The Real Thing vs. Wii VC 240p

[Ikaruga11]

I have tested several Wii virtual console games and found that in addition to NES games being much darker than their console versions, the N64 games are much darker as well so N64 VC games being dark is not just a problem with the Wii U. The VC Genesis, SNES and Neo-Geo games I tested did not suffer from a darkened image. They looked exactly like their console counterparts.

Do you mind showing us the results of your tests?

https://youtu.be/5gaeNF5noHI

Here is a video comparing the image quality of Super Mario 64 on original Nintendo 64 hardware, versus the Wii Virtual Console and the Wii U Virtual Console. As you can see, the N64 version is the brightest and most colorful, but also the most pixelated. The Wii VC version is darker, but has far more clarity and no pixelation. The Wii U VC version is much darker than the N64 and darker than the Wii VC. It also has dull and lifeless colors. It's like looking through a dirty screen door, and completely makes the game unplayable imo. I even took a screen capture of all three versions and saved it as a .png

Spoiler

Wii U Virtual Console version is by far the worst.

https://youtu.be/auOjgjWSrL4
This is another video comparison of Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 in 240p using S-Video cables versus Super Mario 64 on the Wii Virtual Console in 480p using Component cables. Unlike the first video, this one has a side-by-side comparison. The difference in brightness between the N64 and Wii VC is much closer, while the Wii VC once again is much sharper and clearer. Colors are a bit different though. N64 seems to have more vibrant blues, while Wii VC seems to have more vibrant reds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1W2uy1LcrA
This is just a video showing the input lag of Super Mario 64 on the Wii U VC with the GamePad. As you can see, its very noticable. Not only does Wii U VC have the worst picture quality, it also has the most display/input lag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6IT_0hlMpM

Now this video is a complete anti-thesis to the previous videos. It is a comparison of Ocarina of Time on original Nintendo 64 hardware in 240p using S-Video cables versus Ocarina of Time on the Wii Virtual Console in 480p using Component cables. Not only is the Wii version much sharper and brighter than the N64 version, it has far better colors too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clFm4fiSuRI
Here we have a Paper Mario comparison. Original Japanese N64, Japanese Wii VC and North American Wii VC. All three have the same brightness and colors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qZ3LaA3_O0
And finally, this video shows a side-by-side comparison of Mario Golf on the PAL N64 versus NTSC N64 versus NTSC Wii VC. Go to 0:08 where each version is synchronized. You can see that the NTSC Wii and NTSC have the exact same colors and brightness, while the Wii VC version has more clarity. The PAL N64 version seems to be darker with paler colors.

[Brad251]

I have tested several Wii virtual console games and found that in addition to NES games being much darker than their console versions, the N64 games are much darker as well so N64 VC games being dark is not just a problem with the Wii U. The VC Genesis, SNES and Neo-Geo games I tested did not suffer from a darkened image. They looked exactly like their console counterparts.

Do you mind showing us the results of your tests?

I don't have a way to capture gameplay on my Wii. I am just reporting based on my own experience using a Trinitron kv-24fs100 to play Wii N64 VC games. Telemetry noted that how dark the N64 games look can depend on your setup (tv used, cables, etc.). I will note that I just played the Wii VC version of Mario Kart 64 on my LCD and the game looked much less dark. It actually was not that noticeable on my LCD. I use third party component cables for the Wii.

[BONKERS]

The Wii U N64 VC by far looks the best, despite duller colors. (And the Wii U Gamepad is just going to make it look duller by default because of the poorer display) It has the worst picture quality? It plays worse because of the latency, but it certainly doesn't look worse.

The color output is so saturated on the UHDMI that all of the detail in the green ground textures is clipped.

[Ikaruga11]

The thing is though, the Wii VC version is just as sharp as the Wii U VC version while having better color and brightness levels, and lower input lag.

And Wii U version looks the best? Just look at the 2D sprites on the HUD. Look at how malformed the mario and star sprites look compared to the original.

[bobrocks95]

@BONKERS- You're essentially being swayed by the higher rendering resolution on the Wii U. From an image quality standpoint I don't know how you could say it's better in the slightest. Textures appear a lot clearer being rendered in 480p (maybe even higher on the Wii U?), but compare to a PC emulator rendering at 480p and see how mangled it is. It's not the worst looking thing I've ever seen, but it's certainly worse than the UltraHDMI looks, unless you're a fan of a blurrier image.

[Ikaruga11]

Can you play VC games in 240p if the Wii is set to 480p?

[Einzelherz]

Can you play VC games in 240p if the Wii is set to 480p?

No, because it's a type of 480i signal. You have to set it to 480i and at least in some titles, have to perform a code of sorts to enable 240p.

[Ikaruga11]

Can you play VC games in 240p if the Wii is set to 480p?

No, because it's a type of 480i signal. You have to set it to 480i and at least in some titles, have to perform a code of sorts to enable 240p.

So I'll have to switch between 480p and 480i if I want to play Wii games in 480p and SNES, Genesis, Neo-Geo, etc. VC games in native 240p.