Do you remember a game's graphics as they ACTUALLY were?

[Shoggoth2588]

It comes down to a game-by-game basis. For example, the first time I booted up Halo 2 I thought to myself "This game looks like crap...and isn't finished yet either". Yet when it comes to games like Tiny Toons: Buster Busts Loose I remember it looking good for what it was back in the 90's when I got it again a couple of years ago.

If anything, my nostalgia glasses were definitely on during the PSX/N64 era...I really don't remember those games looking as bad as some of them do. Granted I do remember Smash Bros looking like a polygon marionette slap-fight.

 

[Creator002]

Usually, but not always. I remember Super Mario 64 as having a perfect round shape for Mario's nose. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not right.

 

[darksakul]

Usually, but not always. I remember Super Mario 64 as having a perfect round shape for Mario's nose. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not right.

I always remembered Mario in Mario 64 for having an octagonal shaped nose.

Then again we got to factor in the resolution on those old CRT TVs are in 480i (actually old consoles broadcast as 240p and old CRT screens upsampled the image to 480i) that we used to play those old game consoles compared to the crisp clear resolution of 1080p.

 

[FireAza]

I tend to confuse the graphics of the NES with the ones for the SNES.

You gotta be kidding! The jump from the NES to the SNES is second only to the SNES to N64 in terms of "massive graphical upgrade". SNES games are a million times more colorful than the NES, don't suffer from flickering sprites and suffer from less slowdown. Not to mention the fancy Mode 7 effects.

I've seen a few of you mention how the controls in older games have aged much worse than the graphics have, and I kinda have to agree. Some games still play great (Mario 64 still controls as smooth as butter) other games make me wonder how I was ever able to play it. I replayed Turok and the controls were so clunky and slow! Not to mention we've been spoiled by generous checkpoints in modern games. I was playing Conker's Bad Fur Day and I died before I was able to make it to the next save point. I was all "I gotta roll that ball of poo up poo mountain AGAIN!?"

 

[Eddie the head]

No, no you don't. Long term memory is not static, it changes with new information.

 

[OneCatch]

I would have to say Goldeneye on the N64, (Okay so this is not on topic but the opposite of it) I played the hell out of Goldeneye when I was a kid and when I finally played it again years and years later (just about last year I played it) and I don't ever remember the graphics being so bad but what I definitely don't remember is the controls for the game being so hard to use. Man I just couldn't play it

I had this with Shadows of the Empire. I think it's kind of the same for any FPS before the idea of a second joystick as with Dualshock, gamecube, etc - I was freaked out by having relearn how to properly use bumper buttons to strafe.
By comparison I still have a degree of muscle memory of most other games of that era, but bumper strafing had gone completely out the window.

 

[AidoZonkey]

I guess that im a pessimist because I always look better then I thought they did for the most part. For instance, I recently played FF7 again and even though the polygons are still jagged, I forgot how good they looked in the cut scenes. And when i played legend of zelda majoras mask on my N64 I thought the graphics were really good for its time.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Playing through Magic Carpet 2 right now, and it is more or less exactly like I remember it, it's actually better because now my graphics card can pull the high resolution option with evertything on.
Shame it chrashes so often

 

[OneCatch]

I guess that im a pessimist because I always look better then I thought they did for the most part. For instance, I recently played FF7 again and even though the polygons are still jagged, I forgot how good they looked in the cut scenes. And when i played legend of zelda majoras mask on my N64 I thought the graphics were really good for its time.

Majora's mask's graphics were really good for their time - they were literally pushing the system to it's extreme limits - that's why you had to get that expansion pack that doubled the N-64's RAM to a gigantic 8mb in order to play it.
Do you know that the entire Majora's mask game is only abut 30mb of files? That's smaller than a lot of flash games nowadays, and is literally a thousand times smaller than an equivalent modern game (ok, 600 times smaller)

It's weird to think that a modern computer is around a thousand times more powerful than a console of that generation. It doesn't feel that long ago to me. *Nostalgia sigh*

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Pong still looks the same as i remember. lol

 

[Ulkjen]

Not always but sometimes. Usually I am fine and able to remember a game -exactly- how it was. Though there are exceptions. For example, when steam put Duke Nukem 3D up on it i picked it up pronto. Holy crap i do not remember the graphics being like that! xD