This suggests that the artists did their homework, but it seems to go beyond that. The way things are placed, the lighting, the textures, ... it really does feel like they were based very closely on actual photos. I'm almost positive of it. So much so, in fact, that I wonder whether they were created FROM photos, using digital filters and hand-editing to make them look like they are comprised of brush strokes. I do wonder, am I right about that?...
If I am, well... this is still a fair method, since it all seems to work well within the game. But it really leads me to wonder: if the backgrounds really were created from real photographs, who took those photos?... I know KS has had an international development team, but I don't know how many of them were actually located in Japan, and what roles they filled on the team.
If they are based on actual photos, it would be very intriguing to know where those photos were taken (especially the ones near unique landmarks), and what went into the process. I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself, since I may be jumping to conclusions about actual photos being used, but I find it very interesting.
I hope someone knowledgeable is around to confirm or contradict my suspicions.
