Rate Your Favorite Consoles: Gernerations 3 - 6

[db]

Hey, system masters! I've been thinking about this for awhile now. I know it's probably been done to death but since were talking about an almost 30 year old console I thought it might be fun and informative to take a survey of the golden era of home gaming. Staring with the NES up to the PS2 what were your particular favs from each gen and why? Please, weigh in and let me know. Here's my part 1 dealing with the third generation:

Gen 3

SMS - Surprise! Well, you might have seen that coming but I'm not speaking from a vacuum here. I actually had a NES back in that generation (Well, closer to the end. I bought mine on sale when they were getting ready to release the SNES) and it was obviously a great console, just for Myamoto's efforts alone. There's just something about the originality and the level of spit and polish of Nintendo's in-house games that, even with all their competition today, is still hard to compete with. However, the master system captured that ineffable feeling of the arcade at home whereas the NES seemed like some sort of weird new mutant, not born out of an arcade but designed in a lab for your home. Common now but kind of a radical departure back then. Nintendo took a huge leap of faith (considering the North American market had just crashed) but boy, did it pay off! For awhile back then the term "video games" was in danger of being replaced with just Nintendo, kinda like we call tissues kleenex. I loved my NES for a couple years but after I was done playing Mario the fascination kinda faded. I sold it a couple years after I bought it.

Of course, we all know that Sega released the SMS a year after the NES to compete with what ostensibly was total market domination by Nintendo then. While they never released any thing as big and shiny and perhaps original as any of the Mario games they were able to draw on years of experience as a designer and manufacture of arcade machines. I know many of the younger readers won't have experienced this but there was a time when the technology was so expensive that it a) wasn't available for the home or b) if it was most couldn't afford it. So, in order to experience video games you had to go to these dark, dank and incredibly noisy places called arcades. Glorious places of ill repute where you could easily burn through $5 worth of quarters in a short period of time. Sega was truly one of the kings of this experience. So, when I get nostalgic it's more for that experience and those type of games than what came after the Nintendo revolution. Nontheless, Sega not only brought what they knew to the table but responded to the changes brought by Nintendo, attempting their own platformers and action adventure titles, even a couple classic RPGs, all the while staying true to their arcade roots and doing it on a machine that technically pwned the NES; had a better, more accurate light gun (and the games to go with) and cool 3D glasses, not the cheap-ass red and blue kind either but the active shutter technology still in use today in higher end 3D setups. Sega, I hardly knew ya back then. You were like that geeky girl with glasses that you might not have given a second look to but, in retrospect, she really did have a lot going on underneath it all Back for the next part on gen 4 in bit. Which way will I go???

[Deleted]

I think sonic was the game that broke the mould for me. I'll never forget the first time i plugged it into the sms my jaw dropped.

I never liked the NES i had one first but as soon as i played a sms at my cousins i was hooked.

Going back further i had an atari 65xe anyone rem those?

[db]

No, but I got a 2600 for xmas 1980. I ruled Space Invaders back then! True story: My dad got so excited playing Invaders with me that he ripped the joystick right out of the base! That's when we went back to the store and discovered the Wico remedy

[Deleted]

Centipede!! I had a 2600 too... The 65xe was basically the same except it had a keyboard, tape deck etc, it was atari's version of a c64...

But the one i always went back to was the sms

[Batman666]

Short answer:
Gen 3: Master System
Gen 4: Mega Drive
Gen 5: Playstation
Gen 6: Playstation 2


Longer answer:
The Master System wasn't the first console I ever played (that would be the NES) but it was the first system I owned thus with age it has become nostalgically special with almost mythical attributes. The only console i actively collect for.

When it comes to the Mega Drive, it was the sports games that really hooked me to the console (and the NHL games still do to this day). I believe I had a SNES already but never had many games for the console as they were always much more expensive and as a kid if you get the option between more games or less games for the same price you always pick more games regardless of the quality. In hindsight I can see the SNES library as more impressive and thus would favor that system, but as I grew up playing more Mega Drive games there is again a nostalgic connection to the system which makes me prefer it.

