What do you think of the new art style?

[Crainy]

Many of you have noticed that the art style of Ultimate is quite different to Smash 4. I almost feel like its a mix between Smash 4´s and Brawls art style.

Personally, Im still on the fence about it, but I also thought Smash 4 was a remarkably good looking game in terms of art style. Either way, I really like how it looks, Im just not sure if I like it more or less than Smash 4 atm.

Some comparison images, what do you think?

Smash 4:

Ultimate:

Smash 4:

Ultimate:

I really love the colors in the Smash 4, though I do have to say, in some instances Ultimate almost looks like CGI, its that good:

 

[Ferio_Kun]

I kind of like the brighter colors from Smash 4. The new little details are nice, but even then it's not very vivid. Although with a cast this big maybe the detail of characters was something that needed to be more simple?

 

[DonkaFjord]

I kind of miss some of the high saturated colors, however I imagine that pikachu is so pale because it is a female (and I think they are a paler shade in the games, right?) I think the smoke and impact lines/dust effects look really nice and gives some of the action scenes a 'comic' feel.

 

[dahuterschuter]

Looks kinda gross. Not sure why the downgrades. We've got Woody Kong.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Honestly, it's a bit too cartoony for me. I'll take it, but I did prefer Sm4sh's artstyle.

Especially the minimalist character icons? Meh...

 

[Lyndis_]

Looks quite unfinished. Sometimes characters look outright gross in darker stages.

Spoiler: Mario on a brighter stage, Onett

Characters like Mario look worse and arguably flatter than their Wii U counterpart all around, even on bright and vibrant stages like Onett or Battlefield.

Spoiler: Wii U lighting for comparison

I'm expecting that they're still working on the visuals, and that we'll see some touching up similar to what Odyssey got from the reveal to launch.

In support of this, I'd point out how it's not just that every character looks off or out of place, it's only some of them overall and other characters on certain stages. It's very inconsistent and I'm certain unintentional.

This, for example, is absolutely gorgeous and a huge upgrade from the Wii U lighting.

Spoiler: Wii U lighting for comparison

I definitely see this as unfinished and hoping it will look nicer at launch. The stages look fine, but the characters are inconsistent on many stages or sometimes uglier everywhere.

 

[-crump-]

I love it, I think it looks fantastic, much better than Smash 4.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

I enjoy the new designs but some like Mario feels a bit off with the color


I'm positive this isn't the final design so they will do the final touches

 

[ssbashworld]

Sometimes it has looked better, sometimes worse, at least it is something different from last time to keep things fresh and they could fix up some of the worse looking stuff before launch

 

[Crainy]

There are really two issues I have with the current artstyle. For one, they added this kinda ugly outline to most characters, and it makes the game look alot more flat and lighting alot less accurate. You can see it clearly here:

Another one is that they added small detailed normal maps to all of the characters to add tiny details, and on some, it just isnt working out and takes away from how clean Smash 4 looked. You can see it here on this Sonic screenshot, just look at his gloves, its a mess, looks quite amateurish:

Overall though, I feel like if they work abit more on the lighting, it can look really beautiful, better than Smash 4.

 

[Eisen]

There's a lot of work to be done. Mario Odyssey looked a lot different a couple months before release afaik. There's a few places where it looks a bit unpolished, but overall I think the art direction is PERFECT. There's this weird desaturated-but-not color palette that I've studied a bit that Melee and other gamecube games use I'm quite fond of, and it seems like they're bringing it back here. I'm very glad because Smash 4 looked a tinge too saturated for me.

This looks a lot like Melee but updated + some tweeks (visually, I mean) and seeing as Melee is one of my biggest sources of artistic inspiration, I'm incredibly satisfied.

 

[Khao]

It's weird. Really inconsistent. Some scenes look amazing, and a clear improvement from Wii U, but others just look... Off. Not really technically, but in terms of lighting and coloring. The first in-game moment they showed, with Mario jumping out of the pipe in Battlefield, I was actually shocked for a second from how ugly it looked. But then they kept showing off more and I started liking it, thinking I just had to get used to it. But not really, as they once again showed scenes on Battlefield and it looked equally horrible, lighting almost seems to work completely different from stage to stage. And well, if that's the case, I'm hoping it's just something they can fix once they release the game, as when this game manages to look good, it's unquestionably the best looking Smash so far. It just looks strangely ugly sometimes.

The Mario on Battlefield scene gave off a horrible first impression though, From Melee up until now, I've never had such a negative first reaction to the graphics in a Smash game. So far, even though Ultimate can look better at points, I'd say that Wii U easily wins out of simple consistency.

 

[Infoholic]

It's nothing I'm in LOVE with, but it's passing.

 

[DeiSakuChris]

Pretty much an improvement over Smash 4 on every aspects. It has so much SOUL.
It especially looks gorgeous in motion and it can only get even better from there.

 

[Bassoonist]

In general I like it a heck of a lot more than Super Smash Bros 4. SSB4's graphics were not actually what I was envisioning when I thought of Smash in HD, Ultimate is a lot closer!

I'm so glad a new game was made for the Switch instead of a port. It's a HUGE difference!

