> Of the examples displayed, I much prefer Star Fox's fx to Silent Bomber's. They fit the game's style well
...I feel like the "style" you're reacting to is the "N64 style", which is to say that you've become habituated to seeing games built to the N64's specific limitations. If the N64 had launched with better alpha blending, then "N64 style" would include PS1-esque explosions, but it didn't, so you don't.
It's like how people prefer 24 fps, because movies have long been recorded at 24 fps.
Obviously, this is just my intuition and we'll never the know the alternate history. But objectively, I don't see why explosions which resemble physical spheres better fits the aesthetics of Star Fox. But, those sorts of explosions absolutely do evoke the N64. If I was creating an N64-esque indie game, I would want to avoid alpha blending.
The point is that good art direction within technical constraints matters more than the constraints. For example, Wind Waker holds up significantly better than any realistic PS2 or X360 game from that era. Is the GameCube a less powerful console than its competitors, yes. But Nintendo built a beautifully stylistic game within those limitations, while 'realistic' games without stylised art direction just ended up looking both shoddy and generic as their platforms became obsolete.
...I feel like the "style" you're reacting to is the "N64 style", which is to say that you've become habituated to seeing games built to the N64's specific limitations. If the N64 had launched with better alpha blending, then "N64 style" would include PS1-esque explosions, but it didn't, so you don't.
It's like how people prefer 24 fps, because movies have long been recorded at 24 fps.
Obviously, this is just my intuition and we'll never the know the alternate history. But objectively, I don't see why explosions which resemble physical spheres better fits the aesthetics of Star Fox. But, those sorts of explosions absolutely do evoke the N64. If I was creating an N64-esque indie game, I would want to avoid alpha blending.