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[nkarafo]

DS is comparable to a N64 (with a little better textures and more memory on carts). 3DS is basically a portable Gamecube. There is just no comparison. Though, Metroid Prime Hunters on DS still looks great IMO.

 

[Zalman]

Mmm, that difference.

Wow. That made me appreciate Smash much more.

 

[balohna]

I thought the 3DS was already Wii level?

I mean, MH3U on 3DS runs at a higher frame rate, has dynamic shadows and has more detail/content than the Wii game.

It's hard to compare the two. 3DS can pull off some nice geometry and lighting effects, but it's no so great at textures. I don't know all the tech behind it, but if you ported a Wii game to 3DS it would look different.

 

[Seik]

The DS was like a little Saturn to me.

Beautiful with everything 2D, atrocious looking 3D.

3DS can do both beautifully.

 

[Yanikun]

I thought the 3DS was already Wii level?

I mean, MH3U on 3DS runs at a higher frame rate, has dynamic shadows and has more detail/content than the Wii game.

The 3DS is not as powerful as the Wii, but in terms of graphical capabilities, yeah it's in the same ballpark or more advanced than the Wii. Better shaders, better lighting, better textures.

Truthfully I think the aliasing is killing people's views of the hardware. That's why Revelations is so remarkable, the anti-aliasing is amazing. I'll have to see Batman Blackgate in person, but from the hands-on video, aliasing also seems to be very slight for the 3DS.

 

[PapaEmeritus]

OP, were you holding select when booting the DS games up? This puts it into 1:1 mode rather than upscaling badly.

On the 3DS XL the 1:1 mode screen size is about the same as the DS lite. It being much smaller on a normal 3DS (and 2DS) would either make it sharper or too small.

Thanks for this, honestly completely forgot about this feature

 

[SuperSah]

The 3DS is not as powerful as the Wii, but in terms of graphical capabilities, yeah it's in the same ballpark or more advanced than the Wii. Better shaders, better lighting, better textures.

Truthfully I think the aliasing is killing people's views of the hardware. That's why Revelations is so remarkable, the anti-aliasing is amazing. I'll have to see Batman Blackgate in person, but from the hands-on video, aliasing also seems to be very slight for the 3DS.

That's what I meant, graphically it's a little higher. MH3U even has AA with 3D off, which is a really nice and smooth experience.

But people seem to think aliasing is the end of the world these days.

 

[Prince Vultan]

Man... why has nothing released on 3DS since Resi Revelations even come close to matching it graphically?

 

[CamHostage]

The DS' graphic capabilities were actually under-appreciated and thus underutilized as the platform went on, in my opinion (and sadly, the 3DS is following the same path with vastly superior hardware...) You can find some games that really sing on the system, especially in the early days.

I'm not sure if any of these illustrate my point (I feel like a big part of the value of DS graphics is being surprised by a better-than-you-thought-it-was-going-to-look game running smoothly on your own game machine,) but here are some examples of DS games that I remember doing good things with its modest polygon-pushing power. Of course, even back in the day the PSP made the DS look its generation behind (by the way, an appreciation for the PSP's graphic showcases is due too, there are some shocking displays of power on that system), but I still regularly find myself surprised by how little I thought this system was capable of (and how regularly developers met those low expectations) yet how much some of these games actually get out of the hardware.


TONY HAWK'S AMERICAN SK8LAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaL9MsesKDA

STAR WARS FORCE UNLEASHED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mib5kkapalo

NINJA GADIEN DRAGON SWORD (*3D on 2D BG)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wUT2yyOJYHw#t=47

 

[XOMTOR]

But people seem to think aliasing is the end of the world these days.

It pretty much is. It's 2013, there's no reason for such a glaringly obvious graphical flaw to exist. There are plenty of AA methods available to devs they can find a way. Even if they have to sacrifice a few fancy shader effects or some graphical bling, get the IQ clean first; so native res with AA. One of my biggest gripes with the Vita actually.

Doesn't the 3DS have basically free AA in 2D mode yet some games still aren't sporting it?

 

[LingeringRegime]

I will get a 3DS if I go to Japan next year.

 

[chickdigger802]

The DS' graphic capabilities were actually under-appreciated and thus underutilized as the platform went on, in my opinion (and sadly, the 3DS is following the same path with vastly superior hardware...) You can find some games that really sing on the system, especially in the early days.

