Answer: Jet Set Radio

Cel-shading is a manner of rendering 3D computer graphics in such a way as to make them appear as if they had been hand-drawn like animation cells. The result is a bold and distinct look that sets cel-shaded graphics apart from traditionally rendered computer graphics. One of the first video games to make use of cel-shading, and a critically acclaimed title in its own right, was SEGA’s Jet Set Radio, released for the Dreamcast in June of 2000.

Since then, hundreds of video games rendered in cel-shading style have been released including several notable modern games like those in the Borderlands series, Ōkami and its sequel Ōkamiden, as well as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Bastion, and MadWorld. While many of these games would be well remembered for interesting game play and story lines, to be sure, the heavy styling of their cel-shaded graphic design definitely left an interesting impression on players (and there’s a good chance if you’ve played any of them, then you were already thinking about them before we even started listing examples).