Top Retro Consoles of All Time

[kingrat101]

10-NES- Great system but I dont have have a lot of nostalgia towards it, I didn't grow up with one
9-sega CD-Weird I know but i really dig the system, I like a lot of the exclusives for it and its a shame that new "retro" gamers only care about AVGN's opinion
8-Dreamcast- Great system unfortunately a lot of the games havent aged well at all namely sonic and Jet Grind Radio. Also I dont care much for the controller, I have and adaptor that allows me to use any saturn controller with it.
7-Ps2-Amazing console with so many games you're bound to find something you like
6-ps1- Same as the ps2
5-Genesis-Incredible games that takes me back to a time when competing consoles actually had different stuff, instead of the same exact thing with more DLC
4-Neo Geo AES- I would love to put the AES higher but unfortunately the price is what holds it back, and to be fair, quite literally 90 percent of the games are 2D fighters so it doesnt appeal to everyone for those two facts alone. On the other hand its an experience that really cant be emulated and the games are gorgeous for the time.
3-Gamecube- Incredible system, To me this system is when Nintendo grew some balls and actually did something different with their franchises. Cartoon Zelda, First person Metroid, different 3D Mario Luigi's Mansion!
2-Saturn- Another fantastic system that had so many problems right from the start but the games on it a incredible for the time especially the 2D fighters from Capcom
1-Super Nintendo- What can I say, I think the SNES, along with the Genesis, is one of the most important systems of all time. It was an exciting time to be playing games, Nintendo was taking their old games, keeping the same formula but on a much larger scale to turn out some of the greatest games of all time. Stuff like Super Metroid, a link to the past, the final fantasy series, the castlevania series, contra are what make this console incredible

[burningdoom]

1. SNES

2. Turbografx

3. Gameboy advanced

4. N64

5. Gen

6. NES

7. xbox

8. Gamecube

9.dreamcast

Although as a kid I Mainly played NES and N64 and gamecube. now looking back the snes had some of the most comfortable controllers I have played on. xbox is up there because that was the first system I ever owned myself. I never owned a ps2 or 1 except for now.. keep in mind that I love all of these consoles they are not far apart at all from eachother.

I love the original XBox controller, the S-model (although I don't hate "The Duke" like many others seem to). It fits quite well in adult hand, and the thumbstick and trigger buttons are perfectly placed. Reaching for those black and white buttons can be a pain sometimes, though.

[patrickmeansly]

10-NES- Great system but I dont have have a lot of nostalgia towards it, I didn't grow up with one
9-sega CD-Weird I know but i really dig the system, I like a lot of the exclusives for it and its a shame that new "retro" gamers only care about AVGN's opinion
8-Dreamcast- Great system unfortunately a lot of the games havent aged well at all namely sonic and Jet Grind Radio. Also I dont care much for the controller, I have and adaptor that allows me to use any saturn controller with it.
7-Ps2-Amazing console with so many games you're bound to find something you like
6-ps1- Same as the ps2
5-Genesis-Incredible games that takes me back to a time when competing consoles actually had different stuff, instead of the same exact thing with more DLC
4-Neo Geo AES- I would love to put the AES higher but unfortunately the price is what holds it back, and to be fair, quite literally 90 percent of the games are 2D fighters so it doesnt appeal to everyone for those two facts alone. On the other hand its an experience that really cant be emulated and the games are gorgeous for the time.
3-Gamecube- Incredible system, To me this system is when Nintendo grew some balls and actually did something different with their franchises. Cartoon Zelda, First person Metroid, different 3D Mario Luigi's Mansion!
2-Saturn- Another fantastic system that had so many problems right from the start but the games on it a incredible for the time especially the 2D fighters from Capcom
1-Super Nintendo- What can I say, I think the SNES, along with the Genesis, is one of the most important systems of all time. It was an exciting time to be playing games, Nintendo was taking their old games, keeping the same formula but on a much larger scale to turn out some of the greatest games of all time. Stuff like Super Metroid, a link to the past, the final fantasy series, the castlevania series, contra are what make this console incredible

I GOT 2 questions for ya'.  Please give me some great games to play on the Sega CD.  I got 32X games, but no Sega CD , but I plan on soon getting some.  Number 2, I see you love the Neo Geo.  I want you to recommend me some games on that as well; however, I'm not too big off a 2d fighters games other than Mortal Kombat series so are there any good adventure or rpg or horror games of any kind for the neo geo?

[kimimi]

Objectively, the top spot has to go to the PS2. Even if you ignore the PS1 backwards compatibility (which I feel is unfair seeing as *every* PS2 ever made can play 99% of PS1 games and use its accessories) it still has something for everyone, from racing sims to dating games - and not just scraps either but some of the best games in their genres. I can use it to switch from Garou to Mushihimesama to FFXI to Sakura Taisen 3 just as easily as another can play Madden/Burnout/Mortal Kombat, etc. It's probably the console that has the best shot of being all things to all people.

