SNES vs Megadrive (Genesis)

[SuperKonker]

Hey guys, i know this is my first post but i was wondering if you could help me out.

As im still in college, i've been set some course work where i have to compare peoples opinions between 2 consoles.

Everyone in my group is doing 360 vs PS3.

Im being different.

So this is the info I'm going to need:

Username:
Age:
Choice:
Reasoning:

I was told by the guys at Retrogamer.net:
If you want a balanced feedback you also need to ask this question on a US board (I suggest digitpress.com). Together you get a more realistic worldwide feedback as the UK is basically the only Sega dominated region in the western world.

So, does anyone want to help?

[tom]

To get a balanced view you surely have to include the Japanese too

[SuperKonker]

To get a balanced view you surely have to include the Japanese too

....god-damn it

[Icarus Moonsight]

Icarus Moonsight
30
Genesis

I put a lot of my time into shmups and fighters and the Genesis stomps the SNES in these genres overall. The SNES does have good shmups, but they're not as plentiful or as varied in style as on the Genny. The Gen 6 button controller makes fighting game control svelt and smooth. Just feels much better to me, even though you take a hit in the visuals.

Also, I prefer the FM Synthesis of the Genny over the stilted midi on the SNES. The only thing SNES can do much better, time after time, is orchestral pieces.

[staxx]

Wow I thought the Megadrive/Genesis vs Super Famicom/SNES died years ago.....I guess not.

[badinsults]

Evan_G
27
SNES


I must admit, I have a definite bias towards the SNES. So much so that I created a large website about the system. I never owned a Genesis, the closest being my purchase of the Genesis Collection on Xbox 360. When I was a kid, the choice was simple: the Super NES had Super Mario World and Final Fantasy II, I would never have given the Genesis a second thought.

[pato]

pato
30
SNES

This is a hard one (I really enjoy my Genesis too). As was said earlier, there are some genres done better on the Genesis (Sports titles and Shumps come to mind). The Genesis just had the quicker processor to pull those games off better. Although the SNES has some great ones too. IMO, the SNES overall has a more complete, robust (tons of unique games for the machine) library of games in comparison to the Genesis. Plus, naturally, I find myself gravitating towards picking up more SNES titles then Genesis ones. This was even true when games were still being commmercially released.

[chrisbid]

chrisbid
33
genesis

the number one reason i had ever liked home video games was that they offered a chance to play arcade games at home. sega persued this philosophy more than nintendo even in the 8-bit days.

reason number two was image. sega marketed toward older gamers. i was in high school at the time and was sega's key demographic. the snes was more for kids.

[MASTERWEEDO]

MASTERWEEDO
25
Genesis

I didnt have a SNES until a few years ago. Genesis seemed to have the best titles, and the NES was good enough for my nintendo fix. also, genesis had blood on the Mortal Kombat games.

[Zthun]

Zthun
26
SNES

It still has some of the greatest RPG games of all time.

[Nico87]

Nico87
22
Genesis

Well, I'm more into importing Japanese games. I do own the must-have RPG's and some other games in other genres for the US SNES, but I can't really say that I find the SNES/SFC very import-friendly. Average eBay prices for japanese are higher than the Genny's, and there's really not THAT much worth getting.

Like I mentioned above, I've found that Genesis/Mega Drive importing is cheaper, and easier, in terms of availability. I'm into shmups, and I believe the Genny outranks the SNES/Super Famicom pretty easily within this genre.

All in all, it's a pretty close call. The SNES had some of my favorite games ever (Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger, Zelda, etc), but as far as availability and quantity goes, I choose the Genny/Mega Drive.

The thing with the SNES/SFC, though, is that you only need about ten games for it to justify buying the console.

[badinsults]

I'm actually a bit surprised that the Mega Drive dominated in the UK, considering that some of the most hardcore SNES fans I have met are from the UK, and considering that there were several great SNES publications from the era from that region. I'll admit, where I grew up the Genesis was the most popular system because it had a superior version of NHL 94. During subsequent generation, the N64 was the system of choice due to the popularity of Goldeneye.

[PresidentLeever]

PresidentLeever
23 (M, Sweden)
I pick both :)

Many of Nintendos first party titles really felt like they belonged to the next generation, providing large immersive game worlds, cinematic scenes, explorative gameplay and always the ability to save your progress. Sega mimicked them somewhat in the 90s and their efforts weren't quite as good (Beyond Oasis and Sonic 3 for example) but at the same time I think they were more daring and produced some really unique and interesting games (Ecco 1-2, Toejam & Earl 1-2). The MD is the better choice (but not by a huge margin) for fast paced arcade style games as well, stuff that you could just pick up and play and be done with in an hour or so, which I've come to appreciate more now when my free time is limited.

Taking both consoles entire libraries into account (JP imports), I'd still have to give it to the SNES because it simply had more good games to offer in most of the genres that interest me (RPGs yes, but also action adventures, platformers, beat em ups and puzzlers).

Games aside I think the MD looks better, I like how it had backwards compatibility and CD games through its addons, and the game boxes (European) are of better quality. It's also cheaper to collect for, even more so now than back in the day.

Soundwise I tend to prefer the MD, SNES sounds more dated to me now and the music and effects usually lack a bit in the lower range. The best efforts for the MD still sound clean and crisp and I get more nostalgic when hearing those tunes. But it also depends on the genre, orchestral pieces were better suited for the SNES.

[j_factor]

j_factor
23
Genesis

I could go into a huge rant about technical differences, image, the policies of the two companies, and stuff like that. But while that stuff makes a difference, what it all boils down to is the games (the relative quality of which was influenced by those factors, but only to a degree). I feel that Genesis has a greater quantity of worthwhile games, and prefer it for that reason alone. The other stuff is just a backdrop. And having a lot of experience with both, having tried out literally hundreds of games for each system, I think I'm in a good position to make that judgment.


I'm actually a bit surprised that the Mega Drive dominated in the UK, considering that some of the most hardcore SNES fans I have met are from the UK, and considering that there were several great SNES publications from the era from that region.

The UK in general has had a larger number of gaming magazines, and better ones. There was no shortage of Sega-specific mags either: Mega, Sega Pro, Sega Power, Sega Zone, Mega Zone, Sega Force, Mean Machines Sega, Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, Mega Tech, etc. That's a lot... I think the US only had Sega Visions (which barely even qualifies as a magazine).

[thom_m]

thom_m
28
Genesis

I love them both, but my heart's with the Mega Drive. In part, of nostalgy: It was the system I had back in the 90's, and I really stood up for it during the "16-bit wars".

But even now, years later, and having owned a SNES too for quite a while, I continue to prefer the MD. It gives room for more creative, imaginative, "groundbreaking" games. There are no such things as Toejam & Earl, Alien Soldier, Chakan or Haunting Starring Polterguy on the SNES. And, for me, that's the true advantage of the Sega system.

