TK14 said:
To me, XC2 seems like kind of a mixed bag, art-style wise. Monolith Soft ALWAYS makes the world look good, and this doesn't seem to be any exception. It looks more colorful and fantasy-oriented like the original game though, rather than the darker, more realistic sci-fi style of X. It's the characters that are randomly highly-stylized anime with cel-shading. It actually reminds me a bit of Tokyo Mirage Sessions, or even the DBZ games where the characters are more anime but the environments are a little more realistic looking. Even Breath of the Wild has a little bit of that going on. I don't mind it, but I agree that the characters are lacking a bit. I HATE the main character's armor so far, haha. But the world looks good, and reminds me more of the original, in a good way, than X, though I did LOVE Mira. I'm just excited that it looks like it'll be more story and character-focused again, and that they've got some good musicians involved, including ACE from the original game. I liked Sawano's stuff for X, and it fit the sci-fi world, but he definitely has a set style that got a little predictable, with the slow build, the sudden stop, and then the big melody section for 20 seconds, rinse and repeat. I just need to see more of XC2. I think as a teaser trailer it was a little lacking compared to the first one for X. But XC wasn't exactly graphically 'beautiful' and yet the art-style of the world made up for it, along with the music and story and memorable characters. And the faces in the original were a bit rough, and a bit creepy in X (those doll eyed girls *shudder*), so looks like this will possibly just continue the trend. But in a game that's hopefully another epic 100+ hour adventure, I don't think it'll matter that much. As long as it has the same type of battle system (and hopefully levelling to 99 again this time) a party and lots of big areas to explore, I'll be happy. That is another thing I'm wondering though...if the world will be segmented into specific areas like the original, where you encounter them progressively, rather than truly open-world. Kind of seems like it so far, but we'll see. I'll be happy either way. As for the OP, I think Nintendo really just needs to do a 180 with their marketing and label it as a handheld first that can connect to the TV. Still a hybrid, but highlight its portability more than its home console functionality. And sell it for $199 without the dock and extra accessories as one option, and then the current option for $299 as well, so people can choose whether they want the next Nintendo handheld, or a true hybrid console. For me personally, Nintendo's art styles look great for Splatoon, Mario Kart, Zelda, Mario, etc, so as long as they play well too, I'm not too picky. The graphics are adequate. Gameplay always comes first. Switch's power will mainly be an issue for third party support, but I'm not convinced third party support can EVER be that good on a Nintendo console anyway, because Nintendo's own games tend to steal the show. But I understand people's criticisms of the presentation, launch lineup, pricing, etc. And I think people would be more positive about it if it were the tablet and joycons for $199, their first HD handheld capable of Wii U-console level experiences, but also having the option to buy a dock (or get the current bundle for $299) to play the inevitable Pokemon and Monster Hunter and everything else on the TV. |
I would agree with everything you said, except for Xenoblade Chronicles wasn't good graphically. On the Wii it looked absolutely amazing, especially for an open world game. It seemed to only be held back by the consoles limitations. Same with X, not so much Xenoblade 2.
edit: Also, is it just me or is the draw distance strangely reduced.... like a lot.
