last year i released a video expressing disappointment over the evolution of xenoblade chronicles art style and it seems i was misunderstood by a portion of viewers so i'll attempt to explain myself one more time and hopefully better this is not going to be round two of lambasting xenoblade nor am i accusing these games of anything i didn't already mention i'm using this topic to springboard into a larger discussion one point i'm doubling down on is the importance of consistency the legend of ze
lda the wind waker is the poster child for graphical debates while initially received poorly for its unexpected visuals people eventually grew to appreciate the talent and proficiency on display complementing the cartoon version of link are environments with similarly exaggerated features and broad stroke textures creatures share the same design techniques and cel-shaded rendering as human characters another game heralded for its masterful art direction is okami a japanese ink painting come to l
ife beautifully encapsulated by the brush wielding protagonist amaterasu naturally landscapes animals and demons follow suit with harsh black outlines and painted textures these titles are respected not just because of their uniqueness but also for how thoroughly they commit to their specialized graphical themes meanwhile in xenoblade 2 players would be forgiven for confusing the monsters and locales with other games since they aren't stylized according to the cartoonish party members and as not
ed before even human character designs are scattered depending on who illustrated them the result is a game that's comparatively unrefined or half hazard just because something is appealing doesn't mean it's appropriate for every project many mixters are tonally and visually incongruous super smash brothers arguably combines the most appealing designs in gaming history kingdom hearts a disney and final fantasy amalgamation is another high profile crossover i love these games and i'll admit there
's something weirdly amusing and attention grabbing about putting unlikely properties together but i'm not going to pretend that it's coherent pairing sephiroth with banjo and kazooie on minecraft world will never appear correct and i still haven't gotten used to seeing mickey mouse and friends alongside tetsuya namora's creations if the art direction is strong enough then nothing should stand out since everything will blend seamlessly that said there are ways to make contrasting elements slight
ly more believable on screen together in smash bros brawl toon link's texture work was changed to accommodate the game's overarching drab detailed look likewise when amaterasu was introduced into monster hunter rai she was given the proper touch ups kingdom hearts typically has sora donald and goofy assume new appearances in keeping with the disney worlds they visit these adjustments don't always solve the issue however they can help graphics are supposed to form a sensible image but xenoblade 2
and to a lesser extent the definitive edition pushed their contrast beyond the point of believability for me there are certainly worse bastardizations of art styles and game franchises and i only scrutinize because i care more than usual here honesty can distinguish preference from objective quality on the other hand subjectivity is not unprofessional if those feelings are evidenced and pertinent for instance i recognize stop motion as an impressive art form however that doesn't mean i have to
like it i think it behaves unnaturally to how 3d objects should move it's lazy to accept that there are no rules or standards regardless of whether or not that's true different skill levels should be observed and elicit varying degrees of criticism designers can spend years trying to craft and perfect a certain graphical signature are their efforts wasted why don't they just cobble together whatever they want well because that runs the risk of compromising the project's artistic integrity look a
t this picture is it better now what if i came up with a really good reason why it's meaningful no i've defiled it by distracting from what's otherwise beautiful like any area of design i have principles for presentation consistent art direction being one of them i don't particularly care what the inspiration was the creator's intentions or even about in-universe excuses furthermore i don't consider alterations across games in the same series to be an automatic flaw as a long-time zelda fan i'm
accustomed to changing styles between entries and while i have my favorites i can respect unique approaches if executed well i want games to make sense as independent pieces of art then there's the matter of remakes or remasters intended to supersede previous versions xenoblade chronicles definitive edition failed to duplicate and enhance the smudgy character designs i fell in love with back on wii and 3ds replacing them with something unfitting in my eyes thus falling short of its title smash a
lready had updated renditions of what the old models could look like and the official artwork does a better job representing the cast in hd than the definitive edition even now i struggle to pinpoint too many adjectives that describe the exact aesthetic of the original though honestly if one can't see a difference then i'm not sure what else i can say with monolith soft seemingly having settled on the series current art style xenoblade is no longer to my taste evidently this contrast doesn't bot
her most players and that's fine but i will continue to disapprove as long as this or any other game incorporates a similar look i felt very little watching the trailer for xenoblade 3 as it became apparent that i wouldn't be attracted by the visuals but at least it's not treading over an older version of something i find more appealing it's childish to take offense when someone doesn't share the same enthusiasm or perspective i don't make videos to express anyone's thoughts but my own so viewer
s expecting to hear their opinions echoed will probably be disappointed it seems to me that some people are more interested in winning than being right anybody is allowed to like or dislike anything however a defense requires sound reasoning an argument that isn't built solely on tearing down the other side i'm not asking for agreement only do consideration and understanding assuming i've presented fair points maybe we don't live in a world of either good or bad yet there are betters and worses
and everyone has different grades and breaking points on that spectrum should we not always strive for better i think that's enough please father you
Comments
Great points about Smash Bros and Kingdom Hearts. Bizarre and even comical combinations of unrelated elements are part of the premise for both, but they still had to add some level of visual coherency for the games to work at all.
