For me, there is obviously a lot of nostalgia around the original games, but what I think the KIbone art direction fails at is bringing anything new to the table with its presentation style, as well, the characters are uninspired and remove the the light-hearted design that KI and KI2 characters had.
See, I can get where you're coming from with that. The difference for me, however, is that... I don't really feel like they were light-hearted, they were just kinda goofy, and poorly-modeled. Jago's "Arms and head extruded out of a triangle" body just looks like poor 3D design for me, now.
There was a cartoon quality to the old games that basically showed that the game didn't take itself too seriously. It was a nice middle ground between Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. In the reboot, Jago has shaved the back (and sides?) of his head, has a very serious, non cartoony death scowl, and is covered in a tiger tatoo.
I find his shaved head to basically be a "how would a real / HD character receive this haircut?" ideal. I think his look in the old KI is also trying to look serious... but they just were not good at getting the look down, and because of that, he looks a bit goofy.
The big of goof here (through design and coloring) feels intentional, and proper, here. It doesn't feel 2D animated, but it feels much less reality-based than MKs stuff.
I also liked the simple cinematic nature of the original games. In the first KI, an FMV for each character played on the versus screen as the game queued up the fight. In the new game we get a static versus screen ripped right Def Jam fight for New York, followed by your standard SSIV rippoff intro cutscene.
I would like to see something of the cinematics coming back, but I don't think they mesh well with Online / Tourney play. (BUt heck, if they remake the old CG scenes using actual models this time, DO IT DO IT DO IT. Old and new ones. Screw the online players, lol) It's the kinda thing players just end up skipping, so I can see why they might want to cut down on it.
My preferred middle ground would be to allow one to hold a button at the "VS matchup" screen, and have it do a collection of taunts for your character, in real time. Orchid should totally flash her opponent, causing whatever they taunted with to instantly stop, and for them to look at her with goofy, googly eyes.
Basically, for me what it boils down to is that KIbone is the same old stage we have been used to with the PS3/360 gen except the players in this theater lack any interesting characteristics for me to be able to appreciate it. The old games were unique in their presentation(Comparatively to other games of the day) . The character design may have not been timeless but it wasn't offensive and again, I appreciated the balance between cartoon and realism.
I guess the most interesting characteristic for me, is that.. the game looks as good as it does? Normally, when western people make fighters, there's something inherently off about them to me; Animation, movements, trasitional frames, jump archs, emotions, secondary animations... all these generally feel off, to varying degrees. Even awesome ole Weaponlord had some stuff where I kinda thought "why... would anyone pose like that?!?"
This KI hasn't done that for me. It feels like, unlike MK (or War Gods, or anything of that ilk) that I can stop concentrating on how ugly the visuals are, and just enjoy the game... while actually finding some visuals that are cool, and I like. The pop and camerawork on Saberwolfs victory slash-and-growl is like perfect animation-timing; his feral snarling while standing still reminds me a lot of John Talbain, and I'm a fan of how smoothly he switches sides when dashing through enemies; it already looks like something I wanna do while fighting, which is a hallmark of good fighting game animation for me.
Thanks for the breakdown of what you see from it; it's weird for me, because I normally LOVE old, traditional styles for many things, and can appreciate a return... but KI is one of few things where, I saw the new designs and, I was instantly set at ease, at least for these 2 characters.
I personally think that the new character designs of Jago and Sabrewulf look better.
...
We will just have to wait and see how the other characters are redesigned. I wonder if they will change Cinder's design.
Old Saberwulf, to me, looked like he had badly-rendered cartoon bubble-muscles. And as a WOLF, he should be furry, not spherical. He felt like some of the "before fur shades" designs that Rare gave us with Donkey Kong Country, which is... still a style that I never really enjoyed, even.
Back then when I played that game at a friends house (never owned it) I thought the characters looked vicious and badass. Today I think the characters look goofy and slightly comical. In the new KI I think they look as badass and vicious as I remember the old ones, and they are also animated appropriately - that Sabrewulf is just hnnghn.
I hope they manage to make good looking female characters too, something that Netherrealm for example just can't seem to get right... *shudders*
That's about how I feel too. It's like the new arts are trying to make them appear as the old art tried to make us think then, too. The old art just wasn't good at it, from a modern day POV.
I think Orchid reveal will seal the deal for the art quality of this game. If she (and... well, Fulgore?) look good, everyone could be stick figures with face mask!
I never really cared about Jago (if you had asked me to list the cast of KI characters, I would probably have forgotten him), but I prefer the old look of Sabrewulf. He looked like a big dog then, now he's a hairy monster.
A big dog with bubble bodyparts, hehe. And that Painted-onto-his-not-fur shirt! Uegghh.
In a way, the fact a Werewolf gave you the impression of "dog", kinda makes me even more sure that much of KI's character designs were pretty badly modeled, haha.
...Except Glacius. Glacius will always be very cool. (Wohoo, Bias!)
