OrbitalBeard
Member
Check out Freedom Planet. It's on PC and Wii U.
Oh my god, I want this!
Oh my god, I want this!
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Any chance we'll see more 16bit games in the future?
- Thread starter DJIzana
- Start date
There are a few places in Megaman 9 where a real NES would have some extreme sprite flickering and obviously there'd probably be lots of slowdown, but otherwise it's very faithful to the NES hardware capabilities. Shovel Knight on the other hand breaks every rule to the point where it ends up looking nothing at all like an NES game and wouldn't even run on a SNES.
OmegaDL50
Member
I think Oniken was designed with the NES limitations in mind, especially with the black backgrounds and minimal sprite layers for objects displayed.
I am not sure if Odallus also fits into this considering it seems to be more closer to Shovel Knight terms of usage of color.
thelatestmodel
Junior, please.
God that looks absolutely amazing.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Awesome, booked marked the devlogs page! Just a bit of grass texturing will go a long way.
And yeah, CrossCode has really good art, especially environmental pixel work is very good, then throw in animation and it becomes even better.
Yes, this is quite good narrative adventure game (or just story game). It's not really an RPG in the common interpretation of things, IMO. It's also the most notable exception to the whole RPGMaker scene.
charlequin
Banned
This is a pretty ungenerous reading of the situation with Shovel Knight. The devs even wrote up an extensive description of where they ignored NES limitations and why that I think justifies their choices pretty effectively. Certainly someone really familiar with the NES hardware is going to notice the difference, but the idea that it looks nothing like an NES game (when you can count the retro-style games that purposely stick to any NES limitations on two hands) is a huge exaggeration.
You gotta give developers a popular platform that has limitations to work within. Right now that doesn't really exist as far as designing sprite games goes.
Graphics Horse
Member
Super Shovel Knight is almost inevitable, isn't it?
I feel like it may be, although I vaguely remember the devs saying on a podcast (NVC or 8-4) that they'd rather do Shovel Knight 64 instead since it would be a bigger jump and they already used some of their sequel ideas in Plague Knight DLC.
Generally, it feels like the indie scene is moving toward the 32/64 bit eras. I feel like Yooka Laylee will be kind of a spearhead of that sort of thing. Makes me excited since I liked that gen.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
A lot of people seem to misremember what 8-bit and 16-bit games looked like, and their particular limitations. Often, devs want to make games that reminisce of that time period but without necessarily making games that are 100% faithful to the limitations of that time. Shovel Knight wouldn't run on an NES, and the devs explained how and why.
Freedom Planet is very much a Sega CD or even a Sega Saturn game, not a Genesis one, in terms of production values. But it feels kind of like a Genesis game because it reminds us of old-school Sonic games and Gunstar Heroes.
And I'm pretty sure Cosmic Star Heroine wouldn't run on a Sega Genesis or even an SNES either, though possibly on a Sega CD or Sega Saturn. I feel the same is probably true of CrossCode. And man as a backer, I can't wait for that one to come out...
There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with that. There's no reason to arbitrarily limit your production values to old hardware today if you can do more.
As for RPGMaker it's usually for mediocre games, true:
Freedom Planet is very much a Sega CD or even a Sega Saturn game, not a Genesis one, in terms of production values. But it feels kind of like a Genesis game because it reminds us of old-school Sonic games and Gunstar Heroes.
And I'm pretty sure Cosmic Star Heroine wouldn't run on a Sega Genesis or even an SNES either, though possibly on a Sega CD or Sega Saturn. I feel the same is probably true of CrossCode. And man as a backer, I can't wait for that one to come out...
There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with that. There's no reason to arbitrarily limit your production values to old hardware today if you can do more.
Cosmic Star Heroine will probably be exactly what you are looking for.
As for RPGMaker it's usually for mediocre games, true:
However, I really enjoyed Skyborn. It's on par with many classic 16-bit JRPGs in term of combat, story, art and music. I wrote a review for it here if anyone cares.
Man I wish I knew what was going on with that game. It looked cool as hell but it's been in development (dev hell?) forever. The dev even released another game on Steam (Savant) in the meantime...
StereoVsn
Gold Member
I played a bit of Skyborn but I thought it was merely ok. Dialogue/Story was kind of trying to be Trails a bit but failed. Game itself was hampered by the engine. Graphics were good in some places but in others were meh.
I would give it 3/5 or maybe 60-65/100.
Edit: Skyborn Dev has a sequel now, Echoes of Aetheria. That does look better.
Morrigan Stark
Arrogant Smirk
If you're OK with 2D games with 32-bit production values, I'd recommend:
- Freedom Planet, it's like a Sonic x Gunstar Heroes game for the Sega Saturn that we've always wanted and never had;
- Valdis Story, an excellent Metroidvania with fast-paced combat;
- Cosmic Star Heroine, upcoming Sega CD-style JRPG;
That's fair. I didn't mind the graphics though and I thought the story was fine (honestly above average for a JRPG if I'm being frank), so I rank it a fair bit higher.
Oh wow I had no idea. It looks pretty cool. Thanks for this, wishlisted it.
