Has the n64 aged well enough to play today?

[Xeogred]

Great-looking games on the N64:

Mario Kart 64
Everything Rare did
Ogre Battle 64

[Breetai]

I was just curoius if anyone feels like the n64 has aged well to play today. I know for me if I have been playing the wii or the ps3, it would take a day or two to get used to the graphics again. I know the ps1 has not aged well at all or the saturn. The nes for the most part looks good on my hdtv and well, the snes and genesis that's an easy yes for me. The 16 bit looks great. I just was curious that's all. Thanks

For F- sakes...

A lot of polygon games look pretty bad, but there are PLENTY of good looking 2D games on both the Saturn and PS1. Some N64 games look ok, but I find the N64 has aged worse than the other two because of a near total lack of 2D games. I do find the very early 3D games still look fine, as long as they kept things simple. I like how the original Ridge Racer, Tekken, VF1, VF2, etc. look. From a stylized point of view, I think they look fine. It is the more "advanced" PS1 and Saturn polygon games that really do not like nice, in my opinion.

I guess if you don't like how 3D games on the Saturn and PS1 look, I'm not sure how you would like most N64 games (aside from the more stylized ones like Mario 64, F-Zero, Wave Race, etc.).

[mas]

A lot of polygon games look pretty bad, but there are PLENTY of good looking 2D games on both the Saturn and PS1. Some N64 games look ok, but I find the N64 has aged worse than the other two because of a near total lack of 2D games.

The pologons on the 64 do look better than the playstation pologons. I mean it is a 64 bit system while the ps1 is a 32 bit system. I also mentioned that EXCEPT for the 2d games on both systems look great, the 3d polygon games on the saturn and ps1 and even some n64 games have not aged well imo. It just takes a long time for me to get used to the 3d pologons from the 90's and not play anything from this generation for a while.
I think that's why all the retro console's have come back in the last 5 years or so. The retron 3, the fc twin, even the new 72 pins are out to fix your nes. The 2d era looks great and the snes and nes system are up there in price because the demand is high.
Hell look at the 2d game prices on the saturn and the ps1. Everyone wants those 2d colorful games on those systems so there expensive while you can get alot of the 3d poloygon games for a fraction of the cost.

[Breetai]

A lot of polygon games look pretty bad, but there are PLENTY of good looking 2D games on both the Saturn and PS1. Some N64 games look ok, but I find the N64 has aged worse than the other two because of a near total lack of 2D games.

Okay, okay. We are in agreement here!

The polygons on the 64 do look better than the playstation pologons. I mean it is a 64 bit system while the ps1 is a 32 bit system.

You just went there....
The PS3 is mainly a 32-bit system at its core. The Genesis is also a 32-bit system (yes, I said 32-bit. It's main CPU is 32-bit). The Intellivision is a 16-bit system. The SNES (yes, SNES) is functionally an 8-bit system. You could say that the Turbografx-16 is a 24-bit system, much like the Atari Jaguar is 64-bit. Do you see the point I am trying to make here?

I also mentioned that EXCEPT for the 2d games on both systems look great, the 3d polygon games on the saturn and ps1 and even some n64 games have not aged well imo.

You might want to edit that into your OP if that is the idea you want to convey.

It just takes a long time for me to get used to the 3d polygons from the 90's and not play anything from this generation for a while.

I can think of a few reasons why that might be the case, but it really isn't my place to speculate openly.

I think that's why all the retro console's have come back in the last 5 years or so. The retron 3, the fc twin, even the new 72 pins are out to fix your nes. The 2d era looks great and the snes and nes system are up there in price because the demand is high.
Hell look at the 2d game prices on the saturn and the ps1. Everyone wants those 2d colorful games on those systems so there expensive while you can get alot of the 3d poloygon games for a fraction of the cost.

Nintendo consoles are more expensive because of the name "Nintendo." The main reason that a lot of 32-bit 2D games are more expensive is because of supply & demand. Generally, in the west, 2D games had smaller print runs. Had they had as large of print runs as other games, they would be more common and cheaper for the most part.

The main reason there have been clones of retro consoles coming out lately is because the patents on some of the older systems have expired. Third party companies can produce a clone NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. without fear of being sued now. I don't think that, I know that.

Anyway, a N64 games that still look "decent" have already been mentioned. Often, the more stylized the game, and the less it relies on pushing the graphical limits of the system, the better it looks years later when its graphics are commercially obsolete.

Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, F-Zero X, Wave Race 64 and Sin & Punishment are all games that look good, in my opinion. If you really have a problem with graphics on older systems and can't play a game because of it, you just might be in the wrong forum.

[mas]

O.K i get the point. I was just asking a simple question that's all. Didn't mean to get anyone fired up lol. I'm not as harcore as alot of people on here and since I only play games part time, because of family, work, etc. I forget that people are dedicated to retro and current games and love video games. I just get on here and ask for advise and ask question's about games. Thanks,

[Breetai]

O.K i get the point. I was just asking a simple question that's all. Didn't mean to get anyone fired up lol. I'm not as harcore as alot of people on here and since I only play games part time, because of family, work, etc. I forget that people are dedicated to retro and current games and love video games. I just get on here and ask for advise and ask question's about games. Thanks,

Sorry, don't take what I said personally. I just have a habit of correcting things pretty blatantly.

[FerretGamer]

I can definitely understand why many people would say that the N64 has not aged well. Personally, I just pulled out my N64 and played some Rogue Squadron. In fact, I actually admire what Factor 5 was able to do with the N64 especially given its limitation. There is no doubt that it may not look or sound as appealing as the Gamecube versions, however, I still had a ton of fun. To be honest, you really forget that you're playing an N64 when you are really into it.

[k.vlaros]

On Wii Virtual Console I've bought M64, Wave Race, MK64, Sin and Punishment, Kirby 64 and the two Zeldas. My Wii is connected via component. The Wii does not "up render" the N64 games, but it does scale the image to 480p. So, this is a good-quality but still authentic way to play these games. I also have some PS1 games bought via PSN connected via component to the same TV.

IMHO, and I'm a big Nintendo fan, I like most of the PS1 games' presentation over the N64. Absolutely love the way Ridge Racer 4 looks; absolutely love the look of FF IX, totally dig Front Mission 3 and Castlevania SotN. That's 2D and 3D represented. The image just looks more detailed. In a way, it's more like a great SNES game! The N64 games tend to have much larger 'game elements' and just a 'basic' look to them, smooth shading not withstanding.

OK, that's graphics.

"Has the n64 aged well enough to play today with respect to gameplay?" HECK YES!

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I can't stand how N64 games look. I'll take the pixelated Saturn and PS1 graphics over the smudgy blurry foggy mess that most N64 games are. There are a few I like though such as Diddy Kong Racing.

There are plenty of great looking 2D and 3D games on the Saturn and PS1, but as has been said, the games that weren't trying to hard to push limits and focused more on stylish graphics have aged quite a bit better. Spyro comes to mind as a 3D game that's aged surprisingly well graphically.

[Xeogred]

I just looked up Spyro on youtube real quick (it's been years!) and yeah it still looks amazing.

That said I might agree with some others here that I'd take the Saturn/PSX look over some N64 stuff. I think the issue I have with this era of games, going back to them sometimes, is mainly: fog/shadows (lack of real aliasing/lighting, which can even be apparent in PS2/GC/Xbox stuff), draw distance, and the framerate. These issues seem a little more apparent in N64 games to me than PSX/Saturn nowadays, but there will always be exceptions on both sides and everything.