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[nkarafo]

Inspired by the Saturn thread, i wanted to make one for the N64.

The console is very often criticized for it's low fps (unfairly IMO) so i will try not to present games that suffer from that too much. So no Turok 2 or Perfect Dark examples (at least not from me). These games can look amazing but it's "cheating" since the N64 clearly can't handle them.

I will try to post the best examples of the best graphics the console can offer, by cherry picking the best scenes i can capture and explain what good graphical features each game has. All captures are made using emulation but with a pixel-accurate plugin and (in some cases) a CRT filter so they will look as close as possible to the real thing. No ultra-high res, clean pictures here (not from me). But remember, these games could look different on a real CRT.

I will try to keep it one game per post.


So here is the first game. Banjo - Kazooie. I don't think it's the best game the N64 can offer but it's the most balanced. It offers stable frame rate, big, detailed levels, good geometry, infinite draw distances and some of the best textures you can see on the console:

(Edit: I replaced the Banjo images with some cleaner ones without scanilnes. The OG ones i uploaded were too much)

I think these pictures show the texture quality (which was a bottleneck for the N64 in general), geometry and level detail. These are not just some basic, empty levels. There's a lot to explore and the frame rate is great.

More games to follow. Feel free to post your examples.

 

[nkarafo]

Game No 2:

World Driver Championship.

This is the best looking Racing game on the N64. Technically, it's probably the best on any of the 3 consoles during that generation. It uses custom microcode in order to push more polygons than the average N64 game. As a result, the cars and environments are more detailed than most other racing games during that gen. And even when 8 cars are on screen at once, the frame rate is stable (most of the time). There's pop-up but it's quite minimal.

 

[UnNamed]

Conker was superior. Also WDC.

And San Francisco Rush 2049, but maybe it was too much for the N64, the frame rate isn't optimal but there are undoubtedly lot of polygons there.

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

Not many lookers on that system to be honest.

Although Conker was fine for its time.

 

[nkarafo]

Conker was superior. Also WDC.

And San Francisco Rush 2049, but maybe it was too much for the N64, the frame rate isn't optimal but there are undoubtedly lot of polygons there.

I'll post some examples of Conker later on. The game had some very advanced features like Conker's real time shadow and his facial expression/details.

But before this i want to post my 3rd example: Goldeneye.

And no, this game doesn't break my rules about frame rate. Most of the frame rate issues come from the multiplayer and some specific maps in single player. But, it's not as bad in most maps. It's not as bad as PD or Turok 2.

On the images above you can see some great texturing and level design/detail.

The developers also implemented a ton of fake shadows to the architecture, so most pillars, walls, stairs, balconies and other objects look as if they cast shadows (it's very noticeable in the first image). This wasn't a very common thing back then. But Goldeneye uses this extensively.

 

[nkarafo]

A few pics demonstrating Conker's shadow. This feature was pretty jaw dropping for that generation, i don't remember many games with shadows like this until the next gen consoles took over. Jet Force Gemini had a very early version of this but not as good.

Pics are some older captures of mine, cleaner, without filters but i will post some others later on when i get some more time. Right now these get the message across.

 

[nkarafo]

Not many lookers on that system to be honest.

Follow the thread and you'll be surprised.

Next game is 1080 Snowboarding.

This game doesn't look particularly special in screenshots. But in motion, i think it's the best looking game of it's kind during that gen.

It's best graphical feature was the "clothing hit by the wind" animations. Every now and then, you could see the clothing of your character rippling because of the wind. A very convincing effect that i remember impressing me a lot back then.

And for those who are wondering, the frame rate was pretty much perfect 30fps.

 

[Alexios]

Show footage so we can be impressed when a game is over 20 fps :d

I kid. But that was a big issue for the system imo, so I find it harder to go back to it compared to others even when the geometry appears more solid etc.

Though I'm pretty sure the most impressive games so far like WDC (seriously, the assets are almost early Dreamcast tier) did perform better than most.

Ridge Racer 64 looks pretty good and is pretty damn smooth as well. Even with the rear mirror view on.


