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[Teasel]

this is something i wondered for a while... it's pretty easy to distinguish a good looking after 8-bit era game but what would be a good graphical showcase for a machine like the old NES the Atari or the C64?

 

[ElectricBlue187]

NES- Super Mario Bros 3 springs to mind

 

[bionic77]

Ninja Gaiden 2, Megaman 2, and Mario 3 are the ones that come to mind immediately.

 

[Nuke]

Mega Man II and III come to mind right away.

Punch Out still looks great.

Ninja Gaiden Series is always near the top of my list as well. Thanks to the cutscenes.

 

[Hellraizah]

Wonderboy III The Dragon's Trap

 

[Beef]

I always thought Little Nemo: the dream master had good art direction

 

[beelzebozo]

i think the color in some of capcom's licensed stuff like little nemo and duck tales is really great for nes games.

 

[lyre]

Quite a few to list but this has to be one of the best to showcase the ancient hardware.

 

[Armitage]

Mario 2 and 3 look great, and I've always thought Zelda II looked nice.

 

[Warm Machine]

Do PC Engine games still count? 8-bit hardware 16-bit graphics chip.

Before most NES games I'd put a fe stellar Master System games up there like Psycho Fox, Phantasy Star, and Fantasy Zone 2.

 

[Ranger X]

From the top of my head...

Kirby Adventure
Super Mario Bros 3
Castlevania Dracula's Curse
Mc Kids
Gi Joe
Shatterhand
Megaman 2,3

All great looking NES.

 

[Lord Error]

Creatures and Creatures 2 on C64, are the best looking 8bit games regardless of platform, IMO.

Not counting PC engine, though.

 

[Baker]

I always thought Astyanax had the best graphics back in those days.

 

[Gekkonidae]

Ninja Gaiden 2, Megaman 2, and Mario 3 are the ones that come to mind immediately.

That pretty much sums it up.

 

[LaneDS]

I could be completely wrong, but I remember seeing pictures of Totally Rad for the NES in a Nintendo Power a couple decades ago or so, and thinking it was an SNES game.

Google Image search didn't really help confirm or deny it looking awesome, and I remember renting the game and thinking it was pretty shitty.

Anyone have a similar recollection on this game?


Edit: The game in question

 

[ShinNL]

Graphic whores D:

 

[fernoca]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (the arcade port)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Tournament Fighters
Final Fantasy
Kirby

 

[vitaflo]

Don't forget the Master System, it was one of the more powerful 8-bit systems. Phantasy Star still holds up to just about any 8-bit game.

Also depends on if you count the TG-16 as 8-bit or not.

 

[epmode]

Battletoads

 

[nofi]

R-Type on the Spectrum was a technical marvel, given it's power. I still think it looks gorgeous today.

 

[monkspider]

Kirby Adventure I think is the definitive answer to this thread.

It is one of the few NES games that could easily pass as 16-bit. It is the only 8-bit game that I can recall that featured parallax scrolling, definitely a technical marvel for the time.

-edit Wonder Boy III is a great choice too.

 

[j^aws]

A pic has already been posted in the thread and I'd agree with Summer Carnival '92 Recca as great example on home formats (NES)... If arcade machines are included as 8-bit games; well that's another story!

 

[Deleted member 20415]

I always thought Little Nemo: The Dream Master had great graphics. They were amazingly colorful and the characters had awesome design, especially the cigar-smoking gorilla!

 

[Jado]

As far as NES games are concerned, Batman: Return of the Joker is a better looking game than Ninja Gaiden, SMB3, or the Mega Man games.

Return of the Joker, final boss
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7jDl1NvG7UE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W5Q6aIlBBrs (lol)

RotJ, several stages
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qcrb3ExexxQ

Summer Carnival 92 Recca is another great-looking NES game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsyK_kBEqkk

TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project looked somewhat better than TMNT II: Arcade Game on NES
Technodrome, Shredder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej95qwQwVtI
Krang, Super Shredder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h625WesWuMw

 

[Fio]

Kirby Adventure I think is the definitive answer to this thread.

