As some of you may know, for this entry into the series, Kazuma Kaneko stepped down from character and demon designer. Most of his designs are still in the game, but any new demons (and I think a few old ones) have now been designed by various other artists. How do you guys feel about the designs of the new demons? Is the difference in art style between demons distracting?

Personally, I'm okay with the new designs, though some of them look SUPER dumb (I'm looking at you Centaur).

I can't say that I care for Napaea that much. She looks like she's wearing lollipops as clothes, and her design clashes against the dark dungeon that she appears in. Especially considering that the rest of that dungeon's demons consists of Centaur, Lham Dearg, Fuxi, and some others that look more fitting and less like they stepped out of candy land.

I still don't quite know what to think of the lion-ant thing. There are also a handful that don't look logical in the least, like the head that looks like a circus tent. For the most part, though, the demons are still pretty cool looking.

I think they somehow look more ridiculous than ever, which is both awesome and dumb. My biggest problem is the lack of consistency with detail and design. Despite how stupid 99% of the demons looked in previous games, they had a consistency to them that made them all fit in. Now, it feels like every few demons look like they're from an entirely different game and some, like Fuxi, lack detail that others do.

It's weird. I still like how some of them look, but I find myself thinking about how bad/dumb a lot of them are most of the time.

A handful-- like Minotaur--are worthy of the series' aesthetic, some are okay, while the other half are total awful garbage. Still a big disappointment.

Well, it is what it's supposed to be! And that's the big problem with a lot of the new designs, that they don't reflect the figure they are supposed to represent.

Not crazy about them. Not too angry with them. They're just "eh." I agree with @eirikr that one of the biggest problems is a lot of them just don't reflect what the creatures are supposed to be. The Centaur was one of the first demons I came across, and I was pretty shocked at just how little it actually looked like a centaur. There's no creative liberty there; it just plain isn't a centaur.

Lucifer's new design is fucking garbage

I haven't seen all of them, but they seem hit or miss. Minotaur is good, Kuebiko is awesome, Napaea is eh. I won't comment much on the others I know about but haven't met in game yet, because context can change everything, but the new Seraphim designs seemed alright.

I can't really complain about a different artstyle though, as even within Kaneko's design there is a pretty large distinction from his 80's designs and his more recent 90's/00's designs. His own artstyle shifted pretty heavily over that time. Although regardless of the aesthetic his designs tend to stay relatively close to the source, which I've always liked.

Can't really say that I've come across anything too ridiculous. The Lion-Ant dude totally mindfucked me (cuz it looked so ugly) and I was too busy trying to negotiate with Minotaur to realize what he's supposed to be. It's whatever. I mean, I guess it's cool that Angel is totally naked from the chest down.

@flappy: The Angel design is actually Kaneko's original design.

@zeik: Word? I was used to the bondage-esque gear that she was wearing over the past...decade, so it threw me for a bit of a loop. Thanks for the knowledge.

Does the game still have the giant floppy dick riding on a chariot?

@flappy: There has actually been quite a few different designs for Angel in different SMT games. In older games Angels wore traditional long white dress, the bondage gear Angel was seen at least in Nocturne and there's the pantless Angel that's in IV and has been in few games before that Strange Journey and Devil Summoner for example.

@apsup: Oh, you're right, I forgot about the gowned Angel. I believe that one was actually the first.

@apsup: Yeah. A quick google search refreshed my memories a bit. I didn't spend much time with Strange Journey or Devil Summoner, so I probably missed her in those games. Thanks again, homie.

@bbalpert: Hey, he's not floppy, thank you very much.

Alright, semi-flaccid. Or horribly, horribly bent.

@bbalpert said:

@eirikr said:

@bbalpert: Hey, he's not floppy, thank you very much.

Alright, semi-flaccid. Or horribly, horribly bent.

Wait don't they all look like that?

That's another problem with the new designs: none of them look like human genitalia.

You really didn't like Minotaur? I feel like he fits in fine with the SMT demon roster design. Now if you really want a dumb looking demon I would say that Medusa was pretty dumb looking. I don't know why but when I saw her--her design just seemed like it doesn't fit.

I just fought Lucifer. Given the reaction to his new design I expected a lot worse, but I thought it was fine, especially given the context for which he appears. Which reaffirms my earlier point that context is everything.