It's not a choice...it was legit need decision because HD sprites are too expensive in todays world.
like do people even get that part?
This looks like poopsauce, so yeah you can be mad about the 3d not looking great (still think it can improve because that generally what happens during development look at SFIV and SFV) but I really think people are not grasping the situation SNK is in.
I am just surprised this game exists even w/ the rough as hell look it has.
No no no no no, and no.
Oh and no.
Let me activate my butthurt fanboy mode.
Here is the problem : KOF XII demanded far too much work and money to be produced, because of the quality and time the sprites demanded.
What was inevitable : Get rid of that style.
So, to that, where does that bring us.
We already know they were using decent 3D models to make the sprites out of.
They could have :
- Went for an animation with less frames. Wouldn't look as smooth, but would get an "anime" feeling. Exactly what Xrd decided to go for.
- Went for a simpler style. Get rid of the intense shading they had. Get a two tone shading like most anime and call it a day.
- Draw it in HD directly, use vector, since they can't figure out 3D for shit, unlike Arksystem works. That isn't any harder than making good 3D models. It just offers less options, GGxrd went for 3D because they wanted cutscene, animated visual novel, and dynamic camera for dust attacks. KOF does none of that.
- Make it F2P with seasons, like killer instinct, don't be afraid to break the convention of "teams" if it's too much characters to handle. (hell they broke the 2D convention, might as well break anything else)
- Go for 3D. Either ask fellow developers Dimps, Capcom, or ArkSys for advice, to get a strong direction even if the visuals are not as good, get the artists intention.
I'm kinda annoyed at people that imply the beautiful looks and animations never mattered to KOF.
I sucked balls at the games, and the reason i kept playing is because I was amazed at how cool it looked. I fell in love when I saw "Tetsuo" and I was like, "omg they have an Akira character ?!", I was a kid, and since then KOF has always been this hard but super rewarding beautiful fighter, with intense matches that feel and look great.
So did they pick the right solution ?
Well nope.
What they did is go back to shitty 3D, a thing where they were never good at, and LITERALLY are at the same point as the last time they did 3D, ten years ago. And on top of that add awful art direction and hideous design for Kyo. Ps1 sfx are a nice touch too.
There is no faith to have for this game. None. Not for a release next year.
They have to change bones, hair, faces, rigs, effects. And that's the two most important characters, I can't even imagine how bad the rest looks.
I can't take any pleasure playing something that looks that clunky, thinking of what could have been, I know how shallow I sound, but it's because I have the choice with :
SF 5, Tekken 7, GGXrd rev, Skullgirls encore, Naruto Storm 4, THE OLDER KOF ON STEAM .....
This isn't an indie game, this isn't a new dev trying to figure things out, this SNK, making a sequel to beloved franchise.
The gameplay would have to be the best ever to make up for that technical horror.
But if you release a mobile looking game on ps4, what exactly makes you think they have the budget to make the gameplay amazing ? Especially in 3D .
