God of War and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were two of 2018's biggest games, both going on to sell huge numbers at retail and capturing the hearts of players all around the world. Now, those two worlds have combined in spectacular fashion. And it's awesome.
Raf Grassetti, Art Director at Sony Santa Monica (the studio behind God of War), has been showing off his passion for Smash Ultimate's giant roster of characters by creating his very own art pieces. Under the name 'Smash Remastered', this collection shows the Nintendo favourites in a new, ultra-realistic light and - as you might expect from one of the artistic talents behind one of last year's most beautiful games - they're pretty incredible.
The designs have been coming in daily, starting with this piece depicting Samus Aran from the Metroid series. Each design brings with it a tease for the next day (accessed by scrolling through the images), and we were soon treated to a much-less-cartoony Link and a beefed-up Fox McCloud.
Next up was this terrifying Bowser design, ditching the Super Mario franchise's trademark cuteness for something straight out of a horror movie, and the most recent design is Sonic, no doubt causing all sorts of reactions from those still fuming with the upcoming Sonic movie's art style.
A quick scroll through the Sonic piece tells us that Mewtwo is up next, likely appearing later today if the upload schedule carries on so strongly and religiously. If you want to keep up with the designs (we're not sure how many will be completed in total) make sure to give Grassetti a follow.
Do you like the designs? Who do you hope to see next in the series? Let us know in the comments below.
[source instagram.com]
Comments 73
Bowser looks mental, and Sonic looks like the film guy
Love seeing different interpretations of characters. Very cool. It'll be interesting to see if his take on Sonic turns out to be close to the movie version!
I imagine that this is what the characters would look like in a parallel dimension where a doomed Nintendo has gone third-party and been further robbed of its identity after being poached by Sony/Microsoft, where Smash duties have been delegated to a Western developer.
At times like this, I am mighty grateful grapefruit.
Fox looks straight out of Tekken 7.
The Sonic one looks like he wants to do bad things to people in ways I can't specify on a family website. shudders
I get that this is the guy who did God of War, but if we are gonna start featuring fan-art (which I am 12,924% in favor of) we really should have a tab for featured fan art, and feature all sorts of fan art, rather than playing favorites with guys who worked on other games. Because that is ultimately (lol) what this is, just some fan art.
How about bringing Kratos to Smash then?
Im digging that Fox art!
@Lando_ would rather see him as an exclusive in MK 11. This time with his axe!
I wonder how King Dedede will translate if fate ever allows it.
Did this guy have anything to do with Sonic's upcoming movie design..? LOL.
@Heavyarms55
Not all fans who make art are artists, and... yeah, this guy is a semi-celebrity. I wouldn't call it fan art.
though i'd love to see his interpretation of Sanic.
Bowser looks insane!
I simpy don't know why Sams old helmet is not realistic. Samus really needed not the "realisitc" upgrade...
Samus' head is way to small!
Samus looks rad.
Did... Did he design the movie version of Sonic? 😂
Sonic looks like a werewolf.
"realistic"... So we have an angry mutant tortoise, a humanoid fox, and something that definitely does NOT look like a hedgehog.
Good thing Nintendo doesn't outsource the character design.
Lol weird but rad.
Hes a good artist
Not my cup of tea at all I'm afraid! Very sterile and lifeless, he'd better stick to God of War.
These look really cool. Love them. Bowser looks best
@Kidfunkadelic83 Yeah, that’d also be cool.
I love that Link, Samus and Fox.
These designs are really hit or miss. Link and Samus are very off-putting, Fox’s head is too small, but Bowser and Sonic look really cool.
(Unrelated, but I’d love to see his take on SpongeBob, haha)
The art quality is strong on a technical level, but I agree that making things too realistic kills the liveliness of the designs. And I'm not sure how Samus' head fits in that tiny helmet.
But it's stronger art than I can do.
I don't really like the designs that much but they're a great show of talent. I'd be interested in seeing his take on Duck-Hunt Duo and Ganondorf
Excellent work. Not a fan of his Sonic, but the rest are keepers.
