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[Poll] Which generational jump was the most impressive for you?
- Thread starter lunanto
- Start date
The two most important generational leaps for me are the below:
4th to 5th gen: Going from 2D to 3D was a massive step alongside all the other tech improvements...
6th to 7th gen: Introducing multiplayer in a widely accessible manner, also brought about services, patches and downloadable content and games.
4th to 5th gen: Going from 2D to 3D was a massive step alongside all the other tech improvements...
6th to 7th gen: Introducing multiplayer in a widely accessible manner, also brought about services, patches and downloadable content and games.
I have to say 16-bit to 32-bit. Even though lots of early 3D is ugly in retrospect. I was utterly blown away by the likes of Tekken and Ridge Racer. It was something else than, say a Genesis version of SF2 and Super Monaco GP. Also the FMV, CD quality sounds etc were a game changer. Gaming simply became far more immersive.
PS2 generation was simply cleaner looking and more complex 3D, but the foundation was laid by the generation before it.
PS2 generation was simply cleaner looking and more complex 3D, but the foundation was laid by the generation before it.
To be fair, the graphical gap between FF7 and FF9 is immense and they're on the same platform...
In terms of polygons, FF7 was very primitive compared to games that came after it.
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4 to 5th, games like Mario64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Zelda OoT, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7 were insanly beautifull. And i thought it wouldnt get any better.
The jump that didnt really do a lot for me was the 7th to 8th, ps3/xbox360 was pretty awesome, and ps4 is just slighty better imo.
Better HD graphics, and maybe better framerates but nothing to write home about imo.
If next gen still has a lot of 30fps games it would really suck, we need those 60fps games. (even with big open world games)
The jump that didnt really do a lot for me was the 7th to 8th, ps3/xbox360 was pretty awesome, and ps4 is just slighty better imo.
Better HD graphics, and maybe better framerates but nothing to write home about imo.
If next gen still has a lot of 30fps games it would really suck, we need those 60fps games. (even with big open world games)
The 4th to 5th and VR gen are on another level. they brought another dimension.
Then 6th to 7th follows. Internet and big leap in graphics made possible new kind of games
I hope next generation will be the first one, as VR will leave the infancy state.
Then 6th to 7th follows. Internet and big leap in graphics made possible new kind of games
I hope next generation will be the first one, as VR will leave the infancy state.
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I did forget how good 9 looked. I really need to get to it at some point. It's still a pretty huge jump tho of course.To be fair, the graphical gap between FF7 and FF9 is immense and they're on the same platform...
In terms of polygons, FF7 was very primitive compared to games that came after it.
I voted 4th to 5th, because my first "holy shit" moment was seeing/playing Ridge Racer, Destruction Derby and WipEout on Playstation in 1995.
But I would equally vote for Dreamcast alone (not necessarily all 6th gen) if the poll allowed it.
I mean, going to my local store and seeing VF3, Sonic Adventure and project Berkley running on a Dreamcast late 1998 was absolutely mind-blowing.
And Soul Calibur just a few months after :O Easily the most impressive jump after 4th gen -> 5th gen, imo.
But I would equally vote for Dreamcast alone (not necessarily all 6th gen) if the poll allowed it.
I mean, going to my local store and seeing VF3, Sonic Adventure and project Berkley running on a Dreamcast late 1998 was absolutely mind-blowing.
And Soul Calibur just a few months after :O Easily the most impressive jump after 4th gen -> 5th gen, imo.
FFVII looked kind of uneven in 1997 also. There were better looking games out there but it was at least huge in scope. I wasn't particularly impressed by FFVII's graphics when it came out. I thought some backgrounds looked fine but that was it.
Same goes for the sound quality. It was way better in 1999's FFVIII.
Same goes for the sound quality. It was way better in 1999's FFVIII.
There is a reason why I didn't get far in 7 and finished 9 as a kid, and this is because of that.To be fair, the graphical gap between FF7 and FF9 is immense and they're on the same platform...
In terms of polygons, FF7 was very primitive compared to games that came after it.
FFX on an OG PS2 in SD?
It looked much better than PS1 games. But the jump from, say, FFIX wasn't overly immense. A lot of sacrifices were made also, there was no overworld anymore for example. It was I guess a logical jump, much like Tekken 4 was a jump from Tekken 3 etc.
MGS to MGS2 was a bigger jump. GT2 to GT3 as well.
