Technology is a field that will never stop advancing, and when it comes to video games, that means that graphics and visuals have to constantly get better. What was considered excellent visuals back in the day are now obsolete, leaving a lot of room for improvement on the part of the developers.

However, there are some occasions where the art style and visuals of a game will actually look so good that they remain gorgeous for a long time. This isn't just true of titles released on the Xbox 360 and PS3; it holds true for games even older than that.

While everyone will likely have their own definitions of what constitutes a game with "good graphics," we've dug through our own childhoods to put together some titles that we think hold up really well and others that we believe didn't age nicely. If you disagree with any of our picks, feel free to explain why in the comments, and tell us which games you would put on this list.

With that out of the way, we will proceed to 10 more games that look terrible today and 10 that hold up. If you don't see a particular game on this list, check out our previous list on the same subject, as there are some big winners and losers there too.

20 Holds Up: Wind Waker

via dailyemerald.com

While it's clear that Wind Waker HD is the definitive version of the game, those who still own the GameCube version aren't missing out on much. The fact of the matter is that this game looks incredible by today's standards, and that's without HD visuals or proper textures.

We can still follow the journey of Link as he sails on the seven seas, enjoying every twist and turn we find on our way. The ocean looks vast and without end, and we love every minute of it. Every character and location is vibrant and full of life. You'll be hard-pressed to find a Zelda game that holds up as well as this one does.

19 Looks Terrible: Donkey Kong 64

via romhustler.net

After Rare made the jump to the Nintendo 64, they decided to take the opportunity to make another game starring the titular ape in a tie. Donkey Kong 64 was a well-designed game for its time, featuring multiple playable characters as well as plenty of collectibles to find along the way.

However, after replaying the game, we realize that it doesn't look as good as it did back in the day. The polygonal shapes of the environment just look off, and the animations for each character feel stiff and out of place. Contrast that to Banjo-Kazooie, which had enough life and charm injected into it that it still holds up. Unfortunately, this adventure for Donkey Kong does not.

18 Holds Up: Donkey Kong Country

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Slide in that cartridge and get ready for a trip down nostalgia lane. In any list of the best SNES games of all time, you're bound to find Donkey Kong Country on it. The reason for this is that, apart from being an excellent game, Donkey Kong Country was a visual masterpiece when you consider the hardware that Rare was working with at the time.

Featuring a pseudo-3D art style, the game has a feel all its own. Yet, despite looking so genuine, it's still very playable today. It has a classic design and everything pops on screen. Furthermore, the characters are all animated well, giving each of them much more personality and depth than we would've expected to get beforehand.

17 Looks Terrible: Metroid II

via gamefaqs.net

After Metroid for the NES captivated the hearts of players around the world, Nintendo quickly began work on a sequel for their Game Boy handheld. Unfortunately, the 2D exploration gameplay of the series didn't translate as well to a small screen, and neither did the visuals for that matter.

You boot up Metroid II and you suddenly realize that something is off. On top of the areas not being distinguishable from each other, there are no backgrounds, making each locale feel the same. We can't give Nintendo too much flack for having the game be in black and white (that was the hardware limitation), but we'll just say that it didn't help how well the game has aged. Thankfully, we have Metroid: Samus Returns to make up for it.

16 Holds Up: Kirby's Dream Land 3

via gamefaqs.net

Kirby games are always structured well enough to last a while visually. In that sense, there are a few titles we had in mind, but Kirby's Dream Land 3 was the one that made the cut in the end. Why is this? Well, the game features a powerful aesthetic that causes the game to feel timeless.

One look at a video, and you'll notice that the entire game looks as if it was colored in by crayon. No more are pixels distracting our eyes, as we're too busy being enamored by the subtle pinks and deep reds. A brilliant touch to this visual design was that the manual for the game was created to look like a children's storybook, further complimenting the crayon art style.

15 Looks Terrible: Spider-Man (PS1/N64)

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If you had to ask us what our favorite Spider-Man game was, this title would be very close to the top. The truth is that Activision hasn't quite recaptured the magic of this game (at least in terms of appealing to fans of the comics). Despite all of the crazy characters, action-packed setting, and perfect narration, Spider-Man doesn't look good anymore.

While Spider-Man himself looks alright, everyone else hurts to watch. The facial work is terrible, and hands are relegated to polygonal shapes with drawn-on fingers (don't even get us started on the other Marvel cameos). It hinders our enjoyment of the game these days, but if Activision and Marvel wanted to do an HD re-release to bring back the glory, we wouldn't complain.

