What about a giant bipedal Lizardman isn't realistic to you?
All kidding aside, I was wondering the same thing about all of the "realistic" games that have aged well. My thinking is that graphics can be considered "realistic" while also being stylized, as opposed to something aiming for photorealism. For example, the SH3 GIF that Mature posted looks fantastic and I bet it will pretty much always look fantastic. But I would also never look at it and confuse it for a real person. Nor is the uncanny valley likely to manifest with it, as it's clearly not real. I think artists for these games approximate what we consider real (e.g. mostly normal body proportions, lighting, shaders, etc.) but also help preserve their art style in the future through fantasy elements and tweaks that don't stand out as much as Toon Link. I'm guessing that's why a game like Soul Calibur, despite its saturated colors, lizard people, and glowing weapons, can be read as "realistic."
