Characters Do you miss the anime-styled pre-DOA5 games had?

[Ninoasker]

With DOA6's release coming and seeing how they're carrying the more realistic style 5 introduced, making this the 4rd (2nd if you don't count DOAX3 and DOAXVV) DOA game with these types of graphics, I'm wondering... do any of you guys miss the anime style old games had?

For me, I really don't miss them. It was weird the first months, since I loved the aesthetic they had before, but I think they did a really good job with 5 and it's style change.
Some characters look better and more alive now (coughcoughEliotcoughcough) than they did back then, which is a plus for a game where the character design is a important part (after all, we're one of the few fighting game fanbases where we can participate with our own character designs to become DLC, such as the halloween contests we've had for DOA5). And with this change they were able to introduce one of my favorite things which is wetness/dirt (I know a lot of people don't like it, but hey! I just love little details like these lol), thing that I doubt would've clashed a lot with the old style, since the characters and the costumes looked pretty plastic-like.

Overall, I really don't miss them... but I didn't hate them either.

What about you guys?

 

[KasumiLover]

I do tbh, Kasumi for example had better, longer thick hair and it was more vivid and her secondary ninja dress looked better in older games. The game also looked more unique since alot of FGs use that realistic look nowadays

DOA5 and beyond looks better but I feel like they forced the realistic look on DOA in some areas: they took away all the muscle mass the guys used to have and gave them all the same base body, the hair was shortened and they made them one layer and super transparent and thin and they took away alot of what made the old stages cool and instead replaced them with similar rectangle stages and only really brought back unique stages in Ultimate and LR when they brought back legacy stages. Although the anime look is pretty inferior today, they could have still kept some elements from older games. They definitely didn't have to do all the dramatic changes that was unneeded like the ones I mentioned.

 

[NewWestFan]

I feel like 5, and soon 6, are at a pretty good place as far as character aesthetic is concerned. I agree with @KasumiLover69 in that the hair is definitely a glaring weakness however. I appreciate the progression of the graphics in DOA as the early games (Aside from PS1 because every game that was 3D looks terrible to me from back then) looked wide eyed and young. As the series grew the characters (And graphics) had to mature a bit. I feel like 6 is the natural evolution of this. They could have reinvented the wheel and tried to go with a totally different aesthetic from 5 but it looks like 6 is occurring directly after 5 with very minimal time jump so I don't mind the characters looking close/exactly like they do in 5. Facially and thematically you can tell exactly who you're looking at in DOA 2x3 if you played 5. I feel like they've been very loyal to every character's identity and facial features. (Except Hayabusa who they gave a butter face and fortunately in 6 Jann Lee found his nipples.)

But they really need to do something with the hair. It really has lost it's charm.

I mean come on lmao

 

[Kiraragirl200]

I feel like DOA6 is in the right direction by actually having some color this time. (5's palette was so dull most of the time) While the games look fine as they do now, I'll probably always prefer the more stylized anime look. My only real problem with it was its lack of facial expressions (with 5 improving on it a little).

 

[KasumiLover]

Yeah DOA4 had really bad facial expressions, they hardly changed emotion and when they were hit they just close their eyes and mouths and it seems more hentai than fighting game xD DOA5 improved but some of the facial expressions when attacking like Kasumi are unflattering and a bit cringey, and when they're hit it looks like theyre in a porno xD DOA6 I like because it looks like they're actually getting hit rather than engaging in some sex act which I presume was the intention XD

And yeah the veterans lost what made them iconic, Kasumi lost her bright copper hair and its length and several other characters had theirs downscaled as well which I thought was disappointing. DOA6 however seems to be improving, like the hair now has weight to it, Kasumi has a great DOA5 ponytail for example but it lacked weight and didn't move natural, now in DOA6 it whips around more and seems more weighted down. The old DOA skin textures I don't miss since it looked so basic XD now in DOA5 and 6 it looks way more natural and not like one single color.

 

[Ninoasker]

Yeah, I can see the problem with Kasumi's hair especially. I mean, some of them look pretty good (I totally LOVE her side ponytail), but when it comes to her iconic loose hairstyle, it looks pretty bad. It looks so thin and lacking on volume, like she suffered from alopecia. I've never really liked this hairstyle in 5 tbh. I hope they fix it for 6 since it's one of my favorite Kasumi hairstyles.

