The 3rd Birthday

[Bells]

i don't disagree with you. I really don't. But you did, however missed a couple of points.

First of all... Technology. If Squeenix could render Aya like they did in PE3 back in PE2 and PE1, they would. It was just not doable. It's not about the same View point that was used for Lara Croft in the PS1 though, in it the entire point of Lara's Sexiness were large Polygon breasts and Short & tight clothing.

That didn't serve the purpose of what PE1 was trying to do, so they went with NYPD Basic look. But just compare some cutscenes from PE1 and PE2, you can see that they work around Technical limitations. They can render a monstrosity like Even in beautiful detail, but Aya is quite bland on those CG's... On the other hand, all press material for both games point out to some Flirty looks and overall sensual presentation without being gratuitous.

Hey, they try to explain via plot why Aya looks 25 when should be nearing 40's ... it's boneless excuse for "MILFing" her up... but that's also Japanese culture for ya. And let's face it... it's also quite a bit of International Culture more than anything else.

You could make a case for the constant nod towards some nudity being actually related to the mythology of the game itself, by being about Eve, Evolution, Birth, conception, Purity and all those other themes that in a way co-relate to a feminine aspect, to childbirth, to a "Motherhood" sub-theme, and all that...

You can make that connection. It's there. But then you can also see Squeenix taking that connection and putting it in Fishnet stockings because their market research team concluded that it will help sell another 400k copies... afterall, it is still a game made by a company to sell and make money.

As for the Cutscene in PE2, i actually think you got it wrong... although not by much. I never saw it as being suggestive, nor even about Fanservice... to me it felt more connected to the "survival Horror" feeling the game was trying to pull, as it was a "breather" in the middle of all the Chaos Aya was going through, a "Human" moment if you will. Much so that it ends with the ending to that same peace, when Aya notices something big (and probably nasty) is coming. She is in her most vulnerable momment, in reflection, nude in the shower, as we all would be, and then comes another threat... it was atmospheric to me.