Your Favorite Character Designs?

[KSubzero1000]

I've been meaning to make this thread for quite some time now. So here we go! Title says it all - which character designs are your favorites? I'm not talking about character arcs or any other narrative / gameplay qualities, just purely in terms of their aesthetics.

I'll list some of mine to kick things off.


Jill Valentine - REmake


Albert Wesker - Resident Evil Zero


I find it just amazing how much personality and charisma the (otherwise quite flat and one-dimensional) Resident Evil characters manage to have, simply through the strength of their design.


Amaterasu - Õkami


A-oOOOOH!


Titania - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn


I've mentioned her before, and I'll mention her again. I'm extremely picky when it comes to anime art style, due to the general tendency to overdesign. This is one of the very best I know of. Mature and capable, stylised yet grounded, without falling prey to cheap sexualization.


Ryu Hayabusa - Ninja Gaiden / DOA


So COOL.


Jin Kazama - Tekken


A bit on the cheesy side, but the pants just make it work somehow.


Master Chief - Halo


The face of two console generations, and for good reason. Speaking of iconic sci-fi power armors...


Samus Aran - Metroid


The Queen still reigns supreme.


Lucatiel of Mirrah - Dark Souls 2


Probably my favorite design of the entire series. A shame I couldn't find a better picture...


Ezio Auditore da Firenze - Assassin's Creed 2


UbiSoft really nailed it with this one. Pure class.


Geralt of Rivia - The Witcher 3


Generic, yet memorable. The pauldrons are just fantastic.


Liquid Ocelot - Metal Gear Solid 4


It's Ocelot, it's Liquid, it's Lee Van Cleef. And it all works somehow?


Venom Snake - Metal Gear Solid V


One the best Shinkawa designs, and that's saying a lot.


Miles Edgeworth - Ace Attorney


The cravat just seals the deal.


Entire cast - Overwatch


This one may be cheating a little, but I find it really impressive how the artists managed to make every hero memorable and completely distinct from one another. Even their silhouettes are instantly recognizable in the blink of an eye!


Now let's see some pictures of your favorites!

[Whippledip]

Can I just say everything in Bloodborne, I've only just started playing so I haven't seen everything yet, but everything so far is just so creepy and grotesque looking. Even the bog standard villagers at the start are very off putting (in a good way) with their spindly arms and legs.

I came across this guy before, well heard him before I saw him and he was on a little ledge above me but couldn't get to me because of a fence but my girlfriend saw it and her immediate reaction was repulsion. Can't wait to see what other stuff they throw at me

[Stanshall]

Great thread, I'll be back with additions but just to say, Whippledip, you have some treats in store. I've played through Bloodborne about fifteen times and I still find the designs spectacular (and horrific). Avoid temptation to look anything up first time, would be my advice.

[Suits]

I've always loved Sonic the Hedgehog, the original design from the 1st game.

For me, personally, it evokes such great memories.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Great thread idea!

I'm going to choose a particular character that has been around since 1992, who has a design, that whether you like it or not, is very distinct and memorable. And of course I'm talking about Mai Shiranui:



Even in super-deformed Nendoroid form, she is easily identifiable. And perhaps my favourite period of her design evolution is around the Real Bout Fatal Fury period, where there was a lot of great artwork coming out of SNK, including Garou: MOTW, which has plenty of great design in it's own right.

[Michiel K]

This one may be cheating a little, but I find it really impressive how the artists managed to make every hero memorable and completely distinct from one another. Even their silhouettes are instantly recognizable in the blink of an eye!

I see your Overwatch cast and I raise you the Street Fighter II cast, exactly for the same reasons.



The Street Fighter games have seen excellent character deisgns since, but everyone's a winner (especially the original 8) with an enduring legacy in Street Fighter II.

[Michiel K]

Some other favourites...

TERRY BOGARD



VIEWTIFUL JOE



BAYONETTA



SHYNA (from Silhouette Mirage)



BUB & BOB

[Scrustle]

Some good picks in here already. Okami definitely has some great character design, and even if I don't care much for the games anymore, they always did put Ezio in some great outfits in those older AC games.

I really like Samus' design as well. I think the Varia Suit design is a stroke of genius. Often sci-fi designs tend to age, as technology develops and our ideas of what futuristic tech looks like changes. Yet the Varia Suit still looks as fresh as it always has. On top of that, it manages to do it with those massive shoulder balls. Often outlandish sci-fi costume design like that is a big factor in making them become dated. Yet with Samus, they stand out as an iconic piece of the outfit which makes the design really stand out and be memorable.

It's an appropriate contrast to Master Chief actually. Although, I think he comes off a lot better than he really has any right too. The overall idea of Master Chief's design isn't really that interesting or original. He's a super soldier wearing fairly generic super soldier armour. There isn't really that much going on there. Yet he still manages to look recognisable and iconic. I think the secret is in the visor. They've tweaked his design over the years, but they've always kept that same kind of visor design. The helmet in general is also pretty consistent, but it's that part which is the focus. Such a simple shape, yet very memorable. None of the other Spartan armor designs have managed to pull off that same kind of elegant simplicity or instantly recognisable look.

Geralt is kind of similar in that he shouldn't stand out, yet he does. I think the armour designs help a lot. Pretty much all the Witcher gear you can get, in The Witcher 3 at least, all look great, and have a cohesive feel to them. Not as familiar with his outfits from the previous games, but the stuff in TW2 seem to do a good job as well. But another thing about his design is how they've actually toned him down over the games. He's supposed to be sickly pale with glowing eyes and stuff. He's looked less and less like that through the series. I think that was probably the right decision, because I think he does look better as the series goes on, but I could see how one could argue that they made him less interesting and more generic.

