Would a 'realistic' Wind Waker have sold better?

[Spirit]

In a lot of way Twilight Princess feels like a quick back-peddle and an apology for Wind Waker.

The backlash for Wind Waker's visual style was one of gaming's most epic uproars and it took a while for people to come around and some people still aren't down with it despite the 'toon' art style now making up a large portion of the Zelda series' aesthetic...

But, had Wind Waker looked like Twilight Princess, had it not been cel-shaded would it have sold better?

Would the exact same game in terms of content and gameplay and story have sold better or hooked more people into buying it in the period of release in thee Gamecube era?

If the water in Wind Waker had looked like the fishing hole/Lake Hylia in TP would people have been less negative about it?

 

[DekuNut]

I think that it works better like it is, simply because of the feel of the game. TP is darker, and its art style shows that. Wind Waker is way lighter, happier, and more curvy (I guess?). The art style is one of the major things in giving a game a feel, and it definitely shows in these games.

 

[Spirit]

I think that it works better like it is, simply because of the feel of the game. TP is darker, and its art style shows that. Wind Waker is way lighter, happier, and more curvy (I guess?). The art style is one of the major things in giving a game a feel, and it definitely shows in these games.

Yeah, i really don't think I'd love WW as much as I do (favourite video game of all time) if it looked like TP. I like being assaulted with colour (and not HD bloom lighting) whenever i load it up. <3

 

[Terminus]

Honestly, the only thing that would have done better would be normal-proportioned character models. You could have TP-style models and bright cel-shading too.

No need to over-grit, and still looks great.

 

[Spirit]

Honestly, the only thing that would have done better would be normal-proportioned character models. You could have TP-style models and bright cel-shading too.

No need to over-grit, and still looks great.

MY EYES!

 

[Dio]

In a lot of way Twilight Princess feels like a quick back-peddle and an apology for Wind Waker.

The backlash for Wind Waker's visual style was one of gaming's most epic uproars and it took a while for people to come around and some people still aren't down with it despite the 'toon' art style now making up a large portion of the Zelda series' aesthetic...

But, had Wind Waker looked like Twilight Princess, had it not been cel-shaded would it have sold better?

Would the exact same game in terms of content and gameplay and story have sold better or hooked more people into buying it in the period of release in thee Gamecube era?

If the water in Wind Waker had looked like the fishing hole/Lake Hylia in TP would people have been less negative about it?

The simple answer is yes. Despite it working well the way it did. The art style is not appealing to the mass market like TP's.
It's not the story or setting people were in uproar about it was the art style. Therefore if the style had been like TP's it would have been what the fans wanted and therefore bought.

 

[TheRockinStallion]

I personally like the dichotomy of the 2 GameCube Zelda games. Each makes the other's style stand out that much more.

 

[Fraxinus]

If the Wind Waker were realistic, the wind wouldn't have been visible and that'd have been really annoying.

 

[Salem]

No, it wouldn't.

 

[MW7]

Maybe. I knew people who never bought the game simply because of the graphics. I think the main thing that limited Wind Waker's sales was the relatively low sales of the Gamecube. Personally I loved the graphics though. I still think it's the most beautiful Zelda game.

 

[Moonstone]

That's really hard to say. I want to say initially the game would've sold better, but I think in the long run, it would've lost its charm. If it were realistic it would just be one more in a long string of realistic Zeldas, not holding a candle to Ocarina of Time or Majora's mask, with an overworld that falls short of Twilight Princess. A realistic Wind Waker would be forgettable.

I think that the style of Wind Waker has allowed it to remain a loved installment of the series that still has a lot of fans of the art style.

 

[RusoPerez]

It would have problably sold better, yet it would have been probably not so exquisite.

 

[SinkingBadges]

Maybe. At the very least it would've reinforced Nintendo's kiddie image less than WW itself seems to have done.

Also, while I'm no dev myself I'd hazard a guess that the amount of detail like faces and animations on characters might have needed to be scaled down as more geometry was needed to get realistic proportions. Might also f up things like draw distance and framerate, neither of which worth compromising. I didn't care much for stuff like this back when it came out but I imagine more than one person out there is turned off by that.

 

[Beauts]

I think it might have sold better initially because a lot of people were really put off by cel-shading when WW first came out. However I think it could have gone for the middle ground maybe and had something a little like skyward sword graphics-more realistic but still playful and bright

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

When it was first released maybe, but overtime it's cel-shaded art style became something that alot of people consider unique about it. So long term I think the cel-shading art was a good thing. Like Term said I think maybe it would have been better received when first released if it had normal proportioned character models.