top 5 Cell Shaded games (that are really cell shaded)

[crazygameguy4ever]

I just watched the Top 5 with Lisa Foiles with her top 5 cell shaded game and.. i'm disappointed.. The only game on the list of hers that was actually cell shaded was The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker.. So I thought I'd make a REAL list of cell shaded games..

5.)Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (I know Lisa Foiles already included this, but it is a good cell shaded game)

4.) Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (the last Dragon ball game that was half way fun and actually looked close to the anime it's based on)

3.) Tales of Vesperia (the cell shading might be a little more subtle but its still good)

2.) Ni no Kuni :The Wrath of the White (a amazing looking game.. not perfect on the gameplay side, but still fun nonetheless)

1.)Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (took the already beautiful cell shaded graphics from the first Ultimate Ninja Storm game, somewhow improved them and then added better gameplay and story..ultimate Ninja Storm 3 used the same graphics that were still just as beautiful but they weren't improved any..)

(beware Sakura's hello kitty wrath)


So... what does everyone think of my list and what are your top cell shaded games?

 

[tm96]

I watched it myself but I have not played a lot of cell shaded games.Nonetheless I'll throw my hat into the ring and keep games that I think display the artstyle very well.

Red Steel 2- a great representation of the artstyle and a fusion of Japan and the old west.

XIII- I have seen very little of the game but from what I have seen it seems like a perfect addition.

Killer 7- I had to put this somewhere.

Borderlands 1&2

Punch Out- and I have run out picks.

PS: All these games I have never played besides RS2 but I still think serve the artstyle very well

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

As good as any opportunity to perpetuate my shameless advertisement of one of the best RPGs ever made, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. Gorgeous fully three-dimensional graphics on a PS2 cel-shaded open world.

Why haven't you played this already?

 

[Aerosteam]

Wait... Jet Set Radio isn't cell-shaded? I thought it was one of the games that pioneered that graphical art style?

 

[DirgeNovak]

I agree No More Heroes didn't belong on that list, but how are Jet Set Radio, Sly Cooper, Walking Dead and Okami not cel-shaded?

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I am the outlier who hated Ni No Kuni and wouldn't even include it...Dragon Quest VIII however would definitely be on there. My list would look more like this:

5 - Cel Damage
4 - Borderlands
3 - Dragon Quest VIII
2 - XIII
1 - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Like I said though, I'm in the minority when it comes to people who dislike Ni No Kuni.

 

[El Luck]

all those games she mentioned were cel-shaded. Stop being silly.

 

[Marik2]

Does Valkyria Chronicles count?

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

I agree No More Heroes didn't belong on that list, but how are Jet Set Radio, Sly Cooper, Walking Dead and Okami not cel-shaded?

I forgot about Jet Set Radio, but the others you mentioned are not cell shaded.. cell shading means that an object or person has heavily colored shadows on them. like the Naruto Ultimate ninja Storm games.. walking dead has thick, ink-like lines like a comic book on it's characters.... which is entirety different

 

[bluepotatosack]

I believe cel shading does NOT require heavily colored shadows. What cel shading is is an attempt to make 3D graphics appear 2D. Usually in an attempt to mimic cartoon or comic book visuals. So... I'mma say those were all cel shaded games.

 

[higgs20]

As good as any opportunity to perpetuate my shameless advertisement of one of the best RPGs ever made, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. Gorgeous fully three-dimensional graphics on a PS2 cel-shaded open world.

Why haven't you played this already?

I have, it was by far the best game I played on the ps2 and that is no narrow field, you have good taste.

god, just seeing those screen shots makes me wish i still had my ps2.

 

[DrOswald]

I agree No More Heroes didn't belong on that list, but how are Jet Set Radio, Sly Cooper, Walking Dead and Okami not cel-shaded?

I forgot about Jet Set Radio, but the others you mentioned are not cell shaded.. cell shading means that an object or person has heavily colored shadows on them. like the Naruto Ultimate ninja Storm games.. walking dead has thick, ink-like lines like a comic book on it's characters.... which is entirety different

I believe cel shading does NOT require heavily colored shadows. What cel shading is is an attempt to make 3D graphics appear 2D. Usually in an attempt to mimic cartoon or comic book visuals. So... I'mma say those were all cel shaded games.

Actually, cel shading has nothing to do with heavily colored shadows or an attempt to make it look 2D. Technically. It is a 3D shading technique that normally aims to mimic the look of cel animation, but the technique can be applied in many ways. The key point of cel shading is, wait for it, the use of dynamically generated "virtual cels" to shade (by mathematically defining a border line in a gradient). The walking dead does this with their dynamic ink line thing. So technically, yes, the Walking Dead does have cel shading.

