Author Topic: Most Polished GCN Game (Read 11942 times)

mjbd · « **on:** July 08, 2003, 03:38:29 PM »

Just curious to hear what GCN game people feel is the most polished. And why you feel that way. I feel that even though Metroid Prime is very polished on a visual sence; Zelda WW takes the cake. Not only does WW deliver the most impressive cel shaded visuals seen yet, but yet again raises the bar on play control, and overall gameplay. The game runs smooth at 30fps; which is a big deal to us framerate whores. I feel that more developers should pay attention to keeping a solid framerate. If they droping between 60 and 30 fps, a serious consideration should be made to lock it at 30. WW offers a long epic quest, which in the end, doesnt feel long enough. My favorite game on Cube yet, and its obvious that nintendo spent the time and money to make this one a real winner. If only they had done the same with Mario Sunshine, it might be better than a B+ title.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #1 on:** July 08, 2003, 03:45:52 PM »

I only had 2 problems with Super Mario Sunshine- 1) every level was an island level- it lacked the different locales of past Mario games, and 2) it didn't build on SM64 beyond the waterpack that much. Other than that it's one of the best damned platformers I've ever played and certainly worthy of the Mario title.

Rhoq · « **Reply #2 on:** July 08, 2003, 04:37:16 PM »

I would have to go with Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

BlkPaladin · « **Reply #3 on:** July 08, 2003, 04:38:46 PM »

Most any Nintendo developed title.

mjbd · « **Reply #4 on:** July 08, 2003, 05:38:07 PM »

Yea, Eternal Darkness is definately up there. Probably number 2 in my book.

Tanookisuit · « **Reply #5 on:** July 08, 2003, 06:28:18 PM »

I don't find ED to be all that polished. Well, maybe it's polished, but its N64 origins certainly show.
I think the most polished games are Zelda, Metroid, and most of all SSB:M. Smash Brothers still looks great, plays great, and I never once thought something looked or sounded out of place. It still has the best Mario model of any Cube game so far. SSB:M=extreme polish.

HolyPaladin · « **Reply #6 on:** July 08, 2003, 06:57:02 PM »

It's hard to pick out just one, or even a few, as virtually any first party title would be wonderfully polished. Eternal Darkness was very polished, contrary to previously posted opinion. Just because it visually looks a bit like an N64 game, though obviously still dramatically improved, doesn't translate to lack of polish. The game was hindered in no area that I can think of and was packed with more little details than virtually anything out there, though almost all are things that most gamers would never notice, including historical accuracies. Metroid Prime was beautifully polished, though I wish the freezing in elevators would have been touched up before its release. Wind Waker was also nicely polished to a glossy shine. Honestly, I will even go as far as throwing Mario Sunshine and Star Fox Adventures into here.

Infernal Monkey · « **Reply #7 on:** July 08, 2003, 09:15:28 PM »

Tetris Worlds.

Those blocks look mega shiny, I'm sure they had a good polish.

Smadte · « **Reply #8 on:** July 08, 2003, 09:20:51 PM »

I've always felt that Luigi's Mansion was a very polished game. It's not too long, not too easy, it has an awsome art style, had some fresh ideas, and good control ... In my eye, Luigi's Mansion is a classic! Zelda, Mario, and Pikmin are very polished also, but there are some irritating camera problems in those games.

Grey Ninja · « **Reply #9 on:** July 08, 2003, 10:23:06 PM »

I think it would have to be Zelda. A realistically cel shaded living world that is dynamically updated in real time, with some of the best music around. The level design was just fantastic, and the game really did redefine the Zelda franchise by taking the whole idea back to its very roots. When I play the game, I just can't help but feel that this is what Miyamoto-sama saw when he was that little boy exploring the forest.

Plugabugz · « **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2003, 01:51:31 AM »

Super Monkey Ball (1 and 2) and Metroid Prime. After seeing Samus' reflection on her visor at times (Particuarly in the Drifts), that just reeks polish to me.

KDR_11k · « **Reply #11 on:** July 09, 2003, 02:24:15 AM »

Sorry, I feel Metroid Prime doesn't deserve that award because it's too buggy and the translation has two misleading hints (pointing towards the wrong rooms).

