I've actually done a video like this before, but with the level Shell City, Dead Ahead. This time around, I'm showcasing both Google Eyes and Smelly Knick-Knacks and Bubble Blowing Baby Hunt, both of which (alongside all of the Patty Wagon levels) run at 30fps on the GameCube.
I found it odd that both of these levels were capped at 30fps on this system, given that it can run both stages pretty decently when unlocked using codes intended for Dolphin. I found it odd pretty much until the point I started to notice some shading that looked broken in both levels. Neither of these levels are locked to 30fps in the PS2 and Xbox versions - although the Smelly Knick-Knack level doesn't run that well on PS2, so I had wondered just why it was locked on the GameCube. Oh well.
On another note, the GameCube version of this game is certainly weird compared to the PS2 and Xbox versions. Already noting the 30fps-capped levels, the GameCube version features downscaled textures compared to the PS2 and Xbox versions (although, in a weird advantage, the GameCube version uses a higher color depth for its textures rather than the PS2's 4-bit palletized textures), a lower resolution than the Xbox version (but still technically higher than the PS2's resolution, at 512x480 vs. the 512x447 of the PS2), iffy loading times and rather egregiously bad disc access times, which predominately affects the upgrade menu, cutscene audio and streamed music. This game certainly has one of the stranger visual divides for a RenderWare title... certainly more interesting than Burnout 3 in that regard.
That's not to say this game doesn't have its advantages on the GameCube. Namely, the audio quality is actually nice in this port! This specific version of the game makes use of FMOD for handling its audio (unlike the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game, which carry over their audio components from Battle for Bikini Bottom almost verbatim). While that means everything in this version of the game has a sample rate of 32kHz (which is lower of the 44.1kHz sample rate of music and dialogue in the PS2 and Xbox versions), the music is in stereo in this port unlike in the PS2 version! More interestingly, this also affects sound effects, which are stored at a rather pathetic 11kHz on the PS2 and 22.5kHz on the Xbox. The GameCube has a considerable leg up in this department - and I believe this version also implements reverb effects not utilized in any other version, which is neat.
7 сен 2024
