When video games franchises go a more realistic route. Does it make them better or worse?

[Blueknight V2.0]

I think this is a topic that doesn't really get discussed that much. When video games take a more realistic route as opposed to the standards (which worked) they had before-hand. But does this make them better or worse than they were before or after those specific releases? Not in every case though.

I believe it all started with Sonic 2006 (the reason I didn't start with Shadow was because it was darker rather than more realistic focus), which was supposed to be how Sonic would be in the real world. Okay that game ended up being remembered as the worst and most infamous Sonic game of all time (now on my copy there were a few glitches, but a Lot of unfair sections due to being rushed). Which almost ruined the franchise. Until the series started up again with better games like Secret Rings and Unleashed.

Now that's an example of the worst for a  series to go realistic after almost completely departing the cartoony style. Now let's look at 2 other examples which were Not as bad as Sonic 2006.

The Legend of Spyro Trilogy was both a darker and more realistic (Dawn of the Dragon fits this more) approach to the Spyro series. Unlike Sonic 2006, the trilogy became very popular and did a better job at making Spyro more realistic while staying true to the cartoony style of the character. So there were 3 games A New Beginning, The Eternal Night & Dawn of the Dragon. Now the trilogy didn't ruin the series the way 2006 (almost) did. Actually it was far from that, mostly it was the combat that threw a lot of people off about it, but the surprisingly strong story and voice acting with are highlights by a lot of fans.

Now this next one is way more questionable, it's level of being more realistic isn't as bad or forced as 2006 or Legend of Spyro. That was Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant (as I like to call it the Mutant series). The games were still cartoony, but not as much as previous games. They were slightly more realistic. But unlike Legend of Spyro, the cast of characters designs were Not so well received, especially Crash and his character as a whole. However it was still better than 2006's attempt at a realistic game that was originally cartoony.

So overall I like all these games, yes even though they have their flaws they still have some good stuff to offer. Even though they departed from their cartoony roots their still enjoyable, for the most part. Anyways when a game that's originally cartoony becomes realistic, it usually not taken very well both in terms of redesigns, story and gameplay.

I hope you guys enjoyed this topic and I would to see what you guys think about this.

[Mr Loopone]

In short it really depends on the game and no it didn't start with Sonic 06. When looking outside of the platforming world, you get to see many series evolve. Honestly a lot of stuff between 2003 to 2013/2014 were like this because people liked gritty things back then but it also happened when technology was advancing. Realistic can mean two things, the tone (that really shouldn't be called realistic since it can be as equally immature) and the simulator side. Both that I'll cover and yes, I answered the topic title.

One positive thing straight away are racing simulators such as Formula 1 games and rally games (that are not arcade like such as Sega Rally* or Formula One Arcade on the PS1). By the nature of technology, the more realistic something gets, the better it gets due to graphical/audio improvements, ability to replicate the vehicles closer and for circuit tracks, higher/full on accuracy to the real thing. Like the Colin McRae/DiRT series got more praise when it was more of a simulator than a mix of arcade and simulation with DiRT 3 being the biggest victim just because one producer wanted it to appeal to the US who are not interested in rally games. Still a decent game but it did annoy fans of the series with its lighthearted tone, not fitting with the rest of the series. It was DiRT Rally saved the series because it went back to its realistic root and pretty much saved Codemasters from closing.

With the Need for Speed series, it kept flip flopping between arcade and simulation gameplay but nothing like the above, usually they are arcadey with the exceptions of the first game on the 3DO, ProStreet and the Shift series (became Project CARS) where its mixed. Usually the series is at a lighter tone but it all changed in 2003 when the grit came in and the Fast & Furious influence was at full swing. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) is along with the Underground series to be considered the peak of the series by its fans (not for me, I prefer the 2012 game along with the Hot Pursuit games because of the tone) due to the tone, the cutscenes and especially the customization. Very few NFS games had customization and if it was, it was more typical game like rather than car decals. After Most Wanted 2005; the series struggled such as trying to replicate the formula and a true sequel but with control issues (Carbon), ditching that stuff and having it more realistic with drag races where you can only win by luck (ProStreet), going back to the formula but less gritty (Undercover), reboot the series (Hot Pursuit), trying to be like Cruis'n USA if it had a Michael Bay-esque story (The Run), being like Burnout Paradise without takedowns and proper cars (Most Wanted 2012) and mixing Hot Pursuit/Most Wanted 2012 because they were the most successful at the time (Rivals). Now its an online only series that doesn't know what it wants to be.

