The Most Beautiful Games? (Visuals)

[gamingguy]

8-BIT
Frogger-Starpath (Atari2600)
Mayhem in Monsterland (Commodore64)
Pac-Man (arcade)

16-BIT
Final Fantasy 6/Yoshi's Island (Super Nintendo)
Dragon's Lair (Commodore Amiga)

32-BIT: Final Fantasy 9/Pac-Man World (Playstation)

64-BIT: The Legend of Zelda: Masks of Majora (N64)

128-BIT: Ico (PS2)

[Kid Ice]

Some games just look good. It doesn't matter that much what era they come from. A few games that still look good to me, and probably always will, are:

Demon Attack
Sonic the Hedgehog
Colony Wars
Castlevania SOTN
Radian Silvergun

the kid

[IGotTheDot]

Devil May Cry is pretty pretty.

DOAVB is good looking too, but in a different tingly way. :D

My2Cents

[Ascending Wordsmith]

Astal for the Saturn is the most beautiful game ever made.

http://outerspace.terra.com.br/retrospace/materias/consoles/imagens/parte33/astal.jpg

No Sega Saturn collection is complete without it. The 2D capabilities of the machine are what make Astal so gorgeous to look at.

[brandver3]

I think Mario 3 looked way good fro the NES.

My vote for best looking SNES game it Yoshi's island.

PSX.....thats tough. Guilty Gear and Castlevania always will llok good due to the marvel of sprites (which it seems everyone but the people on this forum have forgotten about).

On the DC my vote it for Virtual On, that and Project Justice, they both look fantastic.

ANIMAL CROSSING!!!!!!

Steel Battalion is by fasr the best looking suX-box game out (and incedentally the only reason I own it).

MGS2 has my vote for the PS2, next up is GItaroo Man. It's one of those games where the graphics will always look good.

[Six Switch]

Panzer Dragoon for Xbox or FFX for PS2. :o :)

[mitmoe]

Splinter Cell for XBOX

[buttasuperb]

Street Fighter 3 Third Strike
Ikaruga
Samurai Shodown series
Guilty Gear X
Super Mario 3 / World / Yoshi's Island
Metal Slug series

[Kid Fenris]

2-D: Guilty Gear XX, Princess Crown

3-D: Metroid Prime, Panzer Dragoon Orta

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Pitfall 3D (PSX). Gorgeous game.

[Captain Wrong]

In addition to Metal Slug, Ikaruga, VO:OT, and Castlevania SOTN:

Soul Calibur (DC) - still holds it's own against newer "128 bit" games
Rayman (PSX) - very pretty, one of the prettiest 2d games I've seen
Ridge Racer 64 - one of the finest on the N64
Summer/Winter/California Games (2600) - I didn't know a 2600 game could look so good
Gunstar Heros - excellence on the Genny
Guardian Heros - ditto on the Saturn
Axelay - ditto for SNES

[hydr0x]

@captain wrong

rayman is not a psx game, it's a pc game converted to psx, and it looks WAY better on pc :)

[Captain Wrong]

Yeah, I know that. I'm just talking about how good the PSX version looked on a console that was notorious for not being 2d friendly! :)

I haven't seen the PC version (or the Jag version for that matter) but what they got on the PSX was pretty impressive on it's own.

[Nature Boy]

My pick overall for most beautiful would be Ico. Might not be strictly the best graphically (I've still think Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is the best PS2 game I own graphically), but it's got beauty in spades.

[samuraiX]

hmmm... here is my list:
Tempest (arcade)
Rez
Panzer Dragoon series including Orta
Chrono Trigger
Lunar
Radiant Silvergun
Ikaruga
Michief Makers
Donkey Kong Country
Garou, Mark of the Wolves
Metal Slug series
The Last Blade series
Samurai Shodown series

....and a ton of others

[nesman85]

gcn-metroid prime.
snes-chrono trigger, super mario world.

[MarkM2112]

Skies of Arcadia...

[MankeyMan]

Luigi's Mansion is a visually stunning game. Every texture is absolutely perfect. In fact, I'm drooling just thinking about it.

[RJ]

@ capt wrong: Rayman Jag version may be the best-looking game on that system! Some others IMO:

Dragon: Bruce Lee Story
Val D'Isere Skiing/Snowboarding
Super BurnOut
Pitfall: Mayan Adventure
Dino Dudes (cool level design)
Attack/Mutant Penguins (ditto)

& the old classic Myst.

