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Artist/Character Designer for FE Switch


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On 1/15/2018 at 1:18 PM, The Radiant Hero said:

There is Fantasy and there is Dark Fantasy, Dark fantasy doesn't have to be about Demon Raping, it can be gritty and yet Fantastical, a more realistic take on fantasy, something Fire Emblem should delve into in my opinion.

 

and By the way artists adapt, Shinkiro did the art for MvC3 and TvC, and you will realize he has a wide range of skills.

I take issue with it if I can joke about just how edgy and dark it is, dark fantasy would ultimately devolve into dark for the sake of being dark (especially in fire emblem, can't wait to see jagan's severed head on a pike.), Radiant Dawn is the darkest I care to see the series go personally, but if we are using corpses for cover, or choosing who to sacrifice for the greater good while they meet a truly horrific demise, it will just be generally unappealing. There is a good reason why I don't want edgy vampire emblem.

Oh, right, artist opinions, I like kita personally, her style isn't too distinct to distract from the overall designs and she is competent enough to draw characters with two different feet, unlike a certain somebody I know... So I guess what I prefer is somebody who is indistinct and won't distract from the subject too much, I also appreciate good coloring, like not oversaturated or having a weird sandy look to it. 

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24 minutes ago, thecrimsonflash said:

I take issue with it if I can joke about just how edgy and dark it is, dark fantasy would ultimately devolve into dark for the sake of being dark (especially in fire emblem, can't wait to see jagan's severed head on a pike.), Radiant Dawn is the darkest I care to see the series go personally, but if we are using corpses for cover, or choosing who to sacrifice for the greater good while they meet a truly horrific demise, it will just be generally unappealing. There is a good reason why I don't want edgy vampire emblem.

Radiant Dawn's not really that dark, though. Aside from the Palleas situation where either Micaiah or Taureno has to kill Palleas, which isn't gone over in any explicit detail, I'm struggling to think of anything darker than your standard FE fare. Even the bright, bubbly Awakening has Emmeryn (sort-of)killing herself IN a cutscene.

I like how dark the Jugdral games go. I could do without the rape implications in further games, but Generalogy and Thracia 776 is where I'd prefer FE to be at tonally.

But I think it should all make sense within the established context of the series. As in, medieval fantasy. Go FE4/5 dark, not Berserk dark. Berserk only works because it's, well, it's Berserk. Most things that try to ape Berserk's style and tone fall flat on their face, the closest thing ever really coming to successfully replicating it being the Souls games, which... don't really have narratives. They just get the atmosphere totally right.

If we go back to FE4/5 dark, then I'd prefer a more subdued style to go along with it. I think part of why Kozaki's art in Fates(To go off on another "Kozaki was a bad choice for Fates!" tangent) was so off-putting to me was that it didn't feel like it fit the tone of fates. This very colorful, sharp, and over the top style was used in a game where you spent a lot of time plotting to kill your (Assumed)father, and killing siblings who get in the way, who in return, might also be killing your siblings who are getting in THEIR way(Looking at you, Xander). And in Conquest, standing by as totally noble and good people, like Scarlet, are torn limb form limb, and then the game saying "Hahaha yeah, Scarlet died a horrible painful death, the worst one imaginable!". It didn't gel. Some stories juxtapose cutesy or unassuming art styles with dark content very well when it's intended. They're supposed to lull you into dropping your guard so when bad stuff happens, it REALLY hits you. I don't think it was intended in Fates. I think the goofy, ridiculous designs were supposed to be played straight, and not taken with the context of the rest of the game, which made the presentation feel even clunkier.

Edited by Slumber
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6 hours ago, thecrimsonflash said:

I take issue with it if I can joke about just how edgy and dark it is, dark fantasy would ultimately devolve into dark for the sake of being dark (especially in fire emblem, can't wait to see jagan's severed head on a pike.), Radiant Dawn is the darkest I care to see the series go personally, but if we are using corpses for cover, or choosing who to sacrifice for the greater good while they meet a truly horrific demise, it will just be generally unappealing. There is a good reason why I don't want edgy vampire emblem.

Oh, right, artist opinions, I like kita personally, her style isn't too distinct to distract from the overall designs and she is competent enough to draw characters with two different feet, unlike a certain somebody I know... So I guess what I prefer is somebody who is indistinct and won't distract from the subject too much, I also appreciate good coloring, like not oversaturated or having a weird sandy look to it. 

