Game is blowing my mind in 2025 let alone in 2006. How did people react to this gem on the ps2?

>>714661109 (OP)

>>714661109 (OP)
By dropping it because it was so fucking slow without the 2x/4x mode and had nothing going for it except the Ivalice setting

>>714661209
ah true. ive only ever played it on emulator and now on steam
but i agree with your statement it is slow af esp the first 7h

>>714661124
why are 2000s beach aesthetics so kino /v/?

looks like you're playing on an emulator, it didnt look that nice for me when i first played it. also the characters are so fucking boring, the fact that your main positive of the game is the visuals and not the story in a jrpg should say it all

>>714661394
the screenshots are on steam

Square still had vestiges of talent from the SNES/PS1 golden age in those days.

>>714661109 (OP)
art direction... there are like 5-10 3D models in both pics. modern games just try to use 4000 shitty environment models to make it look "pretty" but it's just a bunch of shit that ruins visibility.

>>714661394
Yeah it looked even better because CRTs and 4:3 are superior

>>714661424
play it on a real ps2 over composite if you want the 2006 experience, it looked no better than monster hunter to me

>>714661109 (OP)
>Final Fantasy XII
>Soulcalibur III
>Valkyrie Profile 2
The holy trinity of late-stage PS2 games with superlative graphics

>>714661109 (OP)
every one of your screenshots has some bizarre lard filter applied to it

>>714661509
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJnfhyBMCs

>>714661553
Looks nice tho

>>714661109 (OP)
>How the fuck did they do it on the ps2?
because the PS2 ran this game with an internal resolution of 512x448
so the only way to make a game look good was hirering talented people who knew how to make something look please despite low graphical fidelity.

>>714661636
agreed

>>714661648
We just needed a little bit more... Games should've just reached the "PS2 graphics but with higher res" level and stayed there forever

>>714661109 (OP)
It did not look like this on the ps2

>>714661424
Looks really good, which mods do you use?

>>714661773
>We just needed a little bit more
No, anon. We don't. It's that kind of thinking that led to the horrible future.

>>714661518
why not over component
mh did look really good though

it doesn't look that good. It just has well framed shots, and effective use of texturing (which like no game has now)

>>714661843
none

>>714661109 (OP)
Great artists who worked within the tech limitations. TZA has kinda invalidated emulation, but FF12 looked great emulated because those assets were lookers PS2 couldn't show off properly.

>>714661773
thats technically what early PS360 is but then unreal enggine 3 started slopplifying everything

>>714661518
see >>714661509

>>714661375
"2000's beach aesthetics" aren't a thing.
It's called a beach.

>>714661109 (OP)
this game shares a lot of its visual style and strengths with vagrant story
is accessibility of tech really why we don't get this anymore?

>>714661474
This. It's all art direction. A game with strong art direction will always look good, because they try to create something appealing and beautiful with the tools they have.
Most devs today chase realism. And sure they get closer as they push tech foward, but it's always a failure because it falls short of reality. And since they are always pushing foward, every time they make progress it makes everything that came before it looks worse by comparison.

if thats the case then why dont beaches look this aesthetically pleasing in modern slopah? oh right cuz it is a thing

This would look like actual ass with an over the shoulder view.
Everything good here is in the cinematography (which modern audiences have decided they don't want, because you have to always be able to move your camera)

>>714662097
clair obscure is the best example of "just use a bunch of 3d shit and hope it looks good" instead of having a good art direction. still dont get why people hyped it up like its the best game ever

>>714662115
that's not a beach. It's a harbor.

>>714661109 (OP)
this is how.

>>714662217
this is the power of AI??!?!?!? do her next please

>>714661109 (OP)
I replayed it for a while a couple of years ago, actual disc on an actual ps2. looks blurry on a modern tv, as expected. it did look better than the average ps2 game back in the crt days but I gotta say these threads are always dishonest with the emulator screenshots.