It's not the original, it's not quite a remake as it has new elements, but it's also not the direction RR took back then with Type 4 (not my favorite to be honest). It's kind of its own thing. I suppose like Dreamcast's Daytona 2001 which isn't Daytona USA or Daytona USA 2 but something of its own.

 

[nkarafo]

Show footage so we can be impressed when a game is over 20 fps :d

I kid. But that was a big issue for the system imo, so I find it harder to go back to it compared to others even when the geometry appears more solid etc.

Though I'm pretty sure the most impressive games so far like WDC (seriously, the assets are almost early Dreamcast tier) did perform better than most.

So far the games i posted have good frame rates (except Goldeneye in some parts).

I won't be posting games with shitty frame rates.

Next is DOOM 64.

This game is by far the best looking official DOOM game that uses the DOOM engine.

It has an even more complex architecture than PC DOOM 2, more advanced usage of colors/lighting and has animated skyboxes like moving clouds and hellfire.

And it runs at a super stable frame rate without ever slowing down, even when there are many enemies on screen. Needless to say, this game completely destroys any DOOM game on the other consoles, technically.

 

[nkarafo]

I only have one screenshot for Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.

Mostly to demonstrate it's lush and detailed 3D foliage effects. For an early 1997 game, these looked very good, much better than any other FPS at the time. They were even interractive since you could destroy them, though the animations were scripted, without real time physics like Crysis.

Game was a very early one for N64 and has limited draw distance. But that's it's only flaw. Other than that, it features large 3D enemies, very impressive weapons and weapon effects and has a very smooth frame rate.

 

[Ozzie666]

I was lucky enough to have most systems when I was younger. But there was always something about the N64 graphics that I really liked. I find the entire look comforting, it's soft and smooth. Hard to explain. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the PS1 heavy hitters and some of the Saturn efforts too. But the N64 just seems to hold up better.

 

[RoboFu]

Game No 2:

World Driver Championship.

This is the best looking Racing game on the N64. Technically, it's probably the best on any of the 3 consoles during that generation. It uses custom microcode in order to push more polygons than the average N64 game. As a result, the cars and environments are more detailed than most other racing games during that gen. And even when 8 cars are on screen at once, the frame rate is stable (most of the time). There's pop-up but it's quite minimal.

that game ran at 15 FPS though.

 

[UnNamed]

It's not the original, it's not quite a remake as it has new elements, but it's also not the direction RR took back then with Type 4 (not my favorite to be honest). It's kind of its own thing. I suppose like Dreamcast's Daytona 2001 which isn't Daytona USA or Daytona USA 2 but something of its own.

This is the perfect example where an horrific art style ruins everything. RR64 have a good draw distance, solid framerate, goraud shaded surfaces everywhere and probably more polygons on screen than RRR and RRT4, but cars look like Hotwheels toys and pastel colors make it a Rugrats game.
And yes, we can say the same thing on Daytona 2001.

 

[nkarafo]

that game ran at 15 FPS though.

No, it runs at a stable 30fps.

Don't play it with a broken emulator on a crappy Raspberry Pi. Use a modern, accurate one on a PC, or use a real N64 please.


Next game i want to mention is NFL Quarterback Club 98:

What made this game impressive was that it run at high-resolution (640x480) without the expansion pack. And the frame rate was good.

This made it the best looking sports console game at the time.

 

[UnNamed]

that game ran at 15 FPS though.

Ehm, no?

 

[RoboFu]

No, it runs at a stable 30fps.

Don't play it on a broken emulator. Use a modern, accurate one or a real N64.

I owned the game back in the day. It was anything but stable. It had horrible slowdown. An emulator would probably be an upgrade.


here you go , says captured from actual cartridge.

 

[nkarafo]

nvm

 

[nkarafo]

I owned the game back in the day. It was anything but stable. It had horrible slowdown. An emulator would probably be an upgrade.


here you go , says captured from actual cartridge.

Ok? Where is the slowdown? I see 30fps footage here. Could you time stamp any specific moments?

It runs at 30fps, not 15. It has some slowdowns but i wouldn't call them common at all (from my experience).

Edit: I also have the real game but in PAL (so it runs at 25fps).

 

[nkarafo]

Next is Episode 1 Racing.

