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The Chibi-style of the game. Like or Hate

Do you like the the fact that the characters are Chibi?

  • Yes

    Votes: 39 44.3%
  • No

    Votes: 49 55.7%

  • Total voters
    88
Yeah, not a fan. To be fair I don't like the look of the Link's Awakening remake either.The character models look too toylike for my tastes. Artsyle isn't really a gamebreaker for me though.
 
Not fond of them. It'll likely take time before I get accustomed to them enough to overlook that aspect while playing the games.
 
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Yeah, I don't like them. I'm even hoping they'd change it to the Sword and Shield 3D model like how Paramount changed Sonic to his video game look after complaints of the first trailer.
 
They look like cute toys I'd want to collect and line up on a shelf.
You know those Lalaloopsy Tinies? Those kind of vibes, but maybe with a bit of the vibe of a video game that would make me nostalgic. Also Harvest Moon: Light of Hope.
 
It is goofy looking but I can probably get used to it. I mean, the confrontations with Cyrus will be hilarious when he is a chibi who is ranting about wanting to destroy existence or whatever.
 
Now I've had some time to get used to it... I like it! I actually find it really aesthetically pleasing, even if the textures make it look like everything's made of plastic (although even that adds to the charm, in a way). Like in Gen 6, the chibi models look better when viewed from above, so let's hope there isn't too much fancy camerawork.

I love the more realistic look of recent games, but at the same time I was kind of starting to miss the classic grid-based overworlds, so I'm glad the Pokémon Company hasn't completely forgotten about them. It bothers me slightly that we now have a situation where the visuals aren't consistent across a generation, but maybe that's not a bad thing if it means we can have a mixture of realistic and traditional-looking games going forward. It's good to see the Pokémon series getting a bit more experimental with its releases.
 
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^ Similarly, I’m not quite as put off by the “chibi overworld, realistic battles” dichotomy as I was at first. It’s obviously meant to honor the presentation of the originals, and I can understand that as an artistic decision.

That said, despite clearly going for LGPE’s sort of soft, plasticine aesthetic, a direct comparison doesn’t exactly flatter BDSP:

2.jpg

6.jpg

While the background is certainly more detailed in BDSP (Perhaps to a fault? I think it’s maybe a bit too busy!), the contrast is up too high for my taste. This is particularly evident with how Dawn’s shirt looks just... solid black, which feels noticeably unnatural. Also, her skin tone doesn’t look as realistic as Elaine’s.

It bothers me slightly that we now have a situation where the visuals aren't consistent across a generation, but maybe that's not a bad thing if it means we can have a mixture of realistic and traditional-looking games going forward. It's good to see the Pokémon series getting a bit more experimental with its releases.

This is the other thing that I’m not sure how I feel about yet. Until we jumped to the Switch, generations were always more-or-less consistent in their style across all titles within that Gen.

When the only Switch games were LGPE and SwSh, this didn’t stick out to me so much because LGPE was so clearly an isolated thing. SwSh was the proper “next step forward” that subsequent games in the generation would take after.

But that’s not the case anymore. Legends: Arceus has the scale of SwSh, sure, but is firmly within its own very stylized BOTW-esque aesthetic, while BDSP actually went and out-Let’s Go’d Let’s Go, despite not being a sequel to those games and not sharing their signature mechanics, and most likely not being able to connect with them. Mechanically, BDSP are more in tune with SwSh, despite their overall appearance. Yet it would feel kinda awkward if BDSP have connectivity with SwSh, because they’re just so aesthetically different.

Before now, the graphical evolution of the series was essentially a straight line, albeit with a small, extraneous branch sprouting off in the space between SM/USUM and SwSh. But now it looks more like a straight line that abrupt splits into four separate paths.
 
I don't quite mind how the Chibi characters look, but I'm more disappointed in the 1-to-1 design approach for the world.

Alpha Sapphire.png



ORAS had chibi character models, but it was also something of a reimagining. The old Cave of Origin for example was this tiny pool of water, surrounded by sapphire encrusted walls. The new version expresses that same idea, in a much more fleshed out and 3Dimensional way. Other areas like the Pokemon League, Cycling Road, or the Space Station are similarly detailed. ORAS Hoenn in many places looked to me like what someone may have had in mind all along, but couldn't accomplish. I was kinda hoping for Sinnoh to get the same treatment at least ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
 
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Like so many other things with the game, I found it lazy and uninspired...and then they revealed Legends.

So many of the design choices they made with BDSP are only okay in the context of Legends, in my opinion, and the chibi art style is one of them.
Honestly, I agree. I would have been much less receptive to BDSP if I didn’t see that it was a side project from another company while GameFreak was focused on Legends. It’s a neat juxtaposition and I think it makes me appreciate BDSP for what they are a bit more.
 
I don't quite mind how the Chibi characters look, but I'm more disappointed in the 1-to-1 design approach for the world.

View attachment 140700


ORAS had chibi character models, but it was also something of a reimagining. The old Cave of Origin for example was this tiny pool of water, surrounded by sapphire encrusted walls. The new version expresses that same idea, in a much more fleshed out and 3Dimensional way. Other areas like the Pokemon League, Cycling Road, or the Space Station are similarly detailed. ORAS Hoenn in many places looked to me like what someone may have had in mind all along, but couldn't accomplish. I was kinda hoping for Sinnoh to get the same treatment at least ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯
There's no indication yet were still not getting fully rendered cut scenes.
 
The style has yet to win me over, but I've taken a neutral stance to it right now, even though it looks a lot like LGPE (which I don't like). We've only seen one trailer as of now, so it's possible that it'll change over time, as we still have at least 6-8 months before it'll be released. And since I've already decided to give the games a chance (and already preordered Brilliant Diamond, for that matter), I'll keep taking a neutral stance until more information gets revealed. The style is... jarring, at least at first, but maybe once we get more info and more trailers it might grow on me. For now, my opinion on the style will remain neutral until further information is revealed.
 
hard middle line for me because i dont DISLIKE them but i sure as hell dont LIKE them either. i think in mere concept alone the chibi style is cute, but theres something so jarring about how we go from swsh with some nice graphics and then the next game is..... this. which is weird: i thought links awakening hd was adorable!! idk maybe the chibis look too plastic-y and too much like fisher price toys that i dont really get the impression that this is a pokemon game but rather a 20$ eshop knockoff of a pokemon game

im hoping as time goes on and we see more footage of the game that maybe i'll warm up to the style?? the graphics with the lighting and such look phenomenal but man those weird plastic chibis dont compliment the atmosphere and ambience at all
 
I don't really like the chibi, but you are not going to please all players, and Nintendo is not out to please everyone with these games as some people may not like it. Remember when Pokemon UNITE was launched, and there was a backlash because of some Chinese company's involvement and citing China's human rights record (despite many countries, including my own (Australia), having poor human rights records themselves). Remember the backlash when not all Pokemon were available in Sword/Shield (Ruby/Sapphire all over again). There is a saying you can please everyone some of the time and some people all the time, but you will not please everyone all the time. So I am not going to impose my views on everyone, as everyone has their own opinion on the chibi-like characters.
 
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