5 of the Best Video Games with the Worst Graphics

It's a terrible shame when one of the best games is ruined by poor graphics, but it happens all the time. While modern consoles have risen above the bad graphics of yesteryear, there are many titles which have not been properly remade to incorporate the new features available. These video games are the 5 best video games with the worst graphics.

5 of the best video games with the worst graphics: Thousand Arms - PSX

Thousand Arms is one of those games you wish you hadn't played, but you just can't put down. Atlus did an excellent job of keeping the story gripping, and teaming it up with Japanese dating sim elements was brilliant. The graphics however, remind me of a Sega CD game. From the way the battles play out, to the transition from game movement into semi-video, this game screams early CD release.

You remember those horrid Clue games that where released during the Sega CD's short life span? That's exactly what this game feels like, with poorly drawn characters outside the semi-FMVs that look more like blobs most of the time then people. It's just a shame they didn't do better in the graphics department because the game truly is entertaining.

5 of the best video games with the worst graphics: Legend of Legaia - PSX

Legend of Legaia was one of the earliest RPG releases for the PSX and it really shows. The graphics appear to be no better than a Saturn game. (Virtual fighter comes to mind here) The storyline however is excellent, and the battle mechanics are a little different than your average RPG. Rather than simply selecting your attack you must perform a combo each time you attack to use skills. The combos are easy to perform, but they do make things a bit more entertaining.

5 of the best video games with the worst graphics: Wild Arms 1,2- PSX

Wild Arms was another early release that tried to make that transition to 3D with less than fantastic results. The characters look reasonably blocky like little Legos, but the story line is deep and involving. Wild Arms takes an old western setting rather than the typical fantasy or Sci-Fi setting associated with RPG games today, and feels more like a Wild West movie.

Later Wild Arms releases took full advantage of the hardware available and look great. The PS2 releases are fantastic, I would recommend them to anyone who enjoys a good RPG. All releases after the second one went back to a more anime appearance, using cell shading to create the impression of watching an anime in the later PS2 releases. If you have played any of the later DBZ releases for PS2, then you know how great cell shading can make these kind of games look.

5 of the best video games with the worst graphics: Legend of Dragoon - PSX

If it weren't for the horrible translation and grainy graphics, Legend of Dragoon could have been the next FF7, but alas it was not meant to be. The graphics in this game are reasonably well done, but in particular the battle scenes are very grainy. (I think I might get sea sick if I don't stop looking) This however can be corrected when running it on an emulator.

The story line in Legend of Dragoon is long and involving, but contains enough grammar errors to make anyone's head spin. I would definitely recommend this game to hardcore RPG fans, but I cannot recommend it to anyone else, as only the hardcore RPG fans will truly appreciate this game for what it is.

5 of the best video games with the worst graphics: Final Fantasy 7 - PSX

On to the plight of FF7, which was released for both PC and PSX, neither of which truly did this game the justice it deserved. FF7 is a very long game with an extremely compelling plot, which pulls you in and holds you tight.

Unfortunately it was another early release on the PSX, the later FF8 and FF9, had considerably better graphics, showing what the PSX was truly capable of. The PC release never worked half as well as the PSX counterpart, so I would suggest if you are interested in playing this game. Get a PSX version and play it on ePSXe, the enhanced graphics make it look considerably better, but an emulator and some shaders can only do so much.

While games such as Wild Arms and Final Fantasy 7 may look marginally better on an emulator such as ePSXe, I still believe they deserve a remake. The investment of time would be small as the script is already in place, and it would simply be a matter of redesigning the character models and worlds. Many of the Final Fantasy series have already gotten remakes, and they have made some sequels to FF7. Though, these sequels hardly classify as RPGs.