Not for DQVIII it isn't.
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Dragon Quest VIII announced for 3DS
- Thread starter Zeyphersan
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Pixel art is largely preferred over rudimentary polygonal art. One of DQ8's selling points was its graphics blending with its old school gameplay. And you're not correct that DQ isn't known for its graphics - DQ6 was arguably nicer looking than FF6.
Lastly, DW7 did not sell "in droves" in the West.
No one said and expected that, no idea what you are talking about?!
It's just kind of sad that this port can't even manage to have a decent draw distance or some grass on the ground when Xenoblade, a game even grander in scope got a pretty amazing looking (and running!) port on the (new)3ds.
I honestly don't care all that much about image quality (why would i have a portable nintendo system otherwise, right?) but atmosphere is pretty important to me, because i like to immerse myself into the game world. trees popping up within 20m is honestly distracting in this regard and detrimental to my enjoyment of the game.
CaviarMeths
Member
I remember back in the day I went into a games shop and picked out a handful of PS1 games... and based on my picks, the shop attendant recommended Dragon Warrior VII to me. Talked it up a bunch and said he though I would really dig it. I had no idea what it was at the time though and I passed on it. Forgot about it until years later, when Square Enix no longer cared about my dollars.
That poor decision keeps me up at night.
Yeah I meant Japan, mispunctutation on my part. Meant that people even out West knew the game's graphics were "last gen" when it was released in the PS2 era, but people still boughy iy because it was "Dragon Quest/Warrior" and some people like myself were starved for anything DQ related.
Edit: people thought I was crazy then, but I only bough a PS2 machine to play DQVII. Thats how much this series means to me still.
I'm suprised nobody posted the load time differences for it yet too lol
It's a significant improvement.
Cart vs. DVD, if loading times are ever in favor of disc then something has gone horribly wrong. It's expected.
That only means good things for DQ83DS, load times (should) be virtually erased. Consider it another pro, but we really won't know for sure until we get some hands-on impressions.
That only means good things for DQ83DS, load times (should) be virtually erased. Consider it another pro, but we really won't know for sure until we get some hands-on impressions.
Who did the Abyss 3DS port?
Hero of Legend
Member
Dear lord at the second cutscene and the part where Luke's entering and exiting an area over and over. The former kept having lengthy loads in the middle of a cutscene, and the latter took so long to load the first transition, that he went in and out like three full times.
I imagine the dev meeting for this game went like this:
"How do we get the game running faster on the 3DS?"
"Oh, we'll just remove all the graphics!"
joking... kinda...
Just like DQ7. Why should this be any different?
To me region locking is a less a problem than localized. There is a lot of dialogue, DQ7 was a bit over my Japanese reading skills.
Wow, disappointed.
I don't mind poor graphics, but I couldn't stand the trees that pop up in the VII remake.
they should've waited. I wouldn't mind waiting another 5 years.
edit: after reading old posts, I see it's not about waiting for better hardware, but just taking time to make a decent port.
I don't mind poor graphics, but I couldn't stand the trees that pop up in the VII remake.
they should've waited. I wouldn't mind waiting another 5 years.
edit: after reading old posts, I see it's not about waiting for better hardware, but just taking time to make a decent port.
Toadthemushroom
Member
Thanks for this!
Well that confirms it, they are using TOSE's cut-back Unity port as a base for this. Big disappointment, for the reasons I mentioned here: http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=164931306
Like I said in the post linked above, it's highly unlikely any of the cutbacks are down to the 3DS -- they were done before for iOS and Android, when the game was targeting far more powerful hardware. At the time the iPhone 5s was at least a generational leap faster than the Vita in GPU terms and two CPU generations faster, yet TOSE's cut back DQ8 port ran like a dog (20fps).
AcademicSaucer
Member
IF they do something like this for DQVIII, then that alone, justifies porting it
Femmeworth
Banned
TOSE is still around and doing shoddy ports? Ugh.
Eww. I hope the 3DS port wont be as sloppy in the frame rate department. There's no reason I can think of that it should run that bad on iPhones.
