From an exclusively visual/design standpoint, who are the best and worst characters?

[Chad Radwell]

Totally disregarding them as units and looking only at this game's character design, which characters do you think were super successful, and which ones fell behind a bit in the looks department?

Personally I'm 300% here for Setsuna, Izana, and Charlotte purely for their colour palettes. (I actually like Peri's a lot, too; I know the Harley Quinn hair is a bit much, but the pastel primary colours and general triangular composition are gentle on the retinas. Plus, they make her dark makeup more effective.) On top of that, Subaki and Arthur are great in terms of getting the most personality across in one design/costume. Elise gets an honorable mention; she looks a little Madoka-y to me, but the animation of her hair flying out behind her when she runs is way funnier than it has any right to be and I appreciate that. (Also she's the most cohesive of the Nohr siblings imo.)

On the other hand, Ryoma and Xander both have such terrible, terrible hair. I can almost forgive it on Xander because the rest of his costume is pretty cohesive, but it's so overpowering on Ryoma it hurts. (Azama also has terrible hair, but my brain lets me pretend it's a war bonnet for some reason, so he gets a marginal pass for it.) There's also a little too much going on around Hinata's face, and it's a bit distracting. And then...Hayato. Yikes. I can't even put my finger on it, but if you asked me to design a character who looked "punchable", that's probably exactly what I'd come up with.

 

 

What are your thoughts? Who are the best/worst designs in Fates? (It can even just be for thirsty reasons, go for it.) I'll add onto this myself later when I'm not dying of dysentery on the Oregon Trail.

[Carter]

I like the Nohrian siblings more than the Hoshidan siblings, design-wise. I've never really liked long hair on guys; I always thought it looked odd to me. Ryoma's hair specifically is really extreme, I don't like it at all. Leo's hair is ugly too, that hairstyle always bothered me. And the headband? Not my thing. Honestly though, I don't like any of the siblings hair except for Camilla and Elise. On Camilla, I think the hair covering one eye thing is a bit silly, but other than that, I like how her hair looks and flows, so that's why I like it. Now for their outfits, I don't really have much to say. I think most of them are fine, except Takumi. And also, Elise's skirt is a bit too poofy for me.

And now that I look at the cast as a whole, I don't like any of the male Hoshidan hairstyles. Most of them are long and/or in ponytails, which I've stated I dislike. I dislike everything about Oboro's design. I've never liked blue and orange together, it's a must-NOT. I know that they are complementary of colors of each other, but it always looks ugly. In my opinion, Hana and Scarlet have the best designs out of the Hoshidan cast. Nothing really pops out that gives them an awkward appearance, and their color schemes work well.

For the Nohrians, I'd say Laslow, Peri, and Charlotte have the best designs. For Peri and Charlotte, their neutral-colored outfits fit them very well. White usually goes with anything, so even though they have very different hair colors, their outfit still goes well. As for Laslow, the whole blue and black outfit looks very nice. Award goes to Charlotte for best hair. It looks very well kept, neat, and luscious. As for Nohrians I dislike, the only person I can think of is Forrest. Don't like anything about him. Don't like his portrait, his hair, his hat, or his outfit. Which is weird because I liked Maribelle's design, and I think they look very similar.

51 minutes ago, Tibarn's Distracting Lisp said:

On the other hand, Ryoma and Xander both have such terrible, terrible hair. I can almost forgive it on Xander because the rest of his costume is pretty cohesive, but it's so overpowering on Ryoma it hurts. There's also a little too much going on around Hinata's face, and it's a bit distracting. And then...Hayato. Yikes. I can't even put my finger on it, but if you asked me to design a character who looked "punchable", that's probably exactly what I'd come up with.

I agree with all of this. Ryoma and Xander have just... bad hair. And Hinata and Hayato have a very punchable face.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I don't like the choices for design variation. Setsuna, Kagero, Shigure, Camilla, Setsuna, and Peri all have hair covering one eye. Plus Niles with his eyepatch, and Saizo with an eye scarred shut. That's more than ten percent of the playable cast missing an eye with only Saizo providing a reason as to why in his supports. You'd think the one eye being covered may be a hair fashion concept for one of the two nations, or that it's visual shorthand for a treacherous person, but nope, these characters have neither nationality nor personality traits in common with each other.

