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Post by banedrom on Jul 23, 2015 22:19:25 GMT -7
So I stumbled upon this article while looking around for final fantasy news. Read it here
There are only two final fantasy characters on the list, but it is curious to see this interpretation. Final Fantasy tends to be a series that dodges the label of hyper sexualization? Are they exempt from scrutiny because of the story driven aspects of the game? Are they flying under the radar? Are the characters not pure fan service? Is it really weird that the article refers to the creator of the comparison images "Bulemia" instead of "Bulemia.com"? What do you think? |
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Post by oxbellows on Jul 23, 2015 22:49:28 GMT -7
That's interesting. I think as a whole FF is guilty of a few of the classic video game tropes relating to female characters (plenty of damsels in distress and women in refrigerators), as well as sometimes over-sexualizing the dress, anatomy, and demeanor of their female characters. But on the other hand, they've also featured a lot of unique, strong female characters that don't rely on their sexuality/overt femininity. We see this in characters like Terra, Celes, Agrias, Lightning, and Yuna (who I think is possibly the best representation of what a strong female character should be in any game I've played).
Curious to see what some of the women on the forum think about this one!
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Post by Stolas on Jul 24, 2015 0:55:43 GMT -7
I saw this a few days ago and I understand the point but the characters they are using with the exception of one or two are all highly active/ fighters that would logically be in shape. So I personally felt the artistic renderings missed it's mark and was just click bait. If anything the unrealistic aspect isn't how slim they are its the proportions of the limbs (especially the neck) and breasts are usually the issue. But whatever.
I feel like FF has always done a good job of not completely over sexualizing and there are only a few times where it's present in the main series character wise. I felt that FFVII was really the first time they had sexualized a main female character and even then Tifa didn't in anyway fit stereotypical damsel in distress. The only other characters they have designed like that in the main series come to mind are Ultimecia ( And that's a kinda), Beatrix (but she was also a bad ass), Lulu, Yunalesca, and Fran . I feel like when Toryiama is in charge then it becomes an issue ( X-2, XIII-2, LR). Yet for summons it's been pretty much present in every game that includes Shiva or Siren.
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Post by Shinryu on Jul 24, 2015 1:51:16 GMT -7
There is a reason why out of many games out there Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series have women make up 45%-55% of the fanbase worldwide.
I'd say FF characters are more relatable and the characters and story alone make them appealing to all genders and don't drive women away like other games do that only have female characters for eye candy. (Even though there are women that still play those games and enjoy them too)
Just my opinion.
Fun fact I've met more female Kingdom Heart fans than I have male and that says something.
Also the pictures in that article have Rikku which was a young female character created by Japanese people in a Japanese game (FFX) inspired by asian culture in another world... The average Japanese female teenager is quite thin and in asian culture being thin is considered healthy so I doubt we would ever see a "realistic slightly fatter" Rikku.
Not to mention that the article is trying to say that videogames should embrace the real world but I say fantasy > realism.
I dunno about everyone else but I don't want to play as a realistic looking guy in a game I would rather play a cool looking fantasy person and I assume the same goes for a girl who would want to play someone that looks cool.
Its the same reason why in films we want to see good looking people or cool characters that we pretend to want to be. Doesn't matter if its not real life and no one looks like that we like to fantasize and escape reality not find realism in our escapism.
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Post by Stolas on Jul 24, 2015 2:11:49 GMT -7
There is a reason why out of many games out there Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series have women make up 45%-55% of the fanbase worldwide. I'd say FF characters are more relatable and the characters and story alone make them appealing to all genders and don't drive women away like other games do that only have female characters for eye candy. (Even though there are women that still play those games and enjoy them too) Just my opinion. Fun fact I've met more female Kingdom Heart fans than I have male and that says something. Also the pictures in that article have Rikku which was a young female character created by Japanese people in a Japanese game (FFX) inspired by asian culture in another world... The average Japanese female teenager is quite thin and in asian culture being thin is considered healthy so I doubt we would ever see a "realistic slightly fatter" Rikku. Not to mention that the article is trying to say that videogames should embrace the real world but I say fantasy > realism. I dunno about everyone else but I don't want to play as a realistic looking guy in a game I would rather play a cool looking fantasy person and I assume the same goes for a girl who would want to play someone that looks cool. Its the same reason why in films we want to see good looking people or cool characters that we pretend to want to be. Doesn't matter if its not real life and no one looks like that we like to fantasize and escape reality not find realism in our escapism. Good point. That also reminds me, these characters in FF like Rikku or Selphie, are supposed to be about 15-23 years old and yes are based off of teenage japanese girls, who for the most part are tiny. I think the oldest female playable character may have either been Rosa or Aerith. |
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Post by EyesOnMe on Aug 10, 2015 12:58:00 GMT -7
I'm a female and I love Final Fantasy! I looked over the article linked and I agree and disagree with some points made. I enjoyed the body positive message Bulimia.com is representing, I too believe less pressure needs to be put on women to look a certain way. With that being said, I feel they have the right message when they say young gamer girls may look at female video game characters and feel pressure to look like them but honestly...those same gamer girls are going to be exposed to this sort of idea in the media, music, movies, tv, etc. before they see it in their favorite video games.
It honestly would be nice to see normal sized woman in video games BUT I do feel in some instances, FF for example, if the characters are constantly running around from place to place then they are getting adequate exercise and they could/should be represented more on the fit side. My problem sometimes comes from the lack of clothing on females in video games. As a girl myself, yes I understand wanting to look cute and sexy every now and then but come on, if you are wandering around from continent to continent fighting monsters/beasts it doesn't seem advantageous to be half naked or sexy looking.
Going back to women in FF, I've honestly never been bothered. I did get a tad bit annoyed when I saw Cindy from the new FFXV game play because she's a mechanic that feels the need to work on cars in a bra. I feel most of the FF games represent woman strongly and I'm cool with that! Even though I don't care too much for FFXIII I enjoy that the lead character is female and that she basically doesn't give a crap and kicks ass. I hope the company, minus FFXV of course, decides to make more females into lead characters in future games.
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Post by Joseph DeGolyer on Aug 11, 2015 9:03:36 GMT -7
Isn't the most unrealistic thing about these games the hair? No matter what you fight or what area you trek through, the hair is always done up. No one ever looks disheveled, guy or girl.
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Post by kefkapalozza on Aug 11, 2015 15:34:15 GMT -7
The article is cool but i feel there looking too much into it, in these games nothing about them is supposed to be realistic, if we wanted to do that we could look at almost every character and find something out of proportion, next people will say the big heads in FF9 are unrealistic or the outfits in 10 are unrealistic or like Joseph said the hair always being stylized perfectly is unrealistic(my only rationalization for that is they sweat styling gel). Truth be, is there just games you can't take them that seriously they portray characters as they see fit and what they believe will sell. I don't doubt some of the character designs have fan service elements but most are done tastefully. Hell most male game characters only have 3 basic body styles either insanely thin, thin and buff, or just insanely buff just look at FF12 where all the guys were about as thin as the woman just with ripped abs. On a side note just played injustice, and someone need to feed joker a sandwich.....  |
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