Zelda: Breath of the Wild may not be running on cutting-edge hardware – even by 2017 standards – but it's still one phenomenally good-looking video game, and proves that aesthetic brilliance doesn't always have to go hand-in-hand with graphical muscle.
The game's mix of sprawling 3D environments and cel-shaded characters is incredibly effective, but Reddit user MicroFlamer decided to check out what it would look like if Nintendo had opted for the more traditional approach and not included cel-shading. The results are shiny and plastic-like, as you might expect, and call to mind the toy-like visuals seen in the Zelda: Link's Awakening remake.
If nothing else, this little experiment shows how a seemingly small visual choice can make a massive difference to the overall look of a game; the original cel-shaded graphics have a genuinely beautiful quality to them and we're amazed at how much of a negative impact is made by removing the feature.
What do you make of these 'Unreal Engine'-style visuals? Perhaps you prefer this look? Let us know with a comment.
[source reddit.com, via screenrant.com]
Comments 49
I hope a next-gen Zelda in 5 years has graphics like Kena on PS4.
Zelda used too much make-up for her own good.
Unsurprisingly, these models weren't designed to be viewed with Phong shading.
deep level of uncaney Valley here.
It looks like Lego Zelda
I feel this is arbitary, when you code a game (or any 3D app) you create so-called shaders, those shader have parameters (vertices, normals, textures, colors, etc) that are interpreted and rendered to the screen. In this case what is done is replacing the cel-shading shader with another one with a phong(or maybe a BRDF) interpretation of the given parameters to render lights and color. The art direction clearly was tuned to using the correct shader
After typing all of this I am realizing how nerd I am
AAA my eyes... What have they done to my eyes
I prefer the cel-shading. It will age better.
I understand why people would want to see what it looks like without the celshading, but this game was designed with that in mind. I really prefer cel-shading, it's what makes this game so great
Like Wind Waker before it, BOTW's artistic design will age flawlessly. Yay for cel shading as these character models in the article look lifeless.
@hube lol well you said what I wanted to say but you did it much better than I would have.
Love cel shading more. It suits the zelda franchise alot.
Also for movies etc i want zelda movies to be animes movies (not like the cartoons "exxcuuuussse me princess")
No more in the style of the Castlevania anime, would be perfect.
And for the games, the style they choose for breath of the wild is just perfect.
This isn’t new, there was footage years ago of the game actually running without the cel-shading, and it looked a lot better than this rubbish…
It looks like that lifeless wet "made in Unreal" I hate so much. Glad they did a good job with shaders
I've seen this a few years back. Never gonna look back at it again.
So... awful?
I like that look too! Though prefer the cel shaded.
i don't even dislike it that much; reminds me a bit of Links Awakening though that was of course more designed toward its style.
Artistry >>> Graphical fidelity. Botw's graphics age well like Wind Waker.
However they don't have to be mutually exclusive and it would be nice to see a little more of the later in the next hardware!
@WOLF13 thanks a lot, the computer scientist in me just took over and wrote that
This is... hideous
It certainly takes away the magic.
@hube
Of course it’s arbitrary. The article was just asking what you think about the visual comparisons.
Zelda action figures?
Link with Triforce slash action!
The art of the game was designed with cel shading in mind and gave it an real arty feel and atmosphere. It worked well for me.
Looks awful, like everything is made of plastic
Those un-cel-shaded-ed graphics remind me of every game in the late 90's/early 00's and make me feel surprisingly nostalgic.
@BaronMunchausen yea, I know, I cannot just say that I prefer cel-shading and have to go to unneeded length to detail random thoughts
jesus christ
@hube
Lol! I understand.
Some things were not meant for human eyes.
You mean like every other 3d zelda ?
They look made of plastic!
They look like figures or models, but bad figures or models
I still climb to that glitched chunk of bridge that removes the cell shader to see outfits like this up close. I find it fascinating.
I immensely prefer the cel-shading.
Let's just be real here, that looks God awful.
Yeah, this article is kinda written like there's a switch in the game's code for "turn cel-shading OFF", like it's binary. Instead they replaced the game's shaders with different ones, with their own particulars.
This is ONE way it can look without cel-shading, but there's lots of different lighting methods you could explore that aren't cel-shading, and they probably wouldn't all look this bad.
"I wonder what happens if I take a gorgeous looking game and make it ugly?"
Removed - inappropriate; user is banned
It looks like a sega saturn game ... ouch!
This has nothing to do with the way the models were designed. It's not as though this is "what's underneath" the cel shader. This is what the game looks like forced to run a crude 1997ish shader chosen by the modder who took the screenshots. I'd love to see these models rendered with proper PBR materials and a modern lighting system.
@Bobb
Unreal games can look good if the art style is strong. Final Fantasy VII remake is a beautiful game built in Unreal and it avoids that “wet” look entirely.
@TheRedComet You're definitely right
I actually think it looks worse without the outlines.
Nintendo did a good job keeping the cell shading.
Nintendo, if you're not cowards, release this Roblox update.
It looks like if Zelda had a claymation film from Aardman or Laika.
Nintendo should get Aardman or Laika to do the Zelda movie after Illumination's Mario movie.
They look like creepy plastic dolls.
There is one tiny spot in the game at the Bridge of Hylia where you can see this effect. I personally like it, but I still also like the cel shading. I wish there could be an option to have it on or off in BOTW 2? (Hopefully)
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