Sister Friede (Dark Souls III)

One of the toughest bosses in Dark Souls III is one hot barefoot babe!

In the world of From Software's awesome RPG, Dark Souls III, there are several beautiful barefoot muses to break the monotony of shriveled undead, misshapen monsters and flaming demons. You've got the lovely, nameless Firekeeper (who is at least half-barefoot thanks to her Real Bout-ish footguards) and the ethereal Yorshka. But I say the best barefoot waifu in Dark Souls III is none other than the lovely final boss of the Ashes of Ariandel DLC expansion, Sister Friede.

Appearing first as a friendly (or at least non-combative) NPC you meet in the new painted world, Friede seems to be nothing more than a harmless priestess or nun-like figure inside a decrepit church. But careful piecing together of various clues and events all around this decaying, ruinous realm reveals far more. Friede was once Elfriede, one of the three Sisters who founded the Sable Church of Londor- a powerful personage indeed. But for some reason, she forsook her former rank and land, coming into the world of Ariandel and soon making her place in it. When the Ashen One comes, he/she is a threat to the status quo that Friede is ready to defend... to the death and beyond if need be.

You can tell, the devs have footfans at heart with this lovely femme fatale. When she appears in the cutscene for the final boss fight, the first we see of her are her beautiful, bare feet- the slappy, padding sound of her soles approaching with soft menace. Afterwards is a three-part battle to the finish against a deadly opponent who is as graceful as she is lethal.

I have to admit, after Sister Friede fell for the third and last time, a bit of me died with her. I didn't want to end her- instead I wished I could have persuaded her to relent and let Ariandel be reborn in flames. Instead I would have worshipped her myself, pledging myself to her service as Vilheim her knight did... and I'd give her foot massages all day and all night, as only an undead Unkindled could.
But alas, fell she did and vanished from sight... at least until I find her again in New Game Plus (or, I could just watch the video feature above heheh)...

Cheetah Gameplay and Breakdown (Injustice 2)

The REAL Cat Woman is my favorite in this superhero brawler.

The Injustice series has never been a franchise I've been too interested in- videogame developer Netherrealm doesn't have a good track record with barefoot babes. They seem to be more interested in blood and gore with the Mortal Kombat franchise than anything else. So it was with quite a bit of pleasant surprise that I am finding myself looking forward to Injustice 2.

One of the main reason is finally, the inclusion of a sexy barefoot femme fatale in the roster for us foot fans to get behind... Cheetah! This feral but also strangely classy (nice English accent) villainess is pretty hot- amazing body, quite sexy 'jungle girl' outfits and a beautiful, acrobatic fighting style. As we can see in the breakdown video above, she is quite formidable with her fast attacks and distance-closing moves. In terms of familiar appeal, I think she seems to be a nice throwback to 'Flesh Pit' Mileena, Netherrealm's only other previous barefoot female character in their past games... thankfully, even with her somewhat bestial look, Cheetah is far, far prettier than the bandaged Tarkatan villainess.

Of course, while I certainly can see myself cuddling up to Cheetah's sexy feet (just keep those clawed toes nice and calm) and keep her peacefully purring, we had better be careful to keep ourselves getting scratched. A nice continuous foot massage may calm this savage beauty. Heh.

It still remains to be seen if there will be more barefoot babes in Injustice 2... I am hopeful at least that Poison Ivy will get a barefoot alternate costume, but even if we don't- well, Cheetah is ready to pounce into our footfan hearts. Injustice 2 is coming in late May.

Rapunzel's Back in Tangled: Before Ever After!

It won't take a genius to figure out that one of my all-time favorite Disney animated films is 2010's Tangled. I fell in love with it at first sight with the teaser vids showing the adorable Rapunzel (voiced and performed by Mandy Moore). But after watching the movie itself, it became my forever fave. Aside from the wonderful story, the absolutely stunning animation (and yes, Rapunzel's cute bare feet are perhaps the best-animated peds I've seen in a CG flick) there was Rapunzel herself- such a lovable and engaging heroine, and the music, while understated, was sublime.

