Sprites vs 3D models

[Throhdown]

The sprite work in the pokemon games are usually rather impressive..or were as I should say as Gamefreak has decided that is time to stop with all the spritework and focus on bringing Pokemon to the future with fancy schmancy 3D models.Don't get me wrong, the pokemon still look good in the sixth gen games and continue to look good in the upcoming 7th gen, but I can't say I don't miss the old days when the games were all just sprites.

Anyone else feel the same or am I some sort of weirdo?

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

You are some weirdo.

[YinYang9705]

no, I miss the sprites as well

[Timber Dragon]

We're both weirdos, then.

[BlueMoonIceCream]

Can I be weird too?

[Amethyst]

i miss the sprites

for purely non-selfish reasons.................

[Imperial]

I prefer the sprites too. The 3D models look much more simple, and their colors are so dull you may think the pokemons are shiny when you're used to sprites. And there's Gengar. The poor ghost looks like a big marshmallow now

[starkidcosmo]

yeah I liked the sprites more, but it might just be that the 3D models don't really suit the pokemon that weren't designed with it in mind. Like, all of the new pokemon look fine but the older pokemon look... not so great. Like Marshtomp or Machop, for example. Their eyes look really dead somehow.

[RudeStyle]

#bringbacksprites

[Bewilderer]

I have to agree. Many pokemon that had looked really cool now seem to be very lackluster with the 3D models. Especially Tentacruel... it looks so plastic...

[guy who doesn't post]

Most Pokemon looked much better with sprites. 3D models, while for some Pokemon they look good, overall just look... Eh...

[Phi-Bi]

Aside from attack animation, I prefer sprites....for now. The 3D models has dull colors and many old Pokemon don't look right with 3D models. Gen 5 Pokemon's animation also shows more personality aside from not-so-clean animation. However, newer Pokemon is well-suited with the 3D models so I guess when the number of Pokemon has reached one thousand (perhaps less), we (the weirdos) will enjoy the 3D model not only because the number but perhaps once they reach that number the current 3D model is remade with better quality, similar with models from Pokken, eh?

However from fan-game developing perspective, I think that having battlers with 3D models and the whole other things in sprites is not a good idea. The 3D models looks nice in official games but for fan-games, with the currently available resources, sprites fit better.

Edited July 13, 2016 by PhantomBima

[Masquerain]

I don't want the sprites back, but I do wish the current 3D models get more..dynamic . There are some pokemanz which look terrible in 3d models (lookin at you eelektross) , an others are annoyingly permaflying. Wish they'd add more movement or something

[Throhdown]

Well glad to see I'm not a complete weirdo and people do seem to miss the spritework, I'm not trying to lead some sort of resistance against the 3D models or anything but it's just nice to see people did have a love for them :3

[SilverJakler]

I too miss the sprites. The sprites had so much more character to them, especially in Gen V with the animated sprites. The models look alright, and as said before, I really don't like the fact that a lot of the colors on the models look washed out. But it does seem like they're fixing that somewhat with Sun and Moon.

But, having the models does come with some perks, such as them being easier to import to other games. And if they need to edit them to make them look better, they can just edit how the model looks or moves instead of carefully adjusting the sprite, which is something I hope they do for a lot of mons that have the more balnd models (ie Delphox).

[NickCrash]

They did all the necessary work to implement all pokemon in 3D. As the game progresses, the older 3D models will be revamped and improved. I suppose we will notice the first changes in Gen7. I don't want Snorlax or Haunter to remain derpy and lifeless.

[Liel]

I personally liked the sprites better as well. The 3D models look somewhat dull to me, lacking saturation and such. I do expect the models to be improved significantly in Sun and Moon, so there's that...

[SilverJakler]

They did all the necessary work to implement all pokemon in 3D. As the game progresses, the older 3D models will be revamped and improved. I suppose we will notice the first changes in Gen7. I don't want Snorlax or Haunter to remain derpy and lifeless.

See this is what I'm thinking will happen. Pass that revamp Delphox's way.

[Monochrome_Complex]

High end pixel art is more impressive than 3D models IMO. As someone who grew up during the 16 bit era and witnessed the mass shift from 2D to 3D firsthand, I've ALWAYS preferred animations and feel of quality spritework. BW's sprites could have easily went into greater detail and fluidity, but let's face it, it's much less time consuming and more efficient to work with 3D.I do miss and prefer sprites for pokemon, but I understand why they moved to 3D models. That said, they need to make a number of improvements on them, starting with the washed out colors.

If you want to see masterful spritework, I would suggest looking at SNK's catalog, especially in the mid-late 90s. Metal Slug, King Of Fighters, and Last Blade had some gorgeous stuff.

More impressive than any level in Street Fighter V/IV, or even 3 series for that matter. This was from 1999 mind you.

Not that Capcom was any slouch either. Their sprite animations were top tier,and it's a shame Alex looks and moves better in 3rd Strike than he does in SFV. 1999 version of character is graphically more impressive than his 2016 incarnation in a game released 3 generations later on more powerful hardware. That right there should tell you just how much longevity incredible sprite work can have.

What we can only hope for now is that in the future pokemon models are animated more dynamically and with more unique animations.

Edited July 17, 2016 by Monochrome_Complex

[Dreamy]

I was personally not a big fan of gen 5's graphics. the sprite work itself was fine, but I disliked the way it tried to add depth by making the "further away" things noticeably lower resolution. For this reason I prefer gen 4 graphics to gen 5.

[Chase]

Not surprisingly, Ame prefers sprites to models, and I prefer models to sprites.

Reborn being a bunch of weirdos isn't new though.

I really liked the graphical overhaul in Gen 6 largely because it was the primary highlight of the game. Sprites feel so static in comparison to me.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

[SilverJakler]

Not surprisingly, Ame prefers sprites to models, and I prefer models to sprites.

Reborn being a bunch of weirdos isn't new though.

I really liked the graphical overhaul in Gen 6 largely because it was the primary highlight of the game. Sprites feel so static in comparison to me.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

I honestly miss the way they did sprites in Gen V. They felt really alive with the animations they had because the were constantly moving. It's a shame there weren't more main series games in Generation V, or at least one more main series game done in that style.

[DiLimiter]

Honestly, I like both, but only when each one is done well. 3D models have the capability to look fantastic but there's also a very high possibility of them looking bland and uninspired. The same can be said for sprites, though I rarely find any good cases of games having amazing sprite-work nowadays. And I'm not talking any run-of-the-mill "this looks ok" sprite-work; I mean gorgeous and beautifully animated sprites where you're ever-so slightly unconvinced that they're not hand-drawn.

A good example of this is KoF XIII. I mean, just look at this.

[Alex]

I liked the personality from gen 5 animations, but super flat stunfisk in gen 6 is the best.

[Honchy]

I don't, because we were wanting 3d models ever since the 3ds came out and maybe even before. I certainly use sprites though, because it's leagues easier to sprite in 2d. That's all.