Also, and I know Fates is neither the first nor last japanese fiction to do this, but the Hoshidan siblings have nonsense choices for hair color. All four have a different hair color, and none of them with quite the same shade as Sumeragi. We don't know the identity of Sumeragi's first wife and mother to the four kids, but there just isn't enough genetic room for the two parents to carry that many recessive genes to pass down to their kids. Normally this doesn't warrant nitpicking in a fantasy game, but Fates is the same game in which the mother passes down her hair color to her kids 100% of the time for the purposes of pairing. The game's universe just can't decide whether genetics apply to hair color or not. The Nohr siblings get a pass as they allegedly all have different mothers, and we can't say for certain what Garon's hair color was in his youth, probably blonde like three of his kids.

But I think the biggest offender in terms of visual design is Nyx. Through supports she's portrayed to be a complicated character when it comes to what she shows on the outside and what she feels on the inside. But the design team never got past the little girl mage part of her character synopsis. As a woman that seeks the opposite of notoriety, she's given a pink veil, a horned headdress, and a revealing bikini. The only part of her design that I like is the choice for such long hair. Normally little girls don't have that much hair at nyx's adolescent age but we can assume that her hair just kept growing for decades while the rest of her body didn't. The facial marks could also be interpreted as reminders of her curse though it's never outright stated.

[Etrurian emperor]

I actually think that Garon is the best Fates character when we speak solely about their designs. He very competently conveys the armored emperor type ala Hardin, his armor and cape have a fancy, elaborate design, his great size conveys intimidation and his face is that of a man who is clearly long past the time he was happy.
If only that design was rewarded with a good character. 

The worst is Hans because he doesn't have a design. He literary looks like the bandit most lords fight in their first mission. And I know that's the point, he's the completely average bandit scum who has risen through the ranks but it would be so much more interesting if he tried to disguise that fact by dressing like an extremely pampered aristocrat. As he is now Hans is merely the first bandit boss given to much screentime.

[Thane]

Velouria's outfit is absolutely marvelous. I realize it's a play on Little Red Riding Hood, but her clothes are stellar and work so well together. I'm not big on the whole animal parts thing, but she looks a lot like Nah, and I'm a very big fan of her design as well.

I cannot stand Elise's hair. I love twin tails, but they look like mutated sausages.

[Res]

9 minutes ago, Gustavos said:

Also, and I know Fates is neither the first nor last japanese fiction to do this, but the Hoshidan siblings have nonsense choices for hair color. All four have a different hair color, and none of them with quite the same shade as Sumeragi. We don't know the identity of Sumeragi's first wife and mother to the four kids, but there just isn't enough genetic room for the two parents to carry that many recessive genes to pass down to their kids. Normally this doesn't warrant nitpicking in a fantasy game, but Fates is the same game in which the mother passes down her hair color to her kids 100% of the time for the purposes of pairing. The game's universe just can't decide whether genetics apply to hair color or not. The Nohr siblings get a pass as they allegedly all have different mothers, and we can't say for certain what Garon's hair color was in his youth, probably blonde like three of his kids.

But I think the biggest offender in terms of visual design is Nyx. Through supports she's portrayed to be a complicated character when it comes to what she shows on the outside and what she feels on the inside. But the design team never got past the little girl mage part of her character synopsis. As a woman that seeks the opposite of notoriety, she's given a pink veil, a horned headdress, and a revealing bikini. The only part of her design that I like is the choice for such long hair. Normally little girls don't have that much hair at nyx's adolescent age but we can assume that her hair just kept growing for decades while the rest of her body didn't. The facial marks could also be interpreted as reminders of her curse though it's never outright stated.

The Hoshidan family's hair colors all work genetically if you assume Takumi turned prematurely grey (or was born without pigmentation in his hair, rare, but not impossible!). Although red hair is recessive and unusual, it also isn't impossible and Sumeragi's wife could have had brown or blonde hair and two redheads would still be possible. 

As for Nyx, I've known 3 and 4 year olds with thick dark hair down to the middle of their backs; some kids have really fast-growing hair! 

I really like Takumi's design; his outfit is practical and there's quite a few design nods to his character and fate. 

Ryoma's beautiful mane bugs me for its thickness and spikiness. Or maybe I'm just jealous. :P

In general I prefer the Hoshidan designs; I especially like Sakura's little cape and Hinoka's whole appearance. I do love the Nohr colour schemes and Xander and Leo's ridiculous armour, though.

[saisymbolic]

In my opinion, I think Xander, Saizou, Setsuna, Hinata, Arthur and Odin have the best designs.

Xander's armor immediately gives the impression of royalty and strength. The colors really compliment each other well. And I must be one of few people that actually quite likes his hair; the curly ends give him a bit of personality.

Saizou's gives off a sense of mystery with mask - which is completely fitting for his occupation - but the red color reflects his brashness and passion for his liege. His scarred eye makes it seem as if he were ferocious - at least on the battlefield - but it also adds to the whole mystery thing. 

