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[RM8]

Lol at the Kirby mentions. He's even more versatile than Mario, he's pretty much the king of awesome spin-offs that make sense because he's a successful mascot. He's supposed to be simple, you know, not artsy or pretentious or too-cool-for-school.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

6 pages and no Rex?

Hes cool because he has a skateboard.

 

[SixStringPsycho]

Both of them

 

[TheOGB]

Both of them

I thought that was supposed to be Cool Spot

That motherfucker is legit

 

[JBtheHunter]

Sony is not good at all at designing characters. Rather than coming up with timeless designs, they feel the need to cater to what's cool at the time. Even today. The only major Playstation mascots who I feel have always had great designs are Parappa (A flat, square headed, innocent looking dog with beanie and baggy pants... Awesome), Sly Cooper (I've always loved his design. Very classy) and Kratos (Considering the type of game he's from, it's really not that hard).

 

[gogojira]

Definitely worse designs, but singling out Mario is pretty funny ... or ridiculous; probably both. Knack was one of those games I was originally excited for but having seen it at E3 it looks like such a bore in all directions.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I disagree with the Crash Bandicoot mentions. Coco though? Hate her all you want.

 

[Manu]

6 pages and no Rex?

Hes cool because he has a skateboard.

I loved that game! It was dark as fuck.

 

[Flink]

Knack looks pretty okay to me. It's a harmless design.

Old DK renders can get pretty hideous.

]

HAHAHAHAH! I am dying here!

 

[HeelPower]

Knack looks great and adorable...I can't believe he is already considered bad.

 

[ReDelicious]

I played the shit out of that.

Spoiler

But I agree.

 

[GillianSeed79]

Alex the Kidd. Before there was Sonic, this was Sega's mascot:

Exhibit A:

I mean, look at this character. For starters, he looks like Dany DeVito's bastard son if Dany DeVito had an orgy in Studio 54 in the 1970's and empregnated an Ewok genetically crossed with a Hobbit. He's also fat, he sucks at jump kicking and his wardrobe is stolen from the first season of Saturday Night Live.

Exhibit B:

This is the Sega Master System cover for Alex the Kidd in Miracle World.

But what's this?:

Notice anything? This is proof that Dany DeVito pressured Sega to whitewash the fact he had unprotected sex with an Ewok genetically crossed with Bilbo Baggins during a cocaine-fueled orgy at Studio 54 in June 1977.

Exhibit C:

Now, this is somewhat precient. At first glance Alex looks like he's fighting a ninja. Look closer. Look at his face. Not only was he born premature because his mother was addicted to crack cocaine at the time Dany DeVito empregnated her during the orgy at Studio 54, he also suffers from chronic juvenile diabetes. He's not fighting the ninja, he's actually undergoing a black market surgery to amputate his diabetes infected hand.

Sega wanted to be done with Alex at this point they were so embarrassed by him. To prove this, this is the art that appeared on the SMS cartridge for that game:

Exhibit D:

Not many people know this, but Alex was a CIA operative during the proxy war between Russia and the U.S. during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

This is him posing with some of his friends he met in the Mujahideen:

Exhibit E:

This is where Alex, disillusioned with his diabetes and the atrocities he committed in Afghanistan succumbs to a crippling addiction to gambling and alcohol:

Exhibit F:

This was the tribute game Sega put out after Alex was found dead in a bathtub in Las Vegas in a hooker's hotel room. Sonic read the eulogy.The autopsy determined Alex died of diabetes and alcohol poisoning. Coincedentally this was also the basis for the original screenplay for the film Leaving Las Vegas.

 

[SummitAve]

Anime anything. Especially with chains or gigantic swords.

 

[I'M FINISHED!]

The characters in Knack look like something you would have seen on Saturday morning in the late nineties. Look kiddies, computer produced shape things!

 

[Otsukare]

Really?
Pretty sure Drake was (one of) the first characters of that type. Roid monsters were all the hype at the time.

Not sure about that. Neither of these was hopped up on roids

Chris Redfield (1996)
Leon Kennedy (2005)

Uncharted was only released 2 years after Bio 4.

 

[Toa TAK]

He shouldn't have been the mascot. He's just a blank slate, generic representation of the player.

That's the point. =(

 

[Callibretto]

so glad there are no mention of Tomba, Sly, and Klonoa in this thread ;-)

 

[TMaakkonen]

Lets create best Character/mascots designs thread and watch as some of the characters here will be listed there.

I wonder if hate for Knack's design is because he looks like Crash, who also has design people seem to hate.

