Gaming franchises are often full of recurring characters, but that doesn’t mean that those characters look the same every time they appear in a game. Changes in the way a character looks are fairly common in a series, especially if the games take place on a timeline and the characters age. But even if there’s no distinct timeline in a series, characters might show up in one game looking completely different from their past appearance, and that’s not always a good thing.
Plenty of redesigns are fine, either in the sense that they improve the character, or the changes are met with neutral reactions. However, there are also redesigns that leave players upset and confused, wondering what the idea was behind those changes. In some cases, developers listen and adjust the design to address player complaints, especially if the game hasn’t been released yet and the design was just shown in promotions. Then, there are the redesigns that go live when a game launches, and it can result in a character feeling completely different or out of place.
10 James Sunderland’s Redesign Almost Made It Into Silent Hill 2
Gaming’s Horror Icons
When the first trailer launched to announce that Silent Hill 2 was being remade, the excitement came with a dose of confusion about James’ appearance. While his redesign wasn’t the only point of controversy, as Maria’s Silent Hill 2 changes raised questions as well, it would’ve been more prominent, since players see James a lot more than they see Maria when playing the game.
Because of that, it’s a relief that Bloober Team listened to feedback and adjusted James’ appearance. James’ redesign wasn’t the most egregious, but because it was for a remake and not him reappearing in a later game, the changes felt off.
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Players were immediately concerned about the remake because of this redesign, as it left them wondering how many other small differences would be made, and if the end result would feel like a faithful remake at all. However, Bloober Team made the best choice it could have in that situation and showed that it’s listening by adjusting James’ appearance, which reignited hope in the remake.
9 Ashley’s Looks Drastically Changed Between Mass Effect 1 And 3
Sci-Fi’s Leading Ladies
Depending on who Shepard decides to save in Mass Effect 1, Ashley returns as a squadmate in Mass Effect 3 with a new appearance. Some time passes between ME1 and ME3, and with the original games, the graphics improve a fair amount through the trilogy, unlike the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, where the graphics have been improved, so each game is more polished.
Most characters are designed in
ME3
in a way where they’re still recognizable at a glance, except for Ashley.
Ashley’s redesign for Mass Effect 3 makes it look like the goal was to make her another version of Miranda, or at least have a more Barbie-like appearance. There wasn’t anything wrong with her original appearance, it just needed some updating and polishing due to the difference in graphic quality between ME1 and ME3. It feels like a disservice to Ashley to give her an appearance that focuses on looks rather than her strengths as a soldier working with Shepard.
8 Master Chief’s Armor Doesn’t Look Protective In Halo 4
A Less Armored Look
Master Chief’s redesign is actually among the few that received an in-game explanation for the changes. Due to the events of Halo 3, the armor that Master Chief wears had to be repaired by nanobots, which resulted in his new appearance in Halo 4 and Halo 5. Outside the game universe, the biggest reason for the choice to redesign Master Chief is likely due to a broader change to the art style moving into Halo 4.
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In this redesign, a lot of the actual armor pieces meant to offer some protection to Master Chief are rather small. Then, the pieces that appear to allow flexibility for the wearer are more prominent, which looks like it would be a major concern when the threats Master Chief faces are considered. The result is a redesign that left many players unhappy with the choices made to Master Chief’s appearance, as this iconic character just didn’t look right.
7 Samus’ Gravity Suit In Other M Is A Downgrade
A Reduced Suit
Samus has received a lot of redesigns throughout the Metroid series, and part of that comes from the variety of suits she uses in the games, as well as changes in graphics and styles that lead to different appearances. Other M is a game in the series that isn’t the most beloved, and it also included what might be the worst version of Samus’ Gravity Suit. It just looks like her regular suit with a bit of a glow.
Traditionally, the Gravity Suit is at least partially recolored compared to the default suit. Primarily, the head is the same reddish color, but the rest of the suit is shades of gray, green, or purple. However, for Other M, the suit isn’t recolored, and it instead just has a pink aura. The end result makes it look like it would fit better in a cartoon than on Samus.
6 Spyro Received A New Look In Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure
A New Dragon
For many players, Spyro is the main character of a series that helped define their childhood, making him and his appearance rather nostalgic. Perhaps because of this, the redesign of Spyro in Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure sparks mixed opinions. It doesn’t help that his new appearance looks different enough from his classic design that he could be mistaken as a new character at a glance.
