2.5D game appreciation

[mixmastermo]

Been playing some old and new 2.5D games lately
Prince of Persia Lost Crown
Metroid Dread
Strider

All fun as hell and engaging. Sometimes I don't want a huge open world, a more focused experience with clean graphics is more than enough

Other games I was into
Bloodstained
New Super Mario Bros
DK Tropical Freeze

Couldn't get into that 2.5D Castlevania though.. not sure why but something wasn't clicking.

Looking forward to Contra

I wish they had a 2.5D Ninja Gaiden

 

[Valhoven]

I've honestly not heard the term 2.5D before, as a genre particularly. Interesting. Share a clip or two of something via game camera, if you would. I remember playing Strider in the 90s but I'm talking game cabinet from the local Arcade and not above instalment, presumably.

 

[rikwebb]

I've honestly not heard the term 2.5D before, as a genre particularly. Interesting. Share a clip or two of something via game camera, if you would. I remember playing Strider in the 90s but I'm talking game cabinet from the local Arcade and not above instalment, presumably.

Stuff like Doom (orignal games) , newer Side Scrolling Mario games, Little Nightmares etc are normally counted as 2.5D

 

[mixmastermo]

I've honestly not heard the term 2.5D before, as a genre particularly. Interesting. Share a clip or two of something via game camera, if you would. I remember playing Strider in the 90s but I'm talking game cabinet from the local Arcade and not above instalment, presumably.

What I am referring to is 3D modeled characters with polygons on a mostly 2D plane. The rendered models typically have much more varied and fluid movement mechanics due to the flexibility of 3D engines

2D relies on animated sprites

2D

2.5D

This is the Strider game I am referring to btw

 

[Valhoven]

What I am referring to is 3D modeled characters with polygons on a mostly 2D plane. The rendered models typically have much more varied and fluid movement mechanics due to the flexibility of 3D engines

2D relies on animated sprites

2D

2.5D

This is the Strider game I am referring to btw

Got it. Thanks. So the new Contra (Operation Galuga) is 2.5D too, then?

 

[mixmastermo]

Got it. Thanks. So the new Contra (Operation Galuga) is 2.5D too, then?

Yes. In contrast the TMNT Shredder's Revenge game is not. Wasted opportunity IMO they could have had some interesting animations and combat had they gone the 2.5D route.

New Prince of Persia is 2.5D melee combat at its finest

 

[7even]

Been playing some old and new 2.5D games lately
Prince of Persia Lost Crown
Metroid Dread
Strider

All fun as hell and engaging. Sometimes I don't want a huge open world, a more focused experience with clean graphics is more than enough

Other games I was into
Bloodstained
New Super Mario Bros
DK Tropical Freeze

Couldn't get into that 2.5D Castlevania though.. not sure why but something wasn't clicking.

Looking forward to Contra

I wish they had a 2.5D Ninja Gaiden

Street Fighter 6

 

[mixmastermo]

Street Fighter 6

Yea, the recent Mortal Kombat games also qualify. 3D models on a 2D plane.

Mega Man 11 is also on the list- it defintely looks hand drawn 2D but they are actually 3D models. Fun game btw

 

[Plissken]

I like it when the games actually feel like they have extra depth and earn the 2.5D moniker. Tropical Freeze utilized the ability to enter the background areas (several other games have done this as well), otherwise it's just polygonal games on a flat 2-D plane.

 

[WhiteMousse]

I have to say that even though I thought the music and environments of Metroid Dread were completely forgettable, the gameplay itself was near perfect. Hard to put that one down.

Also I want to clarify-- I thought it was the environments that were bland, not the art style or graphics, which I thought were beautiful.

But it's easy to think of the individual areas of other Metroid games- not in Dread however. Just bleh

 

[moreorless87]

Yes. In contrast the TMNT Shredder's Revenge game is not. Wasted opportunity IMO they could have had some interesting animations and combat had they gone the 2.5D route.

New Prince of Persia is 2.5D melee combat at its finest

I would argue just the opposite, a lot of games which move to polygons over sprites end up losing character.

Often the switch is actually about saving money, sprite art is expensive and a lot of the animators of it have now retired, something like say Street Fighter 3 had over 20K frames of animation and I think only now with Street Fighter 6 could you make a decent case a polygon version looks as good.



Some games obviously needed them but in retrospect I think the obcession with polygons in the 90's and 00's was some kind of mental illness, people really thought this looked better...

 

[mixmastermo]

I would argue just the opposite, a lot of games which move to polygons over sprites end up losing character.

Often the switch is actually about saving money, sprite art is expensive and a lot of the animators of it have now retired, something like say Street Fighter 3 had over 20K frames of animation and I think only now with Street Fighter 6 could you make a decent case a polygon version looks as good.



