decide to ditch Elena and go after the treasure, though she manages to rendezvous with Drake after he discovers that El Dorado is a giant gold idol. On the way to the island, anti-aircraft fire forces Elena and Drake to bail out of the airplane and they are separated. Once they meet, they discover that Sully, who appeared to die of a gunshot wound, is alive.[Elena: He's alive. Nathan: Huh. Elena: I don't know, Nate... I mean, how much do you trust this guy? It's not exactly like they're holding him at gunpoint. Nathan: I know. Yeah, it seems weird. But no. Sully's a lot of things, but he's not a back-stabber. Which way were they headed? Elena: Uh... North-ish. Yeah, towards the mountains. Nathan: Okay, it's gotta be the monastery. Let's go. ] After discovering that the statue is cursed and he must stop Atoq Navarro from using its power, and save Elena in the process. After doing so, she, Drake, and Sully drive off in a boat loaded with several chests of treasure.[Nathan: Sorry you didn't get your story. Elena: Ah, that's all right. There'll be other stories. You still owe me one. Nathan: I'm good for it. ]
In '' Uncharted 2: Among Thieves'', Drake stumbles upon Elena by accident in Nepal, where she now acts as an investigative journalist. She and a cameraman are attempting to prove that war criminal Lazarevic is alive, contrary to the beliefs of NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. Drake is trying to stop Lazarević from finding the entrance to Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala ( sa, शम्भल ',''Śambhala'', also ''Sambhala'', is the name of a town between the Rathaprā and Ganges rivers, identified by some with Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. In the Puranas, it is named as ...
and the legendary Cintamani stone. After she, Drake and the party find a temple (which conceals the secret map to Shambala), Elena and her cameraman are ambushed, and the cameraman, Jeff, is eventually executed by Lazarevic. Elena and Drake escape, and she helps him catch Lazarevic's train. The pair find each other in a remote mountain village in Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, where the two meet Karl Schäfer, a German who had led a Schutzstaffel expedition to Shambhala, who he ended up killing in order to stop them from obtaining the Cintamani Stone. Drake and Elena track Lazaravic to a monastery, where they find the entrance to Shambhala. Once inside, they discover that the monsters Drake has been seeing in the area are guardians of the city. Drake and Elena are apprehended by Lazaravic but escape him when the guardians attack. After battling through several guardians and many henchmen left behind by Lazaveric, she, Nate, and Chloe spot the Tree of Life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
, upon at that moment Flynn confronts Drake and attempts to kill the party (and himself) with a grenade. He fails, although he severely wounds Elena (as well as lightly wounding Drake and Chloe). After leaving Elena in Chloe's care, Drake confronts Lazaravic at the Tree of Life, the sap of which comprises the Cintamani stone. Drake wounds Lazaravic, leaving the guardians to kill him, and returns to the village, where he and Elena kiss and begin a relationship.
'' Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'' reveals that, between the events of ''Uncharted 2'' and ''3'', Elena and Drake had married each other but had eventually separated, though she still wears her ring. Since the events of ''Uncharted 2'', Elena has become an international news correspondent, and has been stationed in Yemen for some time. She assists Nate and Sully in entering Yemen and helps locate a cistern leading to catacombs that contains the coordinates to Iram of the Pillars. Elena tries in vain to deter Nate from continuing his search as she feels it is not worth it. After Nate is drugged and captured by Marlowe, he reunites with Elena who reveals Sully has also been kidnapped and that she has a plan to save him. They infiltrate a nearby airport where a plane is ready to make a supply drop to the enemy convoy Sully is in. Elena assists Drake in getting onto the plane, departing him as it takes off. After Nate and Sully return from Ubar, Elena is shown by Nate that he has started wearing his wedding ring again after Sully had kept it safe for him and they resume their relationship, leaving together on Sully's new plane.
