SNES vs Genesis

[courtlyhades296]

In your opinion, which is better? My choice is SNES. Final Fantasy VI, Super Metroid, and many other timeless games are what make it my favorite system.

[fighterpilot562]

SNES, mostly cause it was the system that really got me into gaming as a child.

[badATchaos]

To me it's a kin to comparing Dreamcast to PS2. Same generation but one is a bit newer and has a bit more juice. Yes, the Mega Drive was faster in some ways but the SNES was generally more advance, thanks to it being a bit newer.

When it comes to games the same kind of thing applies. Many of the hits on the MD/Genesis came out in the 80s and are generally simplistic. This doesn't mean the system was bad or anything, it's just that devs were still thinking on a simpler 8bit mind set. To me games like Sonic and Altered Beast were just pretty NES games. Over the next few years developers did started making more complex games and by the time SNES came out I think they knew what they were doing.

All i'm trying to say is that the difference in hardware makes them hard tricky to compare. I know the Dreamcast-PS2 analogy is kinda weak because in that case there was a bigger tech gap but I think you get my meaning.

[hexen]

Games are a subjective matter, but the SNES is objectively the better system in nearly every way from a technical standpoint. Actually, forget being sensitive to other opinions, the SNES' library of games is also objectively better~ The SNES had a library of game that many of have not been surpassed to this day, so it's ill-fated rival in it's day had no chance. In my opinion, the SNES & PS2 are in a console tier no other console is ever likely to match.

[badATchaos]

Well said. They also had some of the longest lifespans too.

[aliensstudios]

SNES hands down because it has a lot of great games. I still think the Genesis is great but the SNES has a better library.

[dashv]

Games are a subjective matter, but the SNES is objectively the better system in nearly every way from a technical standpoint. Actually, forget being sensitive to other opinions, the SNES' library of games is also objectively better~ The SNES had a library of game that many of have not been surpassed to this day, so it's ill-fated rival in it's day had no chance. In my opinion, the SNES & PS2 are in a console tier no other console is ever likely to match.

^this.

As someone with nearly a hundred titles on each console I have to say the SNES console is the winner hands down.

That said, Sonic the Hedgehog and Streets of Rage have yet to be equaled in their awesomeness.

[asmodean]

For me, the winner is the Mega Drive/Genesis. Mostly because the Mega Drive was the console I got for christmas and grew up with, but also because it felt more grown up at the time with less censorshop etc.

Altough I'll give you that the SNES had fancier graphics

[retrogemcollector]

Hardware wise, Genesis of course, software wise there is no question: SNES.

[courtlyhades296]

For me, the winner is the Mega Drive/Genesis. Mostly because the Mega Drive was the console I got for christmas and grew up with, but also because it felt more grown up at the time with less censorshop etc.

Altough I'll give you that the SNES had fancier graphics

Terranigma for the SNES is better than all 530 games on the PAL Mega Drive. It also has a thought-provoking plot and an uncensored script. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3vk5N8TyYU The game's soundtrack shows just how much of an advance the SNES made over the Genesis/Mega Drive.

[burningdoom]

Both are two of the greatest systems to EVER be produced.

But if I had to choose, the SNES. Just way too many all-time classics, and I like the sound much better. Way too many Genesis games have the farty-sounding music.

[Warmsignal]

I'll be the dissenting voice here and say that I don't think the SNES is better. Even though, I will admit that most of my childhood memories are with the SNES. That in itself, doesn't make it a better console. It wasn't until years later that I realized Genesis has a lot more to offer than just Sonic.

Technically inferior/superior or not, both consoles have some good looking games, and I don't see much of a difference even with SNES's better specs. I'll also probably the only one to point out how much I dislike the music on SNES. Worst console music ever. That infernal trumpeting sound? I would take the buzz and click of Sega Genesis music any day.

So while I am a proponent of the Genesis, I'll still have to say I enjoy the SNES more, mostly due to nostalgia and my attachment to the games themselves.

[tafk]

I'll always be a sega fanboy...

[soera]

I am a Sega fanboy myself. But the SNES is probably the greatest system that Nintendo ever released. So many of the top games on most people's list stem from that one system that is about 25 years old. For a game, thats ancient and yet most of them are still untouched. Link to the past, Super Metroid, Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final fantasy IV and VI just to name some off the top of my head.

[gf78]

SNES by a mile.  I was a working man when the Genesis and SNES were in their heyday and as such, I had to own both. 

On the hardware side, the SNES smashed the Genesis.  Side-by-side (yes, my friends and I actually did this stuff waaaaay back then), games like Lion King and Mortal Kombat were significantly better on the SNES.  They were less grainy, had a larger color palette and the sound effects of the SNES were far superior.  Finally, the SNES gamepad was unmatched.  If you were an early adopter of the Genesis/Mega-Drive, you had a 3-button controller.  You had to buy a 6-button controller afterward.

On the software side, the SNES again smashed the Genesis.  Sega made some fun games and they had a lot of arcade ports of stuff like Altered Beast and Golden Axe.  But up against the SNES, Super Mario World alone set the bar for greatness.  Zelda, Illusion of Gaia, Final Fantasy, ActRaiser, Super Castlevania IV, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country.....possibly the best lineup of games in any single generation.  Genesis RPG's were few & far between and stuff like Toejam & Earl, Comix Zone, Sonic, Golden Axe, etc. - while fun - paled in comparison to the most polished games of the generation. 

Putting exclusive against exclusive showed there was no contest to begin with.  Super Castlevania IV walked all over Castlevania Bloodlines.  Super Mario World destroyed all Sonic games combined.  Super Ghouls & Ghosts easily trounced Ghouls & Ghosts on the Genesis. 

Yep.  No contest.  The SNES is the reigning champion.