The Playstation was again another big first, it wasn't the first fifth generation console I had neither the first CD-based one as the Amiga CD32 beat it on both counts. But it was the first console I ever bought with my own money that I had saved working as a cleaner during the summer and after school. Worth every öre and was really a breakthrough when it came to trying new game genres. Survival Horror, Rally games, Flight arcade sims, RPGs are all current genres I really enjoy that I tried for the first time on the Playstation. Another breakthrough that helped me find all these new games was a bit less legal in that the Playstation also introduced me to piracy (at least on an active level burning things by myself as I had tapes for the C64 before that would count as piracy).

The Playstation 2 was more or less more of the same only on a higher level seeing as something called the Internet made finding games very easy

But my piracy nowadays is more or less on a ROM level. Would claim I've grown up and seen the error of my ways but that would only be half the story, it's as much a case of that it's just easier not to bother with piracy on the 7th and 8th generation of gaming. Why risk getting bricked or banned when you can get the games cheap most of the time anyway?

[db]

Hey, system masters! Back for another installment. I'm doing this in installments because I want to savor the nostalgia; kind of a My Life In Video Game Consoles I have to admit though that for this round, I was pretty much out of the loop back then. I was too busy with work, school, girlfriends and trying to be an adult in general. I did, however, still yearn to be a gamer and coveted the offerings of this generation from afar. I remember walking through a Future Shop (that's a computer and electronics shop here in Canada) with my then girlfriend and they were demoing Donkey Kong Country on the SNES. My girlfriend saw me getting all slack-jawed and starting to drool and just said, "No!" Chick's just weren't into video games back then like they are now. I'm so jealous of today's youth in that regard. It seems like younger women and girls are much more accepting of and sometimes even into video games themselves. Back then, however, admitting you were into video games to a woman was like saying, "I'm a pathetic loser who refuses to grow up!" And while that may be true it seems that younger folks somehow got more comfortable with that and waving their freak flags in general. Now, you can meet a video game playing, comic book reading woman and go a Cosplay festival with her on a date. Things have really changed...and for the better! See kids! Evolution IS real

So, I guess this is the least nostalgic round for me as I've really only become familiar with their libraries in more recent years. While I'd say this grants me some extra measure of objectivity I've come to think that perhaps we can get more nostalgic for the things we missed out on at the time than the things we actually experienced. For example, I had a NES back in it's day but I always remember looking at the SMS and thinking, "I wonder what that's like?" So, later in life I've had to quench that curiosity and I'm glad I did! I really did miss out on something special back then, but consoles were expensive and you had to make your choices and live with them. Nonetheless, I'd say I have more nostalgia for the SMS (which I never owned until recently) than the NES (which I did own in it's day). Strange but true! Anyway, after much deliberation, the winner of this round for me is...

Gen 4

SNES - Please don't hate too much but I gotta give it to them this round. If Nintendo was getting their feet wet with the NES they dove into the deep end and then climbed out of the pool and knocked it out of the park with the SNES! It was the most revolutionary console of this generation. So many great new and highly original offerings that really had there own distinctive signature look. While there are a wide variety of games for the system there's just something about the way they looked that weds them to that, and only that, hardware. I understand a lot of the games were programmed on an Apple II GS. Perhaps that's it but they just looked different than any other console of the day. And when I compare it's game library to the Genesis that's where it clinches it for me. While the Genesis, no doubt, had some decent titles (I still play that version of Outrun to this day but mostly because I can't get the arcade version to emulate properly on my computer), it just didn't have the breadth of original offerings that Nintendo did this generation. A lot of Genesis fans like to point out the lushness of the graphics compared to the SNES. Yeah, I suppose, but the games just aren't as fun and original. I'll take Mode 7 over "Blast Processing" any day!

Back at ya for Gen 5 in a few!

P.S. I should note that while I may not have gotten any of the consoles of this generation there was also something else going on at the same time. Me and many of my friends were just starting to get our first home computers at this time which we were all ostensibly getting for work and school but which in reality we played all kinds of games on. So, while I wasn't playing games on video games consoles during this period, I was still playing them nonetheless.

[ShadowAngel]

Dec 12, 2014 21:08:04 GMT db said:

Chick's just weren't into video games back then like they are now.

