So glad to hear the game is still being worked on! That's awesome and I wish you the best of luck
This is some promising 3D work too. Not sure if you're still looking for feedback, but in case you are--
I agree about the pink ribbons, strongly.
The 'uncanny valley' look is much improved in the 2nd pic, but what strikes me is how young she looks. In KQ4, Rosella is 17 years old. This character looks like she's 12 at the oldest to me. It's a few things contributing to this--her face is young, still more round than not; her cheekbones aren't really highlighted, which would be the easiest way to age her up. A dash of light pink on the cheekbones, a la blush/rouge, would help that a little. Maybe lining the eyes a little too, a la eyeliner. (KQ characters have had the appearance of wearing make-up before, if that's a concern, but you wouldn't need a lot of this to give her some age. We're not talking full make-up counter treatment

). Also, the little we see of her outfit in the portrait looks like a young style (more like a shirt and overalls look, since it cuts off before we see any of the bodice)
But mostly, it's the hairstyle makes her look very young. The braided pigtails is a very 'young' style--the center part, the hair pulled very tightly into the braids. The ribbons add to it, making them pink adds to it even more. It looks like the hairstyle of a little girl, not a teenager. Her bangs kind of add to this as well, but less so. With a different style to the rest of her hair, the bangs wouldn't have the same effect, but in combination, it adds to the young look.
I know I'm applying modern standards to this, but so will your players.
My suggestion would be to loose the bows, and then some combination of:
loosen the braids (this isn't a great example, but you get the idea), add hair that isn't in the braids (a la her
KQ6 portrait), and/or give her an
off-center part.
Or--and this is sort of what all that gets at--give it some more personalized style, make it look unique. Some great examples of this are
Katniss's signature wraparound side-braid,
Daenerys's evolving intricate braids, and the
many, many, braid styles of Princess/General Leia!
That's maybe more detail than you wanted

But I hope having examples of what I'm talking about helps as well. I know animating hair can be a huge pain, and it's a volunteer project, so find what works best for your team and what you can do, of course. I would most strongly suggest getting rid of the bows, though.
Again, I do think this looks good and it's great to hear you're still going at it! Can't wait to see/hear more about the game's progress.