VGCollect Forum
General and Gaming => Classic Video Games => Topic started by: burningdoom on May 29, 2017, 11:23:55 am
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This is the thread to argue about the giants of old, many of which no longer exist in the console world.
Which was your favorite 2D machine of the 70s, 80s, or 90s? Who was your favorite console manufacturer of yesteryear?
Atari? Sega? Nintendo? Or were you a old-school computer-geek? Were you rocking the Game Boy on the playground as your favorite? Or maybe you were that one guy on the block that had a TurboGrafx-16 or Colecovision.
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Looking at my collection it might be safe to assume my favorite cartridge based system is the NES, but that's actually not true. The NES is the most interesting and varied to collect for, but my favorite in terms of games and importance is the SNES. The NES was always this far off mystery to me growing up, I almost never got to play it because when I had a chance they where always not working (such a simple fix I didn't know then) or only got to play for very limited times, while the SNES is what I played most of the time because I spent an absurd amount of time at a day-care center. This day-care had both a SNES & Genesis, and believe me I also played the hell out of that Genesis, but it was the SNES that truly enthralled me. Super Mario World, the DKC games, and whatever random games they had there made me really want an SNES. My dad finally decided to get us one right around the release of the N64. He gave us a choice if we wanted an SNES or an N64, and me and my brother both chose the SNES with ease.
I ended up going more NES because of it's mystery and when I was finally old enough to start having my own money it was that glorious time when NES games where pretty cheap (how I miss those days), and though I was also filling my SNES collection at the time, it wasn't the same rate.
I also have a soft spot for the Intellivison which was my first actual console. When my brother and I wanted an SNES a few years prior to getting one and my dad didn't want to buy it he opened up his closet to show us his Intellivision he had gotten before we where born. He had a few games with it, but through him going to the flea market weekly (RIP my old, local, decades old amazing flea market...) we built up quite a collection. Even after getting Gameboys as our first newly bought system, and even the SNES, we still played the Intellivision. It's probably a big part of why I am into collecting games now as it fascinated me so.
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Nintendo 64 was my favorite i was young with 3 siblings so we always could play at the same time and have so much fun playing no mercy smash brothers mario kart ETC...
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Grew up playing NES and SNES so I would say tied for those two systems. Although I did own a GB, it wasn't until years later I started playing more of its library of games.
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The genesis, SNES, and NES are pretty interchangeable to me. I collect the sega genesis mainly for a focus area. Nintendo is too expensive right now and I did tend to streets of rage, comic zone, and sonic more than the Nintendo properties. However, I was a Nintendo kid. I started collecting for the NES originally back in 99 or 2000. Don't regret stopping it. Regret selling my stuff going to college a bit. But fully expect to collect those two Nintendo systems again in the future.
But ultimately, there is nothing more 90s retro gaming than sega. They helped define that era with mascot platformers, arcade hits, and general attitude.
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I've been gaming all my life and I still own all my systems I got as a kid. But Id say my Sega Genesis is my favorite system out of that generation of gaming. I have fond memories of getting my nes and games for many x-mas. But I always thought the Genesis games were so much more badass. My sega is always the only system where I've never sold a game out of that collection. Can't say the same for the NES or SNES.
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Out of the classic systems, it's definetly the NES for me. That's the system that really made me a gamer. My older sister had an Atari 2600, but it never held my attention long. It was Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Star Soldier in particular that initially grabbed my attention, and I still love collecting for the system today. Some of the greatest gaming series that still continue to this day began on this system, and it's the system that saved the U.S. console market.
After that the SNES, followed by the Genesis. The SNES took everything great about the NES, and made it better with better graphics, better sound, a better controller, and bigger games. The Genesishas such a deep library of great 16-bit gems that are relatively unknown, and still cheap, that it's a great collector's system. Every retro collector should have those 3 systems, IMO, or at least a Retron or something similar that can play them.
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While more objectively, I'd probably say SNES in terms of overall quality and amount of good games, more personally, I will always love the Nintendo 64. I love the cartridge designs, I love their boxes, I love the Nintendo 64's design (Outside of the controller), and it had some of my favorite games of all time with Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Banjo-Kazooie.
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Snes by far
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I'll answer by saying which machine is my favorite from each of the decades you listed:
70s
I think the Intellivision was by far the most far out system to be released in that era. I know Magnavox and Atari came first but the Intellivision was so far ahead of those two.
