Is The 32-Bit Gaming Era The New Retro?

Thanks to GameSpy for its 'Pixel' column discussing whether the early days of the PlayStation and Saturn are a newer, but nevertheless interesting stage of 'retro'. The author points out: "Moving to 3D brought a lot of challenges along with it, not the least of which involved graphics. The 32-bit generation differs greatly from its 16-bit predecessor in that a lot of 32-bit games' visuals have not aged well." But he nevertheless highlights the fact "there were so many vibrantly original games released for these machines, some obscure, some blockbusters... Motor Toon Grand Prix brought cartoonish designs to 3D life. King's Field put you in a truly non-linear, 3D dungeon. WipeOut married futuristic racing with high-caliber visual design. Panzer Dragoon gave flight to every kid's 'Neverending Story' fantasies." What were your favorite titles from the early days of 32-bit?

Re:Virtual Boy!

[wibs]

Don't forget Mario Tennis. That game is great on any platform, but the VB had it better than the rest simply because there was absolutely nothing going on but gameplay. There weren't flashing colors in every corner of the court distracting you from the ball back and forth, you had good control of your koopa, and it got to be habit to select Yes when it asked if I wanted to continue destroying my retinas.

The more I think about it, that's one of my favorite games of all time.

Not great

[fr0dicus]

I don't think I'll really look back on the 32-bit boxes with much fondness. They represented the birth of many of the franchises we now expect to see modern versions of, and many of these titles are completely and utterly replicated and extended by the modern hardware. For me that generation was the first forays into 3D, and many titles were released and sold purely on the basis of a new or interesting graphical technique that would just look horrifically dated today.

I'm not denying that there weren't some great games, but nothing like the breadth that the SNES offers the retro player, and what there is has been watered down by remakes for the modern hardware.