Beyond the Labyrinth: What 3DS Games Can Look Like

Yes, this is a 3DS game. Yes, it does look that good (that is, assuming this isn’t a bullshot that trumps them way beyond their actual league). Just goes to show that with some careful attention, 3DS games can look just as good as, if not better than, what the Wii currently offers (I feel like this game looks better than Pandora’s Tower, for example). Of course, looks aren’t everything, but I tend to have an easier time enjoying a game when I can appreciate the level of effort put into it, and I’ve got to say – if a game that looks this good is coming this early in the 3DS’s life, I can only hope that it sets a standard that other developers will actually rise up to meet – or even surpass – in the future.

As for the game itself, we don’t know much about it aside from that it’s being developed by tri-Ace, and directed by Takayuki Suguro, the guy behind Valkyrie Profile 2 and Resonance of Fate. Those details you can take or leave (I’ve only had a couple experiences with tri-Ace and they were both positive), but suffice to say that I’m mostly thinking about the visuals.

I’m hoping Nintendo recognizes that this is where the bar can be – they really should since their hardware division was responsible for setting the technology limits in the first place. With Miyamoto having apparently recognized that maybe the Toon Link style isn’t the right approach for the Zelda series and the 3DS already having produced graphical assets for an updated Ocarina of Time style, could we see a continuation of those anime visuals in future Zelda 3DS titles? Obviously future titles won’t be as limited as Ocarina of Time, which had to remain faithful to the original game, meaning it’s pretty likely that the visuals in a ground-up 3DS title will probably substantially surpass those we’ve seen in the remake.

This of course doesn’t just apply to Zelda – it applies to pretty much anything that comes out on 3DS. Fans of flashy, gorgeous JRPGs can finally turn to a system that isn’t the PSP for their handheld needs, and even first-person shooters can have a home (albeit without dual-analog support). The main contingency of all this being that developers actually have to tap into these capabilities. So far, though, it looks like developers are much more willing to bring “serious” titles with serious production values to the 3DS than they have been to the DS and previous Nintendo handheld systems.

Source: Famitsu, via Andriasang