valkyr

the art style for this series has suffered a lot after the initial entry, but this is by far the worst-looking of the four games in terms of its art direction. incredibly generic-looking anime faces that are nearly indistinguishable from each other and everyone has a uniquely-tailored but hideously busy outfit. valkyria revolution had this same problem! i genuinely prefer the visuals of the psp games to this, and it's an incredible far cry from the robust quality of the first game, which still looks strikingly good.

one of the biggest parts of the visual appeal of the series has been its incredible uniform & vehicle design, and this is completely out the window at this point. vehicles look busy, the uniforms look busy, everything is over-detailed in some sort of highly desperate grasp for it to look unique and all of the hues are reduced in vibrancy in some sort of confused appeal to grittiness or realism. compare that (sometimes brazenly) ugly VC4 trailer to [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXJyXaD_Izw]this[/url], and there is a world of difference. that game was [i]almost ten years ago[/i] and on significantly weaker hardware. the delightfully bright color composition, the recognizably unique silhouettes of the key characters, the simple & uncomplicated but immensely memorable designs of the weapons, armor, and vehicles.

many of the character animations in 4 (if this is what they're using for an announce trailer, [b]uh-oh[/b]) also look stilted and unnatural, as if they didn't have time or resources to choreograph them beyond a rudimentary level. this was another immense problem with valkyria revolution, and that game was deeply plagued with cutscene after cutscene of its ugliness. this all strikes me as a desperate, shrewd, cynical attempt to create something on a pitifully tight budget and wring some money out of the loyal fanbase while recouping what they invested in this new engine. revolution was a pretty shameful failure on their part, and i would highly urge people interested in this to exercise serious wariness.

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[2nd post]

[spoiler][img]https://i.imgur.com/piuKDD7.png[/img][/spoiler]

the above screen is from the big, introductory moment of the new primary cast in the reveal trailer, the moment the game is meaning to most grab you with its cast

the below screen is just a random moment in a minor cutscene in the original. look at how [i]wildly[/i] different that visual quality is. i don't think i even need to ask which grabs the eye more and which looks like character designs from a dojin you'd be ashamed to read.

also compare [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnl0QXhK1wA&t=16s]this moment[/url] in the opening cutscene in the original with [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_otGpDTvbM&t=3m59s]this one[/url] in the announce trailer for the new game. watch how the tank lurches forward and the characters get rocked back and the wheels bounce in the original. notice how onomatopoeia fly out of the back of the vehicle in an adorably unique little visual flourish to make it appear more authentically like an illustration in motion. then watch how the tanks in the new trailer kinda just fly around like big static models, even when they're meant to be in highly exciting motion.

i could do this all day :( this seriously looks exactly like valkyria revolution. even if they spruce the play back up, which is doubtful they won't do something to ruin it, this is already leaving a very bad impression.