Graphics: Skyward Sword Vs. Twilight Princess.

[David]

I don't understand why people are so upset about Skyward Sword's graphics. Skyward Sword is taking Zelda back to its roots. When I think of the original Zelda games, I think of a cartoony world. Not a dark, realistic world full of problems. Zelda has, and always should be, a medieval-like game with a more cartoony basis for the graphics. Don't get me wrong, I loved the graphics in Twilight Princess. It was a nice change for the series. Plus, that game needed it. Cartoony graphics wouldn't have worked for the game. It was too dark and required those graphics. So, in my opinion, Skyward Sword, with its sky-based areas, needs a cartoony feel. Realistic graphics wouldn't be practical for what the game is supposed to represent.

 

[8bubbles8joe]

Nowadays, all the world cares about in a game is graphics, and Skyward Sword is being criticized in great numbers because of it's so-called "weak" graphics. All I'm concerned is, Does the game look good? And yes, it does. The graphics are a great balance of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess style of graphics and tone, and, frankly, it look terrific!

 

[zeldakid895]

I liked TP graphics more because I like it realistic. But SS graphics are not bad, it's just that I prefer TP graphics.

 

[ikilltoonlink]

agreed I liked TP better I like the ones in SS but not that much

 

[Link-182]

There is nothing wrong with liking realistic graphics more than cel shaded or different styled graphics. I personally love both and REALLY hope they continue to change up the graphics. I'm excited for another realistic title in the future, but I'm also excited about the art inspired ones. Right now I think Zelda on the Wii should not go for realistic because it has potential to look fantastic on a higher powered engine. I personally like the Skyward Sword graphics better than Twilight Princess ones because its unique. I like experiencing Hyrule in different visual ways. I don't ever want Zelda to stick to one style because it gets boring. If Zelda goes realistic, I want it to have some unique traits. I like the mid-evil feel of OoT, and Wonderland feel of MM, but I wasn't too fond of the Lord of the Rings feel in TP. Thats just me.

 

[BCKK]

For me either or. It's a new Zelda game. As long as the game play and story is good I will take it. I would still get it if they went back to OOT graphics or 8-bit.

 

[Nightwing]

The problem nowadays is that people think Zelda is supposed to be some gritty, realistic looking Tim Burton-esque game series. That's not true at all, in fact the only game like that is Twilight Princess, which is great, because it's a change in pace for the series.

We need more problems then, the fan base could use people who think Zelda is a Tim Burton-esque adventure. You shouldn't underestimate those adventures, a very successful movie by the name ''Batman'' was realistic and gritty.
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were dark and gritty, OoT being the first game I played made me adapt to its dark nature. I accepted all of them to date, but when I look at S.S. I ask myself what went wrong... Clearly this isn't the Zelda I grew up with.

S.S. is bleh until further notice, I prefer the art style present in Twilight Princess.

 

[Link19x]

alot of people dont like these graphics because they wanted twilight princess graphics. but I don't think it would have been a good idea to use the same graphic style in two games consecutively. sure in different ocassions(oot,mm) but it would have been just boring if they did put twilight princess graphics. they should keep each game fresh and different.

 

[Oni Cucco]

lets be honest, if the game have TP graphics the ppl would complain because they use the same things, and would call it a clone or a copy-paste

and, yeah, I prefer SS graphics, it fits better the real zelda world

 

[ConsoleGamesFTW]

I am more than pleased with this graphic style, each zelda game that adds a new look is a good thing in my opinion.

 

[Axelotl38]

Well, personally, WW graphics were my favourite. TP graphics was also very good and realistic. If Nintnedo released a game with WW style, I would have loved it. If they released one with TP style, I would have loved it. So a combination of the two is just gravy. I love the graphics.

 

[OcarinalinkLOZ]

TP had great graphics and all, but SS suits the Wii's strenghts a lot more. It isn't the system for realistic graphics, it is more of the fun Nintendo style we're used to. Imagine Nintendo doing a realistic Mario (NOOO!!!), it would definatly mess around with the whole classic idea, wouldn't it? TP was unique and special in its own way implementing those realistic graphics, but I think what can really make the game and allow us to have those special connections are the more bright and less realistic style graphics. I'm not saying I am an absolute fan of the half CEL style graphics and Tp graphics, but it looks similar to Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, or even Windwaker. The reason a lot of people like the SS graphics are for their similarity to the other games, the ones that had connections with and they were all sort of similar. TP is out there as it's own unique thing. People love it or hate it...but the familiarity, almost traditional Zelda style graphics are the ones most people are going to like, its just common sense.

 

[afternoonteapot]

i did like TP better too. I didn't see much of Skyward Sword yet, but my problem is that I am afraid to get a little blind.... When I first saw it i just saw bright colours and couldn't figure out very much. It is because I have week eyes... But if we ignore the colours i like the graphic of it too. it is not to playful, i like it! I would say let's wait until the game is released and we got a chance to play it,maybe some people will change their minds

 

[Alar]

I like the graphics in Wind Waker but i also liked Ocarina of Time graphics as well as Twilght princess, so Skyward sword just combines them all into one game. Also the fact that they use that graphical style gives them a lot of designing features in which they could use to their advantage

 

[Kazumi]

I think it really depends on what the story and setting in the game are going to be. In Twilight Princess the legend was set in a drab, slightly more industrial Hyrule. There were dark forests, empty plains, and frozen mountains. That's not a lot of colour. Coupled with the fact that Twilight encompassed many areas of the game for a good chunk of it, and the fact that so many bad things were happening to people, moral was not very high. I'd say that the main colours of Twilight Princess would be shades of brown, orange, dark green, and gray. This is a huge contrast to what we've seen so far of Skyward Sword, which features bright cheery colours, similar to that of Wind Waker. The graphics in TP were also a lot more "harsh", yet at the same time they were blurry and washed away. Again, this has a lot to do with the colours more than anything. However there is also the fact that Twilight Princess doesn't use the same style of Cel-Shading as Skyward Sword. TP focuses a lot less on shadow and contrast and looks more toward the drab and blurry end of the spectrum.

Skyward Sword, as I have said, features rather bright and cheerful colours, at least in the area that we saw in the E3 Demo. There is high contrast and everything is clear cut. However, this is not enough to go on. We have no idea what the overall atmosphere of the game is going to be like. Maybe just the forest area that was featured is "happy" and colourful. Maybe the rest of Hyrule is a bleak and empty wasteland, more akin to Hyrule in Twilight Princess. Further more, we have little idea of what the story is going to be like and how it will be played out. I simply do not know enough about Skyward Sword to make a call on graphics in that sense.

However, from a more technical standpoint, considering the fact that Twilight Princess was and is a GameCube title, and was designed with the GameCube in mind, it is quite impressive. Even on the Wii the hard, realistic visuals in Twilight Princess hold up rather well against other realistic games on the Wii, regardless of the fact that the games on the Wii were designed with the Wii in mind and would have a fair amount more power to work with in the graphics department. I am really unimpressed by Skyward Sword in the technical department. The textures are rather sloppy and boring. They also have little detail. The models in the game, at least for the background and enemies, was really unimpressive to say the least. However, I am hoping that this is just because the game isn't finished yet and they will polish up everything nicely for the release in the coming year. I will stay hopeful. So in this category, TP wins.

Overall what I am trying to get at is that there are different types of graphics. Pure, raw technical power, and the style of the game. I can't determine who wins in the style department because I don't know enough about Skyward Sword. However, in the tech department TP wins... So far anyway. I will wait till the game is released to make my final verdict.