Best-looking graphics of the generation: 8-bit –

Graphics have always been a hot topic, and leading up to major releases they are often the most popular topic of conversation, even though they are a factor that actually has very little to do with how good a game’s gameplay is. Really nice graphics are just very popular and, of course, the first thing we notice as we move from one console generation to the next.

This makes it difficult to crown the world’s most beautiful game because you always have to take into account when it was released. For example, can Battletoads for the NES be compared to Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast or Gears of War for the Xbox 360? Therefore, I decided to try to crown the ten games that were the best titles of each generation and compare only within that generation.

The focus is on popular consoles (because they have the clearest generation classifications) released in Europe, and I will start with the so-called third generation hardware, because the earlier ones are so primitive that it is just not very interesting to cover them.

(10) Asterix (SEGA Master System / 1991)
It is easy to forget that the SEGA Master System was actually considerably more powerful than the NES, which, however, had considerably more third-party support and was therefore used to its full potential. But Asterix for the Master System shows how good it could actually be with outstanding technology and design. The graphics made full use of the color palette, with distinct characters and varied environments, and slick pixelation. The animations were also unusually smooth and gave both heroes and enemies personality. Together, this created a game that showed how far you could push the Master System when everything was in place.

(9) Punch-Out (NES / 1987)
Actually, maybe this shouldn’t really fit here, since it’s one of the earliest NES games. But. I don’t care, because this was an engineering masterpiece made possible by the MMC2 chip, which allowed for much larger sprites than the NES actually could. Thanks to clever programming and design, it is one of the few NES games that still looks good today.

(8) Deep Duck Trouble starring Donald Duck (SEGA Master System / 1993)
Donald Duck’s adventures in Deep Duck Trouble are another example that shows what the Master System could accomplish when developers took advantage of the hardware. Instead of just providing simple platform environments, the courses were built with depth, contrast and small details that made each area memorable. Despite a measly 8 bits, Donald himself had retained his personality with animations that captured his hot temper. Compare this to the NES hit Duck Tales and you’ll see how much more charming this actually was.

(7) Contra/Probotector (NES / 1988)
Konami were kings of the NES and delivered numerous classics that I considered for this list, including Life Force: Salamander and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles II: The Arcade Game, which would undoubtedly have made the top 20. However, Probotector (Contra outside of Europe) must be included, where Konami not only managed to cram in an incredibly stylish arcade game, they did so without compromising playability, with incredibly frantic action and piggy bosses, as well as improved parts of it. A technical masterpiece.

(6) Ninja Gaiden (SEGA Master System / 1992)
Ninja Gaiden came out on the NES, but much later, during the 16-bit era, there was also a version for the Master System developed by Sims and Sega. The game rolled along with a very different flow than we were used to in this era, and whatever was thrown at us in the form of delightful worlds of enemies never slowed down – a sign of excellent optimization. Combined with exceptionally well-programmed game controls, the sense of precision was a clear technical triumph that often made it feel like it might as well have been an early 16-bit title.

(5) Castlevania III: The Curse of Dracula (NES / 1992)
Of course, we should put more Konami on the list. They also had their Castlevania series, whose first two games were great. And it would get even better with Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Here, development for the NES had basically come as far as it could reach, and it just continued with blistering effects, great sprites and varied environments, in short, an adventure that really should be experienced in motion. Then you should know that it was a scaled-down version we got compared to the Japanese one, which was actually even prettier.

(4) Kirby’s Adventure (NES / 1993)
By the time Kirby’s Adventure was released, the NES was essentially dead (followed only a year later by the PlayStation), but the game showed that the console had even more to offer. Pastel colors and contrasts with several unexpected choices made the environments feel as light as they were playful, and thus appropriate to the character. Another thing is how much variety there was. Many 8-bit titles had a distinct tendency to use the same building blocks over and over again, something Kirby’s Adventure avoided with a huge variety of environments. As the swan song of the NES, it’s hard to think of a better example of what the console could still accomplish in the right hands.

(3) Batman: Return of the Joker (NES / 1991)
Often when a new generation arrives, it is said that games for old hardware almost seem to belong on the new console. Usually it’s a bit of hyperbole, but in the case of Batman: Return of the Joker, it’s outright truth. The sprites looked almost like early 16-bit graphics with details and shadows of a kind we didn’t know the NES was capable of. Combine that with beautiful animations and stunning backgrounds and you have an incomparably beautiful game that takes the bronze spot on the list.

(2) Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap (SEGA Master System / 1989)
The graphics in Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap were second to none. It pushed the Master System in a way that almost made it feel like a 16-bit machine. The palette was used in a nuanced way for the console, with smooth transitions and strong contrast giving a distinct atmosphere to everything from beaches to dark caves. The adventure’s sprites were also unusually large and detailed for the time, yet animated in a way that again felt 16-bit. Dragon’s Trap therefore gave the feeling of a larger and more dynamic world, and I actually thought long and hard about having it as number one because today I would say it is the most beautiful of all.

(1) Battletoads (NES / 1991)
This one was a little trickier for me. Because when this game came out, it was downright shockingly delicious. Rare just went crazy with effects that probably even the NES didn’t know it was capable of with huge sprites, flicker-free presentation, pseudo-3D and backgrounds handled in a new way. There really was nothing comparable and it was incredibly creative use of the NES hardware. Nowadays, some effects and details can make the game feel a little plodding, and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap, for example, is much friendlier to the eye. Still. At the time, it was hard to believe that it was the old NES that was spitting out graphics on the screen, while Turtles copies Pimple, Rash and Zitz were working their way through almost ridiculously varied courses, making Rare the graphics kings of the 1990s.