Maybe in KOF's case it had to do with budget constraints. That issue has been fixed since release, but I feel like the game's visuals still distinctly lack personality compared to the older games.
![marvel vs capcom infinite gameplay outfit marvel vs capcom infinite gameplay outfit](https://cdn.capcom-unity.com/capcom-unity.com/user/strumslinger/28d477325f5da21dd20f555fedb4fb42.png)
Upon release, the game had wonky lighting and shading effects, giving the models a weird, pallid plasticky cast. To my disappointment, the art direction for KOF IV ended up being a much more generic looking 3D semi-realistic style. It featured gorgeous character sprites and backdrops, with particle effects that were generally well-integrated with the overall palette. KOF XIII was, IMHO, the pinnacle of the series' smoothly animated, low-res sprite art style.
MARVEL VS CAPCOM INFINITE GAMEPLAY OUTFIT SERIES
SNK's King of Fighters is another 2D fighter series that exemplifies this trend. Commendable but in a game like MvC the looks imo are as important the gameplay. They know that the hardcore will flock the game anyway and their focus seems to be on gameplay first over looks. Capcom doesn't seem to really care or they would have never even released MvC:I looking like that. Aksys is willing and able to do it and they get amazing results. There is very little texture work per character, the outline is done with old school inverted normals over the main model (something popularized by Jet Set Radio, it's a very old technique), the internal lines are all done by using fancy UV mapping techniques, none of that is in the texture for the most part.Īll that is to say that it's about how much time you wan to commit to the game. They manually light each character to get as close to anime style as possible as opposed to doing a global light like you would on most 3D games. Aksys basically animates their characters like if they were 2D even though they are actually 3D, so they turn off interpolation or set it to linear so that going from frame to frame is more akin to 2d animation. It's just that actually making everything look good requires a lot or work and time that I don't think Capcom wants or can't afford to do.
![marvel vs capcom infinite gameplay outfit marvel vs capcom infinite gameplay outfit](http://images.gamersyde.com/image_marvel_vs_capcom_infinite-35785-3755_0003.jpg)
The techniques that Aksys is using in DBFZ are well documented and actually fairly straightforward and easy to implement in-terms of technical requirements. I think Capcom needs to start ripping off whatever they're doing to make Dragon Ball FighterZ look so good. Street Fighter V isn't perfect, but it still has a good balance between realistic and cartoony exaggeration that MvCI is sorely missing. Even the films where you have to have "real" people on screen look more exciting than this. I don't understand how a game based on comic book properties can have such lifeless and awful art direction.