The Art of the Downgrade | In Defense of Ambitious Switch Ports
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- Опубліковано 19 вер 2024
- Here we are - Game Dreamery's first video essay!
🎮 Why I Love the "Downgraded" Aesthetic
Ambitious ports make up much of the Switch's library. Despite the inherent challenges and hardware limitations, Switch ports bring a unique blend of jagged edges, muddy textures, and low resolutions. But here's the twist-I adore this aesthetic!
Do you share my love for these graphical underdogs? Have you spotted a title I missed? Please like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments below. Let's celebrate the games that dare to dream big, no matter the platform.
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Witcher 3, all the Xenoblade games, Persona 5 and SMT5 the critics go: "It's amazing what can be done with the Switch hardware, bla bla bla!"
SMT5 gets a remake and the critics go: "The best part of this remake is that we no longer have to play it on the Switch!"
I'm looking forward to playing SMT5V, but unfortunately it doesn't look like in going to get to it any time soon. But yeah, agreed, weird how critics are so quick to dismiss the switch now, games can still look great on it!
I hate people disregarding the Switch like that, but oh well
@ShaneDehPainShan3th3painWe still do, even more so. It's just not on the switch and especially not in AAA
I miss when handheld versions of games sometimes did their own thing completely.
Uncharted and AC on the vita for example, were games i really enjoyed as a port/handheld experiences that wasnt or didnt need to be the full verion, but at the same time added to the full game's lore/world.
It is okay for people to have preferences. While the Switch delivers passable graphics as a portable, some people prefer seeing their games look nice on a big screen...! It's not hypocritical to have this preference while also acknowledging how cool it can be to see the Switch pushed to its limits. Though if you prefer, I personally would be happy to just mock the system all the time ✨️
I can't believe your brother would get tired of the "portable" gimmick, it's not a gimmick
It's just the natural evolution of a handheld
@@jesusramirezromo2037 agreed! He thinks I'm nuts, I think he's nuts, it's a whole thing.
It is when it's a home console first. It just putting a limitation on games for no reason
@@michaelmayers3622 it's not a home console tho
@@michaelmayers3622Everyone uses it differently lol
@@michaelmayers3622 Things get murky when you realize that Switch Lite exists.
I'm sure someone has said this, but the Nintendo 64 definitely had ambitious ports. Resident Evil 2 comes to mind.
That's true. I forgot about RE2 for N46.
I was just about to mention RE2 for n64, considering they were able to compress a 2 disc game to roughly 60+ishMB AND keep the two playable characters, plus zapping system plus cut scenes and voice acting, all while adding console exclusives...nothing short of game programming witchcraft 😂
@@GameDreameryI have to put this out there then. The ds will blow your mind then. Such incredible racing games on there. The 3d graphics were really something to behold back then. The psp is literally the grand master of ambitious ports. Star wars unleashed is best on psp, Tony hawk's underground 2 remix. Graphics don't make a game, content and quality do.
@@ronnope3988 I'm working on a video about ambitious games on the GBA at the moment, but I plan on eventually doing one for DS and PSP in the future too! I think DS has my favorite 3D aesthetic of any portable system.
@@GameDreamery Mario Kart DS still looks so good!! Playing that on my 2DS to this day
It really made sense to me when you compared these games that barely run to low budget or old movies. There's a certain charm in knowing what you're seeing and how they did it
@@bananaboy482 thanks! That's a huge component of it for me, getting to see the people behind the art. Like seeing brushstrokes on a painting.
This video is the exact reason why I bought a switch lite in 2024, the kinds of games that can run on that small device despite it’s shortcomings is a testament to the term “gameplay not graphics” and even so the aesthetic that switch ports have is one of my favorites, I play mainly racing games on the switch which is very unconventional but I love it
I completely agree! Which racing games are you playing? Mario Kart 8 is in my top 5 games of all time, although I'm not sure if that's the type of racing game you're talking about. I've had a blast with V-Rally 4, even though the reviews for it said it was pretty bad, I've really enjoyed it.
@@GameDreamery I usually play sim oriented games like Grid Autosport, WRC Generations, or Ala Mobile GP, but there’s also a new racing sim called HotLap racing releasing soon which I definitely suggest checking out, I’m sure you’ll find my comments over there geeking about it too
The same reason why I'll buy a steam deck this or next year, play switch games.
me too. It's weird to play Sim Games like WRC or Rush Rally on the Switch but I wouldn't play them on PC anyway.
One thing that does irks me is how Dragon Quest XI S handled their downgrade. They downgraded the game for Switch, of course, but that downgrade also carried over every single Port of Elusive Age, meaning that the vanilla game actually looks better than it’s enhanced version.
Finally someone who gets it. It's easy to make games on an powerful machine but it takes real talent to work with limitations! I always will love Switch ports, as I have loved GBA, DS and Wii ports in the past (and still do). Thank you for the positivity. As a Nintendo fan on the cruel and mean Internet, I needed that.
Amen! Thanks for your comment! I did not expect to find so many so many people who agreed with me, I assumed most people would think I'm nuts and this video might kill my credibility haha.
@@GameDreamery Most people enjoy portable systems, more people than home consoles. The haters online are what they are, haters online I guess. That fat WoW player from South Park comes to mind lol
@@ChampionRevilo haha I love that episode. But yeah, after having kids, I'd never be able to play as much as I do without portables. I'll grab 15 min here and there when I can, and that's really the only way I ever finish games.
I have a Switch V2 where I have been playing DOOM 2016 & DOOM: Eternal regularly.
And it never ceases to amaze me how well these "impossible ports" can run on 2015 hardware. It all comes down to the porting developers to optimize the game for the target hardware.
In the case of DOOM 2016 & DOOM Eternal, the wizards at Panic Button have done an amazing job with the Switch port. Despite the cuts made in visual fidelity ( when compared to the XBOX and PS5 versions ), what was always consistent is the rock solid 30FPS. Given the gameplay loop of both games are fast & frenetic, I experienced very minimal slowdowns when playing the Doom series on my Switch,
Jon Linneman from Digital Foundry said this well, "Even with the reduction in visual quality, the game should maintain its visual identity, while offering performance characteristics that avoid spoiling the fun..."
I guess that is the allure which appeals to me; experiencing these 'impossible ports" on less powerful hardware while being able to take the game on the go.
in fact, it's weaker than 2015 hardware, because the PS4 is 2013 and it's 2x stronger.
Apparently Panic Button even worked on Warframe's Switch Port, which is a solid port considering it still looks decent on Switch Hardware
I love this ports, but maybe not for the same reasons that you like them.
I just love he concept of having this big game on handheld, I think because, we always had portable consoles, but it feels portable was never taken seriously, they always had a specific less cool version of the game, but now, with the switch, now they made so "real games" are present in the portable, there is something so magical about seeing these big games on portable, and when you see the limitations that the game have, it feels like you understand what the developers had to do to make run, like you are part of the development, I don't know if I could explain exactly how I feel, but yeah, I love seeing these impossible ports for the switch.
