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30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142


Sami

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

In reference to art styles, the video game genre knows no limits in regards to its beauty. But I'm going to go with the first game that came to mind with an art style that I am very fond and in awe of:

 

Sonic Colors

 

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Sonic Colors has an art style is full of vibrant color, imagination and creativity with its levels ranging from surreal to realistic with a ton of details in between. To this day when I play Sonic Colors, the visuals never cease to amaze me with its bright, colorful, and unique art design. That's not to say any other games or Sonic games even don't possess these qualities in it's art style as well as they definitely do. Sonic Colors just seems to strike me more, especially being more fun and playful looking as I'll give a mention and praise to each of the game's levels:

 

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Tropical Resort starts the game off with beautiful scenery with a breath-taking view of Earth and space in the background. The balloons provided a nice, playful touch.

 

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As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I continue to be most impressed with Sweet Mountain, and how, well, delicious it looks. I thought this level in Sonic Colors was the most creative and it my absolute favorite. I had no idea that a level design based on food would be so fun to both look at and play through!

 

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Starlight Carnival: bright, colorful neon lights are everywhere amid a dark, star-lit sky...simply stunning!

 

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Aquarium Park has so much life and detail...such a beautiful underwater playground with so many things to discover!

 

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Asteroid Coaster, while it isn't as pretty and colorful as the other levels, it still has some awesome things going on detail-wise with the incredible space background with the asteroid rings.

 

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Planet Wisp: Full of vegetation and greenery with the different trees, the various flowers you run across, the streams...even though Planet Wisp is being reconstructed by Dr. Eggman, the place still looks beautiful amid the construction.

 

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Terminal Velocity: You can't help but to admire the beautiful, realistic view of planet Earth in the background, even though you have Sonic running for his life at this point...

 

And I am only skimming the surface here about the art style of Sonic Colors at this point as I could go on all day in admiration for it with a ton of images to back it up. The bright beautiful colors throughout the levels in the surreal and realistic, fun and playful settings end up really standing out for me and definitely making its mark as my absolute favorite. 

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

Man, this is a real toughie. I'm just gonna go with this to save myself from debating it internally for a long time:

 

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Super Paper Mario

 

I love the way this game looks, it's hard to explain why actually. It's simple, but it has a certain style to that simplicity. I just love all the little touches here and there, and I feel that it really nails the whole paper aspect of the Paper Mario series, in terms of appearances, like it's all just really flat, but man that's sorta why I like it so much. It looks as if the world was like drawn on a piece of paper, when playing in 2D anyway. I also like the way it's all colored and the little details in like the designs, and stuff. Man I just love looking at this art style, what can I say.

 

 

 

man i need to stop talking about Mario, it's taken up quite an amount of my answers in this topic

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Hmmm...I don't think I have s specific game to name, so much as a certain taste in general. I love games with vibrant colors. Not specifically cartoony, but very pleasant to the eyes nonetheless. 

 

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It really brings the worlds to life imo, and gives each level a identity and personality. They pop out and are just fun to explore! 

 

Loosely related, I'd also say I have a thing for Cel Shaded games. Depending on how they are used, and the series that uses them, they can also make for interesting unique visuals. Windwaker brilliantly uses them, creating a completely new Zelda story and lore that was parallel to the rest of the series, that still felt Zelda, despite the visual overhaul. UMvC3 also uses them well making the game very Comic-y.

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Day 22

Best Art Style

 

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Okami

 

Believe me when I say I tried to pick some other game this time around, I tried writing a bit on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker... but I keep thinking about this game instead.  Okami is quite literally the perfect answer for this question, and it's almost impossible for me to think otherwise.

 

Okami definitely is a beautiful game, and for a game to still look this good despite being on very old hardware is mind-boggling.  However pictures really don't do the game any justice... I mean, it looks great, but you're missing out on all the little details.  Watching the wind blow petals through the sky, watching grass and flowers bloom behind Amaterasu as she speeds up into a sprint...  It's those little details that really make Okami sparkle.