My personal passion though lies with the Saturn. I just love everything about it, and I always have

[kingrat101]

I GOT 2 questions for ya'.  Please give me some great games to play on the Sega CD.  I got 32X games, but no Sega CD , but I plan on soon getting some.  Number 2, I see you love the Neo Geo.  I want you to recommend me some games on that as well; however, I'm not too big off a 2d fighters games other than Mortal Kombat series so are there any good adventure or rpg or horror games of any kind for the neo geo?

The sega CD has some great RPG's both Lunar games are great, Popful Mail is also an awesome action/platformer RPG, Dark Wizard is a really awesome strategy RPG, as well as Shining Force
I would also recommend Robo Aleste, its the sequel to MUSHA on the genesis. As well as Android assualt and Lords of Thunder for more 2d shoot-em-up action. Earthworm Jim is definately worth owning for the extra level and updated music.
There's also some pretty good point n' click adventure games such as Snatcher, Rise of the Dragon the secret of Monkey island.
as far as the Neo Geo goes, since it was an Arcade Machine first and home console second, there's no RPG's or anything that is strictly home console gaming on it. What is on it are fighting games, beat-em-ups and action games as well as some pretty good puzzle games.
It really is a hard console to recommend because of the price and the huge amount of fighting games. What i personally think is awesome about it, because i love fighting games, is you can literally see the rise and fall of 2d fighting games on that one console. The Neo geo lasted from 1990 to 2003, so you've got you're weird early style fighting games when everyone was copying street fighter to the mid 90's when fighting games started to become more complex, to the late 90's and early 2000's when fighting games were at their best but at the point where they appealed to the hardcore crowd... Street Fighter 3 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves
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[kimimi]

Technically the Neo Geo has one RPG - Samurai Sprits Bushido Retsuden for the Neo Geo CD. It's very pretty, but I found it almost intolerable to play on an emulator (to remove the loading times) and with cheats (they put SNK-cheap bosses *in an RPG*!). I don't recommend playing it unless you're a massive SNK/Samurai Spirits/RPG nut, and even then I don't think you'll find much pleasure there. It also came out on the PS1 and Saturn - they have better loading but everything else is either worse (animations) or unchanged.

[theflea]

If your gonna get into Neo Geo AES then I hope you have a lot of money to spend on games. lol
Most of the good fighters and shooters are well over $100 and can be as high as over $1000.
Then system alone can run you $200-$600. Japanese (non-modded) models are cheaper. While US and modded versions can be $400-$600.

If cost is an issue then you can go with the Neo Geo CD most of the games are on the CD and are a fraction of the cost. Just gotta put up with a lot of slow loading times.
System model 2 japanese system can run $100-$200 and most games go for $10-$50 (a few are over $100)

Then theres the Neo Geo MVS, You can buy a custom console which will cost about $500 and buy arcade MVS carts carts that play exactly like the AES. You can even switch from AES mode and Arcade modes in the bios. These are cheaper then AES carts but these still can be costly depending on the game. But the most you'll pay for a MVS cart is $100-$200. 

[scott]

10. Nintendo DS - Even though there are games on the shelf for the system still, I'm adding it to my list. I missed the GBA boat on handhelds. And actually I wasn't following gaming very close at this point. I had heard about the DS, but it wasn't until a few weeks after launch that I started reading about it and went out to buy one. I snagged a Launch system, Super Mario 64DS and Mr. Driller and was extremely happy. Though SM64DS is a bastard of a game (hated that it's not a straight port), it wasn't until I got my 3DS that I actually gave it more time, thanks to the circle pad. Anyway, the DS gets my vote for greatest handheld ever. There is a lot of filler in the catalog but the greatness is super great. The graphics are higher grade than the 64 and the sprite based games look like they could have been on the PS1.  I loved the systems so much, I imported a Red one from Japan before they ever announced the 1st Red US DS (A Mario logoed one, that I laughed at when it launched). Plus the DS Lite had the best screen ever and battery life that don't quit. And it plays GBA games? This is the console that made me discover the GBA library.

9. Xbox - While I was firmly in the Sony camp when the Xbox and PS2 where going to town. I did end up getting an Xbox just before Halo 2 launched. At first I couldn't stand the buttons on the controller and hated Halo. But I picked up Splinter Cell, Tenchu and a few other games for it and found myself really enjoying the system. From playing at my cousin's I was turned off by the original controller, but my console came with the S model instead and that was a really nice controller. I picked up a Halo 2 copy on launch night and some friends and I started playing that on a nightly basis. It was the first online multiplayer FPS I'd played since Quake II on PC and I fell in love with it. Eventually I got to be really good at it, but we all stopped playing at one point and never went back to it.

