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[olimario]

Prior to picking up Mario Kart DS even the best 3D I saw on the DS had plently of problems. Urban Asphalt's polys jumped all over the place and Super Mario 64 DS has massive amounts of popup, but Mario Kart DS doesn't seem to have either problem AND it looks considerably better than both titles mentioned... at 60fps.

With the impressive looking Mario Basketball on the horizon from Square-Enix and Nintendo EAD having finally hidden the most talked about flaws, can we finally say that 3D on the DS is more than just passable?

-----------
also, not only do the N64 courses look better on the DS, but the courses designed for the DS look leaps and bounds better than either, and only a year into the DS's life.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

mario karts enviroments look good but the chars and the carts themselves.. like when u win and they show the top 3 winners power sliding during the victory ceremony.. BLEH looks like ass.

 

[Drinky Crow]

looks pretty damn awful.

 

[Ranger X]

Bleh. One game out of hundreds don't make me think it's good or getting better.
And except for the 60 fps that is cool, Mario Kart still is PS1 quality graphics -- that i have a hard time to go back to.

 

[cvxfreak]

For me, MKDS is more about showing the potential of DS doing traditional games than it can about the 3D graphics. It looks beautiful, though, on an artistic level.

 

[Error]

to me it looks awesome I was expecting shitty graphics and was preparing myself to deal with that, but the game actually looks very good.

 

[olimario]

Bleh. One game out of hundreds don't make me think it's good or getting better.
And except for the 60 fps that is cool, Mario Kart still is PS1 quality graphics -- that i have a hard time to go back to.

I think it looks considerably better than anything I've seen on the PS1 and with more going on. Waluigi Pinball, DK Pass, and the new Wario Stadium are all beautiful examples of what the DS can do. IMO of course.

 

[Ranger X]

I think it looks considerably better than anything I've seen on the PS1 and with more going on. Waluigi Pinball, DK Pass, and the new Wario Stadium are all beautiful examples of what the DS can do. IMO of course.

I think the DS is slightly better on some stuff like the GBA was superior on some compared to the SNES. But when you play the final product, in overall it's the same quality (except the sound that was superior on the SNES and PS1)

 

[Rabid Wolverine]

Online play is the only thing that made me buy a DS and Mario Kart.

Loving it.

 

[rod]

haha. some of you idiots need to go back and play a ps1 game. even one of the best games. like gt. looks like ass AND runs at 30fps. i struggle to see how ps1 could run something like mario 64 ds and mario kart ds

 

[Ranger X]

mario 64 ds

Please plug back your PS1 and have a try at Soul Reaver.

 

[BorkBork]

Hasn't changed my view of 3D on the system at all. There are always going to be half-assed developers that churn out vomit inducing stuff on the DS, but there are also others that can and will push the system to come up with pretty decent eye candy. And this is just the beginning of second generation software.

 

[Scrow]

looks pretty damn awful.

it does look awful and hasn't changed my opinion that DS should remain a predominately 2D machine, but I think the 3D in Mario Kart DS is sufficient enough as to not ruin how the game plays.

so yeah, the 3D is shit but it gets the job done well enough.... just.

 

[Error]

hey at least I can see my country's flag in the car and that's good enough for me

 

[Mode]

Not really, the graphics are decent enough not to make me cringe. Luckily the game is more fun than 99% of the games out this year.

 

[Mihail]

I hate making Amir0x-quality blanket statements like this, but I honestly feel that anyone for whom the MKDS experience is ruined by the graphics has truly forgotten what gaming is about.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

I just realized.. I miss that train lvl from n64.. man that owned

 

[={<SMOKE>}=]

i think the game looks great. very clean and vibrant looking. there's hardly any pop-up or pixelated textures. obviously, there's a low polycount, but nintendo has made that work within the art style of the game. it certainly looks leaps and bounds better than mario kart 64. i do think crash cart racing on the ps1 gives it a run for its money, but the game still looks fantastic--much better than i expected. i welcome 3d ds games that look like this.

 

[Monk]

fuck no.

 

[evilromero]

Super Mario 64 DS still looks better.

 

[vitaflo]

I was impressed by them. If only because I expected them to be so much worse considering the hardware. They're not great by any means, but they are better than MK64, I will say that much.

 

[The Main Event]

I think it looks great (considering the hardware). Super smooth framerate, rock solid polygons with no textures warping (comparing to most PSone games, which is why most of them turned me off).

Tony Hawk Sk8land is also pretty impressive.

