What was the definitive gaming platform of the mid-90s and why it was the N64?
N64 was released in 1996
Mid '90s, as in '94-'96? Definitely the Snezz.
The arcade
>not so subtle "the N64 was stronger than the Saturn and PS1" threadAnybody who isn't medically retarded knows this, yes. The N64 is unironically closer to the Dreamcast in terms of power, and likewise should be similarly considered a 5.5 gen console. In terms of clock speed it was almost exactly half as powerful as the DC (94mhz vs 200mhz) but the cartridge format -- which was effectively additional RAM and allowed for quicker access times for streaming textures among other things -- put it within striking range of the DC, where the other two weren't even in the conversation. Stuff like Perfect Dark and Majora's Mask are on a completely different level compared to what the Sat/PS1 had on offer. The Sony and Sega consoles had some games that looked good on paper, but they were always smoke and mirrors, like Vagrant Story which had fairly high poly character models, but the environments were ridiculously small with almost no entities and limited features. Then, you had N64 games that could do it all without compromise: big environments with lots of dynamic lighting effects, lots of entities, lots of decals, lots of particles, very complex animations, and so on. There are a vast number of Dreamcast games that don't look as good as something like Conker. The N64 was in a league of its own.
>>11993580Much of the homebrew is also really impressive, like Portal 64. Hope someone finishes that.
>>11993604I don't follow the N64 romhack/modding scene too closely but some of the SM64 stuff I've seen is extremely impressive, and they get much of it running at 60fps. Dedicated autists using unlimited amounts of their free time to tinker with old consoles is always going to result in games that look better than contemporary titles which were produced under a time/budget crunch (and with less understanding), but I think the N64 is a situation where we're going to see some ridiculous stuff as time goes on.
>>11993580i want to know what kind of demonic magic the brits were using during those days. fitting games like these on a 64mb cartridge is crazy to me.
>>11993635Can we get a webm? That looks terrible
>>11993638t. retard
It was known back in the day that the N64 could run any PS game, but the opposite was not true. Can you imagine running Turok 2 on a Playstation? Me neither.
>>11993651>the N64 could run any PS game, but the opposite was not trueYou're right. There are plenty of games where the PS1 has the better version over the N64, but usually because they were developed in tandem or the N64 version is a sloppy port of the PS1 version. There aren't many examples of games that came out on N64 first and were then ported to PS1, but the few examples we have are pretty underwhelming. Just look at Quake II:>has different level design (mostly ripped from the PC) but uses a ton of N64 assets, e.g. almost the entire opening level>moving skyboxes replaced with purple polygons (which have hit detection, lawl)>removed most 24-bit dynamic lighting effects, most particle effects, gib/blood effects, moving liquids/water caustics and most moving scenery elements in general>got rid of stainmaps on characters and muzzle flash for weapons>smaller environments with fewer entities>added multiple loading zone doors to every level, with a good 3-5 doors in levels that the N64 could load entirelyYou see the same stuff with games like Rayman 2 or Gauntlet Legends: levels are smaller, entities are fewer, special effects are toned down or removed, and lengthy loading times, on top of the usual issues like lack of perspective correction. Almost every N64 to PS1 release has extensive problems like this.
>>11993671Q2 PS1 is a more ambitious game that retains the spirit of the PC original far better, while correcting some of said PC versions flaws. It plays extremely smoothly on PlayStation, while Q264 has the platforms signature awkward controls and fluctuating framerates. It doesn't help the animations are seemingly only key frames, so things look extra stuttery. The PS1 version is far more enjoyable than the bizarre re-imagination crafted for cartridges.
>>11993687>Q2 PS1 is a more ambitious game that retains the spirit of the PC original far better,Meaningless bullshit. If by "more ambitious" you mean it's literally chopped up levels from the PC version with 20 second load times, compared to the N64's almost entirely new campaign, then sure.>while Q264 has the platforms signature awkward controlsYou mean the version of the game that lets you remap every button as you see fit, and lets you use dpad to move and stick to aim which is analagous to dual analog, while the PS1 version has presets that all suck ass and can't be customized? Did you even play these games?>The PS1 version is far more enjoyable than the bizarre re-imagination crafted for cartridgesBizarre re-imaginations like the multiple levels the PS1 versions reuses from the N64?
>>11993701Correct, recreating the PC levels in fidelity that surpasses the N64 is more ambitious. Q2PS allows mouse control, even then there are simple hacks which give the game modern controls, making it very comfortable to play. Q264's controls can't be fixed as you're stuck with an N64 controller.
>>11993580>Stuff like Perfect Dark and Majora's Mask are on a completely different level compared to what the Sat/PS1 had on offer.Perfect Dark came out mid 2000 so of course there is no comparison on Saturn.Now if you look at PSX games from the early 2000's like Alien Ressurection and Delta Force Urban Warfare: yeah, it fucking compares to Perfect Dark.I have a feeling your retarded fanboy ass is comparing Perfect Dark to PO'D or King's Field which came out 6 years earlier
>>11993824>Alien Ressurection and Delta Force Urban WarfareBoth significantly more primitive than Perfect Dark and just bad in general. Not even close to comparable.
>>11993651Banjo-Tooie especially. Imagine the long-ass loading times every time you did something which affected another level and the game had to load it to show what happened.
PS1 has the best versions of most multiplat even against the N64
