Cel-shading makes games feel timeless

Cel-shading looks awesome and it keeps games looking fresh pretty much forever.
Let's talk about why!
This video is sponsored by RiffMason: riffmason.band...
Games featured in order of appearance:
Chants of Senaar (Switch)
Fear Effect (PS1)
Futurama (PS2)
Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast)
Borderlands (PS3)
Antichamber (Steam)
Looney Toons: Space Race (Dreamcast)
Afro Samurai (PS3)
Aery: Little Bird Adventure (PS4)
Horizon: Forbidden West (PS5)
Last of Us (PS3)
Metal Gear Solid 2 (PS2)
Okami (PS2)
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (Steam)
Aragami (Switch)
Fur Fighters (Dreamcast)
Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge (PS2)
Steamboy (PS2)
Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast)
Bomberman Online (Dreamcast)
Rollerdrome (Steam)
Dragonball Z: Kakarot (PS4)
Untitled Goose Game (PS4)
Gravity Rush HD (PS4)
Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4)
Rez (Dreamcast)
Cosmic Smash VR (PS5)
Superhot (PS4)
High Hell (Steam)
Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Ankoku Seidan Teikoku no Gyakushuu (PS2)
Jet Set Radio (Dreamcast)
#celshading #retrogaming #aestheticgames #aesthetic #saturdaymorningcartoons #anime #jetsetradio #afrosamurai #bombrushcyberfunk #dreamcast #retro
00:00 Cel-shading makes games feel timeless

[@xLadyRaine]

This is the reason why art direction >>> graphics. It helps keep the game from looking dated

[@traviscunningham7062]

I agree 100%. You can’t rush art.

[@WhoIsJohnGaltt]

I absolutely agree except sometimes “dated” can even add to its identity and not in a negative way that “realism” does

[@erikbihari3625]

@@xLadyRaine. Also, without the excessive and expansive texture and lighting, the games/and odd cartoons can focus towards the actual animation!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@WhoIsJohnGaltt. Realism seems pretty impossible given people know what reality looks like.

[@WhoIsJohnGaltt]

@@erikbihari3625 of coarse realism isn’t impossible. In fact. It’s the default. Because it’s what you see everyday. No creativity. Alterations. Imagination. Just look out the window and copy

[@plumaDshinigami]

Realistic textures always land onto the uncanny valley whereas cel-shading merely keeps a cartoonish but vibrant style like a moving picture. And that's what hurts "realistic" games since they're mostly a tech-demo which will eventually make them old. Meanwhile, cel-shading ages well because it's like preserving a picture.

[@erikbihari3625]

@@plumaDshinigami. And they consume time,money,and the hardware's processing power. Why would people push consoles til the breaking point?

[@gochadc]

Good graphics are ephemeral. Vibing is ethernal.

[@Zhaobowen]

Cel shading gets its name from animation cels, those plastic sheets for making cartoons. These used paints to color and shade everything that moved, and were layered to create the final image. So you'd often have a lit character, and then the parts in shadow had their own layer over top. So the defining characteristic of 3d cel shading is the very binary lit/unlit way that their shadows work, and the shadows tend to consist of a solid subsurface color multiplied by the lit texture. So you can have cel shaded graphics with detailed textures, but the shadows tend to be stark and based on color rather than texture.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Ooooo that's very cool - it's nice to know that actually because I did wonder where the name came from!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Wouldn't make more sense calling them painted cgi, since the name literally matches what happens, unlike when movies pull spiderverse wich fills the blanks people behind cgi movies make.

[@riffmason]

Absolutely bangin' video and a massive honour to sponsor this one too! :D

[@GangsterFrankensteinComputer]

Style is always the most important aspect of a graphical style. I love some good muddy textures myself lol.

[@z.i.p.w9467]

Im pretty sure Team Fortress 2 also used cel shading, and my god does that game still looks good even after 14 years Honestly that hot take is something i can get behind too, if i can get 1 game that still looks good after 10+ years then it's no brainer for me

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Damn, good shout on TF2 - I can't believe I forgot about that one but yeah it still looks good 😊 I'm glad I'm not alone on this one - seems like big studios are obsessed with pouring millions into realistic graphics, meanwhile game enjoyers are just out here enjoying stuff like Hi-Fi Rush instead

[@diamondwave100]

…TF2 is not cel-shaded… At least not the base game without mods.

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. A;Yeah, obsessed with pushing consoles til the breaking point. B;Can you imagine mortal kombat games like this? Special forces especially, since that title displays the concept art proudly, but still goes for realism even though the protagonist have robotic strength enhancing sleaves!

