stub 5 Character Redesigns That Ruined Good Video Games - Gaming.net
Connect with us

Best Of

5 Character Redesigns That Ruined Good Video Games

Avatar photo

Published

 on

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” say most gamers when developers try redesigning an already near-perfect character. Popular characters, whether for technical or aesthetic reasons, are frequently subjected to one of the most riskiest aspects of video game development: character redesign. While some character redesigns improved the franchise overall, others were so bad that they ruined, otherwise, good video games. As some of the games on today's list will show, rather than risking fan outrage, sometimes if it works, it just works. Alternatively, if the damage is minimal, simply revert back to the original design, so everyone is happy. Whenever you’re ready, here’s a quick rundown of the top five character redesigns that ruined good video games. 

 

5. The Prince – Prince of Persia: The Warrior Within (2004)

The Prince is a character who has gone through so many transformations that we've almost grown accustomed to it. However, fans finally put their foot down, saying “enough is enough!” in The Warrior Within. Going back to 1989, it's easy to see how The Prince would undergo minor tweaks here and there, but just like going through your photo album, there's always that one photo that completely throws you off, and you can’t help wanting to pluck it right out of the larger photo collection.

The Prince from The Warrior Within does not resemble the charismatic character we've grown to love. He's grumpier, angrier, and just seems off. What's worse, the edgy look didn't work. It appeared to be a forced design on the part of the prince that would feel much more seamless if all of the redesign was stripped away. While developers attempted to reverse their poor choices, the damage had already been done. The Prince of Persia was no longer the fantastic game that gamers so greatly loved, a sad truth that places The Prince’s character redesign among the top five character redesigns that ruined good video games.

 

4. Cole Macgrath – Infamous 2 (2011)

5 Character Redesigns That Ruined Good Video Games

Remember Cole Macgrath from the trailer release for Infamous 2? The underlying video game was great, no doubt. However, Cole Macgrath underwent a character redesign that so drastically altered his character, so much so, it was difficult to recognize him as the anti-hero we'd grown to love. 

Cole Macgrath appeared to have changed his hair and lost his iconic jacket in the pre-release of Infamous 2, and, instead, resembled a younger Nathan Drake in his college years! Even his voice was different (though this was due to a voice actor change). 

Someway, the original ‘bald look’  worked perfectly. So, naturally, fan outrage, combined with developers' lending an attentive ear to the backlash, resulted in a hasty change back to the original design before Infamous 2 was released. Narrow escape, that one!

 

3. Bomberman – Bomberman: Act Zero (2006)

The Bomberman redesign from Bomberman: Act Zero is one of the most infamous character redesigns to result in one of the biggest gaming flops ever. It's, therefore, no surprise that the character is among the top five character redesigns that ruined good video games. Who among us didn’t fall in love with the incredibly cute, tiny marshmallows who love to blow stuff up? It's absolutely adorable! 

The goofy design, with their cute pink shoes and round hands – it all fit so perfectly with the platformer, which had the Bombermans running around with explosions littered all over it. For some reason, developers felt compelled to completely redesign Bomberman into an angry-looking Android who shoots explosives from his massive right hand. The adorable platforms were not spared either. We got a post-apocalyptic version that felt like the developers were attempting to match the narrative of “blowing stuff up,' which just didn’t work! When gamers got their hands on this one, it was clear that Bomberman was destroyed, never to be enjoyed again.

 

2. Knuckles – Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2014)

5 Character Redesigns That Ruined Good Video Games

Knuckles has a pretty good design. He’s one of those characters who should have strictly adhered to the “it ain't broke…” mantra. However, developers felt the character needed to be buffed up again, but this time only on his upper body. His lower body frame was made up of tiny, long legs that, all together, formed a giant, awkward-looking Knuckle.  

Also, what's the deal with the dangling, three-dimensional, white bandages? It's perplexing that they're so over-emphasized. The original white boxing gloves with knuckles on them worked so perfectly that they should have stayed that way. Furthermore, Rise of Lyric’s muscled Knuckles lacked personality. Originally, he was, at least, intelligent with an overbearing demeanor. He's now just a buffed-up character who always seems to be in the way, which places him among the top five character redesigns that ruined good video games.

 

1. Spyro – Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (2011)

5 Character Redesigns That Ruined Good Video Games

We’re now at the top of the five character redesigns that ruined good video games, which is, unsurprisingly, Spyro from Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. Spyro was perfect, so perfect that he carried the success of the video game forward (for a while). Originally, he had all the endearing personalities you could imagine: brave, kind, adventurous, enchanting, perfect color schemes… Simply, seeing the character would have made you want to play the game.

It was thus surprising when developers decided to change his design to a gruesome creature whose “everything” simply didn't work! From Spyro’s orange horns with circular rings to his dreadful eyes to his color scheme, which was simply too muddy and out-of-proportion, everything about the new Sypro was so wrong. What enraged fans the most was that the changes completely took away Spyro's goofiness. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Spyro resembled a demonic character. Even the game's apparent antagonist appeared more endearing than Spyro! Fortunately, the developers rethought Spyro’s character redesign and did another one, which thankfully brought back the Spyro we'd grown to love in Skylanders‘ remastered version.

 

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with our top five character redesigns that ruined good video games? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.

Evans I. Karanja is a freelance writer who loves to write about anything technology. He is always on the lookout for interesting topics, and enjoys writing about video games, cryptocurrency and blockchain and more. When not writing, he can be found playing video games or watching F1.