Skullgirlslaunched over a decade ago and during its lifetime it has built a huge audience of fans thanks to its creative character designs, liberal fan service, and sharp combat mechanics. It’s a great game, and has maintained a niche in the fighting genre for very good reason. But like all modern media, there are parts of it bound to shift and change over time.
At the end of last month,Reverge Labs surprised fans with a statementconfirming it would berevising or removing certain visual elements of the game it felt didn’t fall in line with modern sensibilities. This included sexualisation of characters who were underaged or heavily implied to be, and imagery that clearly took inspiration from real-life hate groups (read: Nazis) without much room for interpretation.
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It’s natural for the developer to address racially insensitive content packs and the treatment of underaged characters like Filia who are sexually harassed and exposed by lecherous men. But, as expected, the news hasn’t been met with the most positive reception. At the time of writing, Skullgirls still sits at a “Mostly Negative” review score on Steam, while regular players have made it abundantly clear that they aren’t happy with a game they paid for years ago suddenly being messed with.
Having been through all the changes to understand where all the outrage is coming from, I’m honestly a little stumped. The Nazi imagery attached to certain characters is very clear, with most of the changes coming down to the removal of red armbands or parts of uniform which don’t exactly give off the most progressive of vibes. If they were actual Nazis with a place in the narrative instead of merely trying to ape the aesthetic it’d be less problematic, but instead Skullgirls is owning up to its inspiration and doing something about it. It cuts too close to the bone, and it isn’t afraid to acknowledge that, so if you’re mad about their nixing perhaps you need to take a look at yourself in the mirror. Nazis are bad, even if cute anime girls are dressed up as them trying to beat the shit out of each other. Other changes too, make sense.
Filia, at least according to theofficial Wiki, is 16. Creepers would argue this is legal in some countries, but jumping to that excuse only makes your true intentions obvious. She’s a young character, and despite this has a short skirt, large chest, and plump thighs which are parts of her body only ever used for the purposes of sexualisation. To recognise how doing this to a young female character is wrong and seeking to address it isn’t a bad thing, and it’s not like fans haven’t been making lewd fanart of her for years anyway. If you’re that outraged, don’t play Skullgirls anymore and take your business elsewhere. It’s no secret that girls of similar ages in real life are preyed on by gross men and subject to harassment, but Skullgirls uses situations like this to make us horny, which is kinda gross when you stop to think about it.
Several pieces of risque and problematic art have also been removed from the in-game gallery, some of which come from past guest artists like Zone-Sama or allude to previous events directly linked to real world fascism. These references have no place in a fighting game, at least not in its contemporary form. It isn’t a cause for outrage or harassment towards devs, it’s an opportunity for self-reflection and understanding how it’s possible for the media we love to change in response to our own reality. It’s not woke or bowing to outside pressure, and feels like a fitting step forward after a number of controversies surrounding the game, its original developer Lab Zero Games, and former lead game designer Mike Zaimont.
Reverge Labs made a conscious decision to alter Skullgirls in a relatively surface level way to better its own standing among fans and the general public, so of course a handful of loud detractors were going to complain about not seeing a fictional underage character’s panties anymore. You had a decade of that, so please get over the fact it’s no longer available. Complaints about the Nazi imagery are also inexcusable and deciding to show your ass online over the removal of red armbands is a real doozy of a way to go.
It isn’t like Skullgirls isn’t still brimming with sexual energy either. So many of its characters are gorgeously confident in their sexuality and use that energy to fight against opponents or flaunt their stuff on the field. I love its designs, vibe, and entire aesthetic, and don’t see why removing a panty shot or two will have a detrimental impact on everything else it stands for. Because it doesn’t, and it’s sad that a developer choosing to make such changes is treated as a big deal or a reason to protest.
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