Squeenix Fail

[owlmoose]

Here's the thing, about the recent announcements regarding Lightning Returns.

You all know that I'm a huge FFX-2 fan, so it's not like fanservice or character redesigns or playing dress-up dolls are deal-breakers for me. I might have rolled my eyes a little bit at Lightning Returns and her five million outfits, and I think it's more than fair to ask if a Final Fantasy game with a male protagonist would have ever included such an aspect, but it doesn't bother me really.

This thing with the breast enlargement bothers me. Not just the fact of it, but the way it was presented, the tee-hee-nudge-wink grossness of it, the idea that whether Lightning's breasts jiggle is the most important thing about the game, the fact that it's Lightning being sexualized in this particular way. In her original characterization, Lightning broke out of many of the female character stereotypes that have plagued Final Fantasy games in the past, so to see this change is really frustrating.

Take this news and combine it with the lack of female playable characters in FFXV (which hasn't been officially confirmed but seems highly likely) and the redesign of Stella from this to this, my faith in Squeenix is pretty much shot.

I will still probably buy and play Final Fantasy XV; I will still probably not get Lightning Returns unless I ever manage to finish FFXIII-2, so nothing has changed for me, really. But it's all very disappointing, and getting worse.

Comments

[auronlu]

It is incredibly appalling and frustrating to see Lightning, of all characters, treated like this, when she started out as an anti-fanservice protagonist. I already have LR on preorder, but this is it for me. I have no desire to play ffxv which seems to be pushing an all-male party.

What's so maddening is that FFXIII seemed to be the best title to date in terms of complex female characters who were people first (still some eye candy, but nothing gratuitous or gross.) What happened?

Toriyama is truly appalling.

[owlmoose]

I wouldn't say her original design was completely devoid of fanservice -- high-cut leg slits as regulation uniform design? -- but it was certainly within expected tolerances for a non-femme character in a videogame.

What's so maddening is that FFXIII seemed to be the best title to date in terms of complex female characters who were people first (still some eye candy, but nothing gratuitous or gross.)

Exactly. It would be much less disappointing if they hadn't seemed to be taking steps forward with this series. And now they have to undo it all with developer interviews? And that's even more annoying. It's like they don't understand their own character.