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[SantaC]

It was released in 2002 (JPN) at a time when most games looked muddy with brown and grey.

Booting up the original and it still looks good 18 years later. What a technical marvel this was from Nintendo. Sadly, it was all downhill from here and Nintendo was never the console graphics king again.

Original Wind Waker shots from 2002 era.

Too bad gamers had to complain about Celda bring teh kiddie so we got this instead:

 

[Captain Toad]

I love Windwaker, but I disagree with your last part. I love the art of Twilight Princess. No Zelda game since (or prior) has impressed me with their graphics or art direction as much as either GameCube Zelda games.

 

[HE1NZ]

Games didn't look muddy and grey in 2002. That was 7th gen.

 

[ColonialRaptor]

Wind waker still holds up today. It’s not often game graphics are timeless like that a true masterpiece.

 

[Fake]

Star Fox Assault is better IMO.

 

[TintoConCasera]

I remember StarFox Adventures and F-Zero looking really well on the cube.

But yeah, WW is the most pretty of the bunch, and it ages nicely too.

 

[Camreezie]

Windwaker is beautiful but to be fair I get why they wanted a successor to one of the best of all time Ocarina of Time

 

[Collin]

the fact that there is only 2 years separating majora’s mask and wind waker is proof to me that the jump from 5th gen to the 6th gen is probably the largest graphical leap we’ll ever see between gens honesty

 

[QuantumZebra]

TWW was the top-dog for Nintendo's art style until BotW came out.

BotW is the first Zelda I've wanted to play (since and before TWW) where the art alone made me want to play it.

the fact that there is only 2 years separating majora’s mask and wind waker is proof to me that the jump from 5th gen to the 6th gen is probably the largest graphical leap we’ll ever see between gens honesty

I get pushback but I'll always say that the PS1->PS2 and N64->GameCube leap was the biggest one we'll ever see.

Just an absolute massive gap between the horrid polygons of first-gen 3D and the 2nd gen smooth textures and designs.

 

[GAMETA]

Wind Waker is not only a graphical marvel, it's an artistic marvel. That's why it remains good looking to this day.

And I wouldn't say it necessarily has to do with the cel-shading technique, because other games from even previous generations still look amazing to this day.

Demon's Crest, Super Metroid, Banjo-Kazooie, Grandia, Resident Evil 2... they all aged gracefully -- with the obvious limitations, of course -- but nonetheless, still great looking games.

They were all cutting-edge in tech and in artistic value.

 

[johntown]

I think it was very clever. Nintendo always manages to make their games look good for what they are running on and working with. Not sure if I would call it the pinnacle but it is good.

They have some of the best talent in the industry for sure.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

Game is trash but art is great.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

Game is trash but art is great.

what games do you like?

 

[Captain Toad]

the fact that there is only 2 years separating majora’s mask and wind waker is proof to me that the jump from 5th gen to the 6th gen is probably the largest graphical leap we’ll ever see between gens honesty

Yeah, look at Resident Evil on PS1 and REmake on GameCube. It's crazy they're only 5-6 years apart.

 

[Entroyp]

I would say yes. The game holds up really well even today in graphics and gameplay. A classic.

 

[Dr.brain64]

Yes, specially since every zelda after it used the ww engine (also because nintendo is so cheap).

 

[StateofMajora]

No, absolutely not. It has a lot going on under the surface, but it's far from the best they've ever produced technically. And artistically it's garish with its character proportions. Still, the HD release had me stopping in awe a few times. When it works, it works really well.

 

[Jeeves]

Maybe so. It was certainly the most meaningful step into cel-shading and we're still seeing the ripples from it today. Plus the game still holds up visually and probably will forever.

You could also make arguments for historical impact with the graphics of any of their consoles prior to Gamecube, but WW is probably the most relevant example of that today.

 

[StateofMajora]

Too bad gamers had to complain about Celda bring teh kiddie so we got this instead:

Right, because it definitely looks like that when properly displayed.

I have recently played Twilight princess for the gamecube on my crt, and it is absolutely stunning. The lighting and atmosphere just pops, and nothing looks like silly funko figures. Twilight princess is an immeasurably better Zelda than WW.

 

[Rat Rage]

It was a step in the right direction (cell-shading, more colorful), but the character design looked a little wack.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

what games do you like?

Zelda 3, Link's awakening and Ocarina of time and liked Oracle of ages and LOVE yoshi island SFC.

I have no interest in getting lost in the sea and loosing my time because ******* reasons.

 

[amigastar]

Wind Waker is one of my favourite Zeldas, Graphics still hold up today.

 

[Saber]

Frankly no. The game is very square in terms of models. I wasn't impressed at time, it looks lamish in terms of visuals and design as well. Although I'm pretty much a fan of Cel shading, I think its the reason people keep drooling for this game.

 

[GametimeUK]

I remember Sony fanboys laughing and dogpiling a reply I made on a Sony forum when I said Wind Waker had better visuals than Killzone 2. Obviously it depends what metric you're using, but I'd still say it looked better at the time and now time has passed it would be an easier game to go back to in terms of visuals.

 

[Hunnybun]

If you mean is it technically the best graphics they've produced, then obviously not. Mario Odyssey and BOTW beat it hands down, and probably some others too.

If you mean was it the most impressive for its time? Again, no. Mario 64 wasn't just Nintendo's best in that sense, but one of the very best ever. It's hard to name anything better, tbh.

Best art direction? It's subjective, clearly. Personally BOTW is a nicer looking game, for me, in terms of its art.