Sumio Mondo
Member
Owlboy looked absolutely amazing. Wonder whatever became of that?
Dreamwriter
Member
No mention yet of Volgarr the Viking??
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Loved Freedom Planet and Valdis, highly recommend both. Valdis is kind of a side scrolling RPG to boot. They are very good games. Cosmic Star Heroine looks to be amazing, but nobody is sure when it's going to be released. Thought it was good into beta soon for backers on Steam.
Frogatto is a pretty cool one too. To me it hits some some points of the 16-bit aesthetic better than most pixel games these days. There's already a version you can get on mobile or I think Desura, but they've been planning an enhanced version for Steam for a while.
If you're talking 3D, a few developers are starting to do this, but it's hard to pick them out from the games that just look like Minecaft mods.
Devil Daggers does a great job of looking like a 1996 PC game, better than STRAFE in my opinion. Drift Stage is another good one. We see a lot of good fan art that looks like it's from this era but it never ends up in actual games. I really want to see someone pull of the Mega Man Legends/Solatorobo aesthetic. MML holds up visually better than most games of its era.
One thing I hope someone does if they pursue basic 3D graphics is take a look at what Square Enix has done with the recent portable Dragon Quest games. I think they did a really good job of combining sprites with 3D backgrounds.
If you're talking 3D, a few developers are starting to do this, but it's hard to pick them out from the games that just look like Minecaft mods.
Devil Daggers does a great job of looking like a 1996 PC game, better than STRAFE in my opinion. Drift Stage is another good one. We see a lot of good fan art that looks like it's from this era but it never ends up in actual games. I really want to see someone pull of the Mega Man Legends/Solatorobo aesthetic. MML holds up visually better than most games of its era.
One thing I hope someone does if they pursue basic 3D graphics is take a look at what Square Enix has done with the recent portable Dragon Quest games. I think they did a really good job of combining sprites with 3D backgrounds.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Pier Solar was mediocre. Now, Eastward looks just great. Is it coming out any time soon? Chinese only or English as well?
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzmLmNBH7D4
Insanity's Blade is one of my personal favorites. I think they nailed the 16-bit look very well. I don't know how anyone can be tired of a 16-bit look, when we barely have any games like this.
Insanity's Blade is one of my personal favorites. I think they nailed the 16-bit look very well. I don't know how anyone can be tired of a 16-bit look, when we barely have any games like this.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
That does look really good... And apparently I already have it on Steam. Go figure. Went into my "To Be Played" list.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Goal is to release Cosmic Star Heroine sometime June-August of this year. Trying to get the backer beta started at the end of the month.
And since the game has been brought up, here are some pics
And some cutscenes (sans music):
Opening pt 1: https://gfycat.com/SevereElementaryCoot
Opening pt 2: https://gfycat.com/PeacefulHugeFlatcoatretriever
Steele Intro: https://gfycat.com/TotalEsteemedGreathornedowl
Gameplay footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xwRduJKJwc
Being played on a Vita (not our music): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbqtBNaVtpo
You know, Robert at Zeboyd Games, back when I worked at Gamestop I would listen to the Vita in the corner blare the trailer to Cosmic Star Heroine every 15 minutes or so. For some reason it was a little louder than the other trailers - it didn't bother me, I just found it to be funny.
I'm really glad to see it releasing this year. More games need to embrace the 16-bit era.
I'm really glad to see it releasing this year.
More games need to embrace the 16-bit era.
I believe English as well. I mean... based off the gifs, they've shown on their Twitter, seems to be English in mind before anything else. That or that's what they're advertising the most.
You know, Robert at Zeboyd Games, back when I worked at Gamestop I would listen to the Vita in the corner blare the trailer to Cosmic Star Heroine every 15 minutes or so. For some reason it was a little louder than the other trailers - it didn't bother me, I just found it to be funny.
I'm really glad to see it releasing this year.
I completely agree. It's funny... NES was a great console. Definitely in my top 5 but it's weird. SNES stands out the most to me. Games that look like Secret of Mana, Earthbound, FF6, DKC, Super Mario World etc... that kind of charm REALLY stood out for me and made it so memorable. I'm glad we're starting to see a lot more going forward and if it's as people say, will only continue to get better!
StereoVsn
Gold Member
This looks great. Has that 80s-90s SciFi vibe to boot. Can't wait till release. Just get it out before FFXV!Goal is to release Cosmic Star Heroine sometime June-August of this year. Trying to get the backer beta started at the end of the month.
And since the game has been brought up, here are some pics
And some cutscenes (sans music):
Opening pt 1: https://gfycat.com/SevereElementaryCoot
Opening pt 2: https://gfycat.com/PeacefulHugeFlatcoatretriever
Steele Intro: https://gfycat.com/TotalEsteemedGreathornedowl
Gameplay footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xwRduJKJwc
Being played on a Vita (not our music): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbqtBNaVtpo
Goal is to release Cosmic Star Heroine sometime June-August of this year. Trying to get the backer beta started at the end of the month.
And since the game has been brought up, here are some pics
Yeah, pretty much my most anticipated game of 2016. Can't wait!