[gamingguy]

I think Mario 3 looked way good fro the NES.



Agree. I was comparing Mario 3 vs. Mario 1 this morning, and the most dramatic difference is the color. Mario 3 is vibrant, but the Mario 1 is kinda of "washed out." i.e. Mario looked like he washed his shirt too many times and now it's red-orange instead of bright red. Why would Mario 1 have a washed out appearance?

[Tetsu]

Astal for the Saturn is the most beautiful game ever made.

http://outerspace.terra.com.br/retrospace/materias/consoles/imagens/parte33/astal.jpg

No Sega Saturn collection is complete without it. The 2D capabilities of the machine are what make Astal so gorgeous to look at.

YEAH Yo son I'm glad someone said Astal yo word is bond that game is the shit, especially graphical like the Samsho-style scaling and shit. Actually, I don't think it's the best looking game on the Saturn, but I do think it's one of the best-looking, fun to play games on the Saturn. Best looking period would have to be Princess Crown. Sorry I don't have a screengrab.

[diskoboy]

Panzer Dragoon Orta. (Xbox) and Jet Set (Grind) Radio (Dreamcast)
PDO is breathtaking. JGR is a little dated, but still has some pretty damn good graphics for it's age.

[hamburgler]

Panzer dragon orta
Gran turismo 3 A-spec
Metroid prime
Resident evil zero
Jet set radio future
Jet Grind radio
Mech Assualt
Sega gt 2002
Resident evil
Metroid fusion

[Arrrhalomynn]

Mickey Mania for the Megadrive/Genesis is beautiful. There are some really great effects in that game.
Shenmue 2 is brilliant too. Life like faces and a lifelike world. Every detail can be seen.

[Funcojoe]

Just some off the top of my head in no praticular order.

DOA 3 Xbox
DOAXBVolleyball Xbox
Star Fox Adventures Cube
Splinter Cell Xbox
Star Wars Rouge Leader for Cube
Moto Gp Xbox

[tom]

Pong

[biggamer]

shenmu's 1,2 and Rygar PS2 the water effects and the cave interiors are incredible!

[Kairi]

Playstation 2- FF X
SNES - Link to the Past
Dreamcast - Dead or Alive
Game Cube - Metroid Prime
Playstation - Final Fantasy VIII

[Cafeman]

Nice to see some other Saturn mentions here!!!!!

I was going to include Saturn Astal and Rayman -- utterly gorgeous, colorful, and well-animated 2D games!! Everything on Saturn in 3D now looks rather dated, but its 2D games will still drop your jaw at times.

For GameCube, Rogue Leader and Metroid are stunning at times! That's a great screenshot of Astal above! Can you give me a link to any more that I can steal? :)

[Cafeman]

http://outerspace.terra.com.br/retrospace/materias/consoles/imagens/parte40/ecco.jpg

Ecco on Dreamcast. Gorgeous!

[EnemyZero]

I also would have to say Astal for the sega saturn was an amazing game in every aspect :) also I think FFX have some nice visuals.

[Vroomfunkel]

I had almost forgotten about Mickey Mania - that was an incredible game, graphicswise! The gameplay was ok, but the graphics were amazing. I loved the b&w phasing into colour. And the whole concept was pretty cool too.

Hmmm... looks like you have just added two titles to my Saturn "must have" list now - Astal and Princess Crown. oh well!

Vroomfunkel

[GENESISNES]

The new GC zelda is beutiful beautiful.

[Tatsu]

S-Nes: Donkey Kong Country, King Of Dragons

PS: FF IX, Castlevania SotN

PS2: FF X, Dark Cloud 2 (not the dungeons but the intro sequences and the cities)

Mega Drive: Thunderforce IV

[FantasiaWHT]

My personal favorite for 2D gaming would HAVE to be:

Valkyrie Profile (PSX) beautiful beautiful game

3D would probably be Star Wars Rogue Leader for GC.

[El CiF]

MGS3: Snake Eater
Otogi 2
gotta say it: Halo 2
for older consoles i think MGS has the best for psx.
also FF6 for snes

[NESaholic]

My nes top 3:
-Uforia
-Parodius
-Faxanadu

[le geek]

For me there is a difference between eye candy and things that are good designs or are beautiful.

