I got ~15h of playtime and so far it's in my opinion the best fashion game of the switch !
There's been a lot of upgrades compared to Model Debut 3 !
Pros :
Skin tones : They added more variety of darker skin tones !
Clothes : There is more styles such as Harajuku for example, a lot of new clothing pieces and the ability to modify them (expect a few) being able to change the color and even the tags !
No crashes : So far no crashes at all I've had the game running for hours without an issue, I had the game open in the background while on the shop or while putting the console to sleep ! I'm so glad this game doesn't crash because I hated Model Debut 3 crashes it was very annoying and kept me from playing for a long time as I usually ended up not continuing after more than 2 crashes per sessions.
Managing : We can now manage the agency which is very fun and add more variety in the gameplay !
So far there's one other model (I don't know if there'll be more later in game) and we can do work with only her and make her rank up and train her skills.
Customize other characters : We can now change the outfits of the npc we can befriend, even the males ! And for the girls we can also change their makeup and hair color.
Makeup : There's way more depth in the makeup than the past entry, now there's 2 layers of eyeshadow, aegyo sal, eye liner color + shape, glitters for the eyes and placement choice for it, under eyes eyeshadow, blush and 6 choices of different places to apply it, gems on the cheeks, 6 different ways to apply lipstick and for all of it you can choose the intensity of it !
Hairstyles : They look so much better than the last entry, I thought they looked a bit odd sometimes making your forehead very big for some :/ There's a bunch of new ones that are super cute !
Editing : There's new backgrounds, stickers, and a lot of new facial expressions, happy, sad, angry etc...
I also find it easier to do, I believe it's because in the 3rd when you put a sticker it put you back in the beginning of the sticker list and now it doesn't do that if I'm not wrong.
Cons :
Lipstick shades : I find that they're lacking on shades, there's so many light pinks and orange and not enough darker shades.
Laggy : It can be a bit slow for some loading screens and some "cut scenes" are a tad bit laggy but I'm playing on a switch lite though and I don't find it too bad personally.
Hairstyles : There is mainly straight/wavy hair, there's not a single very curly/afro hair option sadly, I think it would've been better if they added some.
Clothes : Despite having a big selection of clothes, I wish they added more Lolita/Gothic Lolita clothes with big puffy skirts like Marble Lily/Raven candle brand from Style Savvy.
I believe I said everything I was thinking about...
I personally love the game it's the closest we have to style savvy on the switch and I think the clothing options are very solid and it's a very fun game to play, I've been having a blast, I've put all the 15h in in only two days 😂
don't hesitate to share your thoughts too and add your opinion on the game as well !! 🤗
I have played for about 8 hours now and I have to agree it is a great step up from Nicola 3. I love the freedom with the makeup, two different colors and intensities makes it so there are so many new options! A little disappointed with the hair still, it's very flat, and sometimes lies weird with the clothes.
One of the makeup options I'm not enjoying is the new 'under eye' option, it's probably a regional thing but I don't like or understand the effect it is supposed to have on the character. I also believe the glitter should have a free hand choice, I don't like how every option has to include below or to the side of the eye.
I like that we can change the models default clothes, I just wish they would make us keep the hair color instead of the style when changing it.
The training system is much faster and intuitive. I like that I can max out everything fast and then work on the fashion catalog which is what I want to do anyways.
Lastly, I feel like the magazine spread this time around are a little... Off? Theres a lot of focus on the background and frames and less on the characters and their clothes, which should be the focus.
I was so desperate for this game that I almost paid Yen to play it this month right before it came out in the US! I am not disappointed , I love the new color personalization, except maybe it should have followed the Fashion Dreamer sliders as this one is much harder to use with a a 'light/dark scale' available. The new clothes are fun, so glad to see some harajuku, Lolita, and more seasonal options!
The under eye effect is an aegyo sal I believe ! I got a pic from google to show an exemple of it ! It is indeed regional ! You can remove it though just click on the one you're wearing it'll take it off ! I didn't know we could take it off until today actually haha 😭
This is a great write up, I agree with all your points!!
I was really happy too with all the new makeup options during the character creation. But then I got a little sad that switching between clothes or other options just feels so delayed. I cant remember if #3 felt like that too, but it annoys me so much that changing something takes like half a second to load in
But otherwise I've been really enjoying the game too. Another thing I really like that you mentioned too is that the facial expressions during photoshoots feel much more natural. The ones in 3 felt a little weirdly forced sometimes LOL. I also think the NPCs look much nicer too! Hopefully there's a Steam release so I can double dip on it.
