MrCunningham
Member
I always loved the lone scrolling effects and pseudo 3D floorboards in Donkey Kong Country 2:
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Cool visual effects in 16bit console games.
- Thread starter nkarafo
- Start date
Had to make a gif from Red Zone:
Red Zone looked incredible. Cool game, too. I picked it up for cheap in the waning Genesis days from Kay-Bee Toys.
All the cool effects have already been mentioned.
I always liked the effect games where the boss is about to die and starts rapidly flashing red etc. Happens loads in shooters. And secret of mana had something similar when the boss dies.
Theres one similar in Gunstar Heroes near the end. takes various forms made of spheres and turns into a massive figure running around.
I always liked the effect games where the boss is about to die and starts rapidly flashing red etc. Happens loads in shooters. And secret of mana had something similar when the boss dies.
I can stare at some of those GIFs all day.
Here's one from Probotector (aka Contra: Hard Corps) that simultaneously looks awesome and hilarious:
Theres one similar in Gunstar Heroes near the end. takes various forms made of spheres and turns into a massive figure running around.
MrCunningham
Member
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse for the Genesis/ Mega Drive:
nkarafo
Member
Thanks for posting this.
There were quite a few games using this "cylinder tower effect", Dynamite Headdy also had one stage like that. However, the effect is pretty old as it goes back to 8bit generation, there was a popular C64 game had this effect as it's main theme, i don't remember it's name though.
Edit: It was Nebulus
And that's the level i was talking about in Dynamite Headdy
I think the Mickey Mouse one is the best looking though.
blu
Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
The heck is a 'medium endian' cpu?
68000 is a 32-bit big-endian CPU with a 16-bit external data bus (8-bit in the 68EC000), just like 8088 is a 16-bit CPU with a external 8-bit bus. The 68000 was so ahead of its time (or 8086 was so mediocre for its time, depending on viewpoint) that it is used to this day for microcontroller purposes (Freescale/NXP ColdFire).
TheRedSnifit
Member
My favorite is the Rootmars energy ball from Metal Slug 3.
ss_lemonade
Member
What vertical parallax trick? The water? I remember sonic having similar water (and being impressed with it too). Not sure if it was Sonic 3 or Sonic and Knuckles
MrCunningham
Member
Thanks for posting this.
There were quite a few games using this "cylinder tower effect", Dynamite Headdy also had one stage like that. However, the effect is pretty old as it goes back to 8bit generation, there was a popular C64 game had this effect as it's main theme, i don't remember it's name though.
Edit: It was Nebulus
And that's the level i was talking about in Dynamite Headdy
I think the Mickey Mouse one is the best looking though.
Yeah this isn't exactly an original trick, a lot of games used it in the past from the 8-16bit era and arcade. Battletoads even had something like it. But Timeless Adventures of Mikey Mouse has one of the smoothest implementations I've seen of it.
I replayed this recently on my n3DS and having the screen close to me I noticed this for the first time and it has to be the most convincing pseudu 3D effect I've ever seen in a game from that era. Like I even googled it but didn't find anything mentioning it and it was bugging me until now.I always loved the lone scrolling effects and pseudo 3D floorboards in Donkey Kong Country 2:
That and the water. So good.
Holyshit, fist time I see this.
Mighty impressive.
100% true.
I disagree that's the best looking (something like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG are superior IMO) but the shadows in ToP were indeed impressive.Tales of Phantasia is probably the best looking RPG in the 16 bit era. Shadows cast over the environment as well as light sources creating shadows on characters with water having reflections and effects.
Back in the day to do a shadow trick you usually darken the palette of the sprites however in this case the darkening are in real time that is only half the sprite might be darkened.
It's in Launch Base Zone.
I know its a demoscene demo. But there are a load of cool effects in this thing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGDtViPngi8
Thank u, i was the pixeler on that one , and now working on a sequel.. =)
fabricated backlash
Member
Ah, i remember loving this particular effect.
Everytime the parrot changed direction the screen would flash as the flashlight was momentarily in your face.
I remember hearing that they removed this flash effect in the VC version or something?
Thank god for that too, my friend got a crippling migraine from that shit as a kid too. What the fuck where they thinking?
PdotMichael
Banned
Here's another one that i loved, in Yoshi's Island (SNES)
If only the Super FX chips would have been used more for 2D games.
I swear ActRaiser 2 is one of the better looking 16 bit game ever.
