It will always piss me off when an otherwise good design gets completely ruined because, for some reason, the creators tried to make it "sexy" and instead make it make no sense when the character is in any of their groups.
Look at Palamena from Visions of Mana.
[Image ID. Palamena from Visions of Mana. She has long and wavy light indigo hair with two buns at top. She has a cape that is white on the outside and people on the inside. She's wearing a dress (?) that shows off her cleaveage and ends at her grown. Her boots and gauntlets are both white with gold accents. She wields a wand that is also a whip. /.End ID]
The Queen of Illystana and the Alm of Water. What does the design do right? Well, her hair's wavy and she has two buns. That works, the waves of water and the buns could stand in for bubbles. Then there's her shoulder pads that hold her cape. That's good, especially with how good of a contrast the purple is. The weapon is interesting too and I think it works for her, considering she's a queen and magic user.
But what is with the center of it all? Why is her cleavage out? Why are her thighs so exposed? Why is there just a ring on her thigh? Is it supposed to be a swimsuit? Sure, she's the Alm of Water, but the swimsuit doesn't match... anything with the others. She's not going to the beach, she's on a journey to multiple other kingdoms.
Val has skin showing, sure, but he's from the fire village and it's not the focus of his design either. It makes sense for him because he'd want to wear less so the heat doesn't affect him as badly. (Though I'd argue he deserves some melanin since it works as a natural heat protection). For Palamena... Nothing about Illystana or the Alms make sense for why she's dressed like that. Prince Iain and Master Passar, both from Illystana, are dressed like typical royalty. Palamena isn't and it makes her look like she doesn't belong.
And the other Alms so far and Val work for journeying and match their homes. Hinna wears a simple white dress because the color white reflects heat. Val wears leather but counterbalances it by not covering an arm or his torso because he's the son of a blacksmith but still needs to have room to breathe. Careena has a flowy Japanese dress so she can still feel the wind. Morley wears multiple light layers of clothing, giving him warmth but movability in the desolate cold land of Etaern. They all work for travel and survival in their homes. Palamena... doesn't. Her outfit doesn't match that of a queen or of a traveler. Especially since most of Illystana beyond the capital isn't even on water.
And her other class outfits... honestly make it worse in my opinion. Everyone else gains different concepts, like Val becoming an armored knight with the Moon element or Morley looking like a bard with the Wind Element. Palamena... is always in revealing outfits that barely match the element and doesn't help with matching the party.
She deserves so much better than that, man.