P.S.: SNES vs Genny, once again. In before the lock? LOL

[MASTERWEEDO]

Genesis does what Nintendon't.

[tofu]

Username: tofu
Age: 26
Choice: SNES
Reasoning: Earthbound::)

[googlefest1]

33

genesis


felt it had better games and sound

although i wished there were more rpgs (the snes had more)

the arcade ports were much better on the genesis - i always felt there was something wrong with the feel of street fighter 2 and the mortal kombat games on the snes.

also like many mentioned before - the shooters were much better on the genesis - they felt more like the arcade shooters did

genesis also had the great SEGA arcade ports

[BetaWolf47]

Name: BetaWolf47
Age: 20
Choice: SNES

Reasoning: Well, I will confess bias here. I've owned my SNES five times longer than my Genesis. However, in fairness, the genres and qualities I like in gaming are more prevalent on SNES than Genesis. Dealing with platformers, adventure games, and others, Genesis has some great ones, but they don't compare with the likes of Mario, Metroid, and the other SNES exclusives.

The Genesis hardware line is also flawed. There's way too many revisions. There's three different models and a handheld version. In addition, the first two models have no less than four motherboard revisions (possibly twice that amount on the second model), and each and every one is different. If you don't want to be stuck with an inferior system, you really have to hunt for a good revision, and even then you may need to open up the system to see what components it has. Some revisions are total garbage, like the VA7 model 1.

With SNES, if there are even board revisions, no particular one seems to be inferior. I'd much rather have a "one size fits all" solution that's not flawed from the first place than have to hunt down a particular revision of the same system.

[betamax001]

Betamax001
17
SNES

Reason: The Genesis game library never really stands out for me. Theres less games that I want for Genesis as compared to SNES. Maybe its just that the games I've played for SNES are just better than the ones I've played for Genny. To me it pretty much comes down to Mario and Sonic, and I would choose Mario over Sonic. And to that, that the games i have on Genesis are games of genres that were done better by Nintendo. Example being Mario and Sonic and Tetris and Columns.

[tom]

..., and considering that there were several great SNES publications from the era from that region.

And Nintendo tried to stop those too, Sega were far more for 'as many magazines as possible'.

[tom]

as for me:
Username: main man
Age: 21
Choice: Teradrive
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/Teradrivepic2.jpg
Reasoning: Nintendo never had something as cool as this.

close-up here:
http://www.videogamecollectors.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=193633&g2_imageViewsIndex=1


.

[WoodyXP]

WoodyXP
29
Genesis

Two Reasons:

1. The best version of Final Fight was on Sega CD
2. Mortal Kombat had blood

That's all that mattered to me back in those times.

[j_factor]

Reasoning: Well, I will confess bias here. I've owned my SNES five times longer than my Genesis. However, in fairness, the genres and qualities I like in gaming are more prevalent on SNES than Genesis. Dealing with platformers, adventure games, and others, Genesis has some great ones, but they don't compare with the likes of Mario, Metroid, and the other SNES exclusives.

What adventure games are on SNES? All I can recall for either system, excluding Sega CD, is that Scooby Doo game and one or two Star Trek games.

[thom_m]

as for me:
Username: main man
Age: 21
Choice: Teradrive
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/thomasholzer/megadrivepc.jpg
Reasoning: Nintendo never had something as cool as this.


QFT. I wish it would be possible to upgrade this thing to modern standards. Not like I'll ever find one in Brazil, anyways.



Reason: To me it pretty much comes down to Mario and Sonic, and I would choose Mario over Sonic.

I know it's only a matter of personal taste. I know it. But I'll never understand that. And I say this after playing the hell of SMB 1, 2 and 3 on my famiclone prior to getting my Mega Drive.

[Baloo]

Now I may seem biased on this (since I write for a Sega website :) but...

Username: Baloo
Choice: Sega Genesis
Reasoning: See Below

For these 10 reasons (not in any particular order).

1. Sonic the Hedgehog. And we got 6 great installments of it on the Sega Genesis. And Super Mario World wasn't as good as SMB 3 on SNES.

2. Final Fight was so much better on Sega CD than it was on Super Nintendo.

3. The Super Nintendo could barely do voice at all while the Genesis had games like Sports Talk Baseball loaded with speech.

4. More Arcade ports made it to the Genesis than Super Nintendo.

5. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

6. Mortal Kombat had blood on the Genesis.

7. The Sega CD brought us RPGs better than most of the RPGs on the Super Nintendo (Snatcher, Lunar 1 and 2)

8. Streets of Rage 2 is the best beat-em-up between the two systems.

9. Fighting games were played much on the Sega Genesis with its 6-button controller.

10. The Super Nintendo didn't have Blast Processing™.

[vivaeljason]

Vivaeljason
25
SNES

I feel as though the SNES had a little of everything in terms of genres you may have wanted. While the Genesis had better shooters and better handled sports and fighting games, the SNES had phenomenal platformers, RPGs, and action games. As those were what I predominantly played (and still play), I have to go SNES. I also think that -- in general -- the graphics and sound were better.

[betamax001]

I know it's only a matter of personal taste. I know it. But I'll never understand that. And I say this after playing the hell of SMB 1, 2 and 3 on my famiclone prior to getting my Mega Drive.

Like you said it's more personal taste, but Sonic goes by too fast for me to really enjoy compared to Mario. Plus I've think Sonic's flaws are alot more noticable to me than Mario's.

For example: Sonic can't breath underwater which is fine except when theres a water level and no hope to get out of the water...>.< Also enemies can sometimes appear out of nowhere and and you can't avoid them because you are going so fast.

[thom_m]

For example: Sonic can't breath underwater which is fine except when theres a water level and no hope to get out of the water...>.< Also enemies can sometimes appear out of nowhere and and you can't avoid them because you are going so fast.

LOL Indeed, nothing is more true than the quote "To each it's own"! The fact that Mario can breathe underwater has ALWAYS bothered me! I think the whole "you're running out of breath" scenario actually adds excitement to the game. I'd always get thrilled when I managed to get out of the water just moments after the countdown finished. The same is true for beautifully avoiding a sudden enemy while going really fast.

I guess that, for games that are aways compared to each other, they're actually quite different.

[Lord_Magus]

Lord_Magus
29
SNES

I honestly always feel quite surprised when I hear anyone say they prefer the Genesis over the SNES. In any way I look at it, the SNES had way more and better games than the Genesis ever did, the graphics and sound were usually superior, and even the joypad felt better (the first time I held an original Genesis controller, I honestly thought it was a cheap 3rd party one!)