8. Genesis - The SNES vs Genesis era was an amazing time for gaming. Both consoles had their own games, each felt completely different. And the rivalry was the best ever. I think it really pushed each company to be the best they could be at that point in time. My list of Genesis games is pretty small. But I got one slightly after I got the SNES, just so I could borrow my cousin's games. The Sonic games blew me away and then there were games like Crusader of Centy that had a totally different feel to them, compared to the likes of Secret of Mana. But it had SEGA Channel! I remember going to my cousin's an playing that all night long, many matches of Mega Bomberman were played via that thing as well as General Chaos and Zombies Ate My Neighbors. But at the end of the day, I was a Nintendo kid and most of my loyalties were in their camp.

7. N64 - I really enjoy the N64. Like all the other consoles of the era, they had a lot of experimental issues. But We spent a TON of time on this system playing multiplayer games. It made it even better that we didn't need a splitter for 4 players and since it was me and my 3 cousins it was perfect. Countless hours were spent on Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Bomberman 64, Rampage World and Universal Tour, Mario Kart 64, Smash Bros and WCW vs NWO World Tour. Take that, and add on top Mario 64, LoZ Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and Conker's Bad Fur Day. There was nothing I didn't like about the system.

6. PS1 - Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Final Fantasy VII are the games that made me want a PS1. I remember standing in Walmart looking at PS1 games and seeing SotN and thinking about buying it just in case I ever get a PS1, but not doing it. While the PS1 is a beast for RPGs, I only had Final Fantasy games and the occasional other RPG for the system. But, it also had METAL GEAR SOLID. I have played through that game so many times I can't even count. I loved that game so much it's still up there on my list of greatest games ever and it helped build my love for stealth action games.

5. Saturn - My 1st 3D console. I loved everything about the console. NiGHTS, Lost World: Jurassic Park, Last Bronx and Virtua Cop got tons of play time. I only had like 9 games for the system though and I got in on it late. By then the system was dying off. I think if I could have afforded to buy up all the closeout deals on games I would have stuck with it. But, I was a teenager and disappointed in the lost cause of the system and ended up selling it to get a N64. Eventually I bought it again and started collecting the full library of games. There is a lot of good stuff on this system, but also a good bit of filler for a system with less than 300 titles.

4. SNES - Since I'm going off of my own experience and not the library/ gaming impact as a whole, the SNES got knocked down a few pegs. I didn't have many games for it. But what I did play was amazingly awesome. Link to the Past, Super Mario World,  Super Metroid,  Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Mana. The game was a powerhouse and my choice for the 16bit generation. Again, since I was a kid I lacked funds to buy what I pleased. But I've slowly been working on building up my collection. Also, that controller is so good. I've had the same 2 controllers the entire time I've had the system and never had any problems.

3. Game Boy - 90's Scott couldn't be seen going anywhere w/o this console by his side. It what my companion on many a road trip and vacation growing up. We would have to stock the car with AA batteries to power both the GB and my light attachment. Sure the GBA has better hardware and games. But there are some real gems on this system. I've got a pretty impressive collection of GB games and accessories and always check used game shops I visit and see what they have available. I'm always game to discover a new game on the system. Plus, there is the Game Boy Light! Nintendo's first backlit handheld ever!

2. PlayStation 2 - Loved this system. Still do, actually. It has long been the system that I have the most games for. Everything about it was better than the PS1. The graphics were better, the games were better and it had Final Fantasy XI.. Preorderd that baby and it proceeded to suck days of my life away, on dial up no less! It was also the reason we upgraded to High Speed Internets. While I did trade off a bunch of my games for it, I remember every single one they were and have been slowly searching for exact replacements for a bit now.

1. NES - I gave the NES the top spot. Mostly because it was my first real game console. Sure we had the Atari 2600, but I never got into it. But when I got a hold of the NES w/ SMB, Cobra Triangle and 1942 I was blown away. It started my love of RPGs, with Dragon Warrior and Faxanadu.  I feel ashamed to say that I sold off my original NES years ago, for dirt cheap. Now I've since bought a replacement and most of the games I had. But, it would hold much more meaning if it was MY console and original games. Rectangle Controller 4 Life!

[kimimi]

Then theres the Neo Geo MVS, You can buy a custom console which will cost about $500 and buy arcade MVS carts carts that play exactly like the AES. You can even switch from AES mode and Arcade modes in the bios. These are cheaper then AES carts but these still can be costly depending on the game. But the most you'll pay for a MVS cart is $100-$200.

There's no reason to buy a consolised MVS when you can get the exact same result with an MVS motherboard (sub $100), a supergun (about $60), an old ATX power supply (I bought one new for $15) and a Neo Geo controller (about $60 for a stick, shipped). The added benefit is that you can use the supergun setup to then play almost any other JAMMA compatible arcade game too