30 Days of Video Games

[turbojet]

Desert Punk, I noticed that your runner-ups have a similar art style to your choice.

[Meow]

Which is why I love 'em .

[The Tenth Doctor]

Derp, Sonic heroes? No in seriousness, Professor Layton. His series looks rich, beautiful colours and interesting people. It makes you simply want to see the animated cutscenes more because the scenery is spectacular. Short and sweet does the trick.

[Autosaver]

DAY 24 - Favorite Art style - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword's art style was just beautiful. The inspiration to make this game use a 19th century art style used by several French artists was just a fabulous choice.

Just like Wind Waker, this game easily stands out in HD. Unlike other games, the weak system's flaws are hidden by clever use of this art direction. 20 years from now, the game will look just as good thanks to the choice of not going super realistic.

[Conando]

Favorite art style:

Cel Shading of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Wow, is this art style still controversial or what? Remember how, back in the day, gamers everywhere were decrying the look because, Link looked like a cartoon rather than realistic? Too bad they didn't realize that it actually made the game the best looking game in the series (TP being a close second). The whole world looks like a painting, and thanks to the exagerated designs characters emotions are more apparent. You can't honestly tell me that you don't think this game is beautiful, just look at the great sea and how it looks like paint washing up and down.

[buba]

Day 24 - Favourite Art Style/Visual Design in a Video Game

Sonic Unleashed/Generations

The Visual Design is beautiful in so many ways, it is like graphical porn to my eyes like Vizard said.

The Art Style is like a mix of cartoons and real life, resulting in this marvel design that we can see in Unleashed/Colors/Generations.

[Soniman]

I am absolutely shocked that no one mentioned this.

Rayman Origins' sheer level of detail and quality in the art department is what all 2D platformers should strive for, it really is amazing. Each area, each level is oozing with unique personality and charm, whether it be a simple jungle, a desert full of instruments, an ice/fire level with a ton of food, or a water level filled with various colorful critters, its all beautiful and memorable in their own way. It can range from kooky and colorful, to calm and serene, to nightmarish and outlandish, I just fucking love how this game looks just as much as how it plays. It's a completely original and incredibly charming game that doesn't re-use tropes like a dead horse and nothing is every boring or bland (NSMBWIII).

I hope to god we see more Rayman games (or other games by Ubisoft) done in this amazing style.

Runners up:

After several games taking place in the real world, Sonic Colors offered a refreshing return to form for the blue blur, levels were once again colorful and imaginative, each with their own personality. Even levels that somewhat look like real world locations like Aquairum Park, takes several liberties to look as weird and diverse as possible. Really not much to say, I just love it.

Same story, after the ungodly drab Twilight Princess, it was nice of Nintendo to inject some colors and charm back into the 3D Zelda games, I love the impressionist artstyle, it really feels like im walking in a painting, and it gives the world much needed life and energy. I like.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Grooseinator032

[Mandyrobin]

My vote goes to the Kingdom Hearts series.

I love the mix of the typical Disney designs with the designs Square Enix is known for when it comes to Final Fantasy. The two designs mix so fluidly and naturally in a way I never could have anticpated. This was part of what makes Kingdom Hearts so unique to me. Seriously, Tetsuya Nomura is a design genius.

[#EndyGate]

Oh god, there are so many games I could o for right now, but I'll go for my top 3:

3. Okami

What can I not say about Okami's artstyle? Not only is it the one of the most gorgeous games i have ever seen (and it was on the wii no less) but it also the perfect homage to traditional japanese artstyle. I mean this game bleads japanese myths, from the gods, to fabled monsters in the form of bosses and enemies.

2. Donkey Kong Country Returns

What I love about this game's style, is that it has the style of a bat shit insane cartoon, from exaggerated gestures, to over the top segments. You literally can't go through this game without your jaw dropping a few times, just due to how out of nowhere some of the level segments come from. but even then the game is still quite gorgeous when it comes down to it, with backgrounds that will make you drool, or actually question how they made something like that on the wii, and then there's the silhoette segments~

1. Kirby's Epic Yarn

This game is formed completely out of various fabrics and yarn, and what I love most about it, is that they were able to make it work. This game expertly displays the general kiddy nature of the kirby games, and even gives me a bit of nostalgia due to how my grandma used to knit all the time for me, with the usual things, like dinosaurs, airplanes, and all that. So really this game did hit me deep upon seeing it. THough as I said before, I love how they converted everything into a yarn/fabric form, as well as how they worked kirby's transformation abilities in it with his various vehicle forms.