More importantly though, the Genesis never had anything like:
Mario World+Mario All Stars
Super freakin' Metroid (this game alone should end any arguments here)
Zelda: Link to the Past
Chrono Trigger
Mario RPG
Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy II+III (or IV and VI)
Yoshi's Island
Mario Kart
Actraiser
Demons Crest
Megaman X
Tetris Attack
Jim Power
Contra III
Castlevania IV
Super Ghouls and Ghosts
Prince of Persia
Super Turrican I+II

(yes I know that the last few games were sort of multi-platform, but I felt I should include them since the SNES versions seemed better than their Genesis counterparts)

Then again, I do consider the SNES to be the best console of all time, so a thread like this always wakes up the fanboy in me :)

[Baloo]

More importantly though, the Genesis never had anything like:

Mario World+Mario All Stars -

Super freakin' Metroid (this game alone should end any arguments here)
Zelda: Link to the Past
Chrono Trigger
Mario RPG
Secret of Mana
Final Fantasy II+III (or IV and VI)
Yoshi's Island
Mario Kart
Actraiser
Demons Crest
Megaman X
Tetris Attack
Jim Power
Contra III
Castlevania IV
Super Ghouls and Ghosts
Prince of Persia
Super Turrican I+II

(yes I know that the last few games were sort of multi-platform, but I felt I should include them since the SNES versions seemed better than their Genesis counterparts)

Then again, I do consider the SNES to be the best console of all time, so a thread like this always wakes up the fanboy in me :)

What is with that list? The last few, We got those games on Genesis. We got Mega Man Wily Wars, we got Castlevania Bloodlines, we got Ghouls and Ghosts, we got Contra Hard Corps. And you want to talk RPGs?:

Shining Force I
Shining Force II
Shining Force CD
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III
Phantasy Star IV
Snatcher
Vay
Lunar I
Lunar II
Shining in the Darkness
Ys III


And to counter Mario:

Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Sonic 3
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic CD
Knuckles Chaotix

Beats 4 re-hashes, 1 level hack and 1 new game.

[Rickstilwell1]

What is with that list? The last few, We got those games on Genesis. We got Mega Man Wily Wars, we got Castlevania Bloodlines, we got Ghouls and Ghosts, we got Contra Hard Corps. And you want to talk RPGs?:

Shining Force I
Shining Force II
Shining Force CD
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III
Phantasy Star IV
Snatcher
Vay
Lunar I
Lunar II
Shining in the Darkness
Ys III


And to counter Mario:

Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Sonic 3
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic CD
Knuckles Chaotix

Beats 4 re-hashes, 1 level hack and 1 new game.

For everything listed on both sides I can come up with another game I liked to counter it.

compilations of past exclusive games:
Super Mario All-Stars Sonic Classics 3-in-1

exclusive platformers of actual company owned characters:
Super Mario World / Sonic the Hedgehog
Yoshi's Island / Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Donkey Kong Country / Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Donkey Kong Country 2 / Sonic & Knuckles
Donkey Kong Country 3 / Sonic CD
Kirby Super Star / Sonic 3D Blast
Kirby's Dream Land 3 / Knuckles Chaotix

draw

The Nintendo franchise character platformers seem to break even with Sonic here if you count the add-ons.

well-known platform shooters:
Super Metroid / Vectorman
Mega Man X / Vectorman 2
Mega Man X 2 / Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man X 3 / Gunstar Heroes

draw

puzzles:
Wario's Woods / Columns
Tetris & Dr. Mario / Super Columns
Kirby's Avalanche / Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Tetris Attack / Columns III

another draw...

RPGs:
Final Fantasy 4 / Phantasy Star 2
Final Fantasy 6 / Phantasy Star 3
Chrono Trigger / Phantasy Star 4
Secret of Mana / Shining Force
Secret of Evermore / Shining Force 2
Illusion of Gaea / Shining Force CD
Zelda 3 / Shining in the Darkness
Wizardry 5 / Vay
Earthbound / Lunar
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest / Lunar 2
Ys 3 / Ys 3

Then Star Fox has G-Loc to contend with.

So nope it's hard to say one beats the other. These two systems both have to be top of the line quality in order to be able to compete so much.

To tell the truth it's very much the same with NES vs. SMS. for both systems I can only find roughly the same amount of exclusive games I like for each. The rest are all too hard to even attempt to beat due to either sadistic or careless game designers. That still hasn't changed over the generations, just less exclusives available on systems and a larger percentage of 3rd party multiplatform games.

[betamax001]

I guess that, for games that are aways compared to each other, they're actually quite different.

I guess they are quite different ROFL

[Baloo]

For everything listed on both sides I can come up with another game I liked to counter it.

compilations of past exclusive games:
Super Mario All-Stars Sonic Classics 3-in-1

exclusive platformers of actual company owned characters:
Super Mario World / Sonic the Hedgehog
Yoshi's Island / Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Donkey Kong Country / Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Donkey Kong Country 2 / Sonic & Knuckles
Donkey Kong Country 3 / Sonic CD
Kirby Super Star / Sonic 3D Blast
Kirby's Dream Land 3 / Knuckles Chaotix

draw

The Nintendo franchise character platformers seem to break even with Sonic here if you count the add-ons.

well-known platform shooters:
Super Metroid / Vectorman
Mega Man X / Vectorman 2
Mega Man X 2 / Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man X 3 / Gunstar Heroes

draw

puzzles:
Wario's Woods / Columns
Tetris & Dr. Mario / Super Columns
Kirby's Avalanche / Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Tetris Attack / Columns III

another draw...

RPGs:
Final Fantasy 4 / Phantasy Star 2
Final Fantasy 6 / Phantasy Star 3
Chrono Trigger / Phantasy Star 4
Secret of Mana / Shining Force
Secret of Evermore / Shining Force 2
Illusion of Gaea / Shining Force CD
Zelda 3 / Shining in the Darkness
Wizardry 5 / Vay
Earthbound / Lunar
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest / Lunar 2
Ys 3 / Ys 3

Then Star Fox has G-Loc to contend with.

So nope it's hard to say one beats the other. These two systems both have to be top of the line quality in order to be able to compete so much.

To tell the truth it's very much the same with NES vs. SMS. for both systems I can only find roughly the same amount of exclusive games I like for each. The rest are all too hard to even attempt to beat due to either sadistic or careless game designers. That still hasn't changed over the generations, just less exclusives available on systems and a larger percentage of 3rd party multiplatform games.

That's a great comparison right there.

[Aussie2B]

And you want to talk RPGs?:

Shining Force I
Shining Force II
Shining Force CD
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III
Phantasy Star IV
Snatcher
Vay
Lunar I
Lunar II
Shining in the Darkness
Ys III

It's really rather silly to try to compare the Genesis's RPG library to the SNES's, and this is from someone who adores the Shining Force games. A few gems aside, RPG support on the Genesis can't hold a candle to the support the SNES got (and if we were to throw in Super Famicom and Mega Drive, it would be even more of a joke).

And Snatcher isn't remotely an RPG.