 

[staindgrey]

Speaking solely of the character renders and crops for character select, it's actually a huge improvement.

There's not a single character render I've found that I don't like as much or more than the Smash 4 version. The poses are all great, the coloring and lighting is good, etc. Most of them actually look like they're performing an action, rather than just posing.

 

[roymustang1990-]

smash switch art style looks unfinished,it still looks good though and even better in motion . Truly looks like an HD title now

 

[Caravan of Noobs]

I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. On one hand sometimes it look absolutely beautiful like the shot of Kirby in the Everyone is Here trailer and R.O.B.'s updated character model but then there are also characters like Mario where the lighting completely washes his colors out and Ike where his PoR outfit looks like the lighting is cutting through him and then his RD looks like a downgrade of his Wii U model. There were also the part of the trailer with Zero Suit Samus and Wii Fit Trainter and it looks like a PS2 game.

Spoiler

First impression of the in game visuals aren't so good. It kind of looks like a mod pack in some segments but then there's some great additions to the visuals like the victory screen's explosion of color and the slow down visual effect when you land a strong his that reminds me of the backgrounds of UMvC3 when you activate a special move. The UI looks nice and colorful and I'm a big fan of the new stock icons.

It looks inconsistent right now but I hope they polish everything up by release because I want to see more of this.

Spoiler

and less of this

Spoiler

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm sure there's a lot of polishing that's going to go into the game over the next few months. I bet all of the characters are already finished save an echo or two, so they'll probably going to spend the rest of the time making everything look good.

 

[RustyRemains]

It looks very cartoony and expressive in game, it's honestly exactly what I wanted from this game, I understand people saying it can look a little weird in the screenshots sent but when I just look at gameplay there is not a single point where I think it looks weird or off

And besides that I just love all of the new visual effects during moves or getting hit

So yeah even though some things might look kinda off when zooming in on it it looks absolutely amazing during gameplay which is all that matters to me

 

[YoshiandToad]

I think I prefer the new DK fur texture and most of the renders(Luigi in particular), but for the most part I honestly think the style is a slight downgrade from the bright colours of Sm4sh.

Something feels off with the more muted colours on certain characters such as Pac-Man, for instance.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

The art style is good; especially with some of the characters. They look gorgeous. But this....

It’s like a Barbie figure of Young Link. That hair looks like plastic.

 

[Slip33]

I think the colors in Smash 4 look better. The colors in this one look a bit washed out. Also I don't know how feel about the new smoke effect, when the characters get knocked far. Seems distracting.

 

[Eternal phoenix Fire]

The game is going to look incredible.

How many of y’all seen it in person? ok

I know the color issue is a reoccurring issue for everyone, but it’s a trailer. It could be made to look like that, that and there are resolution issues when transitioning between screens. The ending scenes in Smash 4 when you beat classic mode don’t look that great either.

Also, these are stills. Don’t have the same impact as seeing the fluidity of the game.

And forget about the colors for a second. What about the polygon count? Characters don’t have as many jagged edges on their person as in previous iterations. What about the fluidity of motion in the attacks? They look smooth and very well coregraphed, especially Mario’s. There’s so much skewed information.

This game already looks great, a and it’s going to look even better. Look at the bigger picture.

 

[KetchupKaffei]

I think it looks amazing and far better than Smash 4. Like by 100x better than Smash 4.

In Smash 4 it looked nice at first for a little while, but then it got dull real quick. Eventually a eyesore for me and many others.
I think the lighting and details were best with Melee and Brawl, and I'm glad they took a approach like this. Now I don't have to change my TV's setting to protect my eyes from how bright everyone was in Smash 4.
My only complaint about this game's look is sorta with Wolf. In some pictures it looks like he was a fan-made mod.

Also the lighting is based on map and the environments, which is why you see such detail on Samus's armor when she is using her projectiles or on Pikachu and whoever he does a electrical shock to. The game is running on Unreal Engine 4, which is one of the best looking and smoothest engine as of yet.

The game still has like half a year in development, though. So I wouldn't write anything in stone about the lighting or designs of some characters as well for gameplay.

 

[Big-Cat]

The game still has six months before release so I don't think it's a good time to really evaluate the graphics of Ultimate. Wolf, for example, is clearly not finished. You have to remember they needed to get everyone in a functional state in time for E3. Function first, looks second.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The game still has six months before release so I don't think it's a good time to really evaluate the graphics of Ultimate. Wolf, for example, is clearly not finished. You have to remember they needed to get everyone in a functional state in time for E3. Function first, looks second.

That is true. Fur always takes a bit of time, which could be why DK and co. and the spacies look quite off. Most of the humanoids' hair is a bit off as well, so I guess that will be fixed as it goes along. All of the renders look great, so I'd assume they're working on that.

By the way, I assume we haven't seen renders for Ike/Bayo/Cloud's alternate look or the Koopalings yet?

Also the lighting on some stages is off, so I'd expect they'll still be taking some time to fix that up too.

One question for everyone, though. Do you think the minimalistic character icons are final? And if so, do you like them? Personally, I preferred the more detailed ones from Brawl. I think Sm4sh's looked a bit off, but I can't put my finger on why - maybe they were too realistic for a small icon or the drop shadow - but I think the super minimalist ones we've seen so far are a bit weird.

