This little exchange is interesting, Mike specifically calling out ‘Euro’ composite vs NTSC
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So…
Beetle Adventure Racing
where has this been all my life?
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I remember buying the PAL version and being really disappointed in it, tried the NTSC version a few years ago when I got my everdrive and can see what the fuss is about, it’s a lot of fun discovering shortcuts and collecting things. Reminds me of Midway arcade racers in many ways
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It’s like a weird love child of NFS and SF:Rush. Fantastic handling. Huge courses. Lots of secrets. Great fun.
I can imagine the PAL version would be slower and zap some of the fun.
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Thanks for sharing this, explains why the composite output on my NTSC-J N64 blew my mind a couple of years ago (and still does now)
Nintendo 64 |OT| YOU COULD ZOOM IN, ZOOM OUT, AND CHANGE ANGLES! - Video Games - Retro Game Boards
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This also lines up, composite on my PAL N64 is significantly worse than my Japanese unit!
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Unlocked BONUS circuit/difficulty yesterday. Now we’re talking.
I’ve also moved from playing it on my GameForce Chi which isn’t powerful enough to run the fastest speeds and busiest levels. I’m playing on my Switch which runs it superbly even at underclocked speeds.
(I’m sick in bed at the moment)
I tried some of the anti aliasing removal patches for some games out of curiosity and the results were… interesting
for some games, like Mario Party 3 for example, the difference was very subtle. others, like Super Mario 64 became a horribly dithered mess. the game that I found improved the most was Mario Kart 64, it got a nice bump in sharpness all around and was super crisp over S-video
overall I don’t think they’re worth going through the trouble of patching games, the results . also there’s something to be said of the N64’s signature soft look. it makes it stand out from the PS1 and Saturn
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This is how I feel about those patches too, they didn’t really do anything for me
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This. Removing the anti-aliasing goes against what Silicon Graphics were trying to do in the first place, which was real time graphics that had many of the qualities of pre-rendered CGI at the time.
The edge smoothing improves most game scenes more than it hampers them, only find it to be an issue in extremely busy environments where there just aren’t enough pixels to resolve for it to add anything to the overall image. There’s one stage in Castlevania 64 where you’re jumping from structure to structure above acid that comes to mind!
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Yeah I tinkered with them back when on the Everdrive64 you could set them up as cheat files and toggle them on and off easily. Really destroyed the integrity of the image in my opinion.
I think the N64 doesn’t get enough credit for the quality of its 3d. Absolutely mind blowing what they tried to do in a piece of consumer level tech.
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And stable, and with these big open 3D levels right from the start.
Always felt like Saturn etc felt half-3D. Single camera angle, or corridor based. N64 was the first console with actual explorable 3D.
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Definitely, I mean I grew up with a PSX and only played the N64 at a friend’s place. I didn’t pick up my first console until about 5 or 6 years ago. Even then, I was still so impressed with the quality of the visuals, the stability of the 3d, texture filtering and hardware anti-aliasing. Completely bonkers they were able to do it.
The PSX is a masterclass in economical hardware design. It did “good enough” fast 3d making smart concessions to keep costs down. But only toward the end of its life was it able to get close to those large open levels the N64 had on launch day.
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One of those weird things where they coded down to the bone to get Spyro etc running. Still not up to N64’s best but at least a lot closer than the single angle 3D stuff.
N64 probably had the opposite problem in that it peaked early, and as devs pushed it harder framerates dropped throughout the generation. I think Banjo Kazooie and maybe Majora’s Mask are probably overall the best looking game on the platform, because they balance performance, texture limitations and graphics best.
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Finally
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Hope they get the mapping right!
Thanks for the heads up! I have the Nintendo store Switch ones but I love dinking!!
Dogbone adapters in stock first time in years too I think!