Smash Brothers? No. The characters are unbalanced.

Sunshine? Possible. No visible flaws, just a disappointing final stage/boss.

Eternal Darkness? Hm... Hard to say, but I thought those damn Cha'tturgha Zombies were too hard.

So it's Sunshine vs. Darkness... Darkness has better plot, but Mario isn't the storydriven kind of game... Darkness' gameplay consists mostly of "kill all enemies and proceed to next room"... Sunshine has "minigames"...
Well, I'd say it's SMS, then...

Mario · « **Reply #12 on:** July 09, 2003, 02:36:07 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Infernal Monkey
Tetris Worlds.

Those blocks look mega shiny, I'm sure they had a good polish.

damn it

i was gonna say something like that

Anyway, ummmmmm..... the most polished GCN game would have to be.... Pikmin? Well maybe ill save it for Pikmin 2. All Pikmin was missing was Multiplayer and a bit more variety, Pikmin 2 looks to have all that and more, so Pikmin 2!

As for games that are out, hmmmm, either Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, Super Mario Sunshine or ermm SSBM.

*shrugs shoulders*

Plugabugz · « **Reply #13 on:** July 09, 2003, 03:55:52 AM »

KDR, what do you mean? How many bugs mis-translations did you find?
I only found one 'bug' in Metroid Prime, that was mostly turned to my own advantage;

*SPOILERS*

In the Phazon Mines in the Ore Processing Centre, rotate the yellow track until it is fully lined up. Spider Ball the whole way up, then push the ball out until is is off the track itself. Bomb there, then get out of the ball. If you time it right (You need to do it about after 1 and a half seconds), Samus ends up standing on the top of the yellow track. Turn around and jump up to the platform.
If done wrong when timing the process, for no reason whatsoever does she get 'pushed' back into the ball and falls all the way back down to the ground.

I nominate Metroid Prime for it's non-linear gameplay. However, Super Monkey Ball 1/2 is the nearest equivalents.

Rhoq · « **Reply #14 on:** July 09, 2003, 04:19:55 AM »

I have to disagree with those who say that Eternal Darkness looks too much like it's original N64 design. While the character models still have some sharp edges in both the actual game and FMV sequences, if you compare screen shots from the N64 builds to the final GameCube version - the differences are very noticeable. Although the N64 was a great a system (and I would have loved it if ED had been released back then), there is way too much detail in the GameCube version that couldn't have been possible on the N64. I don't mind the fact the characters still look a little "pointy", Silicon Knights' impeccable attention to detail and gameplay is what made me choose Eternal Darkness as the Cube's most polished game. Just look at the design of every background - it is probably the most elaborate to ever be used in any game - every single object is highly detailed.

The game never experiences any sort of frame rate slow-down. The control is solid. The crash detection is just about as perfect as it can get in a game (sure there are some minor flaws, but I have yet to see a game in this or the previous generation that didn't suffer from crash detection problems in one way or another) and the storyline is one of the most entertaining...EVER.

It is a combination of everything I have mentioned that makes ED the most polished game to me.

You have to remember that gameplay and story have to factor into the mix along with the graphics and audio.

With that said, I'm glad that Silicon Knights moved the game from the N64 to the GameCube. I also hope that they delay Too Human so it can be a launch title for the successor of the Cube. I am sure that however amazing the game might be now - it will be even more of experience on the future console.

Nephilim · « **Reply #15 on:** July 09, 2003, 05:21:58 AM »

Luigis mansion for sure

Uglydot · « **Reply #16 on:** July 09, 2003, 05:33:59 AM »

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but I have to throw my vote to Metroid Prime.

egman · « **Reply #17 on:** July 09, 2003, 05:40:59 AM »

Like Holy Paladin, I find it hard to choose, but I think ED deserves to be recognized. Rhoq has already gone into why most criticism have been unfair so I won't go into that further. I will say that the overall experince actually did scare me. I've played most survival horror games, but none have actually kept me up at night. Rarely do I jump in a game, but I swear moving a couple of feet in the air with that bathtub scene. The cathedral levels in ED are so creepy that I a hard time progressing because I was nervous about what was coming next.