 

[Aurora_Borealis]

Lighting could be tweaked a bit, somethings have a plastic look, though you could argue Smash is supposed to be toys/figures. Donkey Kong needs fur, but I like the normal maps.

 

[MacDaddyNook]

That is true. Fur always takes a bit of time, which could be why DK and co. and the spacies look quite off. Most of the humanoids' hair is a bit off as well, so I guess that will be fixed as it goes along. All of the renders look great, so I'd assume they're working on that.

By the way, I assume we haven't seen renders for Ike/Bayo/Cloud's alternate look or the Koopalings yet?

Also the lighting on some stages is off, so I'd expect they'll still be taking some time to fix that up too.

One question for everyone, though. Do you think the minimalistic character icons are final? And if so, do you like them? Personally, I preferred the more detailed ones from Brawl. I think Sm4sh's looked a bit off, but I can't put my finger on why - maybe they were too realistic for a small icon or the drop shadow - but I think the super minimalist ones we've seen so far are a bit weird.

I honestly really like the minimalistic icons. I can't say why, but it feels less goofy, for lack of a better word, than simply using a character's disembodied head for their stock count.

 

[Meandpikachu]

Comparing Toon Link From Smash 4 to Ultimate.

Spoiler: Smash 4 Toon Link

Spoiler: Ultimate Toon Link

 

[Questionmark222]

One word:

Clean.

 

[Scicky]

Characters look bad right now, but as others have said I'm expecting an upgrade at launch. Stages look pretty solid though and the exaggerated visual effects and little touches like Squirtles dash animation really do it for me. As it stands, the game looks a lot better in motion than it does in screenshots.

 

[Dracyoshi]

Some great improvements! Most of the visual changes made have been great, like Zelda and Ganondorf. But there are some issues! A few characters look too glossy and refined, like Link, and hair and fur needs a lot of work.

Spoiler: Issue Example 1

As you can see here, Link's hair looks too glossy and his skin lacks definition and looks too clean. It's like he's a plastic doll. The stage itself has an obvious low polycount and texture seams.

Lighting off of certain objects and on certain stages has a few issues of their own though, for example in this screenshot:

Spoiler: Issue Example 2

The light from the Monado lights up Shulk like the sun and ruins this entire scene.

Those examples show that there's still a lot of work to be done. I've got hope that these issues will be fixed by launch though, they're obvious enough issues to not be missed. Most of the character models likely aren't fully refined and finished yet.

 

[Khao]

The game is running on Unreal Engine 4, which is one of the best looking and smoothest engine as of yet.

Unless more info was shared that I'm not aware of, this is actually a misconception that's been floating around. At the end of the Nintendo Direct you can see all sorts of credits and company copyrights, and indeed you can see Unreal Engine 4 being credited... But these are the credits for the Nintendo Direct as a whole, not just for Smash alone (look a bit deeper and you'll find credits for Bethesda, From Software, Fortnite and all sorts of games completely unrelated to Smash).

It's funny 'cause the exact same thing happened after the first Super Mario Odyssey trailer. Unreal Engine was somewhere in the credits for the presentation and a ton of people assumed it meant Mario was using it.

 

[ridleystan]

i think this is my favorite art style

 

[mechmaster90]

Mixed feelings, the new shaders are nice, the lights and shadows have some nice depth on certain stages and angles, but sometimes the characters would look washed out. Some character models look pretty bad too, probably placeholder.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I honestly really like the minimalistic icons. I can't say why, but it feels less goofy, for lack of a better word, than simply using a character's disembodied head for their stock count.

It may just be something I need to see a few times and get used to. They're not bad, they're just different.

But I'm also slightly weirded out by the fact that Snake's icon shaved

 

[Oddball]

For the most part, I like them. The colors are a bit diluted on some characters, but I don't think I'd notice that much without close up pcitures to look at.

The art style has a certain almost clay-like quality to it that I really enjoy.

Also, I never actually liked the more furry Donkey Kong look from the last game. That felt like they were going too far in the details.

 

[DBPirate]

So far, I’m liking the changes. I have no doubts it will be improved by launch. The more realistic characters look a little rough.

 

[Alexis357]

As always, it's nice to see how Super Smash Bros. is graphically improving and featuring new content in each new game. I think they found a good balance between a realistic and cartoony approach, which gives great visuals but also strengthen the comic aspect when it comes to fighting.

The thing I like the most in this new title are some of the new animations and expressions for the characters, they seem very alive and more natural when fighting (That Luigi's F-Tilt <3), I never really liked how some characters could spin or distord themselves to attack such as the old Pikachu's Nair or Mario's Bair.

The visuals are great, but some models needs a bit to be polished, especially the materials that were used, some looks pretty exagerated and too shiny, Wolf also looks a bit less detailed in term of polygons compared to the rest off the cast. The sprites' aspects are a good choice, but maybe too huge and distracting for the moment.

I guess it will be hard to polish the game in 6 months, but it will not prevent me to enjoy the game in term of gameplay and eye pleasure, it looks already good for me.