And totally agree with the lack of expressions. In fact my "some characters look better than they did" was because of this reason lol, I mean you just have to take a look at this Eliot image to know how bad expressions were... Yikes!

 

[Tyaren]

I certainly don't miss the stylistic the series had in DOA4. That was a weird mix of anime and realism. The stages looked great (better than anything in DOA5), but the characters looked like come to life plastic dolls...and that creepy tentacle hair. :/
I did really like the look of DOA3 and DOA2Ultimate though, those games look great to this day, especially the latter.
I do however also like the look the series has now. The characters look great. DOA5 and DOA6 have imo the best looking characters in any fighter. Unfortunately DOA5 was a bit boring, brown and gritty in regards to the stages and overall presentation, so I'm glad it seems to be going into a more colorful and popping direction. DOA6 could end up being my stylistically favorite DOA.

 

[Kiraragirl200]

I can agree that DOA4's character models were waaaayyyy to plastic-y. I guess my ideal aesthetic would be DOA3/2U's character designs/models (updated of course) with 4's color schemes. DOA6 is a nice compromise imo.

 

[Raansu]

I feel like it was only a matter of time before they moved away from the plasticy look, though if Itagaki was still at TN they'd probably still look like that.

 

[Camel with 2 thumbs]

Hell yeah, in fact dead or alive dimensions is my favorite looking doa because it fixes the one problem pre doa5 games had, they can actually emote while retaining the super anime look!

 

[Awesmic]

I don't miss it personally, but I am open to the possibility of them going back to that style for very specific reasons. They would have to use stylized shaders like those presented in the 2D character art for Dimensions to not feel entirely dated IMO.

 

[Danihimuro]

I prefer the new style, but I miss the hair physics and their sizes from the old anime style. I know it's a fighting game, but look this fabulous hair of Leifang haha.

 

[KasumiLover]

Yeah, I can see the problem with Kasumi's hair especially. I mean, some of them look pretty good (I totally LOVE her side ponytail), but when it comes to her iconic loose hairstyle, it looks pretty bad. It looks so thin and lacking on volume, like she suffered from alopecia. I've never really liked this hairstyle in 5 tbh. I hope they fix it for 6 since it's one of my favorite Kasumi hairstyles.

And totally agree with the lack of expressions. In fact my "some characters look better than they did" was because of this reason lol, I mean you just have to take a look at this Eliot image to know how bad expressions were... Yikes!

He looked cute nonetheless tho xD I feel they could have kept the hair at least and just improved textures tbh. The hair in DOA5 isn't really any better tbh, it moves almost as weird. Hopefully in DOA6 they can find a compromise so that it looks unique whilst still being realistic since DOA5 still wasn't a full realistic game, it still had manga like touches. The stages could also use a good equal division of grungy dark DOA5 type stages merged with legacy era stages that were more vibrant

 

[Derock]

I'm gonna be honest here. I really didn't like the DOA4 hair physics, especially for the loose hairstyles. On Kasumi, it was fine but I preferred the classic braided ponytail. For others like Kokoro and Brad Wong however, holy hell, it was a hot mess on them because it was going all over the place like spaghetti strings. Looks even worse through clipping.

Now for the pre-5 anime look. Yeah, I missed them but I do agree everyone was looking like dolls and that started with 2 Ultimate when none of the cast were actually showing any expressions during their win quotes and intros, and 4 was the worse of them all. Regular 2, 3 and Dimensions however did. Glad that Team Ninja fix them up when working on 5 as everyone looked what they supposed to look like "realistically", i.e. Kokoro was pure ass ugly when debuting in 4, but on 5, she's perfect, looking like an actual Japanese girl. I do agree with hair physics is off on 5. Poor Kasumi had a haircut/trim. But for some reason for her realistic look, her ribbon-ed high ponytail looks way better that my preferred braid choice. I don't know why, possibly because of her updated look which TN stated they had a hard time to make Kasumi right on the eyes.

