I think the N64 had the "better graphics" technically, but it had a lack of variety in styles of games.
Games like these to me looked cleaner/better than most of what the N64 had. Most also ran at a better/smoother FPS which helps them in motion:
Yeah, frame rate certainly is the achilles heel of the N64. Well, that and the memory limitations of the cartridge.
I don't think this topic would've been made if the N64 had CD-ROM sized games. Would've been crazy.
I'll address the games issue below
PS1 games looked so much better back then and thats even more true today. Its almost crazy to me that people would prefer the low res textures and vaseline like graphics of the N64. I honestly think PS1 like graphics are very much viable even today because how unique they look and Im actually craving for them. Indies are missing out for not emulating the look of PS1 games more.
If anything, they kind of look worse than we probably remember. I certainly wouldn't call PS1 textures high res.
I think I get what you mean - the PS1 had more detailed instances of textures. That probably also comes down to the N64 memory limitations and the filter.
And I think the N64 looks better than what people remember.
People ask why N64 games used so much blur. This is what's underneath the blur when you remove it using the UltraHDMI mod on a real N64 (my lossless captures at 3x integer scaling with deblur active):
So much dithering, but check out how sharp the mini map is.
PS1 has an absurd amount of dithering on 3D models - but composite + CRT hides it well.
Playing in RGB, the dithering pops out.
It's not entirely fair to compare what the N64 looks like without blur filter on - that is, after all, what the games were designed for.
I imagine textures could've been designed better if there was never any blur filter.
The PS1 had a huge catalogue of awesome 2D games that still hold up extremely well. There are a few N64 games that hold up well too but there waaaay more on the PS1 because of all the 2D games. The fighting games and shmups are best on the Saturn but PS1 is still a lot stronger than N64 in this regard. The JRPGs, Survival Horror, Puzzle games are also still great.
Meh - I still lean more towards N64's exclusives over PS1, but I can easily see how it could've gone the other way, if I would've liked JRPGs.
PS1 had a massive library of games to its advantage, to be sure.
Regardless, there are more than just a "few" games that "hold up well" on 64 - which is a term that's finally getting the pushback it deserves. I think it gets echoed so much on the internet that people just start accepting it as truth.
The great games on the 64 are still as great as ever, and I'm getting pretty tired of some weird train of thought that says the N64 has like 5 good games on it.
Likewise, this needs to be said: there are fewer games on the PS1 that "hold up" than people think.
I imagine few people are really going to sit down and play a bloated PS1 JRPG these days with so much else on offer.
Or Spiderman PS1 - or Medal of Honor - or sit down and actually beat any Gran Turismo game.
The PS1 gets outdone in the arcade genre by Saturn pretty handedly that I don't really count that genre as one of the console's strengths.
It was probably nice to have those arcade ports as a supplement for other PS1 games on the system, though.
It comes down to this - for ALL retro consoles - the vast majority of kids only had money for 10-20 games per generation. I certainly didn't know any friend with over 15-20 games for one system. So, we ended up buying a mix of the best games on the system and a handful of other random supporting games.
Looking at some of the highest rated games on each system, would you rather have rolled with:
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Smash Bros.
Super Mario 64
Star Fox 64
Wave Race
Banjo - Kazooie series (pick one)
Star Wars: Rouge Squadron
F-Zero X
Pokemon Stadium (or Snap)
Paper Mario
Golden Eye (or Perfect Dark (or both))
Mario Party series
Diddy Kong Racing (or Mario Kart 64)
Or
Final Fantasy 7
Tekken 3
Gran Turismo series
Metal Gear Solid
Crash Bandicoot series
Spyro
Castlevania: SOTN
Wipeout 3 (or earlier)
Vagrant Story
Parappa the Rappa
Ape Escape
Einhander
Ridge Racer series
Klanoa
Tomba
+other JRPGs
Obviously, this choice will be completely subjective and a good case can be made for either system here. I personally enjoyed the N64 output and can't be bothered to play almost any old PS1 RPG anymore. Too much time, too much else that has come out since.
Anyways, none of this has to do with the graphics, so uhm...sorry for getting too off-topic here.
