Shining Hearts announced! + rumors + Bayonetta

[jonboy101]

I wouldn't call the original Shining art designs original...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSHLGnexe-w


 While both the old and the new are generic looking, I think that the older games could make up for it with good story, music and gameplay, which the newer games lack all together.

[Sharky]

I wouldn't call the original Shining art designs original...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSHLGnexe-w


 While both the old and the new are generic looking, I think that the older games could make up for it with good story, music and gameplay, which the newer games lack all together.

Everything about classic Shining Force is wripped right out of LotR... But thats why its so awesome.

[Sega Uranus]

Just because one thing you can name looks similar does not mean it is generic in any way... That is like saying Sonic is generic looking because his base is designed around Mickey Mouse.

I do not really think the old Shining series had much of a Japanese-styled look at all either (outside of the Game Gear titles), I would say it is closer to some French animations. Even then I think a lot of the characters and worlds had a lot of love and creativity put into them, without making anything that truly seemed impossible. These are the building blocks of what makes some of the most loved stories of humanities' history.

Also,

[jonboy101]

I always thought they looked like mainstream western stuff, like He-Man.

[Centrale]

Looking at all these character designs recently posted, I immediately got an impression of 70s Ralph Bakshi fantasy style.  I was also reminded of Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest designs, which I think in turn were somewhat influenced by both European comics and manga.  I can see that they have a lot of exuberance and personality, whereas the newer designs seem more technically refined but also more reserved/less expressive.  But, how is it any different than with comics when different artists take over for a while?  Games are a commercial art and must necessarily be staffed by different artists in different eras.  Wasn't there a pretty radical shift in design from the original Phantasy Stars to the 3D era?

[Sega Uranus]

Looking at all these character designs recently posted, I immediately got an impression of 70s Ralph Bakshi fantasy style.  I was also reminded of Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest designs, which I think in turn were somewhat influenced by both European comics and manga.  I can see that they have a lot of exuberance and personality, whereas the newer designs seem more technically refined but also more reserved/less expressive.  But, how is it any different than with comics when different artists take over for a while?  Games are a commercial art and must necessarily be staffed by different artists in different eras.  Wasn't there a pretty radical shift in design from the original Phantasy Stars to the 3D era?

Well yeah, if you look at Shining Force II and Shining Force III you would see a big difference as it is all done by new people, but they are still wearing the same kind of clothes and weapons, and it is all done with the same kind of logic as the previous releases were.

I think some of the new games have alright art sometimes too, but it is just not the same. I could forgive a lot of this stuff if they were still taking place in the same settings and had the same overall plot, but they seem pretty content with the way it is now I guess...

[Barry the Nomad]

I think the Shining Force series of today should have taken a page from Panzer Dragoon Orta. While Orta looks different from PD1, it still retains certain elements that make you "get" that both Orta and PD1 are of the same series, but still have their own look.

[STORM!]

I think the Shining Force series of today should have taken a page from Panzer Dragoon Orta. While Orta looks different from PD1, it still retains certain elements that make you "get" that both Orta and PD1 are of the same series, but still have their own look.

 Nope! That one is the designer of Phantasy Star Online/Universe.

[Barry the Nomad]

Nope! That one is the designer of Phantasy Star Online/Universe.

Not being snarky or anything, but I didn't really understand what you wrote. :-/

[Mengels7]

I think the Shining Force series of today should have taken a page from Panzer Dragoon Orta. While Orta looks different from PD1, it still retains certain elements that make you "get" that both Orta and PD1 are of the same series, but still have their own look.

 Nope! That one is the designer of Phantasy Star Online/Universe.

The Orta artist?

[Sharky]

Speaking of Art I thought I'd give classic SF a go... Might colour it... But currently irritated after struggleing with a pen that desided to give up the will to ink half way though the picture (you may be able to tell.) I gave it a slight personal artistic flare.

[STORM!]

Oh! I want to comment more and write topics here, but I can't... I have no time enough and I'm tired a lot  :cry:

 Yes! The Orta artist works on the Phantasy Star series now. Also, Sega has another plans to the Shining series, thats why the art of the Shining series has changed a lot.

 Ok! I have the same think about the changes, it looks like a cheap romance simulation game like other tiny companies are always releasing on the Japanese PC market, BUT, it still being a Sega game, and the games are not bad like a cheap PC romance simulation game.


 It looks like, but it's not!


 Yes, the Shining games produced by Sawada has the plots, storyboard, storyline, whatever... same as a romance simulation game, but it is just one factor of the system, something to appeal to new auddiences, but it's not a romance simulation game and you can see that clearly after playing it.


 Tony is not a bad designer. He could be not original/good/fantastic as the other 4 older artists of the series, but stills a good artist with high skills and very detailed and rich characters.

 I will stop here by now(want to play some Uncharted before sleep XD), but, take a look at Tony's characters he made for Shining Wind. I don't know how they are called in the West, but the "beastmen" drawned by him, are the best I have ever seen on the Shining series! And stop calling it "Shining Force series", cause its not! It is SHINING series! ;ppp

[Sharky]

Also collecting hearts is not what people thought it was... You don't collect hearts around the enviroment, you gain different coloured hearts after completeing quests which some how effect how you are seen by the people of the world.

[ROJM]

The bottom line is this is what Shining Force is to every long term fan of Shining Force,









This stuff IS Shining Force, I love the cartoony feel to the art style, I love the water coloured hand drawn look of it... None of it looks 'generic' to me at all.

But the new stuff could easily be any number of very generic boring animes or low budget games... I've watched plenty of anime from the 80s and 90s and frankly I haven't seen a lot that looks like this at all.

Well, the kingdom heartsation of the once great Shining series is now complete.I can only imagine what geoffery duke's reaction to this game is....if he still cares. I'll buy a copy for collection's sake once it becomes cheap. But I won't buy one for gameplay purposes as i usually do.

As for the art style it was a rip of that guy who did Dragon's lair. I forgotten his name but that was the style that these games were inspired by until they chucked it out the window with the saturn games.
Now its like any other emo J pop star "I wonder if i'm a boy or a girl?" with a hidden power to destroy the world crap that's polluting the RPG market.

[jonboy101]

The art's not what bothers me so much as the lack of worthwhile story, not gameplay. One knockoff after the other. Big deal. I personally always thought Sega's RPG department was never brilliantly original with its concepts, so much as its executions. A perfect example would be something like Skies of Arcadia, which was hardly an original game...it just took the concepts of others and made them great.

I don't give a rat's ass if the art is rough. I'm used to it. Phantasy Star, Shining Force, etc always had shitty art in my opinion. They just had very well thought out stories, which made the generic character designs seem better, because the stories made them more memorable.