Graphics Vs Gameplay

[Fig]

What's happening forum! I hope you guys had a good sleep last night (if you even sleep that is )

As a gamer, I always look at the pros and cons of each game. Most Xbox360 and PS3 games have incredible graphics, but you can only do so much without being tedious, while the majority of Nintendo games that have "horrible" graphics as many people like to call it, and yet Nintendo has the most sells and discussions about their games. Personally, graphics are the last thing I look at, because graphics don't make the game, the gameplay does. One game that comes to mind is the Call of Duty games. I was impressed by the graphics when I first saw them, but the majority of the campaign and multiplayer is just shooting people. Yes, I know It's supposed to be a shooting game, but so is Metroid and Metroid is not just about shooting.People focus too much on the graphics of any game and RATE these games based on their graphics. That is what makes me so upset, because people are just focusing on graphics, they just think the games are only good by how the graphics look like. "Dude, that Zelda game with the sky sword for the Wii is horrible. It looks like a cartoon. Who would want to play that?" When I heard those two guys talking trash about Skyward Sword, I gave them a taste of their own medicine. "oh yea, well what about your Call of Duty games? The graphics are pretty good, I have to admit, but its gameplay is horrible. All you do is shoot, that's it? No undercover missions, not finding the plans of the enemy while disguised as the enemy? That's all you do: shoot and kill, not even ariel assaults." "Oh but Call of Duty is a real life game that can be done in real life, not your Zelda and Pokemon crap." This is why I love Nintendo. I believe the graphics are incredible in the game they create, and I love their gameplay even more. I just wanted to point this out for gamers who have ever had a talk about graphics vs gameplay.

 

[DarkMachi]

Graphics are not as important as game play for me for sure... I mean have nice graphics are nice, however some of my favorite of all time games are the one with the "poor" graphics... I mean I was just playing Link's Awakening and just because it was old does not mean that I didn't enjoy repetitively stealing and dying from the shop...
Then there are the people that say that shooter games are more "mature" than this "cartoonish" games like Zelda... then i think... yes yes, because that is what most adults do... take out a gun and kill everything that moves...
Exploring, touching stories, some kind of plot that makes you WANT to continue playing...

 

[Links Brother]

I truly hate people over the Internet that say. "Look at the graphics! There horrible! No way I'm getting this". Sadly this happens a lot. People judge a game by its cover and shiny graphics when the game may be amazing. A freind of mine won't play Ocarina of Time only because the graphics are bad. It's times like those that make me mad, its one of the BEST GAMES EVER MADE! Who cares it doesn't live up to Skyrim or Call of Duty in graphics, it's an amazing game. What makes me really mad is when people say Skyward Sword looks bad. Many people need the graphics to be good in a technicaly good even if artistically it's amazing. Games like Okami and Kingdoms of Amalur look good for its Artstyle, sure it may not be technicaly good but I would even prefer Okami's look to Skyrims graphics. Ok, long angry rant over.

 

[Fig]

That's what makes me continue playing Zelda, because they are so many secrets in those games. This could also refer to the Pokemon games because of the hidden items and secret items to find.

 

[Gannon]

Gameplay. Some of the greatest games of all time were on the NES, I don't remember it ever having outstanding graphics.

 

[S. Mario]

I always prefer gameplay over graphics. That may come from only ever having a game system that's 5-10 years older than the current one (soon to change when I get a Wii U). I play older games all the time, and I don't play them for their graphics as N64 games don't look good on my big TV. I'd never buy a game for the graphics, although good graphics are always nice. By good graphics, I mean something that expresses the feeling of the game well. Ultra realistic graphics are not "good graphics" to me. Skyward Sword is an excellent example of this. Actually, I was playing Skyward Sword at a friends house (one who typically plays a PS3 instead of a Wii) and his dad walked by and said that the game had some of the best graphics he had ever seen. For someone who has both a Wii and a PS3 in his house, I thought it was cool that he would recognize the quality of the more artistic style compared to CoD's ultra realistic style.