This one is multiplatform but never got ported on the PS1 so the N64 is the weakest version (the other ones are for DC and PC). The frame rate is average (between 20 and 30), But it's an impressive game with huge, detailed levels and pretty detailed 3D vehicles.

 

[TheDreadLord]

I remember Jet Force Gemini being quite decent looking... though I don’t remember if it was one of these N64 games with low/unstable fps.

 

[nkarafo]

I remember Jet Force Gemini being quite decent looking... though I don’t remember if it was one of these N64 games with low/unstable fps.

Yeah, it did have some nice effects and things going on but the frame rate is below my standards.

Unlike Shadowman:

This game had some very large environments to explore and infinite draw distances.

What's really special about it though, was that even on high-res mode (using the expansion pack) the frame rate was surprisingly good. Not perfect, but much better than most other High-res modes.

This version was also much better than the PS1.

 

[Celine]

I owned the game back in the day. It was anything but stable. It had horrible slowdown. An emulator would probably be an upgrade.


here you go , says captured from actual cartridge.

In WDC slowdows could happen when taking a sharp turn (that obstruct the view of the next part of the scenery) with a lot of cars around you because it load the next segment of the track on the fly and the presence of many cars is too much for the console.
Overall the framerate is good.

 

[nkarafo]

Next is Toy Story 2:

I always loved the way this game looks. It pushes large environments with plenty of objects to see. For instance, the 1st map is a fully 3D house with all the furniture and details you would expect to see.

Though this one is the only game i haven't played on a real N64 so far so i'm not sure about the frame rate. Emulation frame-rate seems good though.

Also this game was released on both the PS1 and DC. Unlike Shadowman, the PS1 port of this game looks good but i'm not sure if it's better or worse than the N64.

 

[nkarafo]

Next is Stunt Racer 64:

This is from the same people who made WDC.

Another example of high polygon counts on the N64. The tracks have a lot of track detail and long draw distances. What makes this unique is that a lot of the objects you see around you are animated. They move, twist and skew in a cartoony way. Looks pretty cool and runs smoothly.

This is the last for now. I'll play more in a few days.

 

[Polelock]

Horrible frame rate, but Mace: The Dark Ages a pretty damn good arcade port and it looked pretty fantastic.

 

[nkarafo]

Horrible frame rate, but Mace: The Dark Ages a pretty damn good arcade port and it looked pretty fantastic.

Fully agree. Unlike most PS1/Saturn 3D fighters, Mace had fully 3D arenas where you would move through objects like stairs, rocks, pillars and even torture devices. Backgrounds were also 3D. And most of the arenas were not flat either.

The fighters were great looking too, i remember Lord Deimos being a very impressive sight to behold.

But yeah, the frame rate was not nearly as smooth as in most Japanese 3D fighting games.

 

[Saber]

I like both Banjo and Conker as examples. Rare was the top dog at the time, I sure miss the days Rare were big deal.


Another example I would give is Diddy Kong Racing. Theres no way people would not remember this piece of art of game, their stages are fairly creative and has a lot of details for its time.

I would also mention that game featuring a fox girl, which was moved to GC and converted in Star Gox Adventures. Never was fan of STA, but if this original game was launched on N64 I would totally pick. John Linnerman made a video about the prototype, you should totally check out.

 

[nkarafo]

Another example I would give is Diddy Kong Racing. Theres no way people would not remember this piece of art of game, their stages are fairly creative and has a lot of details for its time.

I don't usually consider Diddy Kong Racing for my list because of two reasons:

- It has inconsistent frame rate. It's not bad but because it's a racing game, i would prefer a more consistent overall frame rate.

- PS1 games like Crash Team Racing look better. Diddy Kong Racing is close but i feel like it still doesn't have the same level of background detail/geometry. For some reason, PS1 cart racers tend to look amazing so they don't impress me that much on the N64. Unlike, say, 3D Platformers that look a lot better on the N64.

I played the prototype game you are talking about but the frame rate was way below my standards so i would not list it, in the same way i wouldn't put Turok 2 or Perfect Dark in my list.

 

[muteZX]

Battle for Naboo ..

