Browsing German artist HeavyMetalHanzo’s gallery and realising how much potential some video games and video game worlds have as Western cartoons or comics makes me sad. Most of these will probably never get such a treatment, and these amazing pieces remain the closest things.
Here’s some of Hanzo’s recent work. Check out his profile for a lot more:
Chrono Trigger:
Child of Light:
Vanquish:
Zero Suit Samus:
Greninja:
Heavy Metal Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII (this one’s so awesome):
Sir Arthur:
Heavy Metal Hanzo’s Art [DeviantART]
Comments
22 responses to “Artist Gives Video Game Characters A Cartoony Facelift”
Rad Arthur.
Ah dammit! First Zero Suit Samus replaced the iconic representation of Samus Aran. Now those friggen heels are replacing the already sexist representation of Samus.
Why don’t we just skip to Samus in a bikini, I don’t think anybody takes her seriously anymore.
Already been done.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YFccnbWJWtY/S7801yfj_II/AAAAAAAAAq0/pKGvTZrS2T4/s400/metroid_end.jpg
God I hate hate hate high heels. They remind me of foot binding or restrictive corsets. I think they look so stupid and they are clearly designed to disempower and sexualise. And I say that as somebody who likes a bit of sexualisation in the right circumstances, just not on Samus, not like this. Of all the crappy things to do to her, heels! Fuuuuuuu…
This is what’s next: Zero Dignity Samus (NSFW) – http://pucklovesgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/samus_i_am.jpg
I like heels as much as the next guy, but when I see Samus doing flips and kicks in Other M (on top of everything else wrong with that game) and I’m expected to believe she’s in heels I roll my eyes. If after the first jump her heel doesn’t break and leave her with lopsided shoes, then she’ll break her foot trying to land on them as they pierce through her legs.
There are exceptions. Bayonetta is fine because it’s mostly campy and Bayonetta’s personality really adds to her design. But it’s pretty immersion breaking when I’m expected to believe that the Demon Hunter traveling through a sandy area, fighting demons is wearing heels.
I hate heels much more than the next guy – can’t stand them, I really think in the future we’ll look back on heels and say “what were we thinking? they look atrocious, why did women wear that shit?”. Just me personally, I know men and women like them, I just hate them to bits.
Bayonetta get’s a pass because that’s integral to her design and is never meant to be taken seriously. Maybe next Master Chief will sport a pair of assless chaps.
What were we thinking? The simple answer is, like most cosmetics, is to make a woman look more eligible for breeding.
Yep, absolutely. Same with corsets and foot binding and neck rings and lip plates. And I think all of those things look hideous and moronic. Heels will eventually join the list of sexualising shackles that in retrospect people understand were utterly idiotic.
Same with lipstick and blush, eyeliner and mascara.
Agreed, hope we get rid of them all as a mainstream expectation.
Eh, as long as people understand what it all means, if people wanna wield it for the right reasons, make things exciting … I’m down.
Doesn’t do as much for me though
Yeah, I don’t actually want a world without heels in it at all, they just seem so ubiquitous, it’s almost an expectation that dressing up “sexy” involves heels. I get that many people find them sexy, and I don’t want to take that away from them, but to me they look dumb and demeaning – they hobble movement, enforce a sexualised pose, do damage to your feet and posture, all for what I think is just a passing fashion that is so visually awkward that it will surely be out of style in a few decades.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying. It’s be nice if these things were more spread out, more optional, a bit more balanced with normality instead of the ‘standard’. It’d be nice if sexual things were just that: sexual things, not the standard things
See, I chalk up Bayonetta’s heels to being a part of her demon suit thing and are less high-heels, but more “stylistic Umbra projection of her desired appearance”. You know, They look like heels, but they’re actually uber-Angel stomping boots.
Or it’s just some dude projecting his fantasies on a long-haired demon-hunting female. But I like my first explanation more.
I thought her heels were her guns.
The guns are built-in, yeah. Now I want Bayonetta 2 to hurry up and come out dammit!
You mean the original Metroid? http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YFccnbWJWtY/S7801yfj_II/AAAAAAAAAq0/pKGvTZrS2T4/s400/metroid_end.jpg
Agree, original Zero Suit concept art was military style boots. Heels… ergh… paalease…
There’s even a note on that concept art that’s basically saying, “Do NOT give her high heels”.
Just going to say this as a massive fan of Chrono Trigger. I hate what the artist has done to one of my personal favorite RPGs. Leave Toriyama’s work alone, its already perfect dang it!
Before the zero suit there was the varia suit & the fusion suit, man the ratio of varia: zero suit art in deviant art is 20:80, thus reinforcing the message that rule 34 applies to soft porn as well
I wouldn’t say that these would fit into the Western cartoon animation style.