This week it’s mostly about comparing model and clothing designs, as well as Final Fantasy XIV’s massive success. Oh, and there’s more boy talk as always.

Equal Clothing Rights in Last Idea

My biggest beef with cosmetic-based games are options for men. While women can basically wear anything a man can, the same can’t be said vice versa. Just like real-life, men are locked into very specific styles of clothing.

It’s especially frustrating when female characters are given exclusive outfits, while the male outfits still end up being cross-gendered. In a lot of games, being a male character restricts your options.

(Images Source From: 4Gamer)

So I was surprised when scrolling past some screenshots for the mobile game Last Idea. These shows comparisons between male and female outfits in a Val x Love collaboration event. Interesting enough, they’re very similar. The left outfit keeps its dress-style lower body, while the outfit on the right actually carries over the leg and belly elbow skin to the male design.

The one exception is the center outfit which does cover up the upper legs and cuts open the bottom of the shirt to look less like a skirt. Even though this outfit was altered, it still look pretty dang close.

I realize most people don’t want these style of outfits on men and ultimately developers don’t want to waste resources on models for a minority. But I really respect the consistency between the gendered designs on these outfits.

Same Character in a Different Dimension

(Art Image Source: 4Gamer)
(Screenshot Image Source: 4Gamer)

I’ve been staring at Bullet Break for a week or two now. It’s cute, but I mostly have nothing to say about the title itself. When skimming through the Tokyo Game Show media surrounding the game though, I noticed there is actually a 3D render of the main character. 

2D art also represents her, but I actually kind of found her design off putting compared to her 3D model. I think it’s the reduced size of the facial features that I prefer.

(Image Source: 4Gamer)

Though there is some inconsistency, since another piece of art actually shows her with the smaller facial features as well. Yet I still like the 3D odel better for some reason. Maybe I like the wider/rounded face.

(Reinhardt Art Image Source: Castlevania Wiki)
(Carrie Art Image Source: Gigahurts)

It reminds me a bit of how I feel about Castlevania 64’s character design. There’s honestly not much consistency in its concept art. You’ll find like five different takes on Carrie and Reinhardt in both 2D art and 3D renders. In the end, despite everyone having blurry face textures and giant spatula hands, the 3D models are what I’ve grown attached to over the years. 

Boys – Who Are You Changing For?

(Image Source: Wind Boys)

When I go to an Ikemen websites, I just glaze over. I enjoy looking at the character designs, but move on quickly. That’s no different this week for Palette Parade and Wind Boys. 

Each game has a sizable cast and a gimmick. Wind Boys has everyone playing musical instruments while Palette Parade is all about painters. I find the latter particularly odd to have an entire game based around it.

For bands, you’d expect groups of like-minded people to be involved. But painting feels like a more solitary profession/hobby. Though I’m guessing it’s a painting school or something, which justifies the concentration of them.

(Image Source: Palette Parade)

In the end, the men are the main attraction. But I wonder how many people look at this game or start playing it because it’s about painters. I guess I have a hard time seeing the appeal of a painting vs. a music school and what would drive you to choose one over the other.

Either way, you gotta stand out somehow. 

Final Fantasy XIV – Taking on a Life of its Own

I keep seeing a lot of praise for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers.

Ever since E3 I’ve basically been bombarded with people talking about Final Fantasy XIV.  As someone who played Final Fantasy XI, and enjoyed FFXIV pre-A Realm Reborn, it’s been bizarre to see the game rise to such heights. Especially since online Final Fantasy titles had been largely shunned.

Final Fantasy XIV has gotten away from what I liked about it in the first place. I stopped playing consistently around 2.3. Though I still love the world and characters, so I constantly return to it only to struggle with enjoying the actual game part. It also doesn’t help that I don’t have nearly the free time as I used to.

I’m glad it found its audience. In some ways, it makes me feel better about about how much of 1.0 has been stripped away from the game. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sum up why I have so much trouble with modern FFXIV. Being apart from it for half a decade has only made it harder to organize my thoughts. I can barely recognize the game now.

But I think even if I know I’ll never completely enjoy it, I’ll keep trying to find something to make me love its modern iteration.