In your opinion, what is the most underrated video game system? (including computers!)

[CatPix]

15 hours ago, wongojack said:

I thought I was missing something there because of Time and France, but it turns out it was just Japan . . . of course

As if we were THAT kind of people. Really? How little you think of us.

 

 

 

[+wongojack]

2 hours ago, CatPix said:

As if we were THAT kind of people. Really? How little you think of us.

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

Haha - that "pub" seems to work on me

[derFunkenstein]

Polymega, no doubt. ?

 

Kidding aside, I'd probably go with the Saturn, at least in the West. In Japan it was successful and had a huge library of amazing 2D games. If not for SofA screwing the pooch on the Saturn (Bernie Stollar's "The Saturn is not our future" line in 1997 really didn't help, for instance) I think there's less need for the Dreamcast to ship as it did so early on. It could have waited a year or maybe even two, and included DVD support and a controller more like the Saturn's 3D controller but with a redesigned stick (two of them, really). 

[Steven Pendleton]

10 hours ago, derFunkenstein said:

Polymega, no doubt. ?

Polymega is actually pretty cool. I've played it, and after than I even seriously thought about getting one for playing Saturn and light gun games (after they announced that) on a modern TV before I got a CRT. It is way too expensive for an emulator box, though, and I think it's not for me in general, as I was only interested in those 2 aspects.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[phoenixdownita]

On 2/20/2020 at 9:40 PM, Steven Pendleton said:

Polymega is actually pretty cool. I've played it, and after than I even seriously thought about getting one for playing Saturn and light gun games (after they announced that) on a modern TV before I got a CRT. It is way too expensive for an emulator box, though, and I think it's not for me in general, as I was only interested in those 2 aspects.

Did it ship?

[Steven Pendleton]

 

2 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

Did it ship?

 

 

Don't know. Probably not. I played it last year when they did this

 

https://twitter.com/polymegaHQ/status/1127082938896568320

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[phoenixdownita]

50 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Don't know. Probably not. I played it last year when they did this

 

https://twitter.com/polymegaHQ/status/1127082938896568320

 

Then it can't be underrated if it didn't ship. 

Vaporware need not apply, given it's all emulation anyway I'm not even sure it applies here.

On the same token, I think we all agree the Analogue consoles are not underrated, if anything they are a little bit overrated (over-hyped more than anything really) and I just adore Kevtris work, and still I don't think they would fit into either thread, so Polymega should stay out as well.

[adamchevy]

Then it can't be underrated if it didn't ship.  Vaporware need not apply, given it's all emulation anyway I'm not even sure it applies here. On the same token, I think we all agree the Analogue consoles are not underrated, if anything they are a little bit overrated (over-hyped more than anything really) and I just adore Kevtris work, and still I don't think they would fit into either thread, so Polymega should stay out as well.

 

 

 I had that same thought. I don’t think retro remake consoles apply to this thread. It’s like saying the Ouya was underrated. It was an overrated, overfunded Android phone in console form that eventually became obsolete just like my Samsung Galaxy S3. What’s next? My Retron 5 was underrated?[emoji23]

 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

36 minutes ago, phoenixdownita said:

Then it can't be underrated if it didn't ship. 

Vaporware need not apply, given it's all emulation anyway I'm not even sure it applies here.

On the same token, I think we all agree the Analogue consoles are not underrated, if anything they are a little bit overrated (over-hyped more than anything really) and I just adore Kevtris work, and still I don't think they would fit into either thread, so Polymega should stay out as well.

I am pretty sure that mention of Polymega was a joke... and yes, the Super Nt/Mega Sg are good, but they have problems. I just found another problem with the Mega Sg the other day, actually. It's nice for games that switch resolutions a lot, though, and unlike OSSC + real hardware, I can get the proper aspect ratio for 320 pixel games (not square pixels, but the way it looks on a CRT AKA kind of squished).

 

28 minutes ago, adamchevy said:

 I had that same thought. I don’t think retro remake consoles apply to this thread. It’s like saying the Ouya was underrated. It was an overrated, overfunded Android phone in console form that eventually became obsolete just like my Samsung Galaxy S3. What’s next? My Retron 5 was underrated?