[@thinkabout42]

I might have an even more extreme opinion but I feel like realistic graphics in a lot of cases is a huge waste of resources. The big companies pour billions of dollars and hours into the life-like visuals and then complain that games don't sell as they did before. Pushing more monetisation mechanics as a consequence. Oh, and of course, the absurd wait for all those 100s of gigabytes of 4k ass cheek textures to download. 😩

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Hahaha I absolutely agree with you there - 4K asscheeks don't add much value! All of my favourite games from the last few years cost £20-30 at launch and they could afford to do that because they didn't have a team of 600 graphic artists to pay for animating each individual hair or whatever. I much prefer it that way and it makes the games more affordable and accessible (as well as looking cooler)

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Over reliance upon d.l.c.,micro transactions,life service,open world,realistic graphics,zero cheat codes,too mutch difficulty settings,content padding. Did moi miss anything else that ruins modern gaming? Also virtual reality!

[@KROTHIAC]

Photo realism is the botox injection of artsyle

[@erikbihari3625]

@@KROTHIAC. Good metaphor!

[@KingDom.mp3]

Yo, I have never seen anyone get their vid sponsored by musicians. I always liked your content, I think doing that was so cool.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thanks, man! 😊 I did see an e-mail through from you but my computer has gone nuts and lost it - would you be able to message me again please and I'll be happy to discuss your inquiry?

[@KingDom.mp3]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer Yeah check again homie

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

@KingDom.mp3 thanks, I've replied! (I was being an idiot and looking at my work inbox rather than my Dreamcast Enjoyer one haha)

[@Zino_blade]

I am so happy modern games return to a more hard celshading style bc I REALLY do NOT like the soft celshading style that every company worked on after Overwatch became popluar 🙏

[@voodooopaque6357]

Happy people are finally catching onto this. Its a really great artistic choice people make

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Yea it's great to see so many smaller studios getting onto it. Sable, Aragami, Rollerdrome - those games all look fantastic

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Now just need the big guns getting into this action. Thus fare only Nintendo made that smart choice!

[@CarletonTorpin]

Your closing words are so great, and they instantly snapped me back to Jet Set Radio.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thank you very much - glad you liked this one

[@minutiaemusic]

I used to be all about realism until I started emulating games about 2 years ago. Once I saw Viewtiful Joe in 2k 60fps I was hooked! Great video, and you've earned a new subscriber!

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thank you very much indeed! I'm the same, I used to really value realistic graphics until around the seventh gen and then I just sort of stopped caring and started to prefer stylised stuff

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Two words buddy, storm hawks. The Story not only refreshingly simple, but still looks immaculate! And the Best part? Without the need for texturing and lighting, animation can get due dilligence within an Animated show!

[@Chelaxim]

My homeroom teacher and a goth girl laughed at me when i said cel shading would age better than realistic graphics. And would tease me for playing JRPGs. Me saying Tales of Vesperia and Eternal Sonata would age better than Socom Confrontation and Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion was considered laughable in 2009....who's laughing now Mr Burden and Brianna?!

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

You're having the last laugh, my friend 😊

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. And loudest.

[@alexmcgreal836]

When the video started I wondered if you would mention Fur Fighters, then you did and overlaid Megaman Legends music over the top of it. You sir, are a connoisseur of greatness, and you are now cursed with my subscription!! But in a serious note, a good art style will always be timeless and I remember very fondly the games on the older systems that went this route. Windwaker still looks pristine to this day because of it!

[@bananabike279]

Cel shading for life!

[@MageJiro]

I've always said art style is way better than realism. I wish more game companies were not afraid of this. But the indie scene has been pretty good about trying new ideas.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Oh absolutely - there are so many gorgeous indie games now with cool art styles, so it's definitely not dead!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Can you imagine mortal kombat getting more artistic rather than generic realistic sludge with million details?

[@mohauntabanyane8713]

I was wondering what art style the darkness 2, dishonoured 2 and bioshock infinite. So it's called cel-shading, pretty dope I love it.

