Who do you think should be the artist on the next Chrono game?

[redandblack64]

This is a really open ended question, but I just had to ask. Oh, and if the game were a direct sequel to Trigger, or a very different and new game like Cross, would your answer change? I'm wanting Toriyama or maybe Eichiro Oda if this were to be a direct sequel to Trigger, but maybe Hiromu Arakawa for the 'different' game.

[FaustWolf]

I wouldn't mind mixing my Chrono with a little Suikoden. Fumi Ishikawa's character designs did wonders for Suikoden II and III. I wonder what she's been up to since then?

Also, Square Enix has/contracted with a really talented artist who worked on Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals recently. There's a character in that game who's totally a dead ringer for Dalton.

And finally, Masato Kato ain't too shabby himself. I'd love to see what he'd come up with if put in charge of both story and character design, just like in the Ninja Gaiden NES days.

[Mr Bekkler]

Toriyama's stuff is fun, even though Dragon Ball has that excess-hype stigma, I really enjoyed the styles from Trigger.

I feel torn about Cross, because I am not a huge fan of the character designs, they all seem a bit too complex, perhaps to differentiate from all the characters. The locations and maps were gorgeous though, and I would not be let down if something like that was tried again.

[gatotsu911]

Good question. I guess it would depend on the tone and setting of the game. I think it would be interesting to bring on someone totally new, and get their take on the Chrono aesthetic. Might I suggest Yoshiyuki Sadamato? Or if we're looking for artists who have distinguished themselves in their work with fantasy settings, perhaps Hiromu Arakawa?

Actually, no, scratch that. I vote for Nobuhiro Watsuki, all the way. His designs strike just the right balance between whimsicality and seriousness, simplicity and complexity, that Chrono 3 would demand.

Of course, this is just talking about character designers. For the role of general artist and art director, there can only be Yasuyuki Honne.

[skylark]

I think Arakawa would make a great artist for the Chrono series, myself. Sure, the whimsicalness factor may go a bit overboard concerning SD and gag moments, but still.

A big part of what made FMA and Brotherhood great were the designs, at least to me. I might be biased, though.

[redandblack64]

Good question. I guess it would depend on the tone and setting of the game. I think it would be interesting to bring on someone totally new, and get their take on the Chrono aesthetic. Might I suggest Yoshiyuki Sadamato? Or if we're looking for artists who have distinguished themselves in their work with fantasy settings, perhaps Hiromu Arakawa?

Actually, no, scratch that. I vote for Nobuhiro Watsuki, all the way. His designs strike just the right balance between whimsicality and seriousness, simplicity and complexity, that Chrono 3 would demand.

Of course, this is just talking about character designers. For the role of general artist and art director, there can only be Yasuyuki Honne.

Yes, I was only talking about the character designs. But... is it just me, or does that Art Director get influenced somewhat by the Character Designer?

[gatotsu911]

@Skylark: Well, I would assume the art director and character designer would try to collectively produce art that sets a consistent tone for the game; it'd be a little weird to have Akira Toriyama's designs running around in Chrono Cross's lush, hand-painted-like backgrounds, even though Yasuyuki Honne was the art director for both games.

@Redandblack: I like Arakawa, but I think her biggest strength by a long shot is drawing facial expressions - without them, her designs are a bit plain. Needless to say, those strengths and weaknesses are pretty much the opposite of what one would look for in a video game character designer. Watsuki draws both distinctive designs and great faces, and his lush and detailed style would lend itself to a video game. I'm assuming, of course, that Chrono 3 would be closer in tone to the darker, more "realistic" Radical Dreamers and Cross than the comparatively whimsical, cartoonish Trigger (I hope so, anyway).

[skylark]

@gatotsu: I think you got our names and comments switched around.

And what work did Watsuki do?

[gatotsu911]

Did I? Whoops.

Watsuki did Rurouni Kenshin (my namesake) and Buso Renkin. He's very good, though he's struggled to top himself after RK.

Also, all this said, I did like Nobuteru Yuuki. I wouldn't complain if he came back for another game.

[redandblack64]

Oh, I did notice something else with the different artstyles of Trigger and Cross. It's that Trigger is in a more 2 dimensional artstyle (it was originally a SNES game), and Cross is more of a 3D art style. Chrono 3 could be either, and I think it was the team's goal to take full advantage of the hardware they were developing for. Now, this game could be for any system if they were making it now, such as the 360/PS3, Wii or PSP2/3DS. (I'm wishing for the next gen handhelds.) Now, if the game were in 2D or 3D, on any of the current systems, who would you prefer as the character designer? Or would you want the same person either way?

[gatotsu911]

I doubt they would make a sequel in 2D. Not that it'd be a bad idea, necessarily, but I can't see SquEnix doing it.

[Mr Bekkler]

Oh, I did notice something else with the different artstyles of Trigger and Cross. It's that Trigger is in a more 2 dimensional artstyle (it was originally a SNES game), and Cross is more of a 3D art style. Chrono 3 could be either, and I think it was the team's goal to take full advantage of the hardware they were developing for. Now, this game could be for any system if they were making it now, such as the 360/PS3, Wii or PSP2/3DS. (I'm wishing for the next gen handhelds.) Now, if the game were in 2D or 3D, on any of the current systems, who would you prefer as the character designer? Or would you want the same person either way?

Even if Trigger is in 2d, Akira Toriyama designs all the DQ characters, and DQ8 is a very pretty representation of his style in 3d. Also, let's not forget CT Resurrection.

My point isn't that I'm only for Akira Toriyama, I think some of the other suggestions so far have been great, but whether it's 2d or 3d probably wouldn't affect the initial concept art all that much. It can be elaborate no matter what, really.

[redandblack64]

I do doubt that the next game would be in 2D. I was really talking about the art style. You know how the Naruto games on the PS3 look like a hand drawn animation, yet it's rendered in 3D? That's what I was aiming for here. In my opinion, I think Toriyama's best looking character designs are when they're cel shaded (Dragon Quest 8 & 9, for example) or are hand drawn sprites, because those look much more organic. The 3D, non cell shaded games, such as Resurrection and some of the DBZ games, have somewhat creepy looking character designs (up close), and seem to be missing something. So, what I meant by a 2D artstyle is making the game look like it's a hand drawn animation or comic, and 3D like a movie or illustration. We do have a middle ground, too, right?

[gatotsu911]

Cel-shading was awesome and it's a shame the trend died so young. The Wind Waker is still one of the most visually astonishing games ever made. But I can't really see Chrono 3 being cel-shaded, either. If anything, I'd kind of like to see it follow the style of Cross/Baten Kaitos, with polygonal character models navigating pre-rendered backgrounds. Sadly, that seems to be a dying trend as well.

[Mr Bekkler]

It'd be cool if it was cel-shaded IF that was part of a whole visual style, making it look like a manga, kinda grainy and dark (MadWorld comes to mind, as a pseudo-american version of the idea). But yeah, it's a stretch.