[General Discussion] Graphics Whores Unite!

Admit it. Everyone takes graphics into at least some consideration when they're playing RPG's. Has there ever been a time where you just couldn't bring yourself to play through a game's story, just because you couldn't get yourself past the once-cutting-edge polygons and sprites? Similarly, have there ever been times where you've freaked out at how awesome a scene was, only to realize that nothing actually substantial happened and it was all just one big laser light show of a FMV?

I think the Final Fantasy's are some of the worst offenders on both ends of that spectrum. The Popeye-arm polygons are admittedly a reason why I hesitate to replay FFVII, and I probably hold FFX in much higher regard than it should because I still go fanboy over people sliding down giant metal cables with just their shoes.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Final Fantasy XII was both a huge hype machine, but also delivered in some respects to its graphics. Most of the graphics were up to snuff and really pushed the PS2 to its max, and it really did show the mighty Sony console had some good juice still left in it. What happened though in terms of graphics, was not so much the game itself, but seeing what was next -, well XIII comes after XII, ever since I started counting in Kindergarten. Yes, XIII looks eye popping, but at the same time when they showed it during E3 3006, it just somewhat killed the mood for FFXII, however the hype did build up ever stronger as Halloween 2006 drew closer. Before I remember seeing an early trailer of FFXII in the Eastersand fighting a few baddies, and that looked AWESOME, however once seeing XIII, I hated to admit it, but I was growing more and more meh towards FFXII.

Don't get me started about White Knight for the PS3.

I'll also post a confession to not liking massive polygon bicep Cloud. You're not the only one, Neo.

EDIT:

Also, playing one of the most beautiful RPGS to grace PS2 - Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria before Final Fantasy XII had something to do with it. Yeah that really showed some contrast to FFXII. In VP2, I really did pay attention to the backgrounds and the like. Valhalla was just <3. Not that many dungeons in FFXII had that same captivating experience, maybe besides the Leviathan airship and the Barenheim Mines.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I am probably more of a graphics whore when it comes to RPG's than other games, in fact, mainly because RPG's are not "action" games so you actually have time to take it all in. However, I am not a traditional "graphics whore" in that I usually value artistry over realism. (This is one reason I'm not a fan of WWII shooters - been there, seen that...)

For example, I enjoy the graphical style of RPG's like Saga Frontier II, Dragon Quarter (best FMV intro ever, btw), Dragon Quest VIII, etc. I did really enjoy the graphics of Shadow Hearts because of the setting however, and look forward to playing the sequels. I would even think of trying Unlimited Saga because of the graphics, but supposedly it is a horror too horrific to even speak of...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'm quite the opposite with RPGS actually. I can easily still play sprite games (FFV comes to mind) paying no heed to the graphics of that time, simply because there's more to focus on than the scenery. Where I really am anal about graphics now is games that focus on making games look realistic (racing sims are a big one), as well as many shooter /FPS type games, simply because its the surroundings that entice you into the world, as you're directly involved with it - see Ghost Recond Advance Warfighter for example, hding behind a concrete house and poking your head out taking pot shots, or even the more recent Gears of War. So in short, graphics do play a part in my RPG experience, but they aren't really the absolute number one factor, especially in this type of genre.

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for the good I'll go with a lot of cut-scene from metal gear solid: twin snake, just because I just love "matrix style" action scene, ad god I was serve with this game, just the scene after the fight with Ocelot, where snake fight with the cyborg or when the cyborg fight the metal gear, I just can't stand still when I see those scene, I'm so amaze with them, much like I love to death DMC3 for this.

talk about DMC3, how much time I watched the intro of the mission 6 with Lady killing all those demon, just fucking amazing!

I'm pretty amaze by the FFXIII trailer just again for the style and action and the graphic too!

on another note I'll go with silent 3 and 4 for the amazing job on the character 3D model. I never seen so much detail and realism in a character in a game before (talking about real-time 3D graphic no CG) and sometime Is till can believe that it's on the ps2. Just can't wait to see SH5!

I have to say ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, thy are amazing graphically, but there more to it, it's in the "feeling" you get when you look at the game, something I can't really understand...

oh and I remember the first time I was amaze about a cut-scene for a ps2 game and it was in the game The bouncer when (sorry spoiler)

Spoiler:

we found out that Dominic is a robot and she activate herself and beat the crap of all those PD-4

god I remember hitting reset and reloading my save just before that moment and re-watching it. I still have the save just before that scene in case I want to watch it again XD

the first 1 or 2 hour of Xenosaga is pretty exciting too, when KOS-MOS activate herself and go to Sion rescue and kill all the gnosis, just awesome ^^

and I could go on and on ^^ as you see it's more an action scene that really amaze me, so a really good animation or something is important, but there must be at least a little goof graphic to go with it :P

as for game with bad graphic, I don't know because I tend to forget them easily, mainly because I probably don't play them... yeah or if I do, there must be really something good with the gameplay, story, character or something...

oh yeah one game with crappy graphic but I like was Legend of Legaia, mainly for the gameplay that is really action and love those special move, the graphic in battle was ok though.

I don't remember any games that i stop because they were too ugly, because yeah if they are too ugly most of the time I stop pretty early so i forget them...

Word of Warcraft at first I didn't wanted to play mainly because of thew cartoon style, but I tested it and even if I hate almost all races look, I kind of enjoy the environments, even in the cartoon style some are really beautiful. Still the only race I'm able to play is night elf (or blood elf) and I have to play a female, there's maybe a female human too. They are the only race and genre that I like the look, so yeah it kind of stop me a little because I don't want to play those ugly races XD

Additional Spam:
whoops I forgot that we were in the RPG forum :\ sorry but maybe we should move the topic to general game?

but to answer the real question: yes I like pretty graphic, but in rpg I can pass them if the story, characters or gameplay is good enough (which mean most rpg in general will have a good enough gameplay or story to make up for a lack in graphic)

but like I said, I'm more into really good action scene or a beautiful cut-scene, then the graphic you see when you play.