Outside of racing games, sports games also fit the bill. One positive one is Fight Night Champion. It added more realistic graphics and added a story mode that is reflective to the tone of boxing. It was also a series that ended on a high, not many can do that.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild in a way also applies due to its changes in gameplay but then again the Zelda series has been strong no matter what graphical style it uses whether cartoony or more realistic.

To name some negative examples, one of them is the Ace Combat series. It is at a weird place because it started off as a flight simulator that got released in the arcade. Then the series started to develop a story and started to become less realistic with each installment getting more and more accessible but still retains the realistic aircraft. The fans loved it. Namco then decided to make a realistic entry to the series called Ace Combat Assault Horizon. Set on Earth in actual countries like the US and the Middle East rather than fictional countries, a darker tone, more realistic facial models to make it more Western rather than Japanese and turret/helicopter/action sections to make it more variety. Namco hoped that the series would get more fans and more people playing the series. The mainstream weren't interested, fans didn't like it one bit even though it was still a decent game. It also affected the 3DS game too because it shared the same name even though it is a remake of Ace Combat 2 with gameplay similar to the PSP/Ace Combat 6 games and tone to the rest of the series. It had a gap of 8 years between main games with only a F2P game in between. Now Bandai are releasing Ace Combat 7 going back to the roots and people are looking forward to it!

Others that didn't succeed with the realistic gritty tone were Time Crisis: Raizing Storm because it lost most of the over the top action from the series even more so on the PS3 version where it lost its identity and no different than say Rainbow Six or Call of Duty because it was turned into a FPS! Yep from light gun shooter to FPS. It was originally a spinoff but Namco yet again changed to to be part of the series. DmC: Devil May Cry where fans argue whether this one or Devil May Cry 2 both with changed tones is the worst in the series. Bomberman Act Zero felt like an alpha version of a game and again lost its identity of the series. These have been Japanese developers changing the formula to appeal to Western tastes at the time but didn't pay off and went back to what worked.

Sometimes it is just mixed like Sega Rally. I know what you are thinking, you already mentioned it! Not quite, notice the asterisk. Sega Rally 1 and 2 (as well as ports and handheld versions on the NGage and the GBA) all had a tone. It was arcadey and looked like it but had some simulation things like depth of bumps, trying to be a balance of both worlds. Sega Rally 2006, a more traditional game that stayed in Japan on the PS2 one that I'm bitter that it didn't get released but was like the previous two. Then came Sega Rally Revo (known as Sega Rally in Europe, so yes Sega wanted this as a reboot) that was more gritty and more realistic by gameplay and slightly graphically but didn't work out since a different developer was in charge that later closed. Sure it got high reviews but the learning curve was way too steep for a series that was made to be casual, pick up and play. The PSP version was worse since the Flatout developers worked on it, a series known for handling and AI issues. While it was talked about, it is forgotten with people rather playing the first game. After this game, there hasn't been a single sequel since only a dolled up installment existed. Sega Rally 3 is an arcade port of Sega Rally Revo, made it more arcadey as in changed the handling a bit and ported back home as Sega Rally Online Arcade.

Bionic Commando (2008) was another one that was mixed however that was more developer issues rather than the tone of the game and Bionic Commando didn't really have a consistant tone per sake. The older games were more cartoony and the ReArmed series were as well but they were mainly older games that had system limitations. Even going from arcade to NES changed the tone to be slightly more realistic (but still had a bit of sillyness at the end) due to its weaker colour palette and changing the enemy sprites/having NPCs.

While the GTA series haven't really been considered realistic but going from 1-2 to 3 was a jump, 3 to Vice City was another and GTA San Andreas is considered the peak of the series by the fans to the point where it launch the Saints Row series, that itself is an opposite direction. Why then? Advances in technology. The original GTA series are completely different, they aren't realistic and more like Carmageddon hitting people for points but done in a top down perspective. 3 added the ability to buy weapons and actually have to aim, store vehicles, having a minimap and finding places to stay (to save since the previous games you had to get to a million points+ to clear). Also explore the world more realistically based off Body Harvest and added the ability to jump. It has well known music including the soundtrack to Scarface and most games from there try to do the same (London was the first to use music outside of the development team though but it was obscure Italian stuff). The structure was more organic with missions tied to the story and not having to reload a map for chapters. Oh and voice acting. The originals were like Star Fox with gibberish but 3 onwards had real speech. Vice City had the ability to buy property. San Andreas had all the advances and the gritty tone to match but still having silly things. Then it got more realistic with GTA IV but then it came more boring... The handling didn't suit the series, the graphics became dull and no different than where some people live. GTA V went with a larger than life style taking the advancements even more but axing the not fitting parts of IV and seems to be working.

