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[jwk5]

EDIT: And while we're on the subject of color, ColourLovers is a godsend for artists in any field. You can find some really killer color schemes that will fit just about any mood or game design. A very amazing site!

As I was working on my game and trying to sort out how I want the overall look and feel of the graphics to be I started thinking about games that I'd played that had color palettes that really appealed to me. I think color is a very underrated facet of graphical design when it comes to indie games. With most indie games I've seen when the focus is on the graphics it is almost always on the details, not the colors (and you wind up with some seriously contrast-heavy eye-abusing games floating about the indie scene). In any case, the following are a few commercial games which I think have a killer color palette that really sets their mood.

Final Fantasy 6

What I always loved about FF6's color palette is that virtually
everything in the game has an rusty earthy feel to its colors.
It really helps bring out the steam punk and war-torn feel of
the setting as well as the seriousness of the story.

Last Blade 1 & 2

The Last Blade games use a very vibrant palette with virtually
every scene either heavily dominated by a single color or
balanced with an analogous scheme. The colors really bring out
the feeling that these are epic battles in epic places.

Shadow of the Colossus

Pretty much all the colors in Shadow of the Colossus are mute
and heavily washed out by the bloom effect. It really gives
the game world a lonely, desolate feel.

[Hempuli‽]

I have to agree on the SotC one.

[kyn]

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
I think the images speak for themselves.

[konjak]

It sure looks nice, but tell us how the palette strikes you.

[kyn]

I'm no color expert, nor do I pretend to have an explanation as to what appeals to me or not, it just works.
To me color niceness (is that even a word?) works on a sensory level.

[N]

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
I think the images speak for themselves.

...

Pretty nice palette indeed.
Those colors give me a nostalgic feeling.
I think they somehow match Seiken Densetsu 3's palette, which also gives me the same feeling.

[Stane]

Nanatsu Kaze no Shima Monogatari
I think the images speak for themselves.

There are two things that make this palette so great. First is the soft contrast. Notice how the darkest shades on the picture, the deepest shadows are really far from the total black. Also the brightest spots in the image are not really white. The second thing here is a hue slight shift of all colors towards hue. In real life this effect is noticeable if there is a lot of moisture in the atmosphere on an otherwise sunny day. All in all it suggests a fresh look of late morning light, or wet moist atmosphere in the forest.

[MaloEspada]

Cave Story's pallete is great, IMO.
It has a depressing tone, and if you consider the incredibly sad storyline, it kinda fits.

[Ishi]

Shadow of the Beast III



I love the washed out look with the greys and greens. The contrast between foreground and background looks a bit silly here but I remember it looking great on the TV.

[J.W. Hendricks]

Both Okami (my favorite game EVER) and Muramasa have amazing art style with amazing color palletes that wow me no matter how many times I see them.

Okami:



Muramasa:



Vanillaware also made 2 other impressive-looking titles, GrimGrimoire and Odin Sphere (the latter of which I am currently playing through and is fantastic).
GrimGrimoire:

Odin Sphere:

And as jwk5 said, Shadow of the Colossus is also amazing:



Also, when you think about it, the Halo games also have impressive palletes:

I recently started playing Golden Sun and I am loving every bit of it:

Pretty much any Zelda game can exhibit a lo of color:


The Saboteur recently caught my eye, with it's amazing black and white to color style:


Some other awesome palettes are:
World of Goo:

LostWinds 2:

La-Mulana WiiWare:

Uncharted 2:

Swords and Soldiers:

Flower:

Modern Warfare 2:

Castle Crashers:

Portal:

Patapon:

LittleBigPlanet:

Night Game:

Braid: Aquaria:

And, of course, Chrono Trigger:

Thre's TONS of others, but you get the picture of what I like. Gernerally colorful, but also dark an dreary (SotC). I don't mind games that are mostly without lots of color and such (Red Faction, Half-Life, Modern Warfare 1, Back, Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2, etc.), in fact many of those I love.

[squidkid]

Yeah, Halo. I really like the purples of the covies and the neon blue blood and stuff like that. It makes them feel super alien.