Why do I like 32-Bit Graphics?

 Many people will roll their eyes. Many more people will complain that the pixelated grass is green. Why would anyone prefer such crude, formless polygons over more sleek, luscious curves of modern game graphics? Nostalgia is not a wrong answer, but it is also about a fraction of the answer. There is a lot that comes with the idea that just because it was part of our childhood, we remember the better moments as a result. While this is not necessarily true, it is also a gross generalization. The first gaming console I had was a Nintendo Entertainment System, and then there was a Sega Genesis after that. The Sega Saturn was the third system, not counting the Gameboy or very short-lived Gamegear.

While these might be some of the ugliest graphics by comparison, they also don't get in the way of the enjoyment. Would you believe me when I say that I really love these graphics? You should, because I do. I know I've said that and hinted at it in reviews before, but I'd like to pinpoint it now. There is a lot that people don't understand when we say this sort of thing. Like the Sega Saturn or the Playstation graphics are somehow superior to the graphics we have today. Can that actually be true?

Well, yes, in some ways, they are objectively better than today's graphics. Not that they're better in the aesthetic sense, not when you are looking at it from the standpoint that they are molded strangely and the 3D polygon with the wirework was shoddy. However, it was also a functional set of graphics for the games and they did not require extended periods of development to develop for games. Yes, they took time and hard work, but compared to today's modern game engines and graphics, it wasn't quite so bad.

Now, I'm not going to harp on the subject of modern graphics being unsustainable, I have already covered that. This is more along the terms of these gaming graphics still having a fairly strong following for a reason. There are still so many people that will play games with lower quality graphics and still enjoy them far more than some of these over developed and understrategized games with flimsy mechanics. It also allows to fill in more story, which can always be a good thing. 

Many will attest that Five Nights at Freddy's is extremely enjoyable, and the games were better when they had lower graphics in the beginning. There is a following behind the new FNAF games, but there is also a lot less enthusiasm behind it than there was back in 2014. The graphics did not do that, shoddy development and rushed publication did that. When it was made by one guy with little to no graphics involved, people ate it up. 

The crude beauty of the old graphics that the Saturn presents can be seen as ugly or an eye-sore, but it works for what we need it. There are times, like in Panzer Dragoon, Burning Rangers, Nights Into Dreams, or Guardian Heroes where the graphics have shown through along with astoundingly good gameplay. These are the games we cherish. These are the games they spent their time and hard-earned money on because the work was put in. The fans could tell that the work was put in and the games have been celebrated for it. 

32-Bits can create amazing looking worlds, it's really just a matter of seeing it for the crude gesture toward a story that it is. There is a lot we can learn from the 3D polygons and the landscapes they were able to etch in such a fine set of wirework and figures. Some of these level designs and character designs have inspired great things in others. Nights Into Dreams can be considered something of an artform all its own, as many have taken to making characters in the same fashion. 

Look at Quake! The graphics actually compliment the gothic, HP Lovecraftian era setting. This can also be said about a lot of the old horror games like D, Blood and Nightmare Creatures. Even newer games have pulled off this sinister, yet beautiful quality with such minimal technological advancement in the medium. Early 3D somehow enhanced the effect of horrific entities. 

We can also be honest when we say that many of our generation still love the old cartoons. Well, 32-Bit graphics kind of have that quality as well. When you look at old Scooby Doo from the original series or Gem and the Holograms, the cartoons of that era had a quality that is just so alluring. Like the old matte paintings in the backgrounds of those cartoons, 32-bit games constantly used 3D foregrounds with 2D backgrounds, and the effects are aesthetically pleasing. 

So, all in all, why do I love this? Well, other than nostalgia and some inspiring memories, I really couldn't tell you. They are beautiful in their own way, but if you don't understand that, it's fine. Just so long as you understand that we love them and we will never give them up. Just let us have this for ourselves and remember to drink your water.