The Legend of Dawn
On September 9, 2021, Bandai Namco's latest work in the "Legends" series, Tales of Dawn (Japanese: テイルズオブアライズ, English: Tales of Arise) was officially released on Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S, PS4/PS5, Steam and other platforms. Since the release of Berserk Legends in 2016, the long-established and prestigious "Legends" series of games has fallen silent, and as old players have grown, the old-school gameplay, art style and plot settings adhered to by the "Legends" series have no longer satisfied the tastes of players. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the birth of the "Legends" series, "Legends of Breaking Dawn" is like a light that breaks through the night sky at dawn, with bold changes and breakthroughs, bringing the dawn of the "Legends" series to players who like JRPG.
Dawn Breaker has received widespread acclaim from players after its release, and whether you were previously a loyal player of the JRPG or not, Dawn's gorgeous and vivid combat adventures can be unforgettable. IGN gave Dawn a 9/10 rating and commented that "with its excellent storyline and voice actor lineup, as well as a rejuvenated combat system, Dawn is a shot in the arm for the long-standing story RPG series to recast the glory of the past." On December 10, 2021, "The Legend of Dawn" won the "TGA RPG of the Year" award, which is expected and deserved.
01
Graphic style
"Legend of Dawn" uses the Unreal 4 game engine, compared to the previous game "Berserk Legend", this game will be full of two-dimensional concentration in the expression of the game screen, and the exquisite game scene makes the veteran players who have played the previous game of "Legend" call out to be amazed. Dawn Breaker uses a rendering technique called Atmos Shaders by the production team, which allows the game to be as layered as a watercolor painting, with fresh and bright colors without losing texture. The close-up scene is slightly watercolor with a sense of brushstroke and grain, delicate and delicate, while the distant view is like watercolor paint after adding water blending, light and hazy. Perhaps some players who are accustomed to the Japanese celluloid style will be a little uncomfortable with this watercolor style at first sight, but after experiencing it for a while, this magnificent world will surely capture your eyeballs.
The legend of dawn game scene
In terms of character modeling, the improvement of "Legend of Dawn" is still remarkable. In the public perception, the original painting and modeling seem to be the difference between the seller show and the buyer show, but the heroine of "The Legend of Dawn", Xeno, is more beautiful than the original painting, and her smile is so cute. Compared with the previous game, the character modeling of "Legend of Dawn" optimizes the head-to-body ratio, and the male and female protagonists look more mature, perhaps the purpose of this design is to fit the heavier story tone of this work. In the facial expressions of the characters, the production team also carried out meticulous polishing, and the rich facial expressions improved the character image and enhanced the player's sense of immersion.
3D Xeno
2D Xeno
Yusuke Fusai, the producer of "The Legend of Breaking Dawn", said in an interview that the overall art style of "Legend of Breaking Dawn" is a combination of realism and illustration. In the past, the "Legends" series mainly used the expression of illustration, which is familiar to old players, but the audience is not wide. If you take a completely realistic approach, it means going against the traditional style of the Legends series. Therefore, after continuous research and debugging, the production team finally created this style of painting that seamlessly combines realism and illustration.
02
Character design
The prelude to The Legend of Dawn begins with a battle between two races, the Dominant Rena and the enslaved Dana, and the storyline revolves around the theme of "resistance to oppression". In "Legend of Dawn", in addition to the male protagonist Orfin and the female protagonist Xeno, there are four friends who accompany the player on a long adventure, Lin Weier, Lowe, Chisharan and Duo Haring. The six protagonists have different abilities, each carrying a different mission and a heavy past. As the two most eye-catching people, Orfin and Xeon are the most detailed characters portrayed in this work, and their growth and transformation are also reflected in the appearance of the characters.
The male protagonist, Orfin, first appears as a slave, he has no pain, has lost his memory, and does not even know what his name is. At this time, Orfin wore an iron mask covering his face, and his clothes were ragged, but under this tattered shirt there was a heart of resistance. The Iron Mask is a shackle and a shackle, and its existence symbolizes the protagonist's unknown past, and the player can't help but be curious about this nameless person who "can't see his face".
Orfin at the beginning of the game
During the battle with boss Bezu, Orffen's mask is shattered in half by the boss's slash, while the memories buried in his subconscious begin to awaken. In this plot, the portrayal of Orfin's expression transformation is very meticulous, from the shock when the mask is broken, to the confusion when recalling some scattered memories, to the surprise of being pulled back to reality by Xenon's "Iron Mask Man", the expression change in just a few seconds has played a great role in the fullness of the character image.
Orfin, who lost half of his mask in the Battle of Bezu
In a battle later in the game, Orfin's mask is completely shattered, but he loses not only the shackles that imprison his memories, but also the most cherished Xeon. Xeno's ability is to make the person who touches her feel severe pain, and when he has the mask, Orfin has no pain, he is the only person in the world who can touch Xeon. Now that he has lost his iron mask and regained his pain and memory, he can no longer touch his favorite Xeon, which indirectly leads to Xeon being abducted by the villain.
Orfin with all the masks shattered
The shattering of the mask is a turning point in Orfin's growth, and he has experienced loss again when he regains his past, but man grows up in continuous loss. In the finale of the game, Orfin is dressed in gorgeous costumes and has a determined look, by which time he has grown into a reliable leader, swinging his sword at the initiator of all this.
The final showdown of Orfin
The character design of "Legend of Dawn" has a lot to do with the growth of the character, and the appearance of the character reflects the character's position, personality and fighting style. In addition, the details of the costume are also unambiguous, especially the clothing of the heroine Xeno, such as the lace lace on the dress in the picture, which shows the intention of the production team. Beautiful or handsome character modeling with good-looking fashion is also one of the reasons why "Legend of Dawn" has been well received.
Shinon's lace lace dress
03
Representation
In terms of the way the game's plot is expressed, the production team of "Legend of Dawn" chose different methods, mainly 2D animation, static comic storyboarding and real-time calculus 3D animation.
2D animation
Comic storyboarding
3D real-time calculus animation
Although these three different cutscenes are expressed in different dimensions, they are very naturally connected in the game. For example, in the final showdown, after the player controls Orfin and the villain Voludrand into a battle full of light pollution, the world falls into silence as the two strike the final blow. After a short black screen, the screen is converted to a 2D animation, and then the plot of the two who have just used the final blow continues. Although the plot screen has changed from 3D to 2D, it does not bring a strong sense of violation.
The final showdown is the articulation of 3D animation and 2D animation
But 2D cutscenes also have certain drawbacks, because 2D animation is made in advance, if the player is wearing a costume and the animation is different, it may produce a sense of drama, but the flaws are not hidden, this bold attempt will make the player feel that they are watching an interactive anime, which is also in line with the two-dimensional characteristics of the "Legends" series.
04
Summary
The "Breaking Dawn" in "The Legend of Breaking Dawn" not only refers to the protagonist and his party resisting oppression and bringing "dawn" to the enslaved people, but also refers to the reform and innovation of "Legend of Dawn" that has brought dawn to the "Legend" series of works. Although some minor problems in the plot are often criticized by players, the plot of boy meets girl may be tireless for players who like the King of Blood. Fortunately, "The Legend of Breaking Dawn" also gives us a sugary ending - the male protagonist has become a hero who saves the world through hardships, and finally becomes a family member with his beloved girl. Fire and thorns, love and forgiveness, may this dawn of the heart illuminate the magnificent future of the Legends series.
Happy Ending