Older games that aged well. (strictly talking about graphics)

[KelsieKatt]

Generally most games that focus on art style primarily age well because they were exactly what they were supposed to be and you can't really "improve" that much without tampering with the original vision.

Grim Fandango is a great example of that, especially since it used early 3D.

Technical graphics on the other hand simply don't age well.

 

[Vuliev]

A lot of the SNES major titles have aged well: Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, etc.

Also, Project64 has managed to make N64 graphics also age well, though the contrast between the polygon-based models and the 2D background textures is sometimes jarring.

 

[The Code]

I know Morrowind in its basic vanilla form has NOT aged well by any standard, but it can still look fantastic if one adds the Graphics Overhaul mod. Yes, it's a mod that, obviously, overhauls the graphics, but it's still pretty cool.

 

[Koroviev]

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night still looks great to me, ironic how people all laughed at it still being 2D when it first came out.

I love Symphony of the Night. I mean, how can a pterodactyl wielding a spear while being foisted into the air by a gargoyle get old? One and only true answer: it cannot.

 

[I Stomp on Kittens]

Diablo 2 stills looks and plays fantastic

 

[Bernzz]

The original Metroid Prime has my vote. Playing it recently, watching Samus emerge from her ship the first time, and thinking "Wow, this game out in 2002?" Amazing.

Now, I know you mentioned graphics only, so this is off topic I guess, but that game has the best soundtrack I've heard for a game. Everything just fits, so perfectly. Especially the final boss music, god that track is creepy.

Now, as for another game that has aged well graphics wise, I agree with the people mentioning The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Game still looks gorgeous.

 

[TheGreatAndPowerfulZOG]

Wind Waker is probably the best example of this in existence. And to think the art style was such a big detractor for so many people. Twilight Princess looked more dated on THE DAY IT WAS RELEASED FFS.

A lot of SNES games come to mind. Good to see Chrono Trigger has already been mentioned, it was the first one that I thought of, actually. Just great sprites and an awesome art style. One that still blows my mind is Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Like wait, SNES was capable of that?? The Sonic games still look kinda nice, even if some of the art direction was, well, on the tacky side.

From the N64/PS1 era not that much really jumps out at me. Super Mario 64, I guess. It's so colorful and simple, but it is starting to look a little blocky. The only on I can think of that really impresses me in retrospect is Conker's Bad Fur Day. Synched voice acting? In an N64 game? And the characters have individual fingers? And their eyes actually focus on things? That game really curb-stomped everything else of that generation on a technical level. Perfect Dark had some really impressive stuff mixed with a lot of butt ugly stuff. Like, half the face models looked incredibly real, the others were big blurry blobs. Most of the guns still look great today, except the alien guns look like complete shit.

PS2/Xbox, I think have been covered pretty well in previous posts: Metal Gear Solid 2&3, SoTC & Ico, Resident Evil 4, and lots of the cel-shaded stuff.

Nintendo is really good about this, usually. I see Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword and SSBB still looking awesome ten years from now.

 

[TheGreatAndPowerfulZOG]

The original Metroid Prime has my vote. Playing it recently, watching Samus emerge from her ship the first time, and thinking "Wow, this game out in 2002?" Amazing.

This. Can't believe I forgot that one, game is gorgeous..

 

[Ando85]

I notice the 3 Resident Evil titles on Gamecube looked outstanding, and still do to this day. Better than a lot of PS2 titles. Zero, Re1 Remake, and RE4. I played the RE4 hd version that just came out recently and I didn't see much improvement. I attribute that to the fact that the game always looked great even before an HD overhaul. Hard to improve on near perfection.

 

[Tyrant T100]

Oddworld Abe's Oddysee (1997) and Exoddus (1998)
Stronghold (2001)
Mostly due to them having a very nice 2D art style.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

When I think of ageless graphics, my mind goes to sylized graphics. Graphics that strive to be photo-realistic are inevitably going to be eclipsed by newer, more powerful hardware and software.

But then there are games like Okami, Zelda: Windwaker, Viewtiful Joe, and even current gen cel-shaded games like Prince of Persia (2008), and Marvel vs. Capcom 3. These games will hold their visual appeal for much longer than games that try to look more photo-realistically detailed.

And going back to the 2D era, sprite-based games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night will hold their visual fidelity longer, though I can't say exactly why. All I know is the characters in Chrono Trigger and Symphony of the Night are much more appealing than the field models for Final Fantasy VII. And then there are games like Braid and Limbo that intentionally go back to 2D sprites with today's tech and those look amazing as well.

So...yeah. I think that in terms of ageless graphics, 2D sprite modeling or stylized 3D are the way to go. There are some games like Red Dead Redemption and Assassin's Creed that wouldn't work without photo-realistic graphics, but overall I think I prefer the stylized ones.

 

[Wayneguard]

The fucking resident evil remake (and resident evil 0) on the gamecube. Good God. Evidently photorealism is timeless.

