Invisible Upgrade

Upgrades are always a plus in games. They make it easier to do damage, to keep from getting killed, or reach new areas that you wouldn't normally get to. They also look cool...sometimes. In a lot of video games, particularly rpgs, you will get upgrades that will increase your abilities and damage...but you'll never be able to tell, since the character will look the same.
 
It might be because they only had one model for the sprites and they couldn't change them, or to make sure that later scenes in the game correctly show the character but it always happens. You'll find a great piece of armor or a truly awe-inspiring weapon that looks great when you see the picture of it, but once you equip it, you realize that it looks strangely like the clothes the character had since the beginning of the game. While several games have started straying from this and having the character look different depending on the items equipped to it, this trend doesn't look like it'll be going anywhere soon.