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Nintendo DS Games in HD

Robin64

Member
Guys. Holy shit. Nintendo's own DS Virtual Console on Wii U can upscale games.

It's a setting you need hombrew to get to, but just setting it to 2x made Final Fantasy IV go from this:

0o7Rude.jpg


To this:

H8T4fGq.jpg
 

Shifty

Member
oaio2PH.png

'Kill me'

Being serious, this is super cool to see. Love it when emulation can improve the technical side of existing games.
 

jett

D-Member
Guys. Holy shit. Nintendo's own DS Virtual Console on Wii U can upscale games.

It's a setting you need hombrew to get to, but just setting it to 2x made Final Fantasy IV go from this:

0o7Rude.jpg


To this:

H8T4fGq.jpg

What's with the PS1-like lack of perspective correction? I thought the DS didn't suffer from that.
 
What's with the PS1-like lack of perspective correction? I thought the DS didn't suffer from that.

Well, on 192p screen you can't really see that, so why spend precious transistor time on the relatively complex division/multiplication thing?
 
Guys. Holy shit. Nintendo's own DS Virtual Console on Wii U can upscale games.

It's a setting you need hombrew to get to, but just setting it to 2x made Final Fantasy IV go from this:

0o7Rude.jpg


To this:

H8T4fGq.jpg

How does it run? Is it a matter of great for screenshots, poor for gameplay like some of the HD examples, or is it another case of poor emulation from Nintendo?
 

WillyFive

Member
What's with the PS1-like lack of perspective correction? I thought the DS didn't suffer from that.

I'm thinking the ground is intentionally built like that, and the filter applied to the screen makes it more warped. It's not an issue that I've noticed on other DS games in high-res.
 

-shadow-

Member
Guys. Holy shit. Nintendo's own DS Virtual Console on Wii U can upscale games.

It's a setting you need hombrew to get to, but just setting it to 2x made Final Fantasy IV go from this:
You can't be serious that this is a setting in the actual emulator and Nintendo has it set to 1x because Nintendo. That's fucking terrible!

What's with the PS1-like lack of perspective correction? I thought the DS didn't suffer from that.
It doesn't. Probably just textured that way.
 

KingWool

Banned
Wow that's really unbelievable. I know that Nintendo doesn't seem to give two craps about the VC. But if you bother with adding such an option. Than bloody use it! 😐

All of the options to disable the dark filter for NES and N64 are there too....Nintendo really doesn't care.
 

televator

Member
Guys. Holy shit. Nintendo's own DS Virtual Console on Wii U can upscale games.

It's a setting you need hombrew to get to, but just setting it to 2x made Final Fantasy IV go from this:

0o7Rude.jpg


To this:

H8T4fGq.jpg

That actually looks like a higher native resolution and not just a simple upscale.
 

rjc571

Banned
It looks like the resolution in Nintendo's official emulator is only being scaled by 2x to 512x384 (eyeball guess; can a pixel counter confirm?) Kind of strange that they would bother implementing internal resolution scaling but only increase the resolution by a modest amount, when the Wii U can easily handle HD internal resolutions for DS games. Same deal with the N64 emulator for Wii U only increasing the internal resolution to 640x480 (which is the same as what they did on the original Wii).
 

Siphorus

Member
All of the options to disable the dark filter for NES and N64 are there too....Nintendo really doesn't care.
Yea that's pretty much my reaction to all this, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of games work very well on their emulator, they literally just passed on a ton of free money for very little effort.
 

-shadow-

Member
Just wondering. But can anyone post screenshots of some games with and without the filter turned both on (as default) and completely turned off through image upload (it that's possible). Really curious to see that.

Edit: I think this is the wrong topic for this question... But it's worth a shot!
 

Datschge

Member
That actually looks like a higher native resolution and not just a simple upscale.
Actually it doesn't. With a higher native resolution the text font would still have sharp pixels, in the upscaled picture it's rounded instead so it's more like a 2×SaI family based filter upscaling.
 

Aeana

Member
Actually it doesn't. With a higher native resolution the text font would still have sharp pixels, in the upscaled picture it's rounded instead so it's more like a 2×SaI family based filter upscaling.