 

[Treblaine]

I notice the 3 Resident Evil titles on Gamecube looked outstanding, and still do to this day. Better than a lot of PS2 titles. Zero, Re1 Remake, and RE4. I played the RE4 hd version that just came out recently and I didn't see much improvement. I attribute that to the fact that the game always looked great even before an HD overhaul. Hard to improve on near perfection.

RE4 when it was made for gamecube was coded to make special use of the unique Gamecube hardware that could not really be ported to any other device. So the PS2 port had to drop a lot of graphical elements, especially the lighting and shading system plus a lot of detail. Same with the PC release.

So the HD re-release on PSN/XBLA is effectively using the PS2 version just upscaled to 720p.

Overall, that is a step down in quality.

Gamecube (and Wii) version was 480p with high level of fidelity and plenty of anti-aliasing means it scales up VERY well to 720p and 1080p without much blur or edge-jagging.

The Wii version of RE4 remains the definitive version (dolphin emulator is still too buggy).

 

[Ando85]

I notice the 3 Resident Evil titles on Gamecube looked outstanding, and still do to this day. Better than a lot of PS2 titles. Zero, Re1 Remake, and RE4. I played the RE4 hd version that just came out recently and I didn't see much improvement. I attribute that to the fact that the game always looked great even before an HD overhaul. Hard to improve on near perfection.

RE4 when it was made for gamecube was coded to make special use of the unique Gamecube hardware that could not really be ported to any other device. So the PS2 port had to drop a lot of graphical elements, especially the lighting and shading system plus a lot of detail. Same with the PC release.

So the HD re-release on PSN/XBLA is effectively using the PS2 version just upscaled to 720p.

Overall, that is a step down in quality.

Gamecube (and Wii) version was 480p with high level of fidelity and plenty of anti-aliasing means it scales up VERY well to 720p and 1080p without much blur or edge-jagging.

The Wii version of RE4 remains the definitive version (dolphin emulator is still too buggy).

Thanks I never knew that about the Gamecube version. I probably should look at the GC or Wii version next to the new HD version. Having played them years apart it is hard to see the difference. I always wondered why the PS2 version took a dive (although I never played that version.) So, what you said makes perfect sense.

 

[kyogen]

Ico (2001)
Beyond Good & Evil (2003)
SotC (2005)
Okami (2006)
The Witcher (2007)

 

[Uzi-Bazooka]

While the actual Doom games themselves haven't aged very well in terms of graphics - more laughable than anything else, but in a fun sort of way - some of the mods made using the same technology look really good. I noticed this today while playing the Skulltag Invasion maps, specifically - with only a couple extra textures and some slight re-buffing, the 16-bit graphics are actually really nice.

 

[Ando85]

While the actual Doom games themselves haven't aged very well in terms of graphics - more laughable than anything else, but in a fun sort of way - some of the mods made using the same technology look really good. I noticed this today while playing the Skulltag Invasion maps, specifically - with only a couple extra textures and some slight re-buffing, the 16-bit graphics are actually really nice.

Aye I have a blast playing Doom to this day. I think Doom's pixelated graphics give it a bit of a nostalgic charm.

 

[Atmos Duality]

You mean styling/aesthetics, not graphics, right?
Because graphics are the technical tools/potential. Style/Aesthetics is how graphics are used/applied.

Pointless semantics aside...
I find games with 2D-scaling/vector graphics (cell-shading) and appropriate mood/ambiance to be those that last the longest. Killer 7 has a very cool and memorable style to it that I haven't really seen elsewhere. Viewtiful Joe thrives on this sort of 2.5D presentation. Wind Waker, despite being near the top in terms of absolute tedium, has a wonderful artistic design to it.

Hard-geometric (non-vector) 3D games that rely on high-tech texturing don't look all that good or memorable when compared to their more-modern versions (Halo: CE looks absolutely bland compared to anything today, but it looked incredible back in 2002).
The only notable exception that comes to mind is Metroid Prime 1, but that's almost entirely due to its incredible atmospheric presentation; you become so engrossed in what the whole picture looks like that you don't stop to examine how bad each piece looks by today's standards.

Or Chrono Cross. It looks obviously blocky compared to any modern 3D graphics, but it has incredible styling, coloring and atmosphere that makes up for it (in comparison, a game like Megaman Legends looks awkward despite its narrative/character charms). It also helps that, like Metroid Prime, its musical score is distinct, and expertly tailored to each section of the game.

Sprite-based games deserve their own section, and it's actually difficult to explain why I find certain styles appealing over others. Not all "pixel art" is created equal.

 

[Michael Hirst]

Silent Hill 3, I think the graphics in the game still look top, it has some great details in it.

Legend of Zelda; Wind Waker, it looks and feels better on my 32 inch screen than Twilight princess ever will, Wind Waker is smooth in movement and very bright/vibrant with little lost despite being standard definition while Twilight Princess looks faded and washed out.

 

[Warr5718]

Okami! woot woot!