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[RecursiveFault]

So I was checking out Drift Stage, and was led to wondering what games from that era even looked nearly as good.

I think it's fairly common opinion that 2D pixel art from the 8 bit/16 bit era of consoles held up a bit better than PS1 or N64, but I want to hear what you guys think are games that stand above their peers from that time.

 

[Evuk]

Wipeout to me is still amazing

 

[Krejlooc]

You forgot one system.

 

[ReyVGM]

Isn't there already a thread about this right now?

 

[darylbaxter]

Crash Bandicoot Trilogy.
Tomb Raider II
Gran Turismo

 

[Khronico]

I still think Vagrant Story looks good today. The artstyle and presentation is just fantastic.

 

[Armigr]

If we're talking 3D games-only, Kirby 64 takes the cake for me.

 

[vio]

On PS1, probably Wipeout XL.

 

[BadWolf]

Squaresoft PS1 games.

 

[KojiKnight]

You forgot one system.

Question was between two specific systems, not from an 'era' of gaming


I think the Mega Man Legends series holds up surprisingly well with it's anime style models/textures.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Legend of Mana

Paper Mario

 

[JordanN]

Shameless reposting

The Driver 2 screenshot doesn't capture the pure tech wizardry that goes on. An open world game on PS1, it was absolutely huge with real ai routines for constant traffic and cop cars that follow you.

 

[Krejlooc]

Question was between two specific systems, not from an 'era' of gaming

Op uses the word "era"

 

[cakeintake]

I feel that with the N64, it did better with 2D visuals (i.e Paper Mario & Yoshi's Story). Both games were and still are really pretty visually. The PS1 had better 3D models imo.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Question was between two specific systems, not from an 'era' of gaming

And that's fairly narrow-minded, given the Saturn puts out graphics comparable to contemporary titles of both. (Although, it was generally surpassed by later-gen PS1/N64 games, by which point the Dreamcast was Sega's box...)

 

[Aaron D.]

Tetrisphere (N64) still looks hot.

 

[Rivitur]

Tetrisphere (N64) still looks hot.

This, omg I need a new one.

Driver looks nice as well.

 

[nkarafo]

Banjo-Kazooie

F-Zero X

Looks great in motion, moves very fast at capped 60fps and has 30 crafts on screen.

 

[Krejlooc]

Tetrisphere (N64) still looks hot.

Fun fact - this was originally an atari jaguar game which had almost identical visuals.

 

[SapientWolf]

Micro Machines 64 is still the best top down racer. Looks pretty good too. The simple looking games aged the best.

 

[jett]

We had a similar thread last year, I'll just repost my choices:

Tobal 2 for PS1

(direct feed picture)

Smooth flowing animation, cloth and hair physics, run at 512x480 and at 60fps.

Ridge Racer Type 4

Outstanding lighting effects for its time and fantastic art design that makes it stand the test of time.

 

[Keby]

I wish people would stop posting emulator screen shots. Really warps perception.

Crystal Shards always looked awesome imo

Banjo games always looked wonderful

The PS1 still had some of the best sprite work for the era imo. Especially megaman X4

 

[Insane Metal]

Wip3out

 

[Canis lupus]

Crash hands down

 

[Krejlooc]

Micro Machines 64 is still the best top down racer. Looks pretty good too. The simple looking games aged the best.

You owe it to yourself to play Toybox Turbos. It's a new Micro Machines game without the Micro Machines License, from codemasters.

 

[Aaron D.]

This, omg I need a new one.

Here you go.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I think Crash Team Racing still holds up really well:

And the Spyro series, but 3 was the best, as one might expect:

 

[NinjamicWZ]

The great 2D games of the 32bit era still hold up visually of course. Symphony of the Night, Guardian Heroes, Legend of Oasis, Heart of Darkness, Skullmonkeys, Silhouette Mirage, Legend of Mana, Mega Man 8, any Capcom fighter. Some hybrid stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics ofc.

Other than that, it's been a long time since I've seen it in person, but the Tobal games were beasting so elegantly:

edit: What he said:

(direct feed picture)

Smooth flowing animation, cloth and hair physics, run at 512x480 and at 60fps.

