Comments on: Thoughts: The Banner Saga.

By: Thoughts: The Banner Saga 2 » The Scientific Gamer The Scientific Gamer

Thoughts: The Banner Saga 2 » The Scientific Gamer The Scientific Gamer — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 11:00:25 +0000

[…] Banner Saga 2 might end up being the most surprising game I play in 2016. My reaction to the first was decidedly mixed , and somewhat tepid even in the best of places, so I’m downright astounded that the sequel has […]

By: Aleksei Volchok

Aleksei Volchok — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 07:36:20 +0000

Aren’t 2D assets more costly in the end? Imagine all the work put in animating Banner Saga characters. Well, it’s not so much. Imagine animating everything you see in, say, Dragon Age with 2D graphics. Sheesh.

By: Aleksei Volchok

Aleksei Volchok — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 07:34:20 +0000

Blackguard seems great and recent, though I haven’t played it. Reviews are good for this kind of hardcore niche game. Though if they gave Banner Saga more than 80 I don’t know what to believe.

By: Gap Gen

Gap Gen — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:47:02 +0000

Yeah, big companies are still making 2D games, but since the definition of AAA is quite vague, I don’t know if any games would really fall into this category (like Hentzau says above, even stuff like Hearthstone which presumably has a large marketing budget and playerbase isn’t going to be the company’s main focus). Stuff like Starbound has sold a ton but is from a small studio, so probably doesn’t count as AAA even if it’s outsold some traditionally AAA games.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:17:21 +0000

Totally forgot about that! I wish they’d release it on Steam. It seems to be on every other platform.

By: Ninja Foodstuff

Ninja Foodstuff — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:52:06 +0000

Agreed! Also worth noting that War of the Lions is also on ios.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:12:58 +0000

If you have a PSP or Vita, Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, remains my absolute favorite in the genre, hands down. The original FFT is available on the PSN for PSP and PS3, but has a terrible translation. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together for the PSP is very, very similar, but isn’t as strong mechanically (though I think it has a better plot and does the branching story thing better than the Witcher 2).

I’m not a huge fan, but many people love the Disgaea series and the other Atlus SRPGs, available on many platforms.

As Hentzau said, it’s a pretty console-focused genre.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:09:16 +0000

I would suggest Dragon’s Crown (2013). I honestly don’t know anything about budget or development time (though I know it took a lot longer than they originally anticipated) but in terms of final product it is as close to AAA as you are likely to find in a 2D game in quite a while.

By: Darren

Darren — Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:06:25 +0000

Fair enough. I’m going to once again point out Vanillaware as the exception that proves the rule, though.

By: Hentzau

Hentzau — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 23:41:55 +0000

2D is certainly being seen as a valid lower-budget option by a few of the bigger developers, but you’ll never see a 2D game with the same budget behind it as a 3D title. Partly this is because 2D assets simply don’t need as much money, but it’s also because those big developers want their 2D games to be “And we *also* do this,” rather than their flagship product.