Is anyone else ever nostalgic for bad graphics?

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

Sure, they still exist, but now they're usually in the form of 24-30fps, which doesn't really count. Or you're only forced to wait for an optimization patch.

Other than the Switch, it doesn't feel like any gaming system has a unique identity anymore.

Am I the only one who misses garish punk color clash, drunken warped textures, and the mysterious mists of low polygon count worlds? Or the creativity these harsh limits inspired? Well, probably...

But just in case anyone else is as crazy as me, I'd like to hear about your favorite bad graphics. The things you might have even hated back in the day, but after years of Stockholmes, you can't help but have a soft spot for.

[CharlieR]

I'd say yea. I've even seen people here say there is a certain charm to the early 3d graphics on the ps1 and n64, even though they haven't aged well.

To me, there are two games that come to mind. The graphics in these games aren't necessarily bad, just not really define. The games are Dirt Trax FX for the SNES and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam for the GBA. Both games kind of have a pastel look to them, where the textures look kind of chilsed and undefined, but that adds to the charm, and make it part of the reason I like playing them.

[Stalvern]

Although I grew up with one, I have no nostalgia for the N64's choppy, smeary murk. But I do have a soft spot for the 3D graphics in early-'90s PC games, so far ahead of the fourth-generation consoles and so quickly overtaken by the fifth generation. They may be rudimentary by today's standards, but they're clean as a whistle; there's an elegance to them that's somehow timeless, despite how obviously dated they are overall.













Of course, I also have to include the arcade king of untextured polygons:



And the originator, downright miraculous in 1983:

[Voor]

Heck yeah. I know what real life looks like...I live it. Lol.

I’ll take hand drawn sprites over modeling anyday.

[DrLitch]

Yup. Early-mid 90's DOS games had a clean look. Played many a PC title growing up. Even Tomb Raider looked clean on the PC.

[noah98]

I miss the look of the first two Wing Commander games on PC, even though the graphics are considered bad by today's standards.

[VideoGameCritic]

It's not really "bad" graphics. It's the bright, vibrant "arcade" graphics I miss. Think Hydro Thunder or even Sonic Adventure.

Today's realistic games seem so dull and boring.

[ActRaiser]

And the originator, downright miraculous in 1983:

Which game is that? It's not Zaxxon is it?

[Gleebergloben123]

And the originator, downright miraculous in 1983:

Which game is that? It's not Zaxxon is it?

I Robot. A game that was truly ahead of its time as it came out in 1983(!)

https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_deta ... me_id=8172

[ActRaiser]

That's one swell looking game. Frankly, it could pass for an early Jaguar or 3DO game.