The only one I like is the Star Fox. The Samus one I kinda like but I don't like her helmet at all it just don't fit it looks misplaced. The Link one I don't like Link's face much, it looks to sweet and kind the determination of Link's quest is missing from the expression if that makes sense to anyone else. The Bowser one looks like a toad it is my pick as the worst one, Giga Bowser looks more fierce than this. Giga Bowser would kick this little toads ass any day of the week., LoL.
@Silly_G, I completely agree with you
I'm loving every single piece he releases on his Twitter.
This reminds me, I want a new Zelda Game with the style of Twilight Princess. Zelda have a High Fantasy vibe to it, having the tone of the game a bit more dark... One can dream.
@aznable It really doesn't matter if someone is a celeberity. If you are drawing someone else's character and you are a fan of that character/source material, then it is indeed, fan art.
And, "not all fans who make art are artists"... what exactly does that even mean? An artist is someone who makes art, a fan is someone who likes something a good deal, an artist who makes art of something they are a fan of, is making fan art.
Am I the only one who doesn't like that Link? I'll stick with Nintendo's design thank you.
Not a fan of the realism. Realism and Nintendo just don't mix in my opinion.
This is basically Soulcalibur VI’s character creator hahaha
These don't look realistic rather just more humanoid-like mainly with the Fox and Sonic ones, the heads still look cartoonly
Samus looks more like a guy with a small head
@Heavyarms55
Not all people who write are writers, and not all people who make art are artists, I feel that's pretty understandable.
My celebrity comment has more to do with validating this site posting his work, as compared to a relative- or total- unknown. People who are already known for doing something usually carry more cachet, sometimes more perceived authenticity, than someone who isn't known for that thing.
tldr: not everyone is an artist, and i don't want this website to turn into deviantart
Hairy Sonic looks like he jumped off the movie poster 😁
Ultimately I'm not a huge fan of any of these. However, I still like to check them out. They are all well done, just not my style. If I had to pick, I guess I would go with the Samus interpretation. I think the Fox one is the worst.
I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming Mewtwo.
@aznable Not everyone who makes art is a skilled artist, but that doesn't make them not an artist. Same with writers. I find your attitude quite elitest and fairly rude.
And I wasn't suggesting letting anyone just hop on NintendoLife to upload their doodle of their Sonic OC that they did in Microsoft paint 5 years ago. It would be somewhat like this post, with a NL contributer featuring an artist who makes fan of relevant content. There are spectacularly skilled artists out there who do all sorts of wonderful art that sure would appreciate getting featured on a Nintendo fan site like this. And it would be a win win. We'd get to see art we might not have seen before, and they'd get exposure they might not have gotten elsewhere. Plenty of artists out there easily match and exceed this person's skill. Others certainly come close, but only this guy gets a feature because his name is attached to God of War.
Frankly I'd much prefer content like that to random comments made by a has-been actor in what is looking like a horrible live action Sonic movie getting a headline article... Like we had the other day.
I love the artwork. Wait, why is Sonic wearing gloves?!!
j/k
I'd pay good money for A4 prints of these
@Heavyarms55 he’s right though.
I’d never dream of calling myself an artist cause my drawing is awful, but I still wouldn’t call myself a musician even though I do play and sing; maybe I will be able to when my band and I actually put out the songs we’ve written.
By the logic of what you’re saying, we’re all artists, geniuses and such, but the harsh reality is that some people is waaaaay more talented than others in certain things, so let those handle what they know they can do, shall we?
@Finlderp Ganondorf is already human-like and Duck Hunt duo would be just a realistic dog and a duck. I'm more interested in how he's going to make Kirby look realistic 😀
They're not drawings though, they're 3D sculptures.
@clvr No he isn't, and yes you are. You might be completely untalented and lacking any real skill, but if you are making art, you're an artist. If you write and I mean 'write' as in stories, or non-fiction, not just typing out comments, then you are a writer. If you play sports, you're an athlete.