I agree completely. I feel like seeing the "flaws" make me connect with the developer so much more. I love watching comparison videos and seeing where the cuts where made to cram huge games down onto Switch.
My problem with Switch ports is that PS3 era games were often stylized to creatively circumvent hardware limitations, looking more unique in the process (Dishonored, Deus Ex: HR, and even The Last of Us to a certain extent), while Switch ports are just PC builds on the ultra low setting, visually.
I've had a similar feeling to this. Running PC games on a system that's lower than the lowest specs it recommends. Trying to squeeze out EVERY last bit of performance, while sacrificing visuals was always such a fun thing to do to me. Sadly, i've been on a gaming PC for the last 4 years that is able to run anything on high graphics or ultra. Takes my fun out of it.
@@zerozeroone4424 as a kid I had a frustrating blast trying to get my terrible PC to run the origin Far Cry. I finally got it working with mods, but it looked like pants. It ran Tresspasser well though haha. Steam Deck has that same tinkering fun aspect to it now though!
DJ Khaled suffering from success meme
still doing this, and when I thought it would be over it turns out i still gotta tweak everything on the steam deck lol
Reminds me why i think doom 2016 on switch is cool despite its flaws
I'll be real, I am someone who enjoys realistic looking games, and since purchasing a deck my switch has only gathered dust, BUT "I like how weird AAA switch ports look" is actually an interesting take, you voiced this well. Cool idea for a video essay, tbh!!
@@NutrigrainHulk thanks so much! I'm playing a ton of stuff on Steam Deck too. I hope to do some Steam Deck videos down the line too. I appreciate your comment!
I agree the Deck has basically replaced the Switch for me since it feels like the no compromises version of the Switch.
But I'll never forget my first time loading up DOOM or Skyrim on my Switch and just being absolutely mind blown that such a tiny handheld device was even able to run those games.
Why do you even have a switch then tho? Do u not buy Nintendo games
@@MAXHALO369 Why do you even have a switch then tho? Do u not buy Nintendo games
@@madnessarcade7447 got it at launch so I’ve had it forever, used to play it a ton but now I basically have it for the occasional first party game like Zelda or Mario or when friends want to play Smash or Mario Kart, just doesn’t come up that often.
Honestly, the novelty of those impossible Switch ports has worn off with time. Sure, it's still interesting to see what the developers are willing to sacrifice in order to make their cutting edge games run on software that is not much more powerful that PS3/X360, but that's about it.
That said, I'll never forget the sheer amazement I felt holding this little console in my hands and booting up Doom 2016 for the first time - it was simply magical. Before Switch I had PSP and PS Vita, and they both had their share of impressive ports, but they never seemed impossible.
Playing big modern AAA games on your way to work/school was a dream of mine for the longest time, which was made possible by Nintendo and ridiculously skilled developers - and for that, I am forever grateful.
I'm happy to know that I'm not the only weirdo who digs these types of ports. I grew up with a GBA and a PSP, and I also had a Vita. Lots of impressive ports there. I even consider some of them superior to their console/PC counterparts.
I own a Switch Lite now. It's amazing how I'm able to take the experiences of big AAA titles on the go.
Agreed! There are some awesome PSP and Vita ports. I thought about making a whole video about them. Do you have any favorites?
@@GameDreamery I'd love to see a video about the PSP and Vita. Some of my favorites include:
- Mortal Kombat Unchained (Basically MK Deception with more content)
- Tekken 6 (Graphically impressive)
- Star Wars Battlefront 2 (Fun to play with friends)
- Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition
- The Warriors
- Def Jam Fight for NY
- Gun Showdown (Basically Gun but with more missions and stuff)
I have other favorites, but they're pretty much different games compared to their console counterparts (ex. NFS Carbon Own The City, Midnight Club LA Remix) perhaps you can do a video on 'demakes' like these, too.
What I listed are just the ones I can remember that are straight up ports. The ones that come with extra content are pretty much what I'd consider 'ultimate editions' of the games.
@@TheBagManGamer that's awesome, and helpful! I'll definitely check those out. The only ones I've played are The Warriors and Gun. I couldn't believe how good The Warriors looked when I picked it up, absolutely unreal for a PSP. And I loved Gun! I never beat it in PSP, but I played it twice on 360. Now that I can emulate PSP on my phone, I've always wanted to go back and play Gun, but use an android controller and map the aim buttons to the second joystick. I'll definitely make a video about PSP and Vita eventually, that'll be fun. Thanks for the recommendations.
Talking about the psp reminded me of the Midnight Club 3 port, i played it a lot on the ps2 but the psp port is by far my favorite
@@Idfkwhyy I'll check that one out!
This is why it’s hilarious when you see developers blame the Series S for their shitty games when other devs have been pulling off magic since GBA…
It's funny how people complain about the Switch not getting the big AAA 3rd party titles and when it does get a few they move the goal post to "well it's the wurst version so ha ha!"
@@ironinquisitor3656 I know! Wtf haha.
Hypocrisy always bugged me
DUDE i’ve had this exact same feeling since the PSP days, i will always prefer portable versions of games. Even if they have to cut some corners, they have a certain charm to them
@@zerock96 same! I want to do a PSP video soon too. I'm working on a GBA one at the moment, but eventually I'll dive into the ambitious games on PSP too.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance on the Switch was an amazing experience for me. I don't think I missed much with better graphics, even if sometimes I wanted the game to perform better. I think most of it comes to optimization and the kind of software/hardware wizardry that is hard to find in modern systems. What I love the most is seeing devs expertly taking advantage of all of a system's capabilities. Arguably, this still hasn't happened for the PS5 or the Xbox Series, but it already happened multiple times on the Switch.
@@4Clubs I totally agree, I loved Deliverance on Switch. It really blew my mind. It's one of the most impressive ports I've seen.
Thanks for letting me know that I'm not the only one who love "demakes" and low graphics games. I never get the appeal of high end ultra realistic games and even when my PC is capable of running games at highest settings, I always turn it down to the lowest with only anti aliasing enabled unless it becomes unplayable. Sometimes high fidelity and high framerate graphics feels too much for me and I cap it down to not let me get too spoiled with high end hardware and then not being able to enjoy ambitious ports and games on low end devices again.
There are many third party games I preferred play on Switch, because the portability felt too good with many of them. And most of them look decent and are completely playable.
Yes, Lego Star Wars looks fantastic on PS5, but on Switch it felt like back when I was a kid playing the first Lego SW on GBA. I ended up buying both versions 😅
I totally get that. I ended up buying both versions of Sonic Frontiers too. But, I ended up playing it way more on Switch, even though the PS5 version plays much, much smoother.
One thing to keep in mind about more powerful hardware is that it can allow for lazier programming. It can let coders get away with being less efficient. This isn't too bad if its just here and there in a few spots. But if the games code is filled with lazy programming it can really suck.
@@JozevG good point!
Glad I’m not the only one who gets excited when crazy AAA game gets ported to the switch. Even with owning a steam deck, I still pick up my switch for lot of titles I’ve bought on there that can easily be played on better hardware.