 

 

Over in some other thread I described Polymega as a slightly less bootleg Retron 5, because that's exactly what it is. I don't really think spending like $300 on a huge emulator box that's bigger than the PS3 and runs free emulators (I remember that they are using a custom 64 bit version of Kega Fusion. Forgot what SNES thing they are using) is a good investment, especially since I think you need to buy the add-on things to run those games. Not sure, though. I do know that you do not need the PC Engine/Sega modules to run those CD games, though, because I asked when I played it.

Edited February 24, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[BassGuitari]

I probably wouldn't have even thought of DOS (or rather, the PCs that ran it) if it hadn't been discussed here...so that would kinda have to be one, wouldn't it?

 

Some others I would nominate (in the form of mini-reviews):

 

Odyssey 2 - Like every system, this one has its own cult following, but this one's always an afterthought when we talk about the game systems of the 1970s and '80s. And admittedly, that's warranted to some extent, seeing as its games didn't really start getting good until 1981 with the Challenger Series of arcade knock-offs such as Pick-Axe Pete! and UFO! But even apart from its latter-day renaissance, the Odyssey had a few nifty titles that gave the Atari a run for its money. It also had a great joystick, and the console itself just screams "retro." Despite a limited library of mostly marginal titles sprinkled with a handful of standouts, there's a lot of entertainment to be had here...and for cheap! The Voice add-on gives the Odyssey (or more specifically, the games that use it) some additional character not quite duplicated on other consoles.

 

ADAM - For most of us, the ADAM is essentially redundant, serving as either a peculiar computer expansion for the Colecovision system, or as a peculiar computer that runs Colecovision games, depending on whether you have an Expansion Module #3 or standalone ADAM. For the rest of us, it's probably forgotten about completely. In the guise of the standalone unit, though, the ADAM is arguably the definitive Coleco system. Not only does it run something like 99% of Colecovision cartridges (although IIRC Defender doesn't run correctly...so that hurts), it has its exclusive Super Games on disk and/or its proprietary Digital Data Pack format, which is essentially a "stringy floppy" (which in turn is essentially a cassette system that thinks it's a disk system...hence why you see things like CP/M on tape!). And going back to the Colecovision version of Zaxxon after playing the enhanced ADAM version is...hard. Having tape and disk formats opens the ADAM up to a ton of third-party and indie software above and beyond what is available for Colecovision. Yes, there's the infamous problem of the console wiping out DDPs left in the drive during powerup, and that the printer is required to power the system (although mods exist to circumvent this). Yes, the hardware is flaky--as only something built by Coleco could be--and a bit of a kludge job, and getting a good working or modernized system isn't a cheap proposition. But of all the systems in the early '80s that promised to transform a video game unit into a true personal computer, the ADAM is kind of the only one that actually did it.

 

Atari 5200 - The mighty 5200 is underappreciated on account of its flawed controllers, overlap with the Atari 400/800 library (and hardware), relatively small library, short lifespan, and--depending of the version of the console--its proprietary automatic switchbox. To call it a mere rehash of the Atari 400 is inaccurate, though. Several titles were adapted to utilize the system's sophisticated analog joystick, delivering a distinct and arguably improved gaming experience over their 400/800 counterparts. Conventional wisdom has it that the 5200's games were merely ports of 400/800 and 2600 games, when in reality, they were often developed (if not released) concurrently, rather than tacked on after the fact. A few likely even came out on the 5200 first, beating the 2600 and/or 400/800 versions to stores by several months. Rather than being a true successor or replacement to the 2600, the 5200 is more of a high-end, deluxe, complementary format--like CDs were to cassettes, or Blu-Rays to DVDs. It's still a great arcade system to this day, and its exclusive and analog-adapted titles stand out among more popular systems. Playing Centipede with the Trak-Ball controller is one of the definitive classic gaming experiences.

 

Atari XEGS - There's no reason this thing should have existed. Looking at it as a computer, the XEGS is completely redundant, being a repackaged 65XE computer. Looking at it as a console, the XEGS is still redundant, but only now because Atari also had the 7800 at the same time, and seemed to be pitting both systems directly against each other. Still, it's in this sense that I think the XEGS is more interesting. With the distinct look, feel, and sound of Atari computer games, the XEGS filled a unique space in the late '80s console landscape. The system was a competent alternative to the 7800 that can pull double duty as a full-fledged starter computer (read: obsolete computer). Atari's cross-platform offerings were better on the 7800, but the XE wasn't far behind, and in theory, the "computer expandability" made up the difference. Although its library consisted mainly of extant and re-released Atari computer titles, there were a few new releases and exclusives as well, including Crime Buster, Thunderfox, and unique versions of Mario Bros. and Choplifter. Granted, there was never really anything preventing 400/800/XL owners from using their systems as cartridge-based living room couch play systems, and some of those models may be easier to obtain today than an XEGS. But that doesn't detract from the fact that the XEGS is a great way to play Atari computer games!