Hey now

Gen 3:
Master System obviously.
Though realistically, i guess it should be the NES thanks to it's third party companies that released so many great games. So this mostly a nostalgic vote, the Master System offers a lot of great games but doesn't have the variety the NES has to offer, still even these days i rather put in some Master System than an NES game.

Gen 4:
Mega Drive, very closely hunted by the Neo Geo though
To this day i don't really care for the SNES. It has some great games (like Castlevania IV, Mario Kart, Indiana Jones, Metal Marines and usually better versions like Zombies and Rock n' Roll Racing) but most of the so called classics are in a genre i don't like (Japanese RPG/Action-Adventure) while other games are laughably overrated (the dreaded Donkey Kong Country)
So the Mega Drive with it's emphasis on Action, Racing, Sports caters a lot more to me and overall i consider it to be the second greatest console ever just after the Playstation 2. It offers great games in every genre imaginable and basically the only old-school JRPG i can stomach: Phantasy Star IV. Don't ask me why though, since i can't explain it.
I think i even prefer the PC Engine/Turbografx over the SNES, since it has an awesome Castlevania game (Rondo of Blood), some really great Shoot 'em Ups and other Action games.

Gen 5:
This is a lot more difficult. The Saturn has a lot to offer, especially when you look at Japan and all the games they got which never were released outside of that country. Be it great Arcade conversions, especially Shoot 'em Ups or some unique ideas, the Saturn can be called underrated and died to quick a death.
The Playstation on the other hand was so successful that every company wanted their games on that system and it shows, hundreds of games, hundreds of classics, hundreds of must haves with games that constantly blew me away like Gran Turismo, Silent Hill, WWF Smackdown 2, Metal Gear Solid, Fear Effect, Tony Hawk...i could go on and on.
The other consoles never interested me all that much. The 3DO has some fun games, the Jaguar has about 3 must have games, the Amiga CD32 was a joke and the CD-I never even a true gaming console and all the N64 is interesting for are the AKI Wrestling games and ISS 2000, in my oppinion.
So it's close but the Playstation wins over the Saturn in the end.

Gen 6:
I mentioned it previously: Playstation 2
It's not even worth a discussion. The PS2 build upon the success of the Playstation and went on to even bigger success. More games, more experiements, more from everything. I couldn't even name a Top 10 or Top 20 since there are so many awesome games for this system that i wouldn't know which games to be left out of such a list.
It's also the last generation where the developers and publishers actually gave a faeces about their customers and released finished products instead of releasing half-finished stuff to be patched later while milking the customers with overpriced DLCs.
The Dreamcast is something i like to call overrated. It of course has Shenmue which is totally awesome but overall just not enough great games and what makes it worse is that a lot of games are just lazy arcade conversions (like WWF Royal Rumble)
As for the Gamecube and the Xbox: Well they never stood a chance to compete with the PS2, they came out too late, had various setbacks (Xbox being too big and expensive, the Gamecube featuring a gamepad designed by braindead monkeys and a disc format that held everyone back while the console looked like a joke) and never full support from the publishers (remember when Capcom announced Resident Evil 4 to be Gamecube exclusive? Yeah, that what as long exclusive run )

TL;DR Version:
Master System
Mega Drive
Playstation
Playstation 2

[soera]

Dec 16, 2014 18:16:42 GMT ShadowAngel said:

Gen 3:
Master System obviously.
Though realistically, i guess it should be the NES thanks to it's third party companies that released so many great games. So this mostly a nostalgic vote, the Master System offers a lot of great games but doesn't have the variety the NES has to offer, still even these days i rather put in some Master System than an NES game.

Gen 4:
Mega Drive, very closely hunted by the Neo Geo though
To this day i don't really care for the SNES. It has some great games (like Castlevania IV, Mario Kart, Indiana Jones, Metal Marines and usually better versions like Zombies and Rock n' Roll Racing) but most of the so called classics are in a genre i don't like (Japanese RPG/Action-Adventure) while other games are laughably overrated (the dreaded Donkey Kong Country)
So the Mega Drive with it's emphasis on Action, Racing, Sports caters a lot more to me and overall i consider it to be the second greatest console ever just after the Playstation 2. It offers great games in every genre imaginable and basically the only old-school JRPG i can stomach: Phantasy Star IV. Don't ask me why though, since i can't explain it.
I think i even prefer the PC Engine/Turbografx over the SNES, since it has an awesome Castlevania game (Rondo of Blood), some really great Shoot 'em Ups and other Action games.

