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While Nintendo and SynSophia sort of made a name for bigger-name dress-up games outside of Japan with the Style Savvy / Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode series, FuRyu and Racjin do a similar thing with its Nicola Kanshuu / Model Debut line. As you’d expect, it’s also about picking out the best looks for the right situations, though with a greater focus on the modeling side of the business. Model Debut4 is the latest entry that again prioritizes getting to play dress-up, with a few general quality of life adjustments to keep things interesting. However, those considering the PC version will basically need to keep a controller on hand and be prepared to deal with bugs.
While there is a hint of romance and possible friendships with fellow models, Model Debut4 is like past entries in the series and features only the briefest of explanations as to why we’re suddenly so interested in becoming a fashionista. Your character just… wanted to! So they submitted an application to the Nicola Editorial department and passed. Coincidentally, the player’s uncle Jinpachi owns a talent agency called Astle Productions, so nepotism guarantees you an agent!
Said company is also about to be shuttered since apparently he’s a terrible businessman, which means you’re a model, producer, scout, and manager handling two other reps there. So part of the gameplay involves taking jobs for your avatar or the other models, picking out the correct attire for the assignment, posing them for the photo shoot, then adding decorative elements and preparing the layout for the “grade” to complete it. Likewise, when you’re actually working on shoots for Nicola and other jobs, the protagonist is also the stylist, graphic designer, and editor? All while spending the next three years trying to become the Nicola Top Model. It’s all very rudimentary, with some lines and translations that feel a little raw, literal, and sometimes awkward. But since it is designed to provide and excuse for playing dress up and creating cute photos, it’s understandable. It is more of a “budget” type of title than Style Savvy, after all, and more about the idea of customization than a more serious sim.
Since the Model Debut series is a dress-up game, the character creator always tended to offer some elaborate elements, but there are some really lovely additions in Debut4 that show Racjin might be paying attention to feedback. First, there are a lot more skin color options when designing a character than in past games. Hair styles are still a bit more limited and feel like they aren’t really considering curl types beyond 2a, 2b, and 2c and no body type adjustments are available so everyone has the same shape, but it does feel like the beginnings of more inclusive options.
The downside to that is the proportions in the character sometimes look different when putting together a person than the final in-game result. My avatar looked fine when I chose facial features. Once she stepped out into the world, I found the face mask and glasses positioning looked off in practice. Of course, there are some other odd clipping and positioning issues that can come up during the photo posing and editing process for jobs, so it’s probably tied to odd physics.
As for clothing, when you go into some pieces it is possible to go a little more in depth with the customization of pieces in your wardrobe to adjust hue, vividness, brightness, and the degree of shadow and texture for the multiple parts. It makes it feel like there are more possibilities in this dress-up game, and changes you make can be saved. Some pieces can’t be altered, but it seemed like I had more freedom than not. Sections are divided into different types of tops, bottoms, one pieces, jackets, shoes, socks, accessories, jewelry, and miscellaneous divisions, as well as a section for special items like swimsuits and kimono. Each piece has a name and hashtags associated with it attributing different colors, themes, and moods, which helps with sorting and picking parts for jobs.
So the issue that comes up in this section is tied to those hashtags and the selection. The customization part, which I went over earlier, is great! The stuff in the closet? Most of it I already saw when I played Model Debut3 on the Switch. But the bigger issue is the hashtags defining items. Part of the game does involve our avatar and Astle Productions moving up ranks by completing assignments properly and gaining more fans, in order to gain additional work, extra money, and that coveted top model spot. When you get a task, the person giving it will specifically tell you the terms for the parts you need. They’ll even show on the dress-up screen when you’re playing the game. However, for multiple tasks I noticed I would choose items that were in the correct category, right color, and had a proper term, but would then go to the next step and hear that I seemed to be missing that part. Like this comes up in the very first step, as one of the two required clothing items was a white, button-up blouse. I chose the shirt that had “blouse” in the name, the #white tag, and clearly visible buttons on it, and the Nicola editor suggested I wasn’t properly dressed. Rude.
Now, as for the PC version, there are a few peculiarities with it and bugs! Which is why I’m doing this as a playtest and not a review, since I couldn’t progress far enough for a proper rating. You can really tell Racjin and FuRyu put together the Switch and Switch 2 versions, then this port. This comes through most with the controls. If you don’t have a controller, you’re going to have a bad time! It really demands it for sorting. The only time the keyboard function actually worked out when I played is when I needed to type in my characters’ name or name different profile outfits. I also noticed proportions felt off in full-screen on my handheld gaming PC. On a laptop with a proper 16:9 monitor? Totally fine. Lenovo Legion Go? Awkward.
Now, the bigger issues. I did not encounter as many problems playing on the Lenovo Legion Go handheld gaming PC. However, the game-breaking problem I encountered there involved an issue with the Nicola Postfeature. As part of a date at the beach, you need to post about the outing. I couldn’t. The “post” button would not work. Which, in turn, kept me from actually progressing in-game. On a Dell laptop, I kept running into an issue where it would just… not work sometimes? I don’t know if it had to do with corrupted files or some save issue, but I’d start a game. I’d play fine for a few hours. I’d even open and close it during multiple sessions. But at some point, I’d go to open it and it wouldn’t start. Uninstalling and reinstalling would help, and I was even able to use the same save file, but it would inevitably happen again. It means I’d strongly suggest either the Switch or Switch 2 version over this one.
Model Debut4 feels designed to be the next step for the Model Debut dress-up games and offer more control over characters’ fashion choices. It does seem to do that! We get more customization options, and our job now involves managing our avatar and others at the agency. However, the PC version seems to be experiencing a few issues. It’s in need of patches to address progress-blocking bugs, and maybe other adjustments. But in time, it might turn into a serviceable installment in the series on that platform too.
Model Debut4 is available on the Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Steam.
