http://geekparty.com/in-xenoblade-chronicles-x-stupid-faces-are-ruining-everything/

In Xenoblade Chronicles X, Stupid Faces Are Ruining Everything

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 BY MANDI ODOERFER 15 COMMENTS

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When I watch Xenoblade Chronicles X footage, I feel like I’m having a wonderful dream. The varied landscapes are breathtaking, and the alien fauna is gorgeous. Its gargantuan monsters don’t look menacing; they have a strange, otherwordly beauty to them. Even the music makes it seem as though I’ve entered an ethereal wonderland.

And then this guy shows up and kills the mood completely.

Character designs have never been Monolith Soft’s forte, but it seemed like they’d been improving over the years. The Xenosaga cast looks miles better in Episode III, and most of the characters in Xenobladelooked great. Somehow, they managed to go from Sharla, Dunban, and Shulk to this:

Back in 2007, there was this strange photoshopping trend called “Fronds.” It involved shrinking the eyes and nose of a celebrity to a minuscule size, then replacing all the vowels in their names with the letter o. (If you want to know why this was a thing, I can’t help you. Photoshop tends to bring out the weird in people.)

I’m bringing up this piece of ancient Internet history because the Xenoblade Chronicles X cast has the opposite effect going on. Their eyes and mouths are way too big for their faces, and they all look vaguely cross-eyed. Every time a character appears on screen, three words pop into my head: “Reverse Fronds Face.”

I’m sure that there are people who will defend these designs, saying that these bizarre, Fronds-esque features are “the anime style.” These people are wrong, and they should stop besmirching anime’s good name.

Anime isn’t an artstyle; it’s a medium. The word anime is literally an abbreviated pronunciation of “animation.” Anime can look like Kaiji, Tatami Galaxy, or the freaky witch fight scenes in Madoka Magica. There’s a ton of variety.

I get that when most people say this, they’re referring to a specific type of character design: wacky hair, huge eyes, and simplistic facial features. But here’s the thing: a game can have an anime aesthetic and still look great. Valkyria Chronicles is one of the prettiest games on the PS3, and its characters are so anime it hurts.

So no, Xenoblade Chronicles X characters aren’t weird-looking because of anime. They’re weird-looking because of their goofy faces.

(Apologies for ranting. These stupid faces are driving me insane.)

What really gets me is that some of Xenoblade Chronicles X‘s cast members actually look pretty cool. Their features are proportional to their face, and they don’t look they met the wrong side of the warp tool. Most of these characters also have facial hair, which might play a role in their not-awful appearance.

Xenoblade Chronicles X still looks incredible, and I can put up with dumb-looking characters if it means I get to explore its magical world. It’s just frustrating to see a gaping, glaring flaw in such an impressive-looking game.

No game will ever be perfect, but Xenoblade Chronicles X might have come close if it didn’t have a “Reverse Fronds Face” problem.