(https://vgcollect.com/images/front-box-art/14508.jpg)
Plus, the Intellivision had Thin Ice with Duncan Penguin, by far the most bad ass mascot of the era because well... he was the only mascot of that era!
(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/63444-thin-ice-intellivision-screenshot-part-of-the-introduction.gif)
All that aside though, the Intellivision was my Dad's favorite system as a kid. We still play World Championship Baseball to this day, and my Dad is crazy good at Space Armada too.
80s
This is actually kind of a tough one for me honestly, my brain wants me to say NES but my heart wants me to say Sega Genesis. Ergh, I'd have to go with the NES.
(https://vgcollect.com/images/front-box-art/19397.jpg)
There are so many fun games I've played on the NES; Super Mario Bros., Mike Tyson's Punchout!!, Blaster Master, Mega Man, Kid Icarus, Metroid, Kirby's Adventure, R.B.I. Baseball, Tecmo Super Bowl, StarTropics, Tetris... Damn, just too many to count. Once again, this was a system my Dad turned me on to as a youngster. He had two NES systems and a collection of games which my Mom donated in the mid nineties unfortunately. In 2005 or so, he got bit by the gaming bug and re-bought the NES and Intellivision off eBay for insanely cheap and got all of his old games back too (I'm glad he did this back then as opposed to now because the prices would be like 10 times what he paid)
I enjoyed the NES a lot even though I had been exposed to the N64, GameCube and Game Boy systems by then and still have a soft spot for the system to this day. Even though I didn't get to experience this system firsthand (I'm 23) I am glad I got to play the NES.
90s
Hands down has to be the Super Nintendo
(https://vgcollect.com/images/front-box-art/7894.jpg)
By the time I played the SNES, we already had an N64, but I'd be hard pressed to say I liked the N64 even one tenth as much as the SNES. I still remember a trip to my Grandma's when I was maybe 7 years old, all the kids would go to the basement to play video games and that was where I first experienced the SNES, playing games like Super Mario World, Rock 'n' Roll Racing and my all time favorite video game of all time: Donkey Kong Country.
(http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/donkeykong/images/b/b6/Diddy-rambi.gif/revision/latest?cb=20101006014128)(https://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/2/2c/DonkeyDKC.png/150px-DonkeyDKC.png)
This should be a fun thread. Can't wait to see what others post.
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I think the Atari 2600 is a great machine and many of its games can still be enjoyed today.
After it, my favorite cartridge-based consoles are both from Sega. I got my first Master System in the late 80's and it is still my favorite video game system ever.
The Mega Drive is easily my favorite of the 4th generation and, although I had never even seen a PC-Engine when I was a kid, after moving to Japan, I can say that it has grown in both my heart and my shelf (at the same time as it is constantly emptying my wallet, haha) year after year, putting the SNES in a distant 3rd place.
And concerning the last major cartridge-based system, the N64... Well, let's just say that I can count on the fingers of one hand all the games that a like on that machine...
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Out of the classic systems, it's definetly the NES for me. That's the system that really made me a gamer. My older sister had an Atari 2600, but it never held my attention long. It was Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Star Soldier in particular that initially grabbed my attention, and I still love collecting for the system today. Some of the greatest gaming series that still continue to this day began on this system, and it's the system that saved the U.S. console market.
After that the SNES, followed by the Genesis. The SNES took everything great about the NES, and made it better with better graphics, better sound, a better controller, and bigger games. The Genesishas such a deep library of great 16-bit gems that are relatively unknown, and still cheap, that it's a great collector's system. Every retro collector should have those 3 systems, IMO, or at least a Retron or something similar that can play them.
I agree very much that the super Nintendo took what was great about the NES and made it better. I have always thought super Nintendo was the most appropriate name for a console.
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I was definitely a Nintendo dork, by default. Being the younger of two children, it's what my brother had so it's what I had. Why did he have a Nintendo? Because my uncle had a Nintendo. I wasn't much of a console warrior back in the day, at least not until a little later. Actually, I always had a soft spot for Sega. Even then I knew I underappreciated the Genesis. But when you're a kid, you can only get so many games, and you tend to follow the lead of the older sibling. Any favoritism was just the result of being a kid, never playing most things that were out there, and just saying whatever you have is better than what you're friend has.
But yeah, favorites, if I really had one it was probably Nintendo.
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It's Nintendo or GTFO! We don't need any of you Sega fans chanting for the underdog. This isn't Rudy. No one cares about your little, blue mascot. Sonic sucks. The Genesis had some good games; but when it stands next to the SNES, the Genesis is paled in comparison.
