Variahunter
Member
I didn't play it so I wouldn't know, plus honestly it's not my cup of tea as a genre. Though I loved PAC MAN 2 on SNES.
Which Nintendo 64 game had the BEST graphics on the system?
- Thread starter Midway-AGNC-
- Start date
Midway-AGNC-
Member
I completely agree — your Shadow of the Colossus example is spot on. It really shows how pointless and inconsistent it is to dismiss a game based purely on framerate issues. When a title is pushing the limits of its hardware to deliver something ambitious and technically groundbreaking, some performance trade-offs are inevitable. That's not a flaw — it's a sign of innovation.The same thing could be said about Shadow of the Colussus. That game did crazy stuff on the PS2, and during some battles the frame rate dropped to what felt like (and possibly was) single digits at times.
Yet that game rarely receives the same amount of criticism for that… I can't quite put my finger on what the reason could be, though
GTA III is another perfect case: widely regarded as one of the most influential games ever made, yet it constantly dropped frames, especially during heavy action or driving sequences. Still, no one seriously claims it's a bad game because of that. It's the same story — people selectively criticize framerate when it suits their biases. In the end, that kind of argument says more about fanboyism and insecurity than about the actual quality or importance of the game.
That argument really oversimplifies how game development — especially in the late '90s and early 2000s — actually worked. Practically every ambitious title that tried to push hardware boundaries faced performance trade-offs. On the PS1, for example, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider III, and Syphon Filter all had noticeable framerate dips. The N64 wasn't any different — GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Tooie, and even The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ran at very unstable frame rates when things got intense. And let's not even start with the Saturn, where games like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Virtua Fighter 2 pushed the console far beyond what it was comfortable handling.
When you move to the next generation, that didn't suddenly change. On the PS2, Shadow of the Colossus, Gran Turismo 4, and Silent Hill 3 all had performance dips. On the original Xbox, Knights of the Old Republic and Morrowind often struggled with framerate stability. Even the GameCube, famous for its optimization, saw drops in games like Resident Evil 4 and Metroid Prime 2. And looking further ahead, titles like The Last Guardian, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Tears of the Kingdom all have performance fluctuations despite being visually stunning.
That's because developers pushing for technical or artistic breakthroughs are always testing the hardware's absolute limits — and when you do that, the framerate will inevitably take a hit. But that doesn't make the graphics bad; quite the opposite, it usually means the game is doing something visually ambitious for its time.
So I challenge you: go into any thread discussing "best graphics on PS2" and say Shadow of the Colossus has bad graphics because of its framerate drops — and see how quickly everyone laughs you out of the room.
That argument completely misses the point. Resident Evil 2 was a PS1 game at its core — pre-rendered visuals, CD audio, FMVs — and the N64 port wasn't a simple copy-paste job; it was a re-engineering miracle. Fitting two full discs of content with all voice acting and cinematics into a 64MB cartridge was one of the most technically impressive feats of that generation.
And if we look at other multiplatform titles, the idea that the N64 "couldn't handle" games well is just nonsense. Rayman 2: The Great Escape on PS1, entire levels were removed, visuals were stripped down, and many 3D details were lost. The N64 version, by contrast, offered the full experience with smoother gameplay, richer lighting, and higher-quality models. It's night and day when you compare the two side by side. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater trilogy also perform far better on N64, with sharper textures, faster loading, and more stable frame rates than the PS1 ports.
Then there are games originally built for N64 hardware that suffered heavily when ported to the PS1 — Mission: Impossible is the perfect case. Developed first for N64, its PlayStation version is a mess: reduced draw distance, downgraded effects, worse controls, and lower frame rates. Another example is Shadow Man. The PS1 version was heavily downgraded — lower-resolution textures, constant loading screens, poor draw distance, and framerates that often dropped into single digits. Meanwhile, the N64 version kept most of the map intact, offered far better performance, and even maintained the same cutscenes and overall atmosphere. It's a great example of how the PlayStation simply couldn't keep up with a game originally built around more advanced or flexible hardware like the N64.