Thinking about it, the examples that were given aren't realistic per sake because when it comes to platformers and the fantasy setting, it isn't really changing it to be more realistic. If they were, Spyro would be a typical generic red/green dragon and Sonic would be a small rolling thingy that is pretty slow. Maybe changing tone/graphical style might be more suitable? It is also changing gameplay as well to the point of changing perspectives. The Resident Evil series is a good example of that for better and worse.

[Blueknight V2.0]

Okay I thought the matter of graphics was going to come up. You do make some good points though, with a Lot more detail than I could go into. Of course I was mainly focusing on platformers in both redesigns and tone. Yes gameplay and sometimes story elements change with the more realistic direction certain games go in. Like the Zelda example you used was a really good one similar to my examples (of course I never played Zelda outside of a GBA game).

Now there's games like Sly, Jak or Ratchet & Clank that take a more realistic or darker tone with the more games that were released, That also follow the same patterns.

[Sega DogTagz]

Like all things, there is a balance you want to strike when you move from a cartoonist presentation over to a realism focused one. I also believe that Sonic 06 and Sonic Unleashed both represent the two different ends of that spectrum.

06 was built up in the realist vein, however little effort was actually put into meshing it with the Sonic mythos. Nothing really stood out as blending into the Sonic brand. Almost everything was sacrificed to the realist angle, from the artwork to the story. As cool as some of the elements where (you cant tell me Egg Cerberus or Egg Wyvern don't look awesome as standalone concepts) there was no effort actually made to set them apart as Eggman creations. Nothing to pin them to this franchise. The same goes for the character designs. Elise and even Eggman invested little in stylized matchmaking. The people, the environment, it all screamed of realism just for the sake of realism.

Then FF over to Unleashed - and you get a totally different vibe. Its realism grounded in the surreal. Its actual places and features we can recognize from our world, bent and given a Sonic themed makeover. Unleashed is often held up as the best looking Sonic game after all these years and that in large part is due to its detail focused, realism grounded art design. It takes the same concepts the team tried to tackle in 06, but retains the whimsical charm of the franchise. While that did lead to some of the most toon-ish npc designs in the series, near everything else screams out with its realistic inspirations. Even the bosses, while retaining much of the mechanical menace of 06, reflect a better understanding of Sonic representation. They arn't just Mechs, they are Eggman Mechs through and through.

Moving to a more realistic approach to story and art design can be done, it just needs to fall in line with the themes of the series rather than become a complete tear down of them.

[Blueknight V2.0]

1 hour ago, Sega DogTagz said:

Like all things, there is a balance you want to strike when you move from a cartoonist presentation over to a realism focused one. I also believe that Sonic 06 and Sonic Unleashed both represent the two different ends of that spectrum.

06 was built up in the realist vein, however little effort was actually put into meshing it with the Sonic mythos. Nothing really stood out as blending into the Sonic brand. Almost everything was sacrificed to the realist angle, from the artwork to the story. As cool as some of the elements where (you cant tell me Egg Cerberus or Egg Wyvern don't look awesome as standalone concepts) there was no effort actually made to set them apart as Eggman creations. Nothing to pin them to this franchise. The same goes for the character designs. Elise and even Eggman invested little in stylized matchmaking. The people, the environment, it all screamed of realism just for the sake of realism.

Then FF over to Unleashed - and you get a totally different vibe. Its realism grounded in the surreal. Its actual places and features we can recognize from our world, bent and given a Sonic themed makeover. Unleashed is often held up as the best looking Sonic game after all these years and that in large part is due to its detail focused, realism grounded art design. It takes the same concepts the team tried to tackle in 06, but retains the whimsical charm of the franchise. While that did lead to some of the most toon-ish npc designs in the series, near everything else screams out with its realistic inspirations. Even the bosses, while retaining much of the mechanical menace of 06, reflect a better understanding of Sonic representation. They arn't just Mechs, they are Eggman Mechs through and through.

Moving to a more realistic approach to story and art design can be done, it just needs to fall in line with the themes of the series rather than become a complete tear down of them.

I was going to use Unleashed as an example, which would've been a better one outside of 2006. That's probably one of the many reasons why Unleashed still remains one of my favorite Sonic games was the environments and attention to detail everything had. Anyways I completely agree with everything you said.