Well, good news for me and other Tangled fans then- about seven years after we saw Rapunzel and Eugene live to happily ever after, we get MORE. Premiering last March 10 was an original Disney animated movie entitled Tangled: Before Ever After. The film is set after the events in Tangled, but before the wedding shown in the CG animated short, Tangled Ever After (hence the Before...). I have to admit I was totally disappointed by Ever After- Rapunzel was barely in it (the stars were her sidekicks Pascal and Maximilian), and we were also in suspense to know if she, like many other barefoot princesses in past Disney flicks- became domesticated and started wearing shoes.

Well, wonder no more! Tangled Before Ever After reveals that going barefoot seems to be part and parcel of Rapunzel's personage, even without her magical, golden tresses. But then, as events unfold, her short, brown locks are soon transformed once again into the magical blonde cascade that we all now and love. From there on, it's a nice adventure that only opens up even more stories to come as the movie serves as the prelude for Tangled: The Series, of which Disney has already approved at least two seasons of!


The Return of the Hair!

 Some things remain the same- pretty much most of the voice actors from the original film return. However, it's quite obvious that there has been at least one major change- the animation style. Tangled Before Ever After and the upcoming series are both in traditional 2D animation. However, the character and feel of the original are retained since the lead animation designer is Claire Keane, the same artist who worked on and did Rapunzel's in-movie art and paintings.

 Suffice to say, even in 2D, everyone pretty much retains what we love about them in the original- perhaps Rapunzel's feet are obviously not as detailed as before, but it's nice to see that they kept them, instead of copping out and having her wear suddenly wear shoes (like they did with Pocahontas, Esmeralda and Kida)- Rapunzel's bare feet after all represent her innocence and sense of adventure. Perhaps when she's older, settled down and married, maybe then she'll put on shoes and live quietly. But that's NOT anytime soon. HEHEH.



Tangled: The Series begins airing on Disney Channel late March.

Streetfighter V: Kolin Barefoot Battle Costume (Mod by BrutalAce)

Streetfighter V's newest babe shows some sole thanks to our top modder.

In case you haven't been keeping up to date with Streetfighter V (AKA the foot-loving PC gamer's fighting game of choice), the roster just got updated with the addition of a new fighter- Kolin, the 'Phantasm of Snow and Ice'.

Kolin isn't totally a new character- she first came out a long time ago as a non-playable character in Streetfighter III Third Strike, appearing alongside the game's final boss, Gill. A member of the Illuminati organization, she was then apparently his secretary or assistant. Well, time has been good to the lady, as her role as since been extended. First appearing in the guise of Helen in SFV's Story Mode, she has since been revealed with her true identity and powers as a full-fledged fighter among the many world warriors.

Aside from being a killer blonde with a hot bod, Kolin comes with skill in the martial art of Sistema ('The System' in Russian), a grappling style of combat. Her main ability though is the ability to use ice and frost, freezing her opponents and stabbing at them with deadly icicles. Sexy sub-zero? Perhaps! Her powers of course come from her master, Gill (who himself uses both fire AND ice).

Kolin comes with several outfits- two are her usual 'Russian' winter-themed outfits with the distinct furred hat. Her 'Battle Costume' is a stealth/special ops wetsuit and finally her sexy secretary look from Third Strike is her 'Nostalgia' outfit. I had hoped that her wetsuit at least would have been barefoot out of the box, but I guess I gave Capcom's devs too much credit.

Thankfully though, our top modder, BrutalAce, has already started on a mod to de-boot the sexy Illuminati agent, starting with her Battle Costume. As you can see in the video above,  the mod is already playable but according to BA it's just 95 percent complete- so perhaps a bit more finessing is required before its released.
In any case, seeing it in action, I'm already stoked. The feet models (apparently she is using the same feet as Cammy?) suit her perfectly, and look pretty much as if she never had boots to begin with. I am sure her other outfits will eventually get the same treatment (at the very least her Nostalgia outfit, I hope) but already, I am seeing a lot of enjoyment to be had with Miss Kolin. Certainly not the prettiest girl, but she is certainly sexy and has that irresistible bad girl appeal. I'm sure footfans will enjoy having her press her cool, fleshy soles into their faces. Heheh.