Honarable mentions:

Samba de Amigo

Sonic Colors/Generations

Jet Set Radio (Future)

Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker/Skyward Sword

Space Channel 5 (part 2)

Edited February 8, 2012 by Cerp

[Danj86]

Heh, easy.

"His art style has been described as "crazy and bizarre" and features everything from cute pre-teen demons, to freaky pigs in royal clothing. His signature character, Pleinair, has appeared in Disgaea and Phantom Brave."

So basically, anything that involves Takehito Harada. I freakin' love his art style and I hope to be as good as him someday. He's been involved in lots of Nippon Itchi Software games besides Disgaea.

Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories

The Witch and the Hundred Soldiers

Infinite Souls

He's also worked on Phantom Brave, Makai Kingdom, Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice, Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten, Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero?, Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties & Disgaea Infinite

These's possibly a couple more that I'm unsure about, like La Pucelle Tactics...need to do more research...

[Burnt Ash]

My favorite art style would have to be the style used in Super Smash Bros Brawl. With a more realistic look to it, it makes many of the levels and cutscenes look fantastic. A lot of the characters looked pretty good in the Brawl style even if they look slightly different like the Mario and Donkey Kong characters who come from games with a different art style/tone.

[Victory Defender]

Day 24 - Favorite art style

I'll give it to TWEWY

The arts cool. The way it's used in game is pretty cool, too. The actual sprites and stuff don't look amazing, but the official art does. I only payed attention to the character design, and it's the only thing that really stands out really. I mean, doesn't this look cool?!:

Neato! Simple and abstract is the way to go!

I don't pay attention to the graphics and stuff, so you'll have to excuse the lack of post I have.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Victory Defender

[Starman Swift]

Day 24 - Favorite Artstyle

Borderlands

Say what you want about this game, but of all the brownish shooters out there, it's one of the prettier ones. I forget the term they said they used for the art style, but it was described as the 'opposite of cel shading'. The exaggerated edges make it look more unique. Going for the comic book look rather than a realistic one probably saved this game a bit.

Nightmare Ned

Great, I mentioned this game twice in a row, now I'm really gushing about it. I really like what they did with the artstyle in this game. It's a combination of painted-looking backgrounds, 3-D landscapes, and drawn-looking characters. Some games that try to combine 3D and 2D fail miserably. They handled it pretty well with this game though, the surreal look is a key point here.

[Cobalt_Bolt]

Day 24 and Favorite Art Style in a Video Game. I am going to have to agree with DesertPunk's post on the art design of the Megaman Zero saga. I like how the designs are minimalist and yet still have a good emphasis on combat without looking overly dramatic in the detail department. Plus Zero actually looks like he fits into a world at war with his sleek design that emphasizes his preferred method of combat.

[gato]

Day 24 - Best Art direction.

In all seriousness, as much as I love what I posted above (and I warn you, If there is a "most anticipated game" day I'm going to babble about it) There are many games that admitely, look way better...

This is going to be a fun pick because most of the games I'm going to list are titles that for one reason or another, I never played (or in the case of one of them, never played from more than 2 hours).

Also, I have little to no knowledge of art so most of my choices are not going to have any kind of commentary other than "it looks pretty".

Okami

The watercolor artstyle is simply beautiful, and despite being foreign to the art department I must confess I also love the fact you use a brush as a weapon since it gives you that feel like the whole game is a living art piece, and you are the mastermind behind it...

Never played it because of lack of consoles (WOOOAAAAHHH!!!, Okay, only time I'll make this shitty joke)

Jet Set Raadiooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Radio

One of the (if not the, my memory is failing me right now so I can't confirm) pioneers in the use of Cel-Shading (that games like Okami also uses), the idea of a cartoon-like style in a 3D environment was and still is amazing to watch, but technology is not the only thing that makes this game look good, the stylish design of the characters and locations really fit with the "graffiti" theme of the game.

I don't play it because my experience with an emulator was not pretty (laggy controls, some crashes here and there)... I never managed to clear the tutorial :l ... I should try it again at some time.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Despite having gone through some rough times I can't argue that overall the currently cartoonish style of the series is charming, real world locals like in Unleashed were given a new coat of paint to fit with the Blue Blur and they look lovely... Colours went to the opposite direction and showed us some totally zany and out of this world (lololololololo) places, and once again it was breathtaking at some points.

Generations shows us 20 years of Sonic rendered in this style and it's as amazing as I thought it would be (not without some exceptions).

This is the only series in this list that I've managed to play.

Professor Layton

Just look at this picture! It's amazing!

The lightning, the cartoon style!

The only reason I haven't played this series yet is because I haven't found the time to do it, I'm way to busy with other stuff and I have a huge gaming backlog that I've been trying to fix but I got stuck enjoying the "Dawn of War" series and constantly revisiting my old favorite games (I can't leave them, I'm a freaking addict... Don't judge me!).

