Has the NES aged well?

[SearchManX]

Do a google search for DC emu.

K, I'll check it out...

[sggg]

I've discussed this here before but I think NES has aged pretty badly, especially graphically. NES games that still look and play well are few and far between. Nostalgia is required to enjoy most of these games.

I think the oldest system that has aged well is SMS, thanks mainly to the better/brighter graphics - which still look great to my eyes. There were SMS games that I never played until I was an adult that were still great and very playable, albeit dated. My experience with NES is the opposit, so, I draw the line right between SMS and NES.

[Mzo]

Playing the game on an emulator is the same as playing the games on the original deck. We're talking about the games here, not the actual system.

So stop focusing on the box and talk about the games.

2D NES sprites still kick the ass off of early 3D games in terms of being eye-searingly ass-ugly.
Because if we are, then no, the system itself hasn't aged well. The front loader is very awkwardly designed and constantly malfunctions.

But the games are as playable and as good as they were on their release dates.

[Shapermc]

Not entirely true. The NES versions of Bionic Commando, Ninja Gaiden and Double Dragon II-III still blows away their Arcade counterparts.

Kudos

[Adrian]

Nope, it's actually very easy to make a self-booting NESterDC disk, considering the tools out there.

The DC d-pad is pretty much fine for NES games, though if you're completely dissatasfied there are alternatives out there.

Even better, Xbox NES emulator plus Saturn pad.

[MVS]

Hell's no.

[Wilykat]

I've discussed this here before but I think NES has aged pretty badly, especially graphically. NES games that still look and play well are few and far between. Nostalgia is required to enjoy most of these games.

I think the oldest system that has aged well is SMS, thanks mainly to the better/brighter graphics - which still look great to my eyes. There were SMS games that I never played until I was an adult that were still great and very playable, albeit dated. My experience with NES is the opposit, so, I draw the line right between SMS and NES.

I can take this entire statement, replace NES with SMS and vice versa in those slots, and have it mean the exact same thing to me.

The graphics arguments, except in the later years of both systems, is vauge and indistinct. For the first four years of both systems, neither proved a distinct advantage over each other. Only in the later years when the SMS had some rather impressive stuff like that Street Fighter II port did it finally flex it's complete muscle.

Not entirely true. The NES versions of Bionic Commando, Ninja Gaiden and Double Dragon II-III still blows away their Arcade counterparts.

Not to mention Contra. I vastly prefer the Famicom versions of Contra and Super C to their arcade counterparts.

[RoleTroll]

The graphics arguments, except in the later years of both systems, is vauge and indistinct. For the first four years of both systems, neither proved a distinct advantage over each other. Only in the later years when the SMS had some rather impressive stuff like that Street Fighter II port did it finally flex it's complete muscle.

The NES games needed all sorts of upgrade chips (eg, MMC5) just to appear competitive with the SMS. As I remember it, the SMS had more horsepower (less slowdown) and more color, but fewer/smaller sprites (more flicker). I seem to remember the two-player Double Dragon on the SMS flickering like crazy.

[Wilykat]

The NES games needed all sorts of upgrade chips (eg, MMC5) just to appear competitive with the SMS. As I remember it, the SMS had more horsepower (less slowdown) and more color, but fewer/smaller sprites (more flicker). I seem to remember the two-player Double Dragon on the SMS flickering like crazy.

True, but upgrade chips are still fair game for the most part.

One problem with the SMS was that it was misused too often as the years went on. Once the Mega Drive/Genesis was released many SMS developers, Sega included, tried to emulate the look and feel of 16-bit arcade games on the SMS, and it never turned out well. More time should've been spent bolstering the SMS as an 8-bit powerhouse.

[NeoZeedeater]

SMS games always looked better than NES games just like SNES games always looked better than Genesis games. I'm not saying that graphics make a better system.

What I find with the 8-bit era in particular is that those who grew up with only the NES tend to not be able to appreciate the SMS and vice versa. The only difference being the NES-only crowd is 10 times the size.