[@joesretrostuff]

You always seem to find something original yet intriguing and identifiable to talk about. Keep em coming! You’re so right, stylised stuff is so much more future proofed than realism. That’s why the original Lion King will never age but I doubt people will be watching the CG remake for years to come. Two massive cel shaded titles i don’t think you mentioned are the Borderlands games and Breath of the Wild (and the sequel). You can tell how important cel shadings become when they’re used for AAA releases. Also like the Toy Commander bgm music there, good choice! Oh and Rez absolutely still looks epic. I’ve got the hd widescreen release on PC and it could easily have been released this year. What a game

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thank you - I'm really glad you enjoyed it! You have some excellent taste there, my friend, and you're right about Lion King too- the original will always look better. I love Borderlands - you'll see General Knoxx in this video even though I didn't shout it out. I do also love Breath of the Wild and currently playing Tears of the Kingdom now - Great games both but I kind of wish the cel-shading was more pronounced on those

[@joesretrostuff]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer Ah I didn’t spot the Borderlands ref! But yeah their cel shading is perhaps a little more subtle than say JSR. And totally agree, both BotW and TotK are amazing…

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Heck maybe could get some more cartoons that utilise this style. How come only one studio and Only from Canada thought using them for cartoons? Jane and the dragon was underplayed like zelda too!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@joesretrostuff. What would mortal kombat look like that!? Guessing pretty amazing!

[@Za_Lup]

Sadly, nowadays all big studios care about is rEaLiSm. Imagine a game with the budget of Sony exclusives but pure cel-shading.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I guess the closest we have to something like that right now would be Hi-Fi Rush, but yea I know what you mean - most big studios play it very safe these days and that's a damn shame

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Indeed incredibly insightful Independantly intelligent individual!

[@chicken_fillet8116]

im suprised nobody pointedd out the the jet set radio reference at the end

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Hey, at least you noticed 😊

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. The game isn't know for mutch else beyond style. Pariah literally argued recently that the game could've easily faded into obscurity without the look and soundtrack!

[@fedupN]

Thanks for the vid! And thanks for introducing me to a rad artist.

[@pauljakeman]

This was an awesome video mate, nice work! Art direction is better then going for super realistic for now and will look naff in 10 years style.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thanks, I'm really glad you liked the video! I'm also glad to see other people love these type of graphics 😀

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Ever since little myself grown alongside storm hawks! Also, check that show out.

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Always have, gonna still.

[@erikbihari3625]

Cartoons back then could've also benifitted from this style. Anyone heard abiut Storm Hawks?

[@zanychelly]

One thing i must say, maybe because it is played from a perspective, but Silent Hill 2 and 3 looks incredible good

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Oh absolutely, those still hold up - but they are examples of absolutely painstaking attention to detail 😊

[@erikbihari3625]

Mortal kombat special forces proudly showed off concept art within the opening. Wouldn't been amazing that they matched them? Heck sonic riders could've gotten this treatment!

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I'd have loved to see a cel-shaded Sonic Riders game!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. And you know what else have personally noticed myself?

[@tormxnta]

Do you have a list of games that you used? Some at the end looked really cool!

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I should probably add a list onto the video at some point! Where there any in particular you'd like to know as I'll be able to tell you?

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Update: I have now added the list of games in the description. I hope it helps you to find some cool stuff :)

[@lilacorkindheart8325]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer Thank You very much! I was about to ask for the same thing!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Maybe you should make one about wich franchises could benifit from some pizzazz!

[@etzmedia2k]

Just a thought but what if Shenmue III was Cel-Shaded or had a similar art style to Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise? I personally think it would have looked beautiful and probably could have fixed the weird faces of the npcs.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I actually think that would have been a genius move! I'd get a mod for that if it existed haha

[@SLRModShop]

in 2008, there were rumours that Crysis was looking so good that it was making people sick ^-^ I just googled it and found some old posts hahahahaha Now you look at it and it looks dated. As much as I don't like Nintendo, they're right on the money with their stylised games over realism.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Wow, I don't even remember Crysis - gonna have to look that one up! I have no strong feelings on Nintendo either way but yeah I love their current approach to graphics. Especially on that Link's Awakening remake

[@SLRModShop]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer I didn't like the graphics too much (I'm way too attached to the original, not sure I could have been happy with anything anyway). But it's still the best way to play Link's Awakening. I only kept my Switch for like a month, this is the only game I'll miss on it.

[@erikbihari3625]

@@SLRModShop. Just Because sega's cool with fan made games, doesn't make them better than Nintendo. Mario have the more consistent world and characters, while sonic still can't decide weather his living with humans nor other anthro creatures!

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Any interest in cartoons? Storm Hawks not only still looks immaculate, but the overall story and way they tell that also refreshingly simple, but not the"insult your intelligence"way!

[@yahiryellow1]

Read my mind when thinking of these types of games the first one that's came to mind was okami, the second one was that trippy rolling things up into a ball around the environment game called?

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Haha Katamari Damacy - that's a great game!

