Polygon Magic 3D Fighters

[Discoalucard]

hg101.kontek.net/polygonmagic/polygonmagic.htm

I hadn't heard of these guys up until recently, when I did a write-up for a pretty cool cel-shaded fighter called Slap Happy Rhythm Busters, which was also developed by them. But they had produced other titles beforehand, including the arcade game Fighters Impact, and the PSOne fighter Vs., which actually was released in North America.

[KeeperBvK]

Some interesting stuff in there. Still I doubt I'll ever play any of those games, except for Slap Happy Rhythm Busters. Too bad the author decided not to cover that as well, in respect to the full-fledged article focusing on that one. I don't remember having seen any other article from pomppo before. Has he written anything before?

[Discoalucard]

Nope, this is his first.

[Sketcz-1000]

Is it just me, or does anyone else - now in hindsight - really dig the low-poly look in these games?

HD realism is nice, but I there's argument for this to be regarded as its own unique kind of artistic style, in the same way minimalist pixel art now is.

It's kind of exciting, really. Once photo realism was achieved with the camera, painters started experimenting with all manner of non-realistic styles. Could we soon find ourselves emerging into that kind of world for games? Could we see a demand for games with this crude visual styling?

[KeeperBvK]

While I'm on the same boat with you there, you might want to check out the Cave Story 3D thread for...let me say "different" opinions from yours. Most people there couldn't believe somebody would like that kind of early 3D anymore.

[chaoticgood]

" The most notable difference is the versus mode character Xu Bing’s appearance, which was changed completely for the European version. The Japanese version wears a skintight leather outfit, so it’s possible that it was just considered too risque for the game’s 11+ ELSPA rating."

Both of these characters appear in the story mode though... The left one as the final boss's daughters you fight in one storyline instead of him, the one on the right is one of the adult versions of the female PC. No idea why they would remove the daughter from the versus mode.

I liked Shao Lin's quest mode a lot when that game came out for some reason and beat all the quests, I think some even several times. No one else I know has ever even heard of the game. There's a funny trick I also figured out that lets you stay as a child throughout the whole game, although I can't remember how it was done. It might have been something like never sleeping in an inn.

I remember you do age if you just stand still and do nothing for a long time though. The female character also has a lot less possible models you can turn into than the male. I think 2 young and 3 adult, the male has something like 5 adult forms and an old man form which you won't see unless you try to on purpose. Women can't turn old at all in the game (and if they eat a lot they turn into redheads apparently in China)...

[Sketcz-1000]

May 26, 2011 16:44:14 GMT -5 KeeperBvK said:

While I'm on the same boat with you there, you might want to check out the Cave Story 3D thread for...let me say "different" opinions from yours. Most people there couldn't believe somebody would like that kind of early 3D anymore.

Now I'm curious. Which thread? It must be buried in general gaming somwhere. Got a link?

[KeeperBvK]

hg101.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=games&action=display&thread=7688&page=11

Seems like the general perception changed a bit on the last page, but before that, it was hate time.

[Sketcz-1000]

Oh, I can understand some of the sentiment there. Although I love low-poly 3D, Cave Story was first designed as a retro styled platformer with chunky sprites. As such I didn't even like the newer hi-res sprites they made for the updates. It's all about the initial creator's intention.

[muteKi]

May 26, 2011 9:59:03 GMT -5 Sketcz-1000 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else - now in hindsight - really dig the low-poly look in these games?

OH GOD KILL IT WITH FIRE

[beach1]

May 26, 2011 9:59:03 GMT -5 Sketcz-1000 said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else - now in hindsight - really dig the low-poly look in these games?

HD realism is nice, but I there's argument for this to be regarded as its own unique kind of artistic style, in the same way minimalist pixel art now is.

It's kind of exciting, really. Once photo realism was achieved with the camera, painters started experimenting with all manner of non-realistic styles. Could we soon find ourselves emerging into that kind of world for games? Could we see a demand for games with this crude visual styling?

I think I do too. Some games handled their models well, even with the low-number of polygons (Tekken 3, Virtual Fighter 2) while others didn't (Vs., Psychic Force 1 - at least with some of their faces. Look at Wendy's face in her win-pose close up. Gah!)

I think what I really miss is when games had that great balance between low-polygon counts and realism. When games still looked like "video games" and yet still managed to look great. Like the arcade version of Virtua Fighter 2 or Rival Schools 2 for the arcade or dreamcast. I think that era kind of ended after around the Dreamcast died. I wish it had lasted longer..

[kal]

I'm quite a big fan of low poly modeling if it's done right - Jumping Flash 2 / 3 are made better by low key graphics.

[ReyVGM]

It's about the game Vs. In the article there's a part that says this: "However, there are no actual endings or any other form of narrative."

But lo and behold, I discovered how to access the endings for this crappy game!
You have to select Survival Mode and beat each gang and its members (even your own gang). You'll get the ending after that. It seems simple enough, but for a game that has like 8 modes, and each one drops you at the main menu after you beat it, it felt like the game really did have no endings.


www.hardcoregaming101.net/polygonmagic/polygonmagic2.htm

[derboo]

Merged new post into existing thread.