PC-FX: Polygon Capable?

[termis]

I can't recall how accurate Quarterman was with his reports, but it was a good read back in the days when I actually cared about new system & game gossip.

Reading over his columns now (where we know if it became true or not) is kinda fun in its own right.

[handygrafx]

btw this image seems to be 100% believable to me.  Looks like a leap beyond what SNES SuperFX, SuperFX2 and SEGA's SVP chips can do, yet  significantly BELOW the polygon power of Namco's System 21 and SEGA's Model 1 arcade hardware.

The above doesn't look like pre-rendered CG/FMV like these infamous shots:

[GUTS]

EGM rox.  They're the only mag that employs guys who would be normal if you met them in real life, every other mag is chocked full of internet nerds.

[Kitsunexus]

EGM rox.  They're the only mag that employs guys who would be normal if you met them in real life, every other mag is chocked full of internet nerds.

So you should probably have realized that I don't read game magazines. The Internet is free and mroe frequently updated, my friend.

[FM-77]

Yeah, but also full of said nerds.

[Tatsujin]

but anyway. i remember how excited i was at that time, to see such great 3D grafx, which would be soon possible in our own four walls 

[nat]

I'm not crying that the PC-FX didn't have the same polygon-generating capabilities the PSOne and Saturn did.

Those first-generation polygon graphics looked like absolute SHIT. I thought so at the time, and even more so today. They completely lacked the beauty and intricacies that made "pixel art" and sprite-based graphics so great in the "16-bit" era. Jagged, jerky, uninspired, and filled with bland, boring, vomit-inducing "textures". Playing the original Playstation at a friend's house was what prompted me to completely skip the "32-bit" generation of consoles. During those years I really just concentrated on playing my Turbo, Genesis and NES games, completely igonoring the gaming scene of the day.

Today, a few console generations later, polygon-based graphics have improved 999.9% from 1994. While I'll still happily take a 2D side-scroller over a 3D game any day, there are lots of really good-looking 3D polygon-based games out there that don't make me want to commit suicide over their mediocrity.

In retrospect, it's a pity I didn't own a PC-FX at the time. That would've been my console of choice to succeed the 16-bit and 8-bit consoles I loved so much. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about it other than it would be extremely hard to get one.

[Tatsujin]

absolute agree so far, but you may forgot, that a lot of excellent highgrade 2D software came out on the PSX as well as saturn during the whole 32 bit era. i started into 32 bit game in '97 with gradius gaiden and akumajou dracula x gekka no yasoukyoku. unforgetable time.

[nat]

but you may forgot, that a lot of excellent highgrade 2D software came out on the PSX as well as saturn during the whole 32 bit era. i started into 32 bit game in '97 with gradius gaiden and akumajou dracula x gekka no yasoukyoku. unforgetable time.

Did not forget, but my younger ignorant self was unaware of this. All my friends who had Playstation's were playing things like Tony Hawk. Nobody I knew had anything 2D on the Playstation so the impressions were formed completely based on the shittygon-based 3D games of the period. Ignorant of me to not investigate further, but there it is.

It wasn't until the end of the '90s and the GameCube/PS2/Dreamcast were looming on the horizon that I realized there had been some real quality 2D stuff I'd missed. Live and learn, I guess.

Still, there is no arguing the fact that the craptacular early 3D games are what dominated the market at the time.

[FM-77]

While PS1 3d is a horrific thing to experience, it was a large part of what made the system so incredibly successful. Obviously, most people didn't care about the nasty graphics. Had NEC used equally horrible 3d for the PC-FX, maybe it wouldn't have been such a monumental disaster.

[handygrafx]

I would've been happy with PC-FX being the kind of system that SEGA had originally envisioned the Saturn to be, when the Saturn was being developed as the GigaDrive; the ultimate 2D sprite pushing machine. on the software-side, I would've wanted the PC-FX to go in the same direction as the PC-Engine, CD-ROM2, SuperGrafx, SuperCD-ROM2, etc, in 32-bit quality.   no 3D polygon graphics, and a balanced mixture of sprite-based an FMV/anime based games.

[nat]

Had NEC used equally horrible 3d for the PC-FX, maybe it wouldn't have been such a monumental disaster.

Perhaps, but here's one guy who's thankful they didn't.

I would've been happy with PC-FX being the kind of system that SEGA had originally envisioned the Saturn to be, when the Saturn was being developed as the GigaDrive; the ultimate 2D sprite pushing machine. on the software-side, I would've wanted the PC-FX to go in the same direction as the PC-Engine, CD-ROM2, SuperGrafx, SuperCD-ROM2, etc, in 32-bit quality.   no 3D polygon graphics, and a balanced mixture of sprite-based an FMV/anime based games.

The PC-FX kind of already is as you say. The game library is not as balanced as you imply, but the selection is there. Contrary to popular belief, the PC-FX game library is not all FMV/anime games.

[Kaminari]

the PC-FX game library is not all FMV/anime games.

Indeed. It's mostly all FMV/anime games.

[Kitsunexus]

Contrary to popular belief, the PC-FX game library is not all FMV/anime games.

Yeah, there's that one space shooter, and Team Innocent, I can't think of anymore off the top of my head though.

[nat]

Off the top of my head:

Miraculum: The Last Revelation (overhead RPG)
Last Imperial Prince (sidescrolling action RPG)
Super God Trooper Zeroigar (shooter)
Team Innocent (Resident-Evil style)
Boundary Gate
Chip Can Kick (Bubble Bobble-style arcade)
Der Langrisser FX (sequel to Warsong on the Genesis)
Return to Zork (utilizies a little FMV, otherwise a graphic adventure like Myst)
Little Red Riding Hood Cha-Cha (board game)
Blue Breaker (RPG sidscroller)
Zenki FX (side scrolling beat 'em up adventure)

..and the list could go on. These are games in my personal PC-FX collection that aren't of the FMV anime genre. Many of those are real gems, too.  There are many more that I don't own.

My point is that it's not quite fair to write off the PC-FX as a simple FMV anime player.

Indeed. It's mostly all FMV/anime games.

If by mostly, you mean more than 50%, then you might be technically correct. But you have to remember there are less than 100 PC-FX titles to begin with. The library is certainly a little heavy on those kinds of titles, but there is a good mix in there of other stuff.