That's my problem too, Edgy dark fantasy is not my thing either in fact it is the thing that plagued Fates, I pray to god Vampire Emblem is not real too, when I think Dark Fantasy, I think more in the vein of Berserk in term of atmosphere, and a bit  A Song of Ice and Fire, Political plots, and more intricate personal drama, would be amazing, something that existed in past Fire Emblem games, but it doesn't exist anymore (Echoes is an exception), that's one way to go, another way to go is expand on what they did with Echoes, make the game much more complex, combine Echoes gameplay with Radiant Dawn gameplay,  give us a more down to earth legend, less nobles more about the everyday struggle of those unfortunate, a bigger subplots, with emphasis on People vs Power, make fun of old Fire Emblem, where you actually control two protagonists, one which is noble and he is after a goose chase to find this legendary item that can bring peace, but in fact it doesn't exist and all he did was for nothing, and the other is some sort of a Mercenary or non-noble, with a tragic backstory, where you start your campaign building an Army to defeat a bunch of country leaders and unite these countries, it's all about the vision of peace, where the Prince is your typical Fire Emblem Hero ala Marth where he wants to get this peaceful item that can magically bring peace or the Mercenary who thinks you have to get your hand dirty for a much greater goal. (I think I went overboard with this xD)

6 hours ago, Slumber said:

Radiant Dawn's not really that dark, though. Aside from the Palleas situation where either Micaiah or Taureno has to kill Palleas, which isn't gone over in any explicit detail, I'm struggling to think of anything darker than your standard FE fare. Even the bright, bubbly Awakening has Emmeryn (sort-of)killing herself IN a cutscene.

I like how dark the Jugdral games go. I could do without the rape implications in further games, but Generalogy and Thracia 776 is where I'd prefer FE to be at tonally.

But I think it should all make sense within the established context of the series. As in, medieval fantasy. Go FE4/5 dark, not Berserk dark. Berserk only works because it's, well, it's Berserk. Most things that try to ape Berserk's style and tone fall flat on their face, the closest thing ever really coming to successfully replicating it being the Souls games, which... don't really have narratives. They just get the atmosphere totally right.

If we go back to FE4/5 dark, then I'd prefer a more subdued style to go along with it. I think part of why Kozaki's art in Fates(To go off on another "Kozaki was a bad choice for Fates!" tangent) was so off-putting to me was that it didn't feel like it fit the tone of fates. This very colorful, sharp, and over the top style was used in a game where you spent a lot of time plotting to kill your (Assumed)father, and killing siblings who get in the way, who in return, might also be killing your siblings who are getting in THEIR way(Looking at you, Xander). And in Conquest, standing by as totally noble and good people, like Scarlet, are torn limb form limb, and then the game saying "Hahaha yeah, Scarlet died a horrible painful death, the worst one imaginable!". It didn't gel. Some stories juxtapose cutesy or unassuming art styles with dark content very well when it's intended. They're supposed to lull you into dropping your guard so when bad stuff happens, it REALLY hits you. I don't think it was intended in Fates. I think the goofy, ridiculous designs were supposed to be played straight, and not taken with the context of the rest of the game, which made the presentation feel even clunkier.

The Jugdral games are a fantastic evolution in the Fire Emblem storytelling department, which was demolished later on, and then brought back with Fire Emblem PoR, to me PoR had the best atmosphere of any Fire Emblem game, it was very believable in terms of the Fantasy elements, down to earth and felt homey, Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates were a mess, what is even more infuriating about Fates, is that Kozaki ruined  it, if I remember the reveal of fates with that amazing starting CG trailer, where the art style was realistic, than it cuts to Kozaki Dancing girl, that was a slap to the face to be frank!

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I just want to remind u all that FE is PEGI 12... :ph34r:

 

Also i think u guys are too harsh on kozaki on this one... his characters designs werent the problem.... The writing was....  how is kozaki's fault that kaiden appears as a good guy that he wants to massacre you  and he laughs about how u can meet in paradise and be friends... the dialogue and the scene makes 0 sense and its all over the place in the atmosphere department... Kaiden's design plays 0 role on that one.. (they probably ask him to draw a playful kitsuen character and that what he did!)...

scarlet's death didnt gel not because camilla has purple hair but because again the dialogue was stupid!

Xander design actually was amazing for the kind of story Fates was....

 

Higurashi and Elfen Lied have so over the top cutesy designs but it doesnt take away from the horror stories the are because of the story.... Fates dialogue and story is stupid.... even the most grittier character designs wouldn't help it.... cause at the end of the day its the screenplay that say "camilla explains with a  giggle and porn voice how scarlet died" not the design.. also kozaki takes notes on what kind of character he has to draw..

