I need more of this "HD 2D"...

[Shinobido Heart]

Octopath Traveler:

Project Triangle Strategy:

Valheim(honorable mention):

ANNO Mutationem(honorable mention):

I don't know if I should count ANNO Mutationem as "HD 2D" but...eh, I'll give it a mention just because I like the aesthetic and more people should know about it. ;)

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I love pixel graphics, 2D sprites, and 2D sprites in a 3D world! (Ragnarok Online, Wild Arms 2, Chantelise, etc.)

But what really gets to me are these games that combine the three with high end lighting effects.

I don't know what kind of black magic is at work here, but these games are really visually impressive to me and sometimes down right cozy at times.

Are there other games out there that do these things?

 

[b3llydrum]

Me too. I was hoping for more copycats ever since the Octopath team dubbed the term "HD-2D", but so far Octopath and Project Trapeze Starfish seem to be the best go-tos.

 

[spam musubi]

Valheim is literally a 3D game in every way

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Valheim is literally a 3D game in every way

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Yeah, I was debating if I wanted to put it in the list.

I think I'll keep it up there but I'll put honorable mention on it.

 

[Sandfox]

Me too. I was hoping for more copycats ever since the Octopath team dubbed the term "HD-2D", but so far Octopath and Project Trapeze Starfish seem to be the best go-tos.

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SE trademarked HD-2D, so I doubt there will be too many of those.

 

[bixente]

Cassette Beasts?

 

[spam musubi]

Yeah, I was debating if I wanted to put it in the list.

I think I'll keep it up there but I'll put honorable mention on it.

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To be more constructive towards the thread, I think this aesthetic has been around a while. Basically things like Disgaea, Recettear etc have been doing this. There's a recent resurgence of devs really going ham on it though. Ori games are technically HD 2D by your definition as well, as they're rendered in a 3D engine as 2D sprites.

 

[The Dink]

Don't forget Eiyuden Chronicles:

 

[Slaythe]

Your honorable mention looks better than the rest lol

Eiyuden chronicle is gonna be fire

 

[Mediking]

Gamefreak when?

 

[Shinobido Heart]

Cassette Beasts?

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Oh cool! I never heard of this! I looked up a trailer for it.

Don't forget Eiyuden Chronicles:

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Oh right, this game! It looks good too! >.<

I almost backed it but I think I'm going to wait and see on this one.

 

[b3llydrum]

SE trademarked HD-2D, so I doubt there will be too many of those.

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The term or the artstyle?

Don't forget Eiyuden Chronicles:

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This is what I'm talking about, hell yeah

 

[Sandfox]

The term or the artstyle?

This is what I'm talking about, hell yeah

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I would assume both

 

[b3llydrum]

I would assume both

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Seeing how two non-SE examples have been posted since, I'm gonna keep my hopes up

 

[Dolce]

I don't like how Octopath looks too much but Project Triangle looks amaaaaazing.

 

[barjed]

FWIW we are currently making a game that uses this style of graphics. Not revealed yet but won't be long.

 

[Shinobido Heart]

The term or the artstyle?

This is what I'm talking about, hell yeah

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Yeah I wasn't sure what to title the thread since I don't know the name of this type of art style.

 

[RedOnePunch]

I love the way the SMW sprites look in Mario maker. Would love a remake of sorts but with the original physics.

 

[Jimmypython]

Don't forget Eiyuden Chronicles:

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This is better than Octopath IMO

 

[Renna Hazel]

Your honorable mention looks better than the rest lol

Eiyuden chronicle is gonna be fire

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You just sold me on both these games. Time to Google

 

[craven68]

13 sentinel is not in it ?

 

[Dark_Castle]

Personally, not a big fan. They look too clean, and felt like they're relying a lot on fancy post processing. I don't like it. Triangle strategy does look better than Octopath due to less use of vignette effect.

 

[Charred Knight]

This is better than Octopath IMO

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Eiyuuden Chronicles are mimicking Suikoden, a PS 1 game, while Octopath Traveler was meant to mimick Final Fantasy VI, an SNES game.

Also Eiyuuden Chronicles is less beholden to mimicking it perfectly which made their video much better looking.

 

[JustJavi]

All those screenshots are beautiful.

 

[Dark_Castle]

This is better than Octopath IMO

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I hate to say it but I honestly prefer the more basic, old ass pixelated look of Suikoden 2 than Eiyuuden's shiny new visuals.