@NewWestFan Showing Helena's hairstyle, its the best TN can do because her bangs CANNOT hold that much volume to get in pre-5 version in real life.

 

[Chapstick]

 

[Leifasumi]

Not necessarily but I hate the dark theme in DOA now and I miss the game being colorful.

 

[Cadaveri]

Not necessarily but I hate the dark theme in DOA now and I miss the game being colorful.

Don't miss pre doa5 models at all, however I got to agree with the darker theme, DOA should be colorful and bright imo

 

[Hayabusiness]

The more I think about it, the more I feel like my issue is with the game not being very colorful compared to previous titles, like other ppl said beforehand.

I do think the anime style looks nice in some of the games (2H and 3 for example) and I wouldn't mind seeing an improved version of it seeing the leaps and bounds anime-like graphics have done in recent years. Think DOA mixed with Hyrule Warriors (another TN game), that'd be both cool and cute.

 

[KasumiLover]

I think people are over the anime look since TN reused it for 3 straight games with only minor detail changes, DOA2 Kasumi is basically DOA4 Kasumi, just with minimal changes to make it acceptable on 360 at that time. The game devs didn't do much to change anything besides add a few polys which hardly made a difference since 2U basically looked like DOA4, DOA5 was the first ever major graphical update lowkey

I'm gonna be honest here. I really didn't like the DOA4 hair physics, especially for the loose hairstyles. On Kasumi, it was fine but I preferred the classic braided ponytail. For others like Kokoro and Brad Wong however, holy hell, it was a hot mess on them because it was going all over the place like spaghetti strings. Looks even worse through clipping.

Now for the pre-5 anime look. Yeah, I missed them but I do agree everyone was looking like dolls and that started with 2 Ultimate when none of the cast were actually showing any expressions during their win quotes and intros, and 4 was the worse of them all. Regular 2, 3 and Dimensions however did. Glad that Team Ninja fix them up when working on 5 as everyone looked what they supposed to look like "realistically", i.e. Kokoro was pure ass ugly when debuting in 4, but on 5, she's perfect, looking like an actual Japanese girl. I do agree with hair physics is off on 5. Poor Kasumi had a haircut/trim. But for some reason for her realistic look, her ribbon-ed high ponytail looks way better that my preferred braid choice. I don't know why, possibly because of her updated look which TN stated they had a hard time to make Kasumi right on the eyes.

@NewWestFan Showing Helena's hairstyle, its the best TN can do because her bangs CANNOT hold that much volume to get in pre-5 version in real life.

Not exactly that, they just were cautious making her since she's the main heroine of the game although she basically looks like a more calm and less bitchy Ayane. And the hair changes were dumb, realistic doesn't suddenly mean thin, feather light hair that has half its length cut when you wear it down xD Tied hair in DOA5 looked great but it moved like feathers and loose hair was complete garbage especially Kasumi who had the worst hair in the game. The PC version has a mod that fixes it but even then the game's loose hair moves terribly xD I personally feel like doa5 has the worst rendered loose hair I've seen since none of the loose hair is even perfect or that good

 

[Hayabusiness]

I think people are over the anime look since TN reused it for 3 straight games with only minor detail changes, DOA2 Kasumi is basically DOA4 Kasumi, just with minimal changes to make it acceptable on 360 at that time. The game devs didn't do much to change anything besides add a few polys which hardly made a difference since 2U basically looked like DOA4, DOA5 was the first ever major graphical update lowkey

Actually, I remember reading on Hardcore Gaming 101 that 2/2H, 3, 2U and 4 curiously all use different models. Mind you, similar looking, but different.
Games prior to DOA5 that share models apparently are 2U and Xtreme 1, and then 4 and Xtreme 2.
A comparison with HQ screens would be apt for this research though, lol.

(Even in DOAD they made new models, I think. )

My only issue with the realistic style in 5 was the shoddy modeling of some things, the mistreatment of dudes, the dull colors, and looking back on it... Well, not much else, I think.
I think they took inspiration from Omega Force's games, and it wouldn't surprise me if the teams shared artists. Though I wish they took the extra step to make it look a tad more anime like Samurai Warriors does.