Graphics, which game made them important to you?

[Karak]

I remember turning on Phantasy Star for the Sega Master system and seeing little 2d characters fighting with 3d moves and literally said to myself "I will never stop gaming.

What non-cutscene moment of graphics was the most intense and memorable to you?

[Troggles]

Mario 64. I had seen pictures of 3d games and stuff in magazines, but this was the first one I actually played. I was in awe.

[alienmastermind]

The first time the dwarf in Golden Axe brought the pommel down on the head of the first barbarian in the game, and followed up with a boot to the jaw, I was gobsmacked.

I was already into games then, but then two weeks later, I saw something else that left me speechless...the two Andore fight from Final Fight in the arena, you kick the door down, and next thing you know, it's frickin ON.

Did I mention I was old? :)

[Wraith]

Memorable? Probably FFVII (PS1/PC) (oh, you said non-cutscene), Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast), Shenmue (Dreamcast).

I think the Dreamcast was one of those first "wow" moments that made me think this is what real 3D games should look like.

[Karak]

I think the Dreamcast was one of those first "wow" moments that made me think this is what real 3D games should look like.

I would have to agree. Though my own graphics WOW was with the master System and maybe Nights on the Saturn. The DC was filled with stuff. Even the early stuff like Blue Stinger just amazed me.

[Troggles]

I second the Dreamcast statement. The first time I saw Sonic Adventure I was wowed. Even my mom made me play the opening sequence for her a couple of times because her jaw was dropped.

[Deadend]

Duke Nukem 3D.

[That Darn Kat]

Mario 64. I had seen pictures of 3d games and stuff in magazines, but this was the first one I actually played. I was in awe.
Same here, and then I got OoT and was even more blown away.

[digitalErich]

Chrono Trigger, Quake, and Mario 64

[JRR006]

Mario 64 for me, too.

[Heretic Machine]

The jump from NES to SNES was pretty dramatic, for me. I mean the level of detail was just staggeringly different; I got Final Fight with my SNES on the Christmas that it launched. Comparing that game to the original Double Dragon on the SNES was just crazy. But that wasn't even my first wow moment with the SNES, Super Mario World was. The colors and art were just so clean, and vibrant.

I was already a gamer when the SNES came out, but I think it really solidified the hobby for me. Unfortunately, graphics actually got worse as the 16-bit generation went on, and publishers started pushing pre-rendered 3D sprites (Donkey Kong Country) and those shitty "motion capture" graphics from games like Mortal Kombat. But I'm still impressed with many games on the SNES and Genesis.

[LongStepMantis]

First was F-Zero on SNES. I was floored. I started out playing Atari games, and the jump from NES to SNES was just epic. I didn't notice the shift from Atari to NES nearly as much.

Then came Twisted Metal on PS1 followed by Soul Calibur on DC.

There have been many others, but those were the most defining moments for me.

I can't mention PC titles, there's just been too many that continually upped the ante. I started off with text only adventure games...it just kept climbing from there.

If you had told me back then what games like Crysis would look like now...I would have called you a fucking liar. :p

[muddi900]

Metal Gear Solid and Tekken 3 on the PS1.

[SPBTooL]

X-Wing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_X-Wing).

[Typical Michael]

Probably Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country on SNES. And Sonic.

[pheriannath]

The first time I ever laid eyes on Mega Man 2. Seriously.

Capcom's simple art style and excellent execution made pretty much every game in that series stand out among NES titles.

Other than that? I'd go with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The rain in the introductory scenes, followed with the shimmering puddles of water and the fact that lighting played an important part in the first dungeon was a multimedia experience that blew my mind.

[Goronmon]

Playing the original Soul Caliber was what first made me say "Damn, video games can look good!". Plenty of games up to that point had bee good looking, but SC was the first game that hit the level of realism that actually surprised me.

[LarsenNET]

Super Mario Bros. After playing Atari 2600 for years Super Mario Bros was amazing.

[roboninja]

Quake. I had finally seen true 3D.

[TheKeck]

Hmmm, I don't really recall this happening particularly. I am having an image of that first time you pop up out of the water in Bioshock, though, and you've got water droplets on your screen. Oh... and I remember watching the Battlechess dudes beat each other up in the computer store.

[DangerousDaze]

Flying under the Golden Gate Bridge in "Aviator" on the BBC Micro. Also my first Geoff Crammond game. :) Elite was the obvious choice but it was fantasy, whereas flying a spitfighter under a bridge in glorious 3D was absolutely incredible for the time (early 80's)

/edit - http://www.migman.com/ref/1980_civil/Aviator/pics/acornsoft_aviator_200.jpg :)

[Cupelix]

Quake. I had finally seen true 3D.While I was impressed by Quake, I'll say that I wasn't converted to the dark side of graphics until I'd seen GLQuake first hand.