>>714662303
This nigga wearing panties over his pants

>>714661109 (OP)
Looks bad. What do you mean? Early 3D graphics never age well. I'm convinced people that praise the graphical fidelity of old games just have never actually played a new game on the highest settings because they can't, and then they think the graphics on new games have not advanced in any way.

>>714662432
Post a good looking modern game

>>714662396
but this isnt emulation lol its the steam version bro

>>714662396
see >>714661509

>>714662454
Most of the AAAs. You're just going to deny it for the sake of arguing.

>>714662457
well then it's not a 2006 game, is it

>>714662454
easy

>>714662515
Lol fucking zoomers man

>>714662532
the og was. all this one does is increase the resolution. the art direction still the same as 2006

>>714662538
>80% fog
Right on cue

>>714662557
i literally yelled KINOOOOOOOOOOOOO every frame of this masterpiece

by the time this game came out we knew that Final Fantasy was a dogshit franchise and only retarded weebs gave a fuck

>>714662596

>>714662621
>90% fog
lmao

>>714661109 (OP)
It's an end generation game so it was optimised the hell outta of for the PS2 (was one of the last major titles released for the console before it was discountinued).

It honestly looked better than a lot of early gen PS3 games. But it was still quite limited by hardware. I remember you couldn't have like more than a certain number of VFX effects going on at the same time, so if you spam spells which take up all the VFX slots (like flare), then you can render some spell casting enemies entirely impotent since their own spells are constantly stuck in the VFX queue.

>>714662396
Not OP, but did you do composite or component? Playing on component makes the image LEAGUES better, even if we're talking LCD displays. But, to be honest, the PS2's native output is kinda shitty, i don't know why. Even if a game is capable of doing 480p, it doesn't look right, the Gamecube and Xbox look sharp as fuck on 480p (specially if you're using component or some sort of HDMI solution), but the PS2 looks awful in that department.

But yeah, try component or an HDMI adapter, the difference is night and day.

>>714662665

Textures that are actual paintings with ligthing, texture and details
Lost and underrated art in the race for graphix and polycount

>>714662557
Screenshots and/or streams don't do them justice either. You do know that, right? You either have the tech to experience that shit first-hand or you don't. And a good chunk of gamers have never touched that ultra setting on a AAA and live in a completely different world of understanding.

>>714662736
gow2 did this and it blew my mind in 2007

>>714662664
>95% fog

>>714662705
>98% fog

>>714662738
>75% fog

Zoomer-kun..

>>714662532
why because it's not limited to old console resolutions?

>>714662752
Ah so it was post purchase rationalization the whole time

why are modern devs so scared of color? why they feel the need for the antisovl fog? why scared of vibrancy? clair obscure is so generic looking i cant beleive people suck it off so hard

>>714661375
its called frutiger aero anon

>>714663021

>>714663070
>>714661375
and its the evolution of the millenium y2k aesthetic of the 90s and ear;u 00s

>>714663021
It's not, stop parroting zoomer memes

>>714662576
>>714662821
I thought op was referring to the image clarity.

>>714662303
wahaha

>>714663220

>>714663198
so what type of meme is beach theme then?

>>714661109 (OP)
Should I emulate the original or the izjs version of ff12?

>>714663220
dasdas

>>714662697
yeah I later learned all about it, that little reunion with my ps2 made me do some research. apparently I have the shittiest cable out of all the options.

>>714663330
if youre emulating then any of them will do since you can use speed hacks on emulators so defeats the 2x speed of izjs

Man, post some PS2 screenies (emulated) at the very least.

>>714663330
Just pirate the HD version because being able to change jobs is the most QoL update this game has ever gotten. The original release has no job system so it's kind of a mess.

>>714663021
no it isn't. This is downstream from the "tribal" stuff that was popular in the 90's

>>714661109 (OP)
>How did people react to this gem on the ps2?
Hated it for being a boring singleplayer MMO.