(Not me, I dont get you people. . . What is even wrong with Crash? The grin? Jeans?)

 

[Uncle Rupee]

Knack isn't that bad. He reminds me of the old My Pet Monster cartoon / books.
There's quite a few worse examples in this thread than Knack.

 

[JBtheHunter]

so glad there are no mention of Tomba, Sly, and Klonoa in this thread ;-)

I mentioned Sly...

Spoiler

His design is brilliant

 

[Arc Christelle]

Don't know why you are complaining about Drake when hes much more unique compared to the bald generic military ops shooter that never talks.

I thought Drake had a great personality. Don't find him bland at all, or unoriginal. Hes just your everyday normal guy who manages to appeal to everyone.

The best part about Drake is he comes off as memorable despite the fact that I didn't play many Uncharted games until 2012 and didn't get into it until 2013. Probably the best new character to come out of the heap of shit last generation.


If I wanted mediocre uninspired main characters I would probably look at the main character from Vanquish [/B](even his name passes my head because he wasn't that memorable at all, and if it wasn't for his suit he would be even more of a edgy tryhard) and Nathan Hale (trying to go master chief in Fall of Man to represent the player was good, but I never truly understood him), Resistance 2 made things just extremely worse and that old personality of him died inside and he became more generic and didn't represent the player. Might have been deadalus but Hale was better off with no personality than with a personality. I preferred Angry Capelli and compassionate Resistance 3 Capelli over Resistance 2 Hale any day. It didn't help that he went with the bald military appearance (although it was early gen when he came in before the influx of these types of characters).

My most despised character designs is Kirby though. Its not the fact that its simple but I can't stand a pink blob with wobbly arms and legs attached to it. Just seems like a lazy half-assed wad of floating bubblegum to me with the most annoying taunt ever and voice. I hate everything about him.


EDIT: Oh god, I'm glad I'm not alone on the Kirby hate. What a useless pile of shit. Hes the one character I have always loved to wail on in smash bros games.

.

Man did you really just praise Nathan Drake while bashing on Sam fucking Gideon and Kirby?

Nathan Drake is so bland and boring, Playstation All-Stars lost value just for having his wack ass on the cover.

Sam & Kirby > Drake

so glad there are no mention of Tomba, Sly, and Klonoa in this thread ;-)

Please don't encourage them, I love Klonoa, the fact that Pac-Man is getting a new game and not him is beyond me. ;_;

 

[JBtheHunter]

Please don't encourage them, I love Klonoa, the fact that Pac-Man is getting a new game and not him is beyond me. ;_;

Pac-Man is getting a new game because it's based on that awful TV show... but also because he's a million times more well known than Klonoa, he might even be more well known than Mario. Pac-Man should be getting new games on a regular basis. Namco just doesn't know how to handle him in the same way Capcom doesn't know how to handle Mega Man.

 

[RM8]

According to research and facts, people who don't like Kirby live shorter, less fulfilling lives and are more prone to be victims of email scams.

 

[DICKS AHOY]

while all game mascots are objectively terrible we're really just needlessly killing other people's childhood heroes in this thread stop it STOP IT

 

[pillowtalk]

rayman.

I have to agree. I can't even tell what he is or what he's supposed to be. Maybe a lemming with phantom limbs. But why though.

 

[Raziel]

Mario - the bright, primary colors are pleasing, but that's about it. Far fewer people have ever wanted to don his red cap + thick black mustache, than Mickey Mouse ears.

Luigi, Waluigi, Wario - the latter two are aggressively ugly. Warioware is an awesome game though.

Banjo - his N64 incarnation is awkward in how it's like a bear merged with an ape (hands and feet).

Donkey Kong - the friends especially are again just awkward.

Kirby - don't think much explanation is necessary here, the games and (lack of) fanbase speaks for itself.

Starfox - was never a looker, but hoo boy, really got hit with the ugly stick in the leap to the GC.

Animal crossing things - what the hell are these things.


It's part of the reason, really, it's difficult for me to get into Nintendo games; those mascots are rough.

On the flip side: Pikachu is pretty instantly and effortlessly mascot ready, Samus is pretty bold if odd looking, BFD sold me on Conker. I'm split on Link though. I like him as a concept (the young boy who would be "legendary hero"), but can't get away from the fact he actually looks pretty goofy and wears a dress.

 

[TheOGB]

Mario - the bright, primary colors are pleasing, but that's about it. Far fewer people have ever wanted to don his red cap + thick black mustache, than Mickey Mouse ears.