So yeah, dismissing Resident Evil 2 on N64 because it doesn't look identical to the PS1 version is kind of hilarious. That's like saying Shadow of the Colossus has "bad graphics" because the framerate dips — you're completely missing the point (and the genius) behind it. It's the same as claiming the Street Fighter II versions on Super Nintendo are "bad" just because they had to make cuts to fit properly on a cartridge. Resident Evil 2 N64 isn't some "worst version" — it's a technical miracle, a jaw-dropping piece of engineering that managed to cram two full CD-ROMs of data onto a single cartridge. Honestly, calling that a downgrade is like watching someone climb Everest without oxygen and complaining they didn't do it fast enough.
Don't participate then, nobody's twisting your arm to be here. If you're that bothered, just scroll past instead of whining — better than flooding the thread with your backseat, self-righteous hot takes.
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Romulus
Member
Shadow of the Colossus is hilariously basic and mundane. Ride a horse and run around in the middle of barren nowhere to spot a docile colossus, climb it, poke it in its marked weak point until it goes down, and proceed to do it again. Meanwhile, in God of War II you could have an epic battle with the Colossus of Rhodes.
And you wonder why you get laughed out of these threads by people who aren't even nintendo fanboys. This point is silly.
Romulus
Member
You think the 2D visuals (not gameplay) in Yoshi's Story are trash?
Dunno man... I don't think this game looks any worse than any of the Saturn's "high level" (
I mean, the lighting and reflections in some instances look even better?
Don't remember this but I'm actually surprised by it. N64 was a good 2d machine it seems. This thread is a learning experience.
Crayon
Member
3DO was an expensive piece of 1993 hardware that never got fully utilized. Saturn hardware is weaker than it in all categories.
nkarafo
Member
Resident Evil 2 is not a fair comparison anyway. It's a game that plays with the strengths of the CD-Rom. It has a ton of 2D pre-rendered backgrounds, tons of FMVs and voice acting. The 3D part is the smallest of the bunch.
The 3D models are indeed very impressive. Which says something since the Evas are very slick characters with high complexity, they are not your usual boxy looking robots.
They knew they did a great job so they included a model viewer if you finish the game 100%, to see all the details more clearly.
Each Eva has a full body and close up model. Both models use a very high amount of polygons to make them justice. The close ups look fantastic when you zoom in:
The full body ones don't look as detailed as the close ups when you zoom in, but they still have enough polygons to show all the details of an Eva unit and still have enough left to include individual 3D fingers:
Granted, the game is heavily scripted with almost completely fixed cameras while you have very little control of what to show on screen. So i assume this made it possible to have such detailed models. It's kinda like the T-Rex demo on the PS1, where the model if far more detailed than any other model in an actual game. I don't assume these models would be as good if the game also had to render a massive 3D world to freely explore.
Still, i wonder how many polys these models use. Typically, 5th generation games used less than 1k polygons for their 3D characters. I'm certain these ones use more than 2k
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nkarafo
Member
Pretty much every console after 4th gen is bound to be good at 2D. There is no such thing as sprite limits, low number of colors, limited background layers, limited number of sprites on screen, etc, anymore. There's really no real bottleneck in the CPU/GPU side of things. Only RAM and storage capacity could limit 2D graphics in any way for these machines.
The N64 simply had a much smaller library than the Saturn/PS1 so statistically, you also got less 2D games. Additionally, the more expensive carts were a more risky investment so less developers were willing to cater to smaller niches. And during 5th gen, at least in the west, 2D games ended up being a niche, especially on the N64 which was heavily marketed as the most capable 3D machine. That decreased the number of 2D games on the console even further. The early 8 and 12MB N64 carts were also not big enough for the standards of 2D games during that time.
But if the cart is big enough for an original game and not a Neo-Geo/CPS II port (16MB is plenty enough for a short game like Yoshi's Story) and the developer has the skills to make it beautiful and also have the money to lose, you get a gem (graphically) like Yoshi's Story.
Team Andromeda
Member
That's a great point, though, to be fair, lots of people use the frame rate game when it suits and look over frame rate issues when it doesn'tThe same thing could be said about Shadow of the Colussus. That game did crazy stuff on the PS2, and during some battles the frame rate dropped to what felt like (and possibly was) single digits at times.