[Baloo]

It's really rather silly to try to compare the Genesis's RPG library to the SNES's, and this is from someone who adores the Shining Force games. A few gems aside, RPG support on the Genesis can't hold a candle to the support the SNES got (and if we were to throw in Super Famicom and Mega Drive, it would be even more of a joke).

And Snatcher isn't remotely an RPG.

If Snatcher isn't an RPG, then Sonic isn't a platformer.

[Aussie2B]

If you don't want to take my word for it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snatcher
http://www.digitpress.com/DP/cmf/game.cmf?gameid=5360
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/segacd/data/563492.html

You can call Snatcher an adventure, point & click, digital comic, anything along those lines, but RPG definitely doesn't fit.

[Gameguy]

If Snatcher isn't an RPG, then Sonic isn't a platformer.
Snatcher is an visual novel with some action sequences, a type of adventure game. I don't know how you'd consider it an RPG.

I like the Genesis more than the SNES, but both are very good systems. I really like Rocket Knight Adventures. Plus there's Taz-Mania, Golden Axe II, and Kid Chameleon for starters. There's tons more out there that I like, it would take me awhile to list out everything.

[Baloo]

Well, I've always considered point-and-click games like Snatcher and Phoenix Wright as a part of the RPG genre. After all, RPGs stand for Role-Playing-Game. You play a role in a detailed story.

Not all RPGs have to have a battle system and mythological creatures and whatnot IMO.

[vivaeljason]

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's unfair to talk about quality 32X and Sega CD games (see: Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic CD, Snatcher) in a Genesis/SNES comparison. I mean, in the specific question, it's Genesis games, not Genesis plus Add-Ons.

[Baloo]

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's unfair to talk about quality 32X and Sega CD games (see: Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic CD, Snatcher) in a Genesis/SNES comparison. I mean, in the specific question, it's Genesis games, not Genesis plus Add-Ons.

Well, here something for you to chew on:

Can you play the Sega CD and 32x games WITHOUT the Genesis?

[vivaeljason]

Actually, yes you can; there was always the CDX. Regardless, I never considered the Sega CD or 32X to be a part of the Genesis, and I didn't consider their games to be Genesis games. Just my opinion, of course.

[Baloo]

Actually, yes you can; there was always the CDX. Regardless, I never considered the Sega CD or 32X to be a part of the Genesis, and I didn't consider their games to be Genesis games. Just my opinion, of course.

The CDX was a Genesis and Sega CD built into one unit...

IMO, Add-on means exactly that. It's an add-on to the Genesis. It can't stand alone, therefore it must be part of the Genesis and it's library of games.

That's my opinion.

[fahlim003]

fahlim003
24
Genesis

Not without bias as I owned a Genesis from early on and only got a Super Nintendo from a friend for free many years after the generation was over. That's not to say I don't recognize the quality in SNES, but I've never looked back on the time spent on my Mk1 Genesis as anything but fun. No regrets. Games like Sonic, EarthWorm Jim 1 & 2, Jurassic Park (and Rampage Edition), NHL 94 & 95, Ristar, and Cool Spot were really enjoyable and even with many SNES games topping these in my favour over time, it's again a question of whether I'd trade the time I spent on those over a SNES which I didn't have or own.

At this point in time, my tastes are more specific to pick-up and play type games like beat-em-up's and shooters and as such the Genesis better caters to this appetite. If I have any regrets, it's not having the foresight in the past to pick up games like Contra Hard Corps, Lightening Force (TF4), Ghouls 'N Ghosts, and Gunstar Heroes when it was current as these make up some of the most interesting games around, for me at least. SNES has still got it though with games like F-Zero, Super Castlevania 4, Space Megaforce, & Yoshi's Island but it just doesn't have the same resonance of nostaglia and feedback as my Genny.
For everything listed on both sides I can come up with another game I liked to counter it.

compilations of past exclusive games:
Super Mario All-Stars Sonic Classics 3-in-1

exclusive platformers of actual company owned characters:
Super Mario World / Sonic the Hedgehog
Yoshi's Island / Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Donkey Kong Country / Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Donkey Kong Country 2 / Sonic & Knuckles
Donkey Kong Country 3 / Sonic CD
Kirby Super Star / Sonic 3D Blast
Kirby's Dream Land 3 / Knuckles Chaotix

draw

The Nintendo franchise character platformers seem to break even with Sonic here if you count the add-ons.No arguments here, although the DKC games without a doubt rocked the sales charts and with good reason. They made sure the SNES had the lead exiting that generation. Interesting mention of the Sonic Classics 3-in-1, I forgot about that one.


well-known platform shooters:
Super Metroid / Vectorman
Mega Man X / Vectorman 2
Mega Man X 2 / Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man X 3 / Gunstar Heroes

drawI guess this is a draw. Who're the winners though? I wager Super Metroid, Vectorman 2, MMX2, & Gunstar. SM & GSH are the sure bets for me anyway.


puzzles:
Wario's Woods / Columns
Tetris & Dr. Mario / Super Columns
Kirby's Avalanche / Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Tetris Attack / Columns III

another draw...Personally I cannot stand the Genesis puzzle titles, no love for Puyo Puyo or Columns over here. I'd give it to the SNES overall.


RPGs:
Final Fantasy 4 / Phantasy Star 2
Final Fantasy 6 / Phantasy Star 3
Chrono Trigger / Phantasy Star 4
Secret of Mana / Shining Force
Secret of Evermore / Shining Force 2
Illusion of Gaea / Shining Force CD
Zelda 3 / Shining in the Darkness
Wizardry 5 / Vay
Earthbound / Lunar
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest / Lunar 2
Ys 3 / Ys 3The SNES really shines here methinks. Although I have great respect and get lots of enjoyment out of the Shining Force's (pardon CD, which is balls hard). Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis might be a better candidate that SitD for ALTTP I think.

Good idea in making some comparisons though.

[Ed Oscuro]

Before I make some academic points, I'm gonna point out that Mario was alright but E-SWAT and Shinobi games kick his butt in the platforming action department. Mario does great simply because of the range of games in it; I hate trying to control the inertia-driven 2D Mario titles, but there's Mario games even for me, like SMRPG (it's alright) and perhaps SMWII.

In any way I look at it, the SNES had way more and better games than the Genesis ever did
Wiki sez: SNES 785 (that's all territories), Mega Drive 914.

What's Jim Power doing in your list? I'd take Risky Woods or something way before that one (and neither is my favorite type of platformer). It's not a system exclusive besides - it got a PC-Engine CD-ROM port (with awesome CD music), and more topically was also on the Genesis. It's got a different name there but I believe it's the same game. Same obnoxious game.

For everything listed on both sides I can come up with another game I liked to counter it
It's worth mentioning that although the Super Turrican games (AND Rendering Ranger!) are unique to the SNES / SFC, the Mega Drive got three Turrican games, more or less, including Mega Turrican which would become Turrican III on the Amiga.