 

the problem with FATES was that there were no bad guys... Anankos made everyone did the bad deeds... the thing is that they give the characters legit reasons to hold the gun but its anankos that pulls the trigger or lago uses illusions... (see gunter for example)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Pegasus Knight
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/17/2018 at 6:47 AM, Pegasus Knight said:

snip

Personally I think fates has some of the worst designs of the series, with corrin (both, but extra emphasis on male being an absolute atrocity) being the worst designed lord in the series without a doubt in my mind.

Edited by thecrimsonflash
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19 hours ago, thecrimsonflash said:

Personally I think fates has some of the worst designs of the series, with corrin (both, but extra emphasis on male being an absolute atrocity) being the worst designed lord in the series without a doubt in my mind.

True about corrin the same goes with Robin but less... But the problem here is that they are customized avatars and thats why their designs are akward and kinda fakeish....

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On 1/17/2018 at 6:47 AM, Pegasus Knight said:

I just want to remind u all that FE is PEGI 12... :ph34r:

No seriously guys I think you are forgetting this. I don't know if it is Nintendo that doesn't want IS to raise the rating or IS themselves not wanting to take it there, but they aren't going to move past that T rating. They didn't even want to put blood in Echoes, when it made complete sense to do so, because it would raise the age rating in Japan. Would I like a story with some darker elements? A small bit, but only if it isn't doing edgy for the sake of edgy...which IS no longer has a good track record of because of Fates. I don't hate Fates, but that whole games story is the epitome of including edgy scenes just to include them. IS doesn't seem to have an internal writing staff that can handle that sort of content. They do best when they are covering your average FE story with a couple of twists, and focusing on the characters. Can IS as a company do better? Yes, but they need to hire people who can do this sort of stuff...or get a writer that will watch over the writing team like a hawk to make sure they aren't cutting anything important or adding stupid stuff just because.

The characters don't match the tone, but that isn't Kozaki's fault. It is the art director faults. I have a feeling he got the bare minimum explanation for these characters (Peri is a childlike adult women with violent tendencies, Kaden is a playful kitsune, Camilla is a dominatrix, etc...), and had to work with what he got. That having been said I don't want him back just because I want to see another artist tackle FE, or just bring in Hidari again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not sure who I'd want to be the lead artist/character designer of the game. I like Hidari and Kozaki, and I think I'd be fine with either returning. I'm honestly just hoping that the next armor designer will give female armor knight pants(and cavaliers too, but armor knights need pants most of all).

Going off of Heroes artists, I definitely wouldn't want Maeshima Shigeki to be the designer, though. His designs embody the worst parts of Kozaki's with none of his charm. Surtr is another blatantly evil dude with dark skin, Loki looks like she was designed off of a sexy checklist, and Gunnthra's design confuses me the more I look at it(what even is her hair?!) I don't like being negative, but I'm just really not a fan.

Maybe they'll pull in a new artist that hasn't worked on Fire Emblem before, not even in Heroes! I think that could be interesting, though I don't really have any super-strong preferences for who.

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Kozaki did some great work in awakening/fatas however, I am starting to get tired of his work. On the other hand Hidari did marvelous job with Echoes. I really liked his echoes work and as far as the colours are concerned after seeing some of his work online I really think he could do some outatanding work for FE 16 (might have exaggerated about Hidari, but this is my opinion).

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Kozaki was really good and a suitable choice, but I would be really happy if we get Sata, he was the artist of Sigurd and Seliph in FE Heroes.

Edited by Morswo
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As much as I love Hidari's art, I'd actually prefer him to do the art for the remakes.

Personally, I'd love Sachiko Wada to come back and do the art for FE16, but I can't see that happening.

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Masaki Hirooka (Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia) is who I am thinking of. I am fine with Kozaki and HIDARI though.

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On 2/9/2018 at 12:11 AM, Calico said:

Going off of Heroes artists, I definitely wouldn't want Maeshima Shigeki to be the designer, though. His designs embody the worst parts of Kozaki's with none of his charm. Surtr is another blatantly evil dude with dark skin, Loki looks like she was designed off of a sexy checklist, and Gunnthra's design confuses me the more I look at it(what even is her hair?!) I don't like being negative, but I'm just really not a fan.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Not gonna lie, I've been a tad worried that this could be the case given that book 1 of heroes used Kozaki's designs. Since we have Shigeki doing the designs for book 2 now, I've been half wondering if it's because they chose him to work on FE Switch.

Hidari's my favorite of the artists who have worked on main FE titles, but I'm kind of under the impression that IS is gonna try and stick with cleaner, more modern styles in the vein of Kozaki for the brand new titles, while using artists with somewhat of an old-school feel to them, like Hidari, for any other Echoes remakes.