This looks amazing.
Read Only Memories has you covered.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/330820/
Recently covered by Hardcore Gaming 101:
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/readonlymemories/readonlymemories.htm
It was also recently announced for Vita and PS4:
http://gematsu.com/2015/11/read-only-memories-coming-ps4-ps-vita
Monty Mole
Member
I wish these indie games would offer a scanline filter option.
The pixels look dreadful on a 55" and it seems these developers weren't around during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, when we were using CRTs with scanlines. The games look so much better with scanlines.
The pixels look dreadful on a 55" and it seems these developers weren't around during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, when we were using CRTs with scanlines. The games look so much better with scanlines.
StereoVsn
Gold Member
Are they mostly Directx 9? If so, could you use external dll injection for scan lines ?
Earthpainting
Member
The ones I was thinking of have been mentioned already, so I'll bring up Octopus City Blues. It's not quite 16-bit, but it it aims for the type of sprite-art aesthetic the OP is talking about. It's running a bit behind schedule, but that's not uncommon for these types of Kickstarter games. It should come out this year hopefully.
Ideas are cheap, sadly. Especially when it comes to RPGs.
Coming up with a good story, delivering it through good writing, adding interesting and good gameplay in the middle of that, without relying on it too much to bump up the length of the game, which means you need a good amount of different looking and interesting locations for your story... That's a lot of work.
And if you want to catch people's eyes, you might need to keep up with the good looking indie games. That's a huge amount of animation and background art to do, especially if you want to avoid palette swapping like crazy.
I would love to see more 16-bits RPGs, but yeah... I can't blame indies for avoiding that genre.
Oh nice, for Vita too.
Always wanted them to port Snatcher and Policenauts to the Vita.
charlequin
Banned
Yeah, I've done this for a few games with clearly retro-inspired pixel art (both Shovel Knight and Castle in the Darkness look phenomenal with an emulated CRT effect, for example.) I'll probably do it with Cosmic Star Heroine if it works, too.
I had not heard about this game, it looks fantastic. What kind of game is it?
My wish, ever since the indie boom so to speak, is for more people to try their hand at big, detailed sprites usually found in beat 'm ups (and fighting games). We've seen a few here and there, Project Y included (which by the way will come to PC or other platforms hopefully for those of us who don't have a Genesis at the ready anymore...), but not a game that really put this kind of art and gameplay back on the map I feel.
I don't care if they'd have to rogue-like, rogue-lite, or RPG it up but someone please give me a new Final Fight-esque (or Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, AvP, Captain Commando, Double Dragon, Battle Circuit, TMNT in Time, etc etc) game that reignites our love for beat 'm ups and makes us fall in love with them even harder due to building on top of the old games' foundation!
The same goes for sprite-based racing games in the vein of Outrun, Chase HQ or Top Gear by the way, which is also quite under-explored as a genre (of sprite art) still. One upcoming game that I've brought up before that does look promising is 80's Overdrive for 3DS (e-shop). It is planned to release in the Autumn according to the devs' Twitter. Pic:
Edit: Not sure if mentioned but Jamestown might also be something to add to this list.
Edit: Wow, Cosmic Star Heroine (pictured a few posts above) looks amazing too!
I had not heard about this game, it looks fantastic. What kind of game is it?
My wish, ever since the indie boom so to speak, is for more people to try their hand at big, detailed sprites usually found in beat 'm ups (and fighting games). We've seen a few here and there, Project Y included (which by the way will come to PC or other platforms hopefully for those of us who don't have a Genesis at the ready anymore...), but not a game that really put this kind of art and gameplay back on the map I feel.
I don't care if they'd have to rogue-like, rogue-lite, or RPG it up but someone please give me a new Final Fight-esque (or Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, AvP, Captain Commando, Double Dragon, Battle Circuit, TMNT in Time, etc etc) game that reignites our love for beat 'm ups and makes us fall in love with them even harder due to building on top of the old games' foundation!
The same goes for sprite-based racing games in the vein of Outrun, Chase HQ or Top Gear by the way, which is also quite under-explored as a genre (of sprite art) still. One upcoming game that I've brought up before that does look promising is 80's Overdrive for 3DS (e-shop). It is planned to release in the Autumn according to the devs' Twitter. Pic:
Edit: Not sure if mentioned but Jamestown might also be something to add to this list.
Edit: Wow, Cosmic Star Heroine (pictured a few posts above) looks amazing too!
Eastward, from what I remember, hails back to Zelda A Link to the Past... I think. Definitely it's adventure / rpg-ish.
Shakedown Hawaii, to me, seems like old school GTA 1. Definitely want to try that one.
ultrazilla
Gold Member
How about a brutal 16 bit inspired Final Fight/Streets of Rage type game called:
Mother Russia Bleeds from Devolver Digital
Coming 2016
Steam link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/361300/
POSSIBLE NSFW Youtube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=579O5xkRzlw
Mother Russia Bleeds from Devolver Digital
Coming 2016
Steam link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/361300/
POSSIBLE NSFW Youtube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=579O5xkRzlw