[Aussie2B]

Wiki sez: SNES 785 (that's all territories)

Nuh-uh. That's how many unique games were released between the US and Europe. That's not even counting Japan at all. Japan got nearly 1500 games alone, so if you add in the games that didn't come out in Japan, it should be well over 1500. And that's not counting Satellaview releases either.

That total does seem correct for worldwide Genesis releases, though, so in terms of which has more, I'd say at a bare minimum that the SNES has at least 700 more titles (an additional amount big enough to be its own large library for another system).

[todesengel]

todesengel
25
Genesis

I got a Genesis over the SNES in 1992 after seeing Sonic 1 on the demo kiosk at a Toys R Us. I was also kinda tired of Nintendo at that point, I had an NES and everybody I knew had either an NES or was getting the SNES. For me though the Genesis is still my favorite and I own more games for it then any other console. I just feel that the Genesis has a great selection of games over tons of genre's plus unlike the SNES you can get them for so much cheaper. I rather take a hit in the graphics and sound department to have a fun game any day.

[BetaWolf47]

What adventure games are on SNES? All I can recall for either system, excluding Sega CD, is that Scooby Doo game and one or two Star Trek games.

Well, I'm setting action-adventure to be part of adventure. Included in this are:

-Super Metroid
-Legend of Zelda
-Beyond Oasis
-Landstalker
-Wonder Boy in Monster World

In other words, anything that lets you manipulate your character freely, but is too non-linear to be a platformer.

Also, I find it weird that people are comparing Vectorman to Super Metroid. Wouldn't Wonder Boy in Monster World be a better comparison to Super Metroid?

[j_factor]

It's really rather silly to try to compare the Genesis's RPG library to the SNES's, and this is from someone who adores the Shining Force games. A few gems aside, RPG support on the Genesis can't hold a candle to the support the SNES got (and if we were to throw in Super Famicom and Mega Drive, it would be even more of a joke).

Although I'd still give SNES the edge in RPGs, the difference isn't as vast as most people say, IMO. The real big difference is that Sega had few "traditional jRPGs", in favor of other styles. SNES had that one type of RPG in spades. I like 'em and everything, but I also enjoy others. If "RPG" to you only means Final Fantasy and its ilk, Genesis is a joke, but when you include games like TechnoClash, it does pretty well.


Maybe it's just me, but I think it's unfair to talk about quality 32X and Sega CD games (see: Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic CD, Snatcher) in a Genesis/SNES comparison. I mean, in the specific question, it's Genesis games, not Genesis plus Add-Ons.

Nobody excludes CD games from Turbografx conversations, and nobody counts the Aladdin Deck Enhancer as its own system. I say, add-ons count. A 32x game is just a Genesis game that requires extra equipment, IMO.


Well, I'm setting action-adventure to be part of adventure. Included in this are:

-Super Metroid
-Legend of Zelda
-Beyond Oasis
-Landstalker
-Wonder Boy in Monster World

The latter three are action-RPG, not action-adventure (although Wonder Boy is arguable). Nor do I think action-adventure should be lumped in with regular adventure games. Aside from a couple of games that straddle the line, they play and "feel" completely different.


In other words, anything that lets you manipulate your character freely, but is too non-linear to be a platformer.

Linearity has nothing to do with it. Out of This World is an action-adventure game and is almost completely linear. Although, it is true that you can't really have a non-linear game that's just a pure platformer, because you have to give the player some sort of destination and reason to explore. But this leads to "platform adventures", which is just a subcategory of action-adventure (and they can be linear).


Also, I find it weird that people are comparing Vectorman to Super Metroid. Wouldn't Wonder Boy in Monster World be a better comparison to Super Metroid?

Super Metroid doesn't really have any comparison on Genesis, aside from the little-known Phantom 2040. Monster World does have a similar structure, but plays very differently. Vectorman is just a platform-shooter like Mega Man, totally not comparable.

[Damaramu]

Damaramu
33
Genesis

The Genesis had more games that appealed to my gaming sensibilities. Action, platformers, shooters, etc. And IMO, the 6-button Genesis controller beats the SNES controller hands down when it comes to fighting games.

[tomaitheous]

Hey guys, i know this is my first post but i was wondering if you could help me out.

As im still in college, i've been set some course work where i have to compare peoples opinions between 2 consoles.

Everyone in my group is doing 360 vs PS3.

Im being different.

So this is the info I'm going to need:

Username:
Age:
Choice:
Reasoning:

I was told by the guys at Retrogamer.net:

So, does anyone want to help?

What is this? Some sort of college project? You gonna mine the data from the thread for some class project?


Old_ass_gamer
65
Both
'cause...


Also, why does the SNES have to "VS" the Genesis? Why can't we just like both? Or like one and not really give a crap about the other one?

[Icarus Moonsight]

Because no matter how much you enjoy both, you have to have some sort of definable preference. To me, someone saying that they are total equals just means that they are lying to make friends... And where's the honesty or fun in that position? Weak! LOL

Another factor I neglected to add... The venerable M68k! IDK if there are more convincing factors on the development side than an already ubiquitous and familiar architecture.

[HappehLemons]

Age:19
Console:Genesis
Reason:Grew up with it.

[MeTmKnice]

Metmknice
Age:26
Console: Both, they both have their qualities to me.

Unless I did not read EVERYTHING, I am surprised no one mentiond Super MarioKart (one of the greatest racing games of all time). I did not have a SNES growing up, I had a Genesis. I also really enjoy Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, and LTTP to name a few. I know it was on both systems, but I found Lost Vikings much easier to play on the Genesis. I definitely did like the fact that there was more blood/gore on the genesis as well. And as far as the controller not only do I think the 6 buttons are placed better, but the d-pad was better as well.

[Zebbe]

Zebbe
24
Mega Drive
Blast Processing.

[BetaWolf47]

And as far as the controller not only do I think the 6 buttons are placed better, but the d-pad was better as well.

I do not like the Genesis controllers. It has the same problem as the units themselves: too many models, too many revisions. There's three versions of the 3-button controller. There's also three totally different 6-button controllers, and from what I've seen, all have their flaws. The redesigned "rocker" dpad, which is found on the 6-button controllers and late 3-button controllers is really good. The button layout on the controllers are great as well.

The shape on any of the controllers is just awkward though. The 3-button controllers are ridiculously big for no reason. The only extra buttons it has over the SMS controller are Start and C, yet they increased the size twofold. The 6-button controller is better, though I find the grips to be too long for a controller like that. I have the Majesco 6-button with the blue Start button and, while nice and small, it's way thicker than it needs to be.

The Saturn controller is Sega's best digital controller IMO. That's how the 6-button Genesis controller should've been.

[ButtonMasher123]

Buttonmasher123
28
Genesis

I chose the Genesis because I loved the Sonic games and all the best Sonic games came out for the Genesis while I always thought Super Mario 3 was better than Super Mario World. Sega was always better in sports games and action games too and those are two of my favorite genre's. SNES seems to be a system for RPG lovers which is a genre I'm not too fond of.

