I know the game's not done yet, and I know that things might change, but the consensus is that some of the characters look derpy instead of (or as well as) creepy.
Here's how Hitomi looked in DOA4...
And here she is in promotional materials for DOA5...
Uh...huh. Well, that sure is a face there.
I'm no expert on anatomy, but I can't shake the feeling that something STILL feels off about her face. I guess her eyes look a little deader now (and the color palate, unfortunately, looks to have caught the "colors are teh sux0rz" bug that a lot of modern games have). Also, other comments have suggested that Hitomi doesn't look as German as she did before and more American, but I wouldn't know anything about that. Do people with German blood have different facial traits/structures?
Anyway, Kasumi's back too. Here's how she looks in DOA Dimensions...
And here she is in DOA5...
Um...progress? I'm really at a loss here, guys. I know the faces are less animesque -- though that was hardly a problem; the issue was that they looked like dolls -- but this style shift makes me think that the developers are going through growing pains. She just looks so sleepy, or plain uninterested; not exactly a sharp quality for someone about to engage in a life-or-death battle.
Also, one of the latest trailers. Watch it and see if you find anything...interesting.
I like how this trailer makes sure you notice the new and improved jiggle physics engine as much as the exploding levels. (I also like how the girls are still improbably buxom -- and lest my eyes deceive me, Hitomi is still roughly the same size as earlier incarnations.) Also, one of the developers had this to say in an interview:
Yosuke Hayashi: If you look at sex for example, the Dead or Alive girls have always been known for that. So... okay let me ask you one thing right now: When you look at this concept of sex, when you go and meet a woman, do you go and look at her breasts - do you judge a woman by her breasts? You don't, that's just rude and disgusting. What we really want to do in [Dead or Alive 5], especially because our female characters have been such a huge symbol of the series, what we want to do is redefine that. What we want to do is make a woman who really moves a man's heart. When a man looks at a woman, when he looks at her posture, her manners, when he hears her voice, it's everything that makes up a beautiful woman that can really kind of emotionally move a man. That is something that we are really trying to put into Dead or Alive 5 and portray our female characters like that, something that's not superficial really. ... We're giving the series a much more deep and emotional connection than we have up to now, and we really want to give meaning to what we're doing right now at Team NINJA. It's a huge kind of movement toward the future right now.
It's admirable. It's appreciated. It's a recognition that, hey, maybe we should have our characters do other things besides dancing in the near-nude. But I still have to take issue. Let's take this point-by-point:
1) What we really want to do in [Dead or Alive 5], especially because our female characters have been such a huge symbol of the series, what we want to do is redefine that.
Or, you know, define them in the first place. Narrative closure rules.
2) What we want to do is make a woman who really moves a man's heart.
Fair enough. Just remember that it takes more than graphics and animations to move someone. Personality, dialogue, motivation, relationships, things like that are --
3) When a man looks at a woman, when he looks at her posture, her manners, when he hears her voice, it's everything that makes up a beautiful woman that can really kind of emotionally move a man.
Oh. Um...well, I guess that's cool, too. You know, it's not like no one's ever tried this concept out before in any other medium, and nobody's ever taken issue with it. Or gotten sick of it via oversaturation.
4) That is something that we are really trying to put into Dead or Alive 5 and portray our female characters like that, something that's not superficial really.
Um...wasn't this your first poster for the game?
5) We're giving the series a much more deep and emotional connection than we have up to now, and we really want to give meaning to what we're doing right now at Team NINJA. It's a huge kind of movement toward the future right now.
You know what they say. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Prove me wrong, Team Ni-
HOLY TUNA AND SAUERKRAUT SANDWICH! IS THAT VIRTUA FIGHTER'S AKIRA YUKI?
...Guess DOA5 is a day-one buy, then. Those bastards.
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