IGN64: The draw distance is amazingly improved over Rogue Squadron. It's definitely among the best seen on the N64. How did you manage to improve the engine so much?

Factor 5: We carefully looked at Rogue and what worked about its landscape engine and what didn't. We also had learned so much more about the N64 and were ready to attack it much more aggressive than we did with Rogue. In the end a lot of mathematics and sleepless nights rewriting the microcode made the new landscape engine possible.

 

[fart town usa]

Resident Evil 2 of course.

Jet Force Gemini, Wave Race, Excitebike 64, Winback 64, Starfox 64, Turok 2, Shadows of the Empire.

 

[Celine]

- PS1 games like Crash Team Racing look better. Diddy Kong Racing is close but i feel like it still doesn't have the same level of background detail/geometry. For some reason, PS1 cart racers tend to look amazing so they don't impress me that much on the N64. Unlike, say, 3D Platformers that look a lot better on the N64.

A "kart game" (but without karts) on N64 that is often forgotten how nicely looking it was is S.C.A.R.S:


Top Gear Overdrive was also a looker for 1998 standards on consoles:

 

[Krappadizzle]

Rogue Squadron always stood out to me.

 

[nkarafo]

A "kart game" (but without karts) on N64 that is often forgotten how nicely looking it was is S.C.A.R.S:


Top Gear Overdrive was also a looker for 1998 standards on consoles:

SCARS was always a weird one for me. Something about it's art style feels off.

Top Gear Overdrive is great though. It's just that WDC is the most advanced looking. For some reason, this video doesn't do it justice. Pretty sure it was running smoother when i played it on the real N64, though i don't have it anymore.

 

[Krappadizzle]

My memory is super fuzzy when it comes to that era, and I def. Was more into PSX as I think I didn't get an N64 until 98 or 99, but from what I can remember:

Rogue Squadron
Beetle Adventure Racing
Rayman 2
Super Mario 64
Goldeneye
Donkey Kong.

I'm positive there are more I'm just not remembering.

 

[22:22:22]

1080°

I've always thought Waverace 64 looked impressive!

 

[Rat Rage]

Lovely thread! N64 games look so good with scan lines!

 

[stranno]

Battle for Naboo ..

According to Sergey Lipskiy (author of GlideHQ and GlideN64), it's basically the best microcode ever written for the RSP.

Along with the so called BOSS ZSort, used in World Driver Championship and Stunt Racer. It was based on the Nintendo's ZSort ucode, released at the end of the Nintendo 64's life, which basically fixed the RDP z-buffer bottleneck sorting the polygons inside the RSP. According to Gonetz, this mod is the only ucode that handles audio + video at the same time with no overlays (it fits in 1024 instructions, the limit of the microcode).

 

[muteZX]

According to Sergey Lipskiy (author of GlideHQ and GlideN64), it's basically the best microcode ever written for the RSP.

Along with the so called BOSS ZSort, used in World Driver Championship and Stunt Racer. It was based on the Nintendo's ZSort ucode, released at the end of the Nintendo 64's life, which basically fixed the RDP z-buffer bottleneck sorting the polygons inside the RSP. According to Gonetz, this mod is the only ucode that handles audio + video at the same time with no overlays (it fits in 1024 instructions, the limit of the microcode).

The masterpiece graphic microcode behind the Nintendo 64 version of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine and Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo.​

 

[Saber]

I don't usually consider Diddy Kong Racing for my list because of two reasons:

- It has inconsistent frame rate. It's not bad but because it's a racing game, i would prefer a more consistent overall frame rate.

The point of your thread is most impressive 3D, followed by best graphics. Am I wrong?

- PS1 games like Crash Team Racing look better. Diddy Kong Racing is close but i feel like it still doesn't have the same level of background detail/geometry. For some reason, PS1 cart racers tend to look amazing so they don't impress me that much on the N64. Unlike, say, 3D Platformers that look a lot better on the N64.

Totally disagree. As a fan of Crash Team Racing myself, which is far more rewarding to play, Crash doesn't even comes closer to Diddy Kong and theres no getting around it. All the visuals from characters and ambient are very limited and squared. And thats not to tell you about the design of the stages, which are pretty great.

