Update 36 - Miriam Turnaround and Donut Aftermath

That has everything to do with their chosen aesthetic, and nothing to do with their process.  It's not the aesthetic of Xrd that I - or I imagine most others that cited the game - wanted Bloodstained to follow, but rather ASW's dedication to the illusion of 2D and perhaps some of their techniques that allowed them to do so with such fantastic results.

Though I personally want the "gothic" part of your description, and not the "realism" bit.  That was never 2D Castlevania's thing.

Well, it doesn't have to be so combo heavy like Devil May Cry
A simple 3 button combo sequence would have suffice

The reason I'd be against a dedicated combo system is simply because of smoothness of combat and ability to utilize tools to make your own. I don't know a good example that doesn't include Julius fom HD's Omina whip cancels but you get the idea. I'd rather they be the subject of tech then an actual game mechanic all to themselves. (this goes for a lot, not just combos mind you)

Mechanics > Actionss always

i do like the idea of giving weapons a sort of 2 or 3 animation 'combo' that doesnt change the properties of the weapon but instead makes miriam look more badass, like a 4 hit 'combo' with katanas where she performs the 4 basic cuts, and does a quick sheathing flourish if the next press times out or you reach the end of the 'combo' to prep for the start of the next swing, and if you attack in the air you can only get men (since its technically a falling strike >P), i especially think this one could be useful because dos introduced the draw cut but the sheathing animation made the weapon really slow to use on the ground, this could keep the aesthetics of that but allow up to 4 hits before the sheathing animation triggers, giving that weapon type better utility without having to give it insane damage to balance out its dos speed

i will be honest though, this kind of combat system is very animation heavy and would require a little extra programming for what basically amounts to timing adjustments and flourish, but if it was feasible it could make for a very interesting way to differentiate the weapon types further than usual and allow for a wider range of damage values to balance out attack speed vs /hit damage

Beautiful 3D model and awesome music!

While I haven't done much research into how they made Xrd look the way it does. I do know that it looks amazing and I wouldn't mind other games trying the same thing. This doesn't mean every game should look exactly like Xrd though, but surely there would be some wiggle room to get the look you want using the same techniques.

Regarding the combo system though, I think the way Order of Ecclesia did it would work nicely. Where there are certain weapons which flowed nicely together when used in tandem. This could be applied to skills/magic in some way too. So while not a combo system per se, some skills would work nicely when used together (maybe the model could have custom animations to accompany this too?).

All in all, if a combo system is implemented in someway it should be kept short and sweet in my opinion (3-4 hits at most).

Yeah I mean I'm not against people liking that game but it's not at all what Igavania games are about. It's just weird to me ( personally) that people want something that has never been apart of Igavania's. The whole purpose of Bloodstained is to bring Igavania back! Just my take. You can do new things but a combo system would be very out of place imo. It changes the very pacing and feel of his games with something like that added. That doesn't mean you couldn't add certain weapons that have a unique slash VIBE to it. Like the ones in SOTN where you could slash insanely quick compared to other weapons, but again I personally wouldn't want IGA to veer to far away to what makes his games his.

I don't think it matters all that match regardless. The visuals based on the 3d model they've shown up in the last update is literally perfect for this style of game. It's 3d but it still has a very illustration vibe to it due to the vibrancy and watercolor look to her textures. They absolutely NAILED what they needed to visually, now they need to bring it home with the animation. The animation is one of the key elements that have to be right as it's an important quality of igavanias....beautiful animation.

I feel the same exact way. Mana  ( not sure if they're going for a more mature experience but I hope so) 
I think it's important to stay away from the cutesy anime type silliness in this game. I think they should really drive home the history of the time period and make you feel like you're part of it like Order/SOTN did so well. Not to say it can't be funny, I just hope it stays away from things that take me out of the world.

Taggin' mana for no other reason than me really loving your point and kinda hoping it gets to the team when it comes time to the dialogue and actions of the characters.