I'm not sure if any of these illustrate my point (I feel like a big part of the value of DS graphics is being surprised by a better-than-you-thought-it-was-going-to-look game running smoothly on your own game machine,) but here are some examples of DS games that I remember doing good things with its modest polygon-pushing power. Of course, even back in the day the PSP made the DS look its generation behind (by the way, an appreciation for the PSP's graphic showcases is due too, there are some shocking displays of power on that system), but I still regularly find myself surprised by how little I thought this system was capable of (and how regularly developers met those low expectations) yet how much some of these games actually get out of the hardware.


TONY HAWK'S AMERICAN SK8LAND

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaL9MsesKDA

STAR WARS FORCE UNLEASHED

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mib5kkapalo

NINJA GADIEN DRAGON SWORD (*3D on 2D BG)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=wUT2yyOJYHw#t=47

ds (and to some part 3ds) games also look like shit in screenshots. Those tony hawk games were silky 60 fps on ds, and quite fun. I really dug the downhill racing one.

 

[PapaEmeritus]

So, I wasn't so much trying to knock DS as it seems some are thinking, but more bring to light the graphical jump. People said there would never be a jump in quality like ps1 to ps2, but here we are between the DS and 3ds, major major difference.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Portables by Nintendo seem to be about two generations behind contemporary consoles, while Sony's are between one and one and a half behind (which is pretty damn impressive). So, the GBA was similar to a SNES, the DS was comparable to a N64, and the 3DS is similar to a GC (and by extension a Wii). Whereas the PSP is in between a PSX and a PS2 (closer to a PS2), and the Vita is in between a PS2 and a PS3 (closer to the latter).

Assuming they keep going at this rate, the 4DS should be about WiiU level, and the next PSP would be close to a PS4. Seems crazy, right?

 

[Xedah66]

It's hard to compare the two. 3DS can pull off some nice geometry and lighting effects, but it's no so great at textures. I don't know all the tech behind it, but if you ported a Wii game to 3DS it would look different.

The textures in mh3u are wierd. Some look awful and some look real nice.

 

[balohna]

Portables by Nintendo seem to be about two generations behind contemporary consoles, while Sony's are between one and one and a half behind (which is pretty damn impressive). So, the GBA was similar to a SNES, the DS was comparable to a N64, and the 3DS is similar to a GC (and by extension a Wii). Whereas the PSP is in between a PSX and a PS2 (closer to a PS2), and the Vita is in between a PS2 and a PS3 (closer to the latter).

Assuming they keep going at this rate, the 4DS should be about WiiU level, and the next PSP would be close to a PS4. Seems crazy, right?

and iPhones are already between PS4 and PS5 level if you listen to some people.

 

[SuperSah]

The 3DS is not as powerful as the Wii, but in terms of graphical capabilities, yeah it's in the same ballpark or more advanced than the Wii. Better shaders, better lighting, better textures.

Truthfully I think the aliasing is killing people's views of the hardware. That's why Revelations is so remarkable, the anti-aliasing is amazing. I'll have to see Batman Blackgate in person, but from the hands-on video, aliasing also seems to be very slight for the 3DS.

It pretty much is. It's 2013, there's no reason for such a glaringly obvious graphical flaw to exist. There are plenty of AA methods available to devs they can find a way. Even if they have to sacrifice a few fancy shader effects or some graphical bling, get the IQ clean first; so native res with AA. One of my biggest gripes with the Vita actually.

Doesn't the 3DS have basically free AA in 2D mode yet some games still aren't sporting it?

I believe so. AA is in a few games with 2D on. (MH3U, Resi)

Doesn't Ace Attorney have AA in 3D too?

 

[Easy_D]

RE: Revelations is still the best looking on the system in my opinion. Looks great.

I dunno, I feel like Mirror of Fate takes the crown. It has some astounding texture work in places. Though I would love to see Capcom do some more RE on the thing, Revelations was kind of early, I'm sure they could outdo it easily.

 

[calc84maniac]

Doesn't Ace Attorney have AA in 3D too?

Looks that way to me, from the demo. I think Virtue's Last Reward does, as well.

 

[PapaEmeritus]

Looks that way to me, from the demo. I think Virtue's Last Reward does, as well.

I'm pretty sure SMT IV does too, it actually smooths out the textures.

