Xenoblade 2: Regarding its Anime Style

[Jumpin]

Peh said:

Jumpin said:

You mean Xenosaga Episode 2? There was an outcry about that one. The XCX character art style was great, if anyone complained about it, then I doubt they were fans of Xeno games. It's XC2 that people are upset with.

The reason for the difference with the first XC is because it wasn't developed with the intention of being a Xeno-game. It was originally going to be called Monado: Beginning of the World.

The big problem with XC2's character art is not only that the style doesn't match up with other Xeno games, but also that the character art looks very cheap, like it was done by an anime outsource company that specialized in Sailor Moon knockoffs.

https://kotaku.com/xenoblade-chronicles-xs-stupid-looking-characters-are-a-1684883394

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/701151-xenoblade-chronicles-x/71726007

http://n4g.com/news/1666861/in-xenoblade-chronicles-x-stupid-faces-are-ruining-everything

No, I was talking about XCX. 

So, a "Xeno" game has to have a distinctive art style because it's called a Xeno game? Even if the character designer is the same for all these games, I don't think it has to look like a Xenogears game. There is no rule there. And personally, I don't have an issue with either design. But to each their own. It's just too sad that both XCX and XC2 are causing just an outcry of subjective tastes in character design before people even got their hands on it. 

And as I predicted, these are clearly not fans of the Xeno franchise.

You can find the same sorts of commentary of Dragon Quest: http://nintendoeverything.com/square-enix-talks-about-why-dragon-quest-isnt-popular-in-the-west/  https://steamcommunity.com/app/410850/discussions/0/485622866442375040/ You can find anyone to hate any artstyle, including those beloved by fans longterm fans. Opinions are a dime a dozen, their opinions on how something should look different from the tradition don't matter. Fan opinions are what matters, as they're far more relevant than some random person's opinion.

If a developer is going to replace a character model style, it is never a good idea to replace it with something that looks cheap and generic. This is why longtime fans despise the XC2 art style. The characters that are getting the most praise are the ones done by Nomura which are closest to the Tanaka style.

Last edited by Jumpin - on 04 November 2017