Capcom intentionally made Frank West chunkier in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster 

Those who played both the original Dead Rising and Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster may have noticed that protagonist Frank West looks older and bigger in the new version. According to an Inverse interview with art director Satoshi Takamatsu, director Ryosuke Murai, and the original game’s director Yoshinori Kawano, this change was part of the development team’s efforts to give the remaster a more realistic visual art style. 

Takamatsu originally planned for the remaster’s Frank West to mimic his original appearance in 2006’s Dead Rising. However, as development of the game progressed, the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster team found it harder to combine the concept of Frank being an opportunity-seeking photojournalist with his “‘average American tough guy’ (…) on the verge of turning 40” appearance.  

This prompted Takamatsu and the development team to “reorganize” Frank’s appearance; using concepts like “average Joe” and “tough physique” as guides. Frank was changed from a stocky, young-looking man with a smushed nose to a beefy, older-looking individual (also with a smushed nose). Takamatsu states that they “opted for a beefier body type that resembles someone who’d trained as an American football player in school, occasionally goes bowling on the weekends, and has enjoyed his share of beer and bacon cheeseburgers.” Truly, Frank looks less like a man who has covered wars, and more like an average American dad who cooks barbecue on his days off. 

While Frank sports more wrinkles and an obvious widow’s peak, Takamatsu and the rest of the team made sure that his body type was versatile enough so that he could fit into a wide array of situations – many of which have him donning everything from children’s clothes to a full-on cosplay of Ashley Graham from the Resident Evil 4 remake. Despite the change, Takamatsu thinks that Frank’s new look works well within the context of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. 

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is available now on the PC (Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.