Which Previous Leading Console Did You like Most Overall?

[JaguarVision]

Atari 2600

NES

G..SNES

PlayStation

playStation 2

Wii

 

These 6 now classic consoles had won their respective time periods and, with the exception of the Wii, were considered to gave the best gaming experiences over their competition.

 

So which of these consoles do you prefer overall and why? Oddly I think this short list magnifies the fact that gaming is a really young industry. Then again the 10 years of the Wii/360 might have diluted that.

[zylon]

There's really not one in that list that I'd want to own today. I did get a VCS, but it really was the only thing around then where I grew up.

VCS- was only thing I knew of

Tandyvision-Christmas present

C64- learned at school, then later as a birthday present

SMS- Christmas present

 

I didn't get to pick until 1992 and bought a Sega Genesis. I'd had SMS and was sold on Genesis after seeing Sonic and Altered Beast at a friend's house. Still have it today. Next buy was a 3DO, but sold it in 2 years after not being able to buy much for it. Saturn was my 3rd buy and to me, all the games it had in commom with PSX looked better on Saturn. After that, I bought nothing until original Xbox renewed my interest. It was edgy and I liked being different. It was also my 1st DVD player and the idea of not having to mess with memory cards and being able to install my own music to play during games appealed to me. The Playstation name just sounded like a kids toy to me and I just have no desire to consider their later offerings at all. My final game system of choice was the Xbox 360. It has more than enough of everything I wanted to play and still does. Nothing in current production even intrigues me in the least. Must be getting old. lol

 

I do have a 5200 and enjoy it, but it's more a hobby that I adopted much later.

Edited October 31, 2017 by zylon

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

[+frankodragon]

Do we really need more versus threads? There are tons of threads like these if you search. I have to agree with OSRG's response.

[keepdreamin]

I guess Punisher 5.0's polite heads up in the other thread went unheeded.

Edited October 31, 2017 by keepdreamin

[AtariLeaf]

This is one of the big reasons I stopped posting at the VGcollect forum - too many inane threads mostly started by the same person.

[Flojomojo]

So many questions. Are you writing a book or something? I'm not playing this dumb game.

[digdugnate]

why don't you ask 2600problems, or jackel192, or....

[JaguarVision]

So you've no interest in consoles since the 360 Zylon?

[zzip]

From that list, I only owned two: 2600 and Wii.

 

It's hard to choose

 

The 2600 was a big part of my childhood, but many of those older games don't hold my interest long anymore. I think I would play the Wii more, I have some great games, even though the overall library is kinda weak.

Edited October 31, 2017 by zzip

[Gabriel]

Sega Genesis.

When I think of my favorite games of the 16 bit era, a large percentage of them are Genesis/Sega Cd games: Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe, Shining Force, Shining Force CD, Dark Wizard, Lightening Force, Silpheed, Sonic, etc. While the SNES may hit higher heights with some individual titles like Final Fantasy III, the Genesis is a better go to for the quantity of quality.

Genesis games have a kind of feel to them. It's kind of an edgy, rock n roll feel (that distinctive twang of sound, you know what I mean). Genesis games often feel a bit rough. This is in comparison to the SNES games feeling more symphonic (but kind of muffled) and polished, which results in them feeling sanitized and sometimes stripped of identity.

Also, multi-platform games between the Genesis/SNES tend to play a bit better on the Genesis to my POV. For instance, I prefer to play Mortal Kombat II on the Genesis instead of the allegedly superior SNES version, because the play feels much sharper and more responsive.

Genesis and SNES games had their own looks. Removing multi-platform titles from the equation, games unique to each system often had their own distinctive style. Genesis games tended to have more harsh colors. "Sprites" tended to be smaller. Visual style had a very slightly more "realistic" edge. There was more of a pixel and tile feel. Meanwhile, SNES games were more often washed out in coloration. "Sprites" were larger and the visual style often had a very bulbous 90s comic style about it. There was less of a tile feel and SNES games often felt more about static picture page backgrounds. While each style has their merits, when I'm just in the mood for a Video Game, the Genesis is more comfortable with its aesthetics match my mood.

[Gabriel]

(and some more in a separate post)

The Genesis was one that was my favorite back in the day and is still my favorite today. Now I'll go into a console I LOVED back in the day but am kind of lukewarm about today.

The PS1.

Of the systems of the 32 bit era (which I'm going to say are the PS1, Saturn, N64, Jaguar, and 3DO), the PS1 is still my favorite by a wide and easy margin. There are still games I enjoy for the system, but when I think of what I may want to play on a moment's notice the PS1 library doesn't come up frequently.

One thing about this era of gaming, you can REALLY tell a game is from this era. I can't even begin to articulate it, but it's something that leaps off the screen at you. It isn't even limited to the 3D games. It's just something that screams from all the 32 bit games.

