I'm still at an early stage of Dragon Quest IX. As such, function currently trumps style for me, even though dressing your characters up is a big part of what makes the game different from other RPGs.
I can't deny that the customizability of your characters' outfits and their resultant appearance is something you rarely see in RPGs, but I can't help but wonder: Does coordinating your characters' clothes really matter?
As far as I can tell (and, again, I'm sure I've hardly scratched the surface of a truly long game) the only benefit to Dragon Quest IX's key feature is to the game's aesthetics.
This sense especially struck me when I noticed that the female thief I have in my party was the only one walking with a hip-wiggling motion. Now, I do wonder if that's part of the female thief's attitude coming across (think Kidd from Chrono Cross mixed with Clara from Skies of Arcadia), or is it because she's meant to model outfits?
That may be a narrow pair of questions, but it leads me to wonder if there's some sort of stat boost awarded to characters wearing a solid ensemble.
Or, whether or not the customizability of your characters is meant to covertly force you to grind levels early and often to make up for not equipping the best stuff as it comes up. Clogs and shirts of mail don't exactly match, after all.
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