Pick one: pixelated jittery PS1 look or N64 vomit looking textures?
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Like here is Devil Dagger which is trying to be more like Quake than PS1 but the wobble in the game is really cool looking. Less intense than on PS1 but still pretty cool to look at. I love that aesthetic.
Really hard to say. My memory of PS1 was heavily skewed by titles with pre-rendered backgrounds.
I'll say this - if for whatever reason an indie studio wanted to imitate an early 3D system, I'd prefer them leaning into PS1 style over N64. PS1 felt incredibly pixellated, with vague polygonal shapes, jittery lines and textures, etc and in video feels pretty far removed from what we have today. N64 looked pretty good at the time, but it's kind of dull and my gut feel is that N64 immitations would just be low poly, with low resolution textures and liberal fog.
I'll say this - if for whatever reason an indie studio wanted to imitate an early 3D system, I'd prefer them leaning into PS1 style over N64. PS1 felt incredibly pixellated, with vague polygonal shapes, jittery lines and textures, etc and in video feels pretty far removed from what we have today. N64 looked pretty good at the time, but it's kind of dull and my gut feel is that N64 immitations would just be low poly, with low resolution textures and liberal fog.
Pre rendered background shouldn't count. You could do that on the n64 too.RPG in N64:
RPG in PSX:
Just LMAO, give me the PSX (and I love the 64).
I thought you couldn't because of the cartridge's limited memory, isn't that why Square went with PS?
For a game as big as Final Fantasy or some other rpgs that are massive for the time, more space was needed, but we saw an example with Resident Evil 2 on N64 which uses ore rendered backgrounds. They are of lower quality, but it exists. Another thing is, Quest 64 is an ugly looking game lol. Picked the worst game for the comparison.
what if you don't like either?
the only N64 games i find okay to look at don't have the muddy texture problem. F-Zero X is about the only game i can play and still have a good time since it isn't bad like Rare games or similar games with the mud.
also, been going through Xenogears and 40% of the time i'm thinking how better the scene would be if it was remade on newer hardware because of the warpy polygons.
this is also a reason i'm not very fond of most DS 3D games since those are pretty much portable PS1 tier. MKDS gives me headaches.
the only N64 games i find okay to look at don't have the muddy texture problem. F-Zero X is about the only game i can play and still have a good time since it isn't bad like Rare games or similar games with the mud.
also, been going through Xenogears and 40% of the time i'm thinking how better the scene would be if it was remade on newer hardware because of the warpy polygons.
this is also a reason i'm not very fond of most DS 3D games since those are pretty much portable PS1 tier. MKDS gives me headaches.
I see, they do look pretty bad compared to the PS1 version though
I think that higher resolution textures are just more important than 3D stability for these low poly models. Texture work can go a long way.
Not a fan of either to be honest.
16bit 2D held up way more.
P.S. A massive "please stop" for anyone who tries to use either n64 blur or PSX jaggies as a "retro" stylistic choice in a modern game. Just NO. I mean, it's a subjective thing but to me neither of them is a respectable "aesthetic". They were a side-effect of a difficult transition to a new technology.
I can respect the that developers accomplished great feats to even get the results they did, but people longing for that style today feels like Boomers glorifying eating war-rations, riding around without seatbelts in their youth or getting their asses whooped by their uncle or teacher.
16bit 2D held up way more.
P.S. A massive "please stop" for anyone who tries to use either n64 blur or PSX jaggies as a "retro" stylistic choice in a modern game. Just NO. I mean, it's a subjective thing but to me neither of them is a respectable "aesthetic". They were a side-effect of a difficult transition to a new technology.
I can respect the that developers accomplished great feats to even get the results they did, but people longing for that style today feels like Boomers glorifying eating war-rations, riding around without seatbelts in their youth or getting their asses whooped by their uncle or teacher.
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I've been playing my PS1 all day today. Absolutely not. I vastly prefer the PS1 look. And I really have to proof call anyone talking like they felt that way about PS1 games at release.
Just for a fun comparison, this is S-Video out to Sony Trinitron KV27V42. Obviously I have no idea how to photograph a CRT but it seems pretty close, clarity wise? EuphoriaHow about a couple screen shots of UltraHDMI in retro mode which is probably how people think their N64 games used to look even though using the best native option s-video never came close to this level of clarity:
Mario 64 feels like it's on a different console it's amazing how much better it looks and plays than most anything else in the library.
I'm sure everyone can relate to this... playing Mario 64 and loving it, then going to the rental store and picking up Star Wars Shadow of the Empire. Woof.
I'm sure everyone can relate to this... playing Mario 64 and loving it, then going to the rental store and picking up Star Wars Shadow of the Empire. Woof.
Honestly I was a bit blown away by the sheer amount of voice acting in that game and I only played it a few years ago. Seriously, the game has more then a dozen hours worth of Codec dialogue, a 30 minute "briefing" cutscene that's hidden away in the main menu which 90% of players probably won't even watch, and a ridiculous amount of optional dialog. Impressive when you consider most games back then were content with 10-20 minutes worth of cutscenes and dialogue in total. And the ones that did have a large amount of dialogue were usually text-only. They really went all out filling up the space available for them through CDs. Two CDs in fact.
Maybe it's because I had an N64 and there's a bit of a lingering "grass is always greener" factor, but PS1 by a damn mile.
