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[German Shocks]

When I have time I really like going back and playing some of my favorite games from the past, as well as playing some that I missed along the way.
One thing I've noticed is that I gravitate towards the SNES. It is my contention that the 16-bit generation has aged better than any other, and that this will probably be true for a long, long time. I'm including more recent systems such as the PS3/Xbox 360 in that assertion. I would also add that I feel that NES has also aged well, just not quite to the same level as the SNES.

I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. Games were 2D, and I think 16-bit graphics were perfect in two dimensions. When I go back and turn on Super Mario World, A Link to the Past, or Earthbound, the games still look beautiful and fresh to me. Going back to any 3D game from a previous generation I think the games generally look terrible and don't age well at all.

2. The controllers become more advanced than the 8-bit generation. With more buttons as well as the shoulder buttons added it was easier to build in more control.

3. Gameplay still had to be a main focus due to the limitations of technology.

4. The 32/64-bit generation was the real beginning of 3D gaming on consoles. When I go back and play some of those games the controls feel clunky and the camera placement is often awkward.

What is your opinion on this?

 

[Erebus]

128bit

But you need either a CRT or a good upscaler.

 

[Cakeboxer]

SNES / 16-bit. Timeless classics while my eyes are bleeding from N64/PS1 or older PS2 3D games. 360/PS3 and above are too new to count imo.

 

[Ozzie666]

SNES and Genesis generation by far. The GBA was an extension of that generation and was amazing even in the early 2000's. You could release a new GBA today and I think it would find a decent audience and sell well. The 16bit generation and 2D games are almost timeless.

 

[keefged4]

16 bit. Mega drive and Snes are both timeless.

 

[Hudo]

16 bit generation, imho. Well-made spritework just doesn't age. Look at Secret of Mana or Super Metroid on the SNES or Thunderforce IV on the Mega Drive. Look at Metal Slug on the NeoGeo. This shit looks as good today as it did back then.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

16bit
Genesis
TG16
SNES
Neo-Geo

 

[Sohurmk833]

I´d say 128 bit because most of the games still hold up very well to this day if you just increase resolution and framerate. It´s also the most varied generation with loads of different gameplay and graphic styles.

 

[Sportler]

PS2, Xbox, Gamecube
I also think that most of the remastered games being released—or that have already been released—come from that era.

 

[Paasei]

16-bit for sure. Some developers (mostly indie) still use it to this day.

 

[DEAD ORIGINAL]

16 bit easily, still have a mega drive and play it every few years and it still looks good, where as PS1, PS2, and PS3 is like putting on old glasses blurry as fuck.

 

[Games Bookstore]

256 and 512Bit?

 

[Gilgalaad]

SNES/Mega drive for me but maybe it's because i'm an old gamer

 

[Durin]

128-bit/PS2 era for sure

1. The clunkiness of early 3D was receding, controls/camera work improved, and you saw huge growth for the industry.
2. Budgets were low enough that most genres were thriving with innovation, including stuff that weren't action games.
   1. Every gen afterward saw some fall-off of whole genres to where only indies are supporting some of them now.
3. Arcades were still around producing cool stuff, other platforms were getting more ports of these games, and you had tons of weird peripherals (dance-mats, guitars, microphones, sega bass fishing controller, etc.) that were viable, whereas many are gone or cater heavily for the sim-crowd (racing wheels, flight sticks) now.
4. Many games visually aged well out of that gen vs 32/64-bit, some great 2d games (SF: 3rd Strike, Odin Sphere, etc.) and through emulation/recomps can upscale to 4k, often 60fps + have HD texture packs.
5. Game platforms were genuingly more distinct from one another, which changed after the PS3/360 gen.
6. Games could look cinematic without CG, but didn't have the resources to interrupt gameplay so often like the PS3/360 gen onward have.

