Throughout the years, there have been moments in video game history that have amazed gamers with stunning visuals and groundbreaking graphics, like Donkey Kong Country's pre-rendered backgrounds, the release of Sega Saturn and PlayStation, and the birth of VR. In just thirty years, video games have radically changed.
However, while some graphics may have seemed impressive at the time of release and live in the memories of gamers forever...they sometimes don't hold up when looking back. Here are 10 games with graphics way worse than you remember.
Halo (Xbox)
There's no denying that Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionized gaming. Stunning visuals, immersive words, intricate storylines, tons of actions, and even genuine moments of suspense and horror. It created a new benchmark for what constituted as epic gameplay. However, when the Halo Anniversary game was released and players could do a side-by-side of the new enhanced graphics, compared with the original from 2001, it became clear that everyone remembered Halo as looking way better than it actually did.
Star Fox (Super Nintendo)
It's crazy to think that just one year before releasing Donkey Kong Country, Nintendo released Star Fox. While the game was popular and led to a highly-praised sequel for N64, looking back, it needs to be addressed that even for Super Nintendo, the graphics are horrible. When viewed these days, all players can see is a hodgepodge of squares, triangles, circles, and rectangles. Regardless of the poor graphics of the original, the series has provided some of gaming's coolest spaceships and also gave birth to the phrase, "Do a barrel roll!"
Resident Evil (PlayStation)
Resident Evil deserves respect. It's one of the most influential games ever and has created one of the biggest franchises in both gaming and film. Its story is terrifying and thrilling, and its sequels are just as impressive as the original (if not more so).
But after various remastered releases throughout the years, the graphics for the original continually look worse and worse. Looking back, it's easy to see just how grainy and bulky the original truly was.
Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)
Massive graphical improvements were made to the Final Fantasy franchise with Final Fantasy VIII and again in Final Fantasy X. However, one of the most celebrated games in the series is Final Fantasy VII. Sadly, in 1997 when the game was released, graphics weren't yet up to the task that the massive game demanded. And while the pre-rendered backgrounds offered some stunning settings, the characters themselves looked incredibly bad.
Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy Pocket)
There have been more than 18 generations of Pokémon games since its initial release back in 1996. And therefore, the series has undergone many graphical improvements. Because of that, gamers can often forget just how basic the original games actually looked. The original Pokémon games weren't even in color. Luckily for gamers, in 2004 Nintendo released FireRed and LeafGreen, which were remastered editions of the original Red and Green/Blue games, this time in color.
Animal Crossing (GameCube)
Humanity owes a lot to the new Animal Crossing game, New Horizons. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it offered quarantined gamers a chance to find community and escape the horrors of the outside world. And while the franchise has become one of Nintendo's greatest, many gamers have probably forgotten just how different the GameCube graphics were compared to New Horizons. The original game's camera angle is in a constant top-down view, and the graphics looked like a sorta-3D Paper Mario game.
Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
Donkey Kong 64 was one of the N64's bestselling titles, and it was the first time DK fans got to see the titular character embark on adventures in a totally 3D world. On top of that, there was a large choice of characters and that now-famous DK Rap. While the game is remembered fondly by 90s kids everywhere, looking back now, it's clear to see just how weird the game looked.
Oddly enough, in the 3D game, the backgrounds actually look worse because none of it could be pre-rendered like in the SNES games. And in front of the smooth, bland backgrounds were clunky, boxy characters.
Dark Summit (Xbox)
Snowboarding games were a huge fad in the early 2000s. SSX had been released on PS2, Rippin' Riders was on Dreamcast, and in 2001, one of Xbox's launch titles, Darm Summit, sought to create the next snowboarding franchise. Most gamers probably don't remember how bad the graphics truly were because they were busy staring at the game's main selling point...the large-breasted woman snowboarding in a crop top. But one look at the surrounding graphics, and it's clear that this was a truly sloppy game.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation)
In the 13th game of the long-running Castlevania series, the graphics seemed to stall. Despite being released on the brand new PlayStation system, which was radically changing gaming forever, Symphony of the Night continued to remain a 2D sidescroller and looked pretty similar to the game's Genesis predecessor.
It ended up being the last console Castlevania entry to be released in 2D (aside from a Wii digital-only game in 2009) as gamers everywhere began demanding a more intricate playing experience.
Metal Slug 3 (Xbox/PS2)
Metal Slug 3 was the first of the Metal Slug games to be released on next-gen consoles. But despite the revolutionary graphics being released on the PS2 and Xbox, Metal Slug 3 remained 2D. Even worse was that the game improved the graphics of the characters, making them brighter and more detailed...which only caused them to look awkwardly superimposed onto the game's lackluster background.