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Player Characters & Rivals: Original or Remake?
Seeing as both Generations 1 and 2 have been remade, nearly every major Kanto/Johto character has seen, at least, one redesign over the past 10 years. Which outfit do you like the best? Do you think that any of them should've been redesigned?
I'll start off with the Player Characters and Rivals. (Gym Leaders and Elite Four Members will get their own threads.) 1. Red: RBY design. |
I don't have strong opinions for all of these, but here it goes:
1. Red: I'm actually a lot more torn on this one than I thought, as I like both of them. On net, I might have to favor the RBY Red, mainly because of his iconic, classic 90's look. He does resemble Ash a great deal, but I don't have a problem with that, and frankly, I've always thought that Ash gets a lot more flak than he deserves. However, the new Red looks slightly older, and somewhat closer to how I look, so in some ways, I relate to him a little better. Although they're supposed to be the same character, they're different enough that in many ways, I think of them as two individuals going on journeys in parallel universes, separated by several years of time. RBY Red looks like a younger kid, perhaps still a bit cocky. FRLG's Red looks like he's had more life experience (maybe it's his eyes and expression in the art...), and so I can picture him sitting atop Mount Silver, training and contemplating the past, present, and future. 2. Green/Leaf: New design. I've never liked either one that much, but the one in the pictures you attached just leaves me with a negative impression. I guess she's just too well-dressed for me, with the dress, gloves and shoes. She looks ready to either charm as many people as possible or become another Mushroom Kingdom princess to me, but I have a hard time picturing her as a serious trainer who's willing to get her hands dirty to become a Pokemon master. 3. Blue: Original design. I'm not a huge fan of the FRLG fanny pack, either, and I've always liked his simple, original look. 4. Gold: Original design. (And I also don't see why GF insisted on starting to call him Ethan in HGSS, but that's for another thread.) I guess I kind of like "bland" trainers, but the main thing for me is the shorts. I like the GSC shorts better than the HGSS ones (I don't like how the HGSS ones tighten below the knee). The original Gold is one of my favorite character designs, actually. 5. Kris/Lyra: Crystal design (Kris). These are pretty much entirely different characters (it seems like GF jettisoned poor Kris), but I've always liked Kris's design, and I've never cared for Lyra's hat, suspenders, or really high socks. 6. Silver: I guess the GSC design, though I don't have strong feelings about it. I agree that he looks more menacing in that version, and that adds to the complexity of his character. I'm not that fond of the character's design in general (mainly because of the hair, I guess). |
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I will say that I like the way Gold's hair and face are drawn better than the way I do Ethan's, but, truthfully, I just don't have a strong opinion on either. |
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It's an intriguing topic to think about overall, though. I hadn't really thought about the character designs and redesigns in detail before, and the older vs. newer art certainly gives a different feel to the Pokemon universe. It's also interesting to look at the art style and designs of characters across all of the generations--the characters from the late 90's look quite different from our gen 6 protagonists, likely reflecting the changing world, societal/cultural trends, etc., over the past 15-20 years. It's also interesting to think about how our own perceptions of the characters have changed over time--after all, I grew up with Pokemon (as I'm guessing you did), and just as the series and its characters have transformed, so too have we. |
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With so many Pokémon fans being older teenagers and young adults nowadays, I can see why they started making the PCs older with Generation 5. Even May and Brendan appear to have been retconned into being teenagers (making me wonder if the Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh PCs will eventually get the same treatment in future remakes). Quote:
Things have even changed a lot since Generation 3, for that matter. Even Red's FRLG art has clear stylistic differences from Hilbert's--His eyes aren't as large, his face is more pointed, he's slightly shorter and stockier, and he isn't colored as brightly. And, then, there's the gigantic world of difference that is May's RS artwork and her ORAS artwork. Same character and even, the same pose, and yet, they're worlds apart. |
Red: RGB Just because his iconic black hair simple clothes thing looks better to me
Green/Leaf: RGB beta Because I read the PokeSpe manga and that's probably cheating. XD But Manga!Blue's outfit does change, just like everyone else's, so it's probably not cheating. But Imperator161, you don't know how close to the truth you were there with her lol. Blue: His FRLG clothes look better to me, but maybe that's because he and Gary look *too* much alike with RGB. What was that circle thing on his RGB outfit again? ._.U Gold: HGSS outfit. I always draw him in this because I like pants more than shorts. Plus they're easier to draw. However I recently discovered I own a pair of black jeans that look just like his lol I figure. Kris/Lyra: Her GSC outfit is easier to draw, but her HGSS outfit is really cute too. I just like how Pokemon Adventures had Kris wearing the HGsS outfit with blue hair it was so cute. X3 Manga!Kris calls a tie. Silver: I don't really know about his outfits. I'm always paying attention to the creepy face he makes while chalenging Gold like you-know-what face over there. But I suppose his HGSS clothes look slimmer, sleeker, and a bit better, but his hair was better in GSC(WHEN IT WASN'T LONGER THAN MINE). However I'm not sure what to say about all this alternate world stuff. While it sounds cool, I prefer to think he different versions are alternate worlds rather than just every gen being different was it's remake/original. (Like Black City or White Forest). |
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I like Red's new design. Its simpler and a little more easier. I felt that their early designs was too dated. Even back then, i never thought the oversize lifegaurd jacket look nice at all. Quote:
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Regardless, HGSS he looks pretty good with his leather jacket look that is reminiscent from RGB. Quote:
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The one we know as "Blue" is known as "Green" in japan. That's why its a bigger mistake to call her Green at all.
