>>58743645I mean, for example, Shadow the Hedgehog. I'm sure you can tell his basic design was "Sonic but even cooler and edgier", right? Still, for some people, Shadow is fucking lame because of how "tryhard" it is. This is the same idea here. Sort of.
Everyone's self-insert is different and what they may think is cool or not is different. My self-insert may be the coolest thing ever while I think your self-insert is the lamest shit ever despite you thinking it is the coolest shit ever.
You have to yet again look at the message and narrative they're trying to tell you.
Does Leon look like an absolute clown to anyone with the most minor fashion sensibilities? Duh. But he's styled as a Sports King. Emphasis on King. That tells you something on how they want you to perceive him, right? He has a Charizardino, the strongest most popular Pokemon ever. He's got a super duper cool pose everyone imitates because it's just that cool. The entire Region kisses the ground he steps on. He's the entire game goal and beginning and end of. His one only real flaw is "he has no sense of direction" which is a typical harmless non-flaw for when you want to make a character seem less perfect except not really and if anything it just adds to the character "quirkiness" so in reality it's a positive character trait. I'm sure you've seen or heard of this sorta thing on mary sues and fanfiction OCs and the like, right?
Leon is a perfect as it can be. And the game makes sure to hammer you with that point as much as possible as much as it can.
I cannot in good conscience call Cynthia someone's self-insert just because she's got an attractive character design. In that case there's be dozen other characters you could call one too. Leon gives me that impression because of his make and his handled ever seen. It's not just about looks, and like I said, everyone's idealized self and possible self-insert/OC is different from that of the guy next to them.