 

However, Okami's art isn't just pretty, it's pretty much Okami's essence... it's the nature of the game itself.  The way you interact with the world?  You paint.  You make those small almost insignificant brush strokes that help make a composition shine.  The way you beat enemies?  You paint.  The way you inspire the world's inhabitants to believe in their gods?  You paint and make them admire your work.  Art is what Okami's all about, and it's not everyday you get a game that perfectly blends its aesthetics, gameplay, and narrative under one unifying theme.

 

Then you play the HD version, and you'll sit there wondering how they made this game look even better.

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Day 22: Favourite Art Style

 

From a technical standpoint, graphics in video games have been a particular subject to many developers in order to catch the attention of players. A visually stunning video game may make use of a unique style which not only serves as the main purpose to stand out among other video games on the market, but also potentially catch the audience's attention. Thanks to the advancements applied to the hardware and the creativity of game designers, video games have managed to embrace different art styles to create unique experiences which are also blended with unique gameplay styles.

 

I am particularly fond of any video game which features unique art and graphical styles, and in terms of honourable mentions, games like The Wind Waker, Jet Set Radio, BioShock, Paper Mario & Mario & Luigi, Vanillaware's Muramasa or Dragon's Crown, UbiArt's Rayman Legends or Child of Light, even Sonic The Hedgehog's Unleashed and Colours are some of my choices. This time, and since I am more of a fan for charming and adorable stuff, my choice has to go once again to...

 

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The Kirby series

 

The entirety of the Kirby series have always had an edge for depicting immense amounts of charm and cuteness in every single game released to date. From the characters and enemies to the levels and environments, the overall design is so comforting and eye-catching and such a soft and heartwarming style is what makes this franchise so appealing to everyone who gets the chance to enjoy any of the Kirby games.

 

For starters, Kirby's round and simple design as well as his personality is one notable characteristic of this franchise. His round shape not only is a versatile element for certain gameplay styles in the series, but also one to adapt into different artistic styles as seen in, most notably, Kirby's Epic Yarn. As I already mentioned back in Day 8 (Favourite Ability) and as seen in the picture above, Kirby's signature move Copy brings out a vast array of unique designs to blend with the character and strengthen his charming and cute appeal even more than how he already looks; not only that, but such character design and style perfectly blends with his cheerful and innocent personality. As far as enemy design goes, most of the foes featured in the series (outside of some nightmare fuel final bosses!) follow the same charming and adorable pattern than the titular character himself; the box art for Super Star Ultra, for example, is a good reference to this statement.

 

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The series' fantasy world of Pop Star is filled with colourful and bright designs in every area you visit; from typical locations such as fiery caverns, open meadows, water-filled or submerged areas, icy mountains and similar nature-based places, every level you visit is always a bliss to run, float and jump around in. The attention to detail in such level design is incredible, from the different patterns used on the foreground designs to the astonishing environments seen in the backgrounds. Such detail on the levels' scenery has been present throughout the entirety of the series, especially in the traditional or the more three-dimensional styled side-scrollers. Just look how gorgeous Kirby Return To Dream Land looks for example!

 

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While a core style is present in all of the games, the Kirby series isn't short of recurring to unique art styles in certain entries. Kirby's Epic Yarn is possibly the most notable art style used in the franchise in recent years by combining graphics rendered in a unique knitted design based on animated yarn blended with cloth and textile environments. Epic Yarn takes full interaction between the game and its graphical style, such as allowing Kirby to pull buttons, threads or zips to reveal hidden areas or alter the shape of the terrain. On top of that, such art style not only makes the game incredibly gorgeous to the eye but also irresistibly adorable! *_*

 

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All in all, the Kirby series features a particularly beloved style that has always been so appealing to me among other video games. I love the overall design on the characters and levels, I love the charm and cuteness and I totally appreciate the different takes the franchise can do into other unique styles which I hope will be expanded in future installments.

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Day 21: Most Memorable Unlockable

 

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle: Green Hill Zone

 

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I kinda fell out of Sonic between 3&K and this game for whatever reason. I guess we didn't have any console with Sonic anymore since I had to get rid of my Genesis (long story), and Sonic just kinda faded out of my mind when I was still in the single digits for years old. Anyway, around '04 or something I found Mega Collection and also nabbed SA2 as well so I'd have something new and hooooo my.

