Ferrari, who completed her design in 2010 when the game was called Versus XIII under Tetsuya Nomura, drew three poses for the character before leaving the development team due to a disagreement.

Her outfit consists of a yellow cropped jacket that exposes her midriff while partially unzipped to reveal a pink bra, blue daisy duke shorts, black leather stockings that go midway up her thighs, and white tall cowboy boots over them on her feet.

Her accessories include a trucker hat with her car garage's logo on the front, black gloves, goggles around her neck, and an angled utility belt with a large pouch on each hip.

When the game's marketing manager Akio Ofuji pointed out to Tabata that feedback seemed particularly focused on her outfit in relation to her role as a mechanic, he responded they did not want to change her character concept, and questioned if it was about "moderating the way she’s presented" due to perceived "overly sexual themes are being brought to the forefront, because that’s not who she’s supposed to be."

[3] As introduced in the 2016 roleplaying video game Final Fantasy XV, Cindy Aurum is a minor character, and with her grandfather, Cid, runs the Hammerhead Service Station, where she will repair and offer upgrades for the protagonist's car, the Regalia.

[26] Since her initial reveal in the game's demo, her outfit and portrayal has the subject of heated debate, with sources such as GameRevolution comparing her to fellow controversial character Quiet from Metal Gear Solid V,[27] and The Guardian calling her "laughable male fantasy" while further expressing disdain for her attire and how she posed while maintenancing the protagonists' vehicle.

[32] Jérémie Kermarrec in the book La Légende Final Fantasy XV described her as one of the most sexualized characters in the franchise as a whole, and felt she represented a negative trope of "women as background decoration" in gaming.

At the same time, he added it was also important the recognize the role gender disparity in Japan had on such sentiments, and lamented the missed opportunity for the development team to demonstrate goodwill by acknowledging such issues.

Nadia Oxford of USGamer felt that while her outfit and window-washing cutscene was "obvious fanservice" and particularly inappropriate for the weather she was in, it was inoffensive to her due to the game not being centered around "male wish fulfillment".

[35][24] Peter Swann of ComicsVerse praised Cindy in an examination of how Final Fantasy XV challenged gender roles and called her the most important female character in the title.

[36] Game Rant's Ben Grindle meanwhile compared her to previous "Cid" characters, and shared much of Swann's sentiments in that she was significantly more important to the title due to the role she played for the protagonists, while also helping to modernize the concept.

While often the characters were portrayed as older gruff men who tended to have military backgrounds, often also estranged from their families, Cindy's lack of these aspects along with her close relationship to her grandfather gave her in Grindle's eyes a warming presence.

He felt this "radical departure" of her personality in comparison to her predecessors was a breath of fresh air that helped modernize the character's concept, while retaining the familiar aspects players had come to expect from the archetype.

[38] Cindy has also been the subject of frequent cosplay, with Tabata noting in an interview in Vice that she appeared to be the fan favorite from the title due to seeing someone dressed as her at every event prior to the game's release.