I can remember telling friends that the idea of a dedicated 3D card seemed so pointless. Then, GLQuake came along, and I was sold.

[KingGorilla]

What amazes me is that visuals have gotten so much better over the years, but everything else has had a seeming backslide. Mmos looke better, but are so much smaller than EQ. Story and Humor compared to Sierra or Lucas arts adventures are rare, at best. Freedom like in Fallout or Ultima is nonexistant.

The main reason being, game engines make a lot of money. I'd, Epic want short cycles where they sell their engine. And new engines are stll what people look to in "effort" put into a game. The same engine devalues a game, it implies an expansion pack level of effort.

[DiBiddilyBop]

I remember the first game where I was absolutely floored by the graphics was Battle Arena Toshinden for the original Playstation. I think Doom was up there as well.

[Tayaya]

The first time visuals really, truly blew me away with their amazing realism was when I saw Ridge Racer in the arcade for the first time.

Graphics and things like that were something I was aware of and I did lean towards the SNES over the Genesis because the games were more visually appealing to me over the Genesis with the larger color palate and things like Mode 7, but the first time I saw Ridge Racer in the arcade, with it's fully textured world, and high-res, 60fps graphics, and that beautiful scenery, I was floored. Everyone that passed it couldn't help but stop and stare at it, and it was almost intimidating to play because it was so realistic looking, so many would wait for someone else to give it a crack before committing a dollar to try it.

I also remember saying "we'll never have games like that at home... but that's why we have arcades!"

Edit: I'm just going to leave the bad grammar in this post because it humors me... gotta stop posting these things when on really rough phone calls... :-P

[Goronmon]

What amazes me is that visuals have gotten so much better over the years, but everything else has had a seeming backslide. Mmos looke better, but are so much smaller than EQ. Story and Humor compared to Sierra or Lucas arts adventures are rare, at best. Freedom like in Fallout or Ultima is nonexistant.Improved visuals are a double edged sword. On one hand things are prettier. On the other hand, content takes a lot more time to create. Not to mention the complexities of dealing with content in a 3D settings as opposed to 2D and text-based games of old.

[jpublic]

Tales of Eternia (release in the USA as Tales of Destiny II) on the PSX.

[fitbabits]

Hmm... Some examples...

NFL 2K on Dreamcast. I was floored.
Riddick on Xbox. Such an awesome game, made even more so by the terrific graphics and art design.
3D Ant Attack on Speccy.
Gears of War.

[digitalErich]

Shit, I forgot the one game I can honestly say left me speechless the first time I booted it up, and not for the graphical fidelity, but more because of what this graphics engine could do with the game world and what it meant for the future of the genre: Tribes

[aVaKus]

Quake 2 and Unreal for me. It was at this time that I got my first graphics card, the Voodoo 2. "...the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the..." monitor.

[Vandabo]

X-Wing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_X-Wing).

Bingo. TIE Fighter was even better, but I played X-Wing a lot earlier. Actually flying down the Death Star trench with flight sim controls.... awesome. Hitting a TIE Fighter with a linked blast and seeing it detonate.... sublime.

[Crittias]

Doom. Its graphics AND its sound were awe-inspiring at the time. My roommates and I played Doom in the dark, and it made us jump out of our chairs multiple times.

[Sl1pstream]

Future Cop LAPD.

One of the first games I played on my PS1. Duke and friends didn't really do much. It looked cool, but it didn't make me go "OMG". When I got my Playstation, it came with a few demos. This was the first one that I tried. I was in love. It had mechs that could transform into hovercrafts and (I think) a helicopter. It was great.

[divinechaos]

Metal Gear- PS1
Riddick- Xbox
Bioshock- 360
Shenmue- DC
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe- SNES
Rock Band- 360

[Variable Gear]

Strangely enough, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for the Xbox. That game was just really well done graphically. The textures were pretty impressive for the time the game was released.

[pomeroy]

Call of Duty 2

[PanicBomb!]

Space Quest. My parents wouldn't buy us a console, but for some reason my dad liked competing with his friends over who had the most hot shit computer and would always buy us PC games that showed off his rig. Prior to the first Space Quest, we had an orange and black monitor and, like, Chuck Yeager's Fight Simulator or some shit. We also had an Incredible Hulk text adventure. Yawn. When he started buying us the Sierra adventure games, with their bright colors and awesome storylines, I bought in big time. At that point, things like EGA and VGA became part of my 8 year old lexicon.