[zzip]

On 2/16/2020 at 1:31 AM, phoenixdownita said:

Not sure the 486 was underrated ... it costed a pretty penny to get decent performances (which required a fast SVGA like ET3000/4000 on EISA bus), consoles were a fraction of the price.

I do not recall particularly enjoying DOS games in the CGA or even EGA timeframe, it was VGA and then SVGA that really started to turn the tides (and SoundBlaster although AdLib was a decent first step).

The move to VL-bus (remember those?) opened up faster graphic cards with linear addressing (I remember enjoying an ATI Mach64) and even more perfs.

Yeah many PC games from the 80s were abysmal.   Many times they won't even run properly on modern hardware because they run way too fast.

 

Ad-lib may have been a first step, but it seemed like mostly a "chiptune" chip that was terrible for sound effects.   And before VLB/PCI buses, the screen redraw speed on PC was really too slow for proper gaming.

 

I agree 486/SB16/VLB is when PC gaming really came into its own and made the PC a desirable gaming platform.

[taufan99]

The Sega Saturn and Atari Jaguar. Sure, both have powerful CPU's (although the former has less-than-stellar sound channels), but the fact that they were not well documented or hard to program just crippled these consoles a lot. Doesn't help that several Saturn games also appeared in the PSX and N64, and played miles better than in Saturn. Which sorta saddens me, as a Sega fanboy. Now that some people are better programmers, I hope we can see a bright future where these two get more (homebrew) developers, fans, and et cetera.

 

Watara Supervision, Bitcorp Gamate, and Super A'Can similarly also have some potential to compete against Game Boy (for the former 2) and SNES/Genesis (for Super A'Can). Such a shame Taiwanese/Chinese developers still revelled in pirating stuff, instead of maximizing their (these poor consoles') potential to compete with international (particularly Japanese) video gaming industry.

[Tanooki]

Because I think it's funny to bring up, and because it was their first attempt to actually cross into a setup where you could qualify it as a gaming 'system' it would be the Tiger R-Zone device, any iteration.  It was their first cartridge based segmented LCD system that projected the games onto a red mirror, which did beat the game.com to market by a bit.  Most titles were re-package stuff of their handhelds, light gun titles, etc that used the old panels.  It truly was the Virtual Boy for those on a pennies to dollars budget as it did effectively kind of stand out, and was all shades of poppy bright red.  The thing is, it's garbage, probably to most, but if you like like those style of old games they're pretty amusing in short bursts.

[The Usotsuki]

The AaaaAAaAaAaaaAArrrrRrrr Zone! </CGR>

[+Black_Tiger]

17 hours ago, taufan99 said:

The Sega Saturn and Atari Jaguar. Sure, both have powerful CPU's (although the former has less-than-stellar sound channels), but the fact that they were not well documented or hard to program just crippled these consoles a lot. Doesn't help that several Saturn games also appeared in the PSX and N64, and played miles better than in Saturn. Which sorta saddens me, as a Sega fanboy. Now that some people are better programmers, I hope we can see a bright future where these two get more (homebrew) developers, fans, and et cetera.

 

Watara Supervision, Bitcorp Gamate, and Super A'Can similarly also have some potential to compete against Game Boy (for the former 2) and SNES/Genesis (for Super A'Can). Such a shame Taiwanese/Chinese developers still revelled in pirating stuff, instead of maximizing their (these poor consoles') potential to compete with international (particularly Japanese) video gaming industry.

Don't forget that many cross platform games looked and/or played better on Saturn and that most games made from the ground up for Saturn didn't run as well on other consoles.

[atarilovesyou]

Wii U. The thing rocks, especially at the dirt cheap orphan prices I got the system and games for. Used it everyday for the better part of the last year, loving it!

[MadZiontist]

Speaking of underrated handhelds, Sega Nomad! I just got mine on January 1 and it's awesome! It has the single best library of any handheld EVER! Sure the screen sucks and is somehow worse than the PC Engine GT's screen, which came out 5 years earlier, and the battery also sucks since it dies in under 2 hours, but when you can plug it into the wall AND your TV/OSSC/Framemeister or get an RGB screen for it, who cares?[/Quote]

This is my answer as well. It's hard to deny a portable SEGA Genesis with all of it's amazing library, 6 action buttons on it, that can also plug into the TV and be played like a home console. It's aged very well too. You can use flash carts on it.