14 Holds Up: Okami

via tesseract.edu

Okami is one of those games that isn't just given a cel-shaded art style and finished after that. No, the developers put a lot of time and effort to giving it its own identity, and that bleeds over drastically into how the game looks. Anyone who's played Okami knows that it appears as if an ancient Japanese painting has jumped onto your screen, and you get to experience every corner of it.

The popularity of this game has perfectly lent to various re-releases over the years (with a PS4 remaster coming soon). The reason for this is that the game already looks fantastic, and giving it that slight bump in resolution will only cement it as one of the best-looking games of all time.

13 Looks Terrible: Crash Bash

via wikia.com

The Crash Bandicoot series was one that Naughty Dog knew how to handle. While the first game doesn't quite hold up well, the second and third are easily some of the best games on the PlayStation One. Each game is given so many detailed visuals and the characters are given so much life that they still hold up today.

Then you move on to Crash Bash, the first game in the series not developed by Naughty Dog. Where the games in the past felt like everything was always moving and you could get lost in the charm, this one just feels devoid of all of it. The game somehow manages to look worse than titles that came before it, and that's just a darn shame.

12 Holds Up: Age Of Empires 2

via kotaku.com

When it comes to real-time strategy games, it's hard to find one that tops the massive success of Age of Empires 2. Featuring a simple yet distinguishable visual style, this game looked great when it came out and still looks good to this day. Each civilization has their own architecture, and it's not hard to tell which unit is trying to storm your city.

People still get together to play this game with their friends, and that's just a testament to how timeless it is in terms of both visuals and gameplay. A couple of years ago, the game got the HD treatment on Steam, and despite what you may think, not much was done to the graphics. It was instead fine-tuned to be nearly perfect to look at.

11 Looks Terrible: Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

via youtube.com (via 10min Gameplay)

For those of you familiar with the recent Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, it's actually a remake (shocker) of an old game that was published by SEGA. The one we're discussing is obviously the old one. And anyone who has been exposed to those visuals knows exactly why the game is on this list.

Wonder Boy III is not a good-looking game. While it does have some cute characters and enemies, the colors are so contrasting that it's painful to look at. Furthermore, the animations are so stiff and awkward that we can't bear it for more than a few minutes. In a time where Mario and Link had fluid movement, it's a shame that Wonder Boy couldn't have been given a similar treatment.

10 Holds Up: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

via emuparadise.me

Naughty Dog has yet to create an objectively bad game. Since their early days, they've been crafting experiences that we can all enjoy. If you want to go back and see the best of their time on the PlayStation 1, we would highly recommend Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.

This sequel not only improved on the original Crash Bandicoot in terms of gameplay but visual style as well. All of the animations were fluid and responsive. Crash himself was given a lot more personality in his various expressions (which became iconic to the franchise). While people love the remastered version on PS4, the classic version is still just as great.

9 Looks Terrible: Sonic Adventure

via wikia.com

After Sonic made the jump to 3D on the Dreamcast, it was received fairly well. Sonic Adventure promised a new direction for the series, complete with beefed-up lore and new mechanics that would become mainstays. However, if you go back to the game nowadays, you may have a hard time getting past the visuals.

The characters themselves look very glossy and, compared to the drab backgrounds, it's not pleasing to the eye. Furthermore, the lip syncing is abysmal (worse than its sequel) to the point where it's practically a joke in and of itself. Visually speaking, the game doesn't hold up well; if you're itching for a 3D Sonic game, then we would highly recommend Sonic Adventure 2.

8 Holds Up: Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

via store.playstation.com

After Naughty Dog was screwed out of continuing Crash Bandicoot, they took the opportunity to work on a new property for the PlayStation 2, and one that would become their next big hit: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

On its own, the game was a groundbreaker. There were absolutely no loading screens in the world, and it made the entire experience feel like a true journey to various worlds. It's amazing that they were able to craft such a unique world and still keep the visual style so refined. Everything feels like it comes out of a storybook, and HD or not, the game still looks great and holds up today. As a matter of fact, the brighter color palette manages to have aged better than the darker tones of later entries in the series.

7 Looks Terrible: Metal Gear Solid

via metalgearinformer.com

Before you start to shoot us down, understand that we're huge fans of Metal Gear Solid. There was no better spy game to play at the time. Hiding behind boxes and taking out guards never felt greater. Yet, if you go back to the game nowadays, you may find it difficult to do so when you take the graphics into account.

