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strifehart

strifehart

Blue Mage
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I'd like to share a story.

I got my first system about 7 or 8 years ago, and it was a PS1. I remember getting some terrible games to go with it, including a second rate racing game and a horrible star wars incarnation. The summer after getting the system, I remember getting a gift from my aunt. Keep in mind that this wasn't the hip, computer savvy aunt, more like the old, doesn't really know what she's doing at best buy, can I make you something to eat type aunt. She gave me a copy of Final Fantasy VII. And ever since, I've been a huge fan.

After playing FFVII, I bought and played VIII, tactics, chrono cross, IX, X, X-2 and XII. Somewhere down the line, i bought an old, used copy of anthology. After I had played all of these games, going back and playing anthology was sort of....disappointing. I remember having a tough time with the high encounter rate and above all else, the poor graphics. So I gave up. Stopped playing and didn't pick it up again for a couple years.

But last summer, I picked up Anthology again and I was incredibly happy that i did. I played and beat both FFV and FFVI (FFVI is now probably one of my top three favorite FFs).

Here comes the point of the story. My brother is 5 yrs younger than me, and when i used to play FFs he would watch me play. He never played files of his own because he thought he was too young. Anyways, I was encouraging him to start an FFVII file. So he did, and he played for a while (i think through midgar) but he ended up quitting. When i asked him why he said that it was too hard for him to get past the graphics! And i knew this was the truth because he loves the KH series.

My question is, have you ever found it difficult to play old games? Have you let the poor graphics keep you from continuing them?

Are there any games that you shared a similar experience? did you judge a game by it's cover only to find out that beneath the bad graphics was a superb storyline coupled with excellent gameplay?

On a deeper level, do you think every gamer has a subconscious standard for what graphics should look like based on the first few games he or she ever played?
 
I just got done watching Underworld ROTL yippie oh yeah about the final fantasy games

I've never been shy on graphics. I grew up with a NES though, and remember when I thought SNES had good graphics. I remember my first FF was VII also and I loved it. From there I went to VIII and to this day I still think it has the best graphics imo. So When I decided to play all the other FF games I was open minded cause I loved VII & VIII. Also I'm more of a big fan of battles rather then story or graphics.
 
I could care less about graphics. Though I am a big fan of NES and SNES graphics. I personaly love sprites. I prefer a good story to graphics. Now adays it seems companies are more interested in graphics then a lasting story. I will say there are still some jewls like the KH series. But games like that are few and far between. FFVII had an amazing story. One I can play over and over and I have. I've played through that game too many times to count. On the other hand my brothers have admited that graphics do matter to them. Yet we grew up playing the same games for the most part. We all started on the atari 2600 and have gone different games. They prefer games like Halo while I prefer RPGs like the FF series. So to answer your last question I don't belive it has to do with the first few games you play. I think it has to do with personality.
 
I STILL think FFVII has good graphics, but then the first game I ever played was pacman >_> I don't think graphics are a problem at all, although I had my moments of snobbery with FFI and co.....but that was like, I didnt really like te game either, I played BoF3 and thought nothing of the graphics, I liked them -still do

My idiot bf on the other hand, ughhh, I was playing FFVII not long ago and he was like those graphics are shiiiiiiiiiiiit. And I was like shu'up[ foo' it's all about the game play go watch a film if that's all you care about (de-ja-vu) Im never more entertained when I bash out Sonic or Mario or some old game, that I can just sit back and thoughroly enjoy

I honestly think some people can't see past 'shitty' graphics, and it's a shame, becuase they are missing out on some really good games

I admit I did find it difficult to play FFI & V, but I soldiered on. I also balme the horrible game themselves for that though, I and V were just annoying, hard and annoying and the job system in V Stunk. I DO like pretty graphics, Id more like play the IV DS remake than the original, but I view those graphics as a bonus to an already excellent game. They wouldnt put me off playing.
 
Old NES and SNES graphics have a certain charm to them, and it's never really bothered me to play them. Really, the only game I've ever had a hard time with because of the graphics is FFVII. Shit's ugly. The blocky characters combined with the prerendered backgrounds just looks too weird.

The first games I ever played were on the Commodore 64, but I was wee. I had brief encounters with my sister's NES before it melted, and then played a lot of kiddie games on the Sega Genesis, but the first systems I ever really intensely played were the N64 followed by the Dreamcast. I don't really think these have given me any particular standard for graphics. I enjoy good graphics, but bad ones don't really bother me much.

For younger kids, I think it might have sort of an impact. It's sort of like watching old sci-fi films. Regardless of how good the story line might be, it's still hilarious at how bad everything is.
 
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With VII you have to realize it's one of the first games to be in 3D. Not just in the FF series but in general. Atleast the blocky graphics where a bit more cleared then say the models in FFVIII which looked horribly fuzzy and pixilated.

@Mish: Yes, FFI was difficult but that's one of the nice things about it. Most games today are WAY too easy. That includes basicaly the PS era and up gameing wise. NES and SNES had some challenging yet rewarding games. Course then there where some damn near impossible games like The Adventures of Byou Billy. Plus FFI brought about the era of RPGs and parties, random encounters, ect.
 
The only time I couldn't get past the graphics was when I tried to play the original versions of I and II. It was the bad graphics coupled with the frustration of continuously dying which made me put both games down, but I eventually bought the PSP versions and beat them.

I really enjoyed the graphics of IV to VI, I liked the clean colourful charm they had. VII's graphics were manageable for me, I think the characters looked pretty shit but they didn't bother me while I was playing.
 
Young Teens/ kids these days are more harsher and more shallow on older games, and graphics.

They won't playthrough FFVII, but Advent Children is okay :/

It just the way people have poisoned them to think, problery the Gaming Media.

