Topic: Cave Story 3D screenshots in new Nintendo Power look awful (scans inside)

Its SMAS all over, oh wait SMAS was good as well (I dont mean SMAS LE, I mean SMAS compared to the Originals)

They look fine to me. First of all, its a 2D image of a 3D game, and secondly, their just graphics.

Fair point, but I'm not sure why they'd be releasing screen shots if they weren't at least somewhat happy with them. Might be time to can their PR department if they're distributing crappy screen grabs that make the game look bad, if that's something the team already intends on changing.

He's a robot.

Plus Quote never smiles.

Conventional PR wisdom holds that if you announce a game, then you need some visual imagery to go with it. With the 3DS this is going to cause some headaches because when some 3D games get churned into a 2D image, they look horrible.

Concept art was probably the wiser bet this time around, but do these guys even have a proper PR guy/ department?

I'm actually pretty sure they don't. It said they were looking for one on their website.

I'll do some scans tonight and put 'em up here. The Nintendo Power preview was pretty positive though, so it might look better in person. In all honesty, it just looked like this thing is really early in development. If they're trying to match the concept art they showed they've got a looooong way to go.

The video stated clearly that it was very early footage, so I'm sure it will be polished up before release. Nicalis makes fantastic games, and I'm sure this will be no different.

Off topic, but if you guys haven't checked out Nightsky, then I implore you to do so.

My comment was in response to the "these are under development and not likely to be what we see" mindset. I'm suggesting that, unfortunately, this probably will be what we see, because I don't see how it makes sense otherwise. I'm not at all suggesting that they should have withheld screenshots.

The PR department thing wasn't meant to be taken seriously, either, but that's beside the point.

Ah, gotya.

i was thinking that perhaps they're trying to show that the game is actually being worked on, and those screenshots are kinda where it stands so far. i keep thinking back to WindWaker and the in-progress shots that showed up before they finalized the style they wound up using. i can't speak for the devs, though, and idk what kind of PR department troubles they may or may not be having at the moment, so we don't know what the deal is for sure, i guess.

Just to clarify: I haven't even seen the screenshots yet, so I'm not necessarily saying this game will be lazy. I was just voicing my concerns with 2.5D and how it often produces a lazy product (though certainly not always).

Someone made the comment that the original Cave Story was not necessarily in 2D pixel art as a design choice but possibly just a necessity given the resources of the creator at the time. That may be true, but it's in a limited format that creativity often shows more brilliantly, which may or may not translate into the kind of work needed to build a great product within a new medium where there are less restrictions.

Also, I'm not blindly retro as far as any medium. As I said, DKCR is impeccable, and actually greater than the original DKC games in just about every way. Pixar films are also responsible for pushing the cinema forward in a number of ways. Newer tech and mediums can certainly be used well, but an approach of skepticism is warranted, and sometimes it's the most limited formats that allow for the greatest ingenuity.

I will withhold judgment until the game actually comes out, but man are those ugly.

Here it is!

@Kid_A Don't remind me.

That one of Grasstown is too bad for my mind to comprehend.

Indeed. Sand Zone is painful too.

And that Quote model--chokes self.

The Quote model is actually passable. The environments are just sooooooo lazy. And that zoomed-in camera is going to screw up the gameplay.

Well, here's hoping they shine it up real nice.

But they better not turn it sideways and stick it straight up where it counts.
(If ya smell, what the ROCK IS COOKIN'!)

what's the matter with those screenshots? a shader or two or an added texture is all they'd need to pop, and remember -- a 2D shot of a 3D anything is going to miss one whole dimension of visual information. i'm starting to think you guys are complaining just for the sake of complaining on this one.

If it includes the older version, I'll buy this one and play it in 3D for the sake of it. And if it's possible, in the 3D version, I'll play as the Prinny as soon as he's available .