Because of the limitations of the PlayStation 1, the models and texture work weren't able to look as good. It's easily the characters themselves that look the worst. You can barely even tell that Solid Snake has any eyes at all, for that matter. Naturally, as technology improved, so did the graphics for the series as a whole (we're big fans of how The Phantom Pain looks).

6 Holds Up: Ristar

via play.google.com

It's difficult to remember a time when SEGA was making platformers other than Sonic the Hedgehog. After going through their library, it's clear that one of the better ones was Ristar. This little hero would travel to different planets to wipe away the dark forces. He did so with extendable arms that he could use to traverse the levels as well as take out foes.

While the gameplay itself was tight, the visuals were even tighter. In our opinion, they look better than Sonic 3 did. After all, Ristar himself moves very slowly, giving players more time to look at their surroundings. Everything is clean all the way through, and each level is given a unique feel. Going back to this game after seeing it absent for so long is a pure treat from start to finish.

5 Looks Terrible: Pac-Land

via eurogamer.net

The most recent memory we have of Pac-Land is the stage that was included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. The stage is almost a perfect recreation of the original game, and we can't say that's a great thing.

The fact of the matter is that Pac-Land isn't great, and that includes in both gameplay and visuals. On the graphical side, everything is very bland. Backgrounds are nothing more than solid colors, and while Pac-Man sports a unique outfit, there isn't enough variation given to him to make us interested. The entire game just feels lifeless and devoid of fundamental design choices and animations that would make it age well. There's a reason we don't see a lot of Pac-Man games anymore.

4 Holds Up: Final Fantasy IX

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When Final Fantasy VII first debuted on the PlayStation 1, it was a brilliant game that won many audiences over to the RPG formula. However, another look revealed that it was an ugly game that would not hold up in today's time. Thankfully, Square improved upon their later entries, and perfected the visuals with Final Fantasy IX.

This game combined the gorgeous scenery with the look of the characters. Everything feels whimsical and fantastic, further factoring into the charm and theme of the game. Each character is visually distinct, and it's easy to make something out along the way. Couple that with a beautiful soundtrack (as Final Fantasy games are known for), and you have one of the best games in the series.

3 Looks Terrible: Kid Icarus

via youtube.com (via konamikoden)

When Super Smash Bros. Brawl revealed that Pit was going to be a newcomer, most of the reactions were "who is this guy?" Some digging showed that Pit was a lost protagonist of a series known as Kid Icarus, with the first game debuting on the NES. That said, it makes sense why the series would've been left behind after so long.

Kid Icarus has decent gameplay mechanics, but those visuals weren't crafted with as much care as other games. The enemies all look strange and Pit himself is one of the dumbest-looking sprites on the NES. The backgrounds are all black as well, leaving each area feeling fundamentally similar to the others. If you still want to play this game, we strongly recommend the 3D remake that improves the visuals.

2 Holds Up: Mario Party 2

via youtube.com (via Nintendo64movies)

After going through a few rounds of Mario Party 2, there's something fundamentally beautiful about the way that it looks. The boards might be stagnant, but they're carefully crafted with unique visuals and a graphics system that we can't help but love. On top of that, the characters themselves don't look horrible and don't clash with the graphics at all.

We can't quite put our finger on it, but something about the graphics was lost when they transitioned over to the GameCube. While we appreciate the 3D sprites and bustling boards, it doesn't bring us the same feeling we get when going back to Mario Party 2. This one, in our eyes, holds up the best, whether you're talking about minigames or visual style.

1 Looks Terrible: Super Smash Bros.

via youtube.com (via XxkalaverafullxX)

Fighting games were either Mortal Kombat, Tekken, or Street Fighter back in the day (and that's more or less the same today). Then came Masahiro Sakurai, who had the genius idea of creating an unconventional fighting game using Nintendo all-stars in a giant brawling arena. Super Smash Bros. was quickly one of the most successful games on the N64.

That said, going back to it today isn't as wonderful as you might think. The models themselves are disproportionate and look strange. The Pokémon that come out of the Poké Balls are 2D and painfully lifeless. Don't get us wrong, we still love the game to death, but compared to later versions (particularly the Wii U entry), it just doesn't hold the same impact that it used to. Even on the GameCube, in just a two-year gap, the graphics were drastically improved.