I miss Roger Wilco.:(

[Church42]

Doom 2 (had played Doom 2 before Doom)...seeing parts of a space Marine on a chain like meat on a hook or a soldier impaled, still moving.

[Cyndair]

Quake 2 and Unreal for me. It was at this time that I got my first graphics card, the Voodoo 2. "...the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the..." monitor.

This. Suddenly that 300 bucks I had just spent was worth it. 12mb of power!

I'd also have to agree that I was blown away by Mario 64. I can remember the first time I played it at a display setup in Sears. I had to have it.

The same thing happened at Best Buy with Sonic Adventure. I had a Dreamcast shortly thereafter.

[Squidbot]

I seem to recall Magic Carpet blew my mind.

[Ondo]

Ghosts 'n Goblins for the NES.

Only because it was first video game I saw after getting my first pair of glasses. :)

[LongStepMantis]

Ghosts 'n Goblins for the NES.

Only because it was first video game I saw after getting my first pair of glasses. :)

That's awful. You finally get to see worth a damn and all you behold is you, dying...over and over again. ;)

[Ondo]

That's awful. You finally get to see worth a damn and all you behold is you, dying...over and over again. ;)
Fortunately I wasn't the one playing. :)

[The Doctor]

Super Mario Bros. After playing Atari 2600 for years Super Mario Bros was amazing.

Seconded. People get amazed over bump-mapping and phong shading nowadays, but I just about shit myself over scrolling!

[Camel]

I remember thinking the graphics for Jurassic Park on the Sega Genesis were incredible. Same with Alladin.

NFL Gameday 98 was the first game that made me say "WOW!" because I thought the players looked so realistic.

The most memorable graphics for me were from Wind Waker. I never got tired of seeing the little explosions or puffs of smoke.

EDIT: Actually, the more I think about it, the more it seems like EVERY game I played on the Genesis, starting with Sonic 2, completely floored me with their graphics.

[LongStepMantis]

The most memorable graphics for me were from Wind Waker. I never got tired of seeing the little explosions or puffs of smoke.

The graphics for that game were the main reason I enjoyed it as much as I did.
I even forgave the endless sailing because it was just cool to look at.

[Blue]

I have a handful.

Honestly, the ending to Star Tropics knocked me on my butt seeing everything you had done handled in colored pencil-like stills. For whatever reason that was just exceptionally powerful to me. When I first fired up Resident Evil, I couldn't imagine games getting any better than that. And while we're maybe not supposed to do cut-scenes, the dance sequence early on in FF VIII really captured my imagination and left me in awe. Not sure what it is about that scene but I was just fascinated that that was even possible.

But personally, I'm not a huge graphics person. I recognize that they add to a game, but gameplay is so key to me. I would much rather play an NES game with gameplay and a fun factor than something that simply looks pretty. There's something to be said for amazing graphics but there's also something to be said for a fun game. Sometimes you have both, but it usually skews one way or the other.

[Zabyx]

The most memorable graphics for me were from Wind Waker. I never got tired of seeing the little explosions or puffs of smoke.

I'm going to second this but say the water is what truly did it for me. I know so many people hated sailing, but for me, it was just more time to stare at the water. Specifically, the water that your boat splashes back.

[Jaded Fool]

Plenty of games wow-ed me with graphics growing up, I remember the spinning room from Castlevania on the SNES being amazing, but it never really made it 'important'.

I think when I got out from the sewer in Oblivion, looked around me, and just started exploring - that was the first time graphics in any game became necessary to me. Not all games mind you, just Oblivion :P

[Schnoogs]

Wolf3D
....................

[darkbase]

Duke Nukem 3D really gripped me, and thanks to it's Xbox Live release I'm re-living my childhood. It is so sweet.

After that, Majora's Mask was awesome. Sure, it was very similar to OoT, but the darker-yet-colorful style and mood were just amazing. Max Payne made me feel like I was in a gritty crime/Scorsese film. And of course, my beloved Metal Gear games.

Maybe I've been gaming too long but a lot of games this gen have been pretty lackluster in the technical achievement department. MGS4 stood above the rest to me, but not by much. LBP amazes me both in screenshots and videos though, so I'm really excited about that.

[jromero]

I'm gonna have to say Quake 2. That was the first game I can remember playing on my new PC at the time that really blew me away with it's lighting effects.