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What was the N64 game with the overall best graphics?
- Thread starter Alex_Mexico
- Start date
It's more notable for the compression scheme more than the actual graphics itself IMO.
RealityCheque
Banned
Would be good if most of these weren't emulator screenshots.
N64 era was vaseline-vision. I was impressed at the time but no way did the games look anywhere near what is being shown in most of this thread.
Mario 64 is the one that holds up pretty well for me, simple palette and not too heavy on the textures made it look pretty clean.
N64 era was vaseline-vision. I was impressed at the time but no way did the games look anywhere near what is being shown in most of this thread.
Mario 64 is the one that holds up pretty well for me, simple palette and not too heavy on the textures made it look pretty clean.
I think it had Expansion Pak support that pushed the resolution above the PS or something. Never tried it myself since I have no Exp.-Pak.
J
JeremyEtcetera
Unconfirmed Member
Perfect Dark just slightly wins over World Driver. No pop-in, reflections, lighting, environment textures, rain effects, snow effects, smoke effects, motion blur, bullet sparks, tons of objects with consistent blood stains and bullet holes, tons of voice acting for a non disc game, and more. It was the most impressive game I've ever seen on that console graphically(and gameplay wise) and the very reason it held up better graphically than other N64 games when it was remade for XBL.
My only gripe is that the XBL version/Xbox one version wasn't released on other consoles or PC. The online community didn't stay alive long enough on that game.
My only gripe is that the XBL version/Xbox one version wasn't released on other consoles or PC. The online community didn't stay alive long enough on that game.
I definitely agree that Turok, Star Fox 64, and Conker were some of the best.
I was also really impressed with Forsaken:
https://youtu.be/DOo-TN-k0CA
and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon:
https://youtu.be/qaTP0EHX5X8
I was also really impressed with Forsaken:
https://youtu.be/DOo-TN-k0CA
and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon:
https://youtu.be/qaTP0EHX5X8
Forsaken on the PSX is the version that is most impressive. The N64 version looks fine but is missing content and is still only 30fps.
The PSX version, however, includes the entirety of the single player game that is present on the PC and, more importantly, actually runs at 60fps. Seriously. It's one of the most impressive games on the system as a result of its high frame-rate. Texture warping is certainly present but the developers did a good job of minimizing it will maintaining visuals similar to the PC version.
Bullshit free... I do think it looks the best in motion with its unmatched animation and clean texture design.
NiGHTS into dreams has better animation than Mario 64.
Bullshit huh?
The reason SM64 looks so good is due to its restraint and balance. The presentation is very consistent, the animation is excellent from start to finish, and the frame-rate is very steady.
Most of the other more "impressive" N64 games make huge sacrifices in one of those areas. Whether it's an incredibly low frame-rate, bad animation, or ugly assets...they wind up looking worse overall, I feel.
Nah. NiGHTS does look nice in motion but...I think you need only look at the running animation as the children to see the difference. It's inconsistent. Some aspects look great, others...not so much. Mario 64 is the complete package and is completely buttoned up from top to bottom. One of the most visually consistent games of that era.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Perfect Dark for texture details, Conker for character animation, Turok 3 for nailing lipsynced cutscenes, and Banjo-Tooie for its sheer scale.
You're going to judge NiGHTS animation based on the running animation of the kids? The thing you see less than a few seconds of in every stage? And not the literally hundreds of mid-air animations that are seemlessly stitched together in real time when flying?
Yah, NiGHTS into dreams has much more impressive animation, especially given that you can't tell where any animation begins or ends.
I'm judging it by consistency but...honestly, I still think Mario's animation work looks more natural than anything in NiGHTS (though I certainly think both look great). I guess we'll just have to disagree on this point as it's pretty subjective and I don't want to slam NiGHTS.
Absolutely nothing in Mario 64 looks as fluidly animated as the entirety of Soft Museum, and that goes for both the level animation itself and NiGHTS' stunt work with the trick ring.
86 posts in, and the only mention.
I guess I can't blame you guys, as no one really played it, but really. The game looked even better than the PC version.
It's been two years and I'm still waiting for them to come back to finish it :/
maybe they need more views?
if anyone is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbRUl7dkRVPKlYiUq4TmEaQ/videos
a few guys of the original staff are playing through the game, giving really interesting insights (great mighty poo sing-along with the original voice actor included)
I don't really know which game I prefer but I think there's a case to be made for both games leveraging their systems strengths, tons of fantastic squash & stretch style animation in Mario 64 which looks best with the stability the 64 brought compared to the saturn, and NiGHTS has some amazingly complex linking flight animations as well as interactive environments.
Minustephen
Neo Member
FINALLY some love for JFG!! I always thought the N64 and Gamecube went under-recognized for their graphical prowess. Friends always said, "Look how much better PS1 is!" and I just didn't see it. It certainly did things better in its own right, but an N64 game always looked better constructed.
Surprised to see Conker as constant winner.
Surprised to see Conker as constant winner.
We are talking about N64 games dude. I like Nights too
I'm glad we got both within a few months of each other.
I dunno.
Seems it has the same graphical issues common on PS1 like jittering graphics and visible seams.