What I liked about the PS1 was that it wasn't all about branding. There was a lot of newness in the PS1 both in gaming style and IPs. I was sick of Sonic, Mario, the Street Fighter gamg, and all that crap at this point. And since Sony didn't have a mascot or a strong first party catalog to force down customers' throat, the library was far more diverse. Since this was probably the most experimental age of gaming since the dawn of home video games, that ability to forge new ground was key.

The PS1 was the first console of the modern era where a customer didn't have to be a fan of a specific set of franchises. The PS1 definitely had standout, best-selling franchises, but the library was so large that no two PS1 owners needed to have overlapping libraries. For instance, my library never contained Gran Turismo, Resident Evil, or Metal Gear Solid, and I still had a large library which made me immensely happy. Nintendo and Microsoft owners who dislike Mario/Zelda and Halo will probably not rank their consoles highly because those systems are all about those franchises to the exclusion and detriment of others. The PS1 wasn't like that.

The problem with the PS1 era is that most of the games from that time were prototypes. Being experimental stabs at new ideas, nearly everything from the PS1 era has been improved upon, or is simply an idea which was good at the time but has been outgrown. It doesn't change how great and groundbreaking the PS1 era was, but when playing a Soul game, I'm probably going to reach for Soul Calibur IV or MAYBE Soul Calibur II HD. I'm not going to be reaching for Soul Blade.

Then there are games that I just don't have the patience for anymore. I LOVED Final Fantasy Tactics back in the day. Nowadays, I don't have any tolerance for it. It's just too much busywork, too much stat and inventory juggling. I've even started to feel that way towards Front Mission 3, a game I've long sung the praises of as one of the finest TRPGs of all time.

So, yeah, PS1 was great. There was a time I may even have said the PS1 was better than the Sega Genesis. I might have even ranked it higher in my heart than the Atari 2600 or my beloved Atari 5200. But nowadays, its just not anywhere near first stop gaming for me.

PS: Time Crisis is still awesome, though.

[zylon]

So you've no interest in consoles since the 360 Zylon?

 

Nope. I've looked into them and found nothing I want that I can't already do with 360 or older. At least with the 360, I can move my stuff to another machine anytime with ease. I'm still using a 2005 white non-HDMI model, if it's of interest. I did buy a couple spares and an "E" just in case. I liked the 1st Xbox, but love the 360.

Just not interested in the next "box" when my laptop PC can do anything it does for half the price, Nintendo's latest gimick, or Sony's offerings ever. I've had to fix too many Sony's over the last 20yrs or so to even want to consider one.

Means I must be getting old and have ended up in the right place, lol. I did briefly consider an Xbone, but declined when I found that most things I'd had any interest in, I already had. That can change, but doubtful.

[+save2600]

Modern game systems are good for something at least: emulating older consoles and their games.

[zylon]

Modern game systems are good for something at least: emulating older consoles and their games.

 

That's kinda most of what I use them for. My GC is only used with the GB player and an emulator cart or old GB carts. I did have a lot of games, but sold them some time ago. My original Xbox is soft-modded and loaded with emulators, but I still play one original game in it: Totaled! The rest, I play on my 360. Between Saturn and 360, I've got anything that I have interest in from the last 20yrs. I've just gotten more practical and realistic as time passed.

Edited October 31, 2017 by zylon

[StopDrop&Retro]

It was quite a time to be alive...

 

[JaguarVision]

Your skiipong ahead there a few years retro.

 

Looking at Gabriels post, one thing you said that caught my attention was claiming the PSX was basically self-destructive in terms of being an experimental era, including 2D games

 

One thing I noticed about a significant amount of 2D PSX games was developers trying to push CD features instead of improving the actual art and sprites themselves.

 

If you look at the PSX Mega Man X games (4-6) for example you had a lot of clashing art styles. You had your standard sprites and background art mixed in with stock images, mixed in with 2D CGI generated graphics that just looked really really weird and uncanny.

 

Unlike games such as Rayman which look much better and consistent ad basically all sprites.

[spacecadet]

So many questions. Are you writing a book or something?

I've wondered this too. Or some sort of school project? I'm on a few sites where that's a big thing.

[JaguarVision]

Space cadet arent you the one who mentioned Ace magazine for 7800 sales in some years old thread? Slightly off topic

[JaguarVision]

Double

Edited October 31, 2017 by JaguarVision

[+remowilliams]

Someone clearly is going to need mod preview for topic creation. Soon.

[JaguarVision]

I've not made a new topic in awhile so..

[JaguarVision]

Considering how often I see the 260 lose to the NES on his board this is surising poll. Guess the years have changed opinions.

[spacecadet]

Space cadet arent you the one who mentioned Ace magazine for 7800 sales in some years old thread? Slightly off topic

 

I have no idea. I've been here for 14 years or something, off and on, and I don't remember all the stuff I've written. I've been involved in 7800 sales discussions but Ace Magazine doesn't ring a specific bell.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I've not made a new topic in awhile so..

You mean it's been more than 6 hours since you made a topic comparing one game system to another? Crikey, how time flies!