BEST OF THE 90's | Best Console Graphics Of The 1990s Year By Year

[@theretrobro]

Video Errors and Corrections: I stated Starfox was not 3d however the Super FX chip did allow the super nes to render 3d polygons. I also stated mode 7 was a chip this is in fact a graphics mode whereas the super fx chip was used in the starfox cart

[@jensmaa]

also mode 7 is not a chip but rather a function

[@douglasbrzeski668]

I got the DC on launch day. I remember every kid in the neighborhood coming over and just being blown away by Soul Caliber. It was in such another league back then, even compared to other stuff on DC. It still looks good and plays so smooth.

[@theretrobro]

Agree alot of stuff on dramcast hasn't aged well but mostly due to controls. I got a dreamcast later on but I worked at toys r us when it was released and used to spend all my breaks playing on the kiosk.

[@roberto1519]

The games you have chosen for this list are indeed great examples and most of them not only look great, but were among the most influential games of the time, Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox and Gran Turismo alone would make many more lists. I'd say though, that a list like this will always lack if PC games aren't included and I'd argue that from 1996 to 1999 it would be all about PC games, as consoles couldn't match for obvious reasons what developers managed to achieve with the accelerated hardware of that time. My brothers and I were playing Saturn and PS1 and every time I checked my friends PC games, from 1997 or so, it was clear the gap was there. Let's agree that no other decade had such huge jump in technology, like you say, comparing rather basic, yet elegant tech from a Genesis to a Dreamcast and PCs with GPUs and fast CPUs of 1999, internet becoming mainstream and many more advancements, there was nothing like that before or after the 90's.

[@theretrobro]

100 percent, thats exactly why i left PC games off the list as it would be nothing but pc games for the 3nd half of the decade. My uncle built a gaming pc in like 1996 and it was insane some of the games on there. Thanks for watching and commentating

[@PKmuffdiver]

Played em all. Good picks man!

[@theretrobro]

Thank you. And thanks for watching 💪

[@BMG138]

Great style of retrospect and edited content. This kind of style imo gets way more interest in views verses a regular review since everyone just hits up steam reviews or metacritic

[@cybercj99]

It really is hard to capture the true awe this evolution in graphics created without experiencing it first hand, nothing blew my mind more than the cinematics of GoldenEye or the incredible physics half life introduced us to.

[@theretrobro]

Amen brother! It's crazy cause 5th gen has aged so poorly but it was mind blowing back in the day. Deft had to be there

[@CMRetroGaming]

great list of games man. The best thing RARE WARE ever did was buy a Silicon Grafx machine, The DK Country games really set them up as a premier developer for the rest of the 90's.

[@theretrobro]

Yeah dude. That entire series of events could be a whole video in and of itself! Dkc legit pi$$ed me off as a sega fan because I wanted a snes so bad after that!

[@NinjaKittyRetro]

In the later 90's you could almost split the category in half for best 3d and best 2d games. Castlevania Symphony of the Night was and still is beautiful in my opinion and would be on my list.

[@theretrobro]

I had sotn as like number 3 for 97 and I almost put Rayman at 1 for 95 those were like the pinnacle of 2d games and imo looked better than the majority of 3d games at the time. Thanks for watching bro

[@Jackoe69]

I didnt realise it as a kid but the squeaking noise in Sega Rally is the sound of the turbo flutter/blow off valve. Years before everyone decided it sounded cool lol

[@theretrobro]

Duuuuuuude! Facts lol

[@VR-Emcee]

Great list. I would give Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed for the 3DO as my 1994 choice. RIP the X Man

[@theretrobro]

3do was mind blowing for 1994. Solid choices. Thanks for watching

[@TheLastLineLive]

95 I would choose Panzer Dragoon personally, that game looked really awesome for back then, lot of particle effects and how the first stage showed the water reflections and such was quite crazy for that time. And Soul Caliber is amazing looking for that time, iirc that was the first time a console game surpassed the arcade version graphically.

[@theretrobro]

That deft a top 3 more and almost put it at 1. I chose Rayman as the runner up because it was like the pinnacle of 2d sprite gaming.

[@EatingCtrlV]

Excellent picks, I loved seeing Sega Rally in there. I wouldn't change anything on this list.

[@theretrobro]

Thanks bro! Always appreciate the interaction

[@Apanblod]

In hindsight Soul Calibur has probably aged better, but going back to what my reaction was back then I would personally pick Shenmue for 1999. The character models may look like blocky cardboard cut-outs, but I don't think I've been as blown away by the graphics of a game before or since the way I was when I booted up Shenmue for the first time. Edit: I realised Shenmue doesn't qualify for the list as it was only released in Japan in '99, not in NA.