[Fuyukaze]

Fuyukaze
34
SNES

Close call as both offered great games but the SNES was and still remains the system I go to for my gaming wants. The Genesis had more strat games, and great ones with titles like shining force and general chaos. Also had great RPGs like the Phantasy Star series and others. Thing is, the SNES had some of my favorite RPG series of all time. Final Fantasy 2 and 3, Lufia 1 and 2, Arcana, Wizardry, and so many more. Sadly most of the best strat games were left in Japan but those we did get were enough to keep me happy. Ogre Battle, Civilization, and a couple others were games I still love playing to this day. The one thing the SNES failed at was shooters. Anyone who played Gradius III knows exactly what I'm talking about. The Genesis hands down wins with shooters. Neither offered much in racing games I was happy with though and I was never into the whole Sonic vs Mario bit. Basicly I thought the Genesis was a great system but the SNES just out did it for me.

[vivaeljason]

Nobody excludes CD games from Turbografx conversations, and nobody counts the Aladdin Deck Enhancer as its own system. I say, add-ons count. A 32x game is just a Genesis game that requires extra equipment, IMO.

Fair points about the Turbografx CD games. I respectfully retract my issues, because I've always considered the TurboCD games as part of the TG16 library.

When including Sega CD and 32X games in the discussion, the debate gets more even between the SNES and Genesis. I still have to go with the SNES though; it's just the system I prefer for reasons already stated.

[Icarus Moonsight]

The only extra buttons it has over the SMS controller are Start and C, yet they increased the size twofold.

SMS pads also give you cancer! :eek:

Sega IR wireless 6-button pads FTW. I still get slightly irritated when the Wavebird is toted as the first ever 1st party wireless standard controller. *coughbullshitcough* Genesis does then dies, then Nintendo does ~10 years latter and takes all the credit... LOL

[Kevin Muldoon]

I had to address this post :)
First off, I'm not a fanboy. I did own the Snes but my brother had the Mega Drive and I loved it. He got it when I still had the NES and I thought it was amazing. I've also since owned the Saturn and Dreamcast and am a huge fan of all the Sega systems


Now I may seem biased on this (since I write for a Sega website :) but...

Username: Baloo
Choice: Sega Genesis
Reasoning: See Below

For these 10 reasons (not in any particular order).

1. Sonic the Hedgehog. And we got 6 great installments of it on the Sega Genesis. And Super Mario World wasn't as good as SMB 3 on SNES though the excellent Super Mario All Stars did come out.



I loved Sonic the Hedgehog, particularly Sonic 2 since it was 2 player. However, I personally think Super Mario World is a much better game. Longer and much more challenging (granted SMB3 was better).



2. Final Fight was so much better on Sega CD than it was on Super Nintendo.


I played it on the Snes and thought it was ok, nothing spectacular. So unfortunately I can't compare.



3. The Super Nintendo could barely do voice at all while the Genesis had games like Sports Talk Baseball loaded with speech.



I'm not 100% sure this is true but this never seemed to be an issue with me



4. More Arcade ports made it to the Genesis than Super Nintendo.



Agreed. Sega converted some great games for the system. Though many arcade games were poor conversions or just weren't fun after a while (e.g. altered beast).

The Snes had a lot more original games like UniRally (Uniracers in the US).



5. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.



mmm no comment

.....ok it was actually ok, I'll give you that :)




6. Mortal Kombat had blood on the Genesis.



Agreed. I paid £60 for it on the SNES (well my parents did!) and I got no blood. I still loved it though.



7. The Sega CD brought us RPGs better than most of the RPGs on the Super Nintendo (Snatcher, Lunar 1 and 2)


Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana?




8. Streets of Rage 2 is the best beat-em-up between the two systems.


Another game I loved :) The Snes didn't really have too many beat em up style games if I recall so this is something that I agree with




9. Fighting games were played much on the Sega Genesis with its 6-button controller.


Not 100% sure what you meant with this comment. But as far as fighting games go, the Snes wins hands down for Street Fighter II Turbo and Killer Instinct.




10. The Super Nintendo didn't have Blast Processing™.

Yeah but it had mode 7, which allowed it to make games like F-Zero and PilotWings :)


It's a tough call. I did have access to both consoles growing up but since the Snes was mine I obviously had more fond memories of it.

The original poster said that people based in the UK (i.e. me!) shouldn't reply because Sega dominated the regio. The Mega Drive was very popular though I don't recall it ever being much more popular than the Snes. Most of my friends had the Snes so perhaps my view is skewed but I think Segas dominance of the region is perhaps overstated because it performed better in Europe than in Japan.

However, it's worth noting that many great Genesis games never made it to Europe. My brother imported quite a few sports games because they never got developed for a UK release.

So which is better? I don't know. Don't think it's as clear cut as other rivalries. The Snes came out later so had a better spec but the Mega Drive had some great games too. It's hard to be subjective when you compare a system which you personally owned with another but I do think the Snes library is superior, particularly when you look at some of the 'filler' games which were released.

There's not much in it though.

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, regarding voice, the SNES can do plenty of voice just fine. Certainly no worse than a Genesis cart can (although obviously the Sega CD has an advantage over the SNES in this area). Just try out something like Star Ocean which has hundreds of unique voice clips. Tales of Phantasia even has a vocal song.

[tomaitheous]

Fair points about the Turbografx CD games. I respectfully retract my issues, because I've always considered the TurboCD games as part of the TG16 library.


Nobody excludes CD games from Turbografx conversations, and nobody counts the Aladdin Deck Enhancer as its own system. I say, add-ons count. A 32x game is just a Genesis game that requires extra equipment, IMO.


Actually, it's not a fair point. Never in the history of video games did an addon become and over take the rest of the console. And it did it before half its life span. When you talk TG16, you also talk TurboCD. It's the only exception. There's also the fact that the CD unit doesn't add any hardware, like the SegaCD and 32x or whatever other addon cart chips the SNES used. It's equivalent to larger roms with or without mappers. And no one ever discounts those or the snes addon dsp/coprocessor chips.

TurboGrafx is a special case exception. Get over it already ;)



Because no matter how much you enjoy both, you have to have some sort of definable preference. To me, someone saying that they are total equals just means that they are lying to make friends... And where's the honesty or fun in that position? Weak!

Weak is when you're a single console gamer. We "multi-console" gamers picked whatever game we wanted because we had the systems and freedom to do so. We didn't have to make excuses to ourselves.

[tomaitheous]

1. Sonic the Hedgehog. And we got 6 great installments of it on the Sega Genesis. And Super Mario World wasn't as good as SMB 3 on SNES.

With only really two of them worth anything. Unless you're a sonic freak. Sonic 1 and Sonic 2. Sonic CD had nasty graphics and was boring. The rest are meh and rehash or just weird/unfun.


