Friday, February 15, 2019

Xenoblade 2 Official Artworks!!!

Uooohhhhhhhhhhh!!! It finally arrived!
As you may know, this item was so popular that not only did they change the release date, but at one time, you couldn't even preorder it online. But I pre-ordered it before any of that happened. Yeah, I'm just bragging here, so that isn't too important.

Anyways, I wanted to briefly go over the contents of the book and point out a few parts I liked.
Now yes, you can probably illegally get scans on the web, but as with most of these books, you are missing out on being able to see the images in big, real size and not across your monitor.
So make sure you get a copy yourself. It is only like the best RPG since... ever (exaggeration).

Also... I guess NSFW?
Also, there are a lot of images.






Before the content, I just wanted to show and compare the size of the book.
As you can see, it is both big and thick. I like holding and reading books with my hands, but something this big forces you to put it on a surface.

BTW, they should have just left Code Geass as it was and not bring it back from the dead to squeeze out more money in exchange for bringing Lelouch back to life or whatever the stupid plot is.



So first, you get a good number of completely new illustrations by CHOCO. As you may expect, they are all very good. Truly delicious.
And I see him drawing his two babies (Seori and Mikumari).



Next, you get the character designs, rough sketches, original designs, etc.
As there are multiple artists, every artist's character's page has its own format and that itself is kinda interesting to observe.
Of course. People don't have the same way of designing characters.



One of my favorite parts of these pages are the parts that show the Ether Lines of the Blade. It isn't something that is touched often in the story, but it is cool to see the lines glow whenever the Blade used their powers, you know.
However, like I said above, not all characters have their Ether Line detailed on their page. I would say less than half of the Blades' pages actually have them, though the most important from Saitou do.

Oh, and in a way, these images are the closest we'll ever get to a official artwork containing a completely naked version of the characters. Sure, we've seen a lot of naked Homura in fanart. But now we have one from Saitou himself.
Yeah................................ Nice!



Another part of these pages I like is that they kinda explain stuff that you cannot even see in-game. So you can actually learn something new about the characters through these pages.

For instance, below, Seori's underwear.
Raura's underwear... Yeah, we kept on seeing under her skirt whenever she kicked the enemy, and we now finally know what is under the pants she wore.
What are under Kasane's bandages (beast-ish fur).
Very small details on Yuuou's helmet.
Heck, they even have a small section for that weird water girl belonging to Rinne. In fact, this is actually the first time we learn the name of that water girl. Well, it's not really a name.



Also, while the modeling is great in-game, nothing can top actual 2D facial expressions of the characters.
I really like Shiki, BTW. OMG, look at the second on the top row. So cute!


BTW, the Ira characters all have these expression charts, but man, are these entertainingly expressive.



For most Blades, there is a section for their weapon, BTW. The weapon is designed by Monolith themselves, which is probably why most if not all Blade pages contained this information.



Also, may I take this opportunity to express what a man of culture CHOCO is?
Like giving Mikumari a pedicure (foot fetish people know how much of a plus this can be).
And he actually draws an image of TELOS taking off her boot along with the design of her boots.

Barely any cloth on is one thing, but may I point out the culture points for the fact she has one on and one off?
BTW, CHOCO is actually married and has a daughter. Doesn't mean anything, but just saying. This isn't some Kozaki.



Next, we have the side characters. To be honest, I think this is the first time we see official 2D artwork for a lot of them? I mean, they even have this guy, who most people probably don't even remember.



Also, a lot of people wondered who drew these characters, including the Ira blades like Kamui, but it turns out that the credit just flat goes out to Monolith, with no specific name.



Well, it is pretty obvious which characters were drawn by Saitou and which by Monolith.
I don't think I need to tell you below is drawn by Saitou, right?



Next,
You get a short page comparing the heights of the characters.


Next
Images of weapon types



Next
Concept art of various locations (I'm sure everyone can tell the location from the images, right?)



Next
Images of all monsters



Next
Image of various objects around the map



Next
A summary of the story by chapters.



And finally
(Probably) All battle and kizuna talks in the game.
And if you have seen videos on these, you know there are a lot, lot, LOT of dialogue.
Monolith Soft really put a lot of effort into the game.

These small details make the difference between a normal game and a masterpiece, BTW.



And that should be it?
Great buy, in summary. A must for fans of the game, surely.
Bravo to Monolith Soft!

No comments:

Post a Comment