Nothing about any of those things has a since of degree to it. It's not only wrong but arrogant to demand someone have a certain amount of skill to be something. That doesn't mean they're ever gonna get paid for their efforts, but that doesn't take away the meaning of the word.
Artist: a person who creates paintings or drawings as a profession or hobby.
Writer: a person who has written something or who writes in a particular way.
Athlete: a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.
Nothing in those definitions requires us to have a certain skill level. Just the ability to do it.
Genius however does imply a high level of intelligence. That is not the same sort of thing.
Nice Art! Nice Art!
These are all shades of wrong!
These all range from decent to too jarring for me. I think my favorite one is Samus.
@Heavyarms55 well, if everyone is everything, what’s even the point in having categories like “artist”?
Well, let’s just agree on disagreeing 😁
Cool art, but not something I’d like to see Nintendo doing - none of them seem to catch the essence of the characters.
He just updated his account. Mewtwo is up! It looks good.
Megaman is next!
@Heavyarms55 Not elitist, certainly rude.
@clvr big thumbs up
...So HE'S doing the new Sonic movie then huh?
@Lando_ only if a god of war game comes to switch
Bowser is one of my favorite Nintendo characters. While I appreciate his interpretation...Bowser just wouldn't be Bowser.
/shrug
I admit these are well made high quality renders, but I just don't like them.
If Nintendo charcters were ownded by Sony in a nutshell.
Fox is meant to be a quick, nimble, diminutive character, but here he looks like he ate a whole Chris Redfield!
Samus and Fox look great.
More like Smash Bros Re-Plastered.
Link looks like a generic cosplayer, not a fantastical, heroic elf.
Samus looks like just another Halo grunt soldier. Considering the suit comes from the Chozo, it should look more alien. Check out Dave Greco's art. I think his Samus is leaps and bounds above this rendition.
Bowser looks like a God Of War troll, no character other than that of teen angst. A mohawk though? Really?
Star Fox looks cool if he didn't also look like he ate too many donuts.
And Sonic looks ridiculous. If he was going for realism, he should've went the other direction, not furry meets Gremlins.
The guy is a good artist but the only one I like is Bowser. Looks like a cross between Bowser and Slash from TMNT.
@clvr Everyone is not everything and you clearly either aren't reading what I am saying or are willfully misinterpreting it. Not everyone knows how to draw. Not everyone knows how to play an instrument or sing. Not everyone knows how to play a sport or fly a plane or paint or sculpt or write a novel etc etc. But those who do know how, are.
Samus just looks plain WRONG
as does Link
This is cool, although I have no idea how he's going to handle some of them like Villager or Mr. Game and Watch.
Now THIS is Samus.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfQrW5XlyLa/
Hey Nintendo Life, how about doing a feature on Dave Greco's art, will ya?
@Heavyarms55 I think it's pretty clear when people (like @clvr) label someone as an "artist" they are typically referring to the profession. At the very least, they are referring to a dedicated hobbyist/enthusiast with a certain degree of skill - admittedly, there is grey area there.
I'm a software developer - as in, that is my day job. I can draw, but I'm not an artist. I played the piano, but I'm not a musician. I used Photoshop as part of my photography business, but I'm not a graphic designer. I love electronics and do a fair amount of DIY projects, but I would never tell someone I'm an electrical engineer. The list goes on.
Ultimately, I don't really disagree with your points overall - I would also agree that this counts as fan art. It just seems to me that you and others in this thread are arguing about two completely different topics, despite using the same word "artist" to describe what you are discussing.
@roadrunner343 thank you, you caught what I was trying to say and worded waaaaaay better than I tried to!
@jco83 bowser too, he looks like he's come from super mario the movie, hideous.
@roadrunner343 I see your point. But in that case the term would be "professional artist/musician/athlete/etc". That is an important distinction to make.
@huyi I actually think Bowser is the best one On looking at these again today I feel less offended by Samus, but still very against Link. It's the face, it's just plain wrong seeing Link portrayed that way
Bowser looks like he came straight from Doom 2016.
Nice to see, but it shouldn't go this way of course.
These are awful.
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