I’d go to say if I only had to pick one console to keep out of the 3, it probably would be my switch because of the portable nature of it.
Steam Deck would be the other device.
@@Doublepulse same! I love my Steam Deck, but if I'm trapped on a desert island, it's the switch for me!
I will say, the wii and wii u had some pretty ambitious downgrade ports too. They weren't handheld but they were weaker that the rest of the generations.
For example, i played darksiders 2 on wii u. It even had touchscreen and gyro aim added in!
@@dominicjannazo7144 good point! They had some interesting and strange ports too, like Far Cry for Wii.
Great video, the ports to less powerful consoles really don't get the appreciation they deserve. From a technical perspective though, I really don't think we can compare the ambitious ports of the GBA generation to what we're seeing now with the Switch.
On the GBA you were taking modern polygonal 3D games from more powerful consoles with GPUs, and completely rebuilding them from scratch for the GBA. This meant a lot of deep knowledge of the hardware, an understanding of ARM assembly and the most efficient way to use the instruction set, to be able to build a 3D engine. The 3D engines are essentially running in bitmap mode, the basic PPU had none of the modern GPU features that you need for 3D geometry.
Compare this to Hogwarts Legacy, a game built in Unreal Engine 4. Seeing this running on the Switch is impressive, but the impressive part here is almost entirely the work of the Unreal team, that engine can scale to such a wide degree that it can span generations. For the teams porting, the majority of the work is in tweaking the engine settings and rendering lower quality textures.
I guess this is the same as buying a modern game on PC and then playing it on the lowest possible settings. It is impressive just how much modern game engines can scale. But I really don't get impressed by this in the same way those ambitious GBA ports could push their limited hardware.
@@interferingpuritan great point! I'm actually working on a video about impressive GBA games right now. I don't quite know all of the technical workings of the systems, so it's been really helpful with comments like yours to start tk understand the archetecture of each system. Thabks!
I'm so glad you made this video, because I totally agree!! I really love the compact, squished-down versions of big games. I play Witcher 3 on Switch, Doom Eternal, Dragon Quest XI... and it's been a bit hard to articulate why, other than taste, preference, "I like it."
And maybe that's enough, but I love what you said "I like when video games look like video games."
It's hard to make someone understand, if they regard graphics & framerate above all. But popularity of demakes, and purposefully-retro style fan art for games makes me believe that people *do* get it. Realism isn't the pinnacle of gaming. There is a lot of coziness to have a huge game in your handheld.
@@Tribdinosaur this made my day! I honestly wasn't sure if anyone would agree with me or not, and everyone in my world is on the "best graphics possible" train, so it's been really nice finding other people who like the same look I do. I felt like most critics are also always so down on Switch graphics, which was one of the reasons I decided to start this channel, I care so much more able to feel of a game over it's frame rate, resolution or fidelity. I love the new demake-PS1 trend happening right now, so I definitely think indie developers are in alignment with us. I really just hope Nintendo keeps the "gameplay over graphics" mindset as we move into the next generation, since their release schedule has been pretty amazing and it allows for them to take more risks... But if not, at least we have the AA and indie scene! Thanks for commenting!
The feeling you had with Ecks vs Sever was the same feeling I had with Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on DS. It was literally the same experience as the Wii, PS3, and 360 version, just on the go. It was amazing to 8 year old me.
@@vegetafan9922 I'll have to check that out! I had no idea it was the same game, I always assumed it was like the other portable Lego games, smaller but similar. Thanks for the recommendation.
Switch is amazing, I travel a lot, so the possibility of playing The Witcher 3, Xenoblade 3, No man's Sky, Xcom 2, Metro Last Light or Zelda TOTK in any place is like a dream come true. It's so cool
I still can't believe that Xenoblade 1 is playable on a new 3DS.
This is the reason why I don't mind some games being graphically downgraded on Switch. Don't get me wrong, I don't won't the graphics being downgraded to atrocious levels like Mortal Kombat 1 was on Switch (which has received updates to look better since then).
There's always been an allure to me playing games on the small Switch system that was originally made for much beefier system specs. It's the reason why despite owning The Witcher 3 on PS4, I still often play the Switch version of Witcher 3.
I love everything you shared in this video. One reason why I love the PS3/360 generation so much is because of how timeless, classic and raw the games' aesthetics were with its visuals and sound design. It'd be interesting to see early 2000's aesthetics make a return with a modern take, like a 2D/3D 2.5D hybrid styled game.
@@omelfilip thanks so much! I'd love to see that too. I think we're largely in a PS1/N64 resergence now, but I imaging that will move onto Ps3 and 360 soon enough!
3:43 just a correction, breath of the wild was built with the limitations of the Wii U in mind. BOTW released on the Wii U as well, it wasn’t a switch exclusive
@@PokeTube good call!!
glad to see Tony Hawk 1+2 included in there. I was thinkin' that game, Nier automata, and Alien Isolation. Yes that was a late cross gen ps3/360 game, but the switch version is comparable to the ps4/xbone version. Digital foundry did a vid on it
@@WusijiDoctor agreed! Those are all excellent! I couldn't believe Isolation looked as good as it does.
I'm with you on the ambitious ports. Cool to see you included the vanishing of ethan carter in the end there. Switch has many ports of walking sims, many of them run and look great. But Ethan Carter is a cut above and it's a good game too.
Thanks, I'm glad someone agrees. Most people I talk to about it think I'm nuts. Ethan Carter might just be the best looking game on Switch! I've been meaning to play through it again too.
@@GameDreamery Agreed. Stray just got announced at the direct. Hope it's a solid port.
@@deku812 I'm definitely picking that one up. I'll probably do a review too, I haven't played it anywhere else yet.
The Dying Light switch port is pretty charming ngl
Agreed! I couldn't believe Dying Light made it to Switch. I was really hoping we would get Dead Island 1 + Riptide too, but oh well.
All the points you made in this video are also why I like the Switch so much! I have so much more interest in playing games made for stronger consoles on the Switch, for example Nier: Automata as it still shocks me that game runs and plays so well on the Switch.
Nice video btw! I watched it to the very end. Imo, i don't really see this videogame ports topic in my feed. It's really interesting to see this kinds of vids! You are underrated man! I thought i was watching from a big channel, your editing is top tier great! I hope more people see this vid! Cheers! 🎉 :D
Wow!!! Thanks so much! This is my favorite vid I've made so far, it was a lot of fun. I'm mostly working on Reviews now, but I'd love to be able to do more of these Video Essay type videos too, they just take a lot more time. I'm having a blast making them, and it's been wild seeing how much positive feedback I've been getting. Thanks so much for your message, that made my day!
It’s so nice to know im not the only one who loves picking up good ports on switch, I love my switch, despite having add practically every single console in existence, something about the aesthetic of the switch, is fantastic.