 

[linkbox135]

i don't think anyone prefers graphics over gameplay and if he/she does then they are stupid lol because if a game has amazing graphics but it sucks then it's a bad game no matter how good the graphics are

 

[Jimmu]

Gameplay makes a game what it is, great, good, bad or Super Man 64. I have never even cared about graphics (except when some PS2 games made me feel dizzy) and I don't think they matter at all. Yet there are idiots out there that only care about graphics and scrap gameplay altogether. Most of them have a formula for the prefect game:
-The best Graphics possible.
-Guns and Wepons.
-Rated at least M.
-People to kill.
/rant

 

[A Link In Time]

I believe that when producing a videogame it's important to strike that fine balance between gameplay and graphics. I respect Nintendo's philosophy of putting gameplay before story and graphics, however, the aforementioned two aspects of a videogame are always nice cherries on top.

Something Nintendo has been doing with the 3DS and Wii U is appealing to that same audience they struck a chord with over the past two generations-across Gameboy Advance, Gamecube, DS, and Wii. This is a brilliant philosophy which the company should continue to follow. Not only will Nintendo retain the dedicated audience that keeps coming back for the precision of Mario's leaps or the thrust of Link's sword but they'll be able to do so on engrossing platforms which may not turn the world upside down with their technology but nevertheless are cutting edge enough to slash competitors from beneath their legs. Gameplay shall always come first but wisely using the power of hardware to the maximum is always appreciated as well.

 

[Akuhime-sama]

In my opinion:
Graphics shouldn't matter to anybody. >_>
I say graphics are the least of your concerns.
(unless it causes seizures) xD

I play old NES/SNES games to this day!

These young kids today and their Playstation 3's don't know what graphics are about -shakes fist angrily-
(kidding)

But seriously... LOTS of great games, don't have "High resolution" graphics or anything fancy.
Games are made to entertain, not Impress. xP
And I say, if it can entertain... that should be it.

Though, older graphics have that "special feel" to them, so I prefer them over new ones.

 

[Ventus]

Graphics make or a break a game, to a certain extent. I cannot play a game if everything is choppy (the engine sucks), jagged lines (looking at you, Skyward Sword), and my eyes just hurt when looking at that game. Yes, gfx aren't as important as gameplay, but they're still needed to a certain extent.

I find when playing on a system whose best capabilities are NES-graphics (e.g the NES, lol), looking at the screen doesn't hurt because I use RCA cables. But, if I play a NES-graphic game on the Xbox360 or the PS3, it tends to hurt even WITH RCA cables. I can't explain why, but that's just how it is. I want to like looking at what I play, playing it isn't enough.

Gameplay is easily more important to a game than graphics. In my opinion, graphics are more important to a movie, gameplay to a game, and story to a book. Of course, you need great characters and a great story for a good movie, graphics play a huge part (look at Lord of the Rings or JC's Avatar). Story is near useless in a game, even where the story is toted as really great (e.g Kingdom Hearts by Nomura himself, Zelda by the Zelda fans; I play none of these series for the story) since gameplay is what makes the GAME. And of course, when reading a book you need to be captivated by the characters and stories or else you won't read it (well...assuming you're reading for fun and not for your literary analysis class).

So yeah, gameplay > graphics but I like my graphics. It doesn't have to be 1080P realistic amazingness, but it can't be choppy, jagged edges and crap like Skyward Sword.

 

[misskitten]

Graphics are nice and all, but if the game itself don't bring it, then I don't see the appeal in it. With Zelda I enjoy most of the graphical choices (the high contrast and bright colors in wind waker combined with the sharp turns Link make, kinda gives me a headache - I however enjoyed the same style done on PH and ST, so I am definitely not complaining about "toon"-y Link). I have yet to get into the 2D games, but that's due to me never being introduced to them back when 2D was the norm, so I don't have the same nostalgic draw and patience - however I intend to give each game a proper try at some point.

My view on graphics vs gameplay becomes a lot clearer if you start looking at which games I favor in other gaming series. With Fable, the graphics have improved immensely since the original, however none of the sequels have managed to even come near the original when it comes to gameplay. With the Harry Potter games, the first three games had very simple, toon-y style graphics, while the latter games have a more "realistic" approach - however I would rather play the first three than any other HP game because they simply bring the charm, and the fun.

When I play games, I want to have fun, if I just want to see something that just looks good, I'll put on a movie instead

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

i only chose graphics b/c i wanted to see how many voted for it & i knew it would be low.....damn :O
can't i unvote or something

 

[iMadMax]

I really dont care for graphics at all. Its like looks on a real person. If the games fun im going to enjoy it no matter what

 

[LinkxZelda]

I choose gameplay over graphics. I would rather have a game that is fun to play and looks good (Skyward Sword as an example) than one that looks good but is boring to play (Red Dead Redemption).