The art is downright beautiful:
http://i.imgur.com/MzLWAwg.gif
Terranigma underworld map:
Rendering Ranger R2:
http://i.imgur.com/ur8CJGR.gif
Super Turrican 2:
http://i.imgur.com/At0qalQ.gif
Warp sequences in Super Dropzone were cool looking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBhVJ6iAik
Adventure of Batman and Robin was amazing looking on Mega Drive but the SNES version by Konami also had cool tricks:
Kirby's Dreamland 3 employs Hi res mode to double the horizontal pixels so to use dithering and give the game a translucent look and transparencies in the foreground:
Metamor Jupiter (PC Engine) has some cool tunnel sequence:
http://i.imgur.com/ZiaFGos.gif
EDIT:
I've just put the link of the IMGUR gifs because they were too big (> 10MB).
The art is downright beautiful:
http://i.imgur.com/MzLWAwg.gif
Terranigma underworld map:
Rendering Ranger R2:
http://i.imgur.com/ur8CJGR.gif
Super Turrican 2:
http://i.imgur.com/At0qalQ.gif
Warp sequences in Super Dropzone were cool looking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBhVJ6iAik
Adventure of Batman and Robin was amazing looking on Mega Drive but the SNES version by Konami also had cool tricks:
Kirby's Dreamland 3 employs Hi res mode to double the horizontal pixels so to use dithering and give the game a translucent look and transparencies in the foreground:
Metamor Jupiter (PC Engine) has some cool tunnel sequence:
http://i.imgur.com/ZiaFGos.gif
EDIT:
I've just put the link of the IMGUR gifs because they were too big (> 10MB).
KojiKnight
Member
Too bad it came at the cost of all the fun.
I don't think the graphics influenced the level design.
The problem with ActRaiser 2 is that in many spots (even in the first stage) it's clear the designers wanted to fuck over the player by putting obstacles/enemies to annoy the experience (make it tougher that it should be by employing "cheap" level design).
The protagonist moveset is pretty good and if can coup with the bullshit above you'll find a quite good game IMO.
Why you put the castrated vesion from Neo Geo Cd of that LB2 background is beyond me.
The background in the firing house will distort in the original Neo Geo version.
OrbitalBeard
Member
oh my gosh I love this thread so much
Probably caused by my post.
I've just put the link of the IMGUR gifs (instead of embedded 'em) because they were too big (> 10MB).
Kirby's Adventure on the NES/Famicom did this too, and it was really neat there as well!Thanks for posting this.
There were quite a few games using this "cylinder tower effect", Dynamite Headdy also had one stage like that. However, the effect is pretty old as it goes back to 8bit generation, there was a popular C64 game had this effect as it's main theme, i don't remember it's name though.
Edit: It was Nebulus
And that's the level i was talking about in Dynamite Headdy
I think the Mickey Mouse one is the best looking though.
(only gif I could find is at the wrong aspect ratio :/)
Technically the amiga isn't a console but whatever, the warp sections of Stardust 1&2(especially 2) are incredibly awesome even today, too bad they are missing in modern stardust games 
To see the effect in movement you have to see this video(so you can also appreciate the ultra pumping music ), no gifs sadly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzK2jnmY_JY
Wait now that i think about it i really loved the loading music! You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDXk7G2_NM
To see the effect in movement you have to see this video(so you can also appreciate the ultra pumping music
), no gifs sadlyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzK2jnmY_JY
Wait now that i think about it i really loved the loading music! You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDXk7G2_NM
Mexen
Member
Is this a joke?
nkarafo
Member
Jimnymebob
Member
Anything that rotated on Dynamite Headdy looked super cool.
He's not wrong, Axelay's development team comprised several of the members that would found Treasure.
Kirby's Adventure on the NES/Famicom did this too, and it was really neat there as well!
(only gif I could find is at the wrong aspect ratio :/)
It's a simple effect, really. All you need are a handful of animated tiles for the edges and center and then just repeat them a lot.
The most impressive thing about the Mickey Mouse one is probably the 3D-looking wooden platforms with super smooth seamless rotation.