Gen 5:
This is a lot more difficult. The Saturn has a lot to offer, especially when you look at Japan and all the games they got which never were released outside of that country. Be it great Arcade conversions, especially Shoot 'em Ups or some unique ideas, the Saturn can be called underrated and died to quick a death.
The Playstation on the other hand was so successful that every company wanted their games on that system and it shows, hundreds of games, hundreds of classics, hundreds of must haves with games that constantly blew me away like Gran Turismo, Silent Hill, WWF Smackdown 2, Metal Gear Solid, Fear Effect, Tony Hawk...i could go on and on.
The other consoles never interested me all that much. The 3DO has some fun games, the Jaguar has about 3 must have games, the Amiga CD32 was a joke and the CD-I never even a true gaming console and all the N64 is interesting for are the AKI Wrestling games and ISS 2000, in my opinion.
So it's close but the Playstation wins over the Saturn in the end.

Gen 6:
I mentioned it previously: Playstation 2
It's not even worth a discussion. The PS2 build upon the success of the Playstation and went on to even bigger success. More games, more experiments, more from everything. I couldn't even name a Top 10 or Top 20 since there are so many awesome games for this system that i wouldn't know which games to be left out of such a list.
It's also the last generation where the developers and publishers actually gave a faeces about their customers and released finished products instead of releasing half-finished stuff to be patched later while milking the customers with overpriced DLCs.
The Dreamcast is something i like to call overrated. It of course has Shenmue which is totally awesome but overall just not enough great games and what makes it worse is that a lot of games are just lazy arcade conversions (like WWF Royal Rumble)
As for the Gamecube and the Xbox: Well they never stood a chance to compete with the PS2, they came out too late, had various setbacks (Xbox being too big and expensive, the Gamecube featuring a gamepad designed by braindead monkeys and a disc format that held everyone back while the console looked like a joke) and never full support from the publishers (remember when Capcom announced Resident Evil 4 to be Gamecube exclusive? Yeah, that what as long exclusive run )

TL;DR Version:
Master System
Mega Drive
Playstation
Playstation 2

Great system choices and I bolded something that needed to be reemphasized.

[Transatlantic Foe]

Dec 16, 2014 18:16:42 GMT ShadowAngel said:

a lot of games are just lazy arcade conversions (like WWF Royal Rumble)

Now now, that wasn't lazy it was just terrible! I bought it thinking it'd be something like the amazing Smackdown on PSX... instead it was just stripped down rubbish. You didn't even have a large enough roster for a royal rumble, wrestlers kept being put back in!


And this is going to make me sound like a right Sega fanboy but...

Gen 3 - Master System
This is just loaded with bias... it was the first console I got, and completely unexpectedly as an xmas present. I wasn't even that bothered by video games outside of the arcades (we had a Spectrum and it mostly taught me patience through the endless load-crash cycle), but my parents saw it with Operation Wolf (an arcade favourite of mine) and bought it for me. The other thing was popularity - a load of kids had one (or a Mega Drive) so it was ripe for swapping games. I knew a couple of kids at school who had a NES, but only ever played Mario or Duck Hunt on it. Even now, the games that'd entice me to the system are mostly Famicom exclusives. Honestly, the SMS has the better library. Even if a lot of the late releases were 16-bit ports, they're still impressive.

