/vr/ - Retro Games

Really good looking water is what I look for

>>9881260
SOVL

>>9881260
insomniac had real talent for environments

>>9881256
never really noticed anything special about water in older games. First game that really amazed me with it's water was Bioshock (played crysis after).

Any game before this always seemed to work the same way: animated texture on surface, blue tint underneath. + splash / ripple textures for impacts.

>>9881237
FF8 has the most beautiful world I've visited in gaming. It's a shame the remaster does nothing to upscale the pre-rendered backgrounds

When I think best aesthetics in vidya, I don't think of things I can see if I go outside or mess with the saturation in photoshop, I think of things that make me feel like I'm in some amazing childhood-dream-like piece of living fantasy art, and this game is what I always come back to

>>9881303
clearly you're in the wrong thread because you have failed to grasp what is being discussed here

>>9881317
which version of gex is that?

SamSho

The final slash, a few second delay…..IPPON!

Anything Sonic related before like 2005. I actually prefer the term a e s t h e t i c to soul

>>9881343
Atlantis is such a 10/10 kino world, absolutely stunning. It actually feels cinematic, and it's a perfect example of why tooie excels in what it does right when it slows the pace way down

Everything about this game's audio and visual design is pure sex

>>9881237
>posts a texture pack

prodigy is the perfect microcosm of the "source" feel

>>9881709
TO THE WINDOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

>>9881709
I'm still a virgin, I'd just stick to Tyrannosaurus Rex ◉‿◉

>>9881237
As far as 3D games go, I liked the PS1/Saturn/Dreamcast low-poly style in general the best. I'm fond of metropolis environments and games on those systems usually portrayed them in a kind of "dreamy" fashion.
More specifically, Mega Man Legends, with an honorable mention to Virtual-On (webM)

>>9881821
came here for the same

>>9881973
(I didn't realize I had a Einhander webMs saved, but honorable mention to it too).

>>9881237
tough question!
maybe Fable or Oddworld

>>9881973
This is the peak of 3d to me. Just enough to leave some imagination to the player and feel otherworldly (games are meant to be an escape/adventure), instead of texture overload in an obsession to reach photorealism.

>>9882014
>Just enough to leave some imagination to the player and feel otherworldly (games are meant to be an escape/adventure), instead of texture overload in an obsession to reach photorealism
I agree, and I think that even "ugly" games like Deus Ex managing to strike this balance helped to make them more atmospheric than the more detailed and "pretty" unreal engine games that all kind of look the same made today.

>>9881237
Text only adventures from the 80s. Because they are purely descriptive they obviously have the best aesthetics because they are not constrained by a graphical era.

>>9882084
At this point in my life, I don't play games as much as I used to, but occasionally I still get that autism obsession where I end up staying up till 4am playing something. That usually happens with an atmospheric game where I turn all the lights off and phone off and all that and really allow myself to get immersed in it, cheese and all. The last few games that's happened with have been either PSX RPGs or PS1/Saturn/Dreamcast 3D games literally, hence me blogposting.

the pills would hold the pain back for a while

>>9882868
based zoe poster

>>9881717
well it's an a e s t h e t i c texture pack

>>9881237

>>9881241
>>9881260
based

>>9881237
I love how demented everything looks. I legit think it's one of the most unique games aesthetically ever made.

>>9881818
TO THA WALL
TO THA WALL

>>9881241
>2023
>still no open world game where you can explore an entire orbital structure and discover ancient alien ruins
humanity has failed and we deserve ww3 and climate change

Myst

Majora's Mask. It's hard to pick just one screenshot.

>>9881260
every world is like a painting. looking at spyro's maps never gets old

>>9881668
>before like 2005
Sonic heroes looks like shit, unleashed has a way better aesthetic.

>>9881260
Spyro really is peak PS1 desu

>>9883830
That’s John Carpenter’s favorite video game. I’m serious.

>>9883830
Unleashed looks like hot garbage most of the time. Heroes is where it's at

Some nice liminal spaces ITT

It's a bit simple but when I see the word "video game" I immediately think of Super Mario World.

>>9883689
Why are those drink machines so fucking huge?

>>9881709
>dududumdumdum
>du da du da da daa
>engine noises intensify

>>9881709
>>9881818
>>9883009
>>9884189
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BXm38zrm0

>>9883178
Outer Wilds is as good as we deserve

grim fandango has some pretty atmospheric places to explore

>>9884468
An inspired masterpiece. Agreed. The atmosphere is perfect, a one of a kind experience and the only game of this type I wanted to play to the end.

>>9881237
Warriors of Might and Magic on the PS2 isn't anything special but it has really great old-school dungeon aesthetic.

>>9884614
Melee Island atmosphere is incredible still today

>>9881237
Final Fantasy 12 has the best over all aesthetic of any game I've ever seen.
Also basically any Capcom game made before the switch to PBR is unmatched in texture work to me, I'd kill to have access to their old texture collection.