Smash has so many different designs, but I feel like they’ve always done a good job of not making anyone stand out too much. The uniform art style definitely helps with that.
Haven't even watched this video yet but just have to say that thumbnail is incredible
I respect this view and understand the thought process behind it, although I think I personally enjoy the 'inconherent' design of XC2 and while it may have been jarring to see the old 80/90s anime style Vess next to the modern-styled Electra, I found it entertaining and interesting to see so many different art styles in the game. As someone once said XC2's designs felt like a celebration of different artists' styles but also this may have been at the expensive of a uniform art style. I'm glad they seem to focus down with XC3's character designs and I personally like the style so it's unfortunate to hear you've lost interest due to them. Thanks for the video, have a spicy day!
This video really show important the art style is because it can make poeple dislike games even if they are more than just art style.
I feel the same about Sonic Frontiers
Just curious, are you still interested in the series as a whole/will you be playing Xenoblade 3, or has your unapproval of the artstyle turned you away completely?
I wholeheartedly agree with all this. Though I don't dislike the art direction Xenoblade 3 has landed with, I can't help but be disappointed with Definitive Edition. Now, I can totally understand how the connection between Xeno 1, 2, and 3 meant DE had to bring its characters closer visually to that of 2 so as not to clash when the worlds ultimately meet in 3. Still, I'd love to see a version of Xeno 1 that leans in to its unique style yet looks great. I miss my red-chrome Monado...
I don't mind the definitive editions character design, but it would be interesting to see the rest of the world updated to that standard.
kino video
While I can Why the artsytl would become a gripe for you it feels like An overreaction to semeingly disown the enitre Xenoblade franchise over this considering the fact that these games have SO MANY other compelling elements such as gameplay, story characters ect.
ima be real with you. i feel that the art style change is more of economic move as the switch cant handle hyperealism that well. turn away from the games as your choice but fundementally, Monolith Soft make excellent games and I genuinely believe thee artstyles look coherent and amazing
If you fell in love with the original Xenoblade Chronicles models then in return in this video I’ll use your words back at you to say “I don’t know what to tell YOU” 😂💀💀. I mean…………….💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀. Idk you do you I guess but there’s no way in F%CK I ever would’ve been attracted to…..whatever models THAT was on the Wii and 3DS but if that’s your thing. Cool. I like where Xenoblade is at rn because it tends to be diverse in designs and as a lover of Tetsuya Nomuras work, I loved seeing some of his art used in Xenoblade Chronicles 2
I gave you vid a thumbs up as you made great points, but sad to hear you’re not interested in playing the XC any longer due to the graphical style. Surely there’s more to this series that excels beyond what’s just presented with graphics. Blaming it entirely on that is a bit superficial
In the OG version of Xenoblade characters faces look like feet with eyes, it had the ugliest models in the “series” imo together with xenosaga ep 2, I really dislike hyperrealistic graphics in video games so I’m glad they chose the direction they did and even went out of their way to remake the first game to give Xenoblade a uniform look