 

[jett]

The great 2D games of the 32bit era still hold up visually of course. Symphony of the Night, Guardian Heroes, Legend of Oasis, Heart of Darkness, Skullmonkeys, Silhouette Mirage, Legend of Mana, Mega Man 8, any Capcom fighter. Some hybrid stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics ofc.

Other than that, it's been a long time since I've seen it in person, but the Tobal games were beasting so elegantly:

edit: What he said:

Not a single game of the era approaches Tobal 2 when it comes to animation. Not a one.

(maybe Tobal No.1, but I only played the sequel )

 

[MormaPope]

Metal Gear Solid's visuals actually help benefit the atmosphere and mood of the game.

 

[Devilgunman]

SOTN

Philosoma

My Summer Vacation

 

[Ishida]

Threads of Fate instantly comes to mind.

Not only are the characters very bright and colorful, but also they have lots of amazing animations, like clothing and hair moving very fluidly.


Also Chrono Cross.

 

[HappehLemons]

If we're talking about what games still hold up today from actual N64 and PS1 games screenshots from emulators aren't really accurate to how the games looked.. which is most of what this thread is.

 

[RecursiveFault]

Isn't there already a thread about this right now?

Oh, well damn, my bad. I tried searching but "n64" and "ps1 were super broad.

 

[Phediuk]

Adventures of Lomax

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70hUi_B0CdY

 

[TunaLover]

If we're talking about what games still hold up today from actual N64 and PS1 games screenshots from emulators aren't really accurate to how the games looked.. which is most of what this thread is.

It already happened in two previous threads, people just don't care... *sigh*

 

[TVC 15]

Wow. Which emulated screenshots look better from this era?

 

[TheGamer]

Metal Gear Solid's visuals actually help benefit the atmosphere and mood of the game.

I agree. I came here to say the same thing.

 

[Majine]

I think Crash Bandicoot is a technical marvel. They knew what they were doing even back then (even tho they are far from the same team as today).

 

[REDSLATE]

Most of the Star Wars games on N64 pushed the graphical limits, particularly Rogue Squadron. On the PlayStation side, MGS and Silent Hill hold up fairly well.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Man I still wish that was an actual game

 

[PassiveObserver]

A lot of the later-gen RPGs hold up well thanks to the spritework.

Breath of Fire 4

Tales of Destiny II

 

[Fbh]

Most games with good pre rendered backgrounds.

Yes, you can go look for screenshots that focus on the rather terrible 3D models used for characters/enemies. But the truth is that if you look at the game as a whole, there are plenty of pre rendered backrounds that easily rival and surpass modern games in terms of details and art direction

 

[dlauv]

Aesthetically, the 64 was ugly because developers created textures by weeping into the tiny data spaces of the cartridges, which helped to create marble-patterned smudges featured in every single game.

Technically it was the strongest 3D system, I'm pretty sure.

As for kudos to other consoles, I like the really gritty look of Quake on the Saturn.

I think PSone was the king of aesthetics, not unlike Zyzz. But this was probably because so much talent was developing for it and it was probably the cheapest platform to develop for. It was better at 3D than the Saturn. CD format helped tons.

 

[Ambition]

Without a doubt, Conker's Bad fur Day.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Op uses the word "era"

I wish someone would make a Sonic game like this using a Model 2 emulator. *sheds tear*

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

As far as original choices, I'll go with Rocket Robot on Wheels (N64)

 

[SonicKnights]

Policenauts

 

[Piston Hyundai]

The great 2D games of the 32bit era still hold up visually of course. Symphony of the Night, Guardian Heroes, Legend of Oasis, Heart of Darkness, Skullmonkeys, Silhouette Mirage, Legend of Mana, Mega Man 8, any Capcom fighter. Some hybrid stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics ofc.

Skullmonkeys has an incredibly novel art style, but it doesn't really hold up as well as it did in 98, mostly because the green screen artifacts are much more visible with modern displays.

 

[TronLight]

We had a similar thread last year, I'll just repost my choices:

Tobal 2 for PS1

(direct feed picture)

Smooth flowing animation, cloth and hair physics, run at 512x480 and at 60fps.

Woah, that looks really good.