The only game that I can think of that Genesis does better is Castlevania Bloodlines is better than Super Castlevania IV (in my opinion).
How's that for controversy? 8)
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NES dork checking in also. I still love the NES, but as we know a lot of the games have not aged gracefully. Though I started gaming on the Odyssey^2 around 5 or 6, it was the NES that ruled my childhood. Along came the Genesis and it blew me away. As a freshman in high school, I sold my NES and 32 games for a newly-launched Genesis with 2 games (3 including Altered Beast pack-in) and was in heaven. I must have played through Phantasy Star II at least 3 times. I have love for both Nintendo and Sega.
I'd say that Nintendo did (and still does up to Wii U, no matter what sales numbers say) make the best consoles. However, even though I loved Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Punch-Out! and other big SNES titles, when the system was current I felt like were just getting the same games with better graphics. You hear all the time how Super Metroid is the best Metroid, LttP is the best Zelda, etc etc. But having played them all on NES, all I could think of at the time was "but I already played this! It's just a prettier skin on the bones of the same games!" In hindsight though, it was and still is an incredible system.
As a side note, a few years ago some friends and I compiled our list of the top (US) consoles of all time. To my own surprise, we picked SNES as #1. Personally I'd have a Genesis on my deserted island, but there's no denying that all things considered (console, controller, accessories, overall game library quality), the SNES is amazing. So here we go:
The Top 10 US Game Consoles of All-Time (excluding current gen):
10. Vectrex
9. TurboGrafx-16
8. Dreamcast
7. PS2
6. PS3
5. N64
4. Atari 2600
3. NES
2. Genesis
1. SNES
Honorable mentions: Colecovision, Intellivision, PS1 and Gamecube. Looking over the list again, if we want to stick to *cartridge* consoles only, we can remove PS2 and 3 and place Colecovision and Intellivision at the bottom. If I were to rank *my* personal favorites, the top 3 would probably be Atari 5200, TG-16, and Genesis.
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It's Nintendo or GTFO! We don't need any of you Sega fans chanting for the underdog. This isn't Rudy. No one cares about your little, blue mascot. Sonic sucks. The Genesis had some good games; but when it stands next to the SNES, the Genesis is paled in comparison.
The only game that I can think of that Genesis does better is Castlevania Bloodlines is better than Super Castlevania IV (in my opinion).
How's that for controversy? 8)
SNES never had, and will never have blast processing. ;)
Actually, I just restarted the Sonic series the other day with Sonic 1. That's still a great game IMO, with an awesome soundtrack too. Not quite as fond of SMW, where the pace is constantly broken by an onslaught of baddy stomping and trying to maintain Yoshi... and why is there a football player in the game? The music? Well if you're into that whole ragtime hodown kinda thing... I guess.
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Love the Genesis Sonic games, those alone were worth owning a Genesis. However, Mario is better.
And X-Men 2: The Clone Wars is one of the best beat-em ups on any system. That was a big reason why I bought a Genesis back in the day (after already owning a SNES, though).
And of course all of Sega's arcade hits are undeniable.
So while I agree with you, Turf, about SNES being better, the Genesis is far from worthless.
I am gonna say, though, that the Genesis's sound SUCKED! I hate the farty noises that often come out of it, and the soundtracks of so many games just sound so similar.
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SNES never had, and will never have blast processing. ;)
Actually, I just restarted the Sonic series the other day with Sonic 1. That's still a great game IMO, with an awesome soundtrack too. Not quite as fond of SMW, where the pace is constantly broken by an onslaught of baddy stomping and trying to maintain Yoshi... and why is there a football player in the game? The music? Well if you're into that whole ragtime hodown kinda thing... I guess.
I will never understand how the Genesis managed to process all of that blast.
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Just gonna say one word: NES FOREVER 8)
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1. SNES for it's JRPG and excellent platform game. Squaresoft released the best JRPG game ever made on that console, and Nintendo showed what a good plateform game is (Yoshi Island still my favorite platform game of all time). I'm so glad I pick up that console instead of a Genesis...
2. NeoGeo is the must powerful 16-bits console offering at that time the perfect arcade experience at home. To bad it was to expensive... bought one early 2000 for not much, and I manage to crap some games before the prices skyrocket. That console got the best 2D fighting games (Garou MOTW, Last Blade, KOF, Samurai Shodown, Fatal Fury...), amazing run and gun and shump. If you guys got the chance to get one for cheap and few games, get it, it worth every penny to play arcade game like it was 199X at home.
