LOL Ian! Yeah, the old SF2 art was really something to behold. IIRC Bengus continued to do work as main illustrator during the Alpha series, it surprised me as 2 and Alpha have such different styles.
I guess I just prefer the Alpha style (which remains less awkward and harsh/squarish than the 3D models imo) to what we have now. Something like a combo of Alpha style with SF3 animation would be my dream for an SF game. Or something in a watercolor/cel-shaded combo style.
There was some old promo art that looked that…I wish I could find it.
EDIT: A game with a style sorta like this (yes I know it’s SF3 art, not Alpha):
but taken to its logical, anime styled, cel-shaded conclusion.
Also, it’s hard to compare the actual SFII sprites to anything, since they come from a time when developers tried to make in-game assets look quasi-realistic. Anyone who’s seen the original codec portraits for Metal Gear II knows what I’m talking about. Well… this:
i never said i thought IV had better art, i just think it’s cool and unique. sure it’s not the most beautiful thing, but i think it’s got a sense of uniqueness all its own and it really captures the spirit of a 2d game with 3d animations.
honestly i think the best thing about any street fighter game is aesthetics. and as such i think they are all amazing. they all have something great to offer, sfiv is the zany ultra animations, the funny alt costumes, all that dust and ink, tons of meter spending fireworks. sf3 has the most fluid and beautiful sprite work capcom has ever made, as well as crazy character designs, and lets be real here, parrying and super arts are probably the coolest looking things in street fighter’s history. alpha series was so animated and flamboyant, and lets not forget how amazing those backgrounds were! sfII was simply groundbreaking when it came out, we all know it, it still has that thunderdome flavor to this day (super turbo portraits are GDLK despite the announcers pussy voice). Even the original Street Fighter had animations and portraits that were truly ground breaking.
i guess what i am trying to say is, that it is all good, if capcom is good at anything its art, they have made some great games both on purpose and by accident (sometimes both, sometimes) but most of their games and the art associated with them, look really cool
My problem with SFIV isn’t the art style. That’s fine, considering each new title has gone through something new, what my problem is that when compared to just about every other SF title in the main series that has seen an arcade release. Watching SFIV is like watching Capcom vs SNK on Playstation 1, where there are ton’s of missing animations and in the end it just doesn’t flow properly. I will never be able to comprehend what was going through my mind when I first saw Sagat throw someone over his shoulder. A better example I can think of is if you have STHD, just pick Akuma in training and have him stand there, and see how horrible his animation is. This is how I see SFIV and it’s just terrible. Animation was progressing nicely in the series, and then it goes down the shitter with SFIV.
Now a lot of animations for the newer characters in Super were better than in 4, but then it’s like team Dimp’s decided to throw that progress away with the animation style in SFxTekken. Holy shit that game looked terrible, even while watching it at Evo, I was amazed at how much worse it looked than SFIV when it came to movement. To make things worse, you throw an opponent, and the camera turns into a Michael Bay movie. ugh
tl;dr version: SFIV and SFxTekken looks bad because it animates poorly, it makes SF2HD: Remix look good. It has nothing to do with the art style.
I meant instantly recognizable. The art direction largely remains intact game to game. They update the res and give them new(ish) costumes, but nothing of the magnitude from say SF II to III and definitely not III to IV. Even if you don’t like the current aesthetic, you have to admit they keep it fresh.
Again, it sounds like you just haven’t seen the games you are commenting on. Each Tekken (except maybe 3 and TTT) is unique and stands out from the others. T4 is an especially good example of this. Same goes for Soul Calibur. Each entry is pretty different from the rest.
Stream will be provided by Zexerous and Nova. All games being played on 360 will have a dedicated stream station. Please RSVP on the Facebook Event too so i will have numbers to work with THANKS! pay out is determined by participants top 3 is guaranteed http://www.facebook.com/events/354541534565147/
What’s this supposed to prove? The fact that there are similarities between Soul Calibur 4 and 5? Cause then we wouldn’t have all the time in the world comparing how sequels look between Street Fighter (or to you, the series of games that are instantly recognizable) titles.
There are undeniable similarities in the art direction throughout the series. The Greek mythos and symbology are inherent in the storyline as well as the aesthetic. This is not a bad thing, I just don’t see how you can deny it…
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t each character have multiple costumes? Because it seems like you cherry-picked the ones that are least alike from perhaps one of the series’ most bizarre cast members (Voldo being the obvious exception). I noticed you didn’t pick Mitsurugi, for example.
Do I have to define the term, “art direction”? It is not costumes, high-res graphics, or stages. Rather, it is all of these things, among dozens of others. I believe that these games have a semi-consistent visual style, whereas Street Fighter does not.
You seem to be taking insult where there isn’t one. Namco fighters are some of the best looking and technically impressive games on every system they’ve appeared on.