Having a steam deck oled, it’s incredible no doubt but then there are always those games where you run into comparability issues, my biggest fear grind is when the game doesn’t fill the entire screen and has black bars, sure the OLED screen hides it with the dark blacks in a dark room, but man I find it so agitating just knowing it’s there. Games like L.A Noire do this, or even games like enter the gungeon, where the pixels get stretched to fill the screen. I like knowing my games are specifically optimized for the switch, and it also has the good old classic game feel when an incredible port is being discussed.
The good ports take me back to the days of Xbox 360 and what not, where games were for the most part made with passion and not just thrown out because they wanna make a good few bucks.
Good on us pal, glad to know there’s others like me out there.
@@pochi1491 totally agree! Those black bars annoyed me so badly on Elden Ring, but I found a good patch that fixes it and makes it full screen on the Steam Deck! I'm glad to have found other people who agree too. I really thought I'd lose all credibility on UA-cam for this one!
Resident Evil 2 on n64 very much falls into this category. They crammed a 2 disc ps2 game with lots of fmvs (nearly 700mb per cd) onto s 64mb n64 cart (largest n64 had and only other game to ever use that size was Conkeys bad Fur day) with all its content and fmvs useing some extremely clever coding and bonus content too.
@@Demokirby totally! That's a good one. I forgot about RE2!
I'd actually say Half Life on PS2 and Doom 3 on Xbox are two examples of games that were ambitious ports.
Good call! Yeah, those are great examples!
I don’t understand why everyone says Half-life ps2 is an impressive port, there are tons of ps2 games that look way better than half-life on the pc did. An actual impressive port is half-life 2 on the original Xbox
@Paccyd33 Half Life 2 on Xbox is definitely more impressive but I think it's more the fact that Half Life 1 on PS2 managed to keep the entire experience and it was seamless which was impressive for the hardware.
@@MAXHALO369 yeah I suppose so, also impressive they added an entire multiplayer campaign to it too
1:47 Not to be pendantic or anything, but there are various examples of ambitious ports for many of those systems. Doom for the SNES; Resident Evil 2 for the N64; Half-Life 2 for the PS2; Morrowind for the Xbox; to name a few.
@@RohanSlazar good call! A lot of people have been pointing out RE2 on N64, and Morrowind on Xbox. I completely forgot about those! Morrowind blew my mind back in the day.
FNAF Security Breach (SB) is an example of a Switch port that achieves the impossible. So when SB originally launched, it was horribly optimized, even with higher end hardware. Years later, in an Indie Direct, there it was, Security Breach on Switch. When I got my hands on it, I was really surprised by how well it ran for the hardware (30 mostly stable frames and actually looked quite decent, but obviously notably worse). I beat the game all the way through and had almost no issues (apart from a soft lock but a simple reload of the save fixed it) and had a good time with it. With the most recent update however, it made the game completely unplayable for me because when I loaded in, the frame rate was notably worse and was dizzying to look at. My save was in one of the biggest locations in the game, but in previous updates, it ran decently. Hopefully they fix this, I know they can because they magically made this performance inducing game playable on this silly console
I've actually never played a FNAF games! I saw some footage for Security Breach and it looked really cool. Despite the downgrade, is that a good play to start, or should I play the original ones first? The originally didn't really look like my jam, but I'm into the look of SB and I'd like to know more about the lore. I heard the movie is decent too, especially if you're versed in the games.
@@GameDreamery Hmm, well, tbh, I play more for the gameplay than the lore (although, I do know a fair bit but not enough to be like “Oh I know that” at every potential object lol) but I think this is a decent introduction into the franchise, if you wanted, you could just watch some videos summarizing what’s happened on the games and maybe a few timeline vids to sorta catch you up to speed and then jump into SB. It might be fine cuz SB has its own isolated lore which is slightly connected to the previous games. But please take whatever I say with a grain of salt because I suck with FNAF advice and where to start lol. Regarding the originals, you can get practically “all” of the FNAF games on switch, FNAF 1-6, Security Breach, and Help Wanted (a VR game that has been ported) with very little draw backs (well I don’t know about help wanted tho, I don’t have it) regarding the quality of the ports. I recommend you try them out, FNAF 4 is probably (and most likely objectively) the scariest one out of all of them as it forces you to turn your volume up to hear sound cues which makes the jump scares so heart wrenchingly startling lol, I only made to night 6 before I decided “nope I’m done, I don’t want to get a heart attack” lol
@@spicymustard4904 That's helpful for sure! It's a series that has been on my radar for a long time, but I just haven't ever dived in. I appreciate your post! Maybe I'll do a video on them someday.
This was a great video. I’ve played the Witcher 3, Doom 2016, Wolfenstein Youngblood and many others on the switch more than any other console. Im always wowed by how much wizardry the devs had to pull to get these games to run on switch. I’m a gameplay and performance over graphics guy so the downgrade has never bothered me.
@@steveng010 thanks so much! I appreciate it!
Just for reference: SNES had 3mhz 16bit CPU, GBA had a 16mhz 32bit cpu without fpu or 3D chip (so developers had to use software rendering) ps1 had 34mhz 32bit cpu with a 3D accelerator. About FSR: some newer switch game also using it for upscale not for frame generation.
For the GBA: check out open lara, a full featured tomb raider 1 port. That is what i call impossible port.
@@Tofu3435 thanks for the context! I'm actually making another gba video now, but it's going to take me a bit longer to finish, and it's going to focus on ambitious games, including Project Lara!
CTRNF on Switch is a little rough around the edges but i still love it. It's just nice to have this big beefy kart racer on the go. And i find it even more fun than Mario Kart. (And thankfully cheaper)
yoo that was actually the first game I got for the Switch, and yea, the loading times are a bit slow, but the game itself runs surprisingly well
That KCD port looks very nice! I mean I myself played with little too high settings on my pc in 2018 so the texture rendering was quite bad and it was not an optimal experience but still, anyways I decided to grab Subnautica on the Switch and the draw distance and lagspikes in some of the things you can build is little bit annoying for me.
I'm the type of guy who grew up with a horrible pc and outdated consoles, but even then, i like pretty graphics and would even sacrifice framerate if i think the downgrade is too big. With that in mind, the switch shouldn't be a console for me, but i still want one just for the exclusives, because even though i could play them of my pc through emulation, it just doesn't feel right or good.
Those games look awesome in Switch Lite 5.5" screen
Just in case I wanted to share the ports I enjoy the most
Diablo 3
Dying Light
The Witcher 3
Skyrim
Quake 1 & 2
Doom
Dark Souls
Dragons Dogma
Metro Redux
Red Dead
I played Diablo 3 to death! I really want to spend more time with Dying Light and Metro too. I know it's gotten some pretty awful reviews when it first came out, but I've been playing Biomutant for the past few days and I am really enjoying it! I'm going to try to have a review out for it next week. If you liked pillaging every house you could find in Fallout, it has a similar addictive quality to the exploration. The combat isn't great, and it looks worse than it's original versions, but the port is oddly beautiful too. Worth a look if you've been holding off for the Switch Port.
@@GameDreamery yeah Biomitant is on my list atm.
Thing is I try to also consider what comes in the cartridge as well.
Luckily the game comes complete in cart but I just wanted to check how much the patch affected the game before buying it.