Some N64 games look good even today where as PSX games can cause a headache with the pixels and polygons jumping all over the place. PSX games had a problem where they looked good in pictures (back in the day that was the only way to show them, as Internet wasn't really a thing and there was only very few TV shows that had games played), but as soon as you were shown a video of the game or you played it yourself, it all felt apart. I don't think there was ever a PSX game that I actually thought as looking great even back in the day, but that's not to say there wasn't any great games though. I played and even beat quite a few of them although never having the system.
Nah, PSX textures still go a long ways and at least CDs allowed for varied levels. Ape Escape and Tail Concerto had good detailed worlds:
And the system did 2.5D very well with lush worlds in Tomba and Klonoa:
Many N64 titles really suffered from small carts even in their heyday. Moreso now.
I'd rather have N64, though I also grew up with N64 so I'm okay with how those games looked. I don't think I could do jittery PS1 stuff nowadays, though it may have been different if I grew up with a PS1.
False framing. PS1 didn't just have jittery textures, it also had massive texture seam issues in all but the top 1% of fully 3D games.
Gaps between polygons/textures constantly showing. The world was a jigsaw puzzle about to fall apart the whole time. And almost every PS1 (or Saturn) game with a 3D camera had this, all the time.
N64 had far more stable 3D, and larger 3D areas across the board for platformers, adventures etc.
PS1 has plenty of good games, but the best use of the system for the most part was partial 3D like pre-rendering or using a very limited fixed camera to limit the damage.
Gaps between polygons/textures constantly showing. The world was a jigsaw puzzle about to fall apart the whole time. And almost every PS1 (or Saturn) game with a 3D camera had this, all the time.
N64 had far more stable 3D, and larger 3D areas across the board for platformers, adventures etc.
PS1 has plenty of good games, but the best use of the system for the most part was partial 3D like pre-rendering or using a very limited fixed camera to limit the damage.
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N64 is far better. Worlds felt big and solid for their time. PS1 it was like playing through a place that might tear apart and crumble any minute.
It's a shame filtering wasn't adjustable on the n64. Had it been games that didn't need it would have been so much sharper.
It's a shame filtering wasn't adjustable on the n64. Had it been games that didn't need it would have been so much sharper.
For its entire lifespan the PS1 had games that looked impressive. The N64, meanwhile, looked great to start with, and again with Ocarina, but that was almost it. It's crazy people pick Conker or Perfect Dark as good looking games. They were blurry and muddy and ran awful. That's not even speaking from hindsight, it was apparent at the time too. Great console with some great games, but it looked and ran pretty poor, especially towards the end of its life.
eight thousand percent PS1.
N64 was obviously more advanced at the time with bigger 3D worlds, but not a single game on that system has aged anywhere near as well as something like metal gear solid or vagrant story.
part of it is just because of the bad video output, and it does look a lot better with something like a super 64 or ultraHDMI, but there's no saving those textures.
N64 was obviously more advanced at the time with bigger 3D worlds, but not a single game on that system has aged anywhere near as well as something like metal gear solid or vagrant story.
part of it is just because of the bad video output, and it does look a lot better with something like a super 64 or ultraHDMI, but there's no saving those textures.
i hear there's this ugly, low poly lookin' game called Minecraft that's enormously popular with the kids
I hate how Minecraft looks but at least the textures aren't a muddy mess and the polygons aren't jitterbug constantly
I don't even know what that post is trying to prove anyway, it's not like people play Minecraft cause the graphics are nice
MGS looks like arse now.
Games like Conker's Bad Fur Day look miles better because of the graphical style.
I was so disgusted by PS1 graphics as a kid that I skipped 32bit consoles entirely. FMV felt like it was how gameplay should look but didn't, loading times seemed like a huge step back, and the games themselves all seemed to look muddy and lack detail. I waited for the Nintendo 64; no regrets.
PS1 and it ain't really a question. The N64 creates some of gaming's most foul visuals. PS1 allowed for some of the best prerendered visuals I've ever seen in games.
Outside of SM64, the Zelda titles, and maybe 3 others I can't think of an N64 game I enjoy looking at. The PS1 had many more stunners. The N64 was always disappointing to me, visually, and since playing through many SNES games recently I find that disappointment reinforced.
Outside of SM64, the Zelda titles, and maybe 3 others I can't think of an N64 game I enjoy looking at. The PS1 had many more stunners. The N64 was always disappointing to me, visually, and since playing through many SNES games recently I find that disappointment reinforced.
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People really don't seem to remember how awful it was looking at an actual PS1 game, not just screenshots. The pixelated look was nice, but the wobbliness was insufferable.
The N64 beats it so comfortably it's not even comparable.
And lmao @ comparing prerendered static backgrounds to full 3D ones.
I agree the non-filtered pixelated textures are neat, though. But the way the PS1 displayed those was awful. And I think some people don't quite remember how that looked back then…
The N64 beats it so comfortably it's not even comparable.
And lmao @ comparing prerendered static backgrounds to full 3D ones.
I agree the non-filtered pixelated textures are neat, though. But the way the PS1 displayed those was awful. And I think some people don't quite remember how that looked back then…
hard disagree. the one thing i actually finished on the playstation classic was an MGS run and it still looks great IMO. really smart use of textures and colour palettes in a way that wouldn't have worked on the N64 at all.
