Pokemon Legends ZA character customization is bad actually
Well, not entirely. Having all options be available to both binary genders and being able to combine two hair colors are both fantastic features.
However, there is a glaring issue with the clothing, and it's that both very feminine and very masculine clothing are entirely missing despite being part of previous games.
Let's examine.
GIRLS
Out of 221 upper body clothing options, only 19 are feminine-coded, the rest are entirely gender neutral. Crop tops are always paired with an undershirt or jacket with long sleeves. Out of the 181 lower body options 26 are skorts and only 4 actual skirts, and even then they are paired with leggings so you don't get to choose socks to go with your skirt outfit. Out of the 110 outfit set options not a single one is a dress.
What previous games have had and ZA doesn't: Sleeveless tops. Halter tops. Tops with frills. Tops with big ribbons. Crop tops without any extra attached. Skirts, like proper skirts without skort/leggings nonsense. Frilly skirts. Casual dresses. Fancy dresses. Literally any kind of dresses.
BOYS
Not a single one of the 221 upper body options is particularly masculine-coded. The biker jackets have neutral styling so they don't look like men's or women's jackets. There is only one single T-shirt. Out of the 181 lower body options two types of shorts are somewhat masculine-coded, the rest are either feminine or entirely neutral pant variants. Out of the 110 outfit set options none are masculine-coded. Even the kimono style outfit is entirely gender neutral with no defining features either way.
What previous games have had and ZA doesn't: Plaid jackets. Jackets with a lot of pockets. Regular ass T-shirts. Tank tops. Camo pants.
MISC
Another oddity is that aside from the single default T-shirt and 4 cafe worker shirts, every other upper body option has long sleeves. 216 out of 221 upper body options have long sleeves. I can't even begin to guess why that is. My trainers usually don't have a lot of clothing on so this is a little bothersome to me.
CONCLUSIONS
I can't believe I called it: Gamefreak does not want you to put a skirt and a crop top on your male character. He can wear a skort, or pants with a skirt over them, with a crop top that has another shirt under it or a jacket over it. But never just a skirt and a crop top.
It truly is "gender neutral customization". Because all clothes are neutralized, there are no properly femme or masc options. Instead of making femme and masc clothing that could all be put on either character, they went backwards by making a femme and masc character and giving them clothing that either of them could wear. Which is not what anyone wants.
The skorts are the worst offenders. In real life skorts are entirely women's clothing, but Gamefreak seems to think that by adding pants to their "skirt" options it means a masculine character could wear them too. An absurd measure that pleases neither side.
Obviously there are options that are more femme and some that are more masc. They're not literally all the same. But you can't deny that the very gendered options previous games have had are missing from ZA entirely.
I want my male character to wear an actual dress. I want my female character to have camo pants and a loose T-shirt. But Gamefreak obviously thinks either of those things would be too much, so they danced around it and bastardized their customization options to have plausible deniability and attempt to conform to societal expectations.
Coward behavior and a pathetic half-measure.
. . .
Ps. Don't get me wrong, I really like ZA. I really like customizing in it and what it offers. But I don't believe we should praise something without recognizing its imperfections. Issues need to be pointed out, so that we know where there is room for improvement. The queer community should never mistake a corporation for an ally, even if the game has some minor nods in their direction.
