RPG with graphics like Aethra or BotEE

[Griantor]

I don't know whether such graphic style is called somehow specifically or not, but I'd like to find more RPGs with visual style like that in Aethra Chronicles or Balor of the Evil Eye, crisp and somewhat grainy, with neat fonts.

I suppose there should be many such games amongst JRPGs but I'd prefer the classic Western ones.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lacrymas]

If art style and aesthetics weren't important, would we be getting such threads?

Checkmate, Obama and/or atheists.*

Spoiler

*Solasta apologists

On topic:

Rome: Pathway to Power?

 

[Griantor]

Rome: Pathway to Power?

No, it's pixelated and seems to have little in common visually with games I mentioned.

 

[flushfire]

It's going to be difficult because this dithering method was indeed mainly used by Jap games. Is it because of the PC-88/98? Looks like a mix of highish resolution with limited color palette, which afaik wasn't the norm - color palettes expanded along with the resolution.

Balor looks like some of the earlier Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. The closest I could think of from the west, looking at Aethra, is Exile 3.

Wizardry 6 had some mad graininess going on but it seems like a different dithering technique, or maybe just the result of low resolution. The best you could probably hope for are late 80s - early 90s games.

 

[Griantor]

dithering

Yep, it should be it, I forgot this word.

highish resolution with limited color palette

Yes, it seems so.

And yes, W6 has somewhat similar visual effects, only poorer (not so crisp) and its fonts are different (not so neat).

 

[JarlFrank]

Yeah it's an artstyle mostly common on the Japanese PC98. Sadly there are few RPGs on the platform, and those that exist are typical JRPGs in their gameplay, which I don't like at all.

Most games on that platform are eroge visual novels. Yeah, porn games. Because the PC has never established itself as a normal gaming platform in Japan, so it became the haven of adult games.

Furthermore, none of the PC98 exclusive games are translated.

It's all a very sad affair because I would pay full price for games with that artstyle. It's pretty much my favorite artstyle in the history of PC gaming. It's sometimes anime-ish, but it's fine because it's 90s anime - Ghost in the Shell etc. And the limited color palette + insane amount of dithering just gives it a unique feel.

Digan no Maseki is, artstyle-wise, one of my favorite games of all time, but I never played it and probably never will because it's Jap only (and has generic JRPG gameplay).

 

[Darth Canoli]

Well, i guess you can buy a Van Gogh and stare at it while having a PnP session ...

 

[Catacombs]

Thanks in advance.

Welcome, new bro.

 

[Desiderius]

The technique is known as Pointillism. Most famous practitioner Georges Seurat.

https://www.britannica.com/art/pointillism

 

[mondblut]

Most KOEI games during 640x400x16 era, ie Genghis Khan 2, RTK4, PTO 2.

Warlords 2 is another (not Deluxe which went full SVGA). The original versions of Exile 1 and 2 (not 3 and latest versions of 1&2 updated to 256 colors).

 

[Griantor]

Warlords 2

Exactly. And even Deluxe style will suit. I just didn't want to give examples outside of RPG area (it's RPG Codex here after all...)

 

[mondblut]

Warlords 2

Exactly. And even Deluxe style will suit. I just didn't want to give examples outside of RPG area (it's RPG Codex here after all...)

Well... Tunnels & Trolls sort of, it had that curious Amiga resolution of 640x200 stretched vertically.

Overall, this kind of resolution wasn't very popular in genres that do not require lots of shit happening on screen, so most RPGs were comfortable with 320x200. Macintosh games of the day loved high resolution, check Realmz, Jewel of Arabia, Cythera - even mac version of Dungeon Master 2 apparently.

 

[AdolfSatan]

I'm sure Copper Dreams looked like that at some point. If not just keep an eye for the next couple updates.

FO1 has a very crunchy grain, specially noticeable in wasteland textures.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

As mondblut pointed out, check out KOEI games from that time. I'd also suggest checking out Xanadu and other Falcom games from that time if you don't mind some action RPGs.

Other than that, try Der Seelenturm, Realm of the Paladin: Deception's Plague, Faery Tale Adventure II, and War Wizard. Kinda stretching it in a few places, but beggars can't be choosers.

Also here's a feast for your eyes (prepare to cry like a little girl unless you speak Japanese):

GAGE

Hiouden - Maou Tachi tono Chikai II

 

[The Avatar]

Knights of Xentar kinda has that weird dithered look.

 

[samuraigaiden]

Doesn't Spiderweb Software's Nethergate sort of look like that?