Console games that looked HD before HD

It's kind of hard to explain, but what old console games does your mind picture as HD long before we even had HDTV's on the market? I'd have to say:

Soul Calibur (Dreamcast) It looked so clean and clear that the next Soul Calibur game a couple years later just didn't impress me.

Silent Hill 2 (PS2) This was just beautiful back in the day.

Ninja Gaiden (Original Xbox) I only played this a tiny bit on my old CRT, but when I continued playing on my first HDTV years ago, it upscaled so nicely I couldn't believe it.

Code Veronica (Dreamcast) Claire's big ass was a nice change from the anorexic model from RE2. Everything else in the game looked great too of course.

What are your picks?

Resident Evil Remake: That holds up well even today.

FF12: Blew me away graphically. However, I only got so far before the gameplay bored me.

Jade Empire: Truly beautiful game. Very vibrant and full of colour and character. Although I think it came out when HD was coming, not sure.

Starfox Adventures: Bash me all you want, I liked it and it looked brilliant.

Soul Calibur 3 looked pretty good on ps2.

But no mention of BLACK? That game still looks impressive on a ps2/xbox. I don't know how they got a game to look that good on a ps2.

" XIII" for the original Xbox. The cel shading and gameplay was unlike anything I've seen at that time. Awesome game too.

A lot of first-party Gamecube titles looked insanely good for their time. Windwaker, Metroid Prime, Star Fox Adventures all wowed me when I first played them. I also remember Ico and Shadow of the Colossus looking amazing. Heck, these games still look good even a decade later.

Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Dead or Alive 4 all on the original Xbox.

Burnout 3 and Revenge

God of War

I wouldn't say HD, but just some games in general that, at the time they were released, looked better to me than almost anything else out there:

• Resident Evil remake
• NFL2k
• Metal Gear Solid 2
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
• Halo

All these games held up as easy on the eyes for a long time. Some still do.

• Metroid Prime
• Viewtiful Joe
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Huh. All Gamecube games. Weird.

I swear I didn't do that on purpose.

actualy viewtiful joe got ported to ps2 XD

You either run in HD or you don't. There is no looking HD before HD because it was a limitation based on system hardware, software of the game, and display of the tv hardware.

That's like saying what cars had fuel injection before fuel injection was invented? The answer is of course, none.

I always thought Deluxe Paint IV on the Amiga looked Hi Res. Dat Interlace!

• MYST series - These games have always been so appealing to the eye. The first MYST game that came out in 1993 was way ahead for its time.
• Beyond Good & Evil (PC) - Just install the game, apply a widescreen fix and boom you are playing it at 1080P.

True enough, but that was an ugly port. And I played it on the Gamecube.

so... nyahhhhh :P

Final Fantasy VII & VIII - The CGI cutscenes and pre-rendered backdrops looked amazing, as if they were rendered in HD and then scaled down to sub-SD.

Final Fantasy X - The CGI cutscenes looked absolutely incredible, presumably using similar technology to FF Spirits Within (which at the time had the best CGI in the movie industry).

Resident Evil remake & Resident Evil Zero - The pre-rendered CGI backdrops looked incredible, presumably rendered in HD and then scaled down to SD.