Update #48: The Village By The Castle

This is pretty much exactly what I was imagining ever since I read the KS pitch, and certainly after Xrd was mentioned there. I'm just thinking for whatever technical reason (or actual style choice), they didn't go with that. But yes, that would be about perfect for me. What we have though isn't bad, I think I'm going to be fine with it.

Guilty Gear itself was mentioned in the 2.5D section of the KS FAQ, which was one of the reasons the speculation existed.  It wasn't made clear exactly what they were going for at all in the beginning(and the early shader examples showed that they weren't entirely certain themselves).  All they said about the concept art was that it was concept art.  And when you have the following passage in your FAQ:

it's not hard to see where people got from the concept art to thinking IGA was going to use the kind of methods Arc System Works did to try to recreate the 2D aesthetic of the concept art using 3D assets, allowing for a faithful continuation from the classic 2D style while allowing for enhancements not feasible in a sprite based game, such as in-engine cut scenes.

I'm not trying to justify some of the more vitriolic whining that happens in some forums lamenting that the game isn't a sprite based 2D game, but it isn't really fair to try to claim that people's expectations for what IGA would do with 2.5D are out of sync with what was claimed when what was claimed was very vague and open to interpretation.

Galamoth I agree with you on this.
Was it to be a full entry in the Castlevania franchise, I would rather accept that 2D could be maintained.
That said, Bloodstained a new IP, free of bounds and forced management from higher-ups (that sometimes are businessmen who don't even have any experience in the gaming field). Even if is to be a spiritual successor, there is no obligated path on visuals indeed (as long as it is side-scrolling RPG platforming action). Bloodstained got to be original at least or it would be deemed "just a little tribute to old -vanias*).

It is also true that some famous series have gone into a radical change of visual style and/or retconned plot.
I guess that I am glad I am not into gambling. Mario going into full 3D one day and be the star of a smartphone game another one? I'd have lost big then.


*I can sense a lack of emancipation when I write that sort of sample line. That is so strange.

Im really glad the game isn't looking like that concept image of Miriam fighting monsters. The color saturation felt like it was almost fatiguing when you look at that image for more than a minute. Beyond that the image was just too busy. The high saturation coupled with that level of business had the effect of the characters fighting for focus with the background.

But Im very happy with what we've seen since. Im glad that Iga wasn't afraid to push beyond the limits of the 2d aesthetics and really use the 3d medium's strengths and benefits. After all, if he wanted to do a purely 2d game he would have.