Also those issues you mentioned have all been solved with mods. You can buy a mod on eBay for about $70, which pays for the shipping to the modder, as well as the parts and labor. It includes installation of a modern LCD screen, as well as the caps being replaced with modern ceramic ones. This mod ends up also giving the device great battery life, and is playable for a much longer period of time. It helps as far as convenience and the environment that a rechargeable battery pack is an option.

I don't own a Genesis Nomad and am only aware of this information from an owner who had the mod done, but he's very happy with the results. I hope to be able to buy one soon and have the same mod done.

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[Steven Pendleton]

15 minutes ago, MadZiontist said:

Quote

Speaking of underrated handhelds, Sega Nomad! I just got mine on January 1 and it's awesome! It has the single best library of any handheld EVER! Sure the screen sucks and is somehow worse than the PC Engine GT's screen, which came out 5 years earlier, and the battery also sucks since it dies in under 2 hours, but when you can plug it into the wall AND your TV/OSSC/Framemeister or get an RGB screen for it, who cares?[/Quote]

This is my answer as well. It's hard to deny a portable SEGA Genesis with all of it's amazing library, 6 action buttons on it, that can also plug into the TV and be played like a home console. It's aged very well too. You can use flash carts on it.

Also those issues you mentioned have all been solved with mods. You can buy a mod on eBay for about $70, which pays for the shipping to the modder, as well as the parts and labor. It includes installation of a modern LCD screen, as well as the caps being replaced with modern ceramic ones. This mod ends up also giving the device great battery life, and is playable for a much longer period of time. It helps as far as convenience and the environment that a rechargeable battery pack is an option.

I don't own a Genesis Nomad and am only aware of this information from an owner who had the mod done, but he's very happy with the results. I hope to be able to buy one soon and have the same mod done.

Sent from my LG Stylo 2 Plus using Tapatalk
 

I have had the LCDDRV and the screen for it in my desk since early January. I'm going to send it to Mobius Strip Tech to have him do the installation, triple bypass, and recap it once I have $400 to spare on the Nomad.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[+wongojack]

You guys didn't really address any of the points against the Nomad.

 

1. Then - the screen was inadequate and battery life was bad
2. Now - the device needs $70 - $400 worth of modification AND there are other devices that completely emulate the entire library (plus thousands more) for less.

 

There's even someone selling such an emulation device right here in the AA marketplace (Canoo and GP2x Wiz).

 

I give credit to SEGA for being the only company to ever convert their console successfully to a handheld, but it was about as successful as it deserved and gets about the right amount of attention in 2020.

 

Recent thread about Nomad - 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

11 hours ago, wongojack said:

You guys didn't really address any of the points against the Nomad.

 

1. Then - the screen was inadequate and battery life was bad
2. Now - the device needs $70 - $400 worth of modification AND there are other devices that completely emulate the entire library (plus thousands more) for less.

 

There's even someone selling such an emulation device right here in the AA marketplace (Canoo and GP2x Wiz).

 

I give credit to SEGA for being the only company to ever convert their console successfully to a handheld, but it was about as successful as it deserved and gets about the right amount of attention in 2020.

 

Recent thread about Nomad - 

 

Yep, I made that thread.

 

I actually didn't know the Nomad existed until a few years ago. Still, as I don't like emulation and the only thing I have that can emulate Genesis/MD is the PSP go, which has about the same battery life as the Nomad anyway, I think I'll stick to using the Nomad. I could hack my Vita or my Switch or fix my 3DS, which needs a new battery and d-pad, and hack that, but since the PSP go is already hacked and I'm lazy, that would be my #2 choice.

 

Yes, the Nomad has lots of problems, but I think it's worth it to have the best video game console library ever created as a non-emulation portable.

 

Take a look at the PC Engine GT, as well; it beat the Nomad to the market by 5 years and shares the same concept! It can't play CD games, though, so it's missing a lot of the best PC Engine games. Technically it's possible to run CD games through the HuCARD slot, but the device to do it got cancelled partway through development recently.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[Tanooki]

True enough there, NEC did it just a little better and years earlier than Sega.  Debatable on the argument about CDs though sticking to PC ENgine as there's just so much there most normal people would take a supremely long time go through like 300+ cards so it would be just fine.