Yet that game rarely receives the same amount of criticism for that… I can't quite put my finger on what the reason could be, though
Can you imagine if we had Digital Foundry in those days? The likes of Golden Eye 64, Perfect Dark 64, Shadow of the Colossus, Turok 2, Vice City Ect would be classed as unplayable.
RetroGamingUK
Member
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Team Andromeda
Member
DF retro isn't the same and the hypocrisy of John Linneman knows no bounds
RetroGamingUK
Member
I think his vids are by far the best on that site, he's also quite fond of the Saturn unlike Alex and Oliver who don't appear to have ever played one and Rich Leadbetter who, despite being the official magazine editor shows complete disinterest whenever the console is brought up and always ends the discussion with "moving on".
Team Andromeda
Member
He pretends to be a SEGA fan, when we all know he's a PS2 fanboy and those Scottish SEGA guys are hard work to have a debate with, but I don't doubt their passion to give them some credit
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RetroGamingUK
Member
I watched his PS2 launch livestream a while back and his balance of praise and criticism was fair. He's a big fan of both Dreamcast and PS2.
Team Andromeda
Member
Look, I don't mind that he loves the PS2 most of my mates do. IMO he is not the SEGA or Sega Saturn fan he makes himself out to be all his days ones were on the PS2 not so for the Saturn or DC
That tells you all you need to know, much like me with the PS1. I liked it and had a load of games for it, but the Saturn was my day 1 system for games, same for OG Xbox, even though I also had a Gube and PS2 at that time. That's what people tend to do who really love a system over another, even if they own all of the current consoles at the time
Romulus
Member
Your posts sort of lean into this ability to understand his true feelings. Pretty serious psychology going on that you can detect that he's pretending to like Sega just to fulfill his fanboying.
Parazels
Member
Be lenient with the person who had to stick to only Saturn games for years!
RetroGamingUK
Member
I feel sorry from him.
OSSM was excellent and one of the best things about owning a Saturn and they did such a sterling job even as releases were drying up.
Then Sega decide they want a glorified lad's mag instead and ditched Emap for Dennis, even DCUK was far better than Dreamcast's "official" effort.
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Midway-AGNC-
Member
The most interesting part is that, despite some inevitable quality loss due to compression, the N64 port of Resident Evil 2 actually looks better than the PS1 version in several areas. When the game plays to the N64's strengths — mainly its 3D rendering — it really stands out. Character models are noticeably sharper and cleaner, with higher polygon detail and less texture warping compared to the PS1, which suffered from the platform's notorious perspective distortion.
Of course, the trade-off is clear: the FMVs, voice audio, and pre-rendered backgrounds took a hit from heavy compression to fit everything into a cartridge. But even with those compromises, the port is an impressive technical feat — Capcom and Angel Studios managed to squeeze a two-disc PlayStation game onto a single 64MB cart while improving performance and adding new features like customizable blood color, item randomization, and save anywhere. In terms of pure technical achievement, it's one of the most remarkable ports ever done on the N64.
RetroGamingUK
Member
The most interesting part is that, despite some inevitable quality loss due to compression, the N64 port of Resident Evil 2 actually looks better than the PS1 version in several areas. When the game plays to the N64's strengths — mainly its 3D rendering — it really stands out. Character models are noticeably sharper and cleaner, with higher polygon detail and less texture warping compared to the PS1, which suffered from the platform's notorious perspective distortion.
Of course, the trade-off is clear: the FMVs, voice audio, and pre-rendered backgrounds took a hit from heavy compression to fit everything into a cartridge. But even with those compromises, the port is an impressive technical feat — Capcom and Angel Studios managed to squeeze a two-disc PlayStation game onto a single 64MB cart while improving performance and adding new features like customizable blood color, item randomization, and save anywhere. In terms of pure technical achievement, it's one of the most remarkable ports ever done on the N64.
Resi 2 on N64 uses lower resolution textures than PS1.
Again it's that Silicon Graphics texture filtering smoothing everything out that does the trick.