So here's me list :)
2600 Pitfall!
Amiga Shadow of the Beast, Out of This World, Airball
SNES Chrono Trigger
Jaguar Tempest 2000
Neo Geo The Last Blade, Metal Slug
Dreamcast Jet Grind Radio, Rez
Gamecube LoZ: Windwaker

[studvicious]

Star Fox Adventures Cube

I agree, that game is a visual masterpiece

[jdc]

Most of the Dreamcast's original games (non portovers) are beautiful. Having gone back to it recently, I feel that it offers better graphics than most of the games for systems that have come after it.

Final Fantasy X and X2 are incredible. I'll never tire of them. Squaresoft can really whip up graphic punch....and those CGs are mindblowing. Same with Namco.

Anything Rare did on the N64 was way ahead of it's time visually. Then there's Ocarina Of Time. Magnificent.

I don't think that anyone has shown us what the XboX can TRULY do......yet. That thing's a monster with so much untapped potential.

There are too many beautifully colored retro games to mention.

[Maddrox]

legend of dragoon is good for ps1

[orangemage]

ninja gaiden and dead or alive ultimate for the xbox look great
hell most thiings team ninja do are great looking :-P

[junglehunter]

I agree with a ton of examples people here have listed. I just want to say this:

Wanda and the Giants (PS2, release in 2005?) looks simply amazing, IMO. I can't wait to play it. :(

[jerkov]

The first game that I thought of was Rygar for PS2.....I still don't think I've seen a game that matches the beauty of this. As one other person has said, the water effects are gorgeous, as are all of the various temples, open fields, etc. that you explore in this game. Still wishing for a sequel.....

Some other standouts across various systems:

Little Samson (NES)
Mega Man 6 (NES)
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GBC)
Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis)
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES)
Castlevania: SOTN (PSX & Saturn)
Pilotwings 64 (N64)
Toy Commander (DC)
Gran Turismo 3 (PS2 - I'm sure GT4 will blow it away, if it's ever released)
Resident Evil (GC)
Pirates of the Caribbean (Xbox)

[MegaDrive20XX]

Resident Evil (GC)
Silent Hill 2 (The mirror in the bathroom scene was too much eye candy in detail...James facial expressions were amazing)
Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2/Xbox)
CastleVania Symphony of the Night (PSX)
Nights: Into Dreams (Saturn)
Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis/SNES) Awesome usage of Mode 7
Viewtiful Joe (Cube/PS2)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (Prettiest game on Xbox)
Devil May Cry ( I strongly agree)
The Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time
Super Metroid (look at Samus breathing! how cool!)
CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)

and my personal favorite

SONIC CD (Sega CD) So damn pretty and smooth!

[MegaDrive20XX]

Resident Evil (GC)
Silent Hill 2 (The mirror in the bathroom scene was too much eye candy in detail...James facial expressions were amazing)
Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2/Xbox)
CastleVania Symphony of the Night (PSX)
Nights: Into Dreams (Saturn)
Rocket Knight Adventures (Genesis/SNES) Awesome usage of Mode 7
Viewtiful Joe (Cube/PS2)
Panzer Dragoon Orta (Prettiest game on Xbox)
Devil May Cry ( I strongly agree)
The Legend of Zelda: Orcarina of Time
Super Metroid (look at Samus breathing! how cool!)
CastleVania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)
Maximo Ghosts to Glory (It's like a saturday morning cartoon come to life)

and my personal favorite

SONIC CD (Sega CD) So damn pretty and smooth!

[ghostangelofcky]

Alien vs Predator (JAG)
Castlevania SOTN
Devil may cry, great BGM
Caslevania LOI, also a great BGM score
Panzer Dragoon orta
Final fantsay X and X-2

[petewhitley]

Rez has a beauty about it that won't fade as we see increases in technology. It's graphics weren't about pushing it's respective systems to the limit, but rather conveying an synergy between player control and A/V stimuli.