 

[Huggers]

I remember Sony fanboys laughing and dogpiling a reply I made on a Sony forum when I said Wind Waker had better visuals than Killzone 2. Obviously it depends what metric you're using, but I'd still say it looked better at the time and now time has passed it would be an easier game to go back to in terms of visuals.

KZ2 was pretty special in terms of lighting and effects but that frame rate would be damaging today when compared with WW. Sony really should remaster those games.

 

[Batiman]

Best Zelda game. TP was horrible

 

[blockhead77]

Splatoon 1 and 2 are pretty distinctive visually. (As well as mechanically, but I digress.)

 

[REDRZA MWS]

Cartoonish game on an underpowered console? Nahhh........ pretty standard Nintendo. Loved the game though, one of the best 3D Zelda’s.

 

[DonMigs85]

Rebel Strike and Star Fox Adventures are probably still the most technically impressive Cube titles, if not artistic. Metroid Prime looks great too but a little low-poly and with some low-rez textures. Prime 2 improved on that but then you get more stutter.

 

[blockhead77]

Fair, Wind Waker isn't the only cell-shaded game out there 'though.

 

[p_xavier]

Fair, Wind Waker isn't the only cell-shaded game out there 'though.

Yup, Okami is much more enjoyable IMO.

 

[carlosrox]

So it's just like most games they make then?

Most of their games are visually pleasing and looked good on weaker hardware. N64 and GC are basically the only times that wasn't necessarily the case. But most of Nintendo's games usually hold up visually, even back to the NES they had good looking stuff.

Wii U and Switch have absolutely gorgeous looking games and aside from some slowdown/aliasing issues in some games, they'll always look at least good - especially when you consider the hardware they're using.

Getting Smash, DOOM, Ori, etc on something that small, running and looking as good as they do is pretty amazing.

Wii was probably their worst hardware for its time and IQ was bad but I still wouldn't say they had ugly games.

I think most of Nintendo's games hold up visually and probably always will. They know how to make a good art style with whatever hardware they're using.

 

[StateofMajora]

So it's just like most games they make then?

Most of their games are visually pleasing and looked good on weaker hardware. N64 and GC are basically the only times that wasn't necessarily the case. But most of Nintendo's games usually hold up visually, even back to the NES they had good looking stuff.

Wii U and Switch have absolutely gorgeous looking games and aside from some slowdown/aliasing issues in some games, they'll always look at least good - especially when you consider the hardware they're using.

Getting Smash, DOOM, Ori, etc on something that small, running and looking as good as they do is pretty amazing.

Wii was probably their worst hardware for its time and IQ was bad but I still wouldn't say they had ugly games.

I think most of Nintendo's games hold up visually and probably always will. They know how to make a good art style with whatever hardware they're using.

Wii games honestly look very nice most of the time, if we are talking exclusives. Of course people probably played them with composite cables on their flat screen that had terrible upscaling lol

Don’t wanna sound like a broken record, but god damn stuff like Mario galaxy or prime 3 on a good crt? Nice.

 

[Kokoloko85]

I just want Wind Waker HD ported to the Switch.
Each Zelda game has its own charm.

 

[VertigoOA]

The Prime games and RE4 easily outclassed it at the time.

 

[Saint Boot]

This thread just makes me wish that WW, SS, TP, and OOT was on the Nintendo Switch.

 

[Carna]

Fantastic Game

 

[Iced Arcade]

The cube had some beautiful games. Metroid Prime looked beautiful and ran at 60fps

 

[EverydayBeast]

It was a risk reward situation for Nintendo that they got right.

 

[Codes 208]

I agree with the artstyle but I don’t agree with the graphics. RE4, star fox assualt/adventure, metroid prime 1 and 2 and even the attention to detail in Luigi’s mansion surpassed it imo.

Cartoonish game on an underpowered console? Nahhh........ pretty standard Nintendo. Loved the game though, one of the best 3D Zelda’s.

The gamecube wasn’t underpowered at all, it was quite a bit faster than the PS2 and just edged out by the OG xbox. This was back in the days when Nintendo actually cared about graphical parity.

 

[Sleepwalker]

This is one of the best aged games I've seen. Truly loved it at the time and it always made me sad some people wouldn't even bother giving it a chance.

 

[AJUMP23]

It is one of their best, would love to have seen it with all the originally planned dungeons. The game is.also beautiful. Probably my favorite iteration of Zelda too.

 

[Punished Miku]

It's certainly in the running for top 3 best art styles they've ever created.

 

[Meesh]

Ah, Wind Waker... sigh... it was the perfect trifecta of animated expressiveness in the art, the game play which enhanced that, and story.... where the final blow to Ganon is witnessed.

 

[Neff]

Mario Kart 8 is their best-looking game by far imo.

 

[REDRZA MWS]

I agree with the artstyle but I don’t agree with the graphics. RE4, star fox assualt/adventure, metroid prime 1 and 2 and even the attention to detail in Luigi’s mansion surpassed it imo.

The gamecube wasn’t underpowered at all, it was quite a bit faster than the PS2 and just edged out by the OG xbox. This was back in the days when Nintendo actually cared about graphical parity.

True about the Gamecube, it was faster than PS2. Not sure how much they cared about graphical fidelity though. It’s was a cel shaded cartoonish game. I like the looks of Twighlight Princess much more.

 

[Captain Europe]

Wind Waker was the best looking Zelda until BotW came around. As for best, I really like how Mario Odyssey, Luigi's Mansion 3, MK8D and Smash Ultimate look.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

The GameCube original looked perfect. I don't like how when they remastered it for the Wii U, they increased the brightness and added bloom lighting to the sky.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

-Arcadia- get itt