Masahiro Sakurai Discusses Manga-Like Visuals in Game Development

Renowned game designer Masahiro Sakurai is back with another insightful game development video, this time focusing on the use of Manga-like visuals.

In the video, Sakurai highlights the expressive and exaggerated techniques commonly used by manga and anime artists to achieve visually striking results, particularly when depicting a character’s mouth from different angles.

Throughout the video, Sakurai references various games where this side-mouth technique is evident, including titles like Mega Man Legends, Sonic Forces, and of course, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Sakurai explains how he implemented the unrealistic manga/anime approach to mouths when making changes to the character models of Kirby and Jigglypuff in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He showcases the initial designs of the fighters’ mouths alongside his modifications to create a more expressive visual style.

While acknowledging that striving for manga-like visuals may require additional effort, Sakurai encourages more developers to experiment with these methods, stating, “We may be better off welcoming the fun kinds of expression these methods can bring about.”

Recently, Sakurai announced the completion of the final video for his Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games YouTube channel. Fans will have to wait patiently for its release, but they will surely miss the valuable insights shared in his videos.

Share Your Thoughts

What do you make of this manga technique? Are you just pleased to see an appearance from Mega Man Legends? Let us know in the comments.

[source youtube.com]