That's a separate artifact. There's also an option in the DS emulator settings called PixelArtUpscaler which applies that filter. The 2x render though really is 2x internal res.
 

televator

Member
Actually it doesn't. With a higher native resolution the text font would still have sharp pixels, in the upscaled picture it's rounded instead so it's more like a 2×SaI family based filter upscaling.

There's added detail in there. No filter can make up that information.
 

Datschge

Member
That's a separate artifact. There's also an option in the DS emulator settings called PixelArtUpscaler which applies that filter. The 2x render though really is 2x internal res.

I see. And what's up with those horrible uneven textures? They are completely unlike all the higher res screenshots posted in this thread before where you could see the pixelated textures clearer than in the original resolution.
 

23qwerty

Member
I see. And what's up with those horrible uneven textures? They are completely unlike all the higher res screenshots posted in this thread before where you could see the pixelated textures clearer than in the original resolution.
It's because it looks it's using that shitty smooth scaling filter in addition to the increased internal resolution
 

Aeana

Member
I see. And what's up with those horrible uneven textures? They are completely unlike all the higher res screenshots posted in this thread before where you could see the pixelated textures clearer than in the original resolution.

It looks like the filter also filters the textures. Here's a shot I took from DQ9 with the 2x option on and the pixel art upscaler off:

hC4EODB.jpg
 

Eila

Member
I see. And what's up with those horrible uneven textures? They are completely unlike all the higher res screenshots posted in this thread before where you could see the pixelated textures clearer than in the original resolution.

It's just the game. That's how DQ and FF games on DS look.
 

Krammy

Member
I don't have comparisons for these ones, but here goes!

Blood of Bahamut
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1JIgSXS.gif


Nostalgia
9LnoX1d.gif


Pokémon HeartGold
BesSWap.gif

NW8yS2N.gif


Somewhat related, but I also grabbed 60fps versions of all the legacy bosses from Dragon Quest IX, as well as the final boss of the game and put them on my blog, in case that interests anyone!
 

Krammy

Member
I'm sure people won't mind me double posting, but I'm back with some more quality comparison shots.

Cross Treasures
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vhLoPLn.gif

quELjFW.gif
VDd1ZqY.gif

I0F1Kmp.gif
XmB4ERM.gif

8TT6Mph.gif
gIr1Pdn.gif
 
All of the options to disable the dark filter for NES and N64 are there too....Nintendo really doesn't care.

How many times have we got to remind people that these filters are blanket epilepsy-prevention measures? They're intentional. It's not that they don't care, it's that they don't want the risk of these games causing epilepsy problems for some people.
 
That Blood of Bahamut game looks awesome. It's really JP-only?

How many times have we got to remind people that these filters are blanket epilepsy-prevention measures? They're intentional. It's not that they don't care, it's that they don't want the risk of these games causing epilepsy problems for some people.

I'm certain most of us know why, but that doesn't make it look any less terrible.
 

Krammy

Member
How many times have we got to remind people that these filters are blanket epilepsy-prevention measures? They're intentional. It's not that they don't care, it's that they don't want the risk of these games causing epilepsy problems for some people.

I don't think it's that people don't know why Nintendo do it, it's that they could easily offer a toggle in the VC menu, but they don't. I certainly have no problems with epilepsy, so I'd love to play these games (Earthbound) in their original form, let me toggle the filter!

That Blood of Bahamut game looks awesome. It's really JP-only?

Seems to be. There might be a translation patch floating around though.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
I don't think it's that people don't know why Nintendo do it, it's that they could easily offer a toggle in the VC menu, but they don't. I certainly have no problems with epilepsy, so I'd love to play these games (Earthbound) in their original form, let me toggle the filter!
I'll never understand the pure unwillingness to allow toggles for setting like this.

They change nothing about the game. The default can be the "epilepsy-preventing" setting. Fine. But let players navigate to advanced settings somehow.
 
I don't think it's that people don't know why Nintendo do it, it's that they could easily offer a toggle in the VC menu, but they don't. I certainly have no problems with epilepsy, so I'd love to play these games (Earthbound) in their original form, let me toggle the filter!

