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Bizarre redesigns of game characters.

Crash has a lot of dumb redesigns and some have already been posted. Here's Uka Uka.

Before
chukawoc.jpg

After
 
I actually.. quite.. fancy that redesign in general.

Surely has to be this - the thread, though?

Eh they were going from generic buzzcut guy to slightly less generic guy with hair.

I liked it.

There are some bad ones in this thread but I think most people just don't enjoy change from what they know.
 
To be fair, Cole in IF1 was just a generic Buzzcut McWhitedude. It was an incredibly boring design that you saw in 40 other games released the same year. At least IF2 Cole looks like an actual character.
 
Speaking objectively, I don't think it gets any more ridiculous than Bomberman Zero. I mean, that took the whole "grimdark" joke DEAD seriously. Konami thought that was the shit western gamers wanted to see.



Ah yes, I remember this. This was the day that Amano broke both his hands and had his eyes gouged, so he had to hold the pen with his feet and just sort of guess.

amanos parom porom are more like this.
 

Gartooth

Member
With that new Xbox One backwards compatibility thingy happening, I remembered that Perfect Dark Zero exists and with it its weird redesign of Joanna Dark.

I get that it's a prequel to the first Perfect Dark but she's looks like a completely different person between both games. Probably helped that she was redesigned by an artist that had a distinct anime-influenced artstyle. Seems really night and day when you put these 2 official renders side-by-side.

If Perfect Dark comes back I think she needs a redesign instead of going for either of those looks. The N64 version doesn't have many distinct features, and the outfit looks horribly outdated. In that sense, I think I prefer the version of her in Perfect Dark Zero even though the outfit does look too "stylish".

Edit: Just got reminded of the horrible prototype Joanna design for PDZ. I imagine the whole game was going to be much more cartoony than what we got.

Not a fan of Blocky Banjo.

The blocky redesigns of the Banjo-Kazooie cast has really grown on me with time even though I was put off initially in the "Banjo is Back!" trailer. I think they all look way better in-game than they do in art and renders.

That and even though I do have preferences for some of the original designs, (Banjo and Kazooie mostly) Rare did do a good job on redesigning some of the cast who needed it. (Mumbo, Wumba)
 

jett

D-Member
Pretty mild example OP.

Alucard.
piI1hPA.jpg


Alucard in Castlevania Judgement
MTKbiX5.jpg


You could probably post the entire cast of characters of that game in here.
 

Fersis

It is illegal to Tag Fish in Tag Fishing Sanctuaries by law 38.36 of the GAF Wildlife Act
Blue Mary from The King of Fighters, if you don't know.

Also, as much as I love Battle Network, there are more misses than hits in terms of re-imaginings.
Nothing made by Falcoon will ever be canon. NO-THING (Though its an alt costume)
 

Marche90

Member

To be fair, it was only the clothing that was redesigned, the way the character itself is designed is more or less the same

... and with that said, I'll probably leave it at that, since I know how much the fanbase got pissed with that piece of artwork due to the clothing.
 
It also probably helps that they're separated by 5 years and two generations of console power.

Of course a lot of things can account for why Joanna's new look in PDZ but console power probably wasn't a big factor in why Rare changed her hairstyle and added more "anime" to her look. Hell, she was originally going to be even more cartoony than what she looks like now.

jodarkoverton.jpg


Fan backlash is why Rare pulled back to a slightly more realistic design she has now.
 
To be fair, Cole in IF1 was just a generic Buzzcut McWhitedude. It was an incredibly boring design that you saw in 40 other games released the same year. At least IF2 Cole looks like an actual character.

Both designs are generic shit (though the alternate one is slightly less so). One is a bald white dude, the other is a Nathan Drake ripoff.
 

Kusagari

Member
Of course a lot of things can account for why Joanna's new look in PDZ but console power probably wasn't a big factor in why Rare changed her hairstyle and added more "anime" to her look. Hell, she was originally going to be even more cartoony than what she looks like now.

Fan backlash is why Rare pulled back to a slightly more realistic design she has now.

I've always thought the more cartoony look was far better than what we ended up with for PDZ.
 

diamount

Banned
To be fair, Cole in IF1 was just a generic Buzzcut McWhitedude. It was an incredibly boring design that you saw in 40 other games released the same year. At least IF2 Cole looks like an actual character.

If you say so, Infamous's character designs have never been a strong suit.
 

pizzacat

Banned
It's a direct sequel, but the guy is *a totally different guy* that you're supposed to approach like it's the same guy. :eek:

edit:

Exactly!
I can still recognize that it's Cole, his head isn't a planet anymore but it's still Cole, he just has tattoos.
 

jett

D-Member
Xenosaga Eps 1 ---> Eps 2

Hi8Uxli.jpg


Thankfully, they struck balance with Eps 3.

"Balance"

She has the dumbest outfit of the three.

Monolith's character designs really are just awful, but personally I kind of appreciated the move to a more realistic style in EP2. Didn't really work, but I liked the idea.
 

SkyOdin

Member
Ah yes, I remember this. This was the day that Amano broke both his hands and had his eyes gouged, so he had to hold the pen with his feet and just sort of guess.