Setsuna's color palette gives me a calm, tranquil feeling, a choice that I think perfectly reflects her personality - or "lack thereof" as someone is bound to say.

Hinata's is my favorite as I really like the detail paid to his design. His face, arms and armor are covered with cuts and scratches, giving away his haphazard, reckless way of fighting and training. The purple, black and gold complement each other and makes him stand out among the Hoshido characters, in my opinion. Even as a person who loves Hinata, I will admit that his face is somewhat punchable, but that only adds to his charm.

Do I really need to explain Arthur? The chiseled chin. The red, white and blue color scheme. The blond hairdo. The "H" on his belt which totally stands for hero and not his J!name like some think. Even his voice exudes bumbling justice seeker.

Odin's design, I think, fits him really well as he is an eccentric character. I like to think that his outfit purposely contrasts Leo's. Whereas Leo is more covered and has a darker color scheme, Odin's is more exposing with yellow, a bright, normally happy color. It could also be said that by having such a loud, odd outfit, he can draw attention away from his shrouded past. But, besides my headcanon, I do quite like this design.

Eh, I don't dislike any of the other designs, though I'm not a fan of Peri's cotton candy hair.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I actually think that Garon is the best Fates character when we speak solely about their designs. He very competently conveys the armored emperor type ala Hardin, his armor and cape have a fancy, elaborate design, his great size conveys intimidation and his face is that of a man who is clearly long past the time he was happy.

The beard I'd like amended though. His face wouldn't work without one, but I don't like the narrow strip of black atop a puffy white rounded base. The shape of the white part is weird too.

[a bear]

Xander's hair is great and I'm super surprised some people think it looks bad. Next you're gonna tell me Narcian has dumb hair too, it's lunacy.

Best designs off the top of my head: Kaze, Hana, Oboro, Shiro, Gunter, Effie, Charlotte, Xander, Ignatius, Scarlet

The worst design for me that I never see mentioned is Beruka. She looks like Bronto Burt or some other Kirby character with a body.

[Chad Radwell]

4 hours ago, Carter said:

I dislike everything about Oboro's design. I've never liked blue and orange together, it's a must-NOT. I know that they are complementary of colors of each other, but it always looks ugly.

Oh god, I totally forgot about her, yeah. I've seen cases where blue and orange work, but they're usually very, very bright or very dark, and neither one of them is the main colour. But Oboro has, like, bank-statement-letter blue and pesticide orange, which already don't want to work together, and they're both fighting for dominance in her costume and..ergh. Also, is it just me or is her nose weird? It's only very, very slightly different from everyone else's, but the way it's shaded and shaped reminds me a little of tumblr nose. 

It's a shame too, because she's a cool gal. We would probably be friends.

Edit: @a bear, since I can't quote you in an edited post (sorry), Xander's hair wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't, like, marriageable and important. (Granted, though, he's way less awful than Ryoma.) Like it would be totally fine imo if he was an older dude who I wasn't supposed to have a magnet in the loins for, or if he was less of a great, standup fella. Arthur has terrible hair too and it's kind of similar, but his entire design just screams "douchebag", and he's a joke anyway. It doesn't fit Xander for me, he looks greasy. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Tibarn's Distracting Lisp

[a bear]

12 minutes ago, Tibarn's Distracting Lisp said:

Edit: @a bear, since I can't quote you in an edited post (sorry), Xander's hair wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't, like, marriageable and important. (Granted, though, he's way less awful than Ryoma.) Like it would be totally fine imo if he was an older dude who I wasn't supposed to have a magnet in the loins for, or if he was less of a great, standup fella. Arthur has terrible hair too and it's kind of similar, but his entire design just screams "douchebag", and he's a joke anyway. It doesn't fit Xander for me, he looks greasy. 

I might be biased because my hair naturally curls to look exactly like Xander's, but I think it fits. Prince Charming, perfect teeth, nice smell, class act all the way.

[Ertrick36]

I have massive Oboro bias, so I'm sure me liking her affects how I view her design.  That derpy-looking face of hers always makes me laugh, which I can't figure out if that's a good thing or not, but I do think she's pretty.  Maybe me liking her design is also because I just like the color blue.

Otherwise, I like the quilt shirts the mercs wear with the weird 80's(?) collar thing going on.  The servants I like, and Leo looks dashing and cool, even when his collar is inside out.  Charlotte's rugged sex appeal look fits her character, the armor knights and wyvern knights look kick ass, and to quote Corrin, "Ninja are so cool..."  Mozu's an adorable country bumpkin, Forrest has nice fashion, I have a soft spot for Kinshi Knights and like seeing older characters who actually look older (which applies to multiple "older" characters), and Velouria is Red Riding hood.