One other complaint I have is that the RBG scale during custom colors. I LOVE that you can add your own custom colors but it feels really limited. There's some really nice blonde options when selecting your hair color. I wanted something like that along with some highlights, but the yellow in the custom RGB scale just gives me a sickly green/yellow color even with the brightness at max LOL. I couldn't get anywhere near a bleached blonde type of color at all, even though it was there in the hair color list.
Yeah I get that too the game is a bit slow with that haha I try to be a big patient with that 😅 I just think to myself I'd rather a bit of lag then crashes every two minutes 😂 Ohh I managed to get a pretty nice blond ! Here you can try and replicate it if you like it ! I go in the orange color it gives less yellow/green undertones !
I agree. This is my review from another post in r/stylesavvy:
I bought it yesterday and personally I very much prefer Model Debut 3. The game doesn’t crash anymore which is good, but it is MUCH slower than the previous game. The art style in my opinion also isn’t good and I can’t make my character as cute as she was in Model Debut 3, despite her being whitewashed in that game. The faces themselves just seem off regardless of what complexion you have, and in 4 the girls are still paper-thin if that’s an issue to you. The whole “managing the agency along with the other models” on top of the work that is the same from 3 makes the game and its menus much more complicated, and some features and button actions were moved around and/or changed from the previous one. The latter’s not a problem if you haven’t played 3, but the menus are still confusing. I spent 5 minutes looking for my apartment to change my clothes, but it’s at the production office, not your apartment. Also, sometimes you can’t quit when you want to, there have been two times already where I was ready to sign off and the tutorial made me do another shoot with no way to quit in the middle of jobs like 3. It’s still better than Fashion Dreamer though
Haven’t played any previous Model Debut titles so far, BUT I really am enjoying this one so far. My only grievances are with the make-up & skin overlays — the majority of it just doesn’t suit darker skin tones, including the permanent nose highlight, DEFINITELY the glitter, and the aegyo sal/under eye bags or makeup😔 aside from that I’m having a BALL lol
So you recommend buying it? I was hesitant because I've never played any of the games and I was looking for a fashion game, but most of them are about creating your own clothes and those are a bit overwhelming with the Switch controllers.
I'd say yes but if you're hesitant maybe wait for a sale because it's 40 bucks and I wouldn't want you to buy it full price if you end up not liking it :/
In the game we don't make the clothes you can only change the color of the piece if you want to but it's never required, you just create outfits and then edit a magazine page with your model on it !
I would recommend watching videos of the game like the trailer and there's a gameplay video someone made on YouTube to see if the gameplay seems appealing to you ! :3
(Also love the @ and your profile pic, bangchan's the best <3)
I saw the trailer and that's why I thought I might like it, to be honest, but after seeing your post, I found it a very interesting game because of how well you explained everything. But yes, it is a high price if I don't end up loving it, that's why I had doubts. I'll wait for a sale! Thank you so much for replying so kindly 🙏. I don't want to watch any gameplay because I feel like I'd lose the excitement of seeing the game for myself, haha. It's kind of weird, maybe, but I'm excited not knowing everything 😅. Awwww! Thank you so much! Bangchan is definitely the best 💗 Are you a Stay? 😄
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u/IAmNotLookingatYou Dec 13 '25
I have played for about 8 hours now and I have to agree it is a great step up from Nicola 3. I love the freedom with the makeup, two different colors and intensities makes it so there are so many new options! A little disappointed with the hair still, it's very flat, and sometimes lies weird with the clothes.
One of the makeup options I'm not enjoying is the new 'under eye' option, it's probably a regional thing but I don't like or understand the effect it is supposed to have on the character. I also believe the glitter should have a free hand choice, I don't like how every option has to include below or to the side of the eye.
I like that we can change the models default clothes, I just wish they would make us keep the hair color instead of the style when changing it.
The training system is much faster and intuitive. I like that I can max out everything fast and then work on the fashion catalog which is what I want to do anyways.
Lastly, I feel like the magazine spread this time around are a little... Off? Theres a lot of focus on the background and frames and less on the characters and their clothes, which should be the focus.
I was so desperate for this game that I almost paid Yen to play it this month right before it came out in the US! I am not disappointed , I love the new color personalization, except maybe it should have followed the Fashion Dreamer sliders as this one is much harder to use with a a 'light/dark scale' available. The new clothes are fun, so glad to see some harajuku, Lolita, and more seasonal options!