[Zubiac666]

Most games that are listed above are NOT beatiful......they are technical astonishing

most beautiful(in terms of graphic-art) games are "Zelda-The Wind Waker", "ICO","Doshin-The giant" and of course(without ANY doubt) "Baten Kaitos"(holy crap...) @_@

[DynastyLawyer]

Sonic the Hedgehog


Castlevania SOTN


Project Justice

You, my good sir, get a hero without equal award for bringing up Project Justice. I'd still say it's third to Soul Calibur or DOA3 in terms of graphics on the dreamcast, though.


Panzer Dragoon for Xbox or FFX for PS2.

Good choices. Now compare them, and roll on the floor laughing.


Tempest (arcade)
Rez
Panzer Dragoon series including Orta


Aren't we trendy?


Chrono Trigger

Correctamundo! That and Donkey Kong Country battle to the death for SNES supremacy! What a show!!!


YEAH Yo son I'm glad someone said Astal yo word is bond that game is the shit, especially graphical like the Samsho-style scaling and shit. Actually, I don't think it's the best looking game on the Saturn, but I do think it's one of the best-looking, fun to play games on the Saturn. Best looking period would have to be Princess Crown. Sorry I don't have a screengrab.

Word. Never heard of the game though.


Gran turismo 3 A-spec

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


Playstation - Final Fantasy VIII

The hell are you talking about? Triangle Arms? Damn! You said 8? You're right, dude.

[kirin jensen]

of course. 8-)

[sabre2922]

a few of my faves graphically:
Castlevania:bloodlines -GENESIS
axelay -SuperNES
Metal Gear Solid -PSone
Streetfighter3:third strike - DC and PS2 is it just me or is the PS2 ver slightly more detailed? @_@ I couldnt believe it runs as smooth as it does on the PS hardware
and....
METAL GEAR SOLID 3:snake eater -PS2 absolutely beautiful game easily matches anything on Xbox or cube

[SMB]

Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time was just a plain put beautiful game.

Metal Gear Solid 2 had some pretty amazing visuals, also Twin Snakes..they pretty much look the same.

I would pick Shenmue for Dreamcast, although the graphics had some bad sides they still looked really nice.

[Tatsu]

I have to ad Mr. Nutz from the S-Nes, I totally adore the graphics of this game. Very sweet and beautiful.

[Psyleid]

Riven for Ps1 was perrty.
Didn't really like the game though...

[sisko]

Bujingai for PS2. By FAR.

Fluid, crisp, intricate graphics that are jaw droppingly gorgeous.

It was the first and only game that has graphics that I have actually termed "beautiful" to fellow gamers.

[crazyjackcsa]

Beauty being a subjective thing of course I'll list games I've played that made me sit back and just really take notice.

Panzer Dragoon 2. I thought they were more interesting and of a higher quality than 1 and by Saga I knew what to expect.
Earthworm Jim. I thought wow, now here are a group of guys that can animate.
On DC it was Ecco. The framerate sucked in places, but a good screen grab is a work of art.
On the Cube it was Metroid 2. I loved one, but 2 seems to have a certain something I like that much more.

[imanerd0011]

NES= Super Mario Bros. 3/Crystalis/Little Samson
Genesis= Ecco the Dolphin
SNES= Donkey Kong Country
N64= LOZ:OOT
Dreamcast= Soul Calibur
PS2= Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

[Iron Draggon]

I can't believe that nobody else has mentioned these yet!

Kolibri - 32X
Bahamut Lagoon - SNES

Two of the most beautiful examples of 2D art ever released!

BTW, I have to agree on Astal and Rayman too! I don't have Rayman on the Saturn, but I do have it on the Jaguar, and it's definitely beautiful on the Jag!

[Aussie2B]

Hmmm, I'd say:

NES - Castlevania 3
SNES - Star Ocean, Chrono Trigger, Tales of Phantasia, Seiken Densetsu 3
N64 - Wonder Project J2, Sin & Punishment
GameCube - Baten Kaitos
Game Boy - Link's Awakening
Game Boy Color - Star Ocean: Blue Sphere
PlayStation - Valkyrie Profile, Castlevania: SotN
PS2 - Radiata Stories (not out yet, but the storybook style is stunning)
Genesis - Rocket Knight Adventures, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Gunstar Heroes
PC Engine - Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Neo Geo - Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Blazing Star

I think a lot of the best looking older games are ones that never got US releases due to the fact that the best looking games often were on the largest carts, and after you translate those games to English, the size gets even larger resulting in a prohibitive price.