In '' Uncharted 4: A Thief's End,'' five years after the events of ''Drake's Deception'', Elena and Nate are living as a married couple in New Orleans. She continues to work as a journalist and often travels abroad writing articles, while Nate works as a salvager. Nate lies to Elena by claiming he has taken on a new salvaging job after his long-lost brother Sam returns to coax him back into uncovering the treasure of pirate Henry Avery. After escaping enemy forces in Madagascar, Nate returns to his hotel only to find Elena there, who confronts Nate about his lies and dismisses his explanations. Upset, confused, and angry, she returns home on her own. After some consideration, Elena later goes to Libertalia with Sully and rescues Nate, hoping that his dishonesty will help to make them more trusting of each other in the future, and in the end they reconcile with a kiss. The couple eventually find Sam, who insists that they go after the treasure before their opponents can find it but Nate, Elena, and Sully decline his request as they only came to rescue him. Nate is forced to leave Elena with Sully after Sam decides to go after the treasure alone. The four later reunite on Sully's plane, having escaped Libertalia alive. Sam later departs with Sully, Nate and Elena return to their lives and Elena decides to buy the 'Jameson Marine' salvage company, installing Nate as a co-owner to help them in their funding for their future adventures. Elena also expresses her desire to revive her old TV show.
13–15 years after the events of ''Uncharted 4'' the two are still happily married and have settled down at a beach house with a daughter named Cassie and a dog called Vicky. The story then ends with Nate and Elena setting off on a sailing trip while beginning to tell Cassie about their previous adventures.
Elena also appears in the prequel comic '' Eye of Indra'', agreeing to fund Nate's expedition to find Sir Francis Drake's coffin.
Mircea Monroe
Mircea Monroe (born March 11, 1982) is an American model and actress, known for her roles on the TV series ''Episodes'' as Morning Randolph (2011–2017), ''Hart of Dixie'' as Tansy Truitt (2011–2015), ''Impastor'' as Alexa Cummings (2015–201 ...
played Elena in the 2018 live action fan film.
Reception
Reception to the character of Elena Fisher has been mainly positive. Blaine Kyllo of ''The Georgia Straight
''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, ...
'' praised Rose's performance as Elena, calling it some of the best work in video gaming, while Meagan VanBurkleo of ''Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' called Elena one of her "favorite leading ladies". In its 2010 cover feature, ''Game Informer'' also named Elena as one of 30 characters "who defined a decade".
Some opined that Elena is a strong, female lead uncommon to video games. Dave Meikleham of ''GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
'' UK called her one of the strongest females in gaming and wrote she provides a great playoff to Drake, and a good shot to aid the players through levels. However, he also criticized her for a lack of realism, finding it hard to believe that as a reporter who had never fired a gun before could so quickly become such an accurate, fearless shot. ''IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' named her the fourth best video game heroine, praising Naughty Dog for creating a female protagonist equal in every way to her male counterpart: "She won't let the camera stop rolling, she won't take Drake's crap, and she's not afraid to throw a punch. When you're pinned down by enemy fire, Elena will cap the bad guys for you. When Drake's trapped in the enemy camp, Elena will rip walls down to save her friend. When you're in need of a solid, fleshed-out character, Elena's there as a prime example". ''Game Informer'' named her one of the 30 characters who defined a decade. Similarly, GamesRadar's staff placed her at number 24 in a list of the 50 best game characters of the generation, commenting that "she may be a stereotypical twenty-something journalist at face value, but she's so convincingly written (and acted by Emily Rose) that she's one of the most believable and likeable characters in all of gaming". Kevin Wong of ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' included her to his "best supporting character in video games", and stated that "Serving as a perfect foil is reporter Elena Fisher, a modern April O'Neill who's in over her head. Despite this, however, she knows how to cover and shoot – she saves Nathan's hide more than once. Dumb blonde? Hell no – this gal's got brains."
The character has also garnered attention for her attractiveness. Bret Dawson of the ''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' compared Elena's appearance and mannerisms to those of Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Elena
Female characters in video games
Fictional explorers in video games
Fictional American people in video games
Fictional reporters
Fictional gunfighters
Sony Interactive Entertainment protagonists
Uncharted characters
Video game characters introduced in 2007
Video game sidekicks