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Gyruss (1988, Konami) - NES
Sharp Pixels vs. AV Famicom Composite via Sony KV-27S42
This one isn’t meant to be zoomed in on unless you want face full of warped corner convergence, but the Discord really liked this so I thought I’d share.
Phantasy Star IV (1995, Sega) - Genesis/Mega Drive
Sharp Pixels vs. Genesis RGB via Sony PVM-20L2MD
I just can’t get enough of Phantasy Star IV over RGB. I’d really like to try it over component on my D-Series sometime as well.
About 6 months ago @crtpixels reached our NES flash cart donation goal, but they were never in stock.
So, rather than wait any more I got myself an early Christmas present! Now I can post AV Famicom examples AND we’ve got our NES flash cart!
Castlevania (1986, Konami) - NES
Sharp Pixels vs. NES RF via Sony KV-27S42
Happy Turkey Day everyone! Thankful for all the support you’ve given me through the roughest year of my life and that I can continue this project. Take it easy today and don’t forget to play some games!
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996, Capcom) - SNES
Sharp Pixels vs. SNES S-Video via Sony KV-27S42
I’m a bit rusty, but trying to get back in the saddle. Street Fighter Alpha 2’s SNES port has been really impressing me lately, what an accomplishment.
absolutely fascinated by this raw pixels on an emulator vs how the game was actually supposed to look on old tvs twitter
People say that old games dont look as good as they remember
Its because they legitimately dont.
The “fuzz” from CRT monitors was something that was definitely accounted for and taken advantage of back in the day when it came to video games! While this effect is noticeable in 3D games, it’s MUCH more visible when it comes to 2D sprites:
Just look how much more depth these simple sprites of Princess Peach and Bowser from Super Mario RPG seem to have when seen through the “dots” of a CRT TV screen!
I somehow did not know this!?!?!?
One of the clearest examples of this is using the effect for transparent waterfalls in the MegaDrive Sonic games
My absolutely favourite example of this is with Dracula's eyes in Castlevania
Damn uhhhhhh this one really did some numbers huh lol
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996, Capcom) - Arcade
Sharp Pixels vs. MiSTer YPbPr via JVC AV-20D202
Other cool aspects of sprite art seen through a CRT monitor: transparency REALLY looked transparent given the fuzz, as seen here on these palm trees from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (also note how much more harmonious the lighting on the palm trees look!)
The natural rounded “warping” of a CRT TV screen also was taken into account to make “trippy” levels in games extra trippy! You can see the optical illusion effect made by the coloring choices in this stage of Life Force no matter if you look at the raw pixels or the screen, but its definitely emphasized on the latter.
The fuzz and the more washed out coloring also served as what we’d call a “filter” today. It made relatively simple, “sharp” pixel art look much smoother, as if it the colors had been blended, achieving a distinctive faux 3D look seen here in Sonic & Knuckles and Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I personally love how the bricks look in the second one. They truly turn into a gradient!
This same effect also made darker palettes look lighter! This one is Vagrant Story, for the PS1, for an example of how playing around with the “limitations” of CRT monitors effect was still in vogue even when 3D games became a thing.
Screenshots of Shiren The Wanderer 2: Oni Invasion! Shiren Castle! (2000, Chunsoft)
Screen captures sourced from CRTpixels, this account run by Jackal27 compares screenshots of games between the sharp pixels with the blended or interlaced output of CRT displays.
Picture 1, 3 & 5 display hard pixels
Picture 2 displays Shiren using a N64 S-Video via Sony KV-27S42
Pictures 4 & 6 displays a cat and Koppa using N64 S-Video via Sony PVM-20L2MD
Source: twitter.com
give me scan-lines or give me death