In a recent interview on 4Gamer (translated from Nintendo Everything), Triangle Strategy producer Tomoya Asano spoke about the style of graphics d2r items for sale, and how it's going to be implemented in the future games of the company. The interviewer was shocked that more independent games haven't begun to follow the same style, Asano revealed the reason that it's quite expensive!
"It's likely to be worth noting that it's more expensive than you think. In this regard, it's an excellent match for the games that people want from Square Enix. There's probably nothing to gain from companies that copy it," Asano told 4gamer.Fortunately this cost won't stop Square Enix from releasing more games that are similar to this.
The remake version of Live a Live is set to be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch in July, and a remake of Dragon Quest III is currently being developed. There are many games that could benefit from this style, as well. It will certainly be fascinating to find out the next game Square Enix does with HD-2D in the future. Although the company has evidently invested in this style of graphics, Asano went on to declare that there isn't a currently a "definitive Bible," and it will continue to change as games change.
"We haven't come up with something like this. The way the story is told differs for each title, meaning that the HD-2D experience will differ slightly each time. In the case of Live A Live for example the mood in the prehistoric area is likely be different from the sci-fi setting. The range of expressions we can use has been widened by the innovative concepts we've come up with. "While the price may be prohibitive for certain developers, HD-2D has definitely been a major selling point for a lot of gamers. We hope to witness Square Enix find new ways to improve the design and Diablo 2 Resurrected buy items create more games to be released!