If ED was not so polished, it wouldn't be so effective on a psychological level.

DRJ · « **Reply #18 on:** July 09, 2003, 05:42:27 AM »

Super Mario Sunshine is the most polished game ever. Granted you have to polish everything yourself, but afterwards everything is sparkling it is so clean. Seriously tho I would have to say that Metroid Prime is the best IMO.

rpglover · « **Reply #19 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:26:56 AM »

although it may have not had the greatest graphics in the world, eternal darkness is by far the most polished game on the gc
the effects are very nice and although the character models are not the best, they all move real fluently and lifelike
the sanity effects put the game over the top though- they were well done and most i never even saw coming
the story was very well written and placed perfectly into the game- to me it was a perfect balance of story and gameplay
and you could go into the story as deep as you liked or just run through and enjoy it even more

metroid prime is a good second for me- the graphics were great and the gameplay was good too
it really felt like super metroid in 3d which is what i wanted

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #20 on:** July 09, 2003, 06:30:29 AM »

I don't know why some people think Eternal Darkness still shows it's N64 origins, because Silicon Knights entirely scrapped the N64 version, keeping only the dialogue. It's not like the game was ported- it was built from the ground up for the Gamecube and I think it REALLY shows- it's easily one of the most graphically impressive games on the Cube, in my opinion.

Hostile Creation · « **Reply #21 on:** July 09, 2003, 07:12:11 AM »

I'd have to say either Zelda or SSB:M. I agree with Grey Ninja on Zelda, and SSB:M is just one utterly great game, and you can tell lots of time was spent on it. 25 great characters (though some have similar moves, they're all different somehow), a ton of cool stages, many different modes of play for both one player and multiple players, fun items and gameplay, and a superb intro cinema. Not to mention spectacular sounds and graphics. This is a great game, and I sure as heck can't wait for the next in the series.

Gup · « **Reply #22 on:** July 09, 2003, 07:35:38 AM »

Without a doubt, Metroid Prime. Every corridor/room looks and is stylized differently unlike Halo where you're constantly blasting the same guys in a familiar looking corridor/room for half an hour (the game is still good though). I didn't really enjoy it too much, but it definitely is the most polished game around. Runner up - Resident Evil Zero.

egman · « **Reply #23 on:** July 09, 2003, 07:40:51 AM »

I know what you mean mouse_clicker, ED cleary could not be done on the N64 in it's current form. I don't know if expectations were too high if people expected photo-realism, but really the game is gorgeous. Alot of people have lobbed similar criticism on other GC games like SMS. The things that SMS does with textures for water and reflections are far above anything that could be culled from the N64 hardware. The polycounts are way about Mario 64 and overall the game is seems much more fluid. Too many people cry about lack high res textures or bump-mapping or whatever to appreciate how SMS does so many things well. Their loss I guess.

By the way, if you can play games in widescreen, then you must try ED in widescreen mode. ED is the reason I wish more games actually had a widescreen option.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #24 on:** July 09, 2003, 07:47:38 AM »

In my opinion Super Mario Sunshine is probably the least polished Mario platformer ever and I'm surprised a lot of you have that as your pick. The crappy FMV sequences alone disqualify it for me. The graphics also weren't up to the standards of titles that had been released a year before and as someone mentioned every level had the same theme. As a game it was quite good but I feel that too many corners were cut in the presentation. Even the boxart appeared to be half-assed.

My pick for the most polished Cube game is Super Smash Bros Melee. The graphics and sound were absolutely perfect for the game, so much so that the Mario model used in the game hasn't been topped by any Cube Mario title since. The gameplay was tight and there was a buttload of game modes so no matter what there was always something to do. There was also a great deal of customization available to the user. Any game that allows you to pick each individual weapon that's available is a polished title. Plus there was a huge attention to detail with all of the Nintendo references and the trophies. It was a love letter to Nintendo fans and as a result is the most polished title on the Gamecube.

I'll agree that Eternal Darkness is an honorable mention. My only real gripe with that title was that the zombies were too generic. During demos we were told they were mere placeholders and in the end they remained as the real thing.

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Author Topic: Most Polished GCN Game (Read 11942 times)