Team Andromeda
Member
Nothing serious at all . It's like when you know or suspect a TV football pundit likes another team whilst publicly stating his love for another. Its hardly
For some reason which I can't understand it seems almost cool to like SEGA retro stuff these days, even the Saturn.
BlackTron
Member
"He's out of line, but he's right" was made for moments like this. You may not like his manner, but at least he's bothering to make a point in every post he writes.
You could have said something like "you're mistaken. I lived through that era and genuinely thought the graphics were bad on release day". At least then we could respect an opinion we don't agree with.
Instead you made it practically guaranteed that his read on the situation was correct because you just went to fart smelling accusations. Nice
Midway-AGNC-
Member
It's not exactly hard to notice, though. It became trendy in recent years to say that N64-era games "aged badly" or "didn't even look good back in the day," but that's pure revisionist nonsense pushed by modern influencers who weren't even there — and a lot of people just parrot it without thinking.
Back in the mid-90s, 3D gaming was revolutionary. The leap from 2D to 3D felt like stepping into an entirely new world. Players had never experienced anything like it — real depth, free camera movement, characters existing in an actual space. Even if you were gaming on high-end PCs or hanging around arcades, seeing that kind of technology running on a home console in your living room was mind-blowing.
Saying it "looked bad" is complete revisionist bullshit. Sure, the tech was primitive by today's standards, but the excitement and visual impact were undeniable. People forget that the N64's visuals were cutting-edge for a cartridge-based system — hardware-accelerated 3D, texture filtering, perspective correction — all running without load times.
Those games weren't just "old 3D attempts." They were the foundation of everything we know in modern gaming. Their influence is so deep that it's no surprise there's still strong enthusiasm whenever N64 titles show up on Switch Online — nostalgia mixed with genuine appreciation for how ahead of their time they really were.
Instant_Classic
Banned
No, PSX/N64 were necessary awkward first steps into the future of gaming.
That doesn't mean they excelled at it.
They were a necessary step to the further refined, improved, and understood gen 6/gen 7 consoles.
I remember getting the Dreamcast as a kid, never looked back at the N64.
Had two N64's prior to getting the DC, one of the N64's was the super rare Pikachu edition.
N64 had good games, however a majority never ran or looked good in 3D.
OoT for fucks sake ran at 20 fps.
Look at the awkward as fuck N64 controller.
Tapping directional buttons to aim in GoldenEye.
Fine at the time?
Sure, but there's a reason why when Halo CE came out, it revolutionized FPS games on consoles.
You have strong feelings for the N64, it however did not age well.
N64 was likely your first console, not trying to be mean btw.
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nkarafo
Member
There's your problem.
If you were a kid when the Dreamcast was already out then how old were you when the PS1/N64 was released for you to notice the leap from 2D to 3D?
I was too young when the NES was released so the 8bit consoles never impressed me since the first console i remember wanting was the Mega Drive. But for people who grew up with the Atari 2600? The NES must have been a revelation.
When i saw Wipeout on PS1 for the first time (the first 5th gen game i saw running on a TV) my jaw dropped on the floor. The same thing happened when i saw Banjo-Kazoie running on my own TV.
You were too young to understand 3D textured polygons was a huge leap over wireframe or the flat shaded polygons we used to see in 16bit consoles. Being able to freely explore a 3D world was a huge change for everyone who grew up with 8/16bit consoles.
As for the stupid "did not age well" argument, it depends on the game, not the console. Some games have aged better than others, some games haven't aged at all.
Midway-AGNC-
Member
When I talk about people parroting revisionist nonsense, your post is basically the perfect textbook example — a collection of the same tired, pre-packaged talking points that have been repeated to death by YouTube "retro experts."
It's not about "having strong feelings" for the N64; it's about recognizing historical and technical context. The system literally pioneered real-time 3D rendering on home consoles — things like texture filtering, perspective correction, analog control, and proper 3D camera systems. Those weren't "awkward failures"; they were firsts. The reason Halo could even exist in the form it did later was because of what GoldenEye and Perfect Dark achieved earlier — clunky by today's standards, sure, but they defined the template.