 

[Jado]

Looks good overall, but some of the character models are pretty hideous. Mainly the large characters like Bowser, Wario and especially Donkey Kong.

 

[AndoCalrissian]

I honestly am kind of enjoying the throwback. I like seeing what 9 years of making primarily 3D games has taught us on modeling, texturing, and optimization.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Many people seem to think the DS is so weak that it's visuals will never get better. As we move into the second generation of DS titles this it's clear that isn't the case. Graphics get better each year on consoles and handhelds, and the DS is no different. FF3, Mario Basketball, and Super Mario Bros. DS are all very impressive, and they show that developers are quickly learning how to utilize the system's power more effectively.

 

[Ironclad]

It is definitely much, much better than I expected, I'll say that much. Nothing spectacular by any means but it is not so bad that it ruins the game. As much as I prefer 2D on the DS, MK does not look so bad that it bothers me.

 

[Musashi Wins!]

it does look awful and hasn't changed my opinion that DS should remain a predominately 2D machine, but I think the 3D in Mario Kart DS is sufficient enough as to not ruin how the game plays.

so yeah, the 3D is shit but it gets the job done well enough.... just.

I agree with this. I think it looks sufficient, but no one really deserves a pat on the back. I assume this is how 3D should look compared to some other developers. It's alright.

 

[SpiffyG]

It's fine. Metroid Hunters is fine. Animal Crossing is fine. Super Mario 64 DS is fine. They all look "fine". DS gamers didn't buy their DS's to be blown away by the graphical capabilties.

 

[Pellham]

mario karts enviroments look good but the chars and the carts themselves.. like when u win and they show the top 3 winners power sliding during the victory ceremony.. BLEH looks like ass.

The screens are so small I hardly notice the flaws in the character models. But the actual racing itself is pretty nice, feels better than PS1.

 

[rod]

Please plug back your PS1 and have a try at Soul Reaver.

man, i was playing soul reaver just the other day. and then i went on to play soul reaver 2 ps2. great games by the way. but soul reaver 1 is ugly. its pixellated (obviously) it has clipping, tearing, slowdown, you name it. now i dont think the ds is a graphical powerhouse at all. but i think if it just had texture filtering a lot of people would go MUCH more easier on it. also a lot of people just the visuals from screens and videos (as i have before) and it doesnt do games actually running on the ds any justice. forget the psp for a second and realise that the 3d on the ds isnt as bad as its made out to be. its passble, i agree, but its definetly not as bad as, like i said, its made out to be.

 

[mrkgoo]

Looks good overall, but some of the character models are pretty hideous. Mainly the large characters like Bowser, Wario and especially Donkey Kong.

I may be teh only one, but I think they have a sort of minimalistic charm...you know like how some old-school sprites look really good in only a 32x32 pixel box.

Of course, it's no excuse, but because they are familiar characters, they don't lose their appeal.

 

[jett]

haha. some of you idiots need to go back and play a ps1 game. even one of the best games. like gt. looks like ass AND runs at 30fps. i struggle to see how ps1 could run something like mario 64 ds and mario kart ds

Vagrant Story and Ridge Racer Type 4 say hi.

 

[rod]

Vagrant Story and Ridge Racer Type 4 say hi.

vagrant story? haha. awesome game, but visually ass. ridge racer type 4 il give you that. but your kidding me if you reckon DS couldnt pull RR4 60fps? and no rr ds doesnt count cos you damn well know its an ass port...

 

[ShowDog]

Crash Team Racing can't look much worse than Mario Kart DS.

 

[Matlock]

Crash Team Racing can't look much worse than Mario Kart DS.

It looks quite a bit better.

 

[Error]

vagrant story? haha. awesome game, but visually ass. ridge racer type 4 il give you that. but your kidding me if you reckon DS couldnt pull RR4 60fps? and no rr ds doesnt count cos you damn well know its an ass port...

ya kidding? VS is the best looking PS1 game by far sorry.

 

[rod]

crash team racing was awesome. visually and gameplay.

 

[Kai Dracon]

MKDS has mainly confirmed my suspicions that in most ways, the DS is better than the N64 and PS1 in that it seems to combine most of the strengths of each while compensating for their weaknesses.

Also, the quality and nature of the 3D on the system seems to work VERY well within the lower screen resolution. One reason perhaps, why DS games that look "bad" in frame buffer grabs look much better on the real screens.

