Dawson said:
They look fake to me, tbh. I don't understand why Nintendo would make the world semi-3D and then keep the battle system completely 2D. And I don't understand why Nintendo would take the graphics from FR/LG and just give them a different perspective, I would've expected them to be completely original graphics.
Umm...would having the battle graphics in 3-D really make the game that great? I mean, sure an advanced system like DS has the potential to manage that kind of sprites, but I'd wager it takes up quite a bit of space, and considering that they've most likely got a good 100+ new pokémon species (Complete with statlines, learnsets etc.) to manage in addition to the old, I'd be inclined to believe that they have some other uses for the limited memory at their disposal. And before you say 'Stadium' again, remember that Diamond/Pearl also has the Pokédex to support, and doesn't, as far as I know, allow the use of memory extension cards. There's only so much you can fit into a fairly small package like DS, you know, even with today's technology. Furthermore, I recall the often rather weird approach to graphics in 3-D pokémon games recieveing quite a bit of criticism from the game reviewer lot, so it could be that Nintendo is trying to avoid that by sticking to the tried and true interface. As for expecting completely original graphics...why? It's not like they've been doing it this far, you know. Plenty of the G/S/C graphics were simply edits of the R/B/Y ones. Similarly, a fair bit of the 3rd generation sprites (Take for instance Bug Catchers) still bear a significant resemblance to their R/B/Y counterparts. And of course, the tilesets are, for the most part, little more than revamps. Familiar features in the tiles and sprites awaken a sense of familiarity/nostalgia with the game environment as a whole, which might appeal to loyal fans of the series. Just as a thought. ^^
Dawson said:
And why does the battle system seemingly not make use of both screens? I would've thought, at the very least, that the top screen would be the fighting area with the enemy Pokemon at the top and your Pokemon at the bottom and all the menu functions and text boxes appearing on the bottom screen.
Keyword being "seemingly"...for all we know there could have been some new feature utilizing that bottom window in battle, thus leaving the command window in its current spot. Optionally, the principle could simply be "If it's not broken, don't fix it.", personally I think that the layout of the battle screen is very good as it is, and I think I'd actually be a bit annoyed if I now had to pay attention to two different screens at the same time. Yes, they've got a huge and well-paid workforce on this project, and I'd bet that said workforce contains a good amount of playtesters. Just because that fancy new screen is available, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's such a good idea to use it in every turn.
Dawson said:
Also, what's up with the crappy battle backgrounds? I had better, more detailed backgrounds in my fangame. Another thing, why did Nintendo release screenshots to a magazine, yet make no mention at all of it at E3? Given that the Pokemon series is one of Nintendo's because sellers, and the anticipation surrounding the games, why would they show the Mysterious Dungeon spin offs at E3 but not the games that everybody wants?
Well, the battlescreens could have been a bit more innovative, I'll give you that. But calling them a complete load of crap is a gross exaggeration, imo. Furthermore, judging by the small parts of characters and partial messages in kanji I'd say that these pictures were taken from the cover of an advert in a magazine of some kind, so I do question their quality. I'd suspect that the graphics are far more impressive IRL. As for the whole 'why-didn't-they-say-anything-at-E3' thing, it could be that this are from some special 'insider' japanese magazine available only for the kind of fans who are ready to pay good money for the inside scoop on things. For all we know they could just be keeping the rest of us in suspense while releasing a few more low-profile spoilers in order to fuel rumours, speculation, and expectations. I'm not a proffessional in marketing or anything like that, but I know enough of it to know that I don't understand it half of the time.
Dawson said:
In conclusion, I think it's all one giant hoax. I don't know who by or how it started, but I don't believe those screenshots are real. I hope I'm right too, the "screens" that have been shown are a huge pile of...bleh.
And you are quite entitled to your opinion, although the above has been provided to address your complaint about no-one challenging the points you made. ^^ Personally, I don't care too much if these screenies are real or not, the quality is sufficient for me. What I'm concerned about is whether they have put enough work into the storyline of the game, because R/S/E was a bit of a dissapointment in that sense. It wasn't horrible, mind you, but it could have been done a lot better.
Finally, I have to admit that I like the look of this new main characters...mmmhmmm...although they too have been subjected to the hat-perversion of the pokémon team's art department. That girl would look so much better without that dorky hat...don't get me wrong, she's hawt as she is, but...would be better without that one. Although her outfit seems...a bit impractical. Imagine her having to climb a steep ledge or bend down to pick something up while wearing that skirt...*Brick'd for dirty thoughts xD* And I think that dude would look a bit better without his hat too, although not knowing what his hair's like I can't say for sure. ^^