That isn't Amano art. That was art done by a different artist in US promotional material for the game.
 
Not really a fan of how Sonic's progressed in terms of design. I like Sonic 2 sonic the best.

ardur2l1eglr2jlmkwph.jpg

This image lacks a lot of the real weird designs like sonic 2006, heroes and blue arm sonic.

Unleashed sonic was a really good modern version of sonic, he even had a bit of a round belly.
 

kurahador

Member
"Balance"

She has the dumbest outfit of the three.

Monolith's character designs really are just awful, but personally I kind of appreciated the move to a more realistic style in EP2. Didn't really work, but I liked the idea.

They all have dumb outfit, you just hate bellybutton.
 
Of course a lot of things can account for why Joanna's new look in PDZ but console power probably wasn't a big factor in why Rare changed her hairstyle and added more "anime" to her look. Hell, she was originally going to be even more cartoony than what she looks like now.

jodarkoverton.jpg


Fan backlash is why Rare pulled back to a slightly more realistic design she has now.

I think perfect dark would have suited this style over her zero and perfect dark HD design. I understand she is like a female james bond in a way but unless you do it well it doesn't work.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
Condemned

Ethan from 1 to 2. They could have easily given him another name, seeing that he didn't have anything jn common with Ethan from 1. Looks, voice, behavior, totally different.
 

Village

Member
But then you have to wonder Nintendo (or Rare?) intentions in aging-up one of the few female Kongs to a teenager/adult.

I dunno, maybe they thought the design would be better. I don't believe every time someone ages a character up its for weird sexual reasons.

They already had creepy sex kong. Then again, maybe they did and i am wrong and it is creepy. I don't work or have worked at rare.

It just looks cute to me is all
 

Cryxok

Member
I feel like I'm the only one who likes the new Crash redesigns (also, love the new Uka Uka, first time seeing it) even tho most of them make no sense.
Same thing with Tiny Kong; makes no sense but I like it (I know she is supposed to be younger than Dixie).

Anyways, my contribution:
Ike's DLC outfit. I know they were using Awakening's outfits but they could've at least made a good looking artwork like Roy's or Ephraim's
 

Camjo-Z

Member
I generally don't have a problem with the redesigns in Nuts & Bolts, but they went way off-course with Humba Wumba. Not only does she look drastically different, but she's dressed more like a cowgirl than a Native American.

 

Gartooth

Member
But then you have to wonder Nintendo (or Rare?) intentions in aging-up one of the few female Kongs from a kid to a teenager.

My theory is that it was done to:

1. Make her more distinct from the much more popular Dixie Kong.

2. Make her visually larger so that her weight class in Diddy Kong Racing DS makes sense. (She was Banjo's replacement while Dixie was the replacement for Conker)

Overall, I do think her redesign might be the better of the two, but I would've preferred if they didn't age her up.

I generally don't have a problem with the redesigns in Nuts & Bolts, but they went way off-course with Humba Wumba. Not only does she look drastically different, but she's dressed more like a cowgirl than a Native American.

This was possibly the best redesign in Nuts & Bolts; old Wumba looks horrible to me.
 
With that new Xbox One backwards compatibility thingy happening, I remembered that Perfect Dark Zero exists and with it its weird redesign of Joanna Dark.

I get that it's a prequel to the first Perfect Dark but she's looks like a completely different person between both games. Probably helped that she was redesigned by an artist that had a distinct anime-influenced artstyle. Seems really night and day when you put these 2 official renders side-by-side.



Can you think if other examples of video game characters getting redesigned in a weird way?

I actually really like Joanna's look in PDZ compared to the original.

Worst for me would be Spyro and Crash. Didn't need to change at all. Became uglier.
Also tried adding "badassitude" with tattoos, angry expressions, red eyes, etc.
 
I actually.. quite.. fancy that redesign in general.

Surely has to be this - the thread, though?

I actually really digged this redesign the first time I saw it. Looks much better than the bald space marine look he had in the first game. I get that it would look weird for some to see him look so drastically different in the sequel but let's be honest: His original design was probably executivly meddled to be the most safest market research design you can give to a AAA video game white dude. Such a shame Sucker Punch bowed down to the backlash.
 

MMarston

Was getting caught part of your plan?
I actually.. quite.. fancy that redesign in general.

Surely has to be this - the thread, though?

I always liked this redesign. My reasoning from another thread a while back
I mean sure, he kinda looks generic as hell, but I'd have much preferred something more representative of some character evolution rather than copping out back bald-gritty Cole due to the fan whiplash. Like if they gave this concept more of a chance, I think they could have tweaked it further to a point where strikes a balance that'll satisfy Infamous 1 fans in some way.

It was even more jarring that his new voice and dialogue for the game was clearly meant for this redesign.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
So I went digging for more pics from the Twilight Zone that spawned Goblin Palom and Porom

Behold, Merchant Rydia and Fabulous-Bare-Thighs-and-Ass Kain

Dm64qOql.jpg


tjGzynnl.jpg
 
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