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Let's have a discussion about Final Fantasy character design

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
So recently, I've just sort of accepted that I'm d.finals successor in his labors of love, except with the entire franchise instead of just limiting my fanatical devotion and fervent lunacy to FFXV. So what better way to have a coming out party than discussing the character design, weapon design, monster design, area design, outfit design, AESTHETIC DESIGN of the series. But let's start with character/outfit/weapon and get to the other stuff some other time.

Everyone has an opinion about this, ranging from those invested in the franchise, to those memeing on Nomura's zipper kink, to those who haven't played a single game because fuck that weeb shit. I want to hear from all of you.

Favorite designs? Shittiest designs? Does a specific weapon suit the character who wields it or the outfit they wear? Favorite alternate outfits? Favorite iteration of a character (i.e. numbered entry, Dissidia, Kingdom Hearts, whatever)

I'm intrigued.

I'll give my answers after I get some sleep, but this thread was inspired by how startlingly similar Headmaster Cid Kramer in FFVIII is to Robin Williams. Make of that what you will.

I liked FFXV.

Godspeed.
 

ParaSeoul

Member
file_18250_final_fantasy_x1_001.jpg
 

Astral Dog

Member
imo FINAL FANTASY in general is very well designed, from art to music, combat and character design. ( with a few stinkers sure, but there are a lot more winners)

and that has been a big part of why the series has remained so popular since its conception.

Worst character design? Probably some spinoff like Final Fantasy tactics 2 or other stuff, i get not liking Nomura's designs but he knows how to catch gamers attention
 

Elysion

Banned
FF8 has the best designs. Mostly realistic, but with just a dash of Japanese flamboyance to not make them look boring. FF7 is too much anime, FF9 is too cartoonish, FF10 has some cool designs but Tidus in particular is a bit too flamboyant for my tastes (and Wakka looks retarded). FF15 is too much JPop, and FF12 is too generic (except for Balthier; he’s great). FF13 has Lightning, who looks awesome, though some of the others are kinda meh.

FF8 is peak Nomura, and pulled off the “fantasy based on reality” thing way better than FF15 (I’m only talking about the characters in FF8 itself, not their newer renditions in spin-offs like the Dissidia games, which are way more anime-fied).
 
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I Master l

Banned
Never played a FF game except few hours of FF10 and i think most character designs
in FF games look hideous, FF16 is a step in the right direction IMO
 
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Pejo

Member
XII has the best overall character design in the series. Realistic proportions and no Nomura zippers. Balthier, Reddas, and the judges in particular look great.
Almost, Vaan was improved about 97% with just a white collared shirt and Penelo looks fantastic in Revenant Wings. They were so close to a perfect party though, I agree.

As far as armor designs, FFXI pretty much destroys the other numbered entries, even XIV's mishmash of stuff. The GOAT adaptation of the original (Mithra Red Mage):

77eL2bP.jpg

GKjyTxA.jpg
 

dispensergoinup

Gold Member
I like the evolving design for the Warrior of Light in FFXIV.

Mainline games, the modern designs from FF13 and FF15 haven't really gelled with me yet, since I like more traditional fantasy aesthetics.

I do love the the earlier game designs say from FF6 and back, seeing their versions on Strangers of Paradise and FFXIV made me happy.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
I think I really favor VII, VIII and XII for character designs. I admit, at the time in my life when I first was introduced to FFVII, I was totally into the Shonen scene, and to this day, I believe that that style was utilized in VII more purposefully than in any other title in the franchise. Beyond Nomura being a Japanese artist, the character art just screamed late 90's anime more than his work in VIII or X. Lots of spiky hair, long coats, collars, pauldrons. It just resonated with me.

VIII was cool because each character had a color and style that made them stand out in scenes. Color association plays a bigger role in story telling than it's often given credit for. See Breaking Bad for an example. In VIII, though, you have the stoic, quiet, withdrawn Squall head to toe in black. Creates a sense of unapproachable introversion. Selphie in bright yellow plays to her chipper, sunny disposition. Rinoa has the angel motif paired with the sky blue outfit to denote a warm, dreamy type, with hints to her ascension to a more powerful being. It's great shit.
 

emivita

Member
VIII was cool because each character had a color and style that made them stand out in scenes. Color association plays a bigger role in story telling than it's often given credit for. See Breaking Bad for an example. In VIII, though, you have the stoic, quiet, withdrawn Squall head to toe in black. Creates a sense of unapproachable introversion. Selphie in bright yellow plays to her chipper, sunny disposition. Rinoa has the angel motif paired with the sky blue outfit to denote a warm, dreamy type, with hints to her ascension to a more powerful being. It's great shit.

Irvine wears brown because he's shit. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 

Elysion

Banned
Regarding FF6, I think the CG renders of the characters (especially Terra) from the PS1 version still are the best versions of those characters, since they look the closest to Amano’s art, as opposed to the more anime style newer renditions.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I prefer the old, more high fantasy designs, over the later ones. Specially hate all the zippers and belts stuff, always looked weird and non-sensical to me.
 
