Do gamers ACTUALLY want smaller budget games?

[Kyuu]

firebush03 said:

Kyuu said:

It just depends on the game and its scope.

If even Falcom can make their games look so pretty now, what is GameFreak's excuse? Falcom's games were seemingly held back by super low budgets. Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter came out recently... looking and feeling amazing by the company's previous standards, likely due to a bigger budget. But compared to AAA games, the budget is relatively nonexistent.

It scored 90, making it arguably Falcom's best received game of all time despite being a remake. Not sure what's causing GameFreak to be so far behind any respectable studio in the graphics (and animations, physics, etc) department (there may be more to it than just a small budget, I don't know!!) but about time they level up their game. The fans deserve it.

TBF TitS: 1st Chapter has less than a dozen reviews on OpenCritic. Additionally, Falcom games are heavily diluted by dialogue which explains the world for you, the visuals arguably look about as cheap as Pokémon Legends Z-A (i.e. I’m not sure Falcom would be a good example here if these games were selling on a similar level to that of Pokémon), etc.

However, point taken: Pokémon may have a small budget, but the games aren’t high enough quality… which I would still argue that, again, you are complaining about a game which has critical acclaim well beyond that of most AAA games (81MC/OC). That sounds pretty good for a game with a $13mil USD budget.

Pokemon's scores are inflated by its brand power and recognition. But I'm not saying they're bad games, just that they could have been a lot better with higher production values and more competent designers.

Trails in the Sky has 62 reviews on Opencriric, and is stable at 90+. It's got gorgeous artstyle, excellent animations and camera work, good attention to detail, lively world where vegetation react nicely to your movement, and lighting that penetrate the different geometry, leaves, grass, etc to a stunning effect.

Modern Pokemon games are hideous. Tiny Falcom stepped up their game while the much bigger and richer GameFreak remains stuck in the mud. It's baffling to say the least.