Least favorites...  The dark mages look kind of ridiculous.  Setsuna's design doesn't really do much for me...  Ryoma the Hedgehog... do I need to say more?  In regards to Camilla, her battle panties and cow-inspired design aspects distract from an otherwise fairly solid design.  Groan and the other villains just look ridiculous and ugly, which is hardly a surprise.  And I've said on a number of accounts how male Corrin has such a punchable face.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Ertrick36

[Anacybele]

Ryoma is my favorite design by far. He looks so awesome and I even love his hair! I don't usually like long hair on a guy, but somehow, Ryoma makes it look amazing.

Worst? Camilla and Charlotte, by far. What was the art director smoking when he came up with these? panty windows, giant balloon boobs, exposed thighs on a MOUNTED unit, wtf? For Charlotte, I suppose it fits her character, but it makes no sense for someone going in to battle.

I also hate female Corrin's exposed thighs, as they feel so forced, random, and dumb. It's literally the only skin she exposes aside from her feet and face. Seriously. WHY did everything BUT the thighs have to be covered?

I dislike most female designs in Fates, actually, because most have those forced open thighs or some crap like that. I'm okay with a skirt or dress once in awhile, but is it too much to ask for some more women who wear pants too?

The only female designs I really like are Elise, Rinkah, and Hinoka.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Anacybele

[nosef]

Velouria because she can look so cool and so weird . Her facial expression are either badass or extremely funny/creepy you can see it in both of her cipher card .And her outfit is pure gold for my test (the red version and the black version ).

Oboro has also amazing expression and i like her outfit too (and it help that i also like Oboro a lot) .

Odin and Ophelia are really well depicted by their design ,i can feel the "overthetop" acting and the will to show their passion . Honestly i'am even surprised that they hide their nipple but i guess it's for keeping a little bit of mystery ( and because it wouldn't fit the other dark mage specialy nyx who already suffer from that even if i consider that she show her body like a martyr or ex-criminal who blame herself and don't want to forgot and forgive ).

Honorable mention to Niles Charlotte Benny selena azura rinka .

I don't really dislike any design but i dislike the male gaze (Camilla cut-scene)i mean almost every girl  have something expose even if it doesn't go with their personality .  They could  have say that the army force women to wear unpractical clothes because they look better in it and they don't care if it stop them to figth or reduce their efficacity ,like in our world it could be great( maybe a bit hypocritical? i don't know)  but here we got nothing to work on or excuse it.

[Jave]

I definitely agree on Velouria, with her looks being an odd mix of weird and adorable, and I love the irony of a wolf girl wearing a Red Riding Hood outfit.

I also want to mention Benny. As I said in another thread, I feel they absolutely nailed the design they were going for with him. It fits his character perfectly, specially his smiling pose.

In general I like most of the designs in Fates. They're a bit over the top in comparison to the previous games, but I love how every character has his/her own unique traits in terms of pure design. To add some honorable mentions, I'll add Nina, Hana, Xander, Elise, Sakura, Soleil, Shiro, Forrest and special mention to Rhajat, who in terms of pure design I actually prefer over Tharja. Her exotic dress looks incredibly fashionable.

Worst... well, I'm another one who doesn't like much Ryoma's design, mainly due to the armor and hairstyle who look far too exaggerated.

And there's seriously people who think Xander has a bad hairstyle? Fite me irl bro.

[NekoKnight]

Best Female: Probably Selena. I like the red and browns of her outfit and her clothes look practical. Severa was fairly plain in Awakening but the tweaks to her hair and using Cordelia's hair color brought the design to life. Special mention to Mikoto.

Worst Female: Camilla. I love everything from the shoulders up but the outfit is a mess. She's not a femfatale and yet she has exposed panties and a cleavage window. She also has these useless spikes on her hips. The color scheme is well done, however. Special mention to Nyx.

Best Male: Kaze. He has such lovely hair and a relaxing face. The strong green color scheme contrasts well with the other ninja. Special mention to DioNiles.

Worst Male: Han. As someone else said, he's just a generic bandit boss. Had he been given an atypical outfit like a nobleman's clothes he could have passed as a up-jumped noble who is still a brute at heart. Nope, a bandit in bandit attire. Special mention to Ignatius.

On 05/31/2017 at 5:58 AM, Thane said:

I'm not big on the whole animal parts thing,

We're not here to kink-shame, friend. Don't feel like you have to pretend you're not a furry.