Toadthemushroom
Member
Yup, they did the iOS/Android version of DQ8, I suspect they are doing this 3DS port.
It's annoying, despite the poor technical aspects the latest DQ games on mobile have great one-handed controls, it's such a shame DQ8 didn't look the part and ran really badly on more than capable hardware.
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That's the thing though, it's all well and good to demand an HD remaster or a Vita version or whatever, but we'll still probably end up with Square/TOSE using the Unity version as a base to save costs. Just look at what they've done with the DS versions of FFIII/IV on other platforms, and iOS/Android FFVI used the GBA version as a base, complete with its zoomed in and over brightened visuals.
I wish Square would treat its heritage with more respect.
metalslimer
Member
The problem with the whole DQ was never about graphics kind of falls apart when DQ8 was one of the more beautiful PS2 games.
It might use the mobile assets as a base, but it can't use the same code. The mobile port was done using Unity, which is probably the worst way to port a PS2 game ever conceived.
Unity it's quite resource heavy on smartphones and can easily perform like shit if you don't know what you're doing. A port of a huge game written in C/C++? Recipe for disaster. The 3DS doesn't have official Unity support (it was just announced for the New 3DS) and the overhead would be to much for a game this big.
Unity it's quite resource heavy on smartphones and can easily perform like shit if you don't know what you're doing. A port of a huge game written in C/C++? Recipe for disaster. The 3DS doesn't have official Unity support (it was just announced for the New 3DS) and the overhead would be to much for a game this big.
Toadthemushroom
Member
Oh yes, absolutely, I mean if it was ported to more powerful hardware then it's easy work, since they naturally support Unity.
And it's clear from these two ports that the game hasn't received the "royal" treatment that Kingdom Hearts and Type-0 were offered.
If this 3DS port doesn't include amazing stereoscopic 3D support then I'll be *very* disappointed -- that's one saving grace for a sweeping third person adventure game on the platform, at least personally speaking based on my experiences with Zelda and SMTIV.
PumpkinSpice
Banned
TOSE is forever.
Honestly they're not so bad. Their Dragon Quest ports have always been top notch and their DQM games are fantastic. Really inconsistent work when compared to other games they've done but they can certainly do good work.
Femmeworth
Banned
To be a bit fair to TOSE or whoever is working on this, porting a PS2 game isn't easy. The PS3/360 can't run PS2 ports completely without compromise so the 3DS doesn't stand a chance.
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
What kind of compromise are we talking about in HexaDrive's PS2 remasters? Minor artistic differences aside, I can't think of anything technical that was inferior to the originals.
Femmeworth
Banned
Didn't Okami HD have screen tearing or something?
Toadthemushroom
Member
Yeah, TOSE have done some good stuff. Probably more constrained by budget and experience based on the task at hand than anything else.
Very true. Vita struggled with God of War collection if I remember correctly, and the PS2 games in that were like Dragon Quest VIII: exclusives tailor made to suit PS2's bespoke hardware makeup. Doesn't necessarily translate well to more powerful hardware.
Very true. Vita struggled with God of War collection if I remember correctly, and the PS2 games in that were like Dragon Quest VIII: exclusives tailor made to suit PS2's bespoke hardware makeup. Doesn't necessarily translate well to more powerful hardware.
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
The PS2 version had more frequent slowdown instead.
Toadthemushroom
Member
That reminds me, weren't hexadrive involved with Metal Gear Solid 3D? That's a PS2 exclusive made around the format's strengths, and it seemed to fare well based on assets alone: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-mgs3-3ds-vs-playstation2
The video and screenshots were from a 3DS dev kit there (hence the 480p) but it does give us an indication of how the game's assets made the move from PS2, and they did a great job at recreating and improving upon the original visuals. Only problem was the framerate wasn't great on final hardware...
Not that I remember. It's rendered at 3840x2160 then downsampled to 1080p though
The game ran at 20 fps tho...
Shin-Ra
Junior Member
You can also drop Okami HD down to 720p for better performance. But the full 1080p output 100% of the time with rare performance dips is greatly preferable to 720p all the time.
MGS3D runs pretty poorly and the added shader effects don't make up for the other downgrades.