I was speaking idiomatically.

There's a certain kind of graphics that turn me away instantly however good the game's story and gameplay might be. Perhaps it was a case of playing these games way too late, but instantly, Xenogears and Wild Arms 2 became my most vivid memories regarding this. I heard how legendary a game Xenogears apparently is and all the hype surrounding. Given it was made in 1998, even the neato anime-style cutscenes did not even redeem the pugly early gen pixel pseudo 3D graphics. Similarly, being a Wild Arms junkie, I was ecstatic to finally get a chance to play Wild Arms 2, but when I started Lilka's story, I was shocked to notice that I thought that even Wild Arms 1's graphics were smoother, less rough, jagged and pixelly, and even just plain better than Wild Arms 2's were for some reason.

So I'm a graphics whore when it comes to the earliest generation PS1 rpgs most notably. I'm even starting to find that I can't stand much in the way of PS1 graphics in general now It's mostly that they give me a "failed attempt at 3D" vibe nowadays, which is most glaringly evident in early-gen games.

Ironically, I can play NES and SNES games no problem and am far from a graphics whore about them. I can even stomach the 8 bit pixels, limited colour palettes and sprite action, not even out of mere nostalgia. It's like these games did what they did well for 2D graphics (which sounds like quite the sweeping generalization, but that's honestly what I think).

Certainly, while cutting edge graphics help, I am no spoiled brat, as contradictorily as it sounds, when it comes to playing a game without cutting edge graphics. I can stand almost any kinds of visuals, except for, as I stated above, early gen PS1. I'm pretty flexible in the graphics department and won't object to playing just about any game without jarringly rough visuals really.

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I've been stunned plenty of times by the pretty graphics, either in cutscenes or ingame (Oblivion comes to mind). I do enjoy good graphics, definetely.

But no, I never hestitate to play through older games because of their graphics. I'm currently playing through a series of games called Geneforge, and it has really ugly graphics. But the text descriptions are wonderful.
No, I wish game developers would focus less on making shiny games, and more on writing an interesting plot, having good quests etc. That is where Oblivion completely falls flat.

I've liked the FF series for the longest time, but that FFXIII trailer did absolutely nothing for me. It just reminded me of Advent Children, except in game form.

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Well, RPGs in general, I can't say for sure, but Final Fantasy has not presented any barriers in terms of graphics. I'm playing Final Fantasy II right now. It's a little weird, but because of the graphics. Graphics don't bother me all that much as long as the gameplay/story are good.

As for FMVs, I think their purpose was to be a big light show. They usually don't have much substance that couldn't be done without an FMV. Of course, there are some good ones, but most of the time, you could have done without it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Certain games require a higher amount of focus on the graphical side of the game. For instance, in an RPG like Disgaea (or any 2d RPG for that matter) the 'graphics' part isn't the focus, while playing FFXII without sophisticated 3 dimensional art would be a completely different experience.

Another import instance of graphics, I think, is Environment. In FFXII, popular example, walking around in those environments with jagged edges and less detail would be a huge disappointment.

The only time Graphics becomes a bad thing, is when it is focused on (and doesn't need to be), while the rest of the production is forgotten, or loses priority. Some games need a high amount of work put into graphics, while plenty of others don't.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I admit that I felt that way about Chrono Trigger. I played a lot of other RPGs that came much later so Chrono Trigger's graphics didn't appeal to me when I considered playing it. But I was surprised that I ended up liking the game a lot.

Some FMVs from Final Fantasy IX felt like they didn't belong at times. I think I still remember one that just featured a shot of an important location for a few seconds as opposed to the more elaborate FMVs that the game also had.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

FFVII was the first RPG I played ever, so I suppose that set the bar for me in terms of graphics. And I played a bunch of 3D RPGs before taking a step back a generation, but once I did, I loved those ones more (CT, FFIV/V/VI, etc). Graphics don't really factor in so much for me as long as it's not absurdly awful, but I can't think of any case of that. If anything, it's a game's pace. If the story/plot doesn't get anywhere for a while, I can get bored and disinterested quickly. =/

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Shoddy graphics is why I hate WoW. I have never played it and don't intend to because every screen shot is hideous.

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Originally Posted by Ulysses

Shoddy graphics is why I hate WoW. I have never played it and don't intend to because every screen shot is hideous.

I have no love for WoW; it's another soul-sucking mmorpg that I can't recommend in general. However, the graphics are much more impressive in-game than they are in screenshots. When you get into raids against bosses, some areas/dungeons, etc. they are truly impressive. Of course, if you don't like the general "style" of the graphics, then that will make no difference to you. Because I love graphics like those of BoF5, Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy, Wild Arms 3, etc., I loved WoW's graphics. You could always download the free trial and see for yourself, if the general style of the graphics doesn't completely turn you off that is...

I was speaking idiomatically.

I know it sounds superficial but it's really not. Graphics can make or break a game. Half the people who talk about gameplay don't even know what the hell it is or how to describe it. The images you see can make you more involved in a game. With WoW the textures look (poorly) hand-painted and the models clumsy. I say this as a person quite proficient in both tasks. It's ugly and looks like last-generation content. Still, any video game company wanting to make a profit will only put in as much effort as required to meet the desires of the customers, and since they're so happy I guess it doesn't matter that their artwork looks inferior.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?