Dragon's Crown: Introducing The Amazon

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
15,305
0
0
Dragon's Crown: Introducing The Amazon

Dragon's Crown's character roster is now complete.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie," wrote warrior-poet, SirMixaLot in his 1992 musical celebration of the female posterior, Baby Got Back. The Baron of Badonkadonk would no-doubt approve of Dragon's Crown's Amazon, whose hips make the jump from child-rearing to bear-rearing.

Of all the outlandish character designs in Dragon's Crown, the Amazon intrigues me the most. No, not because of the ludicrous degree of flesh on show, though I imagine that's enticing to some, but because she's a character archetype you rarely see outside of ancient, seedy fantasy novel covers. Female videogame characters tend to be pretty, yes, but few look like they know what a barbell squat is. It's interesting to see the character in motion, as many, myself included, presumed her unique frame would present some animation problems. The ridiculous width of her hips implies she should walk like ED 209, but Vanillaware seems to have dodged that issue by making her walk cycle consist of tiny baby steps. It looks kind of weird - much like the rest of the game - but no more so than say, the Fighter. [http://youtu.be/ewFHOCdhaNY]

As is the case with pretty much every Vanillaware game, Dragon's Crown's art style has been its most controversial aspect. Controversial in every meaning of the word, as many have criticized the game's hyper-sexualized art direction. Kotaku's Jason Schreier quite famously dismissed the game as being "designed by a teenage boy." [http://kotaku.com/game-developers-really-need-to-stop-letting-teenage-boy-472724616 ] Director and artist, George Kamitani, objected to that slur against his maturity in the strongest terms and decided to prove his point by, uh, kind of implying Schreier was gay. [http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=55020576]

Controversy aside, there are genuine, gameplay-related reasons to be excited about Dragon's Crown. Vanillaware has an unimpeachable track record in the 2D action genre. If the game is half as good as Muramasa or Odin Sphere, then it'll certainly be worth playing when the PS3/Vita exclusive lands on North American shores this August.


Permalink
 

PunkRex

New member
Feb 19, 2010
2,533
0
0
I find the art in this game (visual and sound) really nice, if I get round to buying it im deffinatly playing as the Amazon. I love me a berzerker, their naked but they don't care, they just hit stuff with axes. Its why I love Vaike and Basilo so much in FE:Awakening, GET SOME!!!
 

MegaManOfNumbers

New member
Mar 3, 2010
1,326
0
0
Damn you Vanillaware, for making the internet feel offended at a character design! Now we must be inclined to confirm our immaturity at not being able to deal with this through redundant argumentation, exaggerated masculinism and feminism, homoerotic overtones, sexually repressed white knighting, manifesting non-existent controversy, and ironic meta-theories!
 

Yuuki

New member
Mar 19, 2013
995
0
0
Huh, seeing just the concept art threw me a bit off-guard but watching the way they animate in game combined with their combat abilities...this looks like CRAZY good fun!

Can't wait to pick it up, I've always been playing mage-esque classes in RPG's/MMO's so I hope the sorceress kicks ass :D
 

Hagi

New member
Apr 10, 2011
2,741
0
0
I do kinda wonder how people that call this "hyper-sexualized" would react to some of the Skyrim mods out there (came across a beauty the other day that gives the Talos statue in Whiterun a massive erection).

When you mention "hyper-sexualized" I'm really kinda expecting SM outfits, whips, porn-like moaning and strap-on unlockables (strap-onlockables?) that can be used for 'special' attacks.
 

RetroMenace

New member
Dec 29, 2009
8
0
0
Okay, that article was alright, but... did anyone else notice the article itself was about The Amazon but the picture for the article on the front page uses the Sorceress?

Either the author uploaded the picture of the wrong character by mistake, or they uploaded the character with a ton of controversy around her on purpose to increase traffic.

Either way, not impressed.
 

RaikuFA

New member
Jun 12, 2009
4,370
0
0
Gonna get this to piss off the White Knights.

Also cause I love brawlers.
 

Jynthor

New member
Mar 30, 2012
774
0
0
RetroMenace said:
Okay, that article was alright, but... did anyone else notice the article itself was about The Amazon but the picture for the article on the front page uses the Sorceress?

Either the author uploaded the picture of the wrong character by mistake, or they uploaded the character with a ton of controversy around her on purpose to increase traffic.

Either way, not impressed.
The escapist does that all the time, using pictures of supposedly sexy girls for thumbnails is kind of their thing.
 

The Wooster

King Snap
Jul 15, 2008
15,305
0
0
Jynthor said:
RetroMenace said:
Okay, that article was alright, but... did anyone else notice the article itself was about The Amazon but the picture for the article on the front page uses the Sorceress?

Either the author uploaded the picture of the wrong character by mistake, or they uploaded the character with a ton of controversy around her on purpose to increase traffic.