[+GoldLeader]

Turbografx 16.

 

While the PC Engine was huge in Japan, The American counterpart practically disappeared from the landscape as the SNES VS Genesis Wars played out.  I do remember some friends having them...And sure there is some reverence for it now, but not enough love when it existed on store shelves.  I, too, was late to the party on this one, getting one about 15 years ago...But I now see it as a nice link in the chain from 8 bit to 16 bit eras, and if anything, in my mind, it's right up there with SNES and Genesis.  Maybe not equal, but different in a good way.

 

Also the Coleco ADAM.   BassGuitari already nailed it so I'll just say I agree with him on it.

[bluejay]

The Tandy portable computers, especially the 200. I think a lot of you guys are sick of me talking about the Tandy 200, but is it not the best computer of 1984? Sure, it was pretty expensive, but think about it. A Commodore 64 costed $200 in '84. The 200 with 72k costed $1500. The 6 built in programs, if its value was $150 for each program it had built in, a better version of BASIC plus the internal 300 baud modem and db25 serial interface, which would also be a few hundred dollars for the C64, which means the T200 is portable, unlike the 64, has more RAM, built it software and hardware, and costs less. 

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, Tanooki said:

True enough there, NEC did it just a little better and years earlier than Sega.  Debatable on the argument about CDs though sticking to PC ENgine as there's just so much there most normal people would take a supremely long time go through like 300+ cards so it would be just fine.

Yep, I got to try the GT a few months ago in a store and I found that the screen is actually better than the Nomad's. As for CD vs HuCARD, it's up to personal preference, but over 50% of the PC Engine library is on CD, so that's the biggest negative of the GT compared to the Nomad. Still, the HuCARD library is still solid and has lots of great games.

 

1 hour ago, GoldLeader said:

Turbografx 16.

 

While the PC Engine was huge in Japan, The American counterpart practically disappeared from the landscape as the SNES VS Genesis Wars played out.  I do remember some friends having them...And sure there is some reverence for it now, but not enough love when it existed on store shelves.  I, too, was late to the party on this one, getting one about 15 years ago...But I now see it as a nice link in the chain from 8 bit to 16 bit eras, and if anything, in my mind, it's right up there with SNES and Genesis.  Maybe not equal, but different in a good way.

 

Also the Coleco ADAM.   BassGuitari already nailed it so I'll just say I agree with him on it.

I'd rather smash my Super Famicom with a hammer than get rid of my PC Engine. That's not to say the SFC is bad at all, but after wanting to get the SNES for 20 years and then finally getting one, I find that I just don't care about it much at all so it sits over in the corner with a stack of Genesis and Mega Drive games piled on top. It does have the best game ever made, though. (Super Metroid)

 

I actually want to get a TurboGrafx-16 eventually. I finally saw one in person for the first time at Tokyo Game Show last year and they are much nicer looking in person than in pictures on the internet. They are not cheap, though, and since HuCARDs are region locked, I would have to import games from the USA. There are apparently only 138 US TurboGrafx-16 games, as well, which is pretty sad compared to the almost 700 games Japan got. Still, I'd like to get one some day if I can since they are really cool systems!

[MadZiontist]

You guys didn't really address any of the points against the Nomad.

Then - the screen was inadequate and battery life was bad

Now - the device needs $70 - $400 worth of modification AND there are other devices that completely emulate the entire library (plus thousands more) for less.

 
There's even someone selling such an emulation device right here in the AA marketplace (Canoo and GP2x Wiz).

I give credit to SEGA for being the only company to ever convert their console successfully to a handheld, but it was about as successful as it deserved and gets about the right amount of attention in 2020.

Nah, it really only needs $70 to get it up to par. Anything above that is just pimping it out.

The fact that the Genesis is gaming royalty, and most of its fans still don't even know that it exists lends to it being underrated. The fact that it can be emulated doesn't really matter, or most of the consoles mentioned in this thread would be excluded. You'd sorta then have to say that a modern day Windows gaming PC would be the only right answer. Many people prefer playing games on original hardware and the Nomad can play most of the Genesis library in handheld or TV mode. It's kinda hard for me to consider something that is so obscure, yet has one of the greatest libraries in gaming history to not be underrated.

I guess I could concede though on the fact that without the $70 in mods, it might be a flaming turd. But I didn't even know about it until last year.



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