does anyone else miss sprites?

Started by Sheep July 26th, 2020 10:33 AM
  • 1466 views
  • 13 replies

Sheep

She/Her
Australia
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 7 Hours Ago
39,253 posts
16.6 Years
been feeling nostalgic lately for the days of sprite pokémon games :( especially in bw2/bw2, that's when they were at their peak imo. is it just me? or do you guys like the 3D models more?

colours

she/her
gracidea fields
Seen December 30th, 2022
Posted December 29th, 2022
8,974 posts
18.1 Years
i miss sprites too, but as someone who grew up with spinoffs more during the sprite era (pokemon stadium 2/pokemon colosseum/pokemon XD), i'm more fond of models. the execution of models can definitely be better, though.

Sheep

She/Her
Australia
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 7 Hours Ago
39,253 posts
16.6 Years
yeahhh :( one that comes to mind is wooper from swsh, couldn't find the exact image I'm thinking of online so I pulled someone's youtube video cover:

Spoiler:


when wooper appears in the wild its intro animation has it open its mouth, and since it's just drawn on with no depth it looks really bad imo. stuff like that wouldn't be a problem with sprites!

Flowerchild

> oh my

Age 24
She/Her
Hyperspace
Seen 5 Days Ago
Posted July 7th, 2022
8,699 posts
13 Years
Sprites were way better :( they didn't have to be, there are plenty of games that do models right but in Pokemon they're a) kind of bland and colourless b) not animated with anywhere near the personality the BW sprites were. instead of having some cute idle loop expressive of their personality they basically just sway back and forth.

Sooome of them are better at this, I remember thinking the models in LGPE looked beautiful bc they were more colourful, higher res and matched the environments, but the animations were still bland as hell. I think with sprites, especially static sprites my brain is willing to accept some lack of quality because I know it's a compressed look, but when you have a fully 3D animated battle scene it realllyyyy calls attention to the remaining glaring problems for me, like "wait, why is every pokemon just swaying back and forth," "wait, half the move animations still look like trash". etc etc.

In general I like where they've been going with the Gen 8 (counting LGPE) battles and they definitely look WAY better than the 3DS era, but honestly they should have just stuck with sprites.

colours

she/her
gracidea fields
Seen December 30th, 2022
Posted December 29th, 2022
8,974 posts
18.1 Years
for what it's worth, i prefer static sprites and maybe a few frames of animation aka Emerald/Platinum-esque era sprites rather than Gen 5's weird bouncy/dancey sprites that i don't think would look the greatest on every pokemon out there. for most of them it works, but on some others, they kinda look goofy.

Cherrim

Age 34
she / her
Toronto
Seen 4 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Week Ago
33,049 posts
20.4 Years
Static sprites had so much more character. There was a lot of love put into each one in terms of accuracy and dynamic posing. That's not to say the 3D models and rigs aren't well done, but they aren't at all exaggerated and they just feel kinda... lifeless. I like them just fine in side games and whatnot, but now that every Pokémon game is just gonna feel kind of the same in terms of Pokémon and animations, I can't say I'm not disappointed.

I hope more side games make use of sprites or interesting art styles just because they can. It might help make up for how sanitized the main games feel to me now.


paired with professor plum.

Lunar

Age 24
Male
England
Seen September 16th, 2020
Posted September 15th, 2020
Yeah I love Pokemon sprites from back in the day, even the player character, other NPCs and the world around you, there's just something special about the Pokemon sprites that can't be found in many other games imo. It's definitely because I was brought up on the sprite versions of Pokemon, so I'm super nostalgic for it :)

I love the 3D models though and its always a direction I've wanted Pokemon to go in with Pokemon in the overworld etc.

Palamon

Silence is Purple.

Age 26
he/him
Snezhnaya, Teyvat.
Seen 3 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Day Ago
7,784 posts
14.3 Years
I prefer animated sprites, but I definitely do miss 2d sprites. Pokemon has just been reusing the same 3d models since generation six and just... slapping on a new texture. Not a fan, and I never will be. :| I wish they'd just bring back sprites in some way, even if it's just a 2d side game.

Fairy

she / they
in the flowers
Seen January 27th, 2023
Posted January 6th, 2023
That’s gonna be an emphatic yes from me. Pixel art is not only one of my favorite mediums, but I believe each Pokémon has so much more charm and character compared to their updated models.
admin
daily artist
m&g
vpp
tcg
art studio

gpxplus
skymin - ivysaur - gardevoir
SW:7755-1826-2784
alt: dreadqueen
devantart: douxette
monster hunter discord

on leave of absence

Brendino

The Ruins of Alph
Seen 15 Hours Ago
Posted April 6th, 2023
8,567 posts
13.4 Years
Emerald has some of my favorite sprites in the series. A couple of animated frames, so it's not overdone like gen 5's style (a great idea that I think was poorly executed).

I'd even be fine if they brought in anime style 2D art. I just don't think the 3D models are all that great, especially when they're the exact same across different games and apps (GO + Home), just with different textures.
He/Him
Hoenn
Seen February 25th, 2023
Posted April 9th, 2021
904 posts
3.4 Years
I do so much.
I have replayed fire red and emerald so many times I can't count. I also like XY's style of battle though

virtualpet

The Anomaly's Mewtwo

Age 22
Ask Pronouns
Lilycove City
Seen March 30th, 2023
Posted March 7th, 2023
147 posts
2.8 Years
Absolutely, was actually talking to a friend the other day about how the shift to 3D kind of made Pokemon loose a lot of appeal to me. The sprites had so much personality and replaying while the games, Black and White especially, the art in those games still blow me away and they feel a lot more timeless than the 3D models. I also kind of miss how big the sprite community was before the 3D shift, I know it's still around but it seemed to have died off as there are no canon sprites for new Pokemon.

Hyzenthlay

running with the wolves tonight

Age 23
Rito Village
Seen 2 Hours Ago
Posted 1 Day Ago
7,802 posts
10.5 Years
I adore sprites, particularly the Gen 4 ones, and while it can be difficult for me to go from 3D models back to pixel art, I find that the models are just... lacking something. I'm not sure what is is, but I'd love to see more life breathed into them in future games!