Okay, wow, I didn't think that my post would garner this much debate by others, but thank you to everyone for supporting what I had said.
As to clarify about the pregnancy tangent and this will be the one and only time that I will do so because I do not wish to change the main focus of this thread into a discussion about myself, I'll go into a bit more detail to build up a case for why I said what I had said.
I grew up in a predominantly, and it honestly pains and cringes me to say this, but an "alpha male" household. That is to say, my father pre-determined the roles of my mother upon marriage and myself before I could even form my first sentence let alone a coherent word. It was a standard, 4-person family unit with a father, mother, son, and daughter...literally the iconic American family symbol that has always been portrayed as every American family's "dream" or "goal" in life since the 50s started this idealistic stigma. You have the hardworking father, the domesticated mother, the progeny son who hopes to grow up just like the dad, and the daughter who needs to be groomed into being just like the mother. This was the ideal family unit that nearly all American families needed to become or you were just not normal people. I was supposed to be just like my mom who cooked, cleaned, had children, and maybe hold a job though it shouldn't be required of me. Those were the life goals presumed for me at an early age.
With family life being ultimately perpetuated in this garbage, tradition that should have been recycled naturally as the eras change, I was nothing more than an accessory for my father. A keychain. A trophy. A cultural object that you can gladly claim that you have at Christmas parties and other social events. "Here's my son....and here's our daughter.", and notice how I say "our" and not "my". I wasn't his daughter unless my mother was present since I was only to be a carbon copy of her technically. Throughout my childhood, my choices were always questioned with "why does she need to go out with her friends? She should stay home and read", "you can't wear red, guys look at you, you're not allowed", or "you should be studying more and not be playing video games". The latter comment didn't start becoming a thing until I showed a keen interest in computers and technology at a young age. Growing up in the 90s, computer games were primarily played by men and were a hobby strictly for men mostly. It must have really ruffled my father's feathers when I started learning how to play the same games that he played, and in some cases, I was better at them towards the point that a grown adult would need to use cheat codes in order to beat a 12-year-old little girl at Command & Conquer an RTS war game. As I was growing up, he had DVD collections of Japanese hentai as well just littered throughout his bedroom in plain sight. So, not only am I an accessory to him by repressive stigmas that have steeped into families like age-old tea, but then I learn just how
worst my father's opinions and views about women truly were. That was my first brush-in with hyper, over-sexualized women in entertainment media.
Fast-forward some years later, I didn't start getting pressured until after I completed college about when grandchildren would no longer be a figment of imagination. This started at 23 and every year it was asked either by him or by other family members from my side, both men, and women, and yes...even older women predating me can fall complacent or victim to decade-old stigmas themselves without realizing it. "You need to have children or they're going to be 12 when you're 60"..."You're going to reach a point where your body will just outright reject it and then you'll never be able to feel complete"...."You're not fulfilling your role as a woman"...."You're going to miss the greatest gift that God has ever given you"....and there are
tons more just like these comments that were being directed to me the moment I was a college-educated woman. Literally, who cared about the intellectual capacity and potential that I had...the Bachelor's degree of Graphic Design that I had...I wasn't a complete package for anybody until I had a baby. This is the problem apart from the obvious medical issues that come with age. I know about them, I've discussed them with my SO, but unfortunately...I could
not get pregnant at the early ages of 20 and beyond. I was mentally and financially not ready for it, more financially than anything. I grew up in a poor, low-income middle-class family, and I sure as hell was not going to bring a child into the world to suffer in the same way that I did. It's not about the medical reasons, it's about the stigmas. It's about being told that you are exceptionally no good at anything you do until you pop out a baby. Who cares about college and trying to make sure that you have a successful and stable career for said child, I should have just had one anyway because that was the expectation set for me that I never had a voice in setting for myself. I'm sure I'm not the only woman on this planet who has had this problem either. In my early 30's now and I'm trying to have a child, who knows if it'll happen or not, but all I can do is try. And that's all that I want to say in regards towards that. Moving on with the topic...
Thinking about FFX-2, what's everyone's opinion on how the main three are handled in that game?
I remember thinking "wow Square was pretty bold to release a game starring three strong women back then." Espeically with that opening scene, I was like "this is for the pop girl loving gays like me" lol. It was a very refreshing "not appealing to the straight male gamer" situation for me.
However I've seen the dress up complaints, and I'm wondering are those just for the more revealing outfits or the "dress up women" concept in general? I haven't really played the FFs with jobs but isn't the concept carried over from those anyway? (I.e. a character changes outfits based on what job they have).
So yeah, what's everyone's opinion on the portrayal of YuRiPa?
X-2 felt very, very close to Charlie's Angels for me and I thought that was fairly awesome, however, some of the costumes did make me roll my eyes. It was mostly the Berserker outfit and while I do get the idea of what they were trying to portray with the whole Amazonian, tribal, beastlike motif....there's far more tasteful ways of accomplishing that design beyond the "here's some bones, horns, tribal markings to go with the bikini and panties, let's call it a day".
Other than that, I thought the game was relatively enjoyable, especially the job system. The dress-up spheres felt more like they were pandering towards magical girls than towards hyper-sexualizing the women, except for that awful Berserker costume idea and Lady Luck had its issues as well. At the same time, I played that game when it was first released and it's been a few years so I may not remember everything about it.
Black Mage and Alchemist designs were probably my favorite.
youtu.be