I love Kozaki, but I agree that he might not be the best fit for FE...he's certainly not the worst either though. Either way, it's likely time we get somebody else for the next title.

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  • 3 weeks later...

How is Hidari's art style old-school? It has very refined shading and lighting, and the eyes are quite a bit smaller than what you'd see in, say, Inuyasha.

 

I think it'd be cool if the artist for FE Switch had a style that either fits well with the tone of the game or very much contrasts it. I can't think of any examples of the former off the top of my head, but Madoka Magica's art style VERY much contrasted with the show's tone.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Dreamyboi

I honestly wouldn't mind Kozaki making a return just as long as we don't get more booby armor and little girls in revealing clothes don't know WHY Japan likes that shit but gotta make the creeps happy I guess. Something tells me that WOULD happen though so I'd much rather either Hidari or Senri Kita make a return.

Seriously though what is it with fantasy artists and boob armor?5aafd4c3ec673_ScreenShot2018-03-19at11_19_16AM.thumb.png.b066d069ece29958e43e8b57c8f12267.png

I just don't get it, drawing decent armor isn't rocket science and Rule 34 is one simple google search away for people who need to see breasts.

Brigitte edit by Ismael Bergara

Edited by Dreamyboi
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21 hours ago, Charmeleonbrah said:

Considering what I've seen from both Heroes and Warriors, I am expecting a decent amount of fan service.  Not a big fan of the OC of Heroes, so I hope they don't continue in that direction.

That Nord girl is an awesome unit though. Don’t diss her. 

 

 

@Dreamyboi Encouraging Rule 34 is often a sheisty way media can advertise products, as well as keep people invested in the game. Not too mention teenage boys are often the most dedicated gamers. 

Edited by ElectiveToast
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Guest Dreamyboi
13 minutes ago, ElectiveToast said:

 

@Dreamyboi Encouraging Rule 34 is often a sheisty way media can advertise products, as well as keep people invested in the game. Not too mention teenage boys are often the most dedicated gamers. 

Even so it just seems like a waste of time for people who are gonna get more out of actual porn.

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30 minutes ago, Dreamyboi said:

Even so it just seems like a waste of time for people who are gonna get more out of actual porn.

That’s not the point, however. The point of scantily clad women is boobies = advertisement, even if the audience can get more out of porn. 

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Guest Dreamyboi
24 minutes ago, ElectiveToast said:

That’s not the point, however. The point of scantily clad women is boobies = advertisement, even if the audience can get more out of porn. 

Good point. I just hope it doesn't become a trend for FE. Even IF we get more boob armor though I wont exactly be pissed, the lolis in bikinis shit is what gets on my nerves.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fire Emblem typically gets a new character artist after two entries so I don't expect Kozaki to come back.  What I do worry about is whether they keep Kusakihara in a directing position, be it art or the overall game, especially given the changes made to Celica in Shadows of Valentia.

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Guest Dreamyboi
On 3/19/2018 at 11:20 AM, Dreamyboi said:

I honestly wouldn't mind Kozaki making a return just as long as we don't get more booby armor and little girls in revealing clothes don't know WHY Japan likes that shit but gotta make the creeps happy I guess. Something tells me that WOULD happen though so I'd much rather either Hidari or Senri Kita make a return.

Seriously though what is it with fantasy artists and boob armor?5aafd4c3ec673_ScreenShot2018-03-19at11_19_16AM.thumb.png.b066d069ece29958e43e8b57c8f12267.png

I just don't get it, drawing decent armor isn't rocket science and Rule 34 is one simple google search away for people who need to see breasts.

Brigitte edit by Ismael Bergara

Looking back it was unfair of me to blame Kozaki for this kind of thing, it's more of an art DIRECTOR problem after all.

Edited by Dreamyboi
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Rika Suzuki has recently really improved and I would like them to make their debut as a character designer in a future fire emblem game

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Mmm every time I see someone mention FE's ratings being T/Pegi12, I recall that Pheonix Wright game got bumped up to the M rating (that's Mature/17 and older in the US ratings) because it was easier to raise it than it was to do the changes to one particular case to keep it Teen despite the series precident. The game sold well despite that, too, but the M rating is always a possible hit towards sales. An "Adults Only" rating is the only deathwish on sales since 99% of stores won't stock them, and very few games ever even hit that.

Vampire Emblem I could see skirting towards M territory based on the religious aspects, but what I was reading in the leaks didn't push violence any farther than the previous games.

 

As for artists, Meashima Shigeki hits many of the same notes with his Heroes art as what I've enjoyed with Kozaki, just a bit softer in his shading work. I'm expecting Shigeki, Hidari, or a new one. But, I'd miss Kozaki.

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