[Stanshall]

Mm...mmm...

Even without the superb voice work and heartbreaking questline, you already know almost everything you need to know from the design alone. Even the clumpy greaves show us his unsuitability for the lofty task he's set himself. The belly rolls on the armour are ingenious. A truly lovable, pitiful Quixotic hero.

[kintaris]

Jade's character design is I think responsible for many picking this title off of the shelf in the first place. It really stood out from the crowd by being in some ways a non-standard avatar for the player (i.e. bulky white male space marine or strangely proportioned supermodel) without resorting to over-the-top style. Jade seemed like someone you could actually meet in the real world, which was still pretty rare among female protagonists at this point in time.

In a similar vein and for all the jokes about the game's dialogue, I really like Chloe's design in Life Is Strange. A lot of this has to do with the animation as I'm not a huge fan of the game's basic art style, but I can't think of many games that have perfectly captured a tall skinny teenager trying (and failing) to adopt a cool slouchy posture to hide their anxiety - something I can definitely identify with. Though I dressed much more like Max.

[Beck]

Yes, the characters didn't look like that in game but I've always been a sucker for the Metal Gear Solid character design.

[Flabyo]

Geralt is a combination of the white hair (which is unusual in the setting, it immediately marks him out as different) and the dual sword sheathe on his back. Whatever armour set you put him in, he never looks like any of the soldiers you meet in the game.

[kintaris]

Yes, the characters didn't look like that in game but I've always been a sucker for the Metal Gear Solid character design.

Funny you should mention these - I was going to put similar screens in the box art thread.

[KSubzero1000]

Can I just say everything in Bloodborne

But of course! Bloodborne has fantastic art, do keep playing!

I see your Overwatch cast and I raise you the Street Fighter II cast, exactly for the same reasons.

Ah yes, Street Fighter does have great character design as well. But the reason I mentioned Overwatch is because the recognition factor actually ties into the gameplay. The game as a whole would suffer if the characters in SF were poorly designed, but the actual moment-to-moment gameplay would not. Whereas in Overwatch, instant enemy recognition and the subsequent planning / call-outs can make all the difference between winning and losing. Which is exactly why I'm so impressed with what the developers and artists have manage to achieve.

I really like Samus' design as well. I think the Varia Suit design is a stroke of genius. Often sci-fi designs tend to age, as technology develops and our ideas of what futuristic tech looks like changes. Yet the Varia Suit still looks as fresh as it always has. On top of that, it manages to do it with those massive shoulder balls. Often outlandish sci-fi costume design like that is a big factor in making them become dated. Yet with Samus, they stand out as an iconic piece of the outfit which makes the design really stand out and be memorable.

Very well said.

Yes, the characters didn't look like that in game but I've always been a sucker for the Metal Gear Solid character design.

Absolutely. Shinkawa is one of my favorite artists period, even outside of video games.

I really like this one as well:


Finally, here's the man himself live painting in front of an audience. Worth a watch!



Keep 'em coming, ladies and gentlemen!

[Joshihatsumitsu]

There's nothing so far I disagree with here.

Master Chief, already mentioned, is a great example. Despite owning and playing through Halo's 1-4, it's not a series I have a deep love for. The games are fun to play, no doubt, but the lore or characters just don't grab me.

And yet, despite that, credit where credit is due. Master Chief is a very well designed character. Not too much and not to little. And clearly, it resonates with fans, as I know a good friend of mine who poured a ton of time into creating a very convincing Master Chief outfit. It was for a fancy dress party, and maybe for private-fun-times. Who knows... I'm not gunna judge!

[Todinho]

Well I know you said "character design" but since you touched on Yoji Shinkawa, the design of Jehuty and Anubis are second to none, the coolest looking mechs ever drawn


But since you brought up shinkawa I have to bring up Akihiko Yoshida, his work especially on the Final Fantasy series is incredible and in my opinion his style is by far the best FF ever had, he also always works with Matsuno giving this bleak but beautifull visual indentity to the world. Just incredible stuff:


I talk about this character alot in relation to the witcher but I really Like Iorverth from Witcher 2 and a good part of it is his design, in fact there's a whole interview where the devs go into his design and why it's the way it is and it's really interesting, the way he looks is pretty simple but it fits his character perfectly and no Im never gonna get over CD Projekt cutting from W3 =(


Little talked about but I absolutelly adore the design of the nameless protagonist of Journey, it just fits so well with the game and has an universal appeal


Lastlly since Im playing right now I love the Knight from Hollow Knight:

[KSubzero1000]

And clearly, it resonates with fans, as I know a good friend of mine who poured a ton of time into creating a very convincing Master Chief outfit. It was for a fancy dress party, and maybe for private-fun-times. Who knows... I'm not gunna judge!

Your friend's got the right idea. Nothing says "Passion" quite as loudly as an anemic, emotionally stunted war machine with zero sex drive. Locked in a cold metal armor you probably need half a dozen well-equipped technicians to get out of, to boot.

@Todinho:
Great picks!

[James]

I really love this guy!

He's the right mix of late 80s bold character design and Siegmeyer's hopeless knight. The shade of blue is the icing on the cake for me.

[kintaris]

I really love this guy!
He's the right mix of late 80s bold character design and Siegmeyer's hopeless knight. The shade of blue is the icing on the cake for me.

I really liked his three-dimensional incarnation in Yooka-Laylee too!

[dezm0nd]

I like most of TF2's character designs but the Medic really makes the plain and simple look like a right menace at times. Couple that with some brilliant comedy moments and animation and you're onto a winner.

It's got shades of Ghostbusters in there (Egon) but I mostly remember the Meet the Medic video thinking just how good the animation was.