How Many Dogs Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb?

Repede:

1. Loyal canine companion from Tales of Vesperia. An intelligent dog distinguished by a scar and a pipe, which he carries as a memento of his former master. Friendly around people he trusts, but dislikes being approached by strangers.
2. Unbelievably absent-minded dog owned by destinee ehgc in Fable III. Unlike his namesake he shows little signs of intelligence but is lovable all the same. Known for completely ignoring what’s happening around him you really can’t trust him to do anything for you.
   

A few of you may have heard of this little game called Fable III. An avid follower of the series and worshipper of all things Molyneux, I had to have it at launch. Fable II brought in the concept of an interactive dog to be your companion on your travels and my Fable II dog was awesome. Always in the heat of battle and never failing to find me treasure. It made sense that my Fable III dog could only be better.

Having recently played Tales of Vesperia (ToV), it seemed a no-brainer when the time came to pick a name for my dog – Repede. In ToV, Repede was a strong warrior dog, with superior intelligence: the perfect companion for an adventure. It made sense that I’d want to replicate this experience in Fable III, so a new Repede was born. We often name pets or characters after other video game characters due to some characteristic that just makes it fit. I just looked at my dog and knew it was another Repede… turns out I can be very wrong!

My Repede is dumb. Not just a little, but dumb as a post. He chases his tail and then wanders off looking for it when he can’t keep up; he’s just that dumb. Don’t get me wrong, I love him to pieces but he couldn’t be further from his namesake in smarts and personality. At first I thought I was imagining it, or expecting too much from the little pup, but numerous hours of co-op have shown me otherwise. Other dogs in my world go running off to find treasure no problem, they take down enemies and run by their master’s side. These dogs aren’t even maxed out on skills like mine. Their owners laugh out loud uncontrollably at Repede’s behaviour. There’s no doubting it anymore, my dog is just dumb.

You may find your dog looking for dig spots whilst exploring, but mine only finds them when I’m fighting. You may find that once at the dig spot you can dig up the treasure, but mine generally loses it and wanders off. A dig spot can sometimes take a couple of minutes to find as he carefully walks in the wrong direction before going back to where he was and then trying a new direction. Even if he finds a dig spot you can guarantee another dog will get there first if it’s co-op. Hilarious if it’s not your dog, but you’d think he’d learn by now! If I walk along a bridge I can guarantee I’ll hear a splash soon after as Repede misses entirely and jumps in the lake. Some people have suggested I don’t pet him enough, but he won’t sit still long enough to interact with!

I have considered checking Lionhead‘s customer support to see if they know why my dog is like this. Did they send out some virtual pups that nobody wanted to see if they’d raise a smile? Did I bring him up wrong? As idiotic as his behaviour is, I can’t help but grin sometimes when he wanders around completely lost. Maybe they knew I would appreciate a dog with quirks. Repede may be the dopiest dog in Fable III but he’s my dog and I love him regardless of his confused expression. Still, now I have Kinectimals it’s nice to have a pet that understands me and all my cats are getting unique names to avoid any further shame on namesakes!