Biggest Graphical Evolution in a gen for a franchise

[Pemalite]

Mr Puggsly said:

I don't think the gap would be like SMB or FF because it is already gen 7... but I can understand the feeling of one gen apart.

Beaten on first reply =p

SMB is basically just improved sprites. While Halo 4 is much better lighting, they added realistic motion capture faces, higher poly models, etc.

I see greater gains in 3D games over 2D games. However, Phantasy Star saw huge improvements throughout the Sega Genesis's life.

Not all models were higher quality in Halo 4 (I.E. Environment stuff weren't always.). And in some aspects Halo 3's lighting was actually superior, albeit more expensive, Halo 4 relied on a ton of baked, cheap details.
In general though... Halo 4 was a significant step up over Halo 3 visually if you account for the *entire* presentation on offer.

In general, the 7th gen probably takes the cake for most of these "graphics evolution" comparisons due to how long that console generation was and how creative developers had to get to one-up their previous efforts on the visual front.