But have to admit, put and disliked Final Fantasy VI for a long time, because of the ' bad graphics', but then picked it up again a few years later, and realised what a gem it was.
 
I have no issue with graphics. I love playing the old sprite based games of the past, it's kinda like...you're playing a game with some awesome history behind it. You find out what graphics/effects could be achieved at a time when the game was made, what the story could be like, how gameplay was back then.
 
One of the first systems I ever used was the SEGA. I remember playing Sonic and a few other miscellaneous games that I really enjoyed no matter what the graphics looked like. Then again I was a child and didn't really have high expectations of anything.

I stopped gaming throughout all of highschool until my friend introduced me to Final Fantasy X in year 11. I remember the main reason I wanted to play it was because of the awesome graphics. From then on I've found that I only really go for games that have awesome graphics plus a great storyline. I suppose this is also due to the fact that I rarely have the time to play games and want an enjoyable experience on all levels.
 
I cant say the graphics bother me at all, however growing up i had a sega mega drive and when the ps came along to me the graphics looked amazing. I think all these kids nowadays who cant play a game due to the bad graphics i can relate with, they grew up playing the ps2 and now are on to the next gen consoles its no surprise they look at FFVII and judge it by its graphics.
Its a shame because they were and still are truly some of the best games ever made, and i would urge these people to look past the graphics and get playing...we all know they wont regret it.
 
Graphics dont bother me. I love perfect 16/32bit 2d graphics, they are so beautiful. And then playing the ps1 final fantasies I was still pretty impressed with the cut scenes, its still hard to believe square was able to do what they did with the ps1
 
let me start by saying this isnt aimed at you guys, but...


it really INFURIATES ME when people say games like FFVII and the ones before it have bad graphics because at the time, they were the best of its kind.

Take Call of Duty 4 now, it looks AMAZING but in 10 years people will say; ewww its got COD4 graphics!

Graphics are pretty much always good, but some better than others. I think it's so rude and IGNORANT to say something has bad graphics.

HOWEVER, i don't like most of the games before FFVII because they are pretty much 2D and the storylines weren't up to much (and Square Enix admitted that because games were gameplay focused before FFVII) but i'd NEVER say FF1-6 had bad graphics.

hope this makes sense and doesnt sound like a rant !
 
Shyne said:
let me start by saying this isnt aimed at you guys, but...


it really INFURIATES ME when people say games like FFVII and the ones before it have bad graphics because at the time, they were the best of its kind.

Take Call of Duty 4 now, it looks AMAZING but in 10 years people will say; ewww its got COD4 graphics!

Graphics are pretty much always good, but some better than others. I think it's so rude and IGNORANT to say something has bad graphics.

HOWEVER, i don't like most of the games before FFVII because they are pretty much 2D and the storylines weren't up to much (and Square Enix admitted that because games were gameplay focused before FFVII) but i'd NEVER say FF1-6 had bad graphics.

hope this makes sense and doesnt sound like a rant !
Click to expand...

As far as this thread goes, it's universally understood that the phrase "bad graphics" means graphics that are poor in comparison to the current standard. The CURRENT state of graphics technology. NOT 10 years ago.
 
I play games without ANY graphics at all. Things like D&D and MUD type roleplay games. So the whole graphic comparison thing is really laughable to me.
 
I've never really been bothered by graphics at all really. I've quit games because I find controls to be shoddy to handle or it just doest feel right, but never because of graphics.
 
I'm older than "most" people on this forum, but I thought I would still give you my opinion anyways. I haven't read to much of anyone's posts, because I don't wanna cloud my judgment or response.

Kid's will always want the shinier toys at first, but when they mature they tend to see the value of the older games. When you said ff7 was a quitter for him, it sort of surprised me, since that seemed to have gorgeous graphics at most points in the game.

Here's how I can relate it to you. Most people these days are visual oriented/sound oriented, they would rather watch a movie and get everything out of it than read a book and enjoy the imagination that your brain assimilates. So as for the older rpgs, you have to read more, but these old rpgs give amazing stories. Rpgs were founded on the story lines, and without them it makes for a very hard play through.

So people are definitely missing out on the better story lines due to the fact that they are craving the "newer" and "shinier" platform (xbox360, PC, and PS3) games. The older rpgs definitely brought to us "final fantasy" fanatics the basis in which we judge our newer rpgs by. Also I might add that the difficulty of the newer rpgs have decreased drastically, pretty soon they will make it so you can't die in rpgs. I hope I never see that day.

I know I'm a terrible cynic when it comes to the newer rpgs, because most are lacking in the story lines these days, but give you the graphics and/or gameplay you need in order to satuate your sick appetites. If the spiral continues down much longer for the RPG generation, I might give up on the Japanese Rpg generation. Creativity.. is lacking unlike the old days of rpgs.
 
I would rather have an amazing story, hell even a decent one, than great graphics. FFV and FFVI are some of my favorite games of all-time and it's because of the plot and characters. I don't care if they look like mushrooms on the TV screen.

My little bro started up FF3 and he's 10 years old. He stopped because it was getting a bit hard for him, but he caught on quick and enjoyed it. It was cool to go through the same game with him at the same time. I can't wait to finish FFI-FFIV, the only ones I have yet to beat, and graphics are def not an issue to me.
 
Graphics can be a hurdle -- I remember feeling the way that you did when I first picked up Anthologies about 6 years ago. I guess I have matured a bit, but it also helps that, when I decided to go through the whole series, I stopped playing games for a while and then started with the NES incarnations: That way the culture shock was minimalized. And I still think that, when push comes to shove, the SNES incarnations are among the best, and possibly even more graphically advanced than VII.

D4D
 
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