>>9884546

As far as fighters go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNCKxSlTXek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf3kDN-nQ6c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuVygZvXVbo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvo_R3UBDi0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJkxjxpp13I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_D6481wj5E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVAE4uL-AmQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8t6SO07f8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueGHO1pDlyM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S9mbs5axiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXVOPmukrys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3YZl_jS-nI

>>9886378
Nothing hits quite like Authentic Sky.

>>9881654
seconding this. I love the BGs in a lot of Capcom / SNK games, but SamSho tops everyone in terms of atmosphere.
>>9881243
>PC FPS games' """"aesthetic""""

Killer7 was absolutely gorgeous at pretty much any given moment, it holds up incredibly well at least in visuals.

>>9881237
Monkey 2

>>9881237
Hands down
DE is great for multiplayer but HD and especially the original release has absolute kino visuals

>>9884162
Why do they all have to wear those RIDICULOUS ties?

>>9887091
That does look extremely comfy

It's really something to see all these games, and compare them artistically to anything made in the last 10 years, and realize how much better they were with old shitty tech.
Our civilization really is in decline. I know that sounds crazy, but you can truly see it.
We do less with more now which is mind blowing really.
Part of it is those games were built by people who grew up in the real world, and had fertile imaginations from reading book I think. I think the economics of building games, and corporations turning them into soulless non offensive husks is a thing too.
They make the bare minimum and charge the most while people still lap it up desperate for an escape in a dying culture.

Thief: TDP. I love the medieval setting of swords and armor but with electricity and industrial machinery. Its not "steampunk" but thats the closest analog I can think of. Truly unique aesthetic.

>>9887104
Nah man look I love these old games myself but while there's a lot of crap being crapped out (so was back then honestly, a lot of what we cherish comes down to survivorship bias) there's some stuff coming out in more recent years with fantastic visuals
But this is the retro games channel so theres no point to talking about those here

Any Capcom game from the first half of the 90s or so. Specifically CPS1, CPS2 or their SNES games. They all have a real...warmth to them that I find very timeless. I think their Disney games might be the best example of this actually.

>>9887028
don't make me say it again

>>9887104
Sorry for bringing my semi-/x/ shit into the thread but I'm pretty sure nostalgia as we know it today sort of doesn't exist. This term is now used as a coping mechanism
>i-it's not that bad now bro! it's just your nostalgia, things are as good as ever now!

>>9882103
Holy cow, this is beautiful. Is this max payne?

>>9884072
This one is it.

>>9881260
So much better than the later 2 games. Spyro 2 and 3 feel like they were blended from multiple failed platformer concepts.

>>9887129
yup

>>9887129
I think it's the training level from Max Payne, yeah. While we are at it, I was fooled by the beginning of Fahrenheit which looked identical to that pic, I thought it would be a good game but it turned out to be uninspired movieshit

>>9887117
there's always time for fun

morrowind
gib moar absurdist high-fantasy with giant mushroom forests and humongous lobotomized ticks to ride around in pl0x

idk why this even needs to be asked or, let alone begged for. pretty much every game that goes for the generic high-fantasy setting gets dunked on for being boring insipid drivel and rightly so, and any time anyone steps out even half as far as morrowind, it gets lauded for its creativity.
and yet were always stuck with lowest common denominator low-rent tolkien-esque schlock

fucking n'wahs
point me in the direction o the nearest dead gods still-beating heart and ill purge these mongrel dogs from the industry once and for all

>>9883830
The character models don't look good, but the environments were fucking amazing.

>>9887384
Because Western/Northern European fantasy settings are pleasant to experience, whereas Morrowind was a miserable hellscape.
Just look at the picture you use as an example. A horrid, undesirable, wasteland.

>>9881237
>what game (to you) had the best a e s t h e t i c s?
Lords of Midnight

>>9887437
based.

>>9887443
>Lords of Midnight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttvy7HyAJuU

apparently there's just no screenshots of mario golf 64 on the internet. was trying to post koopa park's skybox but i literally can't find a single image of the course let alone any background sprite. the wiki is chock full of images from the soulless world tour remake of course.

>>9881237
anything zelda desu, but minish cap have a special place in my heart for such soothing aesthetics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51JwrH_mMzI

why has no one ripped these backgrounds

>>9887437
>imperial mongrel dog paws typed this post
yea maybe thats why its fucking cool you bland tasteless nerd

also gtfo here the ashlands are GOAT
n'wah-tier opinion: discarded
prolly worship some anu-ic pussyshit like zenithar you fucking NERDDDDDD

>>9881668
Yeah, I've really got to hand it to Sonic, the older games were stylish as fuck. It ruled with the whole palm trees and CRT screens aesthetic. Real summer vacation vibes.

>>9881260
Even the lame levels in Spyro are aesthetically pleasing. I try to not be bitter, but Reignited barely had any sunrise and sunsets. Cloud Temples, from 2, for example, an otherwise generic level, is elevated so much because it has an amazing skybox with the sun rising in the east while the sky is still dark and starry in the west. (in the remake, its a midday blue sky)

>>9887464
crazy good pixel art. this game, doom 64, paper mario are my favorites for that.

