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The TGS 2006 trailer for White Knight Chronicles was kinda ridiculous

Rotobit

Rotobit

Editor at Nintendo Wire
Verified
Oct 27, 2017
10,196
I know the concept of "bullshots" was very common during the early years of the 360 and PS3, but I had never seen this trailer for Level-5's White Knight Chronicles until I started watching a bunch of Japanese promotional DVDs.




The animation fluidity, faces, effects, and menus honestly wouldn't look out of place in a game released nowadays. I have to assume this was all a pre-rendered proof-of-concept, or running on technology that far outstripped the PS3.

For comparison, here's the final product:




Feel free to post other notorious "bullshot" trailers from the era, or reminisce about White Knight Chronicles. I just thought it was kinda fascinating.
 
Crushed

Crushed

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,719
I was literally thinking about White Knight Chronicles the other day for no particular reason, just that it was this hugely hyped title from the initial media and then dropped off into obscurity.
 
Bjones

Bjones

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,622
I had a lot of fun with that game. It was definitely going off ff12. I wouldn't say it was disappointing. It still looked great compared to games at the time.
 
Transistor

Transistor

Hollowly Brittle
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,164
Washington, D.C.
White Knight Chronicles came out at a time when I was dirt poor and I was so hyped that I sold some stuff and traded in other things (which I never do) to afford it.

And then I played it.

And it still hurts to this day.
 
Velezcora

Velezcora

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Nov 16, 2017
3,124
I was gifted a copy of White Knight Chronicles II and I still haven't played it yet. I still want to even though people hate it but it's definitely a low priority. I wouldn't be against a remaster but Sony probably doesn't see any value in the IP after trying with three games.
 
TrishaCat

TrishaCat

Member
Oct 26, 2017
672
United States
White Knight Chronicles should come to modern platforms sometime. I've always been curious about it and with all these comparisons to FF12 I'm actually a lot more excited; I adore FF12 and I'd love to have more of that, even if its not as good.
 
JulianV

JulianV

Member
Apr 10, 2018
478
I have a DVD from a now dead Argentinean magazine with that trailer and also:
-The Getaway for PS3 (cancelled)
-Eight Days(also cancelled)
-The casting demo fo Heavy Rain
-Killing Day (ALSO cancelled)
-Coded Arms (cancelled)
and probably some more.
 
greekwolf

greekwolf

Member
Oct 28, 2017
210
When this trailer debuted, I remember someone from the press (EGM?) touting it as definitive evidence that the PS3 was substantially more powerful than any PC, thanks to the cell processor.

I miss the zaniness of those years. lol
 
MisterB_66

MisterB_66

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,032
The online was so damn grindy it was unbelievable, my friends and I just played it mindlessly in the background of our party chats for years.
 
PlanetSmasher

PlanetSmasher

The Abominable Showman
Member
Oct 25, 2017
115,727
Battlechili said:
White Knight Chronicles should come to modern platforms sometime. I've always been curious about it and with all these comparisons to FF12 I'm actually a lot more excited; I adore FF12 and I'd love to have more of that, even if its not as good.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It mostly just feels like FF12 in terms of it having MMO-style combat where you can run around while waiting your turn to attack. It's AGONIZINGLY slow, which is the biggest problem and the biggest betrayal compared to that beautifully-animated reveal trailer.
 
Triggerhappytel

Triggerhappytel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
15,051
I think WKC is probably the last time I was hyped for a JRPG. I fell out with the genre in the PS2 era but was still really looking forward to it. Man, the final product was so bland and depressing and looking back over that interface just makes me shudder.
 
SephiZack

SephiZack

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
804
I went into WKC completely blind (Received it as a birthday gift), so I didn't have any expectations going in. I ended up enjoying it as far as I remember, but I forgot pretty much everything about the game.

Watching the comparison between the trailer in this thread and the gameplay video, I can see why people would be disappointed.
Nowadays I would probably be unable to play through this game
 
RedSwirl

RedSwirl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,059
I only played a bit but honestly I didn't have much of a problem with this game.

Sure the story was ridiculous but for some reason WKC1 felt good to play for me. Combat and exploration felt very fluid. Even little things like exploring towns felt nice. Maybe I just wasn't one of the people super-hyped for it and went into it mostly blind.

To be honest I like the feel of most Level-5 games I've tried so far.
 

Deleted member 41651

User-requested account closure
Banned
Apr 3, 2018
1,981
I don't know how they managed to make a game set in a world of Escaflowne-styled knight robots boring but they did.

tumblr_nvx9zdm2TV1rdfsmyo1_400.gifv
 
Cabal

Cabal

Drive-in Mutant
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,344
United States
Transistor said:
White Knight Chronicles came out at a time when I was dirt poor and I was so hyped that I sold some stuff and traded in other things (which I never do) to afford it.

And then I played it.

