Companion Cube: Difference between revisions

For some reason, Companion Cubes [[Videogame Caring Potential|tend to become very popular]] [[Robot Girl|with the audience]]. Something to do with the [[Uncanny Valley]], probably. Or simply because the idea of having an inanimate object being a character is funny. Or maybe because it's easy to project the best traits you can think of onto the object. Or because you can make yourself a replica at home ...

{{examples|Examples}}

* ''[[Mazinger Z (Anime)|Mazinger Z]]'': Several times the characters talk to or about Mazinger-Z and [[Fem Bot]] Aphrodite A like if they were sentient beings. Sayaka actually had a [[Heroic BSOD]] when {{spoiler|Aphrodite A was destroyed. She even hallucinated Aphrodite was calling her.}} And then you have Minerva-X, an actual sentient [[Fem Bot]] and [[Humongous Mecha]] could act, think and feel on her own and was programmed to be Mazinger-Z's [[Battle Couple]], and considered Mazinger was meant to be HER [[Companion Cube]] (as Sayaka protested only Aphrodite was allowed to be Mazinger's partner).

* Rebecca's Teddy Bear in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', who she called Teddy-chan, despite being American. It was actually a possessed bear in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series (Web Video)|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]''.

* Shmee, the creepy teddy bear carried by perpetual victim Squee in ''[[Johnny the Homicidal Maniac]]''. Both Johnny and Squee refer to the toy speaking to them, and the things it tells them are rather disturbing (enough to get Johnny to take a knife to the toy at one point). In the follow up comic, there is a dream sequence where Shmee reveals that he is Squee's own personal trauma sponge, possibly an analog to the thing behind Johnny's wall, but this is open for interpretation since this IS [[All Just a Dream]], [[Or Was It a Dream]]

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series (Web Video)|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]'': "The Ocean and I are getting married."

* In the ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic ''[[Progress (Fanfic)|Progress]]'', Princess Luna is rather attached to an antique abacus; in one chapter, her maid Sundance claims that Luna made pajamas for it and reads it bedtime stories. It became popular for a while for writers of other fanfics, especially (but not limited to) more light-hearted ones, to depict Luna with an abacus companion.

* Another example from ''[[Discworld]]'', and probably one of the weirdest ones. [[Instant AI Just Add Water|Hex]] the calculating '''machine''' has a Teddy Bear after the events in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Hogfather|Hogfather]]''. Any attempts to remove the teddy bear results in Hex refusing to work.

* Radar's teddy bear in ''[[Mash (TV)|Mash]]''.

** Both the ''Enterprise'' and the ''Millennium Falcon'' are known to have computers capable of interacting with people but of course, none of them are sophisticated enough for you to hold a conversation with. When it comes to ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' ships, though, [[Fridge Logic]] or even [[Fridge Brilliance]] applies: we know from holodecks, and fully sentient mechanical characters such as Data and [[Spell My Name With a The|the Doctor]], that a computer with much more personality is not hard to create in the [[Trekverse]]. If, in a world where any AI-run hologram left running long enough becomes a real person, the best the ship's operating system can do is "* Beep!* Unable to comply. [[Applied Phlebotinum]] [[Holding Back the Phlebotinum|conveniently offline]]," it's by design -- possibly to keep it out of the [[Uncanny Valley]].

** Big Bird had his teddy bear, Radar (a [[Shout Out]] to the ''[[Mash (TV)|Mash]]'' character).

* Amy, The Dancing Brick in ''[[Its a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie|It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie]]''. In theory, not totally dissimilar from Gonzo's usual acts (Yollanda, The Dancing Cheese, for example), except that "she's" not a Muppet brick; she's just a brick.

** The cube makes a couple of reappearances in ''[[Portal 2 (Video Game)|Portal 2]]'' itself, first in the early test chambers, where GLaDOS taunts you by fizzling it, then reveals that she has "entire warehouses full of them", and ''then'' fizzles it yet again when you try to smuggle it out of the test chamber, which you would never think to do if she weren't giving you hints about it. Oh, and she again claims that it's sentient. [[Yank the Dogs Chain]] indeed. And lastly, at the very end, {{spoiler|she gives you back the original Cube, charred from its trip to the incinerator but otherwise apparently intact}}. Likewise, the Cube has several less noticeable cameos, including the occasional cube flying through pipes and one falling into the incinerator after {{spoiler|1=GLaDOS's reactivation}}. [[Yank the Dogs Chain|You can't save it.]]

** Two of the Devil Arms, Agni and Rudra, can even talk, although Dante would only take them with him if they kept silent. They start laughing during one of Dante's flashier combos with them, forcing Dante to yell [[Big Shut Up|"SILENCE!"]] as a reminder of their agreement.

** ''New Vegas'' also gives us ED-E for the player. It's a floating robot ball that doesn't talk or have personal problems to solve like the other companions. But it has a [[Fun With Acronyms|fun nickname,]] plays a jingle to alert you to enemy presence, increases your detection range, has a [[Frickin Laser Beams|zappy laser weapon]] that sets enemies on fire, and is generally adorable to watch just floating around. If you complete ED-E's sidequest, his slide in the ending notes that {{spoiler|it stays with the Courier as a loyal companion.}}

** And Lord Shojo [[Obfuscating Insanity|used to consult]] with his "advisor" [[Right Hand Cat|Mr. Scruffy]].

* And let's not forget the mysterious [[Walkyverse]] psuseudocharacter [[Everyone Calls Him Barkeep|known only as]] the [http://www.walkypedia.com/index.php/Refrigerator_skull refrigerator skull].

* Perfect Jones, the sanest [[Science Related Memetic Disorder|double Darkwell]] in ''[[Star Harbor Nights]]'', confides in her stuffed bunny Mr. Buttons, occasionally taking him on patrol. He also doubles as her [[Berserk Button]].

{{quote| '''Boxy Brown:''' I'm just a what, [[This Is for Emphasis Bitch|bitch]]?}}

* ''[[Dexters Laboratory]]'' has a [[Suck E Cheeses]] episode featuring a stuffed Monkey doll that DeeDee believes she could talk to her. Their conversations are surprisingly dark, almost veering into ''[[The Shining]]'' territory.

* ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'': ** "[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)/Recap/S1 E21 Over a Barrel|Over a Barrel]]": Applejack's apple tree Bloomburg gets this treatment. She buys it a private sleeping car in a train and reads it bedtime stories. Spike gets into the act when he bunks with Bloomberg to get away from the girls' night-time chatter, and apologizes in advance to the tree if he starts snoring. (This may be justified if he snores ''fire,'' however.)

[[Category:Trope]]