How come all new RPG'S have some dude of questionable sex?

[greedostick]

Me and my roomate have noticed that alot of Japanese RPG's lately have some dude of questionable sex, or..... sexual preference. You can usually spot them by there really tight clothes that bear there hairless chest. It gets really annoying. I started to notice the transition in Final Fantasy IX. When I seen that dude with the tail I was like WTF? Then I was really disappointed with the appearance of the main character in FFXII. There have been many other games in between with these types of characters. Has anyone else found this annoying? I'm not prejudice against anyone, It just gets annoying. Just give me a good RPG game 2 or 3 times a year where I don't have to deal with some questionably gay guy? Is that too much to ask?

[skaar]

Ah, Tingle. He makes my tinkle tingle.

[Cryomancer]

because most RPGs are developed in Japan, where this is popular: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishonen

[Sudo]

Tingle is the only remotely gay character that you listed. Japan has a habit of making "pretty" guys, while America has a habit of making overly macho, unrealistic guys. They're both stereotypes, but what can you do.

[swlovinist]

Yeah, I agree that the female looking male characters are getting a little stale...I just wish that there could be a different artstyle that becomes mainstream and popular. After 10 years of this, it gets old fast.

[kainemaxwell]

Questionable sex sells.

[greedostick]

Tingle is the only remotely gay character that you listed. Japan has a habit of making "pretty" guys, while America has a habit of making overly macho, unrealistic guys. They're both stereotypes, but what can you do.

I'm not talking about gay guys. Just gay looking characters. I did have some other pics but for some reason they're not working. A character from enchanted arms, and Bridget from Guilty gear, and a few others.

[roushimsx]

androgynous male character is the new colored lighting.

[Richter Belmount]

Japan has a different idea of what is acceptable for a male to be or look like and act . But that doesn't transition to the united states and Americans just build a impression that the characters look gay or is. I wouldn't call it entirely intentional to make the characters look gay , It would be more acceptable to call it a lost in translation sort of thing. I doubt it crosses the mind of people who design these characters , I mean look at a big franchise like mgs and the outcry over raiden. Everyone in japan loved raiden and everyone in the united states hated the character for being to in effeminate compared to macho Solid Snake .

[Sudo]

I'm not talking about gay guys. Just gay looking characters. I did have some other pics but for some reason they're not working. A character from enchanted arms, and Bridget from Guilty gear, and a few others.

Makoto was hilarious, he totally made that game worth playing.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Tingle is the only remotely gay character that you listed. Japan has a habit of making "pretty" guys, while America has a habit of making overly macho, unrealistic guys. They're both stereotypes, but what can you do.

Tingle's not "remotely gay," he's openly flaming and flaunting it. It's the other's that are remotely gay, I would say.

Anyway, why? One of the first rules of storytelling is that a little ambiguity makes for a more gripping plot. Maybe that's it.


...word is bondage...

[Trebuken]

I thought they were just metro-sexuals...

[Rev. Link]

I never thought Zidane looked girly. And I really don't think it's fair to bring Kefka into this. He's about the most evil FF villain ever, he can look however he wants. If anything, bring that overrated pretty boy Sephiroth into question over Kefka.

[Lady Jaye]

I personally love the charadesign in the GBA Castlevania games...

Anyways, I prefer seeing adult pretty boys than yet another party of cute kids (but hey, chibi characters are easier to render on the DS' small screen than regular-sized adult characters).

[greedostick]

I never thought Zidane looked girly. And I really don't think it's fair to bring Kefka into this. He's about the most evil FF villain ever, he can look however he wants. If anything, bring that overrated pretty boy Sephiroth into question over Kefka.

Nah, Zidane doesn't look gay. He is just a example, in my opinion, of awful character design. And I have to admit, Kefka is pretty bad ass. Probably the coolest villian in any RPG, or even in any video game ever.

[Richter Belmount]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSyfGm6wXgs

I think the guys at mega64 nailed the main character from ff12.

[Aussie2B]

For the same reason bands like The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were popular - young girls like pretty boys.

Keep in mind that in Japan it is much more acceptable for women to play video games, and traditionally women gravitate towards the RPG genre more others (well, besides the stereotypical fondness for puzzle and rhythm games) due to the stronger focus on character development and thought-based gameplay and what have you. Including pretty boys or "bishounen" is just advantageous from a business standpoint, and since the Japanese are more open about sexuality and can see it for what it is and not react with a knee-jerk "that's gay", they don't have to worry about alienating their male audience too much (and they usually throw in some female sex kittens, anyway). Diehard RPG players in the US generally aren't going to let some pretty boys affect their buying habits either, so it's no loss if the Halo/Madden/GTA crowd doesn't like the designs because they're not buying the games to begin with.

[greedostick]

For the same reason bands like The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were popular - young girls like pretty boys.

Keep in mind that in Japan it is much more acceptable for women to play video games, and traditionally women gravitate towards the RPG genre more others (well, besides the stereotypical fondness for puzzle and rhythm games) due to the stronger focus on character development and thought-based gameplay and what have you. Including pretty boys or "bishounen" is just advantageous from a business standpoint, and since the Japanese are more open about sexuality and can see it for what it is and not react with a knee-jerk "that's gay", they don't have to worry about alienating their male audience too much (and they usually throw in some female sex kittens, anyway). Diehard RPG players in the US generally aren't going to let some pretty boys affect their buying habits either, so it's no loss if the Halo/Madden/GTA crowd doesn't like the designs because they're not buying the games to begin with.

Point taken. I am definately not gonna stop buying RPG's. A good game is a good game. But hell, at least give me a sexy lesbian or 2 every once in awhile. Other people besides Japanese girls play RPG games. The only chick that comes to mind is King from Art of Fighting. They didn't even try to make her hot. And how many of these guys in Japan actually run around wearing some vest that is 4 sizes too small to show off there manly shaven chest? I am guessing not many unless it's some sort of cosplay. Someone find me a picture of a real Japanese man out in his vest showing off his chest. I wanna see if one really exists.

[Sudo]

Point taken. I am definately not gonna stop buying RPG's. A good game is a good game. But hell, at least give me a sexy lesbian or 2 every once in awhile. Other people besides Japanese girls play RPG games. The only chick that comes to mind is King from Art of Fighting. They didn't even try to make her hot. And how many of these guys in Japan actually run around wearing some vest that is 4 sizes too small to show off there manly shaven chest? I am guessing not many unless it's some sort of cosplay. Someone find me a picture of a real Japanese man out in his vest showing off his chest. I wanna see if one really exists.

But seriously, these are fantasy games. Of course the majority of people don't dress like this in real life.

[roushimsx]

For the same reason bands like The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were popular - young girls like pretty boys.

They're just a bunch of NKOTB wannabe sissies any god damn way. Both Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood could single handedly knock the fuck out of both of those groups while Jordan, Jon and Joey sat back and told 'em 'bout hangin' tough.

For reals.