Tokitowa is Namco Bandai's new 'HD animation RPG'
Namco Bandai has announced a new RPG for Japan called Tokitowa, described as the first "HD animation RPG."
Namco Bandai has announced a new RPG for Japan called Tokitowa. While it has all the elements you'd expect from an anime-inspired JRPG--big hair, giant weapons, etc.--it's being presented in a brand new way. Developed by Imageepooch, Tokitowa is being described as the first "HD animation RPG."
While Ni no Kuni developer Level-5 could argue that claim, there's no denying that the real-time cel-shaded graphics of this new PlayStation 3 game are impressive.
According to Kotaku, the central theme to Tokitowa is "time," but as evidenced by the trailer, the concept of "marriage" will also be core to the game. "The game will be serious, yet sexy and comical," the site reports.
Tokitowa will be available in Japan later this year. A US release has not been announced.
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replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Tokitowa is Namco Bandai's new 'HD animation RPG'.
Namco Bandai has announced a new RPG for Japan called Tokitowa, described as the first "HD animation RPG."-
So it's sprites over polygonal backgrounds. I've wondered why nobody ever tried to do that or the opposite (CG backgrounds with polygonal characters). With 40+gb of storage on a BD you can hold a hell of a lot of sprites.
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If memory serves, the PS1 era rpg Thousand Arms did something similar. It just didn't look as good due to the technical limitations of the time.
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Not sure if serious? Xenogears did this back in the day, with the most dramatic effect being massive zoom-outs to establish scale.
If you ask why nobody does this now, it's because high-quality 2D art, in the quantity necessary, would be massively expensive. You needed fewer sprites back then, they could be made more quickly, and there were more artists with the talent necessary to make them. -
All the original Resident Evil games were 2d backgrounds with 3d objects/characters overlayed. I think Code Veronica on the Dreamcast was the first fully 3d one. Final Fantasy VII WAY the hell back had 3d characters with 2d backgrounds. I'm sure there were many others... this is nothing new except that at a much higher fidelity.
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This *looks* great!