 

I know SSMB hates this game to death, even though with your mood cycles, you'll probably think it's an under appreciated gem 2 years from now and the cycle will continue, but nonetheless I loved the shit out of this game at the time. I had the entire summer to play it, and god damn did I play it the entire summer I had it. I was obsessed with Chao along side my best friend from school, so we'd spend every day trying to raise our stupid little things.

 

Naturally that leads to looking online to get specific kind of Chao. This was back before I was really active on the computer much thanks to our insanely shitty internet speed. Anyway, one thing led to another and found out if you worked your ass off and got all the emblems in everything ever, you could have Green Hill Zone. For any new people that seems like no big deal, especially if you've played it later on (it's a load of garbage and half-assed but nonetheless), but at the time Sonic didn't really have to many "nostalgia" things going on in the games or anything, so this got me super excited and motivated. I spent so long getting all those emblems legitimately until I was a super pro at the game, and when that day arrived when I unlocked it, it was the most amazing feeling in the world.

 

Though to end on a sad note, that memory card would be corrupted years later, but regardless, that was my most memorable unlock, simply because I wanted it so bad. Runner up is Mario 64's all 120 stars for largely the same weeks-on-end pursuit haha.

 

Day 22: Best Art Style

 

Okami

 

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Not even a hard choice. Okami wins it for me by a landslide covered by probably another fatal landslide that kills that landslide it just slid land over. Prolly a popular choice and for a super good reason. It's highly original, most people know what it is just by a glance, even if they don't see Ammy, it's extremely vivid, and so forth. Okami is awesome, often battled in my head along side Solatorobo as my favorite game of all time, and one of the things Okami has on that game for me is art style. I'm a huge fan of heavy inking and bright, vivid colors, and this game is that. It fits the game's tone so well, and just everything ever looks so dang pretty. Most of the time when I play the game it's to just run from one end of the map to the other, simply because I like "being" in the world. It takes some impressive ass art to make a player do that.

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Day 22 - Favorite Art Style

 

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The Mario and Luigi series has always had great art direction, but Mario and Luigi: Dream Team takes it to a new level. A flawless mixture of sprites and pixel art that makes everything POP! On top of that, everything's beautifully animated.

 

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Look at how smooth that is. Brilliant.

 

Everything's bright and colorful - just as it should be.

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Favorite art style!!
 
  welp, tough one. but i have to admit my favorite art style is always the cutest styles ever!
sonic_battle_conceptart_eOwge.jpgTails_Miles_Prower_by_Happenstance6.jpg

 
    My favorite thing ever is cute art styles. and for a Sonic game, Sonic battle takes the cake. However,  I am not limiting this style to a single game...
   Paper_Mario_Bros__by_Luigi_the_Chef.png  Paper mario also has this particular "cute" art style. 
 hobbies___fun_key_art.pngCooking mama!! a game I never played but always wanted to because of the art style!

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  So yes, this is a small collection of art styles that I looove! 

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Hmm, favorite art style...

 

Well, it would most likely have to be the one from this game right here;

 

 

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Yes, we are back to this game again. I already praised this a bit when I answered the 'favorite game' question, so this one won't be all that long, but whatever. The art style of Yoshi's Island may seem simple and all that, but if one were to look closer, there's actually quite a bit of detail in it. Yeah, it may be subtle, but it's still there. And the storybook style really fits well with the premise of the game, I'd say.

 

As an honorable mention, I'd have to give it to the style of the Sonic series, mostly those of the classics, Unleashed, and Generations.

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Favorite Art Style - Day 22

 

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Skyward Sword

 

Games that use a more realistic art style don't really stand the test of time. That's why when you go back toward older games, you can instantly notice how "bad" looking the textures are and how it's far from reality. However, this does not happen with games that strive for unique art-styles like Skyward Sword. This is the same with Zelda: The Wind Waker. The Wind Waker was constantly brought up as a good looking game. Hell, it STILL looks good. When it got the HD remake on Wii U, the before and after are still pretty close. Sure the original didn't have HD shaders but it didn't need it.