I voted 8bit to 16bit because that was genuinely great to me at the time. I went Atari 2600 > Spectrum > Master System, and the Mega Drive and then SNES was amazing, not just graphics but also sound design, presentation etc. I was initially going to go for PS1 to PS2 because that was a blast too. I wasn't remotely impressed by early PS1 era other than say Ridge Racer. I hated how ugly most of the 3D games and especially how most of them played, plus CD-based loading times - it seemed like a lot of steps backwards for not much gain and I would've been happy to contnue in 2D, in fact I did - a big percentage of games I bought for the Saturn and PS1 were 2D arcade conversions.
I think standardising CD format on home consoles is a huge thing that shouldn't be overlooked here. All of sudden massive amounts of space and CD audio. CGI support easy in games, actual recorded audio for voices and music... it was a massive leap from cartridges on the SNES, Mega Drive etc. Obviously the Mega CD introduced CD support but it was an add-on and certainly not standardised until the Saturn and PlayStation.
We went from a FIFA intro looking and sounding like this...
To looking and sounding like this on PlayStation in just one year...
We went from a futuristic racer on a cartridge sounding like this with MIDI music...
To using actual licensed music and bombing around Wipeout listening to The Prodigy...
I started playing games in the days of the 5th generation, but I experienced the 4th gen first because my mom got me a discounted Mega Drive when I was 7.
I've yet to see such a disconnect between generations. Soon everyone was playing PS1 and N64, and the SNES and MD were practically being looked at ancient artifacts 6 or 7 years after their launch. I got a PS1 in '99 and never looked back.
I've yet to see such a disconnect between generations. Soon everyone was playing PS1 and N64, and the SNES and MD were practically being looked at ancient artifacts 6 or 7 years after their launch. I got a PS1 in '99 and never looked back.
Nothing can beat 2D to full on polygonal 3D, the jump from 4th to 5th was huge.
5th to 6th was massive too, followed by 3rd to 4th. The jump to HD was big, but I remember not being that impressed with PS3/360 games in the beginning. The jump from 7th to 8th has probably been the smallest jump yet.
5th to 6th was massive too, followed by 3rd to 4th. The jump to HD was big, but I remember not being that impressed with PS3/360 games in the beginning. The jump from 7th to 8th has probably been the smallest jump yet.
Im mixed.
The current is a big one since i wanted a portable console with a dock for ...20 years now ;)
But honest, 4->5 and 5->6 are the 2 i would take.
2d -> 3d was a revolution, concepts did not work anymore, space and tech for "high def" pictures, real audio, etc. a new dimension to work with. (theoretically you could do that prior, but realistically it started with this gen)
buuut... the generation has a definitive look. You could not just port stuff from this gen, and release it today. Not just the visuals, the gameplay too.
Gen 6? Here is, where we get to a level of fidelity that you can rerelease the game, maybe clean it up a small bit and people will for the most part be happy with it. Here is also, where the experimentation that started with gen 5 started to settle and decide which concepts work, and which did not. Games today look essentially like games from late 6. gen (from gamedesign), just refined with using the new tech to make fancier systems and such.
First person shooters with Halo, third person with RE4, action games with DMC3, ARPGs with Kingdome Hearts,... even the AC games started with Prince of Persia. GTA 3/VC/SA somehow defined the formula of modern open world games to a degree. so many genres and games that were molded by that generation.
It feels like
Gen 4 : 10 year olds
Gen 5: awkward but charming teens, experimenting, trying stuff
Gen 6: early adults that are startingtheyr first jobs and learning how stuff works
Gen 5 32 bit 2d: just kids that do theyr stuff and dont feel forced to grow up and behave how people expect them to ;)
The current is a big one since i wanted a portable console with a dock for ...20 years now ;)
But honest, 4->5 and 5->6 are the 2 i would take.
2d -> 3d was a revolution, concepts did not work anymore, space and tech for "high def" pictures, real audio, etc. a new dimension to work with. (theoretically you could do that prior, but realistically it started with this gen)
buuut... the generation has a definitive look. You could not just port stuff from this gen, and release it today. Not just the visuals, the gameplay too.
Gen 6? Here is, where we get to a level of fidelity that you can rerelease the game, maybe clean it up a small bit and people will for the most part be happy with it. Here is also, where the experimentation that started with gen 5 started to settle and decide which concepts work, and which did not. Games today look essentially like games from late 6. gen (from gamedesign), just refined with using the new tech to make fancier systems and such.
First person shooters with Halo, third person with RE4, action games with DMC3, ARPGs with Kingdome Hearts,... even the AC games started with Prince of Persia. GTA 3/VC/SA somehow defined the formula of modern open world games to a degree. so many genres and games that were molded by that generation.