Either way, not impressed.
The escapist does that all the time, using pictures of supposedly sexy girls for thumbnails is kind of their thing.
I had a long think about this statement. Then I went and scrolled through the past two weeks of stories. Know how many female thumbnails we have? Five. Know how many thumbnails are dudes with beards? More than five.
 

OtherSideofSky

New member
Jan 4, 2010
1,051
0
0
Why is the picture on the front page link of the sorceress' face? Honestly, I'm starting to believe that gaming journalists really are conspiring to pretend that her concept art is the only thing in the game.

I'm really liking the gameplay style in this trailer. I was already planning to play the amazon because so few game characters look anything like her, and spinning attacks and flaming dive-kicks have confirmed me in that decision.

I like that, for all the moaning about gendered differences in presentation, the actual gameplay trailers all consist of an overly serious narrator describing how awesome each character is at smashing faces in. It's almost as if internet pseudo-intellectuals with chips on their shoulder can't understand Japanese and are treating the game as a series of pretty pictures because they're incapable of deciphering anything else about it.
 
Jan 22, 2011
450
0
0
Daystar Clarion said:
Nope, still don't like the head of a small child on the body of steroid junkie look.

Really not digging it.
I'm not really seeing a small child on an adult body head here. I just find her design not to be very attractive.
 

WarpZone

New member
Mar 9, 2008
423
0
0
I want to punch your website repeatedly for using a picture of the Sorceress instead of the Amazon. How would that even work, by the way? All the searching is done using text strings, right? So the only way they could get your misleading thumbnail is by googling for "Dragon's Crown Amazon." So they're gonna see the picture of the Sorceress in their search results and go "nope, that's not it."

Misleading headlines are one thing, but this is just confusing. If this actually bumps your numbers, please let me know. Because I just... this shouldn't work. I can't think of a pathway that would MAKE it work.

Unless they just saw the thumbnail, read the headline, mentally substituted "Introducing the Sorceress," and went "Oh boy, internet controversy!" *click.*

But if that's the case, why not just link to the Sorceress reveal from the frontpage again? If that's what people came for... just give it to them.

Trying to trick them with the wrong thumbnail makes no sense to me, any way I slice it.
 

Jynthor

New member
Mar 30, 2012
774
0
0
Grey Carter said:
Jynthor said:
RetroMenace said:
Okay, that article was alright, but... did anyone else notice the article itself was about The Amazon but the picture for the article on the front page uses the Sorceress?

Either the author uploaded the picture of the wrong character by mistake, or they uploaded the character with a ton of controversy around her on purpose to increase traffic.

Either way, not impressed.
The escapist does that all the time, using pictures of supposedly sexy girls for thumbnails is kind of their thing.
I had a long think about this statement. Then I went and scrolled through the past two weeks of stories. Know how many female thumbnails we have? Five. Know how many thumbnails are dudes with beards? More than five.
Well, I don't count all the times I've seen it, not do I feel the need to go back and check. I just happen to notice the use of sexy pictures to get more clicks a lot.
 

Scarim Coral

Jumped the ship
Legacy
Oct 29, 2010
18,157
2
3
Country
UK
Geez I thought people already knew what the Amazon look like given to how everyone would be inform (look up the rest of the exaggerated cast or didn't bother) about the game thanks to that controversy.

Anyway she certainly look like a force to be reckon with and I got to admit the animation is really impressive, so fluent like but that normal coming from Vallinaware.
 

Sean951

New member
Mar 30, 2011
650
0
0
I am fine with all the character models other than the Sorceress, and even then it's mostly how bouncy she is. I get that the whole point of all but the Wizard and Elf is to be insanely over the top, but she would make DOA blush.
 

Aiddon_v1legacy

New member
Nov 19, 2009
3,672
0
0
Ah the Amazon, voiced by Atsuko Tanaka (a.k.a. Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. Also Impa in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)
 

Chairman Miaow

CBA to change avatar
Nov 18, 2009
2,093
0
0
Jynthor said:
Grey Carter said:
Jynthor said:
RetroMenace said:
Okay, that article was alright, but... did anyone else notice the article itself was about The Amazon but the picture for the article on the front page uses the Sorceress?

Either the author uploaded the picture of the wrong character by mistake, or they uploaded the character with a ton of controversy around her on purpose to increase traffic.

Either way, not impressed.
The escapist does that all the time, using pictures of supposedly sexy girls for thumbnails is kind of their thing.
I had a long think about this statement. Then I went and scrolled through the past two weeks of stories. Know how many female thumbnails we have? Five. Know how many thumbnails are dudes with beards? More than five.
Well, I don't count all the times I've seen it, not do I feel the need to go back and check. I just happen to notice the use of sexy pictures to get more clicks a lot.
Honestly, the only things I can even remember having women in are things where it's relevant. Bayonnetta, Top Five with Lisa Foiles, this. To be honest putting the sorceress instead of the amazon is an easy mistake.