Ok. I just wish to clarify some of the things I was trying to convey:
I'd say the MIPS R3000 in a PSX is more in the area of a 386 than a 486.
You can be right either way, it just depends on how you define the CPU. Clock-wise (33 MHz.) it was in the 386 range. However, the 386 was internally 16 bit, with 24 bit addressing. The 486 was the first processor (intel-wise) to feature 32 bit internal processing with (again) 24 bit addressing. The Pentuim was the first true 32/32 processor.
The MIPS R3000 is a 32 bit (internally) processor. And yes, it isn't quite as fast or powerful (computation wise) as a full blown 486. So, how you define it depends on what criteria your looking at.
I wouldn't be too sure about that. First of all, most of the memory on the FF7 disks is taken up by the movies, all the 3D models and field pictures are actually duplicated on each disk!
I do realize that each of the disks contains the 'world' as it evolves through each disc. What I was trying to point out was that if each of those "painted" backgrounds were rendered in real-time using an in-game engine (like most games do today), it would use an exponentually increased amount of data to describe and store all the data for them. While I am not a programmer.. I'll never make the mistake of claiming that.. I do know that Square's use of pre-rendered backgrounds saved them an enormous amount of data, and made the gorgeous graphics that it has possible.
No, that is not true. Mode 7 basically allows a affine transformation of a texture (scaling, shearing, rotation), and with some tricks you can get a projective transformation, but only for floor/ceiling textures parallel to the X axis. Xenogears uses all 3d models for battles, field and the worldmap. Akari has all of that decoded.
Ok.. I admit I may have came out a little too positively on this, in that I was conjecturing and it came out as stating facts. I apologize for that. Still, are you positive that ALL the battles are rendered in 3D? I ask because the character fights (non-GEAR) look ALOT like most 2D side-scrollers ever made.. (maybe on purpose?)
Still, I accept your rebuke on the way Mode 7 on the SNES worked. XenoGears just LOOKS so damn sprite-ish. Even the Model textures on most of the 3D models look like sprites (maybe they were lo-res to save room?).