GAMER LOUNGE 20XX (NO CASUALS!!)

[Kitsu]

by making it look like pixeljoint's weekly showcase first page

I've never felt any of the main-line mario games (outside of modern 3d ones?) really look all that good at all, whether technically or aesthetically
they've always felt like they've been just practical, following in miyamoto's philosophy of everything serving the gameplay

I like wario game art though

[Dolphman]

Regarding the All-Stars sprites, I really hate the SMB3 ones mostly due to being overused in fangames, and even ROM-hacks.
Custom sprites can be guilty of this, with Icegoom's SMW Redrawn sprites getting overused the same way as the SMB3 sprites.

[TomGuycott]

It has kind of flip-flopped since the old days, where Nintendo's early first party stuff, usually EAD projects, had graphics far inferior to what the system was capable of (Such as the original Super Mario and Zelda looking almost atari-like compared to stuff that came out later in the NES life cycle), but these days first party Nintendo games have such a tremendous amount of polish. For example, Nintendo Land for the Wii U still puts a lot of 3rd party games to shame on the console.

[Jermungandr]

The Wii U has third party games?

[Koh]

Simplicity is fine and all, but when your world looks as flat as paper due to the lack of contrast, hue-shifting and/or minimal shading, I think it hurts it more than it helps it.

dude, they were trying to figure out the system and what it can do/handle. of course the games arent going to look like a masterpiece. of course it was gonna be simple. it was released alongside the console!!!

also, dont even bother comparing lufia: the legend returns to super mario world. that game was made in 2001, 3 years after the gbc's release. super mario world was released in japan late 1990, alongside the super famicom.

They aren't perfect, and could do with some hue-shifting.

you sure do like your hue shifting. please enlighten me on how hue shifting can make a simplistic, cartoony style, like mario, any better.

The launch title argument doesn't work you know.  The systems limitations don't magically change just by them making more games for it.  They knew they could use 16 color palettes when they made the game.  What they didn't do was get a competent sprite artist who knows how to get the most out of those colors.  And this is why the Lufia comparison DOES work, because it's on a system that has even more limitations than the SNES in terms of color, yet looks a lot better than the aforementioned game. Hell, even NES titles like Batman look a lot better, and that was also 8-bit. If you're gonna defend this bland, flat art style of SMW's, you're gonna have to do better than that my friend~

[Kriven]

"Looks a lot better than"

This is not a fact.

I really don't like the visual styles of the games you've mentioned or the screenshots you've posted, Koh. In my opinion they look overly busy and a little mesmerizing; the objects and play layers don't seem distinct enough, and I would have trouble discerning the play field from the background. These aren't problems that Super Mario World has. And to be frank, I find them way more "bland" than SMW, too. While Super Mario All-Stars does have great visuals and doesn't suffer from pixel-clutter the way the other games you've pointed out do, I don't think they come across as being even half-way as unique the look of Super Mario World, which has always provided it with a unique identity.

It's fair to say "Super Mario World had some consistency issues from sprite to sprite, and as a result the styles sometimes clash." It's not a statement I really agree with, but it's a very defensible position. It's fair to say "Super Mario World's graphics are pretty stiff, and the visual style doesn't lend itself well to the nuanced animations available to a more technical style." That's true, that's pretty close to being a fact.

What you're saying is "Super Mario World is an inferior game because I don't like its style as much as I like the style of this other game". That's... neither fact nor conversational. It's like calling South Park a weak program because its visual style is more flat than Bob's Burgers. That just isn't true... the style serves the intent of the program, or in the case of SMW, the game.

[Koh]

In terms of preference yes, it is all subjective. In technical terms...no, it's easily proven that 16 colors will net you a more 3-dimensional product o.o.

[Kriven]

I'm not arguing that more colors = more dimensions is non-factual, I'm arguing that more dimensions being superior is non-factual.

But regarding "technically easily proven", wouldn't the dimensions yielded from the number of colors present be entirely dependent on how those colors are used? As you've pointed out, games with lower color counts have greater dimensional depth, therefore more colors =/= more dimensions in all situations, depending on style.

It's more accurate to say that more colors = greater opportunity for more dimensions.

But that's all kind of sidetrackish.

My main point was that having more dimensions and more colors does not factually make something a superior piece of art. There's a distinction between technical superiority and having created the superior piece.

[recme]

by making it look like pixeljoint's weekly showcase first page

imo, im pretty sure better colors doesnt make smw look any better, but ok

[StarSock64]

SMW probably has my favorite graphics of the SNES mario titles

yes, they're not great on a technical level, but I think it looks very bright and stands out. I don't really value technique for the sake of technique, and I think many of the "bad" quirks are actually aesthetically pleasing

It's not like you would notice many of the issues on the intended type of television set anyway

also idk why "it looks flat" would be considered a bad thing in SMW's case. It looks like a cartoon. It's not like you bash cartoons for looking flat. It's just a different approach

[Kosheh]

dang this topic makes me want to play SMW again

i better get it on virtual console and beat it for the 11th time before i never play it again thanks to mario maker

[Koh]

dang this topic makes me want to play SMW again

i better get it on virtual console and beat it for the 11th time before i never play it again thanks to mario maker

It makes me think of the more awesome hacks done to it.  Like Cool or Cruel.



This hack goes all the way down to the programmer/assembler level for some original and fun madness, the likes of which SMW hacks have never seen before~

[Koh]

I found this interesting.



Made MP3s of the fixed versions.
Island Map Fixed
Mica Fixed

[Jermungandr]

Um ... http://www.idigitaltimes.com/super-smash...ves-468945

As much as I would love this if it were true, I am kind of perplexed as to why IMDB keeps getting used as evidence of character inclusion. Isn't IMDB one of those sites that anyone can edit? Doesn't that make it one of the least reliable sources of "evidence" ever? I mean, what legitimate source would even be adding the information? I have my doubts that someone from the Smash team would be that stupid.

[BullockDS]

In fact, wasn't IMDB a point of false rumors even when Brawl was on the horizon?