User:Kung Fu Man/sandbox
Mirko [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Bane (Harley Quinn) [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Sharpedo [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
Alice (for later): [24]
Rashid (for later): [25] [26] [27] [28]
Sofia reception building
Later, a similar campaign was run by Sega on their website when Toshinden was released for the Sega Saturn, putting "Because Toshlnden's Sofia says so" at the top of a list of reasons to purchase the gaming console.[1]
The staff of Computer Games Strategy Plus described her as "a tall leggy blonde with porn-star good looks and a disarming giggle", and felt she was an example of sex sells for the franchise, her presence in it helping to ensure games would be financially successful.[2] Ultra Game Players featured her in their video game character swimsuit issue, calling her one of the most memorable characters on the PlayStation during it's early years.[3] The staff of German magazine Video Games cited her alongside Mai Shiranui as examples of how female characters in fighting games illustrated an increase in mature content in video games, something they wanted to see more of.[4]
In an article for Game On! USA discussing the similarities between Sofia and fellow video game characters Sarah Bryant and Nina Williams, Roger Miller described her as the "prima donna of her game". Regarding her character design, he noted that while some had criticized her for having broad shoulders, he felt it was a welcome change to see more muscular women and femme fatale characters in gaming. He further observed that while her outfit had been criticized by some, he felt it was not out of line when compared to other female fighting game characters, stating "At least Sofia doesn't have pom-poms on her head!"[5]
In contrast, Electronic Gaming Monthly used her as an example of how female characters in video games were often sexualized for the sake of marketing, and how such painted an image of the video game industry as male-dominated.[6] Meanwhile, Honest Gamers writer Joseph Shaffer felt that she was the only standout character of Toshinden's cast, which he felt spoke poorly of the quality of them as a whole when a "sexual selling point" was the standout.[7] Todd Ciolek in an article for Topless Robot considered her a stereotype that presented Russian women as "either babushka-wearing hags or icy blondes armed with predatory sex drives and cackling disdain",[8] and in an article for Topless Robot emphasized that Toshinden was better to distance itself from its old cast, particularly Sofia.[9]
The ad campaigns featuring Sofia for the PlayStation also drew a variety of discussion. The staff of GameFan remarked that female readers of its magazines wrote in to complain about the ad, stating that they themselves felt that it was a bizarre ad that insulted both "mature gamers" and female gamers.[10] Scott Taves of Wired meanwhile noted that while she was an early contender for a mascot for the PlayStation brand, she was quickly replaced with Crash Bandicoot, something he attributed possibly due to "S/M attire".[11] Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine in a retrospective felt that the ad campaigns alongside with its design helped paint the PlayStation as a console for more mature audiences instead of a toy for children, helping to make gaming as a whole appear "cool", though pointed out the low resolution of her character model "kept the smut-meter down".[12]
Overwatch GAT project
Doomfist [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42]
Orisa:
Potential articles
Genji (Overwatch) [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
Reaper (Overwatch) [52] [53] [54] [55]
Very unlikely
Baptiste (Overwatch) [56] [57] [58] [59]
Since his introduction, Baptiste has been praised as a character. Brando Simeo Starkey in an article for Andscape praised how well Overwatch represented black male characters, and felt of them Baptiste as "perhaps the most alluring" and "perhaps most culturally significant" due to his Haitian heritage and use of his native language. Starkey further emphasized that the culture tended to be overlooked in video games, and stressed the importance of children being able to see themselves represented in such characters.[13]
Torbjörn (Overwatch) [63] [64]
- ^ "Reisende Im Datenstrom" [Travelers in Data Stream]. MAN!AC (in German). No. 25. November 1995. p. 93. ISSN 2191-012X.
- ^ "Battle Arena Toshinden 2". Computer Games Strategy Plus. July 1998. p. 103. ISSN 0955-4424.
- ^ "Summer Lovin'". Ultra Game Players. No. 111. June 1998. p. 21. ISSN 1087-2779.
- ^ "Mail-o-Rama". Video Games (in German). WEKA Consumer Medien. June 1996. ISSN 0946-0985.
- ^ "Three ROM Blondes". Game On! USA. Vol. 1, no. 2. February 1996. p. 77. ISSN 1087-8505.
- ^ "Interface". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 84. December 1996. p. 334. ISSN 1058-918X.
- ^ Shaffer, Joseph (March 29, 2013). "Battle Arena Toshinden (PlayStation) review". Honest Gamers. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Todd, Ciolek (30 April 2008). "The 10 Most Ridiculously Stereotyped Fighting Game Characters". Topless Robot. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ^ Ciolek, Todd (2009-08-26). "The X Button: The Ninja's Share". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "The Postmeister". GameFan. Vol. 3, no. 12. December 1995. p. 36. ISSN 1070-3020.
- ^ Taves, Scott (December 1, 1996). "Crash Course". Wired. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "More Bad Girls". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 60. September 2002. pp. 27, 43. ISSN 1094-6683.
- ^ Starkey, Brando Simeo (2019-03-19). "With Baptiste, 'Overwatch' gets black male representation right". Andscape. Retrieved 2025-03-11.