The Best and Worst Character Designs

Recommended Videos

Norrdicus

New member
Feb 27, 2012
458
0
0
The Madman said:
Witcher 2 had phenomenal character design, easily walking that thin line between fantastical and stylish without losing some sense of realism.

Holy crap, practical armour? In a videogame? Is that even allowed?... Apparently so.
Not only practical and stylish, but also lovingly detailed!

Skyrim has so many Witcher 2 character and armor mods for a reason!
 

DementedSheep

New member
Jan 8, 2010
2,654
0
0
The witcher 2 (the Witcher 1 was pretty awful though) has great character design. A lot of the character comes through in the little details designs.



I fell in love with Artorias the abbyswalkers armour pretty much instantly in darksouls.


I for no apparent reason really like Elika's design from Pop 2008

I always liked the big daddies and big sisters from bioshock though much of my love for the sisters comes from how they move. Songbird from infinite looks cool too but I've not played that yet.

I like a lot of the character design in the AC series (though not so much the actual assassin uniform though its not bad) too but I'm to lazy to get pictures.

Generally I don't like the massive out of proportion characters with clusterfuck armour like War for Darsiders
Though I do actually really like the Watchers design.

I don't know whether Ivy from soul calibur design is bad for her personality since I haven't played much of it but dear god dose it look awful.
 

Lurklen

New member
Feb 2, 2010
83
0
0
Yeah I'd have to say The Witcher series especially number 2 is fantastic. I don't have any pics but the way most of the people in the world wear practical clothing and armor, each with small details that say something about the character without shouting it shows a real talent for design. Even the more out there styles (the mages) are that way for a reason, mostly as an illustration of how different they are from the common man.

Another great series for character design, Zelda. Simple but demonstrative without being confusing. You can look at almost any character and tell if they are good or bad or a fighter or something else. Perfect example is Link Iconic with out being over the top. You look at Link and instantly you know he's a hero even though he isn't flashy.

Can't think of any really bad ones right now, I'm sure I will later.
 

Asita

Answer Hazy, Ask Again Later
Legacy
Jun 15, 2011
3,351
1,243
118
Country
USA
Gender
Male
Basically everything in this video scrapes the bottom of the barrel as far as I'm concerned:


Seriously, I think it says something when the most conservative outfit in the video looks like it belongs on Ivy of Soul Calibur fame.

Mikoi said:
On Topic: I never understood the character design of these guys.
It actually made a lot of sense in the case of the first installment. Observe:


The similarity between the Assassins' garb and that of the scholars actually gets a direct reference late in the game when a rather...paranoid Templar starts persecuting scholars due to their apparent affiliation with the Assassin Brotherhood, with one such scholar directly noting that the Assassins mimicked them, not the other way around. Oddly enough, this was before the Assassin Order became secretive.
 

cojo965

New member
Jul 28, 2012
1,650
0
0
ClassicJokester said:
Can't help but be reminded of this classic [http://cwsargeras.blogspot.com/2009/03/scourge-chat-log-1.html]:

[theLichKing]: Oh but speaking of armor

[theLichKing]: I have skulls on my kneecaps.

[Kel?Thuz4d]: ok?

[theLichKing]: No, it is _not_ okay.

[theLichKing]: I have skulls.

[theLichKing]: On my _kneecaps_.
Thank you so much for leading me to that script, that was so fucking funny. *highfives*

OT: I was rather fond of the bad guy's gear from a movie simply titled Ninja because it seemed like something a modern day ninja would actually wear. I know it's not from a game but it is all I have right now.

As for worst, I'm drawing a blank here. I might be able to dredge up something with time but right now I have nothing.

Edit: Well, after so long I finally found a worst. The fuck is this?


I thought Seth was bad when I saw her, but Queen Numara was an entirely new low.
 

WouldYouKindly

New member
Apr 17, 2011
1,431
0
0
I'm surprised I haven't seen Shadow of the Colossus. It's quite one thing to design a massive enemy to look cool, it's quite another to design ways to kill them using their own body architecture. And the final colossus


Seeing that thing on the horizon filled me with such dread... then it starts firing tank shells out of its hand.
 

Razentsu

New member
Jun 21, 2011
384
0
0
Personas 3 and 4 have very good looking casts. But of all the characters in both games, my favourite character design-wise has to be Aigis.
Her design is simple, clean, and very easily recognizable.

Like others have said. Soejima is baller. I can't wait to see the cast he's come up with for Persona 5.
 

Gatx

New member
Jul 7, 2011
1,454
0
0
I hate Ichigo's current look for his Bankai (from Bleach).

His old one was great, it has this modern trenchcoat look by way of samurai robes thing going on, and his bf sword becomes a normal katana, though the black blade is a bit cliche I'm good with that.

Then for some reason Tite Kubo thought it would be cool to add a bunch of little extraneous details to it.

As for one's I like, I especially enjoy Mordin Solus's overall design from ME2. There's a ton of palette swapping in the ME series. Every Turian basically has the same face and wears the same two outfits just with different colors, and the same for Salarians.


What I like with Mordin is that it's both unique and definitely Salarian. The chest piece and the bracers are there, but also different.
 

Slitzkin

New member
Jul 3, 2011
170
0
0
I've always really liked Faith's design from Mirrors Edge. Not sexualised at all and her clothes seem really appropriate for what she does.

 

Mikoi

New member
Sep 29, 2010
33
0
0
Akratus said:
Best: The Witcher, Diablo 1 & 2, Elder Scrolls, Half-Life.

Worst: Any Japanese game (sans metal gear), all Blizzard games, Darksiders.
Just an odd note here, Best: Diablo 1/2, but you have worst: all Blizzard games... confused.
 