I played the prototype game you are talking about but the frame rate was way below my standards so i would not list it, in the same way i wouldn't put Turok 2 or Perfect Dark in my list.

My impression reading this thread is that we're talking about 3D visual beauties of N64, not performance. Which is quite ironic, since Saturn thread was the inspiring for this thread and there was no talking about performance. But if what you want is not just visual but performance(which quite honest sounds more like one of those tech fetishs), then disconsider my examples because I have no interest in this kind of talk.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

i remember perfect dark being impressive - is that game a fit for this thread nkarafo ?

 

[Alexios]

This is the perfect example where an horrific art style ruins everything. RR64 have a good draw distance, solid framerate, goraud shaded surfaces everywhere and probably more polygons on screen than RRR and RRT4, but cars look like Hotwheels toys and pastel colors make it a Rugrats game.
And yes, we can say the same thing on Daytona 2001.

I like both though, they're clearly going after 90s arcade visuals rather than realism so, of course they aren't realistic. RR64 is a reimagining of the original, rather than something like Type 4 which went after Gran Turismo. Bright colors and all. Same for 2001. The one thing I don't like in 2001 is the weird shine on the cars. But without the shine it wouldn't suddenly look realistic, it would still look like the original Daytona but with more polygons and what not. Daytona USA 2 is super impressive for its time and still looks good and I don't think any of the cars go for a realistic look there either, even though they clearly could have as Model 3 was a beast. Instead it too is just like the original Daytona in style (which also still looks good when eliminating things like pop in and low res like the XBLA release did, save for AF), with more of everything. Resolution, textures, polygons. It's cool.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

Inspired by the Saturn thread, i wanted to make one for the N64.

The console is very often criticized for it's low fps (unfairly IMO) so i will try not to present games that suffer from that too much. So no Turok 2 or Perfect Dark examples (at least not from me). These games can look amazing but it's "cheating" since the N64 clearly can't handle them.

I will try to post the best examples of the best graphics the console can offer, by cherry picking the best scenes i can capture and explain what good graphical features each game has. All captures are made using emulation but with a pixel-accurate plugin and (in some cases) a CRT filter so they will look as close as possible to the real thing. No ultra-high res, clean pictures here (not from me). So prepare for some low-res glory but remember, these games looked better on a real CRT.

I will try to keep it one game per post.


So here is the first game. Banjo - Kazooie. I don't think it's the best game the N64 can offer but it's the most balanced. It offers stable frame rate, big, detailed levels, good geometry, infinite draw distances and some of the best textures you can see on the console:

I think these pictures show the texture quality (which was a bottleneck for the N64 in general), geometry and level detail. These are not just some basic, empty levels. There's a lot to explore and the frame rate is great.

More games to follow. Feel free to post your examples.

Are these screens from an emulator or something? What's with the shitty looking scanlines?

I'd say Conker was one of the best looking games, and that star fox dinosaur game. Can remember the name.

Edit: and csnt forget the insane technical achievement that was Resident Evil 2, though that may be different than what you're asking for.

 

[SpiceRacz]

Resident Evil 0 looked impressive in magazines before it was moved to Gamecube.

Also, No Mercy looked really good at the time. Especially when compared to the earlier gen wrestling games.

 

[Marcus Aurelius]

Resident Evil 0 looked impressive in magazines before it was moved to Gamecube.

Also, No Mercy looked really good at the time. Especially when compared to the earlier gen wrestling games.

Didn't know Re0 was first developed for N64...

 

[Aldynes]

Wave Race is awesome, the waves impact the gameplay so it wasn't just for show, the gameplay is still good now, visually lots of eye candy stuff from sunsets to mist and reflections on water, physics too, for me it was the graphical lead for the console for quite a time.

 

[jaysius]

le sigh, back when AAA devs humoured Nintendo and made games for their underpowered wacko machines.

I really hope the next Nintendo system will be able to get AAA 3rd parties back but...

 

[hroerekr]

I remember Rogue Squadron being very impressive at the time.

 

[nkarafo]

The point of your thread is most impressive 3D, followed by best graphics. Am I wrong?