Some games obviously needed them but in retrospect I think the obcession with polygons in the 90's and 00's was some kind of mental illness, people really thought this looked better...

There was definitely a period of transition from 2D to 3D where the art style of 2D was clearly superior. I consider the PS1/Saturn/N64 generation the hardest generation to go back to because of the early polygon based graphics.

Things have changed however-- in Metroid Dread and Prince of Persia for instance, the animations ARE REALLY REALLY GOOD and your character even makes subtle interactions with the environment. Pretty sure a lot of that stuff was motion captured.

 

[Natural Order]

Shadow Complex is a great example.

 

[WhiteMousse]

Yes. In contrast the TMNT Shredder's Revenge game is not. Wasted opportunity IMO they could have had some interesting animations and combat had they gone the 2.5D route.

New Prince of Persia is 2.5D melee combat at its finest

Jesus that Turtles game was so disappointing.

Tapping into the old Turtles arcade style is a goldmine and they managed to fuck it up. Now it'll be another 30 years before we get another take on it

 

[Prefect]

Yes. In contrast the TMNT Shredder's Revenge game is not. Wasted opportunity IMO they could have had some interesting animations and combat had they gone the 2.5D route.

New Prince of Persia is 2.5D melee combat at its finest

There was an arcade release of TMNT that was 2.5 D. It was alright but didn't grab the nostalgia nerve. It would have been better if it was 2.5 D modeled and then re-rendered back to be cartoony like with boarderlands.

 

[mixmastermo]

There was an arcade release of TMNT that was 2.5 D. It was alright but didn't grab the nostalgia nerve. It would have been better if it was 2.5 D modeled and then re-rendered back to be cartoony like with boarderlands.

Woulda been cool

Mega Man 11 did something like that.. a combo of new tech + nostalgia = clean nostalgia on big screens

 

[HereticBD]

There was definitely a period of transition from 2D to 3D where the art style of 2D was clearly superior. I consider the PS1/Saturn/N64 generation the hardest generation to go back to because of the early polygon based graphics.

Things have changed however-- in Metroid Dread and Prince of Persia for instance, the animations ARE REALLY REALLY GOOD and your character even makes subtle interactions with the environment. Pretty sure a lot of that stuff was motion captured.

It really depends on the effort. You can tell the difference between a lazy 2.5D lifeless skin, and a game where they actually worked on bringing the world to life. It's hit and miss. I find a lot of indie games with that style just feel cheap and bland, but there are games that go the extra mile. It's a bit like CGI compared to practical effects. CGI can be a great tool to bring your vision to life, or a cheap substitute.

 

[Plissken]

There was definitely a period of transition from 2D to 3D where the art style of 2D was clearly superior. I consider the PS1/Saturn/N64 generation the hardest generation to go back to because of the early polygon based graphics.

Things have changed however-- in Metroid Dread and Prince of Persia for instance, the animations ARE REALLY REALLY GOOD and your character even makes subtle interactions with the environment. Pretty sure a lot of that stuff was motion captured.

N64 aged better due to its' anti-aliasing, and it didn't have the weird ass texture warping the PS1 and Saturn had (not to mention the 3D0, 32-X, and Jaguar). Of course everything was on a game by game basis but the smoother look, while it made some things a bit blurrier, was less of a headache to look at. Those early 3-D graphics though can definitely be the most unpleasant era to go back to on a visual level.
Honestly the PS360 era could often be rough due to artistic choice when so many games had that drab brown and gray color palette. I'm glad that was ditched, just ugly art design.

 

[HereticBD]

N64 aged better due to its' anti-aliasing

Yeah, I don't know about that. When PS went fully 3D, it was ugly as fuck, but I don't think they went all-in on it. Nintendo did. I think there's a LOT more games on the Playstation that have aged better than the N64's entire library of janky polygons. Visually speaking, of course. I couldn't imagine games like FFVII and Resident Evil built from the ground up on the N64. They would not be what they are today, without those pre-rendered backgrounds that the N64 couldn't really do for some odd reason. I know they frankenstein'd an RE2 game in there at the end of it's life cycle, but still. I think the Playstation library as a whole, aged a LOT better than the N64's.

That said, Nintendo were more revolutionary. Sure, the games look like shit today, but everything about them were authentic. No tricks. In-game engine for everything.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

What I am referring to is 3D modeled characters with polygons on a mostly 2D plane

I have to say I always loved games done this way because the console could handle it much better. Everything was more crisp. No jagged edges on polygons because all the processing power is used trying to calculate the entirety of the map.

Everything just looked great. Which is why I was partial to the Sega Saturn when that was a thing.