However, one can make the argument that the term cel shading should only be applied in the specific instance of attempting to mimic the cel animation shading effect. Another name may be more appropriate here.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

I agree No More Heroes didn't belong on that list, but how are Jet Set Radio, Sly Cooper, Walking Dead and Okami not cel-shaded?

I forgot about Jet Set Radio, but the others you mentioned are not cell shaded.. cell shading means that an object or person has heavily colored shadows on them. like the Naruto Ultimate ninja Storm games.. walking dead has thick, ink-like lines like a comic book on it's characters.... which is entirety different

I believe cel shading does NOT require heavily colored shadows. What cel shading is is an attempt to make 3D graphics appear 2D. Usually in an attempt to mimic cartoon or comic book visuals. So... I'mma say those were all cel shaded games.

Actually, cel shading has nothing to do with heavily colored shadows or an attempt to make it look 2D. Technically. It is a 3D shading technique that normally aims to mimic the look of cel animation, but the technique can be applied in many ways. The key point of cel shading is, wait for it, the use of dynamically generated "virtual cels" to shade (by mathematically defining a border line in a gradient). The walking dead does this with their dynamic ink line thing. So technically, yes, the Walking Dead does have cel shading.

However, one can make the argument that the term cel shading should only be applied in the specific instance of attempting to mimic the cel animation shading effect. Another name may be more appropriate here.

Walking Dead is comic book inked, it's not cell shaded.. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is the best example of a cell shaded game.. Walking Dead is a example of Comic book inked style.. which are different looking.

 

[shrekfan246]

Walking Dead is comic book inked, it's not cell shaded.. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is the best example of a cell shaded game.. Walking Dead is a example of Comic book inked style.. which are different looking.

Here, read this. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading]

In particular if you can't be bothered reading the first paragraph, "Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon."

Or rather, saying something like Okami isn't cel-shaded would be like saying A Scanner Darkly isn't sci-fi; By which I mean, you can make an argument for it, but you'd have to stretch so far to reach it that most people are going to stop following you somewhere along the way.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Walking Dead is comic book inked, it's not cell shaded.. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is the best example of a cell shaded game.. Walking Dead is a example of Comic book inked style.. which are different looking.

Here, read this. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading]

In particular if you can't be bothered reading the first paragraph, "Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon."

Or rather, saying something like Okami isn't cel-shaded would be like saying A Scanner Darkly isn't sci-fi; By which I mean, you can make an argument for it, but you'd have to stretch so far to reach it that most people are going to stop following you somewhere along the way.

Actually, looking at Okami I'm not sure if there's any shading in it at all. All it has is flat colors and contour lines, which I'm not sure counts as cell shading. From the wikipedia page you linked, the technique uses solid colors instead of gradients for shading, so it seems like a fair argument to say you actually need shading for it to qualify.

The Walking Dead doesn't see to count either, it's got shading gradients all around. I think part of what's happening here is that people are mistaking the use of contour lines for cell shading.

That being said, by this standard it looks like No More Heroes does count, it uses solid black for its shading.

 

[shrekfan246]

Walking Dead is comic book inked, it's not cell shaded.. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is the best example of a cell shaded game.. Walking Dead is a example of Comic book inked style.. which are different looking.

Here, read this. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading]

In particular if you can't be bothered reading the first paragraph, "Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon."

Or rather, saying something like Okami isn't cel-shaded would be like saying A Scanner Darkly isn't sci-fi; By which I mean, you can make an argument for it, but you'd have to stretch so far to reach it that most people are going to stop following you somewhere along the way.

Actually, looking at Okami I'm not sure if there's any shading in it at all. All it has is flat colors and contour lines, which I'm not sure counts as cell shading. From the wikipedia page you linked, the technique uses solid colors instead of gradients for shading, so it seems like a fair argument to say you actually need shading for it to qualify.

The Walking Dead doesn't see to count either, it's got shading gradients all around. I think part of what's happening here is that people are mistaking the use of contour lines for cell shading.

That being said, by this standard it looks like No More Heroes does count, it uses solid black for its shading.

I may have jumped the gun a little on the example I chose to use, because yes, Okami doesn't really have lighting in the first place, it's closer to ambient occlusion than anything else.

But by that token, I would ask what people propose we call games which "look cel-shaded but aren't". If there's a short-hand answer to that, I've never heard of it, and the artistic styles differ so little that does it really in practicality matter to those of us who aren't artists ourselves?