Gen 4 - Mega Drive
I had a SNES after my SMS when I was a kid, but since about 1996 I only bought a couple of games for it. I got my Mega Drive in 2005 and bought a tonne of stuff. The SNES library just doesn't appeal that much to me, especially at the time I got my MD the internet lets you see all the stuff you never knew came out. I haven't looked at many SNES games and gone "oooh I want that". Except for the RPGs, which mostly get "oh myyy that's expensive and the battery is probably dead so I'll just emulate it whenever". At the time, making the most of a £40-60 game, the SNES kept me going on the few titles I had. It was definitely the "cool" console back then but mostly off the back of Super Mario World and Zelda. I don't recall anyone championing anything else that was any good. Also Final Fight was horribly butchered while the Mega Drive got Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Alien Storm with two player mode intact! And for the bias again? The Mega Drive has a load of awesome shoot 'em ups.

Gen 5 - Saturn
Neither main consoles here I got until much later (Saturn 2005, PSX last year) because my parents got a PC for the first time and I spent my days on X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and Jedi Knight. Okay so this is mostly shoot 'em up bias again but also has the holy trinity of light gun games for the time - Virtua Cop 1 & 2, and House of the Dead. Throw in some arcade leaning titles like Panzer Dragoon and it's tough to beat. The PSX was the in thing at the time and really marked the beginning of gaming become a mainstream thing. It had plenty of awesome games (I have no idea how much time at uni was spent on WWF Smackdown) but the Saturn wins me over by virtue of having more classic-styling in its titles. Also the only time Batsugun got a home port and that counts for a lot. N64 was classic Nintendo - a couple of "OMG these are amazing" hype games and naff all else. I'd honestly only pick one up for Sin & Punishment.

Gen 6 - Undecided
Yes I could just go screaming for the Dreamcast but I got a PS2 this year and have already built up a nice backlog. The Dreamcast was really just a more powerful Saturn - you got, for the first time, arcade perfect conversions and a lot of classic style games. But it never delivered on its "easy to port from Windows" promise and the lack of a second analogue stick really limited it for new game styles. And going with "up to 6 billion players" as your tagline but only including online play for a handful of titles? It does classic gaming exceptionally well but where it tried to move forward? Shenmue was promising but oh so linear and frequently boring as hell. The PS2's advantage early on was DVD playback but it had the games to back up its presence in living rooms everywhere. I have a few Gamecube games but most of the good stuff also was on PS2. Metroid Prime can't win it on its own! Xbox I feel was a bit of a continuation of Sega, as it got a few arcade ports/sequels. There isn't much that makes it worth owning - Halo and Halo 2 at the time I guess.


Not even going to bother with the also-rans from the early 90s. The 3DO could've been good were it not about £700 and the rest (and Sega's add on disasters) are best forgotten. Probably should mention the Neo Geo which was just prohibitively expensive at the time but what you got for your money were arcade perfect games... because you basically had the same hardware. So if you liked SNK's arcade lineup and had loads of money, you were sorted. It has also spawned a rather obnoxious collector market in recent years, complete with fairly large scale fraud just to make money off them. With the Metal Slug games cheaper and easier to obtain via ports, can't think of many reasons to pick one up.

[ShadowAngel]

Dec 16, 2014 21:34:27 GMT Transatlantic Foe said:

Now now, that wasn't lazy it was just terrible! I bought it thinking it'd be something like the amazing Smackdown on PSX... instead it was just stripped down rubbish. You didn't even have a large enough roster for a royal rumble, wrestlers kept being put back in!

Yeah, that's how the original arcade game was too! So it was just a lazy conversion with no much thought afterwards. Same can be said for example for Zombie Revenge which was just another lazy conversion, you can finish it it in about 150 minutes.
And that's the big problem i have with the Dreamcast: I lacks great games that have the longevity of "true" home games, just like Shenmue delivered (or to a lesser account Sonic Adventure but even to this day i think it's pretty mediocre and Sonic should've stayed 2D), i mean it works for games like Virtua Tennis (VT2 is awesome!) or some of the racing games (Sega Rally 2 and the like) but it seems that Sega went all out for "Xtreme Arcade Action!"
Also, i don't even like the gamepad, the Analogue Stick is too slippery, the Buttons are small and once you load it up with an VMU (with batteries) and a Shock Pack it's front-loaded and gets uncomfortable, something i forgot to mention: Sony is awesome for sticking to the formula that works: They created a gamepad based on the SNES Gamepad, advanced it and still use it and it's still one of the most comfortable gamepads to use. Sega went the same routine as Nintendo: Change, change, change, go crazy with the design. The European/American Saturn Pad was horrible, the japanese pad was basically the Mega Drive 6 Button Pad...why the rubber duck didn't we get that? Why did we get that crap gamepad with those notches on the d-pad and those horrible shoulder buttons you have to push from the front instead the top? And why the hell did Sega decide to go for something else entirely with the analogue Saturn pad and design it to hell for the Dreamcast? They say to never change a winning formula - only Sony learned that it seems.