Regardless, i think nostalgia is clouding most of the judgement on the re-designs. I personally like most of the newer designs. I don't dislike Lyra's design but i just wish she wasn't replaced by the tomboy design that Kris had. I believe Lyra's design definitely had a place. The only ones i dislike is Leaf and Ethans. Ethan in the original had a lot more flare when it came to his original design. But what i hate most about his new design is that he looks too childish. http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Red_97e006_1881633.jpg if he had as much flare as this, he would be a great character. |
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She doesn't have a canon name, period. You can call her "Green," "Leaf," "Blue," "Purple," or whatever you want, but none of those names are canon. As I said, when Gen 1 is remade, she'll either get a canon name and a secondary rival role (if you play as Red) or (more likely) she'll be scrapped for a new character who'll have both of those things from the get-go (like a certain other female PC who replaced another female PC who had neither a canon name or existed in the game if you played as the guy). Quote:
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And, speaking of the Rival, if you're going to insist that "Leaf" is the female PC's "real" name, then you should probably start calling the Rival "Terry," as well: Quote:
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While "Kris" technically isn't an official name, either, it has far more canon backing than "Leaf," appearing on the back of Crystal's box and being the first preset name for her. (Which, is actually more evidence than the male PC had for being "Gold.") |
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But rest assure, im not insisting on calling her leaf, im insisting on not calling her Green. I also dont consider the manga canon or significant in any way. Quote:
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Let me bring up a game example of a character having the same canon name as another character in a different language--Rocket Executive Proton. Wanna know what his Japanese name is? Lance. Sound familiar? How could these two men have the same canon name and the world not implode? Easy: The "original" Lance is actually "Wataru" in Japanese, which is the only place that Proton is known as "Lance." Meanwhile, in the games where the Dragon Master is "Lance," the Rocket Executive is "Proton." So, in reality, they don't have the same name. The names for the Gen 1 Rival and female PC operate under the same principle. The Rival is only "Green" in Japanese, so the female PC could still be "Green" in English, because lo and behold, the Rival is "Blue" there. Meanwhile, in Japanese, she's the one who would be "Blue," because the Rival's "Green." Quote:
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Green is common to be known for Blue in both. I know you know better.than to argue that and play devils advocate for the sake of justifying calling her green. I personally prefer calling her Leaf but thats just me. I am not enforcing it. However waving off like calling Green is no big deal out of an error on your part is still an "error".
Lance/Proton is more of a canon standpoint. Lance's didnt exist until HGSS, and that issue rises everytime. Blue/Green doesnt. |
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Same goes for the Gen 1 Rival. I speak English, so he's "Blue." There isn't any canon character in ENGLISH who is "Green," so I can freely call the Kanto female PC that however often I want. (And while Adventures isn't canon, it provides a precedent for doing it.) And, why not? Unlike "Leaf," "Green" better parallels "Red" and "Blue," and it isn't specifically tied to a specific set of remakes. (Which is very important if we want this girl to return in the next Gen 1 remakes.) Of course, I could always call her "Yellow," instead, but that might screw with the minds of Adventures fans. |
I think they should change Red, Blue, and Leaf's names like they did Gold's for a future Kanto re-remake.
Anyways if you haven't noticed the main characters in the remakes tend to get their hair color toned down...even Brendan did. So Red's brown hair seems to have set a thread with the player character's hair xD. I like better the remake looks of practically all of them, minus Silver's. |
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I think the Gen 1 characters should get new names that are "real," yet still reflect the old color names (so it isn't too much of a shock for older players used to "Red" and Blue"). So, Red could be renamed "Rusty," and Blue could be renamed "Azure" ("Jade" in Japan). The girl, on the other hand, would be canonized as "Amber" to reflect the true Third Version and its remake, which is where she would be canonized as a character for the first time. These are all just ideas, mind you. |
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Rusty sounds like a Dog's name...Vermillion or Crimson would be better Azure would fit Blue to a T, especially when one considers the Azure dragon is sometimes depicted as Green, other times as Blue. Amber sounds good. Anyways I miss Leaf's design, she seems to have one of the most unique designs. |
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Even the likes of Red and Blue are usually depicted as teenagers in fanart, nowadays, so it's only a matter of time until the games make it canon. Quote:
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Anyways if the PC's and the Rival are 12/established to be 12/retconed to 12 then their Gen II selves would be/are 15...about as old as the Unova and Kalos PC's and Rivals look ;). |
I must say, I prefer FRLG Blue (or better yet HGSS), but Red and Gold don't seem all that different for me to care. :P
Lyra's so cute!!! But they should've updated Kris instead. Don't see why Lyra was created. One thing that's biased in the later games' favour is that the characters are simply better drawn than in the old ones. |
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