2. Final Fight was so much better on Sega CD than it was on Super Nintendo.


Final Fight 2 and 3 look much nicer than the low color dithery SegaCD port. Too bad they just weren't much fun to play..


3. The Super Nintendo could barely do voice at all while the Genesis had games like Sports Talk Baseball loaded with speech.


SNES had an easier setup for voice playback and a better DAC res for it too. And 10 times out of 10, it didn't sound like the voice samples had laryngitis (Genesis voice syndrome).


4. More Arcade ports made it to the Genesis than Super Nintendo.


It was also out sooner and mostly made up of arcade ports in the first year of its line up. It *was* the arcade system for home at the time.


5. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

People actually play that game? How embarrassing... ;>_>


6. Mortal Kombat had blood on the Genesis.

but weak colors/graphics. Still, lame that Nintendo did that. Did the game genie code really "fix" that issue on the snes?


7. The Sega CD brought us RPGs better than most of the RPGs on the Super Nintendo (Snatcher, Lunar 1 and 2)

Snatcher is great, but it isn't an RPG. Lunar series is nice ( I haven't actually played all the way through either of them, but I've heard 1 is only average... or what it 2. I forget.), but the SNES sooo has it beat in the RPG category. There's just no comparison.


8. Streets of Rage 2 is the best beat-em-up between the two systems.

Have to agree. But I still like SOR1 best.



9. Fighting games were played much on the Sega Genesis with its 6-button controller.

The SNES *came* out with a 6 button gamepad since day one. That counts for something ;)


10. The Super Nintendo didn't have Blast Processing™.

No, but it had Blast Coloring™ ;)

[j_factor]

Actually, it's not a fair point. Never in the history of video games did an addon become and over take the rest of the console. And it did it before half its life span. When you talk TG16, you also talk TurboCD. It's the only exception. There's also the fact that the CD unit doesn't add any hardware, like the SegaCD and 32x or whatever other addon cart chips the SNES used. It's equivalent to larger roms with or without mappers. And no one ever discounts those or the snes addon dsp/coprocessor chips.

TurboGrafx is a special case exception. Get over it already ;)

Aladdin Deck Enhancer
Starpath Supercharger
Jaguar CD
64DD

When I think of games for any of the above, I consider them NES, 2600, Jaguar, and N64 games, respectively. I don't think of them as distinct systems, just niches within their "parent" systems. Same goes for Sega CD. A Sega CD is a thing you plug into your Genesis; it isn't a console.


The SNES *came* out with a 6 button gamepad since day one. That counts for something ;)

The standard SNES controller sucks ass for something like Street Fighter. Still, Nintendo does deserve credit for being the first to expand their controller. The TG16 controller is just a more ergonomic NES controller, and the Genesis controller just swaps select for a third regular button. Nintendo actually did more. Although, I don't find L and R useful for many 2D games (that moving the screen feature in Super Mario World was completely unnecessary).

[Zebbe]

Actually, it's not a fair point. Never in the history of video games did an addon become and over take the rest of the console. And it did it before half its life span. When you talk TG16, you also talk TurboCD. It's the only exception. There's also the fact that the CD unit doesn't add any hardware, like the SegaCD and 32x or whatever other addon cart chips the SNES used. It's equivalent to larger roms with or without mappers. And no one ever discounts those or the snes addon dsp/coprocessor chips.

TurboGrafx is a special case exception. Get over it already ;)

Wrong. The CD-addon for TG16 adds a PCM channel. There was also a deck of upgrade cards available, where the Super/Arcade cards are required to play the Super/Arcade CD-ROM-ROM games respectively, as they add more RAM.

So yeah, since the TG16 CD system adds hardware, like the Mega-CD does, both are equivalent and their libraries can be counted with the cart/card systems :).

[Kevin Muldoon]

I don't know why everyone keeps ragging on the Snes controller. I was a big fan of it. Being right handed, it was a bit of a pain in the ass to use the L button when doing fireballs, dragon punches etc in SF II. I've not personally used the Genesis 6 button controller but the graphics and sound did not look anywhere near as good as on the Snes.

Also, with regards to add ons etc. I don't know, it's kind of a grey area. Though I think tomaitheous may be right that most systems should be considered seperately.

The PC Engine/Turbografx CD just added a CD player and included the system bio card RAM (i.e. it saved you buying the extra ram for the original console). It didn't really add any more power to the system.

I assume we include Nintendo 64 games which use the expansion pack as just 64 games (e.g. Perfect Dark).

Compare this to something like the Sega CD which had it's own power supply, had it's own processor and a lot more RAM. So in this respect, CD functionality wasn't just being added, they also added a lot more processing power.

[chrisbid]

I don't know why everyone keeps ragging on the Snes controller. I was a big fan of it. Being right handed, it was a bit of a pain in the ass to use the L button when doing fireballs, dragon punches etc in SF II.

you dont know why people rag on it, yet you explain reason number 1 quite well.

the snes pad also has a stiff dpad that doesnt handle diagonals very well.




pretty graphics + crappy controls = crappy game

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Username
30
SNES

When I was a child, we could only afford to get one console. Because my dad had bought us an NES previously, Nintendo was what we knew- so a SNES is what we bought. I could play a Genesis at a few friends anyway. I bought a Genesis years later, and there seem to be quite a few good games for it as well- but it's not what I grew up with.

[tomaitheous]

Wrong. The CD-addon for TG16 adds a PCM channel. There was also a deck of upgrade cards available, where the Super/Arcade cards are required to play the Super/Arcade CD-ROM-ROM games respectively, as they add more RAM.

So yeah, since the TG16 CD system adds hardware, like the Mega-CD does, both are equivalent and their libraries can be counted with the cart/card systems :).

You logic is flawed for the very simple reason that ram has a different context on consoles that it does from computers, etc. If a console cart added some more ram, does that mean it's in a different league altogether? In the TG16 (more so in NES) case, a ram boost on cart would bring it up to speed with the other consoles - not give it an advantage. But in the CD case, ram is temporary "cart space/size".

Anyway, yes - it added a one PCM channel. But the TG16 has practically no system ram. 8k - that's it. This "ram" you mention is actually "cart space". Ouuu... CD 2.0 has 0.5 megabit cart space and CD 3.0 has 2 megabit cart space. It doesn't give it more vram, add any additional processing, give it more video hardware like scaling or rotation, it doesn't give it a brand new audio synth chip (SegaCD PCM sample synth chip), etc. *Not* even close to the SegaCD upgrade. Not even. It gives it ram to make it functional. It needs to hold code/graphic somewhere. It doesn't have rom to do it. Oouuu... it's soo unfair that the TurboCD has equivalent to a 2megabit cart perload. /sarcasm off

It's no different than saying the Neo Geo CD addon is upgrade to the Neo Geo because it has 8megabytes (64megabits) of ram. That's cart space.