Luigi, Waluigi, Wario - the latter two are aggressively ugly. Warioware is an awesome game though.

Banjo - his N64 incarnation is awkward in how it's like a bear merged with an ape (hands and feet).

Donkey Kong - the friends especially are again just awkward.

Kirby - don't think much explanation is necessary here, the games and (lack of) fanbase speaks for itself.

Starfox - was never a looker, but hoo boy, really got hit with the ugly stick in the leap to the GC.

Animal crossing things - what the hell are these things.


It's part of the reason, really, it's difficult for me to get into Nintendo games; those mascots are rough.

On the flip side: Pikachu is pretty instantly and effortlessly mascot ready, Samus is pretty bold if odd looking, BFD sold me on Conker. I'm split on Link though. I like him as a concept (the young boy who would be "legendary hero"), but can't get away from the fact he actually looks pretty goofy and wears a dress.

the fuck is this

Spoiler

and Wario/Waluigi are supposed to be ugly, they're the hatin' ass rivals of the main guys

 

[ResidentDante]

Alex the Kidd. Before there was Sonic, this was Sega's mascot:

Exhibit A:



I mean, look at this character. For starters, he looks like Dany DeVito's bastard son if Dany DeVito had an orgy in Studio 54 in the 1970's and empregnated an Ewok genetically crossed with a Hobbit. He's also fat, he sucks at jump kicking and his wardrobe is stolen from the first season of Saturday Night Live.

Exhibit B:

This is the Sega Master System cover for Alex the Kidd in Miracle World.



But what's this?:



Notice anything? This is proof that Dany DeVito pressured Sega to whitewash the fact he had unprotected sex with an Ewok genetically crossed with Bilbo Baggins during a cocaine-fueled orgy at Studio 54 in June 1977.

Exhibit C:



Now, this is somewhat precient. At first glance Alex looks like he's fighting a ninja. Look closer. Look at his face. Not only was he born premature because his mother was addicted to crack cocaine at the time Dany DeVito empregnated her during the orgy at Studio 54, he also suffers from chronic juvenile diabetes. He's not fighting the ninja, he's actually undergoing a black market surgery to amputate his diabetes infected hand.

Sega wanted to be done with Alex at this point they were so embarrassed by him. To prove this, this is the art that appeared on the SMS cartridge for that game:



Exhibit D:

Not many people know this, but Alex was a CIA operative during the proxy war between Russia and the U.S. during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

This is him posing with some of his friends he met in the Mujahideen:



Exhibit E:

This is where Alex, disillusioned with his diabetes and the atrocities he committed in Afghanistan succumbs to a crippling addiction to gambling and alcohol:



Exhibit F:

This was the tribute game Sega put out after Alex was found dead in a bathtub in Las Vegas in a hooker's hotel room. Sonic read the eulogy.The autopsy determined Alex died of diabetes and alcohol poisoning. Coincedentally this was also the basis for the original screenplay for the film Leaving Las Vegas.

Hahaha, WTF?!

 

[Arc Christelle]

Mario - the bright, primary colors are pleasing, but that's about it. Far fewer people have ever wanted to don his red cap + thick black mustache, than Mickey Mouse ears.

Luigi, Waluigi, Wario - the latter two are aggressively ugly. Warioware is an awesome game though.

Banjo - his N64 incarnation is awkward in how it's like a bear merged with an ape (hands and feet).

Donkey Kong - the friends especially are again just awkward.

Kirby - don't think much explanation is necessary here, the games and (lack of) fanbase speaks for itself.

Starfox - was never a looker, but hoo boy, really got hit with the ugly stick in the leap to the GC.

Animal crossing things - what the hell are these things.


It's part of the reason, really, it's difficult for me to get into Nintendo games; those mascots are rough.

On the flip side: Pikachu is pretty instantly and effortlessly mascot ready, Samus is pretty bold if odd looking, BFD sold me on Conker. I'm split on Link though. I like him as a concept (the young boy who would be "legendary hero"), but can't get away from the fact he actually looks pretty goofy and wears a dress.

 

[zoukka]

I honestly have no idea how a short, fat, strange, weird sounding and looking character managed to become the face of a genre and gaming company Strangest design ever.

Because his design was born out of platform limitations. He was a carpenter/plumber because that allowed him to go to pretty much anywhere. His hat is there to hide the hair that would've been tricky to animate for arcade/NES back then. The moustache and the overalls are there to divide the original sprite in interesting and clearly visible layers of visual interest.