>>714661109 (OP)
there was some other good looking games like Valkyrie profile 2, shadow hearts 3, and something else, hack GU games, too.

>>714663129
>millenium
millennium*

>>714663825
This. Didn't even finish it. It does have some nice locations and the Vieras, but that's it.

>>714663923
VP2 kind of cheats with static camera angles but yes it does look very good. Also a fucking pain to run properly even on original hardware for some reason I forgot. Alicia a cute.

i miss kino beach-stethics

>>714664240
holy bloom baby

pcsx2 is super trash

>>714663320
was a bit tedious and I didn't know how u wanted it so I made two

>>714663320

>>714663460

>>714661109 (OP)
It was mindblowing on the PS2 back in the day

>>714662697
I legit have no idea why PS2 games in specific look so blurry but I always thought this was part of the console's identity. There has to be a technical reason since part of the PS2's strengths were things like how easily the graphics synthesizer gpu did stuff like alpha layers (which modern ports struggle with)

>>714661109 (OP)
It's a great looking game but keep in mind that on real hardware it was rendered at 512x448. PC games at the time were already pushing for 1600x1200 or perhaps even 1080p if you were rich fag.

>>714665952
resolution literally means nothing

>>714661109 (OP)
It's almost as if power means absolutely fuck all if you have a competent team.

>>714662217
AI sirs i kneel

>>714661109 (OP)
JRPGs are all obsolete after Expedition 33

>>714666479
says while posting 2560x1440 screenshots

>>714661109 (OP)
>1440p

It did not look like this

>>714666715
You're right it looked like >>714662217

>>714665952
>>714666654
>>714666715
Native res on CRT literally looks better every time, but since it's hard to faithfully demonstrate on an LCD compared to in person, upscaled screenshots will have to do

>>714661109 (OP)
Same way they did that Vagrant Story gem on PS1, absolute geniuses.

>How did people react to this gem on the ps2?
People hated XII when it came out.

>>714661109 (OP)
They already did something harder before

>>714661109 (OP)
the final Final Fantasy

the gameplay was dogshit so no one cared. people were less retarded back then

>>714666864
god 4:3 is so fucking sovl
fuck movies

I wish the game had a toggle for tactical camera like in dragon age origins.

>>714662432
>Early 3D graphics
>FF12

>>714662303
>>714662401
filet is the best piece

>>714662538
>>714662664
shit looks like rendered AI slop lmao

Should I bother with the PC version? Any good mods?

>>714661109 (OP)
They hated it. The zodiac pc port remaster somewhat fixed things because you can just play combat at 4x speed

>>714663021
game name?
Is this ps universe?

>>714664206
i mean vp2 game is not even good or interesting. but it was looking good.

>>714667517
you get the zodiac version on ps2 too. it's just japan only
>>714668037
vp2 is pretty good gameplay wise desu

>>714662538
So many places in that game is just a work of art, absolute fucking masterpiece.

>this gem
>how did people react
by laughing at it for being completely shit compared to X
Enix ruined Squaresoft's legacy

>>714669667
it's way better than X but its not better than X-2

Read in an interview that compared to FFX, they had much lower resolution models, but higher resolution textures, with more details. Makes sense if it had people from the vagrant story team on it, as those guys made one of the best PS1 looking games using the same approach.

>>714670372
Saying X-2 is better than X is actually insane.

>>714671771
looks better
plays better

>>714671771
x-2 is very good. as a game is sure better than x. x had like, blitzball (everyone hate this one,) and arena monsters. and this is kinda is it. x-2 has lots more stuff to do.

>>714661109 (OP)
People hated the protagonist and the combat

>>714672247
>combat is still better than all other offline MMOs like xenoblade
lol

>>714672325
how it feel be pussy??

>>714674546
hows it feel to be a retard?
imma make an rpg where the whole game is just coding out routines for your whole party while you blob your way round things