/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9073658
Games like Donkey Kong Country absolutely require a CRT, and it's not up for debate that they were designed around them. I don't believe the same holds true for as many games as some posters here like to think, however.

>>8499261
It's the best I've ever seen that game look, and it's my favorite game of all time, so I'm just trying to make do right now before I get a 4k display myself. I think that setup would really do the DKC trilogy justice, too.

>>6730617
>that filter
lookin' good

>>6574028
>Digitized graphics already existed for years
I think it's because it was digitalized graphics + actual good art direction to go with it that made people drop their jaws to the floor with it. It's easy to dismiss it in 2020, emulating it and stretching the image to 4K resolutions, but back then, on a CRT; this game looks absolutely gorgeous. Still does honestly.
>it's not like the gameplay was that flashy or anything
It's actually very good in the gameplay department too. Fluid, responsive, level design is tight and has a great flow and pacing, rewarding for skilled players too. I'd argue it's one of the best, if not the best, western-made platformer. Somehow Rare managed to match japanese developers with it, and they also did it with Killer Instinct when it comes to fighting games.
Also not sure about Super Metroid, but I can give you one reason why DKC sold better than ALTTP: you don't need to know english to play it. I'm ESL and when I was a kid, games with english text were hard for me to get into, since I had to guess a lot. DKC's only text is when you talk to other kongs here and there but it's not like you actually need to understand what they're saying to play the game.
Hope that helps.

>>6525691
I like orange sky

>>6469427
They all look great, really. Rare were god-tier at making pre-rendered backgrounds.

>>6406524
Yeah I wish more people would do gifs at original resolution, it just looks much better. Prime example is pre-rendered games like DKC. People often complain that it looks bad, but when you look at them at their original 240p resolution, it's gorgeous.

>>6239697
Looks great, but you need to either emulate at the original resolution (pic related, really tiny on a modern screen) or a CRT.

1. Yoshi's Island
2. Donkey Kong Country 2
3. Super Mario World
4. Mega Man X2
5. Legend of the Mystical Ninja
6. The Legend of Zelda: ALTTP
7. Kirby Super Star
8. Super Castlevania IV
9. Gundam Endless Duel
10. Fatal Fury 2

>>6056550
DKC has great gameplay/design and great graphics.
They look bad if you stretch the resolution, though. Must be played on an SD screen.
As for the gameplay, yeah. Rare managed to do one of the best, if not the best, western platfromers.
The controls are exceptionally smooth and responsive, and the level design is linear and tight, something unusual for western platformers that were mostly "where the fuck do I go" types.

>>6016643
>745x419
Use original resolution nig

Get over it, australia-kun, both DKC and Sonic are great games. Too bad you couldn't afford both back then.

Yes, but looks better in its original resolution.

>>5160732
>>5160804
This.
It doesn't matter if you emulate or not, you need a CRT for them to look as intended.

>>5145125
>DKC you must be joking, it's literally conflict all the time.
If you know the game by heart it's very smooth.
Also, losing a life isn't frustrating, you just restart from the beginning of the level or the checkpoint and try again.
DKC2 and 3 do have more conflict where you actually need to pay attention, especially because each level has different pacing and mechanics, but DKC is pretty straighforward, a simple platformer with great flow and movement.

>>4893517
>>4893525
Sure, they are nice, but they look really bad when stretched to 720p.

Not obsessed, but I love them, especially 1 and 2.

I dunno, I think the flow of the level design, the pacing, the controls, etc are all pretty well executed. I have fun whenever I replay this game from start to finish.
The rolling mechanics and the roll+jump in mid air mechanic adds some skill ceiling (as a kid, when I played it originally, had no idea you could do that roll and jump in mid air, so to me that was a "hidden mechanic" I found as an adult).
I don't know, I think it's a great game, and not overrated, but to each their own.
I do consider DKC2 to be the better game, though. But sometimes, I think the atmosphere in DKC1 is unmatched.
And I don't know what do you mean with "CGI graphics meme", but if you think they look bad, try playing on a CRT at the correct resolution and ratio. Most people who play DKC now are doing it through emulation on big ass HD TVs, so yeah.

>>4389683
sanic cd

>>4195620
>poor collision detection
Much better than most other western-designed platformers though. This anon already covered that: >>4191883
>iffy momentum mechanics
I completely disagree, the momentum on DKC is great. What makes it "iffy" to you?
>lame bosses
The bosses are just okay, I like the big bee, and the final boss fight is really good. But yeah bosses could have been more exciting, still I wouldn't call them lame except maybe for the first one (his ice world incarnation is a lot more vicious).
>randomly-placed save locations that require you to beat some number of levels in a row in each world before you can save at will again
How long can it take to beat a couple levels in a row? Anyway yeah I remember struggling with the ice world when I was a kid. However, we should be grateful the game has a save system at all, many games in /vr/ times didn't. People are just spoiled now with save states and what not.
>and mostly-uninspired level design.
Disagree, then again, probably different people have different appreciation for level design.
The only seemingly flaw I could think about DKC's level design is that some of the secret bonus rooms are really randomly hidden, often in places that would require a leap of faith, or just plain using a guide to find them all (especially in levels like Orang-utan Gang, that one has a lot of secrets that are hard to find on your own), But then again secrets are just extra stuff, you don't need them to finish the game, and DKC1 isn't even like the sequels where you need to find stuff to unlock secret levels, in DKC1 it's just about getting extra lives and completing the file %.

>>4046698
Here's the thing, games still don't "age", they are still the exact same as they were on release. If you liked them back then, and now you think they're shit, then that means your taste changed over the years, not that the game changed. Saying that a game has "aged" is implying that the game has changed its natural state to something different, and that isn't true. "Dated" would be more appropriate. I know this is semantics, but semantics are an important part of human communication and "comprehending basic concepts", if you communicate like shit, don't tell your receptor that he's an idiot for misunderstanding you.
Anyway, it's not just that the semantic thing bothers me, it's that memesters and baiters use "aged" as a way to bash a game without actually giving any insight on why they think they're dated.

I agree with you about the art direction and I'll give you an easy example of how games don't "age" and how technology available at the time doesn't mean a game will be dated or not in the future:
I was alive back in the 90s, I experienced the hype when 5th gen finally arrived, I experienced the impressive Virtua games by Sega in the early 90s on the arcades, I was there when games like DKC were trying to do fake 3D on 2D with pre-rendered graphics.
DKC has pre-rendered graphics, I loved it back in the day, and still do now. The art direction is distinctive, you look at these palm trees on the first level and they're iconic. The whole scenery stands out, etc. When I played it for the first time in 1994, I was very impressed. Now, of course I'm not as wowed anymore, many other games did pre-rendered graphics as well, and many polygonal games with impressive graphics have come out in non-retro times, that's fine. That doesn't mean that when I go back to DKC, I think it looks worse than in 1994, or that "it was fine then, but shitty now". It's still the same game, looks the same, plays the same, sounds the same.
(cont)

>>4024304
>the Donkey Kong Country style pre-rendered CGI look aged like a sack of shit fuck.
Easy there AVGN, they still look good provided you're using a CRT. (or playing on its original resolution as gif related)

I got it at a time I already had a N64 and a PS1, so SNES or Genesis didn't get my main attention anymore, but I played DCK3 quite a bit. I remember lenting it to my neighbors who had a SNES, and they finished the game before I did. I took my time but eventually did it. Never 103%'d it.
I still liked DKC2 the best, but DKC3 is up to the series' standards.