Also, I think you can rely on the same companies and series to contain the best looking graphics quite often. When a team has talent, it shows, and all their future games are equally as beautiful. The Castlevania series has always had great graphics, and tri-Ace has always been ambitious with graphics.

[Dr. Morbis]

NES- Batman Return of the Joker

SNES- DKC. I was blown away when I got this game as a Christmas present in '94.

[Dimitri]

My "recent" faves have to be Metroid Prime 2, Gradius V, and Katamari Damacy.

For the "older" stuff...Rocket Knight Adventures, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (seriously), Sonic CD, and Super Metroid.

...as an aside, am I the only person on the planet who thinks Donkey Kong Country is ugly as freaking sin? To me that game is a collection of slapdash animation, cheap renders, and poor collision detection...I'm not kidding when I say that ToeJam & Earl II looks better than DKC. :P Not to mention that it kicked off the whole "3D renders to increase animation creation efficiency!" trend...

[Aussie2B]

...as an aside, am I the only person on the planet who thinks Donkey Kong Country is ugly as freaking sin? To me that game is a collection of slapdash animation, cheap renders, and poor collision detection...I'm not kidding when I say that ToeJam & Earl II looks better than DKC. :P Not to mention that it kicked off the whole "3D renders to increase animation creation efficiency!" trend...

Well, I like how DKC looks, but it definitely looks inferior to the later DKC games. However, if you're saying DKC2 and 3 look ugly, I'd have to totally disagree with you on that one. o_O

[Wavelflack]

No mentions for NiGHTS? I don't understand.

Games that may or may not be technically amazing, but are indeed beautiful:

NiGHTS
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Knuckles Chaotix
Sonic Adventure (1)

Yes, I'm a sucker for saturated colors.
Oh, and the ending to Lightening Force. It's a small thing, but so artistic.

[Wavelflack]

Oops. Forgot about Sonic CD. I'd put it damned near the top, especially the "good future" levels.
In fact, I'd say that all major Sonic games, with the exception of 3 and S&K, are beautiful. Really beautiful.

[FurinkanianFrood]

Some of the better looking games IMO...

Saturn - Princess Crown, Nights
NeoGeo - Metal Slug 3, Real Bout Special
Megadrive - Alien Soldier, Contra: HC
SNES/SFC - Terranigma, Castlevania 4
NES/FC - Crisis Force, Castlevania 3
PCE - Winds/Gate of Thunder, Rondo of Blood
Jag - Tempest 2000, Rayman
DC - Guilty Gear X, Street Fighter 3 (not sure which SF3 I like better...)
GBA - Gradius Galaxies, Castlevania:HoD, AoS
XBOX - DOA 2 Remake, Ninja Gaiden
PC-FX - Zenki FX, along with the FMV in most of the better games

[Tatsu]

I have to add the Castlevania game on the PS2 to my list. I adore the graphics of this game, it's full of little details that show (at least for me) that konami really put an effort in this game.

[NintendoMan]

Really to this day, Ocarina of Time is beautiful to me!

[tony_good]

The most beautiful game of all-time is and always will be...

Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp

Forget sprites, forget polygons, this is a visual masterpiece.

[gruzniak]

guys, guys, guys, the best looking game of the 16 bit era, was obviously the DKC games for the SNES!

[sabre2922]

RESIDENT EVIL 4-GC absolutely one of the best looking games on any of the current gen systems @_@
Baten Kaitos-GC very nice smoooth graphics incredibly detailed also

[Emily]

Intellivision- Thunder Castle
Vectrex-Gravitrex
NES-Kirbys Adventure/the Ultimate Stuntman
SNES-Chrono Trigger
Gameboy-Altered Space/Legend of Zelda Links Awakening
N64-Super Smash Brothers
Gamecube-Metroid Prime 2/Baiten katos
GBA-Final Fantasy Tactics

[Nescollector]

Blaster Master
Magician Lord

[GobopopRevisited]

The legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Most Beautiful 3D game ever created... seamless! Best art direction in any modern videogame... everything looks like it belongs, every frame looks like your staring at an animation Cell!

[GobopopRevisited]

More!

Sa•Ga Frontier 2
Shining Tears

I love that style of visuals. Everything Hand Drawn in a Pseudo 3D world...