Love the Aesthetic / Hate the Gameplay (and the Reverse)

[Sumez | 2,951]

4 hours ago, Gloves said:

Every time I see Cuphead my first thought is "that doesn't look difficult at all", and I do own it on PC, though I've never actually played it. I should really give it a go sometime to see if looks are deceiving.

Compared to many classic run'n'guns Cuphead isn't too difficult, but it's hard to compare directly, because it gives you infinite lives, so there's no real fail scenario. And most of the game's boss fights definitely did take me multiple attempts to take down.
The challenge I think comes mostly from beating them with the best rank, which primarily means doing it fast without taking damage.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Sumez

[PII | 1,886]

4 hours ago, wongojack said:

Honorable mention for everything on Odyssey 2.  Not every game is a winner, but some are absolutely fantastic, and they all pretty much look the same.

Which ones are your favorites?

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

3 hours ago, Sumez said:

Weird, it was such a popular game with little kids at the time, so I see it show up for pennies in second hand listings constantly. Maybe just check whatever local listings you have available?

I got it mixed up with Herc's Adventure. I didn't realize there were two Hercules games on the PlayStation. 

[Sumez | 2,951]

Yeah Herc's Adventure I've literally never seen for sale anywhere. I remember it when it came out, mostly because I was a whore for LucasArts releases at the time and paid close attention to their website, but I never bothered getting a copy of it. Probably regretting that now.

[Rhuno | 107]

Two that come to mind are The Witness and Proteus. I really like the way both games look, but couldn't get into The Witness. And Proteus, well, there's just not much to do there. 

[T-Pac | 7,544]

I absolutely love the graphics and sound of Berzerk [Atari 2600], but I'm pretty lukewarm on the gameplay. It definitely isn't bad - just not on par with how cool it looks.

For the reverse, I grew up playing a skateboarding game called Skate It [Nintendo DS] which was a ton of fun but kind-of hard to look it. Low-poly 3D games don't bother me too much, but when they're covered with really bad textures it tends to drag the visuals down into "ew" territory pretty fast.

[T-Pac]

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

3 hours ago, Rhuno said:

Two that come to mind are The Witness and Proteus. I really like the way both games look, but couldn't get into The Witness. And Proteus, well, there's just not much to do there. 

I love The Witness and agree it's gotta be one of the best looking games ever. Proteus feels like someone made a cool art style, didn't know what to do, and just released their map generator.

[wongojack | 214]

7 hours ago, PII said:

Which ones are your favorites?

I think the game that won me over to the O2 was Attack of the Timelord.  It suffers from all the problems that all O2 games have but still delivers a really great arcade experience (with no flicker).  UFO is another one.  Remarkably good for what it is.  Pick Axe Pete takes a little more willingness to accept, but there's a really great proto-platformer in there.

After that, the door is open and you can explore KC Munchkin, Turtles, Killer Bees and others to your contentment.  

[wongojack | 214]

6 hours ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

I got it mixed up with Herc's Adventure. I didn't realize there were two Hercules games on the PlayStation. 

 

5 hours ago, Sumez said:

Yeah Herc's Adventure I've literally never seen for sale anywhere. I remember it when it came out, mostly because I was a whore for LucasArts releases at the time and paid close attention to their website, but I never bothered getting a copy of it. Probably regretting that now.

I mentioned on the previous page that I had enjoyed it, but I was ALSO confusing it with Herc's Adventures.  I've still got a physical copy!

[Rhuno | 107]

58 minutes ago, wongojack said:

Pick Axe Pete takes a little more willingness to accept, but there's a really great proto-platformer in there.

Pick Axe Pete is pretty great. I've got a handful of Odyssey 2 games and that one's my favorite. 

[CMR | 520]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES.  I know this is the low hanging fruit, but I honestly can't think of many NES games that have great graphics but terrible gameplay.

Captain America and The Avengers for the arcade.  I loved this game as a kid, and it still looks great on the arcade.  It's a terrible beat em up though.

Double Dragon III on the Sega Genesis.

Astal for the Sega Saturn.  Absolutely gorgeous game.  It's playable, but if it looked like crap no one would ever touch it.

Arc the Lad PS1.  It's a strategy RPG that fails at being both.

 

[Sumez | 2,951]

6 hours ago, CMR said:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES.  I know this is the low hanging fruit, but I honestly can't think of many NES games that have great graphics but terrible gameplay.

Not that many super good looking NES games in the first place - the ones that are definitely usually come with enough knowhow to at least make the game feel good to play.

