July 17th, 2008 by Daniel Duncan

Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise is closing in on us. In 51 days, this latest installment in the Viva franchise will be landing on store shelves awaiting your loving embrace. To celebrate its upcoming release, we’ll be taking a look at the past of the franchise each day leading up until its US, Canadian, and Latin American release on September 2nd and its European release on September 5th. So without further ado, let’s examine Day 14…

Day 14: Leafos

Portrayed by award-winning Louise Ridgeway, Leafos is probably the most interesting character in Viva Pinata. When the game begins, this unique character is the very first face you see. She is standing in the middle of the ruined Garden crying her eyes out because of it. She serves as your guide to helping restore the Garden to its once beautiful state where pinatas come to roam freely and in peace. Her voice is kind and charming and helps the painfully long tutorial be a bit more enduring.

Throughout the game, Leafos will act as a guide of sorts, providing information on Pinatas and the Garden Helpers. She roams the Garden during the daytime hours and can be interacted with at any given time. If you so choose to speak with her, she will spill the beans on many interesting things. Some are small and cameos of sorts like mentioning Grabbed by the Ghoulies, and others are just trickery. Pinatas turning into other pinatas when placed in water? Lies! And there are several more like it. Leafos is more than just the soul giver of info, she’s also the resident gossiper. So whatever gossip she speaks, ignore it. It’s all lies and you’ll be doing nothing but wasting your time attempting to achieve her random chit-chat.

Overall, Leafos aids in making Viva Pinata an even more excellent game than what it already is. Louise did an incredible job portraying the character, and I look forward to seeing both of them return for Trouble in Paradise when it releases this September.