 

Now with Zelda Skyward Sword, it borrows the unique art style idea that Wind Waker was created with. The painting style inspired by famous old artists let this game shine.

 

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See how good this looks? While it isn't exactly detailed, it was never supposed to be. By using the "blur" style, it can look gorgeous while also not being limited by the hardware. Take a look at this comparison.

 

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30 years from now, which one will look the worst? Which one will look the best? I personally think Skyward Sword and Wind Waker will look better long term. While Twilight Princess looked impressive when it came out, it doesn't look as good today. Skyward Sword and Wind Waker looked good when they came out, and still look good today.

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This ones a bit of a toughie, not only because of the fact that there are a lot of brilliant art styles out there but also because of the fact that for me, pretty much all of them look really good in their respective games. That said, I think I should give this one to the Paper Mario series, I don't know what it is about them that just puts a stupid smile on my face but its just so amazing to look at, not only does this art style really help you immerse yourself in the world of of the games but they also give you a really good sense of nostalgia and good feelings all around even if you haven't played any of them before.

 

Runner up would definitely be the modern sonic games, the artstyle really helps to enhance the experience of just blasting through everything and even if you can't really interact with completely all of it, it still feels like a big part of what makes the levels really great.

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

 

 

This will be a tough one considering I mentioned 3 of them in the last thread (JSR, Okami and KOFXIII) and I must try to avoid Sanic. But I'll give it a try! I wish I could elaborate a little more what I love about this styles but my way with words and my knowledge of the field rarely lets me go beyond "it looks pretty". Hope you can bear with that.

 

BTW, I haven't played any of the games I'm going to post here but I've been wanting to give them a go for a while (I have one of them, I'm expecting for a Kickstarter to start to see if I have enough money to get to other 2). Also, I'll spoiler the post because they are a bit image heavy.

 

 

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Bastion

 

 

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I got introduced to this game in this very same thread, I remember I saw the cover on Steam a few months ago but I didn't give too much thought to it (I try to avoid buying things on an impulse :V) but then the favorite Indy game day reminded me this was a thing that exists, and what a beautiful thing it is!

 

Bastion's style is colorful as hell and goes out of it's way to make the scenery as detailed as possible (in their own style mind you, nothing realistic of the sort)... I think the world I'm looking for is abundant, the world is so full of stuff for you to either investigate or just break apart and I just can't get enough of it.

 

Another unique thing about the style of the game is how the overworld is presented to you, you start on a rock floating in an empty space and as you advance the tiles begin to fall from the sky as if it were a giant, living puzzle being arranged by your very steps. It's something I could stare at during a long time and never stop being amazed by... Which is a good thing because one plans to spend at least a few hours finishing a game's story.

 

 

 

 

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Bioshock Infinite

 

 

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I'm not sure if this one counts since I'm mostly pointing how pretty it looks instead of a particular style, and I'm sure this isn't the only game to use this style to begin with but Bioshock Infinite is the only example that comes to my head right now and it's for a good reason, Columbia truly feels like a heavenly place, the clouds surrounding the place gives it a dream like atmosphere.

 

 

 

 

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NiGHTS

 

 

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Speaking of dream-like scenarios, NiGHTS style is magical (and I could assume it was the most amazing thing to see back in the day), very colorful yet almost mundane background and scenarios but twisted with all sort of imaginary stuff that gives that dream like vibe (as in, like reality but not quite), and as you keep going the scenario becomes more and more surreal (but that might be more because of the gameplay and how much you are moving, or probably me just thinking how normal things look and then I'm being surprised by a random underwater section in a wall or a car driving while we are flying on a forest).

 

I specially like how there doesn't seem to be a sense of up and down (in most stages) since there is a landscape in both ends of the map, which for me it reinforces the idea that in this game you can roam around the entire stage (well, it's still quite on rails but you seem to have plenty of freedom between those 2 floors/ceilings).

 

 

 

 

I think those are enough picks for today. See ya later guise!