Offering a toggle is still a risk that any sensible corporation has every reason not to take. It would take just one case of someone toggling it off, getting a seizure, attempting to sue Nintendo (DESPITE the warnings that would be in place) to garner enough negative press (even if Nintendo wins the case) to make them regret it.

You're thinking about it from your personal perspective of a nostalgic enthusiast. Try to think of it from the perspective of a large corporation with everything to lose. Would you risk it?
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
How many times have we got to remind people that these filters are blanket epilepsy-prevention measures? They're intentional. It's not that they don't care, it's that they don't want the risk of these games causing epilepsy problems for some people.

We all know why. I don't even care that they are switched on by default, just give us the option to turn it off. They are damaging their own software for no reason.

It makes no sense that a game like Mario Maker is playable in all it's high contrast glory yet the original NES rom is deemed unsafe to play at normal contrast. Why don't they apply this filter to every single game on Wii U if they are so worried about epilepsy? There should be a toggle option with a clear warning screen and parental controls. That's all they need to do, but as usual, we will have to wait at least 5 years for them to do it.

Nintendo had no problem selling N64 games on the Wii without this filter. They sell SNES games on Wii U without this filter. It makes no sense.
 

Krammy

Member
Offering a toggle is still a risk that any sensible corporation has every reason not to take. It would take just one case of someone toggling it off, getting a seizure, attempting to sue Nintendo (DESPITE the warnings that would be in place) to garner enough negative press (even if Nintendo wins the case) to make them regret it.

This is such a non-issue. The 3D effects of the 3DS can be damaging to the eyes with prolonged use, but there's clear warnings on the box of every game and handheld. To my knowledge, Nintendo haven't been sued to high heaven over that.

While I agree that Nintendo is definitely doing it as a precaution to avoid a legal battle, the fact still remains that if the sole reason they're forcing the use of these filters is out of fear that they couldn't win the case in a court of law, then Nintendo as a company have bigger issues to worry about than making video games.

EDIT: This conversation is derailing this thread though, when it should probably be in the Why is Nintendo incapable of emulating their own games properly? thread.
 
It makes no sense that a game like Mario Maker is playable in all it's high contrast glory yet the original NES rom is deemed unsafe to play at normal contrast. Why don't they apply this filter to every single game on Wii U if they are so worried about epilepsy? There should be a toggle option with a clear warning screen and parental controls. That's all they need to do, but as usual, we will have to wait at least 5 years for them to do it.

Different context. Games like Mario Maker and all such recent software are made with all known epilepsy-prevention best practices diligently put in place. They're tested by large QA teams for months on end, where every aspect of the game is documented and tested, and the game spends a large amount of time on flash/pattern analyzers to make sure that they're safe.

With VC games on the other end, you're working with unpredictability. They are produced in batch by a small team, are tested by very small teams that, while they've been good at catching and toning down most well-known flashes/patterns in games, might have missed some of them since they're not as well-documented. They can't possibly spend as much time/budget to re-test VC games with the same thoroughness as newly-made games. God knows what could be hiding in less-known parts of the games that they didn't account for? They just go through the golden paths and make sure they work, and that's it. And that's why you go for a catch-all, blanket measure.
 

Krammy

Member
This one is a cool little JRPG that's marred by the worst control scheme you've ever seen. A virtual trackball that controls just as badly as you imagine it would.

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
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gmHGfnW.gif
j1eq66C.gif

7mhatzy.gif
pQhbmSL.gif

ZDpVa20.gif
Do7S3XQ.gif
 

Krammy

Member
Oh wow, Krammy, just keep on posting those gifs whenever you want. Looks sooo good.

Yeah, I've got a few more games to do still. Suikoden Tierkreis and Dragon Ball Origins 2 are probably lined up for tonight or tomorrow. I think Suikoden uses prerendered BG's though, so I might avoid it.
 

clem84

Gold Member
It's amazing how good those DQ9 shots look. Being able to play the game this way in an official release would make me want to play it all over again.

This thread makes me crave a DQ9 remake very badly.
 
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