The reason for being of PS5 Pro is reduced to one concept: that a game offers its best graphical quality without having to sacrifice its fluidity and rhythm. Many PS5 games can offer both but we have become accustomed to choose between 4K quality (upscaled or not) and 60 FPS. Logically, this “Pro” improvement does not apply to all games, but to more than 20. For now. But what if I told you that these options were already available on the original PlayStation decades ago?
Although in the 90s it was time to imagine – based on trial and error – what the leap from 2D to 3D video games on video game consoles and home systems should be like, the visual aspirations of the first 32-bit PlayStation were enormous. Precisely for this reason, instead of limiting gaming options, titles like Battle Arena Toshinden 3, Motorhead or rarities like Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden 3 They allowed the player to choose their gaming experience.
The next question almost asks itself: what difference did it make when choosing between graphics and 60FPS in a video game designed to run on a 1994 PlayStation? Even with today’s eyes, and as you will see below, The result is amazing.
We have the most pronounced change, by far, in the third installment of Battle Arena Toshindena 3D fighting saga with which Sony’s own console debuted and which in 1998 offers us two visual options for the gaming experience from the menus of the console itself.
- Play at 30 FPS with models and scenarios with all the textures and details.
- Play at 60 FPS, but without textures, which guarantees a fluid experience although it also makes us see the seams in the graphic section.
In other games like the driving title Motorhead The proposed solution is much more subtle, since the price to pay to play at 60 FPS is to reduce the number of rivals to two vehicles controlled by the AI on the screen plus ours. Something that, logically, reduces the visual load of the game.
In Ridge Racer Type 4launched in 1999, we will be given a similar solution although with nuances: through Ridge Racer Turbo Mode Bonus Disc A mode is included with the original game at 60 FPS, but only the Time-Trial and Time Attack experiences are enabled, so there is only one other racer on each circuit.
It is estimated that there are more than 100 games from the first PlayStation capable of offering 60FPS. Some in a stable way and without giving options and others with the occasional adjustment or trick to achieve it. In Shin Nippon Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden 3a wrestling game released only in Japan, the limitations of choosing greater fluidity and visual quality meant eliminating matches in pairs and without the referee in the ring. All in all, the more options the better.
One of the keys to the success of the original PlayStation was how it anticipated the needs and interests of gamers. Even in times when we played on tube televisions with which we did not even aspire to play in 1080p. A revolution in itself that, in fact, did not even need an update with intergenerational improvements to sell like hotcakes and offer the best graphic options and 60 FPS. Of course, another thing is that most of its games have not aged as well visually compared to those on other consoles. But that is another topic.
In VidaExtra | Preservation in console games: what Nintendo, Playstation and Xbox propose to keep their legacy alive