 

 

 

EDIT: Hory shet! How drunk I was when I was writing this? *fixes obvious grammar mistakes*

 

ps: I don't actually drink . _.

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Day 22 - Favorite Art Style

 

 

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Here it is in all its obnoxiously large glory.

 

People talk about Okami looking like a painting (not that I'm speaking poorly of it !), but Bastion is one and for me that's so much cooler. Every environment is so gorgeously drawn, with such excellent use of color and brush strokes to give it a very painterly feeling. The design of the world, so intricate with its detail, feels like it goes hand in hand with the style, they just compliment each other so well and the result is really beautiful. In all honesty I didn't care enough for Bastion's gameplay to keep me playing but, along with the narration and music, the art more than made up for that, and made the game an incredibly worthwhile experience.

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Im in a similar boat with Bastion, but Transistor, made by the same team, has INCREDIBLE visuals.

 

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Sorry about the massive image. The blending of synthetic and organic components make this game very immersive and beautiful, even in the menu screens! It kinda reminds me of a more dystopian version of Tron. The color palate is warm and inviting in some places, but can easily switch to something cold and dark in others. It's highs and lows go very well with the game's general atmosphere of loss and revenge, seeking to take back what was rightfully yours and fight for others who have lost even more.

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Day 22 - Favorite Art Style

 

I'll name a few.

 

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The Wonderful 101

 

This is one of the most vibrant games ever.  The colors just pop at all times, and it perfectly fits the ridiculous action going on.  Every scene knows just how to light the backgrounds and what overall color schemes to use to achieve maximum badassery, never even thinking of going all gray and brooding like so many action games do.  It's just pure nonstop eye candy.

 

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Pikmin Series

 

These games have a very interesting style to them.  The backgrounds are actually fairly grounded in realistic designs, but the creatures that populate the worlds are completely out there and strange.  The creature design is what earns a mention from me, because the artists went to great lengths to make them feel like they could actually exist on a planet such as ours.  They're incredibly creative while often taking various cues from actual plants and animals on Earth.  It just adds to the immersion these games offer.

 

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Rayman Origins (and most other Rayman games)

 

I've mentioned before that I prefer the overall atmosphere of 2 and 3 for their more whimsical nature as opposed to straight-up silliness, but credit where it's due, Origins is the most visually striking.  It's silky smooth, vibrant, and just plain refreshing to look at.  The cartoony characters blend great with the beautifully rendered backgrounds.  I thought Legends would be better, but I've come to appreciate Origins a lot more for being more bold with its outlines and strictly 2D nature.  That, and the world design is a lot better as compared to Legends' "let's do whatever the fuck we want" approach.  But I'm extending this to the 3D Rayman games too because of their great atmosphere.

 

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Metal Gear (particularly the mechs)

 

While the whole series has good art direction, what really grabs me here is the design of the Metal Gears themselves.  When one mentions "giant mech," typically I would think of something humanoid in structure, like a Gundam or a Pacific Rim mech.  The Metal Gears are intriguing in that most of them really don't look like anything.  I don't look at REX and think "dinosaur" or "robot animal," it has a look all its own.  These are some of the most unique mech designs I've ever seen, and they're easily my favorite mechs ever.

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Day 22 - Favorite Art Style

 

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BEHOLD THE MOST GENERIC ANSWER OF ALL TIME

 

Seriously, though, Wind Waker HD is gorgeous, easily one of the best-looking games I've ever played. Everything just pops with color and life, and while I wasn't sure what to make of all the bloom when I first saw it, it really adds a sort of hazy mystique to the world. Every new location is incredible to look at, and in general, the game is just really pretty.

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Day 22: Favourite Art Style

 

Wind Waker HD

 

Very generic answer I know, but The Wind Waker HD is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. The HD upgrade makes everything just so full of color and life. The lines are are so smooth, and the mere simplicity of everything just makes it one of the most visually appealing Zeldas ever.

 

Sonic Colors/Generations

 

I think the art style of those two Sonic games work the abosloute best for Sonic. They're semi-realistic/semi-surrealist structures with realistic textures, but at the same time they're colorful and sprining with life. Generations is a delight to look at because of this, and I hope Sonic Team goes in that direction in future games.

