Ivo wrote:I have some nostalgia for some very early 3D, but I'm thinking earlier than N64, stuff that you would usually see in computer more often than on console games.
Ivo.
This is the same for me basically. I like early PC stuff and even things like Star Fox have a Tron-like charm to them.
I don't have any nostalgia for 5th generation console graphics however, I think they're pretty bad across the board with a few exceptions. Play control was often not very good either. It was a generation of learning and improving since 3D had basically just re-invented the wheel for video games. The result was a major improvement in graphics and control in the following generation.
I think it has a lot to do with what you grew up with. If you grew up during the 5th gen you probably enjoy that aesthetic more than gamers who are either slightly older or slightly younger than you.
I have a nostalgic fondness for the N64 era, although I find 95% of the games have dated badly. The Zelda titles are still good, as is Mario 64, but anything with realistic graphics such as Goldeneye takes me at least an hour of playing to adapt to the graphics. Especially when the characters have arms going through doors and square heads. But back in 1998 we laughed, nowadays we are spoilt.
This is one of the reasons I loved the Dreamcast, as it was out when these late 90s 3D games were around, and you got hi-res versions of games such as Rayman 2 and Tony Hawks 2. It made a great game like Tony Hawks 2, that extra bit better. I remember enjoying Soul Reaver on the Dreamcast, but I don't think it was improved graphically...
Currently playing Splinter Cell: Blacklist
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I wasn't a big fan of 3D graphics back in those days, which explains why I loathed (and still dislike) the N64. Shining the Holy Ark and Shining Force 3 are a couple examples of games that haven't aged graphically well but still bring back that fuzzy nostalgic feeling for me. Other ones that tug on my heart strings are Ehrgeiz, the Resident Evil/Biohazard series and the strategy RPGs that utilized 3D maps, like FF Tactics.
But yeah, games like Star Fox and the first Virtua Fighter made me cringe even when I was a kid. Always struck me as unrefined and just a visual mess.
After playing through Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart, and some of the more reputable games on the console, I have to say the N64 hasn't aged well. Like most have said, the Zelda Games look fine, but others just look horrible.
Squaresoft had some good art direction, because Spiky-headed Cloud and FF7 still looks great. Gran Turismo, not so much.
In general, I think sprite games don't have a modern-day comparison, where games using polygons will be compared to what's current.
Blu wrote:
In general, I think sprite games don't have a modern-day comparison, where games using polygons will be compared to what's current.
Nah, there are moden day sprite based games too. I think 2D just hit the point where the line between artistic choice and technical capability became blurry a long time ago. If 3D has even gotten to that point, it wasn't until a lot more recently.
Far as the original topic...not really. There are earlier 3D games that I'm nostalgic about as a whole, and I can respect the efforts of earlier titles relative to the state of technology they had, but I'm not specifically nostalgic for the graphics.
I wouldn't say my fondness is nostalgic, as my childhood was during the ColecoVision and NES period. In general, I do prefer older polygon graphics, as modern graphics are too "perfect" and thus exacerbate their flaws.
For example, if I am playing a PlayStation game and I see some polygon pop-up, texture warping, pixelated textures, or low-polygon models, I think nothing of it. My conscious mind makes no note of the stiffly moving characters with no fingers. However, if I am playing a PS3 game with even a hint of these flaws, it is immediately brought to attention. Mouths out of sync with audio, texture pop-in, juddery framerate, or poor AI are more examples. I still can't get the "put buckets on NPCs' heads" thing from Skyrim out of my mind.
Zing wrote:I wouldn't say my fondness is nostalgic, as my childhood was during the ColecoVision and NES period. In general, I do prefer older polygon graphics, as modern graphics are too "perfect" and thus exacerbate their flaws.
For example, if I am playing a PlayStation game and I see some polygon pop-up, texture warping, pixelated textures, or low-polygon models, I think nothing of it. My conscious mind makes no note of the stiffly moving characters with no fingers. However, if I am playing a PS3 game with even a hint of these flaws, it is immediately brought to attention. Mouths out of sync with audio, texture pop-in, juddery framerate, or poor AI are more examples. I still can't get the "put buckets on NPCs' heads" thing from Skyrim out of my mind.
The early King's Field games are mesmerizing with it's 3D polygonal graphics. They came out very early in the PS1's lifespan. The designers tried to be ambitious with the graphics, which you can tell, but at the same time the limitations of technology at the time just wouldn't allow it to quite happen. But the result is very unique, and nostalgic for me.
And to think Max Payne was a technical marvel in 2001.. my Pentium Pro workstation with Voodoo3 graphics could even barely run the thing Compared to MP1, MGS2 and Shenmue were technical masterpieces, despite running on lower spec
Compared to MP1, MGS2 and Shenmue were technical masterpieces, despite running on lower spec
