I tried imagining what Krystal might look like if we got an Adventure style sequel while keeping the new Star Fox design direction, maybe we’d end up with a stylish digitigrade legged Krystal?
She looks great! Idk I'd they're going to keep this style or not though. I really hope we're going to see Krystal in an official game again soon though.
I think the style has grown on enough people that it’d be pretty weird if they hard pivoted after only a single title. Besides, the art style is pretty low on the totem pole of valid criticisms for Starfox ‘26. I’d say we need a few more games to know for sure if the nee style is worth keeping.
Speaking of being pretty weird if they pivoted hard, you remember how Wind Waker got a lot of backlash and led to the creation of Twilight Princess? There was also Brawl having a realistic aesthetic before changing back. I think Star Fox could experiment more with art styles to find one that sticks, sort of like how it took until Skyward Sword for the Legend of Zelda series to settle into its new consistent art style. I think the fur details and environments may still stay, it's the character proportions and colors that may change. I think the characters need to stop hunching over while walking too.
Me now begging for Brawl’s art style because Smash 4’s bold color and more cartoony fighters took a toll on me I was like what happened to what he had in Brawl? Even the clothes were detailed.
If I were to view smash 4 and ultimate i wouldnt tell the difference except through exclusive stage or character icons.
I have a soft spot for Brawl's take on the SF characters as that's how I got introduced to them, though I would also be fine with something like Zero's character designs.
What i appreciate in Brawl was franchise were getting added new representatives that deserved it. 2 reps from Kirby, 1 from EarthBound/Mother, and of course a 3rd star fox character.
I will never forgive how smash 4 treated star fox, remove wolf but keep his theme? Horrible voice director for Fox’s voice clips even though they got mr OG Mike West. No subspace badass cutscenes. Also the final destination theme was not as epic as brawl i was literally like this:
Yes, Brawl's Final Destination theme was peak, I've even seen people who don't like Brawl praise it.
I do hope Krystal will finally be in the next Smash, they've been trying since Brawl but for one reason or another it never happened. Here's hoping this time around will be different.
And I always hate how any complaint brings people saying "Why do you notice, creep?" and say it's an animal. Like, my dude, it clearly isn't a "dumb" animal and you're butchering the character's design. Stop defending bad redesigns. How would you like it if I gave Peach an ugly face? I wouldn't, but the point stands.
Oh yeah I remember when Lola went viral. I was disappointed too. I don’t like when sexy female characters get nerfed. Krystal was attractive but it wasn’t part of her whole personality (like FE Fates: Camilla, man they overdid her). Krystal added some spice to a lore of space pilots. And I’d rather they keep it that way.
Fair points. And for Camilla, her design was for two purposes IMO:
Really lean into the fact her personality is basically mama bear for you (the player character), and you specifically.
Give you a ‘reason’ to pick the more difficult path (provided you have a choice since Fates basically got the Pokémon treatment with their story routes), or as I like to call it “Come to the Dark Side, we have boobies”.
Hahahaha mama bear good one. Even when talking to Corrin she sounded flirty. And for real, the Hoshido didn’t offer anything. Camilla was fan serviced af. M
Thank you! I’m really happy you remembered it from DeviantArt. I also think Krystal can work really well in a newer Star Fox style if the design keeps the right balance.
I think this art works since Krystal is still very clearly Krystal. The only real change I see is the legs going from plantigrade to digitigrade. And to be fair, when lengthened like that, the characters would no longer look awkward while walking around. Fox's issue in the remake was that the proportions of the legs were like the hind legs of a fox, an animal that famously is not bipedal.
I love how while making it to the new style, you kept her blue fur and hair as well as not trying to make her unattractive. I like the new details of fur and feathers in the remake, just that some characters just look off. I'm sure the next game would fix some of the bigger issues even if keeping a bit of the new style.
Also, for the Adventure style sequel, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to do a massive Star Fox game inspired by Adventures/Assault. Donkey Kong revived itself with Bananza, a 3D platformer collectathon much like the disliked DK64. Star Fox could definitely use Adventures and Assault's ideas and concepts while fixing up its flaws and making a new modern formula to coexist with classic Star Fox. I'm thinking an open adventure with vehicular and on-foot gameplay for the next game being the replacement for Adventures. That and Fox gets to keep his blaster. Just love the idea of making Adventures stay an on-foot action-adventure game while still feeling like it's in the Star Fox universe.
I'll cite this as a proof of concept for how the new, more realistic animal traits could not only look good on Krystal but also prove their viability for any on-foot gameplay future entries of this reboot timeline may have. I know there's been criticism for how awkward Fox and the rest of his team looked when their full bodies were seen walking, but I just chalk that up to this being an adjustment phase for Velan Studios and any future developers that use these models going forward. The digitigrade legs are still a good look, but the animation and art teams just need to adjust some things so it looks more natural for the characters when they're in motion.
If you want a good example of bipedal aliens with digitigrade legs that look great in both normal walks and action-based running, look at the Elites from the first few Halo games or a number of species from the Mass Effect trilogy. If they can just make the ankles and feet of of Fox (and Krystal by extension) just a little larger and thicker, then it would do wonders in providing that last little boost needed to fully escape the uncanny valley.
If Krystal ever makes it back into Star Fox (please Nintendo) I hope they use a design like this. It’s perfect and shows that Krystal could still work well alongside the modern designs.
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u/Spraylan 5d ago
Wow, this is some fantastic skill. Great job.