 

Kirby's Epic Yarn

 

Epic Yarn's style is INGENIOUS. Everything is made of yarn, patches or buttons. All the different yarn related gimmicks are beautifully realized and its just so cutesy and charming.

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

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Sonic Generations' art style is my most fav because of how crystal clear the environment is, ESPECIALLY the PC version. Each and every level is so vibrant, it seems almost real. The attention to detail is simply amazing, even with the blades of grass swaying with the wind at the end of each level.

 

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Sonic Unleashed has just as beautiful of an art style than Generations, even when you are playing as Sonic in the day levels. The Werehog levels have great lighting and the Werehog looks very fluffy.

 

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Lost World is really vibrant and is similar to Sonic Colors' art style. Everything is refined and smooth with attention to detail, shading and lighting.

 

And last, but not least: 

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Sonic CD's opening and closing cutscenes, as well as The Sonic the Hedgehog Movie are awesome. For a hand-made animation, they are really well drawn. The animation is so smooth, colorful, and has some classic anime elements.

 

Honorable Mentions

 

- Sonic Colors Wii

- Legend of Zelda: Windwaker HD

- Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

- Super Mario 3D World

- Kirby Triple Deluxe

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Day 22: Favorite Art ( paint me like one of your test subjects) Style

 

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Portal 2

 

Man did this one catch me by surprise when I first played through it. Not only were the puzzles interesting but the overall style of Aperature in it's ruin state was something to behold. After the first game, I came away with the idea that Aperature was some squeky clean testing facility. This first impression was quickly changed right after the tutorial had ended with the seemingly nice hotel room giving way to an old, run down, bed chamber.

 

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Seeing a setting that I had grown so acustomed to in a new way was a real treat. An abandoned and buried science facility really intrigued me as the game progressed (which also gave way to interesting story tidbits as well). Piecing together remisence of a lost human social ground along with the Ratman messages certainly made for some interesting finds and visuals. But the game doesn't even stop there! As you progress through the story the facility will change with the circumstances.

 

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Test chambers will become more advanced, clean, and streamed lined towards the middle while other events will lead back to a spacious and run down Aperature. Giving way to a more futuristic (and unstable) lab space towards the end. All this while letting story elements play out, putting general scaling and locations in the actual facility in perspective, keeping test simple and interesting to maneuver through, and incorporating new testing objects into the later parts of the game. This game literally goes through five different variations of a single complex; keeping each one as (if not more) interesting than the last. Add in the pure amount of back story you can get by just looking around and Portal 2 is a game that I can really keep coming back to just to soak it all in again.

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

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Completely Hand Drawn FMVs.

 

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Oh man, I miss these so much.

 

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I know it's not technically "gameplay" graphics, but the reason for that is I don't really have a real preference for a type of graphical engine. As long as a game looks really nice (or isn't horrendously ugly) and it runs reasonably smooth, I'm fine. I'm not very picky with my 3D Graphics. Also I was going to vote and say No More Heroes' art style but I've already mentioned that game like 18 times in a row in this topic so I wanted to pick something different for once.

 

Now story/cutscene-wise, these always caught my attention from the respective games they're from as I'm a huge animation junkie. Nowadays everything's gotta be in 3D, and while 3D is still great, I like my Hand Drawn Animation even more (especially if it's anime-like). There's just a kind of a charm I get from old school hand drawn cels that you don't get nowadays from the newer shiny 3D (or hell, even 2D which are digitally colored now too) animation. It feels more traditional and I like it that way.

 

Previously on Day 21: 

Next time on Day 23:

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Day 22: El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

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No, that isn't concept art, those are actual ingame screens. El Shaddai's jaw dropping art direction is nothing short of divine. The diverse set of unbelievably creative environments and colorful mindscapes are ceaselessly mindblowing- no level is recycled. Each world is a deep exploration of the team's creative potential. And it was just amazing from beginning to end.

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

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Sonic Generations.

