Games tried to have better visuals, but with the exeption of literal simulators (Gran turismo, flight simulator so on), games never tried to be photorealistic. They had their own visual style. And yes their own static light mapping played huge role in their visual appeal. Imagine Crazy Taxi with a photorealistic visual style. Even games that are set in reality had their own unique visuals, like Max Payne, Nfs : MW, and even GTA IV a relatively new, and quite relaistic game had its own unique appearance. And these were mostly not because of technical limitations, they were specifically going for this look.
Games tried to have better visuals, but with the exeption of literal simulators (Gran turismo, flight simulator so on), games never tried to be photorealistic. They had their own visual style. And yes their own static light mapping played huge role in their visual appeal. Imagine Crazy Taxi with a photorealistic visual style. Even games that are set in reality had their own unique visuals, like Max Payne, Nfs : MW, and even GTA IV a relatively new, and quite relaistic game had its own unique appearance. And these were mostly not because of technical limitations, they were specifically going for this look.