Like I said, it's the only system in history were the addon replaced and surpassed the main design, AFAIK. And before half its life span. The TurboCD *is* the main system, with many more CD titles than hucards, and TG16 *is* the subsystem.

The SCD 3.0 card came built into the Turbo Duo (which *is* the main system). So there's really only 1 upgrade card from that. The Arcade card. Again, 1994.... just a ram upgrade. Plain Jane SF2 couldn't even be done on the TurboDuo. At minimum, half the frames would be missing compared to the *other* console ports, which already have less frames than the arcade. Half. Sure, the Arcade card adds 16megabits of ram. No, it can't be used for code. Only graphics/sounds. And 1994-1996, I think it's comparable/competitive to consoles getting bigger rom sizes. 40megabit SSF2 on Genesis, 64megabit Star Ocean (and two others) for SNES/SFC.

Little off topic: But just to show how little the Turbo Duo ram is, later games started going back to "chip" music because they had to cut down on load times. Stopping an audio track, seeking a data track, loading, then starting an audio track - really kills the load times. Playing an RPG where it has to load the town, load the enemies, load whatever... each time. All because even 2megabit cart space wasn't enough. You either sacrifice animation/graphics/etc to pack it into that small amount of ram, and still endure load times. Game developers took a step back and ditched CD audio just to cut down. It's not that I don't like chiptunes, but when you have fantastic CD sound tracks of other games and then devs decide to go back to chiptunes all the way through. Well... it's a little disappointing. Legend of Xanadu 1 & 2, released in 1994 and 1995. Using chiptunes instead of CD audio. Quite a few games didn't even use the extra ADPCM channel because they treated it as slow ram (and it is slow to read the port from) - just to get an extra 64k. So in some cases, even those minimum extra upgrades - still go out the window.

[tomaitheous]

Aladdin Deck Enhancer
Starpath Supercharger
Jaguar CD
64DD

When I think of games for any of the above, I consider them NES, 2600, Jaguar, and N64 games, respectively. I don't think of them as distinct systems, just niches within their "parent" systems. Same goes for Sega CD. A Sega CD is a thing you plug into your Genesis; it isn't a console.

The only thing missing from the SegaCD to be a *complete* console by itself, without any Genesis hardware... is a video controller. That's it. SegaCD... is most definitely a different console than the Genesis. As is the 32x.




The standard SNES controller sucks ass for something like Street Fighter. Still, Nintendo does deserve credit for being the first to expand their controller. The TG16 controller is just a more ergonomic NES controller, and the Genesis controller just swaps select for a third regular button. Nintendo actually did more. Although, I don't find L and R useful for many 2D games (that moving the screen feature in Super Mario World was completely unnecessary).

Actually, for SF2 the SNES controller wasn't bad at all. It's definitely better than a 3button Genesis controller for SF2. Or even the 2 button TG16 pad for SF2 (which IIRC, it setup like the Genesis 3button pad with 1 button being setup to switch between punch or kick for the other two buttons. 4 buttons all right there as traditional buttons was on the SNES stock controller was very adequate at the time, in comparison. And you still had the option of using the shoulder pad buttons. I remember using the right shoulder button without much trouble at all.

[PresidentLeever]

you dont know why people rag on it, yet you explain reason number 1 quite well.

the snes pad also has a stiff dpad that doesnt handle diagonals very well.


So is the original the only controller available for SNES? Never had a problem with the d-pad myself but I see how that can become a problem in fighters.

[BetaWolf47]

Actually, for SF2 the SNES controller wasn't bad at all. It's definitely better than a 3button Genesis controller for SF2. Or even the 2 button TG16 pad for SF2 (which IIRC, it setup like the Genesis 3button pad with 1 button being setup to switch between punch or kick for the other two buttons. 4 buttons all right there as traditional buttons was on the SNES stock controller was very adequate at the time, in comparison. And you still had the option of using the shoulder pad buttons. I remember using the right shoulder button without much trouble at all.
The R button is fine. L for Hard Punch is the problem here. Using a shoulder button with the same hand you're using to maneuver your character doesn't work. And even when you can manage to pull off a move, it just feels awkward. There's a reason Capcom released this controller:
http://www.ncsx.com/2009/062209/SOTD/capcom_pad_soldier_08.jpg

[Kevin Muldoon]

you dont know why people rag on it, yet you explain reason number 1 quite well.

the snes pad also has a stiff dpad that doesnt handle diagonals very well.


pretty graphics + crappy controls = crappy game

Yes, I admit I didn't find the position of the L button comfortable. But it wasn't a major issue as I used to put low kick there and didn't use that much when playing.

I don't know how you can say SF II on the Snes was a crappy game. That really is a fanboy viewpoint, any gamer worth his salt will tell you that SF II and SF II Turbo were amazing games and really set the standard for other games to follow.

Also, I think your whole argument is flawed anyways. You are not comparing the Snes controller to the original 3 button controller. That's the only fair way to compare them and in that battle, the Snes wins hands down.

If you want to compare the Genesis 6 button controller than why not compare it to Snes controllers such as the Super Advantage or even a 3rd party arcade stick like the Capcom or Hori fighting sticks.

[j_factor]

The only thing missing from the SegaCD to be a *complete* console by itself, without any Genesis hardware... is a video controller. That's it. SegaCD... is most definitely a different console than the Genesis. As is the 32x.

The Sega CD (as well as 32x) still uses the Genesis hardware along with the hardware it adds. It's not independent. In order to make a Sega CD "console by itself", you'd need to include the entirety of the Genesis hardware. You can't divorce the Sega CD from the console it's dependent on.


Actually, for SF2 the SNES controller wasn't bad at all. It's definitely better than a 3button Genesis controller for SF2. Or even the 2 button TG16 pad for SF2 (which IIRC, it setup like the Genesis 3button pad with 1 button being setup to switch between punch or kick for the other two buttons. 4 buttons all right there as traditional buttons was on the SNES stock controller was very adequate at the time, in comparison. And you still had the option of using the shoulder pad buttons. I remember using the right shoulder button without much trouble at all.

Nobody had any business using a 3 button Genesis controller for Street Fighter. The 6 button controllers were widespread and commonplace. Four face buttons is definitely not adequate for Street Fighter. They had to alter certain moves in order to make them doable in the SNES versions of the game. That's weak.


If you want to compare the Genesis 6 button controller than why not compare it to Snes controllers such as the Super Advantage or even a 3rd party arcade stick like the Capcom or Hori fighting sticks.

The Genesis 6 button controller is extremely common and tons of people had them. Eventually they stopped selling the 3 button controller in stores. Few people had an SNES arcade stick, and the Super Advantage wasn't set up for Street Fighter either, only some third-party ones were. Those are all sticks, though. I've never seen an SNES pad that had six face buttons. One might exist, but if it does it's pretty obscure.