 

[Trilobit]

128-bit/PS2 era for sure

1. The clunkiness of early 3D was receding, controls/camera work improved, and you saw huge growth for the industry.
2. Budgets were low enough that most genres were thriving with innovation, including stuff that weren't action games.
   1. Every gen afterward saw some fall-off of whole genres to where only indies are supporting some of them now.
3. Arcades were still around producing cool stuff, other platforms were getting more ports of these games, and you had tons of weird peripherals (dance-mats, guitars, microphones, sega bass fishing controller, etc.) that were viable, whereas many are gone or cater heavily for the sim-crowd (racing wheels, flight sticks) now.
4. Many games visually aged well out of that gen vs 32/64-bit, some great 2d games (SF: 3rd Strike, Odin Sphere, etc.) and through emulation/recomps can upscale to 4k, often 60fps + have HD texture packs.
5. Game platforms were genuingly more distinct from one another, which changed after the PS3/360 gen.
6. Games could look cinematic without CG, but didn't have the resources to interrupt gameplay so often like the PS3/360 gen onward have.

Yeah, I voted for it too. I understand those who voted SNES etc., but for me the PS2 gen is the GOAT as long as you play on a CRT. Incredible gameplay and fun artwork. It was the last pure gaming gen for me, at least outside of Nintendo. We lost platform adventures like Sly Cooper, arcade racers like Burnout and arcade sports games like SSX. I still pop out my PS2 and have a blast with its library.

 

[Cumulus]

anything from the early 3d era up to the beginning of "HD" has aged like milk while the "Pixelart" from earlier gens like the NES/SNES is pretty much timeless. Graphics from the N64/PS1 up to the Wii/x360 are pretty atrocious to look at nowadays.

 

[midnightAI]

This one, still looks current (sorry)

 

[Pejo]

16 bit will always be timeless. I'd guess in another 10-20 years CRTs will be highly sought after and expensive retro tech for gamers. And I don't mean the good sets, I mean any CRT.

But even if you have to settle for emulation with or without visual filters, it will still always be timeless.

 

[Holammer]

16bit & 128bit aged well.

PS1 and PS3 generations sucked in retrospect.
Sorry if you grew up with them, but they do.

 

[rsouzadk]

16bit and it is not even close.

Still have a snes + sd2snes and a crt tv. Absolute joy.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

256 and 512Bit?

The heck is this nonsense up in here?
Also what was 128 bit on the Dreamcast, surely that was a 64 bit processor. What was 128 bit on the Dreamcast?

 

[winjer]

WTF is all that nonsense with the bits?

 

[Nintendo's Witch]

16 bits and 32 bits 2D

 

[Diddy X]

8th gen is still going strong so you tell me, a lot of games look just like that with better resolution.

Also some technical mechanics like destruction, or physics still remain unmatched from 7th gen, they stopped caring.

 

[PauloRoberto]

SNES and PS2 (not the videogames, but the generations). Both with a good CRT TV still kick asses.

 

[Signalis]

Sega MegaDrive and PS2/GC generations.

 

[Lone Wolf]

256 and 512Bit?

Yes. The PS5 is 1024Bit

 

[cireza]

2D Pixel Art is what aged the best.

 

[Trunx81]

I'm still using my Game Boy Micro to this day to play old SNES classics on the go.
Early 3D is rough to look at.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

16bit.

Although I'm one of those odd people who still really likes the rough textures and scruffy polygons of the Saturn and PlayStation.

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

Voted 16-bit. But I got a soft spot for 32-bit 3D games, if only more games were made in the same quality as MGS and Vagrant Story.

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Yes. The PS5 is 1024Bit

Ah how I miss the Bits and Bytes arguments in my youth.
So much more dignified than bitching about Flops.

 

[IAmRei]

16 bits, they are what we now pixel art based upon, ageless and still can look awesome.

but i'm still also liking 32 low poly, although mostly say it looks ugly and pixelated, some of them is standing still fine

and also 128 bits for some games, especially japanese games. but this kind of graphic are rare

generally, anything 2D could be timeless.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

128, 256, 512 bit?

 

[Trunx81]

128, 256, 512 bit?

