Final Fantasy XII picks up on this theme with the all-female Viera of Eruyt Village. The Viera -- as displayed upfront by FFXII's main black mage, Fran -- are a race of bunny people that, because they are bunny people, run around in stiletto heels, thongs, and assorted lingerie.Okay, so maybe I'm not being fair. The Viera are a deeply spiritual people that have a close bond with nature and are particularly skilled in archery. Their bunny ears allow them to hear over great distances and listen to the voices of spirits. Because of this ability, they can summon monsters from --
I'm sorry, I just can't get past this. The only all-female society in Ivalice just happens to resemble a clutch of Playboy Playmates. This wouldn't creep me out as much if, say, Fran was the only one suffering from an awkward gait because of the leather G-string three miles up her ass. However, every single other lapine-eared lady, from leader Jute's silky teddy to the NPC extras' thigh-highs, has apparently decided that bedwear is completely fitting for patrolling their jungle home. I'm all for being able to choose whatever the hell you want to wear, but there isn't a single Viera who doesn't look like she belongs in Hugh Hefner's mansion. Add to that the consistently cookie-cutter faces and it almost makes my blood run cold.
Final Fantasy XII is a fantastic game, so it's a shame that the overall experience -- and so much potential for a group of strong female characters -- suffers because of such blatant sexism. And it isn't the Vieras' fault; they also appear in Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance, Tactics: A2, and FFXII: Revenant Wings with much more varied character designs, from the sexy to the sensible.
It's not the sexy itself that gets to me. I won't mince words: this entire society, set apart from the many others of Ivalice as being made up entirely of women, has been rendered to a collection of sex objects simply by their character design. Conversely, Final Fantasy IV's matriarchal kingdom, Toroia, avoided this beautifully. For example, while the sprites of the Toroia guards could have been replaced by the scantily-clad dancers, they're in fact decked out in armor. Because they're . . . guards, and, male or female . . . you get the idea.
Unfortunately, it's not unusual for female characters to be subjected to this kind of hypersexualization and objectification, and even less so for women in power to have their status mocked by such. The sad truth is that it's just as common an RPG staple as our aforementioned town themes. If only there were something other than the obligatory Hot Sexy Chicks Who Would Love To Sex You Up that leaves female gamers left out in the cold.
*claps*
ReplyDeletehere, here!
it's doubling frustrating too because, aside from her costuming, fran was a really awesome character. i really liked her personality and felt she was one of the stronger representations of women in final fantasy. it's almost like they couldn't bear to have a woman be too competent and cool, so they took her down a few notches by sexing her up. ugh.
Indeed, they are victims of Square Enix's cruel joke. As characters, I really like the Viera. I've always found shamanic societies fascinating, and I am highly interested in all-female cultures.
ReplyDeleteOne "good thing" is that their clothing does not represent their attitudes--I mean, it sucks that they look like they wanna sex you up, but at least they're not actually trying to sex you up.
That's not much to be optimistic about! It's inexcusable. There were plenty of ways to dress those bunny women!
Part of what drives my cynicism in this post is the crippling disappointment that Squeenix fell into such an obvious trap of sexism. They're all women?! With bunny ears?! By god, let's put them ALL in underwear!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Calabar -- at least they don't act all coy and flirty, too.
oliemoon -- exactly. Fran is SUCH a cool character, and she's part of my FFXII All-Female Supergroup (alongside Ashe and Penelo, obviously). I couldn't help but notice how . . . oddly she stands, and I can only blame the G-string.
Amazing what details can do, huh?
ReplyDeleteSo my first exposure to the Viera was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The Game Boy Advance had smaller and less detailed graphics, and the art style for FFTA was "everything is childish and supercute." So I saw the Viera and said, "Hey, they're deer. And as cute as everything else."
I thought making them bunny girls was too easy of a trap to fall for.
Then I see screenshots of FF12. Wow, they ARE bunny girls. Well, OK they're bunnies. I can ignore that WAIT why are they ALL dressed like that?
I could never respect Fran because of that stupid dress she wears. Nevermind that my roomates always gawk at her buttfloss.
There were many reasons I didn't play FF12, but the Viera was one of them. Amazing how much an increase of resolution could turn me off.
chadius:
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I instantly didn't like Fran solely because of her outfit, too (hee, buttfloss). It's an internalized prejudice that I definitely have to deal with, and I think it's something we all feel from time to time. I talked about it in my post about femininity: our snap judgments stem from the general disgust for women imparted on us by patriarchal social conditioning.
PS: When I first played FFT:A, I thought that the Viera were deer people, too.
This reminds me of an article about FFX-2 in which the designer complained that the only out fit in the game that didn't look like it belonged on a stripper, the white mage costume, wasn't as revealing as he'd wanted it to be.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, there's nothing about that game apart from Yuna's hotpants and continued fan serve (and brand loyalty) that I see as remotely appealing to men.
fan service*
ReplyDelete