Still got lots of ports to try out
Kingdom Come
Alien Isolation
Immortal Fenyx
Outward
Sniper Elite
Zombie Army
@@juancimino296 I downloaded it, so I didn't get to try it without the patch, but it runs pretty fluidly for me. I highly recommend Immortals Fenyx Rising. I adored that game. It's one of the few open world games I felt compelled to complete everything. And there's a ton of good DLC for it too. I'm slowly making my way through Kingdom Come Deliverance too. It's very good, and runs well, but it feels overwhelmingly huge so it's one I'll chip away at over time. Biomutant feels like a manageable size open world game, which is likely why I'm clicking with it so hard.
@@GameDreamery just bought and used copy of Immortal Fenyx.
So far its great and I love the combat unlike then one in Zelda.
Been playing it in the version 1.0.0 included in the cartridge to test it out and so far its pretty decent, dont know why it got so much hate.
@@juancimino296 That's awesome! I loved Fenyx so much. It's one of the very few open world games I felt compelled to do everything in. I've been playing BioMutant all week and it has me hooked in the same way. I'm going to try and get an in-depth review out for that one later in the week. Glad to hear you're enjoying Immortal Fenyx! I was so bummed when I heard the sequel was scrapped, such a shame.
I love this video. Also, to put some constructive criticism in, the way you mix and refine your mic audio can be cleaned up a bit more. I’m sure this channel is going to get big soon, glad to be here relatively early.
@@sockthief9138 hey, thank so much! You're totally right, my audio leveling skills need work. I've been using Premiere Beta and letting it's AI Loudness feature do the leveling for me, but now that I have more thank like 15 subs, I'm going to do some research and get this dialed in. I appreciate the input! I've got one more video finished and scheduled, but after that I hope to have the audio sounding more refined. And thanks so much for describing.
Great video ❤❤❤ small correction the Steam Deck uses the inferior FSR AI upscaler instead of DLSS since the Deck doesn't feature an NVIDIA but an AMD GPU
@@DerComedyDad thanks so much! I appreciate the correction! My technical knowledge is a B- haha.
Dope video dude. I find the downscaled games to be fascinating tbh.
and people keep forgetting the Switch is a handheld. It should be expected for newer games.
Thanks for this video. It was surfaced to me the day after I picked up 'Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown' on Switch. Now THERE'S an ambitious port. Ive played it on PS4 and PS5 and it has no right to look or feel as good as it does on the Switch.
@@derekjenkins6614 omg, I'm playing Ace Combat 7 now and it's absolutely insane how good it looks. I can't believe they got the clouds to work like they did, it's so impressive. The last Ace Combat game I played was the 3DS one, and I'm having a blast with it!
10:22 Pokémon team wasn’t experienced enough with switch hardware when they first started development for the game and they are a smaller team then most also the game was made during Covid so it had a decent amount of obstacles and it couldn’t be delayed because they have to abide by the merch and the anime and the tcg
They have to be symbiotic with themselves
When people criticize them these are things no one considers
They have since likely gotten better they always learn as they go
Also their budgets are always small
I was always an avid supporter of ambitious and well made third-party ports on the Nintendo Switch, I'm so glad that other people also appreciate this underrated artistry
Honestly, I felt the same way when Luigi’s Mansion was ported to 3DS. It gave me the same feeling as when Conker’s Bad Fur Day was remade on the Xbox.
Basically just “neither of these games are in HD, but it was remade on a non-HD console, and it still looks better. These people at Grezzo/Rare are Wizards.” That feeling.
Luigis Mansion on 3DS is also cool because they got to finally implement the technology they tried to use with the original.
As someone who grew up with the NES and the Genesis, I can tell you that some of the best, most beloved classics for those consoles were, in fact, arcade ports. The issue, though, is that console hardware didn't even begin to achieve parity with the pure horsepower of an arcade machine until the PS1 and the Saturn (and even then you had to content with annoying load times and limited RAM). A lot of times, squeezing those arcade hits into a console cart required using the original as a general template to create a brand new game from the ground up. Think back to the NES versions of Gun.Smoke, Contra, TMNT2 or Jackal - they're basically completely different games, but because they were made with careful consideration for the console's limitations and add so much new stuff to compensate for the graphical downgrade, half the time they end up being the superior version. Nobody really cares about the arcade Contra; it's the NES port that's considered an all-time classic.
For me, one of the foundational games of my childhood was the Genesis port of MK2. As incredible as it was compared to anything on the NES, the real mindblowing was to realize that the arcade original looked and sounded head and shoulders above even that. But to this day, I swear by the Genesis version. The legendary Matt Furniss, who carried over the soundtrack to the Genesis sound chip, went above and beyond the job description. Half the time, he went off the reservation and basically created completely original compositions that actually surpass (!) the original. His work on MK1 had even more original material. The lesser graphical and audio capabilities of the system drove the port to a darker and grimier presentation, which gelled perfectly with the Mortal Kombat premise, and the music/SFX felt so much meatier than the SNES version. It actually feels like the definitive console experience, with its own unique style, rather than a shoddy attempt to emulate the arcade original.
Oh, and subscribed I guess. ;)
Wow! I had no idea about MK2. That's fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing that. And those NES ports are awesome examples of this. There were so many Arcade ports to home consoles back then. I'll have to look more into all of those. I know I played a ton of Primal Rage on SNES and was always super excited to go play the full arcade version because it looked so much better!
I feel that.
I've always been fascinated of seeing the hardware limits tested. Nintendo DS era was wild playing games like Brothers in Arms, CoD World at War or ModernWarfare 3 and even going back to DukeNukem on GBA.
Skyrim (among others) on the Switch gave me back that feeling of being unrestricted of my gaming PC place.
@@FalkFlak I think I'm going to do a DS video at some point too, maybe one about FPS games specifically. There are so many crazy ambitious games on Ds.
awesome idea, that's generally a niche not covered well. Many good games disregarded just because of their graphics.
Thanks for articulating what's so fascinating about these 'lesser' ports. I played Outer Worlds on Switch exactly for this reason: the washed out graphics and muddy textures give the game an almost 1950s B-movie look, which for me only added to the experience. Both Kingdom Come and The Witcher III look incredible on Switch considering the limitations.
@@paulpiusink6917I'm glad it resonated with you! And I totally agree, that's a great way to describe the look of Outer Worlds.
Metro Redux should have been included as well
@@lemonboi_project totally! Metro Redux was great on Switch. I totally forgot about it.
