Right? Although to be fair, I think the majority of Final Fantasy games pass Bechdel, at least minimally. It'll be interesting to see what happens there with FFXV and its all-male party.
As for changing outfits to change powers, that's a very typical part of a jobs system. In every FF with a jobs system, the characters wear different outfits to show their current class. It's just that FFX-2 was the first game in the series that allowed you to change jobs in the middle of battle, so it makes sense that there'd be a visual aspect. Also -- and I can't believe that I've written this essay twice now and only just thought of this -- putting on an outfit to gain magical or superpowers is firmly in the tradition of the Magical Girl, a very common trope in Japanese media (think Sailor Moon). So I don't know that it's fair to lay that charge specifically on X-2.
Also, I don't know that girlishness is necessarily bad. Sexism is bad -- and I'm not at all trying to claim that there's no sexism in FFX-2 -- but not girlishness/femininity in and of itself.
no subject
Right? Although to be fair, I think the majority of Final Fantasy games pass Bechdel, at least minimally. It'll be interesting to see what happens there with FFXV and its all-male party.
As for changing outfits to change powers, that's a very typical part of a jobs system. In every FF with a jobs system, the characters wear different outfits to show their current class. It's just that FFX-2 was the first game in the series that allowed you to change jobs in the middle of battle, so it makes sense that there'd be a visual aspect. Also -- and I can't believe that I've written this essay twice now and only just thought of this -- putting on an outfit to gain magical or superpowers is firmly in the tradition of the Magical Girl, a very common trope in Japanese media (think Sailor Moon). So I don't know that it's fair to lay that charge specifically on X-2.
Also, I don't know that girlishness is necessarily bad. Sexism is bad -- and I'm not at all trying to claim that there's no sexism in FFX-2 -- but not girlishness/femininity in and of itself.