And it still hurts to this day.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It could be the most disappointed I've been in a game. I so wanted it to be good, to the point I ignored criticism because I was so into everything I had seen. And it was just a generic RPG that wasn't very fun to play. I was SO hyped and then just gutted. I try to be a little more level headed about my expectations for games these days.
 
Transistor

Transistor

Hollowly Brittle
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,164
Washington, D.C.
Cabal said:
It could be the most disappointed I've been in a game. I so wanted it to be good, to the point I ignored criticism because I was so into everything I had seen. And it was just a generic RPG that wasn't very fun to play. I was SO hyped and then just gutted. I try to be a little more level headed about my expectations for games these days.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Not to mention their shoehorning of your online character in the story as a "silent observer."

Ugh, that was such a terrible decision.
 
Hippopuncher12

Hippopuncher12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,285
Cincinnati
I remember going all over town trying to find this game at launch and finally finding the last copy at a Gamestop like an hour away, and then I absolutely hated the game.....good times.
 
I KILL PXLS

I KILL PXLS

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,540
I remember being so hyped for this because of the trailer and so disappointed once we saw the actual game.
 
Ridley327

Ridley327

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,490
Georgia (the state, not the country)
Even as I understand perfectly the reasons why Sony had more faith in WKC (well-liked developer of fan favorite RPGs making a big budget HD RPG, the game fitting in better with Sony's vision for their first party lineup at that time, the contentious development hell the other game went through), it's impossible for me not shake my head again and again that the western branches stuck by this while Demon's Souls got pawned off to third parties.
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,195
Totally remember watching this and just being completely floored. Sony during this period was just absolutely ruthless with presenting renders as gameplay... how or why they ever thought that was a reasonable long term strategy still escapes me.
 
cakely

cakely

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,149
Chicago
I absolutely remember that trailer, at the time I thought it was going to be a good example of what a generation 7 JRPG would be like.

When the game was released and the reviews came out I lost interest immediately.
 
Philippo

Philippo

Developer
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
7,915
I remember this being my first "woah" next-gen moment.

The "seamless" transitions, the party combos and the size of knights and monster... i must have watched it dozens of times.

This trailer was pretty baller as well:



It's a shame it was Level-5, which wasted the potential completely.
 
Zippedpinhead

Zippedpinhead

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,737
I played it and beat it when it released. It was obvious from the online that level 5 had taken their mission structure from True Fantasy Online and merged it with the concept from white knight chronicles after the deal with microsoft fell through.

and while I beat it I never touched the second one. Though I did try to find a copy of it for PSP when I went to Europe (yeah the third title only had an english release in EU territory)... no dice.
 
jett

jett

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,658
We were all fools for believing this bullshit. Level 5 was extra scummy because they created the video in a way that it looked plausible.
 
ubercheez

ubercheez

Member
Oct 27, 2017
361
This trailer was so hype that I downloaded it and kept it on my computer for easy rewatching. But thankfully, I did my diligence and watched gameplay trailers when they came out later, where I quickly realized the game followed the MMO-lite style that I hated at the time, so I avoided it.

Sony was really expecting this to be a smash hit though. It was such a big swing and miss for them that they've been gunshy about JRPGs ever since.
 
chandoog

chandoog

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,071
Not too different from what FFXIII did, pasted combat UI over what ended up being a cut-scene in the actual game.

 
Cerulean_skylark

Cerulean_skylark

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account.
Banned
Oct 31, 2017
6,408
chandoog said:
Not too different from what FFXIII did, pasted combat UI over what ended up being a cut-scene in the actual game.

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Aside from some hair and spell effects though. the real FFXIII looks fantastic and comparable. nowhere near the WNC trailer

There was some trailer from the PS3 announcement era where a man was talking to anime women on tv monitors. never remembered wtf that was
 

Deleted member 13560

User requested account closure
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Oct 27, 2017
3,087
I remember trying to show all my friends this trailer and being so excited about how awesome the animation looked. I kind of also remember it was a while before they showed gameplay for this. I think they did some cinematic trailers first. I could be wrong. But when I finally saw the real thing, I noped out of it.
 
Valcrist

Valcrist

Tic-Tac-Toe Champion
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,705
Yeah, I've had this discussion with friends in an RPG discord half a year ago. This trailer had me so hyped, but the actual game was so much different. Either way, I did kind of like it... just not as much as I could have. I think if they would have designed the game with respect for the players' time, it would have gone a long way.
 
Cronogear

Cronogear

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,982
Man, I remember being so hyped over the initial footage.

Then I bought the game, played for a few hours, and realized it was nothing like the initial footage at all, so I dropped it.
 

Deleted member 39353

User requested account closure
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Feb 1, 2018
341
Haha, you cannot imagine how hype everyone was with this trailer at the time. The disappointment in the final product was palpable.
 

Deleted member 1589

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
8,576
There's tons of disappointing games early on in the PS3 era.

This though, this takes the cake for me. I was highly anticipating it. I absolutely abhorred it near the end.
 
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