This version of Spyro has a completely different body shape and a darker color palette used for his design. Although his horns and head still have some similarities, they weren’t similar enough to indicate that this new character was Spyro and not some other character who would be a new addition in that game. To compound the disappointment, Spyro doesn’t even have a large story role in Skylanders, which makes him feel like a side character.
5 Dr. Eggman’s Realistic Look Didn’t Work In Sonic 2006
A Strange Transformation
Dr. Eggman received a redesign that was supposed to help him fit in with the more realistic art style of the 2006 Sonic game. However, Dr. Eggman’s standard design is rather exaggerated to make him look like a mad scientist type of villain, and the redesign wasn’t successful in capturing that vibe with the new style. The design’s attempt to mix exaggeration with realism left him looking out of place.
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Interestingly, he’s still recognizable as Dr. Eggman with this game’s design, which isn’t always the case with redesigns. It helps that his outfit and color scheme remained mostly the same. However, the realistic style of his head didn’t work with his large mustache and nose, and the rest of his body and design leaned more to the exaggerated style rather than try to make him realistic, so the end result just looked off.
4 DmC Completely Changed Dante’s Appearance
A Demonized Hero
Dante normally has white hair, a youthful face, and a rather colorful or detailed outfit that sets him apart as a main character in Devil May Cry. However, DmC decided that the original version of Dante was no longer appealing for the series, so he received a completely new look that turned him into a different character. While Dante is supposed to be younger and more rebellious in DmC, he’s not recognizable as Dante at all when compared to the original character.
This version of Dante has short black hair compared to the long white hair he had before, and his outfit is a more subdued shirt, jacket, and jeans combination. Overall, the design itself isn’t bad. The problem is that the end result has no resemblance to the original version of Dante, which can make the DmC games less appealing for players used to the old games.
3 Bomberman: Act Zero Changes Bomberman In The Worst Ways
A Bomberman Revamp
Bomberman is generally known for his cartoonish design, lighthearted world, and gameplay that’s friendly for players of any level to jump into. Then, Bomberman: Act Zero was released in 2006, and it completely changed the design of beloved characters for the worse. Unlike previous games, players could customize their characters instead of playing as the iconic version of Bomberman, or his friends.
The problem was that none of the characters looked like they belonged in a Bomberman game because the art direction for Act Zero tried to be more realistic in appearance and include darker themes overall. As a result, the game isn’t recognizable as part of the Bomberman series, and it looks like it would’ve been better off if it was released as a standalone game under a different title. Luckily, games added to the series after Act Zero returned to the classic designs for Bomberman and other characters included in-game.
2 Ken Got A Design Overhaul In Street Fighter 5
A Fighting Legend’s New Style
Ken from Street Fighter is iconic for his blonde hair, red outfit, and skillset that shares similarities with Ryu, his childhood best friend, in most games. However, he got his largest redesign in Street Fighter 5, and as is the case with many of these redesigns, the result left him looking like an entirely different character. There’s some speculation that the change could be related to events that happened off-screen, but his design changes again for Street Fighter 6 to better resemble his original appearance.
In Street Fighter 5, Ken has longer hair that looks more white than blonde, and it’s partially tied back. Then, his normal red outfit had been adjusted to have the shirt around his waist in favor of a dark v-neck shirt instead. In addition to these changes, Ken’s skillset was also adjusted to set him apart from Ryu, as their fighting had typically been somewhat similar.
1 Chris Redfield Doesn’t Look Like Himself In Resident Evil Village
A Familiar Face, A New Look
Chris Redfield has had multiple redesigns in Resident Evil, but most of them were done in a way where he was still easily recognizable. The games take place in set years, so it’s expected that characters will look different as they age. In RE5, he might’ve had ridiculously large muscles for punching boulders, but the design was clearly Chris. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for his latest appearance in RE7 and RE Village.
With his new appearance, veteran players are left surprised when Chris introduces himself as Chris Redfield in RE Village because he looks like a completely different character. He almost seemed to be taking inspiration from Mr. X with this hulking build and fashion sense. Since Chris is such an iconic character in the series, and he appears in more games than any other character, deciding to make him look so different seems like a strange choice.
Character redesigns are common in video games, especially when a series has recurring characters or a timeline it follows with confirmed years. However, not every redesign is a good choice, especially when it removes the essence of a character or makes them unrecognizable when compared to their previous appearances. Because character designs tend to become an important part of that character, redesigns need to be handled with care.