Games always were made with realism in mind. Hardware just wasn’t capable 20 years ago
Its weird to say my stance when most of my friend group are PC gamers or PS5 gamers in that sense, so they are all about graphics, 120 FPS, HDR, etc. But this video honestly made me feel not alone in my stance and it’s nice to know others agree. The switch actually got me to try out a couple of AAA games like The Witcher 3, Skyrim, Hogwarts Legacy, and Alien Isolation (which btw looks better on Switch than the PS4 version!). I own a PC and PS5, but I always find myself going to my switch, and i do think it comes from the charm of seeing the compromises of these certain games made to fit the limited hardware for the sake of portability. The switch successor will definitely be a day 1 pick up for me
PSP was the closest a handheld has ever been to a contemporary console, the difference between its games and those on PS2 were so negligible it mainly came down to resolution which is still mind-blowing to me even after all these years. Vice City Stories in particular even had upgraded models and visuals compared to the original GTA VC on PC and consoles, PSP set the only precedent in gaming history where games were ported from a handheld to a console and _still_ looked on par with that console's natively developed games.
Even though I literally don't agree with you at all I love that you made this video. It's such an interesting perspective that I've never thought about before, and it was fascinating to see why you felt this way. Super interesting, weird and personal videos like these are why I love UA-cam.
@@jaketest9265 I really appreciate that! Thanks for being open to my weird tastes haha. I assumed I was in a tiny niche minority, but it's been surprising to see how many comments come from people who do agree, which was totally unexpected. I assumed this video would be filled with "you're an idiot" type comments, but it hasn't been that at all! I've got another video in the pipeline about why I play most games on the easiest difficulty too, another minority opinion I'm sure too. Thanks again for commenting.
I 100% don't think Pokemon made a shit game on purpose, they're always a generation behind (making a Switch game when Switch w will be out, making 3DS games while the Switch is out, DS while 3DS is out, GBA while DS is out, etc)
Not to mention they're actually incompetent it's not on purpose
I’m in the same boat as you rocking the Switch, PS5 and Steam Deck combo. Best configuration in my opinion to play all games on all Platforms, enjoyed the video and agree playing. Playing DOOM 2016 on the tiny Switch after playing on the Xbox One felt like a miracle.
Gotta say, for a 500 sub channel, the video was absolutely INCREDIBLE! Keep it up bro, and btw I have 100+ hours of Witcher 3 on switch, when I literally have it on my PC
@@shadowlink3504 this made my day! Thanks so much!
11:40
art styles almost never go extinct because whenever a specific style isn't "normal" anymore it gains a special type of appeal that future artists will continue to use because it's now accepted as a style rather than the norm
evidence: pixel art, VHS filter, N64/PS1 graphics, DS graphics, monochrome film, etc...
@@Doktario_Mystario great point! I love how there's now a bunch of devs making PS1 and N64 looking games!
I've sunken hundreds of hours into Dragon Quest XI S and Persona 5 Royal
DQXI is on a bit of a gray area, since it was made for the switch from the ground up but it's still a compromised version of the original, but truly the 3DS version fits the bill even more but is essentially a different game with the same story and similar mechanics
I loved play these games on a consistent 30fps with pop in and muddy textures they feel so good to play on switch, even if I can say the animations do look smoother on other consoles it kinda breaks away from what felt to me like the actual look and feel of JRPGs
@@ValenteXD DQXI is one of my holy grail games, it's so insane they made a unique version just for 3DS. I hope that some day there's an English patch for it. I've played a bit of the Japanese version emulated, but I'd love to have the whole thing in English.
Defending ambitious ports will become harder to defend.
The gaming landscape is changing, we now have full blown *Handheld gaming PCs* that become increasingly powerful every year - No ports or port begging required. They just straight up play PC and emulation.
One thing that I always feel conflicted about is Fortnite
I used to think it was a terrible port but it was my only way of playing it since my laptop couldn't run the game at all. Then other times I realised that the port is impressive since it looks closer to the console versions than the mobile versions in terms of visual fidelity.
Same thing with framerate, sometimes I'm disappointed by how low it can drop, other times I'm impressed with how smooth it can look at a stable 30.
I feel completely torn lol
Haha I get that! Switch is the only place I play Fortnight, and it's equal parts impressive and frustrating!
30fps is smooth and stable. Every show and movie are 24fps
@@kylespevak6781 this speaks volumes on how little you know. do not project your terrible takes and blindness as a fact. say that to any rhythm gamer and they'll projectile vomit on the spot
1:52 some games did push those consoles to their limits like Xenoblade for Wii
Totally! I just meant ports from other more powerful hardware. Like, Xenoblade on 3DS would be a good example!
You struggle to think about games like this on the other consoles?
The Wii was the kind of impossible ports and alternative versions. The two The Force Unsleashed games were literally better on the Wii, to the point when they decided to remaster the original last year, they went with the Wii version because that was the better version from back in the days.
Another games that was better on the Wii was Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.
Dead Space on the Wii was also crazy. I remember at the time people going: "blahblahblah they can't have a immersive horror game on the Wii because the Wii can't do good graphics".
And then they come up with a on rail Dead Space that eas more immersive than the main games. I think the same can be said for the Umbrella Chronicles games. Adapting all the RE games to a on rail shooter was insane.
Then we got crazy ports like Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, all the Call of Duty games and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, games that people thought were impossible to ports, but they still did it.
The 3DS also had some crazy ports, like Street Fighter 4, Xenoblade, Smash Bros, Hyrule Warrios, Metal Gear 3... All games coming from vastly superior hardware.
The N64 had ports sutff like Resident Evil 2. Two full CDs in one little cartridge. When the Dreamcast came out, it got some impressive ports from that too like Rush 2049 and Shadow Man.
And even the exclusive games. The later Turok games had cutscenes with facial expressions and characters with teeth and everything.
The Xbox had PC ports like Doom and Riddick, that had next-gen technology we would only see on the PS3 and 360. The PS2 had Gran Turismo running at 1080i.
@@gundamzerostrike woah, great call! None of those came to mind when I was making the video but you're totally right. That makes me want to go back and revisit all of those.
@@gundamzerostrike thanks for the list! I appreciate it.
Nier Automata is another one that comes to mind. It's crazy that game runs on the Switch.
@@FRANKIEonWCin240p totally! I forgot about Nier. Woops.
Playing multiplat games on switch hardware is a fine reminder when i tried to run full games on my Pentium 4.
I'll always love the switch because exactly the low power, i can basically emulate the library on a phone.
It's quaint how some of these games got a release on the switch simply because it sold so much.
Keep em coming so I can pirate this shit in my phone's emulator
Another reason why the switch feels like a demake games home is because its the most popular console ever released. Of course devs want to release their games on it despite their games being well above the switches capabilities. Thats why ambitious ports exists on the switch.
@@typhlo9797 totally! Great point!
Im so happy I found you because I relate to every single word you’re saying. During the Steam Summer Sale, I purchased Hogwarts Legacy to play and enjoy on my gaming PC so I could crank up the graphics. However, I ended up refunding it not long after and just fired it up on my Switch instead. I relate so hard with what you are saying about the downgrades making it more enjoyable which is THE WEIRDEST THING TO SAY and if I share that to my friends, they will look at me crazy!
I'm so glad you're here! I did the exact same thing with Sonic Frontiers. I bought it on PS5 and Switch, and even though the PS5 one looks and runs so much better, I still played the whole game on Switch! When I first put out this video I assumed that everyone would think I was nuts, but it's been so awesome finding people who share this crazy opinion/preference!