The King of Fighters

I'm going to be honest and say I just picked this because what you see here was a total overhaul in the arstyle of a series known for reusing as much assets as possible, KOF XII started with this new hand drawn (can't remember if thsi was true but I remember this term popping a lot in some boards) style that I hope becomes the standard in the series (though I wouldn't mind if they decide to take less than 10 years to renew it again).

I know some of you might kill me for saying this but frankly I think this game is "tied" with BlazBlue as the best looking fighting game there is. (I believe BlazBlue looks prettier overall but I like KOF's character design more)

It's a sad thing that due my lack of consoles and the fact that Arcades are dead where I live there is little chance I'll ever get to play it.

And that's it for today! I guess I posted enough as to not have to give any honorable mention so I'll just be a lazy bastard and finish my post here.

Edited February 8, 2012 by gato

[Echidna Adventurer CC14]

Here are some of my personal favorites:

Sonic Unleashed/Sonic Colors/Sonic Generations

After Sonic 06's bland, boring, realistic colors and stage design, this style was SUCH a breath of fresh air with bright colors, unique locales, and a world that didn't clash wildly with Sonic's design.

Sonic and the Black Knight

I LOVE the tapestry look of the cutscenes in SatBK. They're a good improvement on SatSR's cutscenes in terms of coloring, they have some really nice shading, and they really fit the game's arthurian tone. More Sonic games need handdrawn cutscenes!

Sonic Battle

Sonic Battle had a really unique art style that I quite enjoyed. It was a nice break from the usual art styles of both 2D and 3D Sonic games at the time and I love how dynamic and stylized it is.

Edited February 8, 2012 by chaoscontrol14

[\Lennox]

Day 24 - WHATS YO FAVORITE ART STYLE IN VIDYA

Okay, for a game art junkie like me, there can only be one.

BlazBlue - Arc System Works

BlazBlue has the most interesting art style for me--after all, a convoluted storyline has to have an awesome visual thing going on. This series has the most interesting designs, and the 3D background-2D sprite mix is pulled off well--I have a feeling that GONZO, the animation agency responsible for all of the FMV cutscenes drew the sprites for use with the game. A strong anime-like aesthetic, is therefore evident, and because of that, I like this more than any other fighting game (other than the controls, the story and how easy it is to get into, especially with the character above).

[gim_gam]

I have to agree with Dan-ime. I just love the style used by Takehito Harada, especially in the Disgaea series.

I don't know what it is about it that I love so much, all I know is that the character design just fits perfectly with the quirkiness of the games.

[#AR]

FAVORITE ART STYLE!

Well for me, I kinda got a thing for games with Cel-Shaded graphics. I have no friggin Idea why, but I absolutely love cel-shading (when done right of course). Everyone has probably seen a cel-shaded game in their life. There are a couple of them that have already been posted. (Great examples include Okami and Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker). Other well-known video games with Cel-Shading include Sly Cooper, Street Fighter IV, Tales of Symphonia, Viewtiful Joe, No More Heroes, and the pioneer, Jet Set Radio. One of my personal favorites that was kinda forgotten is:

AFRO SAMURAI

Yep, bet some of y'all forgot about this. Based off of the anime movie with the same name, Afro Samurai is a classic style beat 'em up featuring Samuel L. Jackson and all his awesomeness. The game itself is alright, but there were two very notable things about it: The awesome music by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and the art. There's a very manga-ish style in it, and the game goes into black and white while in focus mode. In motion, the game is really fluid and looks awesome, ESPECIALLY in focus mode. I also love the fact that blood kinda splashes on the screen when you're racking up a huge combo. That was a nice touch. The backgrounds look very nice, and complement the mood of the game.

This game has got a lot of style. Stylish moves, stylish graphics, stylish music, stylish...uhhh...hairstyle? I guess.

[Match]

FAVORITE ART STYLE IN A VIDEO GAME

TEAM FORTRESS 2

Team Fortress 2 is probably the most unique of Valve's games. A good amount of this can be attributed to the fast and crazy gameplay, the humor that Valve is known for, and mostly the art style.

This game's art style is somewhat cartoon-y, but also something else that I can't place. It doesn't take itself seriously either. This is a very funny game, and the visuals compliment that fact.

The weapons are simple shapes for the most part, and while designed accurately, go well with the style of the characters and settings. The weapons themselves go with the art style as well; a beer bottle is a cute touch, but doesn't seem strange at all next to a sci-fi health laser.

The settings use a basic template of the color orange, but are still really cool and varied. They are filled to the brim with detail, but it doesn't complicate the stages or make them too realistic. They seem to take place in a desert.

