Borderlands 3’s main story had very few main quests involving Tiny Tina, which very much left the community wanting more from this fan-favorite character. While expansions and a spin-off game have given this character a chance to shine, the franchise should continue to explore this character’s potential. With how many characters are expected to return in the next sequel, Borderlands 4 is the perfect opportunity to give Tiny Tina the attention that the character deserves in the main content.
Tiny Tina first stole her way into the communities hearts as a fan-favorite character from Borderlands 2, where the character also had a relatively small presence in the main content, much like in Borderlands 3. While the character has gotten plenty of time in the spotlight from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and side content in the Borderlands games, Borderlands 4 should still do Tiny Tina some justice with a more central presence.
Future Borderlands Games Should Give Tiny Tina a Larger Presence
Borderlands 3 almost has too many characters due to how many returning and original characters show up throughout the story and side content. This has its ups and downs as more characters get to solidify their spot in the Borderlands lore, although the main characters have a lot of competition amongst each other. A majority of the unanswered questions in the Borderlands franchise come from what will happen to certain characters after the events of Borderlands 3, which means that Borderlands 4 is expected to once again double down on a cast of returning characters. With so many characters to give their all in the next sequel, Borderlands 4 shouldn’t make the same mistake of limiting Tiny Tina to side content.
Tiny Tina’s expansions in the Borderlands franchise are up there with some of the best content in the franchise, which makes the case for this character to be more prominent in future games. Specifically, the Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep expansion was what really gave this character a proper presence, although this expansion was non-canon and self-contained. This expansion was roughly the first look at where Tiny Tina’s character could take the Borderlands games, and it paid off by paving the way for a spin-off game in the Borderlands franchise.
Tiny Tina also got some well-deserved attention in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, the spinoff game, but that doesn’t mean that the franchise should be exhausted with this character, or further separate them from the mainline games. In fact, Borderlands should do the opposite and go all in with Tiny Tina by carrying on the best of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands into future Borderlands games. Certain gameplay mechanics unique to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands would be right at home in a Borderlands game, but it’s Tiny Tina’s character that really brings it all together.
Perhaps a solution to kill multiple birds with one stone is to make Tiny Tina available as a playable character in Borderlands 4. The playable vault hunters in Borderlands games don’t usually have extensive involvement in the main storylines, so this would allow Tiny Tina to be present while not competing with the spotlight that other characters also deserve. Tiny Tina’s stylish vocabulary and love for explosives could translate very well to a playable character, so it’s ultimately a missed opportunity not to explore her potential as a vault hunter in future Borderlands games.
At any rate, Borderlands 4 could stand to have a lot more Tiny Tina after the character’s minimal presence in the main content of previous games. With as much side content that explores this character’s potential, Borderlands should flip the script for future games in the franchise and give Tiny Tina more inclusion in the shenanigans related to the main questline.
Borderlands 3 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.