Totally disagree. As a fan of Crash Team Racing myself, which is far more rewarding to play, Crash doesn't even comes closer to Diddy Kong and theres no getting around it. All the visuals from characters and ambient are very limited and squared. And thats not to tell you about the design of the stages, which are pretty great.

My impression reading this thread is that we're talking about 3D visual beauties of N64, not performance. Which is quite ironic, since Saturn thread was the inspiring for this thread and there was no talking about performance. But if what you want is not just visual but performance(which quite honest sounds more like one of those tech fetishs), then disconsider my examples because I have no interest in this kind of talk.

No rights or wrongs my friend, just stating my opinion.

My own rules (that don't apply to everyone else ofc) is posting some games that have good visuals but don't completely tank performance. Otherwise there would be a game running at 1 fps and be the best looking, which isn't really fair. That's why i'm looking for something more balanced, personally. Basically, i consider frame rate one aspect of the graphical package so i want it to be good enough (not perfect but not horrible either). Which is also mentioned in the OP. But you are free to post whatever you think looks the best according to you.

I don't have time to discuss the difference in graphics between PS1 and N64's cart racer right now but the general gist is that i feel like Crash and some other PS1 cart racers use more detailed stages, with more track detail and geometry. Like the N64 cart racers use more flat surfaces and plainer objects. I don't have metrics but it's how it looks like in my eyes. I'd love to discuss this in more depth later on though.

It was based on the Nintendo's ZSort ucode, released at the end of the Nintendo 64's life, which basically fixed the RDP z-buffer bottleneck sorting the polygons inside the RSP

I wonder why didn't they release this earlier? Or, why not, release it from the start? Why did they let the original tools be a bottleneck themselves?

i remember perfect dark being impressive - is that game a fit for this thread nkarafo ?

Sure, if you don't mind the low frame rate in many maps. Personally i was pretty bothered by it (unlike Goldneye which does passes my standard but it's close).

Are these screens from an emulator or something? What's with the shitty looking scanlines?

Yes, it's a pixel accurate setup (that emulates the graphics at 100% and no bugs, including N64's own filters) and in some cases i added a CRT filter. Sorry for the inconsistencies (some pics have scan-lines, some don't) but i already had some screenshots ready to go in my folder and didn't want to re-do them. I'll probably replace some of them when i have time (i'll be away from my PC for a few days). The idea was to have screenshots that look close to a real N64, or at least how the games look on Wii N64 VC and not something that looks completely different, like some very high-resolution, super sharp looking images.

Edit: I already replaced the Banjo-Kazooie ones.

 

[Aldynes]

The reflections, mirror effect on objects was the N64 signature for me, lots of game used this for the objects pick ups like Turok and the shards or health.

 

[Saber]

No rights or wrongs my friend, just stating my opinion.

My own rules (that don't apply to everyone else ofc) is posting some games that have good visuals but don't completely tank performance. Otherwise there would be a game running at 1 fps and be the best looking, which isn't really fair. That's why i'm looking for something more balanced, personally. Basically, i consider frame rate one aspect of the graphical package so i want it to be good enough (not perfect but not horrible either). Which is also mentioned in the OP. But you are free to post whatever you think looks the best according to you.

I frankly couldn't care less for tech performance, but whatever suits you. Just keep in mind that Diddy Kong racing is far away from being considered a bad performance game(not saying you said that) and I doubt you or anyone in the world would even notice bad frames during gameplay. Something different from say Goldeneye 64 splitcreen which is basically impossible to not notice.

I don't have time to discuss the difference in graphics between PS1 and N64's cart racer right now but the general gist is that i feel like Crash and some other PS1 cart racers use more detailed stages, with more track detail and geometry. Like the N64 cart racers use more flat surfaces and plainer objects. I don't have metrics but it's how it looks like in my eyes. I'd love to discuss this in more depth later on though.

If you want to discuss more deeply on this, sorry I won't go further. What I provide you is simply from my view playing the game and it's merelly a looking perspective. I'm not a tech guy and wouldn't go further explaining pixels, textures and alike. The only bad thing I notice about Diddy Kong Racing(and other 64 titles) is that is blurry thanks to Nintendo consoles applying some kind of filtering I guess, not entirelly sure.