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Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
FF design was great in the old days. Now we are to believe during FF1 people wore sneakers and Shop at old navy.


STRANGER-OF-PARADISE-FINAL-FANTASY-ORIGIN_20220307211331.jpg

SOP has a lotta problems but costume design ain’t one. Those are just the defaults that you’ll replace 5 minutes into the game. That game hands out gear like candy :)

And yes the new clothes you get appear during cutscenes!
 

NahaNago

Member
Yuna is the prettiest among all and is my Videogame crush .

Her design in FFX is perfect and timeless .

DrpKMQiXcAAHjHk.jpg
Nah, the outfit looks weird. First off she has a bikini top and then a towel wrapped around her chest acting as a top with a kimono thingy keeping the towel in place. Plus those army things are weird too. It looks nice but seems weird.
 
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RoboFu

One of the green rats
SOP has a lotta problems but costume design ain’t one. Those are just the defaults that you’ll replace 5 minutes into the game. That game hands out gear like candy :)

And yes the new clothes you get appear during cutscenes!
Yeah I’ve just finished it. The optimize gear function doesn’t work very well as just seems to go by the higher defense attack stats but that’s another conversation…

The problem is the retro fitting modern day clothes and future tech in the world at all. It’s dumb and devalues the original game.

It’s a fun game despite that though.
 
Google Nooj from FFX-2 so we know the outer limit on the awful side.

Otherwise I find they get it right more often than wrong, especially among the main cast. Secondary and background characters fare much worse.
 

Myths

Member
AmanoSteiner.jpg
I’m biased because I’m into the whole high fantasy adorned designs that were sketched by Amano.


Amano_Maria.jpg
 
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NeoIkaruGAF

Gold Member
I really, really, really don’t like Yoshitaka Amano’s style. I mean, the guy’s drawing skills are insane, but all of his characters are so ethereal and impersonal. None of his portraits manages to convey a single thing about the character. And some of his clothes designs are as messy as Nomura’s. You can barely make sense of what you’re seeing in some of his art. I think it was a good thing the tech wasn’t there to render his art faithfully in-game when he was the series’s main artist.

Early Nomura was really good. FF 7 and 8’s designs are just great. Pretty simple and effective, nothing too fancy, the clothing is reasonable on everyone. Then with FFX he went crazy - it’s like he developed a grudge against symmetry for some reason. Yuna’s design is beautiful, but of course she had to have eyes of different colors because symmetry is bad. And almost everyone else in the game doesn’t make a lick of sense.

FF12 and 13 are good, design-wise. You may not like the characters, but they’re not that extreme and some of the designs are really good.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
FF7
Parasite Eve
FF8

Late 90s Nomura was pure kino. Just the right combination of style and realism. Once we got to belt-dress Lulu and clown-shoes Sora it all started going downhill. (And I think Lulu is hot but lets be honest she looks fucking ridiculous.)
 

ResurrectedContrarian

Suffers with mild autism
I'm just happy that the FFVII remake actually didn't ruin the character designs. All the upgrades felt cohesive with the original vision, and there wasn't even much of anything in the way of politically censoring the old designs to "update" them.
 

Fbh

Member

Square had a weird androgynous protagonist phase between IX and XII.

Which was specially bad because the other characters in those games have some awesome designs.
Like Vivi is one of the best looking and most iconic characters in the franchise but then the main character is like Meg Ryan if she was a midget:
inal-fantasy-9-1620x800-2-1024x506.jpg


Then we graduated to full size Meg Ryan in FFX which sucks because the rest of the cast like Yuna and Auron look pretty good.

Then go to XII and we could have had one of the best casts in the franchise with Ashe, Balthier, Basch and Fran but then we have to add another weird half naked androgynous dude that looks like he is 15 and already has had too much plastic surgery.
VAAN_ART.jpg
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
I miss Yoshitaka Amano characters designs. I do like Nomura character design though

I can't lie, Amano designs never did a whole lot for me in comparison to Nomura designs. The Amano designs were prettier, but to me it always felt like Amano's art was a dream about a character and Nomura's was a sketch of a photograph, or something. Sharper lines, more defined features, darker shades of colors. Amano seemed to nail the fantastical atmosphere of the game's, but I could never picture his renditions to be representative of the characters I was playing as in the game.

Now, as far as logo designs...Amano is fucking unmatched, and nothing will ever be classier than a shiny white game case with nothing but the title of the game and his artwork on it. Also, less of an art thing, but I really enjoy how the logos of each main title tie into the storyline in some way that's (usually) not apparently obvious. XIII and XV were great for this, opinions about the overall games be damned.
 

Fuz

Banned
FF7 had the GOAT designs

Sephiroth.png
Cloud_Strife.png
FFVII designs were simple and effective. Never overdone, elegant, non plastic, stylish. Best design in the series, which is astonishing considering WHO's behind them.
Followed by Amano and IX. Also, Balthier is cool. Auron too.
 
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