[Jotari]

I really wonder what Takumi looks like with his hair down...

[Ertrick36]

18 minutes ago, NekoKnight said:

Worst Male: Han. As someone else said, he's just a generic bandit boss. Had he been given an atypical outfit like a nobleman's clothes he could have passed as a up-jumped noble who is still a brute at heart. Nope, a bandit in bandit attire. Special mention to Ignatius.

Dude, if Hans wore something dapper or elegant as his uniform but kept his otherwise rugged appearance, he'd immediately jump to being my favorite villain in Fates just by that alone.

1 minute ago, Jotari said:

I really wonder what Takumi looks like with his hair down...

He'd look something like this:

Spoiler

From Kozaki's twitter

 

[Jotari]

4 minutes ago, Ertrick36 said:

Dude, if Hans wore something dapper or elegant as his uniform but kept his otherwise rugged appearance, he'd immediately jump to being my favorite villain in Fates just by that alone.

He'd look something like this:

  Hide contents

From Kozaki's twitter

 

I think there's a bit more of it in the finalized design. He needs to braids to keep it in check 0.o But thanks for showing, I was expecting fanart. Nice to see something official.

[Anacybele]

Sorry, but I agree with those who say Xander has bad hair. It looks like he wears ramen noodles on his head.

[Ebony]

Best (male) - I'm pretty biased but I actually like Ryoma's wild mane. I guess it'd be Ryoma, Niles, Laslow, and Kaze.

Best (female) - Sakura, Oboro, Selena, Nina

Worst (male) - Hans, Ignatius

Worst (female) - Camilla, Peri

[Thane]

8 hours ago, NekoKnight said:

We're not here to kink-shame, friend. Don't feel like you have to pretend you're not a furry.

Well, judging by your profile pic, I'm not sure you'd be in a position to shame me even if I were a furry!

Edited June 1, 2017 by Thane

[ashlyn]

I don't really understand the hate for Xander's and Ryoma's hair, I think it suits them both fine. The long hair seems to fit for Ryoma because it seems like it's a tradition for the royals of Hoshido to have long hair, or at least that's what I believe. That and a lot of the guys on the Birthright route have long hair anyway, so it doesn't seem that out of place. I don't think Xander's hair is bad enough for me to hate it, but it's definitely pretty funny looking with all of the little curls he has. 

I don't really hate a specific female's design, however I dislike most of the female's attire because as others have pointed out it doesn't really make sense. I mean, I get that it's for the fanservice, but some of it just makes me wonder who actually took the time to sit down and make those outfit designs, thinking it was a good idea. Of course Charlotte was one of the most notable, with her whole midsection being exposed, but the one I have the most problems with is the outfits for all of the female knights. Why in the world would they be covered in full armor but leave their ass exposed? Oh, that's right, so everyone can look at their thong. Honestly, it's pretty funny that someone actually made that. I don't know if they changed it for the female generals, as I currently don't have any, but knowing them they probably didn't change it.

For me, there is a three-way tie for the worst male design, and it's between Dwyer, Hayato, and Azama. I think they all got screwed over with their designs, and I think that had their designs looked better, it would have made them a little more enjoyable as characters, since their stats certainly aren't amazing or anything. Dwyer to me looks like a drug addict. Hayato just looks like a bratty kid, which fits his personality but makes him more annoying and more forgettable. And as for Azama, the only thing I have to say is: THE HAIR. 

Edit: I almost forgot to put my best ones! I think my favorites have to be Azura and Shigure. Sorry if that's basic, but both of their designs were really pretty to look at and I think it really suited their characters. 

Edited June 1, 2017 by ashlyn

[Skynstein]

Ryoma is IntSys' take on Ubogin. His hair is not really a problem.

[Emerson]

Setsuna has my favorite design and color scheme, with Oboro being a close second. I actually like Charlotte's design a lot, although I feel a bit more actual armor (and actual pants) would've been able to be created without removing her character from her design.

I love Peri's outfit (since she had pants unlike other cavs and it actually looks a bit more fancy, since she's from a upper class household) although her hair, while I don't dislike it, is really out of place, with both her outfit and the game itself. To be honest, without the pink it'd be mostly fine.

As for ones I dislike... I really don't like Ryoma's design. The hair just looks kinda dumb, and I feel the red they used for his armor was a bit too much. Accents are nice, but the whole thing, really? Ophelia, despite being my favorite character, has one of my least favorite outfits. This is shared with Nyx, who I also like quite a bit. And I'm jumping on the Camilla train. Just... why?