Zen: Intergalactic Ninja comes to mind, I think that looks really cool, but I think playing it is terrible. Also the second Tiny Toons game which I played earlier this year is just a massive step down from the first. In terms of artwork and animation detail it probably looks even better, but the overall design is just so lazy it's not worth anyone's time.

 

[cj_robot | 542]

Toy Story on the 16-bit consoles. Looks great with tons of cool effects, but the gameplay is frustratingly bad.

[Webhead123 | 675]

9 hours ago, Sumez said:

Zen: Intergalactic Ninja comes to mind, I think that looks really cool, but I think playing it is terrible.

I've only tried playing it for a few minutes at a time. Isometric perspectives are really difficult in 2D games, especially if the game requires precision platforming or combat. Zen does look pretty incredible for an NES game. I get the feeling it's one I would enjoy more if I put some real effort into learning it but getting over that hump is tough.

[TDIRunner | 2,740]

On 12/17/2023 at 3:02 AM, Sumez said:

The Disney Hercules game also on PS1 has pretty fantastic cartoon graphics that gives it a really unique look I'd have loved to see much more of. The game is absolute garbage. 

This was the first game that popped into my head when I saw this thread.  That game really does look great.  I wouldn't describe the gameplay as "absolute garbage," but I will say I was disappointed that the game wasn't all that fun to play.  

[mbd39 | 2,020]

2 hours ago, Webhead123 said:

I've only tried playing it for a few minutes at a time. Isometric perspectives are really difficult in 2D games, especially if the game requires precision platforming or combat. Zen does look pretty incredible for an NES game. I get the feeling it's one I would enjoy more if I put some real effort into learning it but getting over that hump is tough.

Isometric games can be fun once you get used to the perspective. I love Marble Madness, Snake Rattle n Roll and Isolated Warrior on the NES. Never played Zen but it looks similar to Isolated Warrior so I might enjoy it.

 

[cartman | 195]

I've barely reached any distance but Total Carnage looks like shit and the warps are the same looking shit and just an annoyance to get inside of. They add nothing. But i like the gameplay. I feel Super Smash TV did it way better.

[Hammerfestus | 3,846]

Metroid.  I love the vibe but man is refilling your health a giant pain in the ass.

[Sumez | 2,951]

Yeah, Metroid is pretty damn ugly, but it's definitely a fantastic game

[Estil | 1,265]

Love the cereal, hate the box!  

[the_wizard_666 | 1,325]

2 hours ago, Sumez said:

Yeah, Metroid is pretty damn ugly, but it's definitely a fantastic game

Ugly?  I thought it looked amazing when I was a kid.  Still do.  I first played it at a friend's place in around '90-91, and it absolutely enthralled me.  To the point it was the first game I actually begged for.  It also became the first (and last) brand new NES game i was given as a kid by my folks.  I can't fathom someone thinking it's ugly tbh, as I still think it's one of the best looking games on the system.

[Sumez | 2,951]

10 minutes ago, the_wizard_666 said:

Ugly?  I thought it looked amazing when I was a kid.

I think the graphics do the exact job they were meant to, and the atmosphere is still fantastic. What I thought as a kid doesn't matter.  

But the completely black background taking up most of the screen definitely makes it look technically sparse beyond just "bleak space horror", and Samus's goofy sprite IMO doesn't hold up well.
With games like Gimmick, Kirby, Dynamite Batman, Mega Man 6, Mitsume Ga Tooru, Felix The Cat, Crisis Force, or Bubble Bobble 2 on the same platform, I really wouldn't think of it among "the best looking games on the system"  

I don't think it looks good, but I really wouldn't call the game ugly either, I was just jokingly commenting on Hammerfestus' incomprehensible statement

Edited December 21, 2023 by Sumez

[NostalgicMachine | 235]

On 12/20/2023 at 8:44 PM, Hammerfestus said:

Metroid.  I love the vibe but man is refilling your health a giant pain in the ass.

This is the truth. It can take 10-15 minutes to refill your health. Timeless classic, but an ugly and brutal one!

[Tulpa | 3,498]

Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco, The Tides of Time.

The games look fantastic, but controlling the dolphin is pretty wonky with the d-pad.

Edited December 25, 2023 by Tulpa

[GPX | 1,369]

One good example of a “great visual but poor gameplay” is Fantasia for Megadrive. It’s prequel, Castle of illusion, was one of my favourite games of all time. Fantasia continues the trend of gorgeous graphics, BUT…has extremely poor hit detection that I couldn’t even get past the first stage! Absolute travesty of a game!