News About "Celda"....Maybe no more "Celda"? (1 Viewer)

[Kelley_B]

For Nintendo to succeed, it will need to rely on its established game properties, and one piece of news that will come as a relief to many gamers is that Nintendo is re-thinking the cel-shaded version of The Legend of Zelda that was unveiled last August at its Spaceworld trade show. “You mean that contentious look? What Miyamoto [Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s top game designer] ends up with will truly reflect all of the words he has heard, but the sentiments that he holds true to make sure that Zelda continues to titillate all the fans that it has attracted over the years,” said Main.

This came from this article over at MSNBC:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/697375.asp?0dm=C12PT
Personally I liked the look of "Celda", but aparently a lot of people don't.

 

[Rusty Ray]

I know alot of people who were fuming over that look, including me... the early 3d renders looked alot better and i hope nintendo will ditch the "celda" look and move towards what link looks like in ssbm.

 

[Joseph Young]

Interesting article!

Apparently the author of the article construed some of Peter Main's words to mean that Miyamoto's interests were to 'tittilate' the gaming community, but I got no strong impression that the new look is going to be abandoned.

To be honest, simply because I have grown along with the Zelda series, I feel that by de-evolving the 'look,' it is being stolen from me.

I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with cel shading the next Zelda. I love the effect and think it would work amazingly well. It would mirror a lot of the portrayals of link in the various instruction books I used to pore over, thinking to myself, why doesn't Link look like a cartoon in the game?

However, my problem is with the aesthetic look they gave Link. It looks terrible, like some pieced together doodle. His face looks like a Picasso painting, all abstract and disjointed, which would be fine given a new series, but Link's 'look' is quite well established. If Miyamoto is truly concerned with continuity, we would at least have a cell shaded link that more accurately represents any one of the various Link incarnations in the last fifteen years.

Just my opinion.

Joseph

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Yeah, I was a little dissapointed by the whole Celda look, and I'd prefer the more realistic visuals, but let's face the facts: It's Zelda, it's going to be great no matter how it looks.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

First thing I thought when I saw it was how amazing it looked. When I realized it was Zelda, I got confused.

Then I decided its not worth worrying about. When I read reviews and see what the final game is like, I'll start to care, but until then, its an artists vision, and with Miyamoto as the artist, I know I'll love his vision.

 

[WilliamS]

I think we assume too much. There was hardly a minute of Zelda footage, and yes it was completely opposite of our expectations, we have no right to really dismiss the game until we see more at E3 or better yet till we play it.

 

[Dan B]

I would not expect them to abandon that look for this game. They may tweak the characters as Joseph mentioned, but not abandon the look of the game. If they do abandon it this late, expect to wait another 2 years for the next Zelda. (as Munch says, "not gonna happen")
-Dan

 

[AaronP]

I am Error If there's a better game that Zelda II, I've yet to play it!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I remember hearing something about Link getting stuck in a book or something. Maybe he will get stuck in several books and that footage was from a children's story? There could be a dark book that represents the video we saw of Ganondorf (or something like that). I doubt it, but maybe.

I wonder what Ganondorf would look like in the Celda style...

I wonder what the storyline will be...

 

[James D S]

This is somewhat great news.. I would rather it be a bit more concrete.

I think cel-shading is a step backwards artistically and does not belong in a top-tier title like Zelda. Looney Toons, Yes.. Zelda, No..

Of course, after seeing those early renders of Zelda in 3D, it's even harder to accept a cartoony substitute. Those early shots looked pretty sweet.

Zelda should keep pushing the envelope.

"Just because one can do something, it does not necessarily follow that one must do that thing." Cel-shading is that thing.

If Nintendo goes back to the more proper style for Zelda, NGC will have a serious killer app (assuming all other Zelda requirements are met - story, gameplay, etc.). If they stay with Celda, I fear they will drastically cut their target audience. The feeling may go from "gotta-have it" to "I'll get it when I get it, if I get it. No rush."

I KNOW a company like Nintendo, considering their market and focus, has better uses for toonish cel-shading techniques and character styles that don't include the Cadillac of action/adventure games - Zelda.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Shigeru Miyamoto decided that he didn't like a more "adult" Zelda (like the one from the video at SW2K) so HE decided to change it to cel-shading. Don't blame Nintendo, blame him, the creator of the series.

When I first saw the video, I didn't think "oh man this is crap, its too cartoony, its totally NOT Zelda" I thought "holy crap this is the BEST looking videogame I have EVER seen." The graphics are AMAZING, and while they might not be what we expected, they certainly are pushing the envelope in terms of graphics and visual style. Who cares if its not an adult Link? Who cares if it looks cartoony? Miyamoto said that the adult Link thing wasn't working out that good, so he changed the whole game. Would you rather have a crap game with an adult Link or an excellent game with a cartoony Link?

 

[Tim Hess]

It's Shigeru Miyamoto's game. I have full faith in the direction he wants to take Zelda. I bet it will be fun as hell, cel-shaded or not.

From a cel-shaded look, it's killer, looks like a playable cartoon.

Compared to what they've shown previously (tech demos for the GCN), I liked them as well, but again, it's not my game.

 

[Ike]

Where can I see screen shots or the mini-movie?

 

[John Berggren]

I think Nintendo would be wise to release a Celda game and a more traditional Zelda game and see if they are both well received. I know I'd buy two wholly different Zelda games in a heartbeat.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Or they could make everyone happy and make the game take place in a series of books (like I mentioned before). They could have a children's book (Celda), a more adult book (Spaceworld 2K), and then some others.

I would like to see a cover art with the "adult" Link's face on one half of the picture and "Celda" Link's face on the other half, with Ganon behind the adult Link in the background and one of those pig guys behind Celda Link, both Link's trying too look badass. Mmmmm....getting a little carried away.

Nintendo should try to incorporate both styles into the game. It would just show how amazing they really are.

 

[Sean Oneil]

Nintendo is just fumbling around, trying to gauge consumer response. They are dropping hints to see if anyones ears perk up. In fact, I don't doubt that someone in Nintendo's marketing department is reading through these posts, or posts similar to these on various forums, in order to get some feedback to the proposed changes to the look of Zelda.

If Nintendo gets the impression that changing the look of Zelda to mirror that of the original Gamecube demo will generate enough consumer interest to move more Gamecube hardware and sell more copies of the game, then you can expect to see that change happen.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I would usually agree, but when Miyamoto's at the helm of a game, they will just stand back and let him do whatever he wants to do.

 

[Iain Lambert]

I also really like the look of 'Celda'. Why its regarded as less 'artistic' to use by far the most impressive cel shading I've ever seen than to use yet another standard rendering engine I don't understand. 'natural' rendering is great for showing off in a tech demo, but we're already reaching a point with driving games like GT3 where everything is starting to look the same - I think a unique look is a brilliant way to go.

Besides, with Shigsy on the bench I have complete faith that whatever happens it will play brilliantly, which is the important thing.

 

[Mike_G]

If they release 'Celda', I won't buy it.

If they release what was demoed last year, I'll be the first person to preorder it.

Mike

 

[Iain Lambert]

Mike, without picking on you (you're just the latest person to state this), what is it about the graphical style that leads you to believe it won't be a good game? I understand its the personal preference of many to believe that the original test footage is more impressive, but at the end of the day I don't think either look will hurt gameplay.