It feels like
Gen 4 : 10 year olds
Gen 5: awkward but charming teens, experimenting, trying stuff
Gen 6: early adults that are startingtheyr first jobs and learning how stuff works
Gen 5 32 bit 2d: just kids that do theyr stuff and dont feel forced to grow up and behave how people expect them to ;)
4th to 5th and I didn't even have to think about this one. Going from the SNES / Genesis to Super Mario 64 was the single most jaw dropping moment I've had in gaming.
Going to the first full console 3D games (PS1 specifically) was a "NO that's IMPOSSIBLE" super alien tech jump. And that comes from a fan of Doom and Duke 3D on PC at the time.
I literally met people years after PS1 release that still thought it was all FMV.
That would be like PS6 being a literal holodeck exactly as seen on Star Trek. Impossible.
I literally met people years after PS1 release that still thought it was all FMV.
That would be like PS6 being a literal holodeck exactly as seen on Star Trek. Impossible.
From NES -> SNES my mind was blown.
From SNES -> PSX my mind just freaking melted.
Everything since has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
From SNES -> PSX my mind just freaking melted.
Everything since has been evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
SNES to N64/PS1
yeah with each subsequent generation we've gotten prettier graphics and bigger worlds, but i don't think those really compare to the jump from 2D gaming to 3D gaming.
yeah with each subsequent generation we've gotten prettier graphics and bigger worlds, but i don't think those really compare to the jump from 2D gaming to 3D gaming.
Maybe it's because I was playing Doom on my PC but I don't know why SNES to N64 is the top choice right now. The switch from 2D SNES sprites to the janky 3D of the N64/PS1 generation was a trade-off. You were shown the potential but I was only really impressed when it went from 6th to 7th gen. Widescreen HD was when I was finally impressed with consoles.
Doom was 3 years old by the time the N64 came out. We were all playing Doom years before that. I was playing it on our home PC and on a SNES before the next gen came.
It didn't stop Turok Dinosaur Hunter or GoldenEye or Mario 64 or Wave Race being impressive on your bedroom TV running off of a game cartridge.
Doom was like someone said years prior, but in the end: a pc cost way more, and not that many households had one.
I think for most gamers of that time back then, consoles where the way to go and thats the reason why so many look at "generations". PC games never had "generations", it was always a continuum.
Also: in my opinion 90ties pc games where mostly ugly, lack of coherent artstyle and always looked technical. I only found stuff like doom charming after it became really retro. But thats a realy subjective thing, shure.
4th to 5th was going from amazing 2D graphics to shitty 3D graphics with the Playstation and it sucked. Consoles were not ready for 3D yet, especially if you were coming from PC gaming, so it was effectively a step backwards.
5th to 6th went from those shitty 3D graphics to actually amazing 3D graphics with the Dreamcast, so it was actually worth a damn.
5th to 6th > 4th to 5th any day of the week.
5th to 6th went from those shitty 3D graphics to actually amazing 3D graphics with the Dreamcast, so it was actually worth a damn.
5th to 6th > 4th to 5th any day of the week.
4th to 5th by a long shot. I was a kid at the time, but I hadn't even imagined 3D graphics until then, and neither could anyone I knew. I remember trying to explain it to people back then before the consoles released. I'd say things like "You don't run left to right in Mario, you run AROUND," but my friends could only imagine a 2D Zelda perspective. It was completely mindblowing when that shit came out.
You think that's a bigger upgrade than anything on the Mega Drive/SNES to Gran Turismo 2?
From the 5th to 6th for me. I recall being blown away seeing PS2 in action. Smugglers Run had this draw distance unlike anything I had seen prior. When Halo came along a year later my mind was blown at what the consoles could do split screen. GTA III came along a little while later and I was hooked.
I remember having a ZX Spectrum and a ZX Spectrum +3... and all of a sudden seeing Commodore Amiga games on TV.
I'll never forget the first time I actually saw an Amiga in front of me and actually played with it. The first game I played was probably IK+. Regardless, it was simply astonishing.
I'll never forget the first time I actually saw an Amiga in front of me and actually played with it. The first game I played was probably IK+. Regardless, it was simply astonishing.
Yep.
And I lived through it. I was absolutely floored by Super Mario 64, it was the most jaw dropping moment for me. However after the shock wore off it set in that the graphics on many N64/PS1 games simply were not as aesthetically pleasing as the best SNES Genesis games. Basically every single game on PS2/GameCube looked orders of magnitude better than PS1/N64...you cant even debate that.