>>9888560
bump life good thred

>>9888552
>Make beautiful looking beach graphic
>Players only see it for a fraction of a second
They put in a lot of work back then

>>9881260
I actually liked the remake, but fuck, they messed up the skyboxes something terrible in reignited.

>>9887464
I do like tiny sentient creature aesthetics like this.

H A V E A B L A S T

>>9887114

few examples there bud?

>>9890534
not to mention you don't even see the full thing at all

Game was weird and difficult but the soundtrack was full of feels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIVqh8vNFeU

>>9884546
Nothing beats PSO

Does it even need to be said at this point?

>>9881237
Capcom vs SNK 1.

>>9881668
I really like CD, especially the special stages. There's something about how those stages have a more uncanny vibe to them due to looking like actual places compared to the usual special stages.

>>9893974

>>9882868
zoe is my favorite "sleek polygonal futuristic" aesthetic

>>9888554
I just played Spyro 1 for the first time, loved it.

>>9887384
I can probably guess your reaction, but do you know about skywind?

>>9881237
As a child it terrified me. As an adult I just want to experience it.

>>9881237
Klonoa 1+2 and Pac-Man world

>>9890680
Ghost of Tsushima and Bloodborne are the first two that come to mind. FromSoft in general.

>>9887104
It's not crazy, the crazy part is the denial like >>9887114
>le survivorship bias
on average it was far better than today

>>9897353
yep
these days theres a good game I like every several years
back then there was several good ones every year

>>9881237

>>9898080
I wanted to forget this

>>9881241
GOD, I LOVE SUN FLARES.

>>9887473
Probably because its a pain in the dick to recombine 50 tiny ass textures back together.
I remember dumping chameleon twist 2s backgrounds and they are like, a bunch of super thin strips of color all stacked together.

>>9887449
>Lords of Midnight
2nded.

>>9881237
Wtf is that shite, what's with the texture tiling

>>9881349
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga9wY3CzEJQ
God, there's something fucking god tier about the title music for Gex 2

>>9881237

>>9899169
Your version had different title music? Wow, what the fuck?

>>9883649
I got you bro

>>9899723
For me, it's the observatory.

>>9893623
Fucking. S O V L.
Fucking. A E S T H E T I C.

>>9899723

>>9893623
Worst retro gen in terms of overall Pokemon design.

*ahem*

>>9900859
does 4 count as retro? its the worst of the pre nu-pokemon gens imo

>>9900876
All I know is I hated 2's soft, round, baby-filled lineup so much it nullified my typical OG Pokemania phase and I never got that passion back. There were a handful of good designs in there like the Feraligatr line, Scizor, etc., but on the whole it just deflated me. Gen 4 looks pretty fucking bad, though. It has fewer good designs than 2 did, even.

>>9901064
well, the gen that added eggs added babymon, so that makes sense
though I also did not care for them
I didnt play 2 when it was new; I was in 6th grade by then and I didnt get back into it until 2010 when I played leafgreen and soulsilver
anyway yeah I agree with you; a few good designs here and there but overall bad

pic is leafgreen

>>9901079
I have been meaning to check out the remakes. Gen 2's original aesthetics were definitely incredible, and I didn't appreciate that back then.

>>9901094
leafgreen/firered are the best of all pokemon games, imo

soulsilver is good, but theres a delay to all button activation/dialogue, which bothered me, plus the whole game is kinda baby-fied

>>9887028
It really does feel like they got too lazy to make anything good after ps2/dreamcast era

Now it all looks automated like they're just reusing what they already had and slap on more cgi and more filters. Not seeing anything original like these eras now

still the GOAT as far as I'm concerned

>>9881243
>>9881265
HOLY BASED

>>9881310
This reminds me of Planet Ride from Holoride's collection
the graphics are high-quality and visually gorgeous, coz it uses realistic 3D models of numerous planets and their ecosystems, like mountains, deserts, oceans, and more, to create an enjoyable adventure for passengers in moving vehicles.

>>9901342
My nigga, the wood tiles were absolute kino.

>>9881237
I ddunno about best but Majoras Mask

>>9901120
The loss of baked in lighting is a huge part of it

>>9881979
>>9881821

fugg, bros, I can hear this image.

TAKE ME BACK!!

>>9901342
The NES original is even more aesthetic, though. Not significantly, but it edges out.
>>9901527
They always made me think of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

>>9900860
I miss that one youtubers autistic deep dives of everything in this game.

>>9882868
God this game looked so fucking good.

>>9884468
The art direction for those Lucas Arts adventure games were all fucking god-tier.

>>9884468
My only issue with this game's art direction is Manny having an ayy skull for no reason. Throws his whole aesthetic off.

>>9903837

Fear Effect 1 & 2 had such awesome character models. They sort of clash with the pre-rendered backgrounds, but the FMV clips are all amazing.

>>9903854
are you implying that this doesnt look retarded as fuck

>>9903860
They should be, they took 4 fucking CDs for like a 10 hour game.

>>9903870
you said
>for no reason

>>9882927
I agree, plus the sound design and music complements it perfectly.

>>9881286
This knack carried over to at least the first Ratchet And Clank. Was actually playing it again a little while ago.

>>9903854
Manny is that old?