Very few 3d games age well, and the ones that age well only do because of the art style they went with.
I think Roger Craig Smithās Sonic (Sonic VA since Colors) is the best VA for him followed closely by Griffith. Jaleel Whiteās Sonic gets a frowny face. And Mike Pollock (Robotnik VA in almost everthing) is up there with Hayter and guy that does the plumbers in Mario.
JGR > JSRF
JSRF has a shit soundtrack and streamlined gameplay mechanics for talentless sacks of shit.
Yea but i dont mean the visuals of SA1&2 look dated. I mean the mechanics are. The cameras a real pain, sonic contrls like garbo at anything but top speed the alt characters arnt that fun to play when compared to Sonic.
You donāt even need an original X-Box to play JSRF.
You can play that on the 360.
When I found this out I was pissed. I missed out on the original X-Box and couldāve been playing Future for years.
The āSonic Advanceā series are some of the best Sonic games, at least out of the one made in more ārecentā times, imo. They were modest little titles on the Gameboy, but they were very well designed and allowed you to play as quite a few characters. And unlike Sonic Adventure or Sonic 06, playing as characters like Knuckles, Tails, or Cream felt really good as opposed to being both forced, poorly designed, and dreadfully dull.
Beating Sonic Advance 1 with Amy still stands as one of my fondest memories in playing a Sonic title to date.
They really captured the essence of the originals like Sonic 1 or Sonic 2, yet had an identity completely their own and it worked. I donāt think Iāll ever stop praising Sonic Advance 2 as one of the better Sonic games Sega has ever produced. At least as far as the 2D iterations go. ( Advance 3 was a fucking mess, though. )
Sky Dinosourian Square is mad fucked up on 360 though. Not unplayable nor game breaking but it does completely ruin the graphics for that level. That and some points where thereās heavy slowdown like the NoizeTank smash fest, though also not a breaking point.
ā¦Even then, itās still worth another play through even with the annoyance that is SDS because Iām pretty certain you only have to be there for like 20 minutes tops and you never have to go back to it again.
On the other note, never played SA2. SA1 was fun for what itās worth (about $3.50). Canāt really say theyāre compelling games that make you want more thoughā¦ I heavily enjoyed sonic generations and wouldnāt have minded seeing that snow level from SA1 again but everyone else is right, it did not age well at all.
RE
Sonic Adventure has Mystic Ruins, easily the most fun and largest area to explore in the game
if SA2 had open world hubs and given more freedom over chars it could have been the best
Not true. At all.
Adventure 2 is better than one.
Having ancient mechanics is what ages a game. Playing any of the Core Tomb Raider games now is fucking shit and has nothing to do with how it looks
Games with solid mechanics and art style will generally age better in the long run. I can play Starfox 64 and still have fun despite the graphics having agedā¦Nobody will be having fond memories of Starfox Assault despite it being a graphically superior game.
Anybody else play the ābastard childā of a series just because itās part of one of your favorite video game series. Like 3D Blast, SMB2, Earthworm Jim 3D, DK64, or Starfox Adventures. I swear every time I go into a game store and see Starfox Adventures I rebuy it just cause.
The first Soul Calibur is still solid as fuck, Metal Gear Solid is still great and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is also still gorgeous to look at.
If we talk about the earlier generations of 3D games though, I think they look like ass compared to even older 2D titles.
Look at Soul Edge, Dead or Alive 1/Tekken 1 or Wing Commander and tell me that shit is as nice to look at as SF2/SFAlpha/Super Ghouls N Ghosts/Super Metroid/Secret of Mana/Megaman X etc.
Shit old 3D games look like fucking Lego/Minecraft and I canāt play them not even for nostalgias sake.
Hand drawn 2D sprites and backgrounds are fucking timeless, 3D only looks cool at the time when itās being released.
Till this day Iām playing old 2D games I havenāt played as a kid.
Do I do the same with old 3D games? Hell fucking no.
Outside Wind Waker, the Legend of Zelda II is the only other game in the series I liked. Itās a shame Nintendo didnāt make another game like it. Final Fantasy X-2 is my favorite game in that series and the Chronicle Resident Evil games were fun.
Just to keep things on topic:
Slippy is best teammate.
I still think Twisted Metal 2 is the best looking game of the series. I can still look at that game and want to play it. Same with Mario 64, the first Blitz, and VF2.
blocky aged graphics bring a game-like quality to 3D games, much like 8-bit graphics and chiptunes bring to 2D games. Megaman 8 had well animated graphics, music, and gameplay, yet MM9 backtracked to the NES format. When games get too realistic and lifelike, they become almost simulations. I donāt care for COD and GT cause it looks like real life, which is dull and boring in a gaming format.
Besides, I would rather see a blocky polygon move at 60fps than to see a full detailed model have slowdown.
Im on the graphics side. There is ONLY ONE old, shit outdated graphics 3D game I can still play today just fine. Tokyo Xtreme Racer 1. Its pretty crude and low poly as an early DC game, but smooth textures, and 60FPS + nostalgia = good times.
Couldnāt agree more. I tried playing Jet Set Radio again a few days ago and got past the 1 chapter yesterday. While I enjoy the game, a lot of the shit is a little dated and the controls and gameplay are clunky. It can be pretty frustrating at times. The soundtrack, art, and graphics are still nice.
I played JSRF first too and like you said, JSRF blows JSR out of the water. The gameplay was improved greatly. It was smoother and the power of the Xbox complemented the cell shaded graphics even further. The soundtracks, level design, size, and characters are also better and the new things added in just makes it a better developed game.
I honestly donāt care how good or ugly graphics look. Actually, I like the aesthetics of older arcade games like Tekken 1 or Daytona USA. Iām more of a retro/nostalgic gamer anyway so I guess it explains why. All I care about is whether or not a game has enough replay value to keep me interested.
Gameplay>Graphics. Rise of the Robots taught us this.