10 Disastrous Redesigns That Ruined Iconic Video Game Characters
Oh god, Bomberman, what they have done to you?!
Like stories, characters aren’t fixed, they evolve considerably over the course of a narrative, adapting slowly from one thing into something else altogether. Sometimes, this change manifest itself physically, and a character is redesigned significantly in order to reflect this change in temperament. Other times, a character is redesigned in order to inspire a new sense of purpose, or in an attempt to generate interest from an entirely different audience.
Whatever the reason, a redesign can go one of two ways: either it can be a tremendous success or a colossal failure, permanently damaging an iconic character to an irreparable extent. After all, characters’ appearances are often so associated with their personality that the two cannot be easily disassociated, meaning even the slightest change can have lasting consequences, both for them and the series as a whole.
Characters should change – it’s natural, and it keeps them interesting – but that process needs to be patient, gradual. Unfortunately, most redesigns are sudden – usually motivated by financial investment – and therefore jarring to fans, meaning the response isn’t always positive.
As such, here are ten redesigns that utterly flopped, ruining beloved characters in the process...
10. Dante (DmC: Devil May Cry)
There have been countless complaints regarding this particular redesign – which is understandable, especially when you consider the extent to which the character now resembles a moody frontman in an early 2000s nu-metal band. Regardless, his appearance isn’t the only thing to complain about, seeing as how everything about the character was drastically redesigned with the release of DmC: Devil May Cry in 2008.
For one thing, his endearing nonchalant, carefree disposition was completely overhauled, replaced with a more cynical, immature – and, some would say, irritating – attitude, complete with an overreliance on pointless insults, self-aggrandising and casual disinterestedness, lacking in any semblance of self-awareness. This, coupled with his appearance, just made the character seem vulgar, or boorish – which makes no sense considering the series is literally about style.
In this case, Dante’s appearance and personality were changed considerably, and for the worse. If it weren’t for the former, things might have worked out – but as it was – the changes were mostly just ridiculed, as well as despised.