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Just gonna say one word: NES FOREVER 8)
Uh... that's two words...
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And X-Men 2: The Clone Wars is one of the best beat-em ups on any system. That was a big reason why I bought a Genesis back in the day (after already owning a SNES, though).
I am gonna say, though, that the Genesis's sound SUCKED! I hate the farty noises that often come out of it, and the soundtracks of so many games just sound so similar.
X-Men 2 is in my top 10 games. Along with Comix Zone. Best 2d platform beat em ups.
I also am definitely one of the odd men out in liking the Genesis sound better than the SNES. The SNES was too much reverb like sound. But both systems had songs that really highlight each system's strengths.
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Just gonna say one word: NES FOREVER 8)
Uh... that's two words...
My mistake, please allow me to fix it: NESFOREVER ;D
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Just gonna say one word: NES FOREVER 8)
Uh... that's two words...
My mistake, please allow me to fix it: NESFOREVER ;D
8)
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My favorite cartridge systems are snes,sega genesis,nes in that order
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I grew up with the Atari 2600. Definitely my favorite console of the 70s/early 80s. ColecoVision comes in second place for me in this time period.
I skipped the NES / SNES / Sega generation. What gaming I did at that time was on the computer.
90s onward - Sony, Sony, Sony. I have some love for the Xbox 360 and One as well, but as a fan of JRPGs, Sony is where it is at.
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Make love not war man...
I never really understood console wars, I loved them all. In the 70s we only had a Pong console. In the 80s I had an Odyessey2, Atari 2600, and a Coleco Adam. The 90s started with my NES and ended with a Jaguar and an N64. But through it all I played and still bought games for, all of them. In 1992 when they finally discontinued the 2600 (it had shared the shelves with SNES, Genesis, TG16 etc...) I still bought a soccer game for the old Atari despite having an NES and was still on the hunt for Colecovision and Odyessey2 games through video game specialized mail-order catalogs of the time.
Friends would fight over the Sega/Nintendo nonsense. I just made note of who had what and made sure I had a chance to play them all.
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Make love not war man...
I never really understood console wars, I loved them all. In the 70s we only had a Pong console. In the 80s I had an Odyessey2, Atari 2600, and a Coleco Adam. The 90s started with my NES and ended with a Jaguar and an N64. But through it all I played and still bought games for, all of them. In 1992 when they finally discontinued the 2600 (it had shared the shelves with SNES, Genesis, TG16 etc...) I still bought a soccer game for the old Atari despite having an NES and was still on the hunt for Colecovision and Odyessey2 games through video game specialized mail-order catalogs of the time.
Friends would fight over the Sega/Nintendo nonsense. I just made note of who had what and made sure I had a chance to play them all.
This has to be one of the best replies to the thread. In the end, I know I just want to play games that I enjoy and I don't care what console they are on.
In the past, I could only have one console at a time, now I can pretty much have all the ones I want. While Sony has the most games I want to play this generation, I also enjoy my Xbox and Switch as there are great games on both of them that I can only play on those system.
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^ You guys realize that this thread is all in good fun, right? The regulars here on this board always get along great.
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^ You guys realize that this thread is all in good fun, right? The regulars here on this board always get along great.
Definitely. Just because I don't get into brand wars personally (for the most part) doesn't mean that I don't enjoy a good Sega does what Nintendon't or Ford/Chevy argument, Tounge in cheek or serious. It's entertaining and if you spin it right you can play NES at John's in the morning, SMS at JD's in the afternoon and spend the evening playing 7800 (adjust for generation accordingly.)
The make love not war thing was just the first thing to pop into my mind. There were still a lot of left over 60s references in my youth.
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If Nostalgia were the defining feature here, I would have to go with the Genesis. I loved playing Golden Axe, Altered Beast, and so on in the arcades, but never owned a Genesis. I wanted what I couldn't have I guess. Now it gets way more love than my other consoles, particularly those Sonic games, as others have mentioned. I rarely touch Mario games, even though I own mostly Nintendo consoles.
However, I must admit that if Quantity is the defining feature here, my poor N64 is falling apart due to over use and sheer abuse. After school on Fridays, the friends would come over and we would play until we couldn't wake up Saturday morning and resume. It was just the console that offered the best bang for multiplayer, and hit the sweet spot for me in terms of age, social playability, and free time.