Personally, I think MKDS looks amazing artistically. Also, one thing it has over PS1 games in general is a very solid, very "this gen" feeling in terms of gameplay, animation, physics, and motion. Also, the DS' lack of texture filtering, with properly crafted textures, is turning out to be not such a horrible thing. MKDS looks better than MK64 in this aspect, 'cause it looks much more crisp and vibrant... goodbye N64 Blur of Doom.

As for the characters and carts, I consider them to be masterpieces of efficient polygon modeling. Honestly, I think they are better than the GC MKD in terms of attractive modeling skill being diplayed.

 

[elostyle]

The look of 3D on the DS has grown on me a bit. I like how the anti aliasing coupled with no texture filtering makes for a very very sharp image. Which is always good on a small screen.

Whenever I see games with PS1 level visuals like say King Kong DS, I immediately associate PS1 level framerates with it only to be usually surprised by how much better it turns out to be at 60fps with anti aliasing.

All in all I think the gfx are sufficient for a portable at this time. Played mario kart online like 8 hours straight when I got it so I can't really say that the graphics hold it back in any way.

 

[jj984jj]

No but Metroid Prime Hunters might.

 

[elostyle]

Personally, I think MKDS looks amazing artistically. Also, one thing it has over PS1 games in general is a very solid, very "this gen" feeling in terms of gameplay, animation, physics, and motion. Also, the DS' lack of texture filtering, with properly crafted textures, is turning out to be not such a horrible thing. MKDS looks better than MK64 in this aspect, 'cause it looks much more crisp and vibrant... goodbye N64 Blur of Doom.

Right on. If anything I would have liked a little bigger polygon budget and vram on the DS. Without texture filtering, the machine could certainly fill more and then some and higher res textures would help cover for the filtering taking time off.

 

[Merlin]

It looks quite a bit better.

... yeah, if you're only comparing it to the N64 levels. The original courses rape any PS1 racer, especially Cheep Cheep Beach and Waluigi Pinball.

 

[Ulthwe]

As for the characters and carts, I consider them to be masterpieces of efficient polygon modeling. Honestly, I think they are better than the GC MKD in terms of attractive modeling skill being diplayed.

QFT. I hate the shining look of MKDD models.

 

[reggieandTFE]

Viewtiful Joe DS looks hot so I'm not worried about getting decent 3d.

 

[Rlan]

Mario Kart DS also has an excellent use of texturing. Too often companies try and add too much detail to textures in DS games, and so they look incredibly pixelated. Mario Kart has much cleaner ground textures for instance, and don't look messy. I also don't notice any flicker in the levels.

PSX racers look good, but the problem is that in motion, as soon as you get close to the area, it'll sort of "jar" itself. for a better look. I forget the name for this, but it's distracting.

And as mentioned, animation is top quality. The Goomboss especially was well animated. The only thing I didn't like was Donkey "Pointy elbows" Kong's model.

 

[callous]

I hate making Amir0x-quality blanket statements like this, but I honestly feel that anyone for whom the MKDS experience is ruined by the graphics has truly forgotten what gaming is about.

That just about sums it up.

 

[Luckett_X]

the old Sonic DS tech demo remains the pinnacle of DS 3d, if it was indeed running on the final DS hardware.

The main reason why Mario 64 DS and MKDS look better than the N64 isnt due to there being more power, but because devs have a far better grasp of textures and effects these days than when 3d essentially first started.

 

[elostyle]

the old Sonic DS tech demo remains the pinnacle of DS 3d, if it was indeed running on the final DS hardware.

The main reason why Mario 64 DS and MKDS look better than the N64 isnt due to there being more power, but because devs have a far better grasp of textures and effects these days than when 3d essentially first started.

No no no, the n64 had very limited possible texture sizes so it always was blurry. On the DS that isn't a limitation so devs actually have the ability to choose textures of an appropriate size.

 

[Shikamaru Ninja]

PS1? Are you kidding me? You couldn't even look at a PSX polygon for more than a second without it warping.

Mario Kart: DD looks great. Definitely better than N64. 60 FPS !

 

[radioheadrule83]

I've never had any doubts that Nintendo would make the system do nice things within its limits. Which this game has. I do think it looks great. I've only had it since Friday, and every DS/non-DS owner alike that I've showed has been impressed by how it looks (and plays).

FF3 looks great, and I'm really impressed by Tony Hawks and Viewtiful Joe too. Its those games as well as Mario Kart that have changed my view of 3d on the system.

I still want a 2d Metroid at some point, and I have mixed feelings on 2.5d mario, but I'm definately happy to have both great 2d and 3d games on it at last.