They look like Japanese boy bands (real life humans)
All I'm seeing is anime puppets with skin textures apparently.
I guess that works for SE, but for the sake of this thread it doesn't make much sense.
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Anyone else getting bored of the pretty boy/girl Final Fantasy protagonists?
- Thread starter Sea lion
- Start date
All I'm seeing is anime puppets with skin textures apparently.
I guess that works for SE, but for the sake of this thread it doesn't make much sense.
How does asking for better representation of skin colors other than white or pale deny Asian people of their ethnicity? The characters being Asian does not change that underlying critique.
That person called the characters white just like you did in the post I quoted, how is he not denying asian people of their ethnicity by calling them white and I'm promoting colorism by clarifying they're asian? There's no such thing as a white asian, that's racist and western centric as fuck
Using this image is fucking disingenuous to be honest
Thats how the characters were homogenized for Dissidia, or for some other marketing thing. Thats not how 80% of those characters looked when the games were in development with specific marketing made for them. Would I like more variety? Sure, but that goes for every game out there, its not like Final Fantasy is the one big culprit
Thats how the characters were homogenized for Dissidia, or for some other marketing thing. Thats not how 80% of those characters looked when the games were in development with specific marketing made for them. Would I like more variety? Sure, but that goes for every game out there, its not like Final Fantasy is the one big culprit
Someone needs to tell them they are not Japanese because of their skin color. That is the verdict of the ethnicity experts on this website.They look like Japanese boy bands (real life humans)
There's a difference between a clarification and using it as an excuse for why the status quo is acceptable. I don't find the argument that Japanese people simply want to represent themselves compelling, especially when there is an overwhelming emphasis on Eurasian beauty standards and an apparent preference for fair skin. It ignores the heart of the argument. If I misinterpreted you, I apologize.
OP
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Nah, but they look like doll versions of them with added Euro features sure.They look like Japanese boy bands (real life humans)
If they did there wouldn't be mass confusion whether FF characters were Asian or White. That's the thing with anime, it generally excludes a lot of racial features and nuances in favour of everyone looking "perfect".
I believe they're supposed to be Asian, but heavily stylized. Its why Ghost of Tsushima made the rounds. God forbid we represent people as they are. Japan is so focused on this that they actually called Jin ugly and docked it points for not having pristine waifu characters.
It would be nice to play a FF with characters that looked like actual ethnicities instead of soft ass anime white people more often. Lost Odyssey is the last FF I think I really enjoyed and the were we to spice things up in that regard.
What do you want? Different body types or skin tones? I'm fine with either, just trying to gauge the community wants.
He has feathered hair. Lol
I mean, sure, this is an attractive man but... I don't get "anime pretty boy" vibes.
Any combination of things that differentiate human beings from each other more than they currently do.
That doesn't imply turning them into hideous toothless monster people like suggested here. I honestly don't think the way we present humanity on a screen has been for the best at all (across media in general).
Square is still on that retro Disney formula of only the villains can be imperfect in their complexion, but even then a lot of the time they still look like perfect androids.
They've lost me.
Look at ghost of Tsushima and the ordinary looking characters in it. I'd rather those then the weird FF characters
Look at ghost of Tsushima and the ordinary looking characters in it. I'd rather those then the weird FF characters
"Pretty" characters is just a staple of the series at this point. I wouldn't go into your average western RPG with a more gruff, realistic style and demand that everyone turns into a bishonen, because that's not what the series is aiming for.
In terms of diversity, however, I agree. The amount of notable black characters I can think of in the entire series can be counted on one hand, and only Terra and the girls from X-2 are repping the ladies in terms of lead roles (unless you stretch and include Ashe).
I also see the whole 'anime is white people' thing far too often and it makes me fairly uncomfortable - I'm fairly certain that the Japanese artstyle, created in Japan by Japanese people, is not solely creating white characters. While I definitely agree on needing more diverse cast members in the games, I think writing the current cast off as white is severely missing the point.
In terms of diversity, however, I agree. The amount of notable black characters I can think of in the entire series can be counted on one hand, and only Terra and the girls from X-2 are repping the ladies in terms of lead roles (unless you stretch and include Ashe).
I also see the whole 'anime is white people' thing far too often and it makes me fairly uncomfortable - I'm fairly certain that the Japanese artstyle, created in Japan by Japanese people, is not solely creating white characters. While I definitely agree on needing more diverse cast members in the games, I think writing the current cast off as white is severely missing the point.
This is absurd because western RPG's generally suffer from the same lack of diversity, just a little less sometimes. Absolutely demand more from both. This isn't one or the other being opposite ends of any kind of spectrum of visual identity that's set in stone.
Euro features? Looking perfect? Artists with anime-like style are just making that, characters in a different style. It has its roots in western cartoons not western people. It's intentionally not going for complete realism.
The matter with bishounen protagonists has nothing to do with that.
Also you're taking the sparse comments about Jin's appearance way too seriously.
Anyway, I'm all for more diversity in skin color and gender, but Final Fantasy should still keep the style it has until now.