[@theretrobro]

Yeah Shenmu came out alittle later. I really enjoyed it back in the day as it was the first of those types of games so it was really revolutionary not just in graphics. Thanks for watching

[@AlphaNerd_Entertainment]

Soul caliber's graphics were amazing at time . And still hope up

[@theretrobro]

Absolutly dude. It's still my favorite one of the series as well! Thanks for watching

[@BioPhoenixReviews]

this is a cool idea and lots of great mentions such as DKC, soulcalibur, F-zero etc picking 1 game for 95 is tough due to the full on transition but sega rally is one of the better ones from that year i can think of right now the only one i would change personally is 98 with metal gear. the graphics are good but there are other games iv seen that came out in 98 that do the same in game graphic cutscenes but with better character/face textures. example such as zelda OOT everyone's face is more clean and distinguishable where snake has a black line for eyes and looks blurry. but the one thing that metal gear has over some games is the movement and animation during those cutscenes. i think my pick for 98 if were going to count international release dates as well would be sonic adventure since it came out at the end of 98 in japan and for a game in 98 its mind blowing.

[@theretrobro]

Yeah 98 was tough! So was 97. I have oot as my runner up for 98. And yeah 99 since I was going na release had to be a DC game

[@BioPhoenixReviews]

@@theretrobro yeah dreamcast has to take 99 for sure

[@Sly2Cooper]

I think MGS was picked because it was the first big scale cinematic 3D experience with mature theme never seen before. I would gladly watch more thorough video year by year, platform by platform.

[@NewGabeOrder]

I see the topic of the video being CONSOLE games, and your picks are quite good. However, I was thinking of other video games that looked better of each year: 1990: F-Zero 1991: Streets of Rage 1992: Ecco the Dolphin 1993: Sonic the Hedgehog CD 1994: Daytona USA & Ridge Racer (CS) 1995: Tekken (CS) 1996: WAVE RACE 64 & MARIO KART 64 1997: Dead or Alive (CS, Sega Saturn port) 1998: SONIC ADVENTURE 1999: POWER STONE & SEGA RALLY 2 (CS) Also, it would be interesting if you also cover the best-looking arcade games of each decade. Console and PC gaming are not the only formats; arcade and mobile do exist.

[@theretrobro]

Great picks and some great topic ideas here! Thank you for watching.

[@dannyboy32125]

Definitely Earthworm Jim

[@geldofpunk32]

I remember playing gran turismo on a demo disc for the first time and i was totally like: 😱

[@theretrobro]

I think I had that same demo!

[@geldofpunk32]

@theretrobro yeah those graphics were unlike anything I had seen before. I'm trying to remember what else was on that demo, maybe spyro and medieval. But I had that psn network subscription so I had tons of demos lol.

[@theretrobro]

@geldofpunk32 yup that's the one. Medieval was deft on it. If I recall I downloaded the rom of that disc recently. I think it's the same one I got with my playstation. Brave fencer Musashi was on it also and I think a gameday

[@geldofpunk32]

@theretrobro yep that's definitely the one. I loved that mushasi demo! Didn't it also have that ninja game on it?

[@thewhyzer]

"Recall those first person shooters without dual analog controls" - no, recall the first person shooters before WASD (or, my preference, ESDF). Yeah, I know this is a console gaming video, but still... BTW, emulated graphics viewed on a non-CRT display does not do these low-res titles justice. They looked much better on an SD TV.

[@theretrobro]

Agree. All my original consoles are hooked up to a crt.

[@ciprianmogosanu7169]

For 1994 i don't agree,in 94 we had the 3do and the masterpiece that is roadrush

[@theretrobro]

Yeah road rash was good but it was also on pc and was a pc port so while I don't disagree with you that it looked good on 3do it wasn't the best looking console game.

[@LarryLopez91]

Mode 7 "chip?" No, mode 7 was a graphics MODE. And Starfox utilized mode 7 for Starfox for it's 3D graphics? Lol no, it used the SuperFX chip!

[@theretrobro]

Thanks Larry I corrected this mis information in the pinned comment. At the end of the day I'm no expert just an old school retro gamer. Thanks for watching

[@mjdmyspot]

No Banjo Kazooie? Really?

[@theretrobro]

Too many good games in 1998 would deft be a top 3 though!

[@Laekith]

1998 goes to Spyro, come on.

[@theretrobro]

I love spyro and I wanted to do it but felt I'd take some heat for it lolol

[@Laekith]

@@theretrobro understandable

[@acidangel111]

Nope. 1993 - myst 3do

[@theretrobro]

Great choice.

[@loki.odinson]

Some advice for your growing channel: when making numerous factual mistakes in your video like this one has, just make a new video. Don't simply use the comments section of your video to address errors or as an excuse, and then call it a day. It makes you look lazy and unprofessional.

[@theretrobro]

I appreciate the advice however these videos take days to edit and weeks to make. SImply "making a new video" IS Not realistic". Especially since this channel is a hobby and place to.simply enjoy with others. Accidents happen and the majority of people understand others aren't perfect. I'm not an expert and don't pretend to be one. I'm a kid who grew up in the 90s and love playing retro video games 😉. Apreciate the advise hope you can stick around.

[@hhabilisa6200]

Nice! Great memories! Thanks

[@theretrobro]

Thanks for watching