And the "20 FPS = bad" argument just shows how little understanding there is of early 3D constraints. You're comparing a 1996 console using cartridges and 4MB of RAM to hardware years newer, running from optical discs with far more bandwidth. That's not criticism — that's ignorance disguised as hindsight.
So yeah, your comment doesn't sound like someone who "was there." It sounds like someone who watched a video essay once and decided to recycle the same bullet points without any real grasp of the era or its technological limitations.
Instant_Classic
Banned
I had a SNES, and played it leading into getting the N64.
Yes, moving to the 3D was a game changer.
However, that was just the nature of progress.
N64 happened to be the console during the time gaming was transitioning to 3D.
That meant, mechanics and game design knowledge on how games should be play or function in 3D were not understood fully.
3D was the big deal, not really the N64 itself, Sony outsold the N64 with their first console (PSX).
I thank the N64, PSX, and Saturn for leading us into the golden age which came after.
Couldn't have gotten there without them!
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Midway-AGNC-
Member
That's a pretty funny contradiction right there. You said earlier you got a Dreamcast as a kid, so if you also had a SNES and N64 before that, you must've been like five years old and somehow developing deep analytical opinions on game design at the time? Come on.I had a SNES, and played it leading into getting the N64.
Yes, moving to the 3D was a game changer.
However, that was just the nature of progress.
N64 happened to be the console during the time gaming was transitioning to 3D.
That meant, mechanics and game design knowledge on how games should be play or function in 3D were not understood fully.
3D was the big deal, not really the N64 itself.
I thank the N64, PSX, and Saturn for leading us into the golden age which came after.
Couldn't have gotten there without them!
And if we're following your logic, then by the same standard the SNES and Mega Drive suddenly became "bad" the moment the PS1, Saturn, and N64 hit the market. That's how ridiculous your reasoning sounds.
You're completely missing the point — the N64 wasn't just "there during the transition to 3D," it was the system that defined how 3D gaming would work going forward. It's not nostalgia, it's factual influence. Your argument doesn't hold up technically or historically — it's just a distorted take dressed up as hindsight.
Instant_Classic
Banned
Bruv, I was there and played all the major N64 games at their release.
In local multiplayer, as well.
That shit was fun, but never looked good.
It looked fine, but nobody was like "oh my God, this looks amazing" while looking at some blurry ass visuals.
Instant_Classic
Banned
N64 didn't define shit, all those things you mentioned were going to happen sooner or later.
Sony outsold Nintendo with their FIRST console.
PSX defined and laid the blueprint for gaming, N64 followed it's trail from afar.
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TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Cool thread until the console warriors showed up just like in the last one.
Guess it's impossible to have a thread about an older console.
Guess it's impossible to have a thread about an older console.
Instant_Classic
Banned
These threads are fine, but didn't we literally have a 20+ page topic about literally the same thing not too long ago?
I actually like the N64 btw.
No Mercy
Conker
Mario Tennis
Super Smash
OoT
Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo
Etc
I'm just realistic about it.
It's difficult to go back to because of the blurryness, and awkward controller.
Not faulting it on either point, but just being honest.
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TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
yes, and this thread seems to be headed in the exact same direction: 20 year old vintage console-warring instead of having a thread dedicated to a specific platform and nothing else.
Not trying to police the thread nor anything like that, sorry. Just a bit mad about it.
Midway-AGNC-
Member
And there it is — the mask slips. You're not here to discuss graphics or the N64's technical merits; you just wanted to start yet another pointless "console war" argument. None of what you just said has anything to do with the topic.N64 didn't define shit, all those things you mentioned were going to happen sooner or later.
Sony outsold Nintendo with their FIRST console.
PSX defined and laid the blueprint for gaming, N64 followed it's trail from afar.
Nobody here claimed the N64 "invented" the industry or outsold Sony — we're talking about visual achievements within the system's context. Dragging sales numbers and "who defined gaming" into this is just a lazy distraction.
Your last line makes it pretty obvious what your goal is: attention, not discussion. It's the oldest form of trolling — derail the thread, force an argument, and hope people bite. Congratulations, textbook example.