So yeah he's an amazing character exactly because he was designed like all the other classical characters. Out of medium limitations. Not because they wanted him to be rad/cute/cool/, but because of pure visual functionality. The parallels to characters like Mickey Mouse are apparent in that regard.

So yeah all in all he's the complete opposite of bad character design.

(I don't know why I even bother, these threads always devolve into naming characters out of games that people don't play and aren't on their precious platform of choice)

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Mario - the bright, primary colors are pleasing, but that's about it. Far fewer people have ever wanted to don his red cap + thick black mustache, than Mickey Mouse ears.

That's because Nintendo keeps rejecting my suggestions for a Nintendo theme park. If there was a place you could actually buy Mario hats, I'm sure more kids would wear them.

Also, to be anecdotal, when I give out candy on Halloween I never NEVER saw a kid dressed up as Mickey but there's always at least one Mario every year. Last year there were three (one was a parent :/ ).

 

[pitcairn55]

I used to think that everyone had light within them. That no matter how grouchy, ill-tempered and uncaring they appeared to be on the outside, you could reach deep inside them and find that common spark of humanity, the thing a religious person might describe as a soul.

And yet here in this thread we have people hating on Sackboy.

Not singling out RSLAEV as being especially soulless, but this post…

No costume will make that thing look like anything other than the soul-less byproduct of CEO boardroom meetings and aggressive focus group testing.

…made me wonder about Sackboy’s genesis, and that in turn lead me to this entertaining article on MediaMolecule’s blog, about how he was designed.

As for Knack, I love him. I mean, I quite liked him before this thread, but now I totally love him, the poor little/big ugly pointy bastard.

 

[Xbudz]

Azurik

 

[2+2=5]

Uhmmm....

 

[BGBW]

Anime anything. Especially with chains or gigantic swords.

I'm assuming this is the mascot to Generic Anime Games with Swords Ltd.

 

[Dug]

Waluigi, Wario - the latter two are aggressively ugly. Warioware is an awesome game though..

Waluigi and Wario are awesome though! I think I might prefer their designs to Luigi and Mario.

 

[sublimit]

so glad there are no mention of Tomba, Sly, and Klonoa in this thread ;-)

Tomba and Klonoa are two of the best designed mascot characters of all time for me but you never know with GAF.

 

[Xbudz]

Uhmmm....

^Holy Shit.


Also:

James Pond is shit.

 

[Alx]

And yet here in this thread we have people hating on Sackboy.

Not singling out RSLAEV as being especially soulless, but this post…



…made me wonder about Sackboy’s genesis, and that in turn lead me to this entertaining article on MediaMolecule’s blog, about how he was designed.

Those Sackboy death animations are hilarious. They didn't make it into the final product, did they ? That's a shame, it would really raise my interest in the game (and by extension, in the console).

 

[Xbudz]

NiGHTS & company.

 

[Daingurse]

Azurik

Haha, Jesus Christ . . this must be post- Avatar it just has to be!

Edit: Nope, predates Avatar by quite a bit. Never heard of this game before, and I remember a lot of obscure Xbox shit.

 

[Sapphire Dreams]

Really bad and I actually don't mind Knack.

 

[Thrakier]

He shouldn't have been the mascot. He's just a blank slate, generic representation of the player.

Well, some people would say that this is the reason why he fits MS so well.

 

[Xbudz]

Uniracers?

 

[JawzPause]

I don't know why they stuck with Knack, especially considering Mark Cerny is behind the game. Not only does the character look bland, but the environments (besides the ice cave) look very dull and empty. With the PS4 hardware behind it, you would expect rich & beautiful environments. I'm still willing to give the game a chance, but come on Cerny I expected better!

 

[zoukka]

I don't know why they stuck with Knack, especially considering Mark Cerny is behind the game. Not only does the character look bland, but the environments (besides the ice cave) look very dull and empty. With the PS4 hardware behind it, you would expect rich & beautiful environments. I'm still willing to give the game a chance, but come on Cerny I expected better!

Rich and beautiful scenery is an artistic achievement first.

 

[show me your skeleton]

plok gets a free pass because of the soundtrack:

plok - main theme

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

NiGHTS & company.

Lay off the crack pipe son

and lol @ mario. These are the same people who want mario third party.

 

[nelsonroyale]

I honestly have no idea how a short, fat, strange, weird sounding and looking character managed to become the face of a genre and gaming company Strangest design ever.

It is awesome.

 

[Fret]

.