Racy and Rationalized

An ambitious princess who chooses adventure over romance, Celine is skilled in treasure-hunting and magic. Magic robes, wizard hats, and various accessories help enhance her innate abilities, but she has to wear revealing clothing in order to get the most mileage out of her spells. As it turns out, her magic abilities are made possible by runes that are located on her thighs. If Celine were to cover up these runes, her spells would be less effective. Celine has an eye for fashion, so her outfits usually compliment the required “exposed thighs” motif, but there are situations where she would rather wear more clothing. She’s a trooper, though, and keeps her thighs exposed to the elements even in extreme temperatures. She’s not trying to arouse anyone; she’s just trying to remain effective in battle.

Akiba’s Trip? More like Akiba Strip, am I right? All kidding aside, few subtitles do a better job of describing a game than Undead and Undressed does. A lot of games use the “damaged clothing” angle as an excuse to show their characters in various states of undress (including Sega’s Fighting Vipers and Hyperdimension Neptunia U) but Akiba’s Trip takes things to its logical extreme. The enemies in the game are vampire-like creatures known as “Synthisters” who prey on the social energy of those around them. Fortunately, these creatures can be stopped by direct sunlight. This means that the best way to defeat them is to violently strip off their clothing. Who needs whips and holy water? The concept of sunlight killing vampires is not exactly new, but Akiba’s Trip puts a new twist on the formula.

Skimpy armor seems impractical, but it makes a lot of sense for the girls in the Ar Tonelico series. The heroines are members of a race called Reyvateil that become more powerful when their bodies are exposed to the air. In order to increase the potency of their song magic, their clothes have to be removed in spectacular fashion. Although an excuse is provided to explain why the girls undress, no excuse is given for why the camera angles obviously serve to highlight the sexual nature of the clothing purges. This can lead to awkward situations, so the game provides players with a “panic button” that hides the screen in case someone wanders into the room while you’re playing. If you want innuendo and half-nude girls in your games without having to explain them to anyone else, Ar Tonelico is the franchise for you!

Cortana is an AI construct who projects herself as a hologram. In the first Halo, her chosen avatar seemed to represent innocence, but Cortana’s feminine features were accentuated as the series progressed and she became increasingly sexualized along the way. Some criticized the evolution of her character and argued that there was no reason for an artificial life form to alter her appearance. Anyone who knows anything about sociology or human nature can tell you that attractive people tend to be more successful than their uglier counterparts. The phrase “sex sells” does not pertain only to goods and services. Sex can also be used to sell political philosophies or ideologies. Cortana has a high level of intelligence, so it stands to reason that she’d understand how important sexuality can be when it comes to influencing others.

Senran Kagura is known for its roster of busty schoolgirls and its heavy reliance on fanservice. The aforementioned schoolgirls engage each other in ninja combat, so their clothing will inevitably be sliced to ribbons in the process. Their tight shirts and short skirts didn’t leave a lot to the imagination, but the girls are often stripped to their skivvies by the time the battles are over. When their clothes aren’t being cut off, the girls will sometimes voluntarily remove their own clothes in an effort to increase the ferocity of their attacks at the expense of their defensive capabilities. No fighting game franchise is more closely associated with clothing damage. Even though it provides numerous excuses to strip down its characters, Senran Kagura is a series with no shame. A “righteous boobage producer” is even listed in the credits.

There are a number of Darkstalkers characters who dress provocatively, but none come about it more honestly than Felicia. Her barely-there fur bikini isn’t really a bikini at all, and she technically fights completely nude! This might sound scandalous, but it’s perfectly logical considering she’s as much a cat as she is a human. I always feel bad when I see animals dressed in outfits that they clearly don’t want to wear, so no one can fault Felicia for embracing nature. It’s not like she goes out of her way to be kinky. Her fur preserves her modesty and her bare backside is usually obscured by camera angles. Felicia was raised by a Catholic nun, she founded her own orphanage, and she doesn’t have a perverted bone in her body. The fact that she fights au naturel should not be conflated with promiscuity.

It became something of a tradition in the Metroid series to reward players with images of Samus Aran in skimpy clothing at the end of the adventure. This was a nice bonus for skilled players, but it didn’t have much of a purpose after the initial “OMG! Samus is a girl!?” card was played in the first Metroid game. In Metroid: Zero Mission, one of the scenarios involved Samus losing her iconic power-suit and being forced to proceed in a skin-tight jumpsuit. Not only did this scenario feel completely organic, but it made Samus seem even stronger. The “zero suit” contributed to her sex appeal, but it also helped highlight her resourcefulness and intelligence by forcing her to progress without her usual array of weapons. The Super Smash Bros. series later justified her high heels by suggesting they were needed for rocket-propelled jumps.

Most Metal Gear Solid characters have convoluted backstories, and Quiet is no exception. After being injected with parasites during a life-saving operation, it became necessary for her to breathe through her skin. This means that she can’t wear a lot of clothing unless she wants to suffocate herself. Fortunately, Quiet has other incentives to wear less clothing. While her brothers in arms often rock the classic camouflage look, Quiet’s skin can take the appearance of her surroundings. In essence, her naked body hides her from the naked eye. This means that there are two reasons for Quiet to show a little skin. Neither of these reasons can be considered realistic, but keep in mind that the MGS series features a gunslinger whose mind is taken over after receiving a hand transplant. Realism was never the goal.

Bayonetta arms herself with a myriad of firearms and melee weapons, but the leggy witch’s most interesting attacks involve her hair. Her wicked weave is used as a weapon, but her from-fitting attire is also made out of her hair. This means that her clothing has to be stripped away whenever she performs one of her spectacular hair-based attacks. She’s not the slightest bit embarrassed to fight in the buff and takes pride in her ability to tighten the pants of her opponents. Bayonetta never misses the opportunity to strike a pose and seems most comfortable when she’s wearing nothing but a smile. Ar Tonelico was noteworthy for its “panic button,” but Bayonetta is a lot less shameless. One of the control schemes even allows you to play one-handed. You can use your imagination as to what you’re supposed to do with your other hand.

A number of video game characters are defeated by their own modesty. In Punch-Out!!, the overweight King Hippo loses due to his insistence on pulling up his pants whenever they fall down mid-fight. In Yoshi’s Island, Bashful Burt becomes so embarrassed when his pants fall down that he literally explodes! Thankfully, Arthur has more confidence than most men. The valiant knight journeys far and wide to save his princess, but any enemy he encounters can shatter his suit of armor with a single attack. After losing his armor, Arthur bravely ventures forth wearing nothing but his decorated underwear. The exact same scenario would be considered “problematic” if Arthur was a woman. Sir Arthur helped pioneer the concept of clothing damage, and he actually wears less clothing than most of the ladies on this list.