Gotta agree with the Paper Mario mentions, mostly because it DOESN'T look like an N64 game. The system was rarely home to any truly beautiful-looking games. Muddy, low poly, fog, low framerate, etc. Really makes me want to play that gem again. It's my favorite of the series.
That being said, I also agree that Rare did some of the best work on the system, and DKR remains one of my favorites. IIRC, it looked really nice too with bright colors and lots of personality.
That being said, I also agree that Rare did some of the best work on the system, and DKR remains one of my favorites. IIRC, it looked really nice too with bright colors and lots of personality.
never understood the love for Jet Force Gemini. im a huge Rare fan. i thought the game was a mess back when it was released and it sure doesnt hold up any better. visually it has no theme, it looks way too ''busy'' i guess but nothing looks above average. they were way too ambitious.
my choice is Star Wars: Rogue Squadran , Perfect Dark or Paper Mario. Paper Mario holds up better than any game from that era but i was more impressed at the time with the RS and PD
my choice is Star Wars: Rogue Squadran , Perfect Dark or Paper Mario. Paper Mario holds up better than any game from that era but i was more impressed at the time with the RS and PD
The N64 peaked with Wave Race 64 as far as I'm concerned. It's still such a pleasant-looking game (especially in motion, obviously). Unlike most of the hideous library. Some games might have better textures and whatnot, but look at Jet Force Gemini, aesthetically it's just ugly as hell. Sorry OP.
Wave Race 64 was very charming from a visual and aesthetic point of view. But again the three games I posted are the epitome of fidelity and frame rate on the N64 (blowing away PSX easily).
1. World Driver Championship
2. Shadowman
3. Turok 3 / Turok: Rage Wars
Then are a few other games like Forsaken that are a notch below. Again, the RARE and Factor 5 games have terrible frame rates and only look good in pictures or nostalgic memories.
The Pokemon Stadium 2 models looks amazing (especially with the expansion pak). Admittedly there isn't a whole lot going on on screen at any given time but still.
Banjo Kazooie is still playable and surely ahead of Super Mario 64 from a technical point of view.
The lighting was pretty great there - in certain situations, it makes the texture quality look like a deliberate artistic choice rather than a limitation.
Also, I didn't even realise I had nostalgia for the music in that game...
Yep, B-K looks and plays great to this day. The person you quoted might have been thinking about games like Conker, which had really laggy controls for whatever reason.
Inspectah_Deck
Member
All Rare games are very playable today, you just need some time to adjust to the framerate.
My vote goes to
<--
too.
My vote goes to
<--
too.
IronicSonic
Member
Conker, Battle of Naboo, World Driver Championship.
Jessie.Bristol
Member
I would say Conker's Bad Fur Day is definitely the best looking title on the Nintendo 64. Behind it would be Perfect Dark and Majora's Mask.
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D.Lo
Member
WTF OP, Jet Force Gemini is hideous.
Graphics can mean many things, it's easier to have better graphics if a game has more limited scope by design (eg Fighting games that only need a single enclosed arena). And performance is part of graphics.
In real life, I think Banja Kazooie. The best balance of graphics, scale and performance (framerate). Tooie's framerate was too bad.
Other top games: Majora's Mask, Rayman 2, and Indiana Jones. I never played World Driver Championship, though it looks good, racing games are (obviously) by design on rails and can do more stuff than full 3d worlds.
Raw graphics without respect to performance, Turok 3 and Conker I think. Also Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo.
Graphics can mean many things, it's easier to have better graphics if a game has more limited scope by design (eg Fighting games that only need a single enclosed arena). And performance is part of graphics.
In real life, I think Banja Kazooie. The best balance of graphics, scale and performance (framerate). Tooie's framerate was too bad.
Other top games: Majora's Mask, Rayman 2, and Indiana Jones. I never played World Driver Championship, though it looks good, racing games are (obviously) by design on rails and can do more stuff than full 3d worlds.
Raw graphics without respect to performance, Turok 3 and Conker I think. Also Rogue Squadron and Battle for Naboo.
SpartanN92
Banned
I was really young during the N64 days (born in '92) but I remember the console well.
Pokemon Stadium 2 was a standout in my opinion.
Pokemon Stadium 2 was a standout in my opinion.
Conker for sure.
Turok 3, Rogue Squadron also.
That's outside games like Super Mario 64 holding well, the textures and characters in Conker combined with the voice overs and the music, made for an impressive package.
Props to Resident Evil 2. They crammed all that in the cartridge and the game looked a bit better too.
Turok 3, Rogue Squadron also.
That's outside games like Super Mario 64 holding well, the textures and characters in Conker combined with the voice overs and the music, made for an impressive package.
Props to Resident Evil 2. They crammed all that in the cartridge and the game looked a bit better too.
AppleBlade
Member
Besides the technical achievement, I also think RE2 holds up a lot better than many 3D games. I played it fairly recently and a lot of the prerendered graphics are detailed and pretty to look at even today.
The controls didn't ages quite as well thought but it just takes minutes to get used to.
The controls didn't ages quite as well thought but it just takes minutes to get used to.
facetheslayer92
Member
I always thought the Banjo games on N64 were monumental achievements in graphical power.
ZiggyPalffyLA
Member
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
A much better game than OoT in my opinion, Also, OoT does and always did look terrible.
A much better game than OoT in my opinion, Also, OoT does and always did look terrible.