by fans. Several items of merchandise were produced to promote Lulu and her game of origin, including trading cards, wall scrolls, and plushies modeled after the effigies she uses in battle. In addition, several figurines were also produced, such as a 1/6th scale statue by ARTFX. Both regular and
chibi bottle topper figurines were produced as part of a 2001 promotional campaign for
Final Fantasy X by soda company
Coca-Cola. In 2004 Trading Ars released a
PVC statue of Lulu, posed in a reclining position with her lower body lying on the ground. Later on, a costume in the likeness of Lulu was included as part of a
Final Fantasy-themed promotion for
Gunslinger Stratos 2. A "minion" companion character of her that follows players around was also released as an in-game item for
Final Fantasy XIV. Lulu's outfit drew particular focus from media outlets. Todd Hargosh of
Game Industry News called it the strangest outfit he had ever seen and felt the belts made her "look like a
dominatrix. Daniel Żelazny of
PPE named Lulu one his favorite
Final Fantasy characters due to how her appearance deviated from that of a typical Black Mage, thanks to her overt and complex dress. He added that the outfit was not only one of Nomura's best creations, but also one of the best female character outfits in video games overall. Dave Smith of
IGN opined that Lulu's outfit was a positive outgrowth of Nomura's penchant for overdressed characters, and that her design, with highlights such as "[a] floor-length skirt, elaborately pinned hair, and [a] collection of super-cute mascot dolls", was one of the "coolest" in the franchise. He additionally praised her personality as matching her fashion sense and conveying a "beautifully menacing presence". Despite the complexity of Lulu's clothing, she has been cited as a frequent subject of
cosplay. In 2009,
GamesRadar+ called Lulu one of the sexiest video game characters of the last decade and attributed her appeal to her large breasts and outfit, the latter of which they described as an ensemble in the style of a "goth-mage-hooker" aesthetic that appeared ready to "fall right off at any second". They acknowledged that her visual allure was equalled by her self-assured composure, and spoke favorably of both her protective nature and strength as a mage. Gus Turner of
Complex echoed these sentiments and lauded the character's "smoky" and "sensual" voice. He further praised her rational attitude towards the central revelations in the game's story. Relatedly, the staff of
GMR magazine felt she served as a "calm presence" among the original game's cast, and added they would have preferred the "sultry, dollhugging, goth mama" to have been playable in
X-2 instead of the game's actual cast. However,
Gamasutra editor Kurt Kalata criticized her appearance as "outlandish" and called "goth girl" Lulu more akin to a "fetish object" than an inhabitant of
Final Fantasy Xs world. Japanese magazine
Game Criticism considered the
fan service aspect of Lulu "excessive" and described her outfit as a "
S & M straightjacket". Damien Mecheri in the book
The Legend of Final Fantasy X argued that a well-rounded party in a roleplaying game is incomplete without a character who is "a bit cold, dark, and taciturn", and commented that Lulu fit this
archetype well. He compared her character design to
Edea Kramer of
Final Fantasy VIII in how both were built around "bizarre features from the imagination of Tetsuya Nomura". Mecheri stated that, while her character was not particularly complex, he was drawn to the "odd couple" relationship she had with Wakka, and noted that her emotional maturity coupled with her youth brought a "bit of wisdom to the [
Final Fantasy X] cast". Other commentators offered their own examination of her character's part in the story. Paul Shkreli of
RPGamer enjoyed Lulu's personal evolution during the narrative and her willingness to question her core tenets, stating that "Lulu's irony is that her humanity is what makes her effective as a protector, not the other way around". Margaret David of
Den of Geek believed that Lulu's spoken dialogue enhanced her character and articulated her "harsh but protective manner" in a way text alone could not express. David felt that, without the voice acting, she would have potentially been remembered as an unlikable character instead of the "dark horse fave" she became. According to Matt Sainsbury of
DigitallyDownloaded.net, the novelty of Lulu's design helped flesh out her role as a character, particularly as a Black Mage. He pointed out that previous entries in the
Final Fantasy series often presented such characters as "mysterious, dark" spellcasters able to wield destructive magic liberally, a depiction which was "not really sufficient for the kind of characterisation needed in modern JRPG storytelling". Sainsbury claimed that, while Lulu's outward appearance seemingly upheld that trend by invoking imagery of
sadomasochism, her actual portrayal as a severe but motherly figure contrasted his expectations and gave her depth without compromising her image. He singled out such subversions in character design as a particular attraction of the
Final Fantasy games as a whole. ==References==