Breath of the Wild BotW aesthetics

[the8thark]

For a Wii U game it looks great...
So by 2008 standards it looks fantastic.

The hate is strong within you
The dark side calls you

 

[HeroOfTermina]

The hate is strong within you
The dark side calls you

Just a bit salty after Reggie's NX comments.

 

[the8thark]

Just a bit salty after Reggie's NX comments.

Ah yes that. I don't blame you. Reggie was rather harsh on the ol WiiU.

 

[Polychrome]

I think part of the problem is even when Nintendo goes "realistic", they are still incredibly cartoony. Take Twilight Princess for example... Let's face it, Link has a chibi-princess following him around! If that isn't cartoony I don't know what is.

I don't really know if Zelda would look good as a hyper-realistic game. The cartoony-charm is partly what makes the games so loveable in the first place. Some games just own it more than others.

 

[Castle]

I gotta say I am not entirely put off by the aesthetics. It's not what I wanted, but whatever. This time ninty has at least put forth some considerable effort in making the best use of the toon-shader technique as an artistic statement instead of using it as a cheap wash to make their product look less like crap- which they're still doing, in any case. This technique clearly hides the technical shortcomings, such as the aforementioned shoddy textures and if the trailer and demo are any indication some lazy modeling here and there. There is also considerable distillation of the environment that mutes detail at great distances- not the best way to show off your expansive open world.

But they also haven't gone over the top. Characters aren't hyper-stylized and the game isn't awash in bright colors and excessive blur like the previous two toon entries. While the environments still don't appear genuine and that really damages my ability to get invested, they haven't gone completely Picasso on it this time.

But we've already seen the localized effects that can be displayed with the toon-shader technique and they are brilliant. Although this is what toonshading was reserved for in TP and it worked brilliantly to enhance that games aesthetics. I would rather they'd gone with that again but I suspect BotW would look extremely dated if not "enhanced" by this aesthetic. We all knew the WiiU tech demo was a load of crap.

 

[Adventurer of Hyrule]

The graphics are good enough, the artstyle is outstanding, the environmental design is incredible and the dynamic elements make the world feel alive.

And really, environmental design is the most important aspect an open world game can rely on, imo. Its what makes a game be timeless. OoT still impresses me to this day, the same with most other Zelda games.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

You should have named this thread: Here's Your Chance to Bash the Wii U AGAIN.

There are some that just can't pass up any opportunity to show off screen shots of other games to compare. Any excuse will do.

Seriously, we know the Wii U is weak.

But as far as the art style, I like it. I wasn't a fan of cel-shading until I played Killer 7, and then Wind Waker. If the artists are on their game, you can make cel-shading quite nice. The colors being too bright is a problem, I'll agree with you there, but it isn't deal-breaking.

I had a complaint about Xenoblade X, which was the world was too big for the Wii U to handle, and so the game was affected negatively. I hope this doesn't happen with this game.

 

[the8thark]

I gotta say I am not entirely put off by the aesthetics. It's not what I wanted, but whatever. This time ninty has at least put forth some considerable effort in making the best use of the toon-shader technique as an artistic statement instead of using it as a cheap wash to make their product look less like crap- which they're still doing, in any case. This technique clearly hides the technical shortcomings, such as the aforementioned shoddy textures and if the trailer and demo are any indication some lazy modeling here and there. There is also considerable distillation of the environment that mutes detail at great distances- not the best way to show off your expansive open world.

But they also haven't gone over the top. Characters aren't hyper-stylized and the game isn't awash in bright colors and excessive blur like the previous two toon entries. While the environments still don't appear genuine and that really damages my ability to get invested, they haven't gone completely Picasso on it this time.

But we've already seen the localized effects that can be displayed with the toon-shader technique and they are brilliant. Although this is what toonshading was reserved for in TP and it worked brilliantly to enhance that games aesthetics. I would rather they'd gone with that again but I suspect BotW would look extremely dated if not "enhanced" by this aesthetic. We all knew the WiiU tech demo was a load of crap.

I actually agree with most of this. That is very well said. I am impressed.

You should have named this thread: Here's Your Chance to Bash the Wii U AGAIN.

There are some that just can't pass up any opportunity to show off screen shots of other games to compare. Any excuse will do.

Seriously, we know the Wii U is weak.

Not really, this topic is nothing to do with the power of the console of what it is or is not capable of. The WiiU is not weak, it's just weaker than the PS4 and XB1, that's all. I know you do get it and are saying that others do not. Thank you for bringing this up