Every gamer has their favorite protagonist, becoming particularly close to them over time and through numerous sequels. Because of this, a developer can cause an uproar if they change the way a protagonist looks for one reason or another.
The following ten examples were received with varying degrees of positivity and negativity. Some were the result of a reboot, while others were just trying to make the character look young again. Some eventually reverted to an older design. Even though a character's look has little influence over the gameplay, it can ruin the experience for some fans.
10 Dante In DmC: Devil May Cry
After four mainline entries on the PS2 and the following generation, Capcom decided to hand the Devil May Cry series to Team Ninja for a reboot. DmC: Devil May Cry was received well, but many felt a reboot was entirely unnecessary and the changes Dante went through made him unrecognizable. The series eventually returned to its old continuity with Devil May Cry 5 in 2019 and the old Dante made a glorious return.
9 Spider-Man In The PS5 Remaster
Insomniac made one of the best superhero games of all time with Marvel's Spider-Man on the PS4. The developer stirred up a small controversy when they changed the model for Peter Parker to a different actor's likeness for the PS5 remaster. Insomniac did this to find an actor whose looks better match the voice actor, but some are fully convinced the company wanted someone who looked more like Tom Holland.
8 Spyro The Dragon In Skylanders
Spyro is up there with Crash Bandicoot for notable unofficial Sony mascots. Developer Insomniac left the character behind for the Ratchet and Clank franchise, leaving the series to other developers.
Activision eventually repurposed the character for the Skylanders series, giving the purple dragon a makeover in the process. However, he is almost unrecognizable in this series, only retaining the size, purple color, and dragon form. Fortunately, Spyro looks like the old dragon in Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
7 Link In The Wind Waker
Link's redesigns are not necessarily a result of Nintendo feeling it necessary to change the way the iconic protagonist looks. Instead, it is more about each Legend of Zelda game having a unique art style. Most notably, the cartoonish art style of The Wind Waker did not sit well with a lot of fan. The actual game proved to be more than worthy of the Legend of Zelda name, often being singled out as one of the greatest Nintendo GameCube titles.
6 Bomberman In Act Zero
Bomberman has been around for numerous decades, and the main character's look is instantly recognizable even to gamers unfamiliar with the series. It is a total mystery, then, why Hudson Soft thought it was necessary to give the character and series the gritty reboot treatment. Bomberman: Act Zero puts a futuristic industrial coat of paint over the IP. The Xbox 360 title was poorly received and future entries in the franchise reverted back to the classic aesthetic.
5 Crash Bandicoot In Crash Of The Titans
After Naughty Dog left the Crash Bandicoot series behind in favor of Jak and Daxter, a few games starring the anthropomorphic bandicoot retained the character's signature look. Crash of the Titans changed his proportions and gave him tattoos to represent a new generation of Crash Bandicoot games. This and the sequel, Mind Over Mutant, were not terribly received by critics, but they were not what fans wanted from the series. Fortunately, the old Crash came back with the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy in 2017.
4 Nathan Rad Spencer In The Bionic Commando Reboot
It was cool to finally see Bionic Commando come back in 2009. Less exciting was seeing the main character's new redesign. He does not look anything like the original Nathan Rad Spencer from the older Bionic Commando games. Gamers would have preferred if he looked like Nathan Rad Spencer from Bionic Commando Rearmed. Players can actually use this character model in the story once they have beaten the game once.
3 Lara Croft In Tomb Raider: Legend
Even before the 2013 reboot, Lara Croft went through a significant redesign for 2006's Tomb Raider: Legend. This game in general had a different, more joyful vibe than older Tomb Raider games.
A year before Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Tomb Raider: Legend gave players a wise-cracking explorer who had no qualms about killing dozens of people in pursuit of their search for treasures and ancient mysteries. The 2013 reboot saw another significant redesign, showcasing a younger, less confident Lara Croft.
2 Chris Redfield In Resident Evil 5 And 7
Chris Redfield looks radically different in Resident Evil 5, but this can be chalked up to wanting a more detailed character model for the next generation. However, his new look in Resident Evil 7 was just bizarre, to the point of fans speculating whether or not he was a clone. He looks younger and more like Chris from the 1996 debut entry. Fortunately, Capcom reverted this change in Resident Evil 8, giving fans a Chris who looks more like an older version of the character from Resident Evil 5 and 6.
1 Solid Snake In Metal Gear Solid 4
There is a narrative reason for Solid Snake's advanced aging in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, but that did not make it any less shocking to see him so old and frail when the first trailer for the PS3 game dropped. Hideo Kojima wanted an older Snake to reflect how fans have grown older and changed in the years between Metal Gear's debut and the finale of the hero's story. The final product polarized the fanbase, but few complained about Snake's older look.