The characters themselves wouldn't look out of place in a Sonic game. While they could easily pass for real people, they have exaggeratedly large chins/noses/entire bodies that are too big/long to actually exist, but are silly and cartoon-y.

In short, I love this game's art style. We'll be back with more of The Jeff Dunham Show.

[King Frosty]

Just look at these visuals. Truly Amazing.

From the Dreamcast too, amazing how it can actually do this type of visuals.

also boobs and solkia said to tthis

[Double Agent Motobug]

Favorite visual style from a game?

Gotta say DEFINITELY Zelda Windwaker. I remember when it was first revealed, everyone was like "UGH WHYYYY", myself included, and I was sure it was going to suck and be really really kiddy because I mean...LOOK AT IT. It was so /weird/ after something like Majora's Mask where it was all dark and "Anime" styled (well, at least the art was XD)

But after time (and realizing that Windwaker was amazing), Twilight Princess came out, and it was around the time that Skyward Sword was getting lusted over at e3 when I realized... I really really missed Toon Link. Like, a LOT. It's my definitive art style for Zelda I think, simply because of how well it aged, and how gorgeous and unique it makes everything in the game appear, even after all this time. I find that it's something that even Skyward Sword has failed to do. (Personally I'm not a fan of the execution of the art style in SS. D: It looks bland to me in most places, similarly to Twilight Princess, but with washed out low-res textures or something. @_@)

Runners up are absolutely Sonic Unleashed/Generations, and Jet Set Radio series, due to how wonderful they made their respective worlds look, and especially Jet Set Radio, since the aesthetic of the game was added to by the game's outstanding soundtrack <3 (Let's ignore the Gameboy Advance one.)

[SuperStingray]

El Shaddai

I don't blame you if you haven't heard of this game, but it's an absolutely stunning artistic endeavor. These bizarre, surreal environments are beyond comprehension and no two levels repeat the same aesthetic. There's an underwater level, a Tron-like level, a mountain level... and those are probably the only ones within my descriptive powers, so I'll just post more pictures.

The graphics engine itself isn't exactly a marvel, but it's impressive what UTV Ignition was able to do with it; shading and lighting schemes have such incredible variety that sometimes it can feel like anything from walking through a painting to walking through a sci-fi movie.

Runners up: Team Fortress 2, Sonic Generations, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mirror's Edge, Outland, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Wario Land: Shake It!

Edited February 8, 2012 by SuperStingray

[Sami]

Day 24 - Favorite Art Style or Visual Design from a Video Game

Yeah, I'm going to be boring. Oh well.

What better pick than an art style that received tons of backlash from the moment it was first shown? Wind Waker looks visually stunning even nine years after its original release on the Gamecube in 2003. Wind Waker is easily one of the best looking on the system, and it's no coincidence that it's art style isn't shared by any other game I've seen on a console. The simple, cartoony, cel-shaded look is an absolutely brilliant way of masking technological limitations. It's a solution so simple I'm honestly quite surprised I don't see it used more often; if technological limitations make your game looks like poo, pick an art style that compliments it.

Wind Waker's art style is very simplistic, and really wouldn't look out of place in a children's cartoon. However, the bright, colorful look makes everything in the game *pop*, in a sense. I feel completely engrossed in the worlds this game creates simply because of how interesting they look.

Almost everything looks bright and cheerful, making some of the darker areas of the game serve as a fantastic contrast. The characters are all easily distinguishable. The environments all feel very inviting and encourage exploration. The Great Sea, making use of some rather simple water effects, looks like it was ripped straight out of a cartoon, and the use of such a simplistic design allows for the sea itself to be absolutely enormous in size, with draw distance that still manages to impress.

Wind Waker is a fantastic game with a fantastic art style, and it makes it all the more depressing that despite being incredibly close to beating out Ocarina as the best 3D game (Skyward Sword now), it had to lose that title because of an unbearable amount of fetch quests in the latter half of the game.

[Solly]

Can't believe I've done 24 of these now.

Favorite Visual Style: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island

This game's art style simply doesn't age. It feels like it was such a leap forward for Mario games at the time. It's got this kind of crayonish look(except not completely) but with thick black outlines and awesome character animations. Even a basic Koopa Troopa has 11 frames to his walk-cycle. Everything feels so alive and creative. I'd say it's kind of like something a kid drew, but it's too good for that. It's more like something that a kid might dream up.

There's so much care and work put into how this game looks, and it all goes hand-in-hand with the characters and the gameplay. I know graphics aren't everything but I really want to see another Mario game that does something as fresh and visually interesting as this.