Cel-Shaded Games are Not as Bad as You Think

Recently I too, thought that cel-shaded games were lame, flat and just looked funny. That was, until my good-friend Ethan at work lended me Tales of Symphonia so that I would have a game to play on my Game Cube. Yes, I know, I have a Game Cube, but no games for it. Any way, he told me that it was a cel-shaded game and I wasn’t very excited about it, but I gave it a try and I was really impressed on how cool it looked. It was like watching anime but I can tell the main character what to do!

In the US I think that we like our awesomely textured, hyper-realistic games because we want to feel that this game is “real.” Now that we are getting into the age where our computers and next generation game consoles can handle the high-quality graphics, I think that we are forgetting that KISS “Keep It Simple Stupid” still works. I know, I know, it’s so cool to walk up to your neighbor and brag about whose game has the better graphics, and this and that, but come on is the graphics all that make a game?  Some say yes, some say no, it really depends on who you ask. Most RPG players bank every thing on story, I mean look at Final Fantasy 7, it’s a classic that is still played today despite Cloud having diamond shaped biceps with squares for hands. Racing, Sports and some First person shooters are usually always on the graphics side of it. A good example is Doom and Halo, no one ever talks about how good the story is, but how awesomely the graphics are.

I think that games Such as Legend Of Zelda Wind Waker and Tales of Symphonia are beautifully done games that have wonderful stories as well as graphics. They look like you are actually in a cartoon, doing the animation. I only find a few faults in them, one being that I find depth perception to be a little hard to read sometimes. In Tales of Symphonia It took me a while to get use to the difference between the characters and the background. It could very well be because I am blonde, but I have heard of other gamers having the same problem. Another thing that I find annoying is the way that the cel-shaded characters move, there is just something weird about it that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s on the annoying side. Other than that, I love the cel-shaded graphics, in all its cel-shaded glory. It’s very flat, cartoony, and if you love anime you will enjoy cel-shaded games. It’s a nice change from the realistic way of doing things, with just enough detail to get the point across with out over-doing it. Cel-Shading though, is best used on RPG/Fighting style games. I don’t think that first-person shooters should be cell-shaded simply because the depth-of-field is really messed up because the shading makes it seem so flat. Can you imagine Halo as a cel-shaded game? I didn’t think so. I have seen some really awesome racing games that are awesome cel-shaded and looked great. All-in-all cel-shaded RPG’s, fighting games, and even racing games are defiantly worth checking out if they are cell shaded.

Cel-shading originates from Japan, and can best be seen in Japanese Anime. It’s a basic principle that, if used right, can give the illusion of an object being 3-D with very few colors. In games, it does flatten out the characters and I think that is why so many people don’t like games that are shaded in this style. On the other hand, I think that this flatness gives the game its own character. Think of it this way, you are watching a cartoon, but you have the power to control the cartoon. It gives any game a very Japanese feel to it, and I love how Tales of Symphonia uses the Japanese anime way of showing emotion in the little action bubbles that pops up over the characters head, it just gels with the style of shading so well I actually think that it is a cartoon. Whether or not you like cartoons, or anime, I highly suggest you rent or buy a good cell shaded game because it allows your eye to rest from the more realistic games and bring something new for you mind to work with.

If you are thinking about giving cel-shaded games a try, and I don’t mean turning it on and then quitting because you get frustrated, but actually give the game a chance, you should check out Auto Modellista, Legend Of Zelda Wind Waker, and Tales of Symphonia just to name a few. They are definitely worth your time, and money to play. They give you something new to see visually as well as provide all the demanding detail that we Americans dwell on, but with an Asian flavor.