[@Bart851]

I think realistic graphics are pushed mostly to just push more fancy graphics cards and such. When a game aims for more stylized approach, it's not as hard on resources as a game that focuses on modelling millions of polygons on some random NPC's herpes alone. Games with cel-shaded and simpler aesthetics both look good and can run on your grandma's computer, but how will Nvidia sell those RTXs?

[@YellowBriefs]

You forgot XIII and The Simpsons Game

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

XIII is amazing! I just ran out of space for clips in the video haha

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Also the three eds game, from midway itself!

[@zanydrudrent9292]

What’s the game at 5:11 ? Also great vid.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! That game is called Steamboy. It's a PS2 adaptation of the Katsuhiro Otomo anime

[@travisbplank]

For once I have to disagree with you! Well, kinda. I like a lot of cel-shaded games but there's something really chunky and gross looking with the art style in games like Okami, Cel Damage, and even Wind Waker in my opinion. I'm pretty sure Sonic Shuffle has the same thing going on. I'm not sure what it is but I feel like it might be having really thick black outlines? I dunno, someone smart has to tell me why I dislike those particular art styles.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

To each their own, my friend - everyone has their own tastes and preferences 😊 I do love cel-shading but I'm not suggesting it's superior necessarily, just that I feel like it ages very well.

[@kees4945]

I love the video, but “low poly textures” is not a thing. The poly(gon) count refers to the details of the model before the textures are applied. I think you should refer to them as “low resolution textures” instead.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Thanks, that makes sense

[@erikbihari3625]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer. Lower polygons, better image mostly.

[@novared7986]

4.58 what is this game i love the animation i would love a game like that

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Steamboy for the PS2. It's by the dude who did Akira. Very beautiful game, right?

[@novared7986]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer thank you its amazing on ps2 !!! Thank you

[@novared7986]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer so it is possible to make mowaday a 3d video game that looks like a full animé with great animations ... i would love an open world . I m day dreaming

[@cruzi2tru]

U cant tell me that new hellboy game looks bad asf

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I think it looks cool but worried the gameplay might be a bit bland. I haven't played it yet though

[@cruzi2tru]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer true it looks good like the comics but i heard the ppl say the gameplays janky

[@DeafCope]

Ephinea pso has cel-shade options ^^ so does pso2NGS (not that it will make me play that garbage again, but atleast it looks better)

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

Oh dang, I'm actually on Ephinea but didn't know about those options... I gotta check that out! 😁

[@ZekeDeezy-e2du21t]

At 7:53 what's the game?

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

It's one of the PS2 Space Battleship Yamato games. Bit of a long title but it's called Uchuu Senkan Yamato: Ankoku Seidan Teikoku no Gyakushuu

[@ZekeDeezy-e2du21t]

@@DreamcastEnjoyer Ah. Thank you.

[@bradley5319]

Hifi rush

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

I still need to play it!

[@TheAlison1456]

I know this is a video about cel-shading/NPR, but there's a wide breadth of realistic graphics. Japanese games often have semireal graphics, sometimes leaning towards Final Fantasy Advent Children, other times towards Final Fantasy 12. Western games also had kinds of realism. I find there's something magical about the realism found in 2005 games like those by Codemasters, or PSP games, where the texture work is either handmade or looks a very particular way. You said you're not a graphics snob and that NPR isn't necessarily better than photoreal, just that its tech doesn't need to be updated, and this contributes to the "illusion" of it being "timeless" and "better". Hard disagree. Realism casts a long shadow in art history and what we find is artists dropped realism in favor of more outlandish surreal kinds of art.

[@DreamcastEnjoyer]

To each their own and I certainly respect your views on it. Soulcalibur and Shenmue are two of my favourite games and both of those were mind-blowing in terms of graphics when they released. I just find I have a preference for more stylised stuff these days, but certainly no right or wrong - just opinion

[@erikbihari3625]

@@TheAlison1456. Basically you disagreed with his point immensely, then immediately said you're agreeing with him? You're the superhero called"bipolar"man?

[@TheAlison1456]

@@erikbihari3625 it seems you don't know what I'm disagreeing with. I disagree that "NPR isn't necessarily better than photoreal" - I believe it IS Necessarily better.

[@erikbihari3625]

@@TheAlison1456. First what's n.p.r., and second, wow couldn't get any more wrong. Spongebob battle for bikini bottom rehydrated and spyro reignited trilogy could've used this!

[@TheAlison1456]

​@@erikbihari3625 It seems you are more confused, not less. NPR is an acronym for Non-Physically-Based Rendering, which is the opposite of PBR, Physically Based Rendering, aka photorealism. I think those two games you mentioned would, necessarily, look better if they were NPR. And I think the same of a game like Jump Force (2019).