Exactly. That's when moderation needs to step in and clean it up. Otherwise, every decent discussion just turns into bait and pointless console war trash.
AeonGaidenRaiden
Member
Errr no. Shadow of the Colossus is literally remembered as this awesome new type of game with terrible frame rate. I dont know a single person who would avoid that in their discussion. GTA 3 had lag? GTA 3 was butter smooth, not sure what version you played but it was insanely good and not even close to falling apart like SotC did.
Midway-AGNC-
Member
Shadow of the Colossus is constantly brought up as one of the best-looking games on the PS2 — that's almost universally agreed upon, even by those who acknowledge its framerate issues. Its visual ambition and scale were unmatched for the time. As for GTA III, do yourself a favor and fire up your PS2 again — you'll be surprised how often the framerate drops. It was far from "butter smooth," especially in busy areas or during explosions. Nostalgia tends to smooth out more than just the visuals, apparently.
Instant_Classic
Banned
What is there to discuss about the N64, that wasn't already beaten to death in the last 20 page thread from a week ago, regarding the same thing?
N64 is an important console.
However, the performance, controls, and graphics (low res, blurry) make it a hard console to revisit.
Those are not faults of the console, this was as you mentioned groundbreaking at the time.
That doesn't mean it isn't hard as fuck to return to.
I'm okay with the low res textures, BUT the blurryness and sub 20 FPS games with the weird N64 pad...
NO
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Midway-AGNC-
Member
I'll say it again: nobody forced you to be here. You chose to join the thread just to derail it with useless, dismissive comments that add nothing to the discussion. If you're not interested, just move on instead of dragging the level down for everyone else.
Instant_Classic
Banned
Your nostalgia for the N64 is clouding your memory on how fucking bad the games looked and ran.
Go fire an N64 (no mods) up, and give it a shot.
I'll be impressed if you play it for more than 10 minutes.
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Syphon Filter
Member
Perfect dark with the expansion pack.
Instant_Classic
Banned
Played this back then, with the expansion pack.
It was fun (at the time).
It's still a good game, but tapping to shoot is weird and makes it tough to play without an emulator.
Yes, I know there is an option to connect two N64 pads for analog aim.
Maybe .001% of players actually did that.
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AeonGaidenRaiden
Member
You do remember that GTA 3 came out on more platforms than just PS2 right? This is supposed to be a N64 topic yet somehow you stick to only PS2 games which btw has no comparisson to N64 games. SOTC ran like dog shit and everyone knew it and talked about it, only difference is back then nobody gave a shit about 30 vs 60fps like they do today. Even on PS3 there were games that ran 30 fps and 60fps on xbox360 and still people didnt give a crap. Its only from PS4 when all of a sudden pixel peeping and FPS became this massive topic, meaning its not that people "ignored" SOTC terrible frame rate, back then they just didnt care as much. Nothing wrong with my memmory, just think you are trying really hard to have the last word for no reason at all, all while derailing from the original topic. Newsflash, you werent the only one that grew up on these games and your memmory of them isnt the only correct one. Deal with it.
Playing N64 games that isnt through an emulator, run like crap. Almost every single N64 game aged terribly. Mario 64 was WOW back then but only if you never ever heard of any other game. By the time Mario 64 came out, Quake 2 was already out, a year later Quake 3. 3D games exploded during that time, every 6 months was a massive leap. N64 made that leap on release, 6 months later everything about it was outdated.
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TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I play games on my N64 almost daily. They look fine and even quite pretty, depending on the game.
Do you play it on a modern screen or something? Or are you just trolling the shit out of this thread?
Syphon Filter
Member
huh? the games looked amazing at the time.
Instant_Classic
Banned
Yes, I play retro consoles on modern screens.
The N64 looks good on 15 inch CRTs that nobody has anymore.
TintoConCasera
I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Gonna be honest here I think you are retarded.Yes, I play retro consoles on modern screens.
The N64 looks good on 15 inch CRTs that nobody has anymore.
Instant_Classic
Banned
At the time, yeah but it didn't run or control well.
MagusMajul
Member
they all look terrible, hideous