It is one of the few NES games that could easily pass as 16-bit. It is the only 8-bit game that I can recall that featured parallax scrolling, definitely a technical marvel for the time.

-edit Wonder Boy III is a great choice too.

/thread.

 

[RSP]

Ninja Gaiden III, Batman, Kirby.

 

[dallow_bg]

Kabuki Quantum Fighter

Loved this game as a child.
Good music too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=c3RMKE8JeqU

It's the flips and twists he can do that I think look good.

 

[Gekkonidae]

 

[Chemo]

Blaster Master.

 

[tedtropy]

Man, Return of the Joker is crazy good looking for a NES title. I'm guessing they had some form of assistant CPU on the cartridge.

 

[Cdammen]

Crystalis looked pretty nice.

(EDIT)

Man, Return of the Joker is crazy good looking for a NES title. I'm guessing they had some form of assistant CPU on the cartridge.

Yes! I take my first choice back, this wins, hands down.

 

[Barry Lightning]

Best looking 8-Bit games...

...were all on master system.

 

[Mithos Yggdrasill]

Super Mario Bros. 3 ?
Kirby ?

 

[GremlinInTheMachine]

Bionic Commando

 

[Speevy]

I always thought Little Nemo: The Dream Master had great graphics. They were amazingly colorful and the characters had awesome design, especially the cigar-smoking gorilla!

You are the winner of this thread. There is no other.

 

[Speevy]

The dream world is actually a coping mechanism. Flip is Uncle Charlie.

 

[Tf53]

Battletoads

.

 

[Neo Child]

Kirbys Adventure and Mario 3 definately.

 

[npm0925]

Phantasy Star.

 

[dark10x]

The PC Engine was technically 8-bit, wasn't it?

 

[OmniGamer]

I always thought Astyanax had the best graphics back in those days.

Hot damn, someone else on this forum finally mentioned Astyanax? Where were you in all of the music threads where i praise the soundtrack for this game?

Anywho, yeah the one thing that stands out graphically from this game are the HUGE sprites(though i now know that's probably due to the HUD taking up a large part of the bottom of the screen real-estate). Which caused it to chug into slowdown city sometimes, but so did a lot of NES games. The cutscenes had a good style to it too I thought.

 

[Speevy]

The PC Engine was technically 8-bit, wasn't it?

Maybe, but it's usually considered with the SNES and Genesis.

 

[Ranger X]

Also, for racing games: Rad Racer 2

There is some very nice 2D scaling at 60 fps there. And it's still playable even today.

 

[Nozi]

The PC Engine was technically 8-bit, wasn't it?

I was gonna say.. The PC Engine had the best graphics out of any 8 bit console (but I believe it had a 16 bit graphics chip)

 

[Greg]

Also, for racing games: Rad Racer 2

There is some very nice 2D scaling at 60 fps there. And it's still playable even today.

Holy shit - was it Rad Racer 1 or 2 that came with the 3d glasses? :lol

Man, games were badass back then.

 

[Ranger X]

Yup. The PC Engine / TG-16 had a 8bits CPU and a 16bits graphic chip.

So it's not really a 16bitter and its not really a 8bitter either


EDIT:
Thinking about it, the SNES is also in the same situation since it does re-use the NES CPU...

 

[Rlan]

Well if you throw the Game Gear in there with it's expanded palette, you gets some great looking gems: Noticably Sonic Triple Trouble, Dynamite Headdy, Gunstar Heroes, and Ristar.

 

[Nuke]

I've also always been partial to Crystalis too.

 

[Endgegner]

I always thought Little Nemo: The Dream Master had great graphics. They were amazingly colorful and the characters had awesome design, especially the cigar-smoking gorilla!

QFMT

 

[NintendosBooger]

Battletoads

/thread