Eugh, I've never really liked excessive classification in the first place, though. I don't see why I should have to say Okami's art style is "a moving watercolor painting" except for describing in better detail to people who might be curious. Saying something looks "cel-shaded" is a quick and easy way of conjuring up an image in a person's mind, and while games like The Walking Dead or Borderlands may not technically be cel-shaded, it most certainly is close enough that describing it as such will give people an idea of what the games look like.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I may have jumped the gun a little on the example I chose to use, because yes, Okami doesn't really have lighting in the first place, it's closer to ambient occlusion than anything else.

But by that token, I would ask what people propose we call games which "look cel-shaded but aren't". If there's a short-hand answer to that, I've never heard of it, and the artistic styles differ so little that does it really in practicality matter to those of us who aren't artists ourselves?

Eugh, I've never really liked excessive classification in the first place, though. I don't see why I should have to say Okami's art style is "a moving watercolor painting" except for describing in better detail to people who might be curious. Saying something looks "cel-shaded" is a quick and easy way of conjuring up an image in a person's mind, and while games like The Walking Dead or Borderlands may not technically be cel-shaded, it most certainly is close enough that describing it as such will give people an idea of what the games look like.

Whenever I described Okami's at style I've always mentioned that it was made to look like a Japanese painting. It comes way closer to describing it than just saying "Eh, it's cel-shaded".

There probably should be a catch all term for games that use contour lines, since that seems to comprise of a lot of what people think of when they hear cel-shading. I also wouldn't say that it's all that excessive, more than anything it's a term that's been misapplied.

And how has nobody brought up Gravity Rush? It's definitely one of the better looking cel-shaded games we've had recently

 

[RandV80]

Whenever I described Okami's at style I've always mentioned that it was made to look like a Japanese painting. It comes way closer to describing it than just saying "Eh, it's cel-shaded".

There probably should be a catch all term for games that use contour lines, since that seems to comprise of a lot of what people think of when they hear cel-shading. I also wouldn't say that it's all that excessive, more than anything it's a term that's been misapplied.

And how has nobody brought up Gravity Rush? It's definitely one of the better looking cel-shaded games we've had recently

There is a catch all term for it, it's called cell shading!

Words may have different meaning among specialized groups, but sometimes the mass public adopts a word to mean something else and you just have to accept that it is what it is. A good example of this would be hacker vs cracker. The distinction will be known to anyone in the computer security field, but after a few decades of Hollywood and the media simply calling anyone who fiddles with a computer funny a 'hacker' (probably because it's the more appealing word) the kid who steals your WoW account much to the chagrin of an actual security expert is now a 'hacker'.

Same thing here I guess. You guys are talking about some sort of distinct art style? That's the first I've ever heard of that, to me any video game that's drawn to look like a cartoon is 'cell shaded'. That's the general term for it, and Lisa was obviously thinking the same way. No one wants such a convoluted naming convention that would see a game like Okami pushed into a class of its own. Japanese water painting style graphics? Nah it's just cell shaded, the aesthetics are of a Japanese water painting.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

There is a catch all term for it, it's called cell shading!

Words may have different meaning among specialized groups, but sometimes the mass public adopts a word to mean something else and you just have to accept that it is what it is. A good example of this would be hacker vs cracker. The distinction will be known to anyone in the computer security field, but after a few decades of Hollywood and the media simply calling anyone who fiddles with a computer funny a 'hacker' (probably because it's the more appealing word) the kid who steals your WoW account much to the chagrin of an actual security expert is now a 'hacker'.

Same thing here I guess. You guys are talking about some sort of distinct art style? That's the first I've ever heard of that, to me any video game that's drawn to look like a cartoon is 'cell shaded'. That's the general term for it, and Lisa was obviously thinking the same way. No one wants such a convoluted naming convention that would see a game like Okami pushed into a class of its own. Japanese water painting style graphics? Nah it's just cell shaded, the aesthetics are of a Japanese water painting.

I'd be far more accepting of that if it wasn't actually a computer graphics technique. It's not a descriptor of an art style, it's a descriptor of a shading technique. It actually means something beyond "it looks cartoony", just like phong shading means something beyond "doesn't look cartoony".

But we have a chance people! Use it properly now, before it goes the way of "epic" and "awesome" and is used so generally that it's stripped of all but the vaguest meaning. Don't make us need to come up with a new word for actual cel-shading!

 

[Scarim Coral]

Err last time I've check, cel shaded like games does not fall into sub individual cel shaded groups (like with dance music, you get House and trance etc) therefore that are still cel shaded games!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cel-shaded_video_games

Ok I know wiki it not a legit source but still that page was from cel shaded wiki page so they are still consider to be cel shade games regardless on the colour/ art/ or whatever that made that game cel shaded!