TVG: 1.07 – The Pre-Rendered Feel

It’s great to have grown up through a time when games have developed so much. We had the luck of being kids in the 8-bit era, and still love playing games today. One particular art form which we’re fond of from the PlayStation era is the use of pre-rendered backgrounds. We don’t see them as frequently now as we did in the late 90’s as developers have fallen in love with fully 3D environments.

After catching up a little bit on Matt’s completion of his Final Fantasy Tactics Advance playthrough, and our disappointment with the games Square Enix churned out in the beginning of this mellenium, we talk about our love for pre-rendered backgrounds. I think we’ve decided that if you want to check out some older PlayStation games such as Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy, and Parasite Eve, your best bet is likely on a PSP. You should definitely try to get your hands on the Kusanagi IV book if you want to check out some of the best illustrations that were used in Square’s games.

We discuss the pros and cons of a pre-rendered background while discussing games such as Saga Frontier 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, Ni No Kuni, Okami, and Mario 64. And given that Final Fantasy VII was a PlayStation cornerstone specifically because of technical differences between the PlayStation and N64, it’s interesting to stop for a moment to discuss a little bit how that came to be. If you want a history lesson on that time period, definitely check out Console Wars and the Final Fantasy VII Oral History.

Finally, we close off with more about what we’re currently playing. Matt’s playing with FTL while Steve’s just finished both Mighty No. 9 and TIMEframe, and has just started Gunpoint.

The Vagabond Gamecast is a podcast by Stephen Tucker and Matthew Langille that covers gaming from the perspective of nomadic parents.
The Vagabond Gamecast
TVG: 1.07 – The Pre-Rendered Feel
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