Bro i identify a lot with your words❤ i thought it was just the portability for me but you just articulate everything that wasn't able to
@@dayanvaldes1349 haha thanks so much, I appreciate that! I'm glad you approve! It was really fun making this video. I'm mostly doing reviews for now, but I really want to make more of these video essay style ones soon!
@@GameDreamery it was an awesome video I saved the biomutant and Xuan yuan for later 🙏🏾
I had only a game boy, then GBA growing up. Those 3D games were so amazing for someone who couldn’t get a more high end game console. Maybe that’s also why I love the switch so much. Finally able to buy what I want and the switch has such a variety of old and new that I just love it. Plus with a 1 TB memory card I have a massive portable game library I can take anywhere.
I also played most of the Witcher 3 on switch, out of necessity, being able to transfer my save later on to steam allowed me to finish it and I'd never go back... you freak!
However, i really enjoyed your take on the subject, you bring some very valid points.
Always refreshing to see original takes on certain subjects keep it up❤
I wish de-makes developed a consistent look, or technique and that can only happen if there's the demand for it!
@@matteria3239 haha thanks a lot! I assumed I'd get skewered for this opinion, but I've been so surprised by how many people agree to some degree.
Finally, an interesting video that explains more in depth of these awesome switch ports!
@@M64bros thanks so much! I really enjoyed making this video.
@@GameDreamery My pleasure!
Can't believe they made a game of that crappy Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu movie.
haha I know! They made 2 of them!
The Call of Duty ports on the wii comes to mind... They ran good enough to be enjoyable experiences, in single player and on multiplyer as well
Whenever I hear about these ports I go: "Wow, that's pretty impressive... anyways.... Imma play at 4k 120fps on my PC."
I respect these ports for what they are, but if you have more capable hardware I don't see a reason play these ports. The main thing isn't even the graphics for me, it's the framerate. Is it amazing that I can play Doom Eternal on Switch, absolutely. Is the 30fps that the Switch can pump out amazing; maybe for the hardware, sure, but in terms of playing the game separated from the hardware it both looks and feels terrible.
Pokémon is always meant to be an entry level jrpg maybe the people trying to hate on pokemon maybe they just aren’t into jrpgs or at least the type they try to be
If
The lore was good
The writing was good
The music was good
The vibes were good
The messages were good
The character designs were good
That’s all you really need
The series knows what it is and its niche(by niche I mean space) and what it wants to be and there’s nothing wrong with that and it doesn’t have to be anything else
The mainstream audience doesn’t care about graphics or bugs or anything they just like to vibe
People are just trying to make it something that is isn’t
And something that doesn’t fit its style
Maybe u don’t like Pokemon just aren’t into entry jRPGs and that’s fine
To answer the end question regarding the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet question: I personally believe the game was developed with the Switch Pro in mind as that DID exist and would have released if it wasn't for COVID.
@@lucariotrainer16 that makes a lot of sense. I wish we had gotten a Switch Pro.
Oooo, don't know if anyone mentioned it, but Starcraft for the N64 🙂. Now one can definitely make the argument that the decision to port it to the N64 is probably a case of "Just because you could doesn't mean you should", but the game does function and the machine does not burst into flames, so that's a win 😂😹
@@AnxiousG I totally forgot about Starcraft! I never tried it on N64, but now I'll have to haha. Thanks for the recommendation!
As I grew older I find it harder to sit down and enjoy a game on my tv.
The Switch was a God sent because it allows me to enjoy games when ever and where ever I want.
Rarely do I ever play the Nintendo exclusives games, I find them all very childish, instead I exclusively focus on the ports.
Although I am upset about the lack of ps3/360 ports, there are still many classics missing, I do love what we got.
They clearly look and play worst but like you said theres a certain charm to them, and lets be honest most of the old school games I love were worst than what we currently got on the Switch.
Looking forward to more miracle ports and lets hope we get Fallout 3/New Vegas and Dark Souls 2.
I completely agree. I hardly ever sit down to play my PS5, that always feels like such a time commitment. And since having kids, I have to just play for a few minutes here and there whenever I find the time, so Switch has allowed me to keep playing games as I get older. I've had to sit down and record footage for these reviews, but I can kinda justify it as a creative outlet haha. I really think we're going to see Fallout in some form at the next Direct, the timing is just too good with the TV show and the resurgence of the IP. It's perfect timing! And agreed about Dark Souls. I'd love to play through that again on Switch. Thanks for the comment and follow!
I've always loved these "impossible ports" since Doom on the SNES and Street Fighter Alpha on the Game Boy Color or heck, even Duke Nukem 3D on the Sega Genesis, there's something magical about seeing games running on hardware well below what they were designed to run, and is so interesting to see and think about the techniques that the developers had to make this possible.
The Switch still makes this possible (and I imagine the Switch 2 does too) but it's kind of sad that this is becoming increasingly rare and even on the Switch some companies resort to the easier way out of cloud streaming games that it don't even playable here in Brazil.
@@MoonSarito thanks for your comment! I totally agree. It's such a shame companies try to get around it by using cloud streaming, that tech is just not goo enough yet and may never be!
This is basically why I'm so ticked that Squeenix couldn't be bothered to even attempt porting any of the Kingdom Hearts games to the Switch.
Cloud games. Yuck.
OMG I know... I hate Cloud games. I'm so glad that trend seems to be dying on Switch. What a scam. I'm considering getting Kingdom Hearts on Steam Deck. I've always wanted to play that series. I got halfway into the 1st game on Ps2 back in the day, and never got around to finishing it.
I’ve played a decent amount of KH1 and it isn’t that bad it seemed like whatever issues there were got fixed I’ve enjoyed my time with it can’t get past Cerberus tho
@@GameDreameryI liked the idea I don’t think it’s that bad at least in my experience
In first xbox, maybe half life 2 and doom 3 are examples...
@@ZorMon totally!! I remember being so excited Doom 3 was releasing on Xbox because I didn't have a PC to run it and I was a huge Doom fan. That blew my mind too, in the same way, back in the day.
Man I also love the aesthetic of downgraded games. I’m just glad the switch successor is gonna hopefully load into games faster. I wait forever for some of these games to load lol
@@adam711s totally! The load times bother me so much more than the graphical downgrades.
FF16 , Stellar Blade, Forspoken, returnal, Spiderman 2, Ratchet and Clank rift apart, Demons Souls, Astros Rescue Adventure, TLOU Remake, Nioh Remasters, Ronin... Theres a lot more PS5 console exclusives than you said.
@@Amannus2.0 I made this video 3 months ago, so a bunch of those weren't out yet, and some are on PC or we're announced for PC. But yeah, there's definitely more now and more announced (and a few I missed) , although I think most of them are also planned for a PC release. I meant just pure exclusives, which previous generations had a ton more of!
@@GameDreamery There were far more than you said, I only counted a handful, and most were out when you made the video. In fact I think only Stellar Blade wasnt
Resident Evil 2 N64 wowed me back in the day. So much crammed into that cart
I had completely forgotten about RE2 on N64! I still prefer that version.
