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Which Vanillaware game do you think has the best art style?
- Thread starter ScOULaris
- Start date
HolyBaikal
Banned
Princess Crown.
I like how it was pretty and colourful and had a female protagonist. And wasn't too sexualized. It's one of my favourite SEGA Saturn games. I wish Vanillaware would make an HD version of it and put it on Steam.
I like how it was pretty and colourful and had a female protagonist. And wasn't too sexualized. It's one of my favourite SEGA Saturn games. I wish Vanillaware would make an HD version of it and put it on Steam.
SerTapTap
Member
Frankly I don't think so. GG Xrd shows a very clean anime style can translate over, but much like Amano's art I'm not sure Vanillaware's stuff CAN be moved to 3D properly, and if it can I don't think we're near the level of graphical fidelity to do that...and even if we were there's no way Vanillaware's team or budget are remotely up to the task.
I've rarely seen that Kumatanchi game before, that's actually pretty unique for them.
For the rest of the games, save for Princess Crown, they pretty much feel like a mix of growths of the execution of the same style, and a varied selection of characters from within the same basic universe. I love the fact that what we're playing in DC looks like the boss monsters all the way back in Princess Crown or Odin Sphere.
Vanillaware seems to have one of the few styles that seems to have fused the strengths of traditional hand-drawn animation and more "puppet like" skeletal animation together to make something great.
Dragon's Crown wins for being the strongest showing so far. I normally fall for the pixel styles, but the textures and colors of Princess Crown look much less meant to be together than his more recent hand-painted sprite pieces.
I heard Kamitani made some of the bosses of Capcom D&D arcade single-handedly. I'd love to see what would happen if Vanillaware made a 100% old school pixel art style arcade game, with none / very little of the skeletal stuff.
For the rest of the games, save for Princess Crown, they pretty much feel like a mix of growths of the execution of the same style, and a varied selection of characters from within the same basic universe. I love the fact that what we're playing in DC looks like the boss monsters all the way back in Princess Crown or Odin Sphere.
Vanillaware seems to have one of the few styles that seems to have fused the strengths of traditional hand-drawn animation and more "puppet like" skeletal animation together to make something great.
Dragon's Crown wins for being the strongest showing so far. I normally fall for the pixel styles, but the textures and colors of Princess Crown look much less meant to be together than his more recent hand-painted sprite pieces.
I heard Kamitani made some of the bosses of Capcom D&D arcade single-handedly. I'd love to see what would happen if Vanillaware made a 100% old school pixel art style arcade game, with none / very little of the skeletal stuff.
sixteen-bit
Member
I really like the art in those games, but that's Capcom talent for sure (AKIMAN and Kinu Nishimura IIRC)
Muramasa. Only game I could tell what was going on onscreen at all times. Vanillaware tends to over design so the characters, enemies, items, and backgrounds all sort of blend together. This was a HUGE issue for me in Dragon's Crown. Muramasa kept the art in check resulting in a beautiful and readable game.
odin sphere all the way.
was my first vanillaware game and the reason i bought the ps2 in the US.
i also enjoyed dragons crown and muramasa, but odin sphere was just perfect. awesome characters, plenty of story, awesome english voices and the amazing crippling of fps felt just right.
if fps are going down, i feel like shit yeah, there is something going on on the screen.
was my first vanillaware game and the reason i bought the ps2 in the US.
i also enjoyed dragons crown and muramasa, but odin sphere was just perfect. awesome characters, plenty of story, awesome english voices and the amazing crippling of fps felt just right.
if fps are going down, i feel like shit yeah, there is something going on on the screen.
SerTapTap
Member
I mean, if you pay attention pretty much all of them are. The difference in Dragon's Crown is simply the exaggeration. Not just boobs either, there's one guy with like 5 foot long arms, everyone looks weird. There's still the Kitsune with the massive tits and the hot springs stuff in Muramasa too. Honestly the primary difference is your character model isn't one of the fanservice ones.
Slowdown, not FPS drops. Extremely different result in feel and responsiveness. Slowdown can be good if rare, and doesn't generally impede player performance (it improves it in most well designed shmups). FPS drops are universally bad.
The techniques Arcsys used to create Xrd could easily recreate Vanillaware's style in 3D. GG characters are ridiculous in terms of attire and proportion, so it wouldn't be too difficult to make the Amazon or Velvet or Momohime in 3D.
Anyway, this is a difficult choice. I love the artwork that goes into Vanillaware's games, and when I see exceptionally well done 2D games (like Rayman Legends or Child of Light) my mind uses Vanillaware as a reference.
I'd have to say Muramasa simply because of the sheer variety of locales, the palettes ranging from vivid and surreal to earthy and dull. That ascent through the burning tower while Bloody Battle plays? Complete with fisheye effect? Damn.