 

[Tygamr]

It is a big jump- though not as big a jump as it was rumored to be prior to the 3DS reveal. A lot of developers don't even seem to be using the 3DS to it's full potential other than Nintendo and a few other companies. There's so many 3DS games that look like upressed DS games, and games that look worse than PSP games (Lego Batman 2 on 3DS and Vita is less impressive than Lego Batman on PSP- it's such a shame that neither handheld is getting the Lego games they're capable of).

I wish that Nintendo went with a higher resolution though... 4x DS resolution for bottom screen, and a widescreen equivalent of that for the top screen would have been so much better.

 

[chickdigger802]

I dunno, I feel like Mirror of Fate takes the crown. It has some astounding texture work in places.

but the game runs at a piss poor framerate.

 

[thequickandthedead]

Looks that way to me, from the demo. I think Virtue's Last Reward does, as well.

Are you that guy who made a GBA emulator for the TI-Nspire CX?

 

[terrisus]

Yeah, it's too bad that 3D games are taking over handhelds, I prefer 2D games.

 

[Celine]

Portables by Nintendo seem to be about two generations behind contemporary consoles, while Sony's are between one and one and a half behind (which is pretty damn impressive). So, the GBA was similar to a SNES, the DS was comparable to a N64, and the 3DS is similar to a GC (and by extension a Wii). Whereas the PSP is in between a PSX and a PS2 (closer to a PS2), and the Vita is in between a PS2 and a PS3 (closer to the latter).

Assuming they keep going at this rate, the 4DS should be about WiiU level, and the next PSP would be close to a PS4. Seems crazy, right?

You are also assuming Sony will keep making dedicated handhelds.

 

[Vane_MagicCity]

I was so unhappy with how well my DS games looked on my 3DS that I went out and bought a used DS Lite.

You just can't use a 3DS to judge a DS game.

 

[joesiv]

It's probably safe to raise those expectations.

ok how about nearly xbox360 then? it all gets difficult, because not everything "keeps up" with portables.

For example, on the DS, the graphics kind of looked like N64, but the actual look was more PS1 due to the lack of precision and texture filtering. And even then, the poly counts possible were much less than what the PS1 could do.

On 3DS, at lot of the texture/shaders are similar to something like an Xbox, but again the poly counts and scope are are much lower. not to mention the resolution is much much lower too.

So for the 4DS, or whatever it's called, I wonder, maybe the poly counts can finally match up to something like the Wii, but the shading will be more modern like the WiiU.

 

[Easy_D]

but the game runs at a piss poor framerate.

It's actually quite a bit more managable post that 3DS Update that did something magic. It became a bit smoother.

But I agree, when we compare framerates REvelations is still king.

Also those Smash shots above are marvelous. Smash on the 3DS looks quite a bit more amazing than the Wii U version, considering the hardware.

 

[calc84maniac]

Are you that guy who made a GBA emulator for the TI-Nspire CX?

I'm the guy that ported gpSP to it, yeah. Though Exophase did all of the original work on gpSP, of course.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Ubisoft got the best out of the DS hardware with COP the Recruit. I bought the game JUST for the graphics

gameplay footage

 

[chickdigger802]

on the other hand we got rune factory 4.

vs

3

at least the game is 60 fps with no load times... reminds me of the good old gba days

 

[SuperSah]

Also those Smash shots above are marvelous. Smash on the 3DS looks quite a bit more amazing than the Wii U version, considering the hardware.

Dare you say that in the OT. I got bashed for that opinion.

But I agree, it looks better on 3DS considering hardware. It's the outlines. They make characters look super smooth and it just pops.

I think the Wii U game is less impressive since it looks like Brawl HD. I know they can do more than that, but the game still looks terrific.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I am so glad someone is reiterating this. The 3DS is no powerhouse compared to the Vita, but it is such a huge leap from the graphical quality of the DS. I remember being in awe playing OoT 3D and Starfox when I purchased mine.

 

[Worthintendo]

What game is this?

 

[QuiteWhittle]

What game is this?

Suikoden Tierkreis.

 

[Worthintendo]

Suikoden Tierkreis.

Ahh cool, do have that, just never played

 

[wrowa]

The 3DS is not as powerful as the Wii, but in terms of graphical capabilities, yeah it's in the same ballpark or more advanced than the Wii. Better shaders, better lighting, better textures.

The 3DS is much more limited in terms of geometry, however. That's probably its most striking flaw. The best-looking games on the system find ways around it (Monster Hunter always had very small and confined areas, so that it wasn't much of a problem in that case / RE Revelations took place in the small corridors of a ship), but it's definitely holding back the 3DS a lot.