Granted, Doom Eternal's engine could be stripped down to stick figures. ID does a good job of making their engine as scalable up as it is down.
@@thrillhelm419 that's awesome. I can't wait go Doom Dark Ages. It'll definitely be on Switch 2 and that'll be a good test to see how powerful it is.
Only time I’ve bought one of these was when I was going on holiday and needed a fallout like game to play so I copped the outer worlds. The graphics weren’t terrible, like they certainly didn’t look good but it didn’t detract from the experience. What did was the horrible load times
The Switch definitely has some ambitious ports. I became aware of these sorts of ports with the PSP. Manhunt 2, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Dante's Inferno, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the various Star Wars Battlefronts, the Grand Theft Autos (are they ports? they're basically the same cities, but with a different story). This continued (though, with less success) onto the Playstation Vita, with X-Com: Enemy Unknown Plus, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2, Borderlands 2, Resident Evil Revelations 2, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Odin Sphere and more.
It's funny, however, because at the time of the PSP and Vita's existence, these ambitious ports (despite how good they were or weren't) were always ridiculed for their shortcomings. Now, on the Switch, they're priased for running, warts and all.
Oh well.
Personally, I will endure many alterations and excisions to content, graphics, and presentation as long as it is portable. To this day, the Vita versions of X-com, Resident Evil Rev 2, and Borderlands 2 are the versions I've played the most. All because of portability.
Making Downgrade ports has some charm as there are graphical differences between consoles that people can easily notice. And it also shows how much effort developers can optimize to get games run on weaker hardware.
Agreed!
Resident Evil 2 for N64 was my first "ambitious port" game, I always remember being slightly awed that the game's cartridge was slightly heavier than all the others in my collection. I do enjoy the novelty of developers who can make the game work on seemingly impossible limitations. I think MK1 could qualify for the ambitious ports list by the end of its life time, the developers have been good at ironing out the bugs and performance and I'm quite satisfied for what it is.
@@simontchang totally! RE2 on N64 was wild back in the day. That game is huge! Also, I'll have to check out MK1 again. I have up on it after a few hours, hoping for a patch, and forgot to check back in on it.
Nintendo as well as Pokemon has the most sustainable business model. Going lower-tech and lower-spec was the smart play. Nintendo is one of the only companies that realizes they make video games... not "technology". GAMES. Sony has completely lost this perspective, and I'm not sure that Microsoft ever had this perspective.
Nintendo is the last REAL game maker around that happens to also make consoles.
I think Nintendo has seen this coming for a long time. With age comes experience, and this company has seen many adversaries rise and fall. Nintendo saw their competitors promising better and better production to the point where there is no return on investment and only their frail fundamental IP to justify hardware. Now the third parties are fleeing and afraid of partnering.
Nintendo have been playing the long game and it has paid off in spades.
When we say Nintendo consoles and games are inseparable we mean it literally since the devs make both the console and games at the same time together simultaneously
Nintendo thrives in limitations it allows for more creativity
Sometimes too much freedom means no direction
But within a limitation you can challenge yourself how to be flexible within it like a fun puzzle you experiment with
PEOPLE NEED TO STOP GIVING A DAMN ABOUT GRAPHICS
IF YOU WANT GOOD GRAPHICS WITH REALISTIC TEXTURES GO OUTSIDE AND HUG A TREE
NINTENDO WAS SMART AND REALIZED WHAT EVERYONE ELSE
IS TOO SLOW TO
Nintendo realised long ago that competing in graphics is pointless. No matter how powerful your console is, in a couple of years it is going to be obsolete, and anybody who really cares about graphics is going to buy a PC, because that is where the best graphics are.
Instead, Nintendo focuses on their strengths:
* Nintendo likes hardware gimmicks, because it makes their console stand out. Nobody bought a Wii because it had the prettiest graphics, they bought a Wii because they wanted to play with the motion controls (An idea so good both the “superior” PS3 and Xbox 360 tried to copy it). The same thing is happening with the Switch: people are buying it because they can play their games anywhere, and can move between a handheld and a home console. They like to focus on giving customers something that they cannot get anywhere else.
* When Nintendo did try to compete on power, they didn’t do very well. The N64 and Gamecube were the most powerful consoles of their generations, but were both massively outsold by the “inferior” PS1 and PS2. The Wii was the weakest of its generation, but outsold the PS3 and Xbox 360. This proves Nintendo’s approach to console design clearly has something going for it.
* Performance is expensive. Performance is even more expensive when you are using it in niche applications. If Nintendo wanted to have something as powerful as an Xbox One or PS4, while still being portable, then it would probably cost twice as much. This means that Nintendo would have to charge more for the console (probably not something the market could sustain) and/or eat a hefty loss on each console sold. Instead, by not focusing on performance, Nintendo make a profit on each console, and keep it at a price point where more people can afford it.
* One of Nintendo’s biggest strengths is their first party titles, all of which rely on stylised graphics and strong art-style. It doesn’t matter that the console is not very powerful when Pokémon, Zelda, Mario (and its millions of spin offs), Smash Bros, Metroid and Donkey Kong are incredibly popular and all don’t care about high end graphics. Why make your console more expensive to make and develop for when you don’t even need it?
* The companies that tend to focus on graphics are third party developers, such as EA, Activision, and Rockstar. If the console sells well (like the Switch currently is), then those developers will find a way to bring their games to it or, failing that, make unique games that work best on the hardware.
* By not competing with the other consoles, or PCs, in terms of power, while offering unique gaming experiences, Nintendo has comfortably found a niche as an optional second system. If you have a PC, PS4 or Xbox One you have very little reason to buy one of the others, because they are all basically the same. Nintendo’s consoles offer things that none of the others offer, and thus can easily tempt people with another gaming device into purchasing it.
* Nintendo has also found a strong market in all ages These people don’t care about graphics, so why waste money on giving them something that they don’t want? An families don’t care that the Switch doesn’t have the best looking games, they’re just happy that they can have fun
Ever since the Wii era Nintendo has. Been trying to train us that power doesn’t matter
Whimsy and imagination and creativity and memorable experiences are more important to them
And y’all still aren’t getting it
Move on from Power
it don’t matter
Nintendo doesn’t want it
They think it’s boring
They don’t care
Official quote from iwata: "Even when we were going to launch the Wii system, there were a lot of voice saying 'Nintendo should stop making hardware'," Iwata recalled, talking to Gamasutra.
"The reasoning behind that was Nintendo would not have any chance against Microsoft and Sony. The fact of the matter was: I did not think Nintendo should compete against these companies with the same message and same entertainment options for people.
"We have not changed our strategy," he added. "In other words, we just do not care what kind of 'more beef' console Microsoft and Sony might produce in 2013. Our focus is on how we can make our new console different than [others]."
The switch is faithful to iwata’s legacy
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Alright. There are A LOT of impossible ports on all of the consoles you mentioned. That was a strange take.
Morrowind on Xbox. Resident Evil 2 on N64. Quake 2 on PS1. Etc. on and on