Topic: DS Game Resolution fixed!?

So, did anyone else realize, that since the update, regular DS games look a lot better? Like, almost exactly like the original DS resolution?

is that even possible?

>goes to check

Pokemon looks just like it did before the update. Are you sure about this? What game did you play and how is it different?

I just popped Clubhouse Games in and checked. It does look better than before. Would be nice if it was tweaked a little more. Before the update it was really washed out and a bit blurry.

@abgar: I tried it with Super Mario 64 DS and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The colors in both weren't as washed out, and the models of everything were crisper then before.

I just tried this. Everything is noticably crisper (especially with text), the colors look a lot less washed out, it isn't so blocky anymore, and curves are definitely less jagged than before. In general, I think it looks much closer to the native resolution.
This update make me wonder, will nintendo improve DS game graphics further with future updates? It would be totally awesome if they did.

I hope they improve the DSi resolution. The games/software I've transferred over does not look as good.

Wow, I'll have to test this later.

Wow,really? I'll have to see for my self, but if it's true that's awesome! I love you Nintendo!

I didn't notice any difference, honestly. Still blurry.

Hmm....maybe the results vary depending on what game you're playing? That would be......weird.

Based on your earlier post it seems only games with 3D graphics have improved. (Super Mario 64 DS and 358/2 days)

I just tried Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. The sprites are still blurry, but the backgrounds and static objects look a lot better. Maybe it's more noticeable in 3D games?

Hold on, then. Let me try Chrono Trigger.

EDIT: It's as Rift says. Environments are rather crisp and detailed, but character sprites are slightly blurry around the edges. I'll test the rest of my games and post the results.

I actually don't think I;ve played a 3D DS game since the update. I'll check it out later.

I never really understood this completely. Can someone explain the DS problems? Because I use start/select when playing a DS game. I always assumed this is the original resolution? But what about the DS XL? I'm a bit confused right now.

Here's what I came up with:

• Super Scribblenauts: Everything looks really good. I'd go so far as to say it looks the same as DS.
• Elite Beat Agents: The 2D images are crisp, but the colors are a little washed, and the 3D Agents have all their color, but are a little blurry.
• WarioWare DIY: Everything's still a little blurry and washed, but it's hardly noticible at all.
• Kingdom Hearts Re:coded: Everything has a very slight blur to it, but the colors are pretty intact.
• Custom Robo Arena: This had the best results of everything I tried. Everything looks pretty good.
• Pokemon HeartGold: Hmm....for some reason, Pokemon games don't really seem to change much...
• Dragon Quest IX: All the colors seem to be a shade darker than the original colors. Not much of a gripe, though.
• Sonic Rush: Pretty much everything is intact. The SEGA logo looked a bit brighter, but that may have just been my eyes.
• Scribblenauts: The top screen is a little blurry, but not too much. Oddly, the bottom screen seems okay.
• Mario Party DS: See Scribblenauts.

That's it. Hope that helped somewhat.

Bigger screen does not necessarily mean higher resolution. The 3DS has a higher resolution than the DS which is why it's blurry. It's not broken, just different

All they can really fix is the brightness of the colours. It'll still be blurry because the DS's smaller screen resolution has to be stretched to fit the 3DS. There's virtually no way for them to sharpen the image short of shrinking it to its normal size (which you have the option of doing).

Games that use 2D pixel art will look much worse, but games that use 3D polygonal graphics may look better when smoothed out like that.

They could render DS games at the 3DS's resolution, but only 3D graphics would look crisper as a result. That would be the best solution, but I'm not sure if it's possible.

@HolyMackerel They can do more than just enhance colours. They could potentially improve or change the scaling algorithms (for example) so that they perform quicker or have better results.

@skywake Well the biggest issue is that the 3DS screens aren't double the resolution of the DS screens (or larger than that). This means they're pretty much limited to approximating the pixel positions, which leads to blurry anti-aliasing.

Unfortunately the most effective scaling algorithms often require a specific relative size (e.g. exactly 2x or 3x larger, etc.). Even if the algorithms could be used, there'd still be a loss of picture quality since they are still just approximations. Any scaling algorithm wouldn't be able to get back the detail and crispness available in the original image, especially for 2D games. The Lite/DSi/XL will still remain the best ways to play (or at least view) DS games, sadly.

EDIT: That's if Nintendo doesn't come up with its own scaling algorithm suited for scaling DS games to 3DS size, of course. If they put effort into that then the end result might look pretty good, but I don't think it's a priority of theirs right now.

Some examples of scaling algorithms currently in use: