So there is such thing as “too sexy”?

bikiniarmorbattledamage:

We’ve been noted by lots of our lovely followers that Square Enix changed their minds about their mobile game protagonist who caused such an outrage  a while ago.

chikyful said:

Sorry if this is information you already know, but the mobile Final Fantasy game, Mobius (originally Mevius), has had some design changes. Due to ‘negative’ feedback, the main character now has less skin showing. Meanwhile a new female character has been announced. What are your thoughts?

indirajartwork (who also suggested this post’s title) submitted:

“Too sexy!” New Final Fantasy’s hunky male lead has his revealing costume toned down

Where are all the dudebros to cry about censorship and creative freedom NOW? O__o

Morrigan submitted:

Remember that skimpy male armour from FF Mevius?
Well, turns out the SJW cabal has been forcing Square Enix to abandon their sacrosanct artistic vision and censor themselves… I’m sure the brave knights of free speech will protest this blatant censorship, right? Surely, Squeenix will be called prudes who hate sex after this?
….Right?

Mobius Final Fantasy was ‘a little too sexy,’ watch the redesigned mobile RPG

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The hypocrisy is so blatant, and yet somehow, so unsurprising. Sigh.

criemoar said:

Have you heard the news about Mobius Final Fantasy? OK PREPARE FOR GENERAL LEL@GAMERS basically the champions of FREDUM OF SPEUCH and ANTI-CENSORSHIP are now defending squeenix censoring a male character’s scanty outfit due to complaints from whiny male gamers. BEAUTIFUL. /popcorn
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As pushtosmart puts in their very concise (and wonderfully sarcastic) summary of the case:

Thankfully, Square Enix recognized how uncomfortable it would be for men to play as a character who was designed as a sexual object before an active, heroic subject, and announced today that they had modified his design.

[…] Thank you for being so understanding, Square Enix.

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Can’t say I’m surprised or angry, but very much disappointed.

A franchise that one hand gave us such “gems” as Fran or Lightning’s eye-gauging wardrobe, but on the other catered to female gaze with designs like Vaan or the equal opportunity skimpy armors of FF XIV, now they’re listening to people with opinions like this:

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And said people are more than happy to shield this change with the good old “creative freedom” excuse. The same creative freedom that would most likely be called “censorship” or “entitlement” if the such redesign was applied to a female character instead.

So, apparently, there IS such thing as “too sexy”… but only under condition that you are a man. Who knew, right?

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~Ozzie

I am really disappointed in my fellow men for this one.  Ever since I started helping out here they’ve always been so eager to tell me how people who bothered by a sexualized depiction of their demographic should respond.

  • “Go make your own.” Pretty self explanatory.  Just start a studio that makes computer games professionally, produce critically acclaimed games that sell in record amounts and in twenty-eight years you could be showing them how it’s done.
  • “Realize it’s a fantasy game were anybody can have a magic powers.” So nothing needs to make sense and nothing matters… really they should be campaigning for him to have less clothes, that way it’s more fantasy-ish right?
  • “Enjoy it as a celebration of male form.” It makes men look good so that’s got to be good for all of us right?
  • “Just stop.” Okay, I’m not sure how this one helps but they seem very confident about it.

All these options… and which did you go with?

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– wincenworks

more on Mevius/Mobius Final Fantasy | more on “creative freedom” | more sexy male armors

Speaking of “censorship” vs. “pandering”, thought it would be appropriate to bring this post back for the Throwback Thursday. As a reader @ms-silver remarked under our last post:

… These are probably the same guys who made that one male character from that FF game put on more clothes. But then again, making dudes wear more clothes isn’t censorship, clearly.

So yes indeed, more evidence that keeping skimpy clothes on a character is “pandering” only if said character is a (not conventionally masculine) man. When the character is female, keeping her in a bikini is crucial for the artistic integrity… and sometimes even aids her basic life functions!

~Ozzie