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Mick's Non-Horny Retro Game Rant
a week ago
How much to graphics matter to you? Because, I feel like I'm losing my goddamn mind sometimes. Cards on the table: I was born in early 90s. I grew up with N64 graphics, although the games I first played were on SNES. (Pocky and Rocky, Megaman 7, Sunset Riders, and Bubsy unfortunately, all of which still look good today.) Wouldn't call myself a graphics snob, but they matter. If there were a hierarchy of needs, 'Gameplay' would be number 1, and graphics would be a lot lower on the list, but still 10 top.
All that said, even having grown up during this era, it's mindblowing to me that people want to go ALL the way back. Like I'm seeing games come out with graphics that aren't JUST stylistically retro, they include all the objectively awful parts too. You know, like "literally not being able to tell what you're looking at because it's just blurry, zoomed in pixels on a 3D model." Happens the most with Indie horror games, I find. I know budget plays a massive role here, but some people MAKE that choice.
Yeah yeah, art subjective.
All that said, even having grown up during this era, it's mindblowing to me that people want to go ALL the way back. Like I'm seeing games come out with graphics that aren't JUST stylistically retro, they include all the objectively awful parts too. You know, like "literally not being able to tell what you're looking at because it's just blurry, zoomed in pixels on a 3D model." Happens the most with Indie horror games, I find. I know budget plays a massive role here, but some people MAKE that choice.
Yeah yeah, art subjective.
Unless graphics actually manage to legitimately interfere with gameplay in some way, I find this complaint completely nonsensical.
In fact, I am hoping Gen 10 of Pokémon looks like a N64 game.
I think Pokémon's 3D era would work great in a Retraux style.
But I'm not gonna harass them about it like all the review bombing idiots would. I just want to fucking play the game.
Racing Games? If it looks like I'm driving a loosely organized collection of triangles it better handle beautifully. (Gran Turismo 1 and 2 anyone?)
Shooters? As long as I can tell what the hell I'm firing at it's fine. I think some shooters manage to strike a beautiful balance between gameplay and graphics these days, such as Helldivers 2.
Anything else? I dunno, I played Gmod for like 7 years straight, source engine doesn't have graphics, it has a mood....or a vibe perhaps.
There are times I personally think a game should look better than it does but anymore that is rare, how I find myself feeling a lot these days is "Why the actual fuck is this an Unreal 5 game?"
Look at Vampire Savior, or SF III: 3rd Strike, or KoF XIII, or any Metal Slug game! They look stunning AF, and they don't even use 3D models! Even some games that do from the 2000's look great, like Okami, Final Fantasy IX, LoZ: Twilight Princess and Def Jam: Fight for New York. They're all stylized, which helps them age better, but still.