Edit to add:

Dec 16, 2014 21:34:27 GMT Transatlantic Foe said:

Except for the RPGs, which mostly get "oh myyy that's expensive and the battery is probably dead so I'll just emulate it whenever"

Another thing i have to mention: The only dead batteries i encountered so far are on Nintendo Systems (it started with Donkey Kong Country where the battery died and the consoles thought my cartridge is a pirate because of it, so i couldn't even start it) to Legend of Zelda on the NES which recently died on me. All the while the SMS and MD Games are still working, Landstalker has still a save game i created in 1995!

[Batman666]

Dec 16, 2014 21:34:27 GMT Transatlantic Foe said:

The other thing was popularity - a load of kids had one (or a Mega Drive) so it was ripe for swapping games. I knew a couple of kids at school who had a NES, but only ever played Mario or Duck Hunt on it.

Always fascination hearing childhood stories where the Master System was the popular console most people had. Especially as I grew up in a Nintendo country where the opposite was the norm. I knew nobody that had an SMS but EVERYBODY had a NES.

Though when the Mega Drive came around it was a bit more equal.

[db]

Dec 16, 2014 18:16:42 GMT ShadowAngel said:

Dec 12, 2014 21:08:04 GMT db said:

Chick's just weren't into video games back then like they are now.

Hey now

*Well, you're proving my point and based on your age you must have had a master system controller in your hands from the time you were in diapers. However, the person you are now would've been very rare, indeed, 20 years ago.

while other games are laughably overrated (the dreaded Donkey Kong Country)

*I think it's a solid platformer with some interesting stuff going on. It might not be incredibly deep but does every game really have to be to be good?


So the Mega Drive with it's emphasis on Action, Racing, Sports caters a lot more to me and overall i consider it to be the second greatest console ever just after the Playstation 2

*Like I said, I didn't own or play one back in the day. I've only familiarized myself with it's library since I've been able to emulate it on my computer. Perhaps I'm just not educated enough about it to know all the great games. I just know that when I look at the list of games I have loaded in my emu and compare it to other systems not much seems essential to me. Racing games are one of my favorite genres and you say there are some great racing games made for the MD. Do tell!

*P.S. Sorry I screwed up the formatting here and included my text in your quote. I've included an asterisk beside my replies because I'm too lazy right now to try to fix it

[db]

Dec 16, 2014 21:34:27 GMT Transatlantic Foe said:

Dec 16, 2014 18:16:42 GMT ShadowAngel said:

a lot of games are just lazy arcade conversions (like WWF Royal Rumble)

...the SNES kept me going on the few titles I had. It was definitely the "cool" console back then but mostly off the back of Super Mario World and Zelda. I don't recall anyone championing anything else that was any good.