 

[Bedlam]

I wouldn't call it "HD 2D", rather "Retro 3D" or something like that since this style harkens back to the days of early 3D graphics with low res, pixelated textures and 2D sprites.

 

[Naner]

What's 2D about Valheim aside from flat grass textures?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Does Fantasian from Mistwalker count?

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

I don't like the muted colour palette and very aggressive tilt shift effect of Octopath, wish they dialed that back a bit.

 

[jediyoshi]

What's 2D about Valheim aside from flat grass textures?

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Obviously it doesn't fit with OP's theme, but I'm sure they're just referring to how primitive its models are along with its textures being deliberately pixelated

 

[eXistor]

I need more of it too, but preferably not from the Octopath devs.

 

[xir]

why is Valheim there at all? i dont get it

 

[fontguy]

3D Dot Game Heroes

 

[Kupo Kupopo]

why is Valheim there at all? i dont get it

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welcome to 'hd2d' land!...

 

[werezompire]

I generally call these 2.5D since they're 2D sprites in a 3D environment. Grandia 1 & Xenogears being some big examples of the past.

 

[gothmog]

I love this style because if you make it too clean it looks like an old flash game which just turns me off. Having the pixelated art makes it feel cozy.

 

[random88]

I need Chrono Break done in the style of Octopath Traveler.

 

[trashbandit]

Thread title: HD 2D
OP: literally a 3D game

 

[mindsale]

I really love this art style, the contrast between pixel art and realistic effects or geometry is so amazing.

 

[Mentalist]

Sakuna would fit this definition too, no?

 

[werezompire]

We're considering using this kind of style in a future game so we did some mock-ups of Lunar: Eternal Blue (one of my all-time favorite games) on the Sega CD in a 2.5D style to see how quickly we could do it and how it would look. Ignore the new fonts since we just threw something in.

 

[Nester]

Agreed.

 

[RedSwirl]

I think Triangle proves the style works better with a 3/4 camera angle, which basically makes it look like Xenogears or Grandia 1 or something.

What I really wanna see some JRPG developers do though is HD pre-rendered backgrounds like Pillars of Eternity and Disco Elysium. If those small and mid-sized developers can do it, why can't some Japanese developers go back to that?

 

[RedSwirl]

We're considering using this kind of style in a future game so we did some mock-ups of Lunar: Eternal Blue (one of my all-time favorite games) on the Sega CD in a 2.5D style to see how quickly we could do it and how it would look. Ignore the new fonts since we just threw something in.

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This basically hits the same note some PS1 JRPGs did, like the PS1 version of Dragon Quest IV, as well as the DS versions of that, DQV, and VI.

 

[ghibli99]

Eiyuden chronicle is gonna be fire

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So good. I really do hope the end product's battle scenes are as dynamic as this. I liked Octopath's combat system itself, but it just wasn't all that interesting to look at since the sprites didn't do much animation-wise.

 

[Redcrayon]

We're considering using this kind of style in a future game so we did some mock-ups of Lunar: Eternal Blue (one of my all-time favorite games) on the Sega CD in a 2.5D style to see how quickly we could do it and how it would look. Ignore the new fonts since we just threw something in.

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Beautiful, yes please! :D

Looking forward to Eiyuden Chronicles and Triangle Strategy next year (if they both make it).

 

[inner-G]

Half the games in the OP are not HD 2D...

Valheim doesn't even have a 2D perspective, it's a straight up polygonal 3D game.


I like the look of games like Octopath Traveler, but not so much the gameplay. I prefer simpler combat systems like Dragon Quest or FF I-X.

Muramasa looks great in HD too, like on a Wii emulator. Vanillaware did the 2D HD look really well.

I hate to say it but I honestly prefer the more basic, old ass pixelated look of Suikoden 2 than Eiyuuden's shiny new visuals.

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I agree

 

[SnazzyNaz]

We're considering using this kind of style in a future game so we did some mock-ups of Lunar: Eternal Blue (one of my all-time favorite games) on the Sega CD in a 2.5D style to see how quickly we could do it and how it would look. Ignore the new fonts since we just threw something in.

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That's neat. Did you pick Lunar in particular with the intention to pitch a remake/remaster or is it purely for example?

 

[Djehuty]

square enix copyrighted HD2D.

only square games can be HD2D since it's now a square series

 

[RelaxItsJustMe]

I love how games like Muramasa Rebirth and Eiyuuden look. Such a shame Muaramasa is stuck on the Vita. Also interesting how I rreally do think games like the aforementioned 2 look really pretty but in general I am completely unimpressed with most "normal" pixel games.