SNES 2?

[Happenstance]

I think the only thing that the SNES was missing that would have really made it amazing was some of that sweet blast processing.

[Dcubed]

Low polygon characters can have a certain charm about them... A lot of people prefer the graphical style of Final Fantasy 9 to the likes of 13... (They also leave much to the player's imagination - much like how sprites do)

 

Greezo also understood this when they worked on OoT 3D. When they updated the visuals, they purposely kept to the same style as the original game. They could've very easily upped the detail of the character models if they wanted to, but instead chose not to deviate too far from the original style of models (even keeping Link's lack of fingers!) because they wanted to make the in-game visuals look closer to the original art work, while not moving too far from the original game's look.

 

It's not necessarily so cut and dry as you might first think... I really like the style of the old N64 Banjo games (and all of Rare's other N64 games) - so much so that I actually think that Perfect Dark N64 looks better than Perfect Dark XBLA (ignoring the increase in resolution, I never liked the updated models - especially Elvis on 360; YUCK!): oh and the original CBFD looks far better than its remake (which missed the point entirely, with it's more realistic visual style).

 

I have a certain affinity for chunky looking N64 games It's also where the typical Rare "art style" looked best IMO.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

The people who prefer FFIX's appearance mostly would be due to something else (pre-rendered backgrounds vs rendered environments). I would probably agree, I like the pre-rendered backgrounds. But they can be done in conjunction with modern 3D character/ enemy models.

 

As for the 3D models themselves... 'FFIX vs FFXIII' again brings in bias since people generally loved the characters in IX. Fairest/most relevant comparison would be if they had the original IX models and then remade them by modern standards. I bet if you showed them to people who never had played the original IX (so no nostalgia) they would prefer the modern ones.

 

 

It's not necessarily so cut and dry as you might first think... I really like the style of the old N64 Banjo games (and all of Rare's other N64 games) - so much so that I actually think that Perfect Dark N64 looks better than Perfect Dark XBLA (ignoring the increase in resolution, I never liked the updated models - especially Elvis on 360; YUCK!): oh and the original CBFD looks far better than its remake (which missed the point entirely, with it's more realistic visual style).

 

I have a certain affinity for chunky looking N64 games It's also where the typical Rare "art style" looked best IMO.

 

It's pure nostalgia dude. We remember what they used to look like and we have a certain affection for it. The average gamer isn't going to think the same way...so I don't think going back to this era in terms of graphics would be a good thing for the masses.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Sheikah

[Dcubed]

The people who prefer FFIX's appearance mostly would be due to something else (pre-rendered backgrounds vs rendered environments). I would probably agree, I like the pre-rendered backgrounds. But they can be done in conjunction with modern 3D character/ enemy models.

 

As for the 3D models themselves... 'FFIX vs FFXIII' again brings in bias since people generally loved the characters in IX. Fairest/most relevant comparison would be if they had the original IX models and then remade them by modern standards. I bet if you showed them to people who never had played the original IX (so no nostalgia) they would prefer the modern ones.

 

 

 

It's pure nostalgia dude. We remember what they used to look like and we have a certain affection for it.The average gamer isn't going to think the same way.

 

I wouldn't say that... I played through Jet Force Gemini for the first time last year and I really liked the way it looked in game...

 

 

... But I'll be the first person to tell you that I think that its high polygon CG art work looks absolutely GOD AWFUL!

 

 

More polygons & higher res textures don't automatically equal better looking...

 

But eh? Since when did the "average gamer" ever have good taste in visual design (or games themselves) in general anyway? :p

Edited October 20, 2013 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

I'll raise you on that badly shaded gash with this:

 

 

Other than nostalgia clouding judgement, the modernised version looks so much better to me.

 

Regarding average gamer...if Nintendo don't go with what most people want, then they're kind of failing their fan base. I was pointing out that going back to a graphical era that probably most don't want isn't really a good idea.

[Dcubed]

I'll raise you on that badly shaded gash with this:

 

 

Other than nostalgia clouding judgement, the modernised version looks so much better to me.

 

Regarding average gamer...if Nintendo don't go with what most people want, then they're kind of failing their fan base. I was pointing out that going back to a graphical era that probably most don't want isn't really a good idea.

 

Well OoT 3D is actually an example of how to update a game like that right. They went out of their way to not upgrade the game's visuals too much...

 

By contrast, I'd rather look at this...

 

 

Than look at the dead, soul-less look of this...

 

 

Let's not even get into what they did to Elvis...

 

Before... (Cute!)

 

 

And after...

 

 

...Yeah...

 

As for whether or not a "throwback 3D" style could be commercially successful... I suppose that A Link Between Worlds might actually give us an answer to that question funnily enough! (since it is very clearly trying to emulate the same look as feel as ALTTP in 3D, with similarity proportioned characters that are much lower polygon than what the 3DS is capable of).

Edited October 21, 2013 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

See this is what I mean about the nostalgia thing. Having never played PD, the modern one looks a million times better to me. The first is just blocky crap.

 

None of this comparison stuff will really apply when you consider in the context of this discussion, the vast majority of games will be new and there'll be no nostalgia clouding judgement over whether it looks better than an original. Because there won't be an original. Either way, modern upgrades show that they will look better providing they are done properly.

 

Also I don't think the LTTP example is relevant since from what I've seen, the models are still better than on the 64 (plus it's not true 3D).

[Rummy]

Than look at the dead, soul-less look of this...

 

 

Ahhh, Rihanna Dark, classic female heroine.

[dan-likes-trees]

I stumble upon this every few months - I would love to see some 2d-hd games in this sort of style. Less of the 2.5d thing that's in vogue, more super-crisp, relly detailed 2d.

 

 

if Nintendo put out a cheap machine specialising in really good 2d games i'd be in.

[Hogge]

I'll never understand that. For me the N64 is one of the hardest consoles to go back to because of how ugly the graphics and textures were. There are obviously games like Zelda and Mario that managed to work past that but overall I cant stand the way everything looks.

 

At our office, we regularly throw N64-nights, when we play N64 games all night. While the games look primitive, I wouldn't say they're ugly. Games like Mario Kart 64 have aged with grace and still look okay.

The reason emulating N64-era graphics is appealing to me is that you can make a large game without too much effort. A Gears of War-character takes about a month for a really skilled artist to create, while I myself could make a Goldeneye-level character in two days (in university assignments, I actually have).

[Ronnie]

That yellow filter on OOT 3D is horrible