ShockingAlberto
Member
MGS3 actually runs slightly better now than it did at launch.
There was some weird firmware update that improved framerate in some Konami games like MGS3 and that 3DS Castlevania.
There was some weird firmware update that improved framerate in some Konami games like MGS3 and that 3DS Castlevania.
Yeah, I read about that. Less dips now, but the framerate is still locked at 20 fps as far as I know. :\
Femmeworth
Banned
Still, compromise. That's also another point to make that those ports tried (and succeeded) to run better than the original in some aspects.
I'm willing to sacrifice some trees, grass, and any other environmental detail if the game has faster loading time and there are no random encounters.
Hell, I was playing on emulator and I was dreading having to save everytime because it would take too gosh darn long to save.
Hell, I was playing on emulator and I was dreading having to save everytime because it would take too gosh darn long to save.
Also, fuck random encounters
It was beautiful because of its artwork. Technically it was pretty average by PS2 standards.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Compromise when they managed to get the game running at several more times the original resolution?
We can also note here ZOE2 which runs better than the PS2 with v-sync in HD. And ZOE2 is easily one of the most demanding games on the system.
I think 3DS showed that it can't push as many polygons as the PS2, but I think the screens are way below the capabilities of the system and screams cheap port job.
Agent Unknown
Member
I'm willing to sacrifice some trees, grass, certain environmental details AND removal of random encounters if the game is localized, period.
Uhm... why do the screens confirm that it's a mobile port? To me all versions seem to look drastically different... The only thing in common between mobile and 3DS is a lack of trees (but even then mobile still has more trees).
The trees are different, the mountains are different, the colors are different, the fog is different...
Toadthemushroom
Member
Hm, I did outline why in my previous post here: http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=164931306
That aside, it's quite apparent that they are using the assets that made the jump to the Unity version to make this, hence they are using the mobile version for this port. It's missing all the grass, like in the mobile version, the fences are missing, there's large patches of foliage and trees that are missing (I can't remember if that's a draw distance thing or not), the lighting and overworld geometry is simplified, and the shadows are circles.
Towns fared a lot better, though, but they too saw a reduction in lighting quality and some other details (windows wouldn't light up at night for example).
I'm not saying it's an exact port, but it's pretty obvious that it's based off the version ported to Unity rather than the original PS2 game, or at the very least, a much closer match.
As for the difference in colours: the 3DS screenshots are from a promotional poster that's either been photographed or scanned in, so there are going to be differences in colour compared with direct screengrabs of the game.
Hope that helps!
Kubera Leez
Member
I agree. I just want to play more Dragon Quest. Graphical Quality doesn't matter much to me.
ArchedThunder
Banned
For a 3DS game the visuals aren't bad, as long as it runs at a solid frame rate, has 3D and fixes the stuff that was was wrong with the mobile version then it will be a fine version of the game.
Should have just been a PS3/PS4 HD Remaster amirite?
Looking at the comparisons it seems obvious that it isn´t a direct port, it has different geometry/territory and placement, the most important thing to me is that it´s portable and especially the extra content in form of new characters and scenarios is what it actually sells to me. SQEX really should push forward a US/EU localization.
As a little tidbit and curiosity, DQ8 3DS is about to crack amazons top 50 2015 sales chart (early next week) several months before its launch. With its current pace it will easily reach the top15 before its official launch.
As a little tidbit and curiosity, DQ8 3DS is about to crack amazons top 50 2015 sales chart (early next week) several months before its launch. With its current pace it will easily reach the top15 before its official launch.
I don't give a fuck about how the game looks, it's goddamn DQVIII on a handheld! Game had such perfect balance of exploration, dungeons and actually rewarding the exploration and optional challenges. The monster arena/team was a perfect sidequest and searching for the special monsters around the map was so goddamn addicting and satisfying. And the music...
Can't wait for my gf to finally get to play this absolute classic.
Can't wait for my gf to finally get to play this absolute classic.
Holy shit, yesterday it was 2015, and now it's already 2105! My God, it's true that time flies quick in this day and age!
GeekyDad
Member
This guy gets it.
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