 

This game looks absolutely incredible. Every moment seems to be a breathtaking one, with so many different colors being used for each one. Even for a Sonic game, the details are really over the top. It makes the game feel that more realistic, with the smallest of objects given lifelike qualities.

 

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DAY 22 OF PRESIDENT CROW ADMIRING ART!

I can't choose a specific game for this but I do wanna choose a specific company and that company is...

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Vanillaware!

In a market dominated by 3D games, Vanillaware is dedicated to making detailed and beautiful 2D games. And they do really outstanding work with their art. They may be a niche company but you can tell they put their backs into it to make such beautiful games. Let me show you some of, if not all of their games.

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Odin Sphere!

Odin Sphere is my personal favorite of Vanillaware's finest. It features very detailed sprites on everyone, especially the giant bosses that take up the entire screen. And the focus of this game is about Norse myth so you'll see heavily armed characters and dragons everywhere. Even a few human-like characters like Odin and Brigan take up the screen for being so gigantic but rich in detail. The characters all look great and look very well designed. It gets to the point that the food even looks so great. I can gush about this game all day if I wanted to I suppose.

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GrimGrimoire!

This is the company's first game (though the first game people in VW were involved in created Princess Crown but that's another story) that's a collab with Nippon Ichi but it seems most of the art was done by Vanillaware's art. I really gotta say that the story portrait art is fantastic as expected. Its highly detailed and they flow pretty nicely. The character designs are also very creative for its setting. The sprites used in battle are also pretty well down, though the best are the dragons and the ghosts. And you'll never see any of the main characters in combat due to it being an RTS were you have to build an army to fight with, unless you use the Lillet cursor for yourself which is cute but I digress. But I really love the art in here too.

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Muramasa the Demon Blade!

Muramasa is another fantastic game by Vanillaware. Its like how Odin Sphere was a story about Norse myth but instead obviously goes for Japanese mythology instead. Its more stylized than other Vanillaware titles to fit the setting more. I can't put it into words very well but it looks and feels more eastern than anything. Like waves and trees all look like they jumped from a Japanese scroll. Character designs are pretty good and they are pretty imaginative with it, though I do feel like they are kind of limited in a sense. Like I see a lot of ninjas and stuff but it all looks great regardless. Bosses are still pretty big and food is very detailed in this game to the point that you get to see it eaten slowly. Its great and now I feel like playing it all over after making this post.

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Dragon's Crown!

This is Vanillaware's most well known title due to all the press and controversy around it. That aside its a solid game both gameplay wise and art wise. So at this point Vanillaware has done everything from wizarding school to Norse myth to Japanese legend and where do they go from here? They make an homage to DnD and other related works. Needless to say this game took a lot of inspiration from the west which is a big contrast from the last game they've made, not including Grand Knights History only because it didn't had an international release. But they really amped up everything in here. Sprites look more detailed than ever before. I swore that the Fighter looked 3D but it was a trick using shading and very smooth animation. Fanservice aside, the art is great. A lot of characters really look and feel great to play as and you can unlock more art by doing quests that even tell you a bit of the world's history as well. It does go without saying that this game looks fantastic.

I'm surprised no one got on Muramasa's back for having a chick fighting tentacles though

UNTIL NEXT TIEM SSMB!

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Wind Waker's bright cartoony artstyle is one of the few that I can has stood the test of time greatly. The amazing expressons and variety in all of the NPCs, the vibrant colors that give every locale it's own unique look, just in general how smooth it all is, it just looks great. While later games like TP continue to show it's age when it's try for a more detailed look doesnt hold up, WW's cel shading style still looks just as good as it did over 10 years ago, WWHD reinforces that.

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Day 22: Favorite Art Style

 

Supergiant Games: Bastion and Transistor

 

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If I know one thing this little company can do well, it's art style. Bastion and Transistor have such incredibly good, yet differing styles. The fantastic world of Bastion has a colorful, paint-like look to it, while the cyberpunk city in Transistor, while slightly less colorful, is incredibly intricately designed. The spreading white squares of Process add to the game to create a unique look. To put it simply, the people at Supergiant Games know their stuff about how to make a game look great, not to mention how their games sound and feel. 

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