Smeatza

New member
Dec 12, 2011
932
0
0
There's a lot of hate for Final Fantasy character designs here. But I would say that Final Fantasy 9 had fantastic character design (not only that but their visual design in general was just beautiful), specifically........
 

keniakittykat

New member
Aug 9, 2012
364
0
0
When it comes to bad design, think we can all agree Nintendo/gamefreak is the all-time champion with bad pokémon designs.
Some companies may have smellier shit, but none other had more of it.

Exeggcute, Natu, Pineco, Swampert, Ludicolo, Loudred, Lileep and claydol are among the WORST designs I have ever seen for any creature.

But on the other side has pokémon some of the best creature designs as well.
Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Entei, Syther, Galvantula, Togekiss, and of course Heracross, all great designs!

Oh, well, I guess if you're going to design over a hundred of these at a time, over six hundred in total, sooner or later something's gotta give...
 

BanicRhys

New member
May 31, 2011
1,006
0
0


Just look at that bad boy, you can tell everything about him just from his appearance, from his greying hair, to the bullets on his vest, to the cigarettes in his sleeve.

Smeatza said:
There's a lot of hate for Final Fantasy character designs here. But I would say that Final Fantasy 9 had fantastic character design (not only that but their visual design in general was just beautiful), specifically........
Kuja is one of my favourite looking FF villains. I love the way they managed to make someone with a flat chest so insanely attractive without turning her into some kind of lolita.
 

WouldYouKindly

New member
Apr 17, 2011
1,431
0
0
I'd like to say that Dynasty Warriors has both some of the best and some of the absolute worst character designs. Sometimes they're pretty badass looking, other times, they're just absolutely ridiculous.
 

hoboman29

New member
Jul 5, 2011
388
0
0
While I haven't read through the other two pages I can't believe no one has mentioned Team Fortress 2's character design. No two classes look similar enough to confuse them in a heated moment which not only looks nice but has gameplay value such as knowing which target should be a priority. Sure once you get into flaming stacks of hats the design is iffy but it is still effective and eye catching.

Most fantasy RPG's really start looking bad once you get into high level uber armors. It seems less like your wearing practical armor but rather you are participating in a contest of the devs to design the most overdesigned suit of armor they could think of. Bonus points if your armor clashes with your boots because the boots had more toeybuff than the matching pair.
 

Smeatza

New member
Dec 12, 2011
932
0
0
BanicRhys said:
Kuja is one of my favourite looking FF villains. I love the way they managed to make someone with a flat chest so insanely attractive without turning her into some kind of lolita.
That's probably because he's a dude.
 

lleihsad

New member
Apr 9, 2009
243
0
0
We're going to be seeing a lot of "why hasn't [guy who's been mentioned] been mentioned, yet!?", I'm afraid. Also, it feels like cheating to nominate closet porn like Queen's Blade.

As my own contribution, I'd like to say that Castlevania: Judgement has some of the dumbest-looking characters I've ever seen. Castlevania in general has some highly influential (if possibly divisive) designs, and Judgement is like it's surreal Bizarro World.

Also, Platinum Games deserves mention as a good/bad combination. Most of their characters are awesomely goofy-looking, but it really works. They truly are the most blessed of cheese-makers.
 

SquallTheBlade

New member
May 25, 2011
258
0
0
Miss Layton said:
One of the many reasons why I've always had trouble taking most JRPG's - well, mainly post-VII Final Fantasy mostly - seriously was always due to my intense dislike for its character designs. I've always been of mind character design should always reflect or emphasize personality traits. It should be practical, but memorable.
Why say post FFVII when FFVIII doesn't have over the top character designs and outfits ARE practical? Look at Squalls design. It's awesome and you could wear it without looking too silly. Also it fits his personality quite well. How about Zell? Fits perfectly.

I don't get the hate towards character designs that are over the top and would be unpractical to wear. But that's the thing! You can have such characters in game and they can look good. And thats how I like it. I prefer Lightnings outfit from XIII-2 over XIII. Who cares if it's unpractical? I don't need realism in my games. I want away from it.
 

maninahat

New member
Nov 8, 2007
4,397
0
0
MacNille said:
Best male design?
clean, cool looking and comfortable.

Fat bald max payne looks so bad it is almost good. Keyword here is almost.
I'd say you've got that backwards. From those pictures, I can clearly figure out Max Payne's characteristics at a glance (out of shape, miserable, obviously a tourist) whereas the knight could be any knight from any game or story, utterly generic. Plus he's an absolute mess of belts. Perhaps it's authentic, but it isn't anything that stands out.

OT: Going on my hatred of belts, I'd say the worst character design is Connor's sartorial smorgasbord:

Ugh, so cluttered. The same guy is responsible for Garrett's new look, which explains why his body is festooned with leather belts and ties. Must take him an hour to get dressed.

Best may be the protagonist from Journey, but I'm going with...



Well okay, maybe he isn't the best, but I like Blob's clean, cheerful and friendly looking design. It does what it needs without anything excessive.
 

Lt._nefarious

New member
Apr 11, 2012
1,284
0
0
Here are some of the best designed characters in my opinion. Also, when you get to the 3rd one... Don't hate me, it's just my opinion.


Heather Mason. Not over sexualised, practical outfit but still pretty. I think what really makes her design great rather than good is the dark roots of her hair, makes her look more like a real teenage girl. Also; reasonably sized breasts!

Probably the best designed character in modern military shooters if only because of the suit degradation.

New Dante, yes. The costume fits perfectly with his personality, it looks bad ass and it's very memorable... And I like his hair.