I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU ALL, BUT A FEMALE SQUALL FOR FF8 WOULD HAVE BEEN COOL.

It long ago ceased to be acceptable to dress video game leads like sensible human beings.

This Final Fantasy IV review (and I honestly recommend checking out the full review series, for anyone who hasn't already,) puts it like this:

author=Pitchfork
Final Fantasy IV's other problem is that it just doesn't have enough of a certain something with which today's games are overbrimming. That something... is zazz.

Final Fantasy IV's zazz factor is decidedly low. It has a quasi-medieval setting (devoid of steam, cyberpunk, space age, or any other sort of anachonistic science-fiction influence) populated by knights, wizards, and dwarves (no bunny-eared amazons, Geohounds, cyborgs, or evil parodies of Christ). Cecil wears a suit of armor (without even one decorative zipper, pouch, or patch of fashionably exposed skin) and fights with a sword (instead of a gunblade, keyblade, chainsaw-sword, etc). By today's standards, this is unacceptable.


Digression

JRPGs -- and many other Japanese games, and anime too -- are in serious danger of fatal zazz saturation.

Some zazz is good to have. Think of it like putting sugar in coffee. A sugar cube or two makes a cup of coffee less bitter, while some zazz adds flavor to a game and its characters. But just like you can ruin coffee by pouring in too much sugar, over-zazzing your game makes it irritating instead of bland. Remember back when anthromorphs with 'tude were in vogue? Sonic's 'tude levels were within acceptable parameters, and it's still hard to deny the appeal of his Sega Genesis incarnations. But then you also have Bubsy the Bobcat, who was pumped full of more focus-group tested 'tude than any single piece of intellectual property should ever be asked to contain, and if anyone actually remembers Bubsy, I'm sure their memories are not pleasant.

Here's an example of the progression of zazz saturation: a timeline of SNK fighting game flagship characters.

Terry and Ryo look like two guys out of a martial arts flick. Iori and K' look like they're from an anime. Alba and Luise look like they're from a Japanese fashion magazine. I understand that with so many other products on the market, designers have to make their franchise and its properties stand out, but it's starting to get ridiculous. Other examples include the gulf between the characters and aesthetics of Mobile Suit Gundam and Gundam SEED, Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) and Shadow the Hedgehog (2001), and to cite a stateside example, the differences between the 2D Prince of Persia titles and The Two Thrones. Style over substance.

With every new generation of video games, the designers struggle harder to make their characters memorable, to distinguish them from not only their present generation competitors, but from all the characters who've come before them. Which apparently, in the minds of the character designers, equates to dressing characters up like goddamn lunatics.

Now, now, let's be fair. It's not like those drawings are pitchs from SE for a FF8 remake (though, I don't see it past them xD). Whoever drew those didn't had the character's personality in mind, just it's sex-appeal. That kind of fanart is made by a specific subgroup of people for a specific subgroup of people. And it's not like it's only men who do it, women do it too. You just have to take a look at DevianArt to see tons of that gender-bender/sexed-up stuff. (That doesn't make it right, but I don't think it's wrong-wrong either.)

Also, let's face it. Often times videogame characters are not exactly dressed for battle, so the arguments about not exposing certain parts of the body are a bit moot. It creates a bit of a disconnect, I suppose, but you just have to adjust your suspension of disbelief... Otherwise, all characters would have to use full body armor, and the helmets would ruin their pretty animu hairdos. =P

Edit: I was referring strictly to the whole "exposed to injury" argument, not so much about the "investment". That's a different ball game.

author=Ratty524
I thought Squall was already a girl.

I thought this wasn't supposed to be a serious thread.

Yeah, any topic that exhibits causal sexism/objectification even unintentionally are bound to get heated eventually. It's just an side product of too many people wanting to be "the funny one".

author=alterego
Edit:I was referring strictly to the whole "exposed to injury" argument, not so much about the "investment". That's a different ball game.

Ah, gotcha. I just see the "Dressing up lady characters where they're practically just wearing lingerie doesn't actually cause any problems" argument a lot.

author=Kaliesto

author=Avee
Paine is pretty much a female Squall.

I agree actually. The hair was even similar in shape. I wonder if it was on purpose or just coincidence.

Paine was actually my favorite part of that game. Dunno if I'm on the minority on that one tho XD

author=Kaliesto

author=Avee
Paine is pretty much a female Squall.

I agree actually. The hair was even similar in shape. I wonder if it was on purpose or just coincidence.

I kind of want to say it's a result of Nomura having no creativity and reusing character designs with only the most minor changes. He does this. Tidus and Vaan are the typical pair people like to point at because they're both main characters, but it's much more pronounced in other characters. For example, Lightning is basically just Ashe with the holes removed from her clothes, it's astonishing.



But in Paine's case the only thing she really has in common with Squall is that they both wear mostly black, have gloves on, and have a necklace. And they both have too many belts, but that doesn't count because so does every character Nomura's ever made. Their hair and clothes are totally different.

For Christ's sake. Some of you guys have a penchant for opening Pandora's Box, don't you? Posting topics like this...seriously, you don't need to possess 1337 sociAL sKIllZ to know images like in the OP just isn't acceptable.

author=Yellow Magic
For Christ's sake. Some of you guys have a penchant for opening Pandora's Box, don't you? Posting topics like this...seriously, you don't need to possess 1337 sociAL sKIllZ to know images like in the OP just isn't acceptable.

There is no reason for them to not be acceptable. The OP was just wondering how Squall would look like if he was a girl. There's plenty of gender bending fan artworks on the internet like this. It's pointless to make such a big deal out of nothing in a thread like this.

That Ashe ass photo from XII is borderline offensive. Seriously. I remember hating that photo when it came out....and I was a randy teenager.