DrROBschiz
Member
I really hope Vanillaware gives Grand Knights History another shot
We really really missed out with that one
So pretty and soooo good
We really really missed out with that one
So pretty and soooo good
JordanN
Banned
Dragon's Crown uses polygons. At least for a lot of the backgrounds and environments pieces. Not everything was 2D.
You also left out Kumatanchi.I thought its sprites and background were pretty impressive for the DS:
that looks adorbs, i must play it
battousai11
Member
Muramasa for me; some of the backgrounds are just jawdropping.
Man, I still remember the day I found it that the localization was scrapped. I was looking forward to that one quite a bit.
Ultimadrago
Member
Dragon's Crown straight up. That gorgeous art kept me playing (and replaying and replaying through all the shamelessly recycled content).
D'aaw
You also left out Kumatanchi.
D'aaw
DrROBschiz
Member
Its been mostly localized by fans at this point
Without the Online play though its missing a few things. Still a blast to play though
I wish they had implemented a way to go to war with friends locally
Yeah, but I feel that the texture work and animation would have to be absolutely spot on for it to work as intended, especially for the characters. I don't know of anyone except Arcsys and Vanillaware themselves who could do it properly. I love Xrd, though, so nice reference.
I'd say Muramasa personally but Dragon's Crown is quite close.
I didn't knew the guy who made that Habanero girl comic worked for Vanillaware (then again i barely follow who works where). Looks cute enough.
You also left out Kumatanchi.
I didn't knew the guy who made that Habanero girl comic worked for Vanillaware (then again i barely follow who works where). Looks cute enough.
the androgyne
Member
They do a really good job disguising them as 2d though! Everytime i go up the spiral staircase outside a castle in one of the levels, i do a double take... Cause it looks like a looping 2d animation that gives the impression of 3d. Honestly i'm still not 100% sure, looks damn good either way! And in the credits sequence on normal at least (need to get back to this game!) what appears to be a 1st person dungeon walkthrough also looks like a cleverly scaled, looped and masked 2d image.
theechrisfox
Member
I adore the look of Dragon's Crown. The art book that came with it is pretty dope, too. I just have to like, hide it from my girlfriend basically.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
and now you have depressed me...I do have transistor, havent gotten around to playing it yet
Sword Familiar
178% of NeoGAF posters don't understand statistics
Although I think Dragon's Crown looks better in motion (better animations mainly), Muramasa has the overall better art design, so I guess Ill go with Muramasa.
Midnight Bliss
Member
Forgive me if I'm mistaken but wasn't Grand Knight History an online only game? So even if I imported it I'd be kinda screwed wouldn't I?
Nocturnowl
Member
Muramasa's backgrounds are so nice to gawk at that it makes their repetition throughout just a bit more forgiveable than it should be.
DrROBschiz
Member
Its totally playable offline
It has a single player "Campaign" of sorts thats meant to train up troops. Then you can play offline WAR against the CPU and thats about it
They dont even have the servers up in Japan anymore.... Like I said I really hope they revisit the series and its ideas. Its was a very satisfying strategic RPG
zero shift
Banned
Odin Sphere for me.
I should really replay that game sometime. I remember loving the game's art design and gameplay but I'm not sure how much it will hold up for me now. I say this because it was one of my first niche JRPGs.
I should really replay that game sometime. I remember loving the game's art design and gameplay but I'm not sure how much it will hold up for me now. I say this because it was one of my first niche JRPGs.
John Kowalski
Banned
I only played Muramasa since my Odin Sphere copy never arrived, and from what i can see Muramasa is probably my favorite.
DrROBschiz
Member
They have been silent since finishing Dragons Crown in 2013
Like they have done Updates for DC and DLC for Muramasa but the new core project is a mystery
I saw a Kamitani interview last year saying he wants his next project to go back to the roots of Japanese culture or something.
He didn't want to do another Western Fantasy inspired game. Ill see if I cant find the interview
E_Darkness
Member
Dragon's Crown. Muramasa is a close second mind. Muramasa Rebirth on OLED looked beautiful, made the game's style more bright and colourful. And the improved quality of art for the DLC looked even better probably because it was drawn/designed for the Vita version, not ported from the Wii.
Wait, I might like Muramasa Rebirth over Dragon's Crown
DO IT. It outstays its welcome a bit, but the story/characters are the best of any Vanillaware game and the seed planting system is neatly implemented.
I always got a kick out of planting sheep or chicken plants, letting them sprout, then chasing them down and killing them for their meat. Japanese quirkiness at its finest.
antennaehead
Member
Definitely Grand Knight History with its gorgeous watercolors.
Masked Devil
Member
Dragon's Crown for me
HolyBaikal
Banned
That's so cute. I've never even heard of it.No love for Kumatanchi?