And Lightning and Serah?
Ashe shares the spotlight with too many people but so does Terra so idk how you count her and not Ashe.
As I said, I absolutely agree that diversity needs to be seen in FF as a series, and also I agree that it needs to be seen in western games also. But I wasn't referring to diversity at that point as much as I was artstyle.
In a grittier game, characters will looks more gruff than in the likes of FF, wherein the characters look more "boyband"-esque. These games have their own visual identity and there's no reason they can't stick to them if they so choose (unlike matters of diversity, where I'd argue they have a moral imperative to broaden their character catalogue). It might not appeal to you in particular, but will still appeal to their core base.
I knew I forgot someone, thank you. And I chose Terra because she's basically the face of FFVI while the face for FFXII, for better or worse, is Vaan. It was more a wry joke at how Ashe has far more importance to the plot despite not being given the actual spotlight.
I'm no Final Fantasy expert, but surely certain characters are unambiguously considered white, right? I think it'd be weird for someone to look at Cloud and say "yeah, that's a blue-eyed, blonde-haired... Japanese dude!" If we can say Barret is black (which he obviously is), then we can say Cloud is white.
Not even trying to go all in-depth with a "guess the race of these Final Fantasy characters" game of some sort, just saying that for certain characters, it's quite evident what their race is, and it ain't always Japanese.
Okay, as long as white is "light skinned" and not european-race-white. Japanese people can have blue eyes, and the combination of Cloud's haircut and hair color have more to do with the "delinquent" archetype, and while Cloud specifically doesn't dyes his hair, the delinquent archetype frequently does.
between this and the vtuber thread there sure seems to be a lot of weird asian racism happening on this forum just days after the staff closed and hid the asian community feedback thread
Cloud doesn't really have any Asian features. They can say he's Japanese if they want, but again, that'd be like saying Barret is Japanese, when all of us can clearly see he's a black man.
If Cloud doesn't dye his hair, then it seems he's a blonde white dude. Not saying that's a positive or negative, it's just what the character is. Of the four playable characters in 7R, only Tifa has more Asian looking features, I'd say.
I have no objections whatsoever to a racially diverse protagonist or a lgbtq protagonist. In fact I would prefer it these days just to get some variety from the usual cookie cutter BS, but if I'm going to spend the majority of my time playing and looking at a character I would prefer the character actually look nice either through their physical features or their overall design.
That's not to say that there shouldn't be other options for other people if they want to create their character a certain way or just have some kind of alternative option. I'm just saying I personally would prefer my character to look nice in general. If I'm going to be going on adventures spanning an entire world I just would personally prefer my character to be young and athletic. That's just my personal preference though.
That's not to say that there shouldn't be other options for other people if they want to create their character a certain way or just have some kind of alternative option. I'm just saying I personally would prefer my character to look nice in general. If I'm going to be going on adventures spanning an entire world I just would personally prefer my character to be young and athletic. That's just my personal preference though.
You could tell me they reused character models from FFXV and I would believe you.
Asia isn't exempt from having severe colorism issues and going after eurocentric beauty ideals. It's a problem everywhere.
And before you pull the western view point bullshit I am literally from and live in asia.
And before you pull the western view point bullshit I am literally from and live in asia.
Lol, I tried to make my Skyrim character look good, but was impossible.
Young protagonists are very rare in western AAA games. I remember 3: Spider-Man, TLOU 2 and HZD.
What's the problem with a few JRPG series with them?
FF12 has one of the least diverse casts in the series
its 5 blondes and a walking sex rabbit
It just dawned on me: Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith (and many other light-skinned anime characters in fantasy settings) are neither asian or white. In a meta way, they're white people as portrayed by japanese stage actors.
Massive FF fan (icon makes that obvious...) but yes I'm quite sick of this trend. I don't see it changing however.
Beyond the obvious lack of POC in FF, the equally large issue to me is the lack of characters that are over 20-25 years old. Why not have a protagonist that is 40+. Perhaps that even plays into the overall story, etc.
Beyond the obvious lack of POC in FF, the equally large issue to me is the lack of characters that are over 20-25 years old. Why not have a protagonist that is 40+. Perhaps that even plays into the overall story, etc.
I love how varied the characters designs in 9 are. Too bad it's very unlikely to see in modern FF aside from maybe 14 depending on your party.Meeeeh. FF9 models look...sorta goofy. :/
They look like more anime versions of Dark Crystal muppets lol
But also the girls look more standard "typical pretty women" (can't make girls weird/unique looking!! no one wants to fuck that) compared to the fellas. Brahne was, but it was played for laughs (and totally unexplained why she's blue).
He doesn't have any asian features? I've just explained how his hair color comes from a archetype of japanese characters, his facial features are are similar to Tifa's and Aerith's. Barret is a completely different different case.
Nothing about the presentation or coding or mannerisms of Cloud makes him any less japanese than Tifa.
They are mixed, white mom Asian dad. That's the look they always go for, lets make white people comfortable when looking at our characters.