Spirit Tracks Is Spirit Tracks Considered 2D or 3D?

[Not Take Mirror]

Honestly, I'm not sure anymore. I've heard some say 2D and others 3D. So which is it and why?

 

[TheRizardon]

I'm pretty sure Spirit Tracks is a 3D game. It's 3D because it uses 3D models. It only uses a 2D perspective when Link is on foot at a town, temple, or Sanctuary.

 

[Satsy]

In the same way that New Super Mario Bros is pseudo 2D, Spirit Tracks (and Phantom Hourglass) could be considered the same way. Mechanically speaking they operate like 2D games, but use 3D graphics.

So, pseudo 2D. Or maybe 2.5D (2.5D - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

[Spirit]

2,5D i say, it doesn't play like a 3D game at all, its still very much top down like LA, ALttP etc, nothing at all like WW and OoT, it just looks a little more 3D than the other handhelds/classic Zeldas.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Spirit Tracks is 3d. Graphically, it is 3d, that should satisfy anyone. It can play like a 2d game at some points. Then again, the Castle section in OoT used an interesting perspective as well. Link just uses overhead in many places. Lots of game play depends on depth and 3d enviroments. Think about it, Metal Gear Solid is mostly overhead, but nobody calls that a 2d game because the enviroments and characters are ALL IN BLATANT 3D. It's no more complicated than that.

 

[DarkestLink]

It's 2D. Just like NSMB and the Smash Brothers series is. Graphics mean nothing.

 

[snakeoiltanker]

Satsy already posted the link to Wiki. its a simple answer really. its 2.5D, pretty popular nowadays, concidering the upriseing return to retro style playing but the fact that people care so much about graphics, so they give you the best of both worlds. what makes or breaks 2.5D games is the controls ala PH and ST, great games hindered by the gimmiky controls!

 

[Ventus]

Spirit Tracks is a 2D game. Z-Axis in the game is restricted to scripted events; you can't jump at will.

 

[Justac00lguy]

I would lean to more towards 2D...

I suppose you could say 2.5 but I think TBR got is spot on with that even though the graphics areessentially 3D the gameplay takes place on a 2 dimensional plane!

 

[Satsy]

The main reason I'd counter the idea that it's fully 2D is how ST uses the 3D available to it. It allows gameplay to be far more lax on layers/depth because the option to raise and lower how high or low you can go is readily available. You get tiered dungeons in earlier Zelda games, yes, but everything in them is fixed, and more often than not doesn't feel like you're really moving up and down. That's something 3D can do better, and, in these games, does! Though some of the options for this don't become available until later (which I always thought was a shame).

But then I suppose, you could fully map the various islands (and possibly even the dungeons) into a 2D tile-space. Perhaps I should go back to working on that, it may change my perspective on the issue.

 

[Keeseman]

Well, the overworld seems pretty much 3D, considering how you go up hills, and your cannonballs react to gravity on a 3-dimensional plane.

However, when controlling link, you interact on a 2D plane. Even when climbing up ladders or vines and stuff, it's still 2D, like in aLttP. The difference between this 2D and the 3D in OoT or WW is that you actually interact with the Z-axis, like TBR said, whereas this game uses a forced camera angle most of the time.

So, I wouldn't say that it is really "2.5D", but in fact switches between 3D and 2D. And the 2D that the game uses simply uses perspective to make it seem as if it is 3 dimensional, even though it is actually just 2D.

 

[Mudora]

I would classify Spirit Tracks as a 3D game that uses 2D style perspective when Link is on foot in town, temple, etc. I'm not sure though to be honest.

 

[Scrapperiscool]

I think its 2d.