This is a common misconception that I've noticed across both here & social media (especially when it comes to requests for them in Smash) that has bothered me to no end. And since I'd rather not constantly correct people in threads, I thought I should explain it here since I used to make the same mistake.
Officer Howard is the player character. They're the one you name, the one you play as, the older twin, & so on. And, for better or worse, they're also the silent protagonist of the game. They can also be referred to as Legonis, but they mostly go by "you" or "Howard". Likewise, Officer is one of the earliest title you obtain in Astral Chain, hence the "Officer" in Officer Howard.
Akira, as mentioned before, is the younger twin you don't choose in Astral Chain. They're the ones with an actual personality & talk quite a bit, often speaking for Officer Howard for whatever reason. To use an example, if I chose Female Officer Howard & name her Akane, the male version becomes Akira. Akira also differs from Officer Howard due to the character arc that they undergo compared to the chosen twin (which gets into spoilers, which I won't discuss in the OP, but please spoiler tag any spoilers if you wish to discuss them here).
Of course, if you want Akira Howard & their personality specifically in Smash, that's fine. But if you want the player character, that's Officer Howard, not Akira Howard. Still, I hope I was able to clear up any confusion regarding the Howard twins.
OFFICER HOWARD
Officer Howard is the player character. They're the one you name, the one you play as, the older twin, & so on. And, for better or worse, they're also the silent protagonist of the game. They can also be referred to as Legonis, but they mostly go by "you" or "Howard". Likewise, Officer is one of the earliest title you obtain in Astral Chain, hence the "Officer" in Officer Howard.
AKIRA HOWARD
Akira, as mentioned before, is the younger twin you don't choose in Astral Chain. They're the ones with an actual personality & talk quite a bit, often speaking for Officer Howard for whatever reason. To use an example, if I chose Female Officer Howard & name her Akane, the male version becomes Akira. Akira also differs from Officer Howard due to the character arc that they undergo compared to the chosen twin (which gets into spoilers, which I won't discuss in the OP, but please spoiler tag any spoilers if you wish to discuss them here).
Of course, if you want Akira Howard & their personality specifically in Smash, that's fine. But if you want the player character, that's Officer Howard, not Akira Howard. Still, I hope I was able to clear up any confusion regarding the Howard twins.
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