Well, I think if you can point to a dozen or so rock solid experiences on a console then there's an argument for it in general. Here are a dozen games for the SNES that I think are very special:
1. Axelay - A very interesting and unique SHMUP from the perspective that the altitude is so high that you can see the curvature of the planet you're fighting on. Mode 7 made these interesting new perspectives possible. It might not be groundbreaking but an interesting progession of the SHMUP genre, nonetheless.
2. Contra 3 - If you enjoyed the first installment of this run an gun SHMUP on the NES you should like this> It ain't easy but it rewards the effort.
3. Donkey Kong Country - I think this is a good platformer that had some interesting new mechanics to it and was visually impressive
4. F-Zero - The first couple of times I tried this I hated it. However, I went back enough that I started getting it and now it's one of my all time favorite racers. Hovercraft racing with pinball mechanics, jumps and energy power-ups...so much fun and I've come to love the music too.
5. Pilotwings - Somewhat of a flying sim with enough of an arcade feel and play to keep you coming back for more. This one surprised me. I didn't think I would get into it but getting my next level license became really important to me. This game is at once both exciting and relaxing. A rare achievement in a video game.
6. Starfox - In retrospect I'd have to say this is probably one of the first home console games to deliver that I'm in a Star Wars space battle experience without any of the messy licensing. Not too shabby for the early 90s. I know they made a graphically enhanced update for the N64 but I still kinda prefer this one for some reason.
7. Super Chase HQ - The arcade game Chase HQ is awesome and a lot of fun. However, rather than sticking with the third person perspective of the original they attempt a first person perspective from inside the car and it works pretty well. Again, this may not be an incredibly deep experience but it's still a lot of fun!
8. Super Mario Allstars - All the Mario games made to that date and Super Mario World. I'm in!
9. Super Punchout - While maintaining the gameplay of the original it's graphically enhanced and offers new options and characters and is still a lot of fun to play.
10. Super Metroid - A great update to the original that really brings a bunch of new to the table. I really not a big fan of games that make you run around exploring and collecting stuff. However, I like this one. Admittedly influenced by the movie Alien and it's sequel Aliens this game draws you in with cinematic elements and a great atmospheric soundtrack. Lots to discover in this game, not just about your environment but about yourself too.
11. TMNT - Turtles In Time - I'm usually not a fan of beat 'em ups. I find they can often become tedious slogfests with no real depth. There's just something about this one that keeps it fresh throughout. Clever animations and cut scences move the action along. I love when my guy flips a bad guy toward the screen. I never seem to get tired of that. I also think this is the definitive version too, even better than the arcade.
12. Zelda - I don't know if I can really add anything here to what's already been said about this classic. It's perpetually on top games lists.

There you have it. 12 awesome games for the SNES. IF I could've come up with that many for the MD/Genesis perhaps I would've reconsidered my choice for this gen but, like I said, not much of its library seems essential to me.

[englishinvader]

3rd Gen - Master System

I think the SMS has a better game library than the NES because the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity. I love the NES, but you have to be very selective with the games you buy.

4th Gen - Mega Drive

The SNES has been getting a lot more love from me in recent years (my favourite game is Pilotwings), but the Mega Drive wins hands down.

5th Gen - Saturn

I got a cheap PS1 from a Cash Converters recently and using the original hardware instead of a PS2 has helped me take the PS1 a bit more seriously, but Colin McRae is no match for Sega Rally Championship.

6th Gen - XBox

This is an objective vote. I would love to vote for the Dreamcast here and I can't really justify a vote for the GameCube either so that leaves the XBox. The hard drive, superb emulation capabilities and DVD playback give it the edge over the PS2 IMO.

[Transatlantic Foe]

Dec 17, 2014 8:52:59 GMT db said:

12 awesome games for the SNES.

Axelay and Donkey Kong Country are, really, just flashy tech demos (actually you can probably throw Starwing in there too, early Super FX showoff). There were a lot of games on the SNES that were just "wooooaahh Mode 7 guys!", F-Zero being a rare example of one that actually had a game amidst it. Also, Axelay being one of the better shmups on the SNES isn't saying much. I think it's a little strange to quote that and Contra in a contest with the Mega Drive, which has Gunstar Heroes and all manner of awesome shmups.

There's a lot on the Mega Drive in equivalant genres that stand up to those SNES games you listed, apart from Pilotwings and Metroid which are fairly unique. I'm not sat here telling you you're wrong (I've spent time with all bar Punch Out), I just don't think you've given the MD a fair crack and there are some seriously awesome games on there.

Dec 16, 2014 21:50:56 GMT ShadowAngel said:

The European/American Saturn Pad was horrible, the japanese pad was basically the Mega Drive 6 Button Pad...why the rubber duck didn't we get that? Why did we get that crap gamepad with those notches on the d-pad and those horrible shoulder buttons you have to push from the front instead the top?

We got it eventually! They did release a second model, identical to the Japanese original, in Europe. I actually prefer the d-pad on the first model here (I like the notches on it!), but those should buttons are baffling.