Fredrik
Member
Always makes me say wow, it was truly spectacular when it released, a graphical showcase like few others. Almost makes me want to buy the new PS4 game just to get the Amiga original.Shadow of the Beast
This thread + listening to some of these thumping Genesis / MD instrumental tracks picked up in the SNES vs Genesis Sound thread = all kinds of awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ0Lj2NF6tc
https://youtu.be/iYNLz8goZdE?list=PL0E86AA386BD11845
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXQjbGsWF4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ0Lj2NF6tc
https://youtu.be/iYNLz8goZdE?list=PL0E86AA386BD11845
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgXQjbGsWF4
nkarafo
Member
Yeah but it was only a scrolling Demo with no level design, nothing going on in the "active" layer, no structures to climb or to jump on, no gaps, no verticality, etc. The rest of the game does have some level design but it looks nowhere near as impressive as far as i know.
Vectorman
This breaks my Retron 5 every time.
Sir Abacus
Member
Look at the platform in the background. There's a pseduo 3d effect as Diddy and Dixie move up and down.
The italian stage of Castlevania Bloodlines with the leaning tower of Pisa was super cool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvB7xVUJpQY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvB7xVUJpQY
Holy shit. Where the hell was this game on the SNES? We got some garbage ass B&R game instead.
R-Type 3 has so many, just in the first level, including a ton of rotation, scaling, convincing 3D-like hexagonal rotation, and this one, zooming out from your ship's core and into gameplay:
Forgot about that one. Extremly stylish introduction.
sin, the mathematical function. You feed it a value, and it gives you a value in return, that swings from -1 to 1 to back to -1 and so forth infinitely. Example:
Sin(1) = 0.8414709848
Sin(2) = 0.90929742682
Sin(3) = 0.14112000806
Sin(4) = -0.7568024953
Sin(5) = -0.95892427466
Sin(6) = -0.27941549819
Sin(7) = 0.65698659871
Sin(8) = 0.98935824662
Sin(9) = 0.41211848524
and so forth
This is because Sin is the Y height of a circle as you trace around the circle (where Cos is the X value... or I might have Y and X mixed up, doesn't really matter) like so:
This calculation cannot be done in the m68k processor of the genesis quickly enough (this is why Yoshi's Island uses a math co-processor for rotation of sprites) so, to fake it, they precalculated out Sin according to 255 radians (approximately a circle), and used the current value of Sin(X) as the offset for the pixels being drawn. So Row 1, at the top of the screen, is offset by Sin(1) which means they shift over a value similar to 0.8414709848 , while row 2 is offset by Sin(2) which means they shift over a value similar to 0.90929742682 and so forth. In actuality, to animate the rolling background, the value of the current row is also added to a figure that counts up as time goes forward, so the starting offset changes each frame.
Because of the way a unit circle works, you can get the values on the opposite side of the circle by negating the value of Sin. So, rather than store all the values of Sin from 0-255, they only stored 1/4 of the values and just multiply by negatives (which the genesis CPU can do quickly) to arrive at the correct values while only using 1/4 the rom space.
this is pretty interesting, reminds me of those early level CS classes and university level calculus where they didn't let us use anything with any type of processing power in the modern sense lol
choco-fish
Member
Technically the amiga isn't a console but whatever, the warp sections of Stardust 1&2(especially 2) are incredibly awesome even today, too bad they are missing in modern stardust games
To see the effect in movement you have to see this video(so you can also appreciate the ultra pumping music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzK2jnmY_JY
Wait now that i think about it i really loved the loading music! You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDXk7G2_NM
Came to post this but couldn't find any gifs of the warp tunnels, very impressive at the time, I'd argue the A500 was equivalent to a 16bit consoles of the time.
MrCunningham
Member
I always liked the Cheshire Cat boss from the Genesis game:
They made use of some neat affects with its head.
There were no 16-bit consoles when the Amiga released. The Amiga released in 1985. It was so far beyond the competition.
But yes, it uses the same CPU as the Sega Genesis.
Chaotic-Strike
Banned
All these Yoshi Island mentions and none of them includes the best effect of all.
Touch Fuzzy get Drunk
It's in crappy gif form but it was always such a neat effect that the GBA version couldn't get right.
Touch Fuzzy get Drunk
It's in crappy gif form but it was always such a neat effect that the GBA version couldn't get right.
I can't find an animated version of this, but throwing dudes at the screen in Turtles in Time was the best.
Came to post this.
nkarafo
Member
Well, to be fair, you could probably buy a brand new, state of the art, 68000 based arcade motherboard with less money than what the Amiga 1000 would ask for in 1985. The amiga wasn't really an affordable games machine until 1987 with the cheaper 500 version.