 

[Elija2]

Ubisoft got the best out of the DS hardware with COP the Recruit. I bought the game JUST for the graphics

gameplay footage

That is impressive. I think it looks better than GTA Chinatown Wars.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

Viewtiful Joe was pretty great looking:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJsrulzqNqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjogRcP1K0w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqhhasRmywo

 

[rjc571]

Ubisoft got the best out of the DS hardware with COP the Recruit. I bought the game JUST for the graphics

gameplay footage

And it runs at 60 fps.

Renegade Kid's games were also mad impressive and ran at 60 fps.

Dementium 2:

Moon:

The 3DS's inability to push 60 fps due to its weak ass CPU kills the impact of the improved graphical capabilities. Even ATV Wild Ride, a straight port of a DS game, saw its framerate cut down from 60 on the DS to 30 on the 3DS, despite its visuals being mostly the same.

60 fps on the DS:

30 fps on the 3DS:

 

[hongcha]

The 3DS's inability to push 60 fps due to its weak ass CPU kills the impact of the improved graphical capabilities.

I wouldn't use the word "inability" since some 3DS games run at 60fps. For example, Mario Kart 7.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Man... why has nothing released on 3DS since Resi Revelations even come close to matching it graphically?

Different artstyles really, nobody's attempted a grim shooter on there since. In terms of other styles, cel-shaded games look gorgeous, see;

 

[Mileena]

I thought the 3DS was already Wii level?

I mean, MH3U on 3DS runs at a higher frame rate, has dynamic shadows and has more detail/content than the Wii game.

Donkey Kong Country looks far worse and runs at literally half the frames. 3DS is not Wii level.

 

[comedy bomb]

I wouldn't use the word "inability" since some 3DS games run at 60fps. For example, Mario Kart 7.

And Mario Kart murders Atv Wild Ride graphically.

 

[Celine]

Different artstyles really, nobody's attempted a grim shooter on there since. In terms of other styles, cel-shaded games look gorgeous, see;

One Piece Ultimated World Red:

Donkey Kong Country looks far worse and runs at literally half the frames. 3DS is not Wii level.

Nor Wii is at 3DS level.
Each have their own advantage.

 

[EightBitNate]

Donkey Kong Country looks far worse and runs at literally half the frames. 3DS is not Wii level.

The only really bad thing about is the aliasing and resolution (as you said). But it was also port forced to push 3D. The comparison is difficult to make.

 

[ArtHands]

Nintendo shouldn't be praised for graphics that for the most part could be done on PSP years ago, unless you never played one maybe.

That said, there are still graphics that impress, like most of RE:R, KI and last stage of SM3DL

That's why Nintendo is getting praised here. Psp can't handle most 3ds titles.

 

[1.21Gigawatts]

I think 3DS and PsVita made pretty huge jumps in terms of graphics compared to their predecessors.



And holy shit @ those SmashBros screens, awesome!

 

[GeekyDad]

Revenant Wings still looks great to me. But 3DS is pretty much as good as graphics need to look for me. I wasn't completely satisfied with what the DS could do, but at the other end of the spectrum, the new Mario 3D Land for Wii U freaks me out. It doesn't look like a video game anymore. It looks freakish. I dig adult entertainment games in small doses, but I still mostly love gamey games. Stuff I guess the dudebro crowd would consider "kiddie." 3DS can do everything I want it to do graphically.

Now, if it only had a built-in second nub.

 

[Yanikun]

Donkey Kong Country looks far worse and runs at literally half the frames. 3DS is not Wii level.

It's a port involving two systems with very different architectures. There are Xbox 360 ports that look and run worse on the Wii U. Is the Wii U below Xbox 360-level?

To try and make it clearer: the Wii is a circle-shaped cookie-cutter, the 3DS is a square-shaped one of the same size. You can try as much as you want to make the circle cookie fit in the square cutter, it won't work without cutting corners.

Needless to say, the same is true the other way around. The Wii isn't capable of handling Resident Evil Revelations without cutting corners. You've never seen this on the Wii:

So when people say "Wii-level," they don't mean Nintendo took the insides of a Wii and put them exactly as they are in a 3DS casing. It's a very different system with a very different architecture. DKCR was a demanding project that Retro designed and built with the Wii's specifications in mind. They didn't think it out with the 3DS in mind. But, adding up all the things it can do better and those it can't do as well, its closest neighbor is the Wii.