 

[StereoVsn]

Yeah, that whole bit thing is nonsense post PSX gen.

Personally, I do have a soft spot for SNES, Genesis, and PCEngine games, as well as 2D games on PSX and Saturn.

However, I would say Dreamcast, PS2, and GameCube (especially PS2) generation had so many amazing games that it takes the win.

And these titles can look pretty good now days with hardware upscaling or emulation on modern displays.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Those with less 30 fps shit shows... So Atari, NES, SNES. Especially SNES gen.

 

[riko]

Agreeing with many folks here, 16-bit for sure. 8-bit wasn't quite enough fidelity for rich 2D, but 16-bit was. Games focused on tight gameplay loops and rich stories. Devs were still passionate and talented. Games weren't bloated slop with endless padding content.

 

[PeteBull]

Snes/megadrive games looks cute and retro even today, mid 2026, while psx/saturn/n64 (not to mention 3do/jag) games look for the most part chopped af and in dire need of remakes of all kinds.

Yes, there will be ppl saying psx games even tho early 3d have specific feel to them, and sure, they do, but if we look at them not with our nostalgia glasses/aka memories of they looked, instead how they actually look in mid 2026, they look like this(no emulator/arcade/remasters/pc versions with mods/upped res, just pure og look):
Thats tekken3, ultimate pinacle of first playstation graphics we all played thousands of hours for:

There is tons of vids on yt of supposedly "og playstation games" where its simply emulated/enhanced or pc version modded to look much better.

Here ff8remastered vs og psx version, u can see actual og look was top of the line graphics back then but by now its godawful to look at:



Ediit: Here ps1 game that aged amazingly, still strongly recommend in 2026, i present u with breath of fire 3:


And 2 more, suikoden1&2 with their remastered versions, u can tell right away ogs hold up extremly well here:

 

[Trunx81]

I would also add old Game Boy games.
The original Tetris is still replayable.
Technically 8bit, but on a different level.

 

[FreeY$L]

128bit gen games reached the pinnacle of design, games today are still designed in the same way pretty much, thats why i think it aged the best.

 

[AJUMP23]

SNES games and styles still looks lovely.

 

[Sooner]

Games today still purposefully try to look like 16-bit games, and it isn't even just for nostalgia. That level of pixel graphics just looks great and lends itself to many types of games.

 

[TKOFromTokyo]

I agree with most here that the 16 bit definitely aged the best from a gameplay and art perspective.

I'd say it's a close second between the 128 bit era and the 8 bit era. The tightness of gameplay was probably better in the NES era, but the PS2 era fixed most issues with the previous era and are very playable me today.

 

[Idleyes]

The 16-bit generation aged so well that its visual style literally became its own genre. Developers are still intentionally making games that look and play like SNES and Genesis titles 30 years later.

Stardew Valley
Undertale
Deltarune
Sea of Stars
Octopath Traveler
Shovel Knight
Chained Echoes

It's a no brainer.

 

[nkarafo]

PS2/GC/XBOX.

Anything more recent than that isn't eligible as something that has "aged". Modern games haven't changed much since the XBOX360/PS3 generation.

Also, pretty sure "bits" don't evolve like that.

 

[Holammer]

WTF is all that nonsense with the bits?

It's a bit of fun, but fuck it, I'm on onboard.
German Shocks...

Anyone excited for the 2048-Bit gen consoles?

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

Modern games haven't changed much since the XBOX360/PS3 generation.

Isn't that sort of the point? Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is 20 years old and plays completely modern. I'd say that aged spectacularly.

 

[Sethbacca]

Went with 16bit for the poll. All I know is that graphically, 1st gen 3d games have aged like milk for the most part. The gameplay is still classic but it's pretty clear in most cases they were still figuring 3d out.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

lol @ the PS4 option

pretty sure this gen will age a lot better than any before it, but that's to be expected with the resolution and graphical fidelity reached here

if this gen wasn't in the list, I'd say 16bit