What did Genesis do better than SNES?

[elvis8atari]

The most famous example of something done better on Genesis is probably the fact that Mortal Kombat had blood, and on SNES it didn't.

But is that all Genesis has in an argument over which console is better? To you Sega Genesis enthusiasts, what are things that Genesis did better than Super Nintendo?

[StealthLurker]

Rocketnight Adventures > Sparkster

.

[Badhornet]

All I know is that Genesis games are a hell of a lot cheaper right now than SNES

[Ryudo]

BLAST PROCESSING!

In reality bass tones.
Mortal Kombat with Blood!
And uh was "cool" and "edgy" back then

[CelticJobber]

Games ran a bit faster on the Genesis.

I remember most people into sports games preferred the Genesis to SNES. And it was thought of as the more "adult" console compared to SNES.


All I know is that Genesis games are a hell of a lot cheaper right now than SNES

They were cheaper back in the day too. Most new Genesis games were usually $49.99, compared to $64.99-$74.99 for SNES titles.

[Duke.Togo]

Shooters. The SNES seemed to have more issues with slow down in these.

[wiggyx]

Yeah, the sports crowd definitely preferred the Genesis. I was working in retail at the time. Whenever the new Madden or NBA Live hit the Genesis versions always sold WAY more copies than their SNES counterparts. I wouldn't say that they were better on the Genesis, but they definitely sold more.

[RulerStabInTheEye27]

/////

[wiggyx]

Do not agree.

[djshok]

Shooters and Brawlers. The Genesis had a better processor so the games ran faster with less slowdown and flickering. The SNES had more detailed graphics, but that became something of a disadvantage when combined with the weaker processor; the games just ran even slower. Play something like Spider-Man and Venom Maximum Carnage on both systems and you'll see what I'm talking about. The games themselves are identical, but the SNES one plays like you're underwater.

[Jaruff]

Everything imo.

[Drixxel]

Shooters and Brawlers. The Genesis had a better processor so the games ran faster with less slowdown and flickering. The SNES had more detailed graphics, but that became something of a disadvantage when combined with the weaker processor; the games just ran even slower. Play something like Spider-Man and Venom Maximum Carnage on both systems and you'll see what I'm talking about. The games themselves are identical, but the SNES one plays like you're underwater.

It would be silly to dispute the objective differences in processors between the two consoles, but I dispute the use of those sorts of multiplatform releases as supposed proof of one console's technical superiority over another. In many cases, it's not surprising to discover that the superior version happens to be for the console that was the lead platform during development; a project that begins its life being built for Genesis hardware may suffer when that same project is moved to the SNES and vice versa. A developer's programming experience with multiple platforms and appropriateness of project scope relative to the hardware makes a big difference here, I think. For instance, an indentical-in-design multiplatform release that plays slower on Genesis is B.O.B., that's in addition to the differences in colour palette and audio that one would expect.

[wiggyx]

Let's please not let this turn into the ol' which system is technically better debate. We all know it's been done a hundred times before.

[InsaneDavid]

Marketing, in the USA at least.

[tom]

and Europe

Sega had the best adverts, carts were cheaper too

[sloan]

Speed. Blast processing made a huge difference and made Genesis games run faster. Some SNES games feel like they are moving in slow motion compared to Genesis.

[wiggyx]

LOL! "Blast Processing" was JUST a marketing tool, nothing more. It doesn't point to any real tech inside the console.

[Greg2600]

Games definitely ran faster in many cases, although that could have been that the programmers tried to do less. Agree with InsaneDavid, SEGA marketing dwarfed Nintendo, at least in terms of how memorable it was. As for sports games, I felt that less buttons was better. In fact, most Genesis ports were easier to play than SNES, as you had to remember less what the buttons did. Obviously the look of the console is far in Genesis's favor, back then and now where the SNES's have mostly gone yellow. So I would say perception was titled more to Genesis, but the reality is SNES actually did more things better. Super Gameboy a good example.

[SparTonberry]

I'm surprised someone who can remember it still hasn't realized Blast Processing was just a marketing gimmick. :P

[RCM]

Both SNES and Genesis have their strengths and weaknesses. I prefer the Genesis' library over the SNES, but they're both very strong systems.

[davidbrit2]

LOL! "Blast Processing" was JUST a marketing tool, nothing more. It doesn't point to any real tech inside the console.

Wrong.

http://trixter.oldskool.org/2008/12/05/blast-processing-101/

This, combined with the faster CPU, is why the Genesis is capable of moving lots of things around more smoothly than the SNES.

[wiggyx]

Wrong.

http://trixter.oldskool.org/2008/12/05/blast-processing-101/

This, combined with the faster CPU, is why the Genesis is capable of moving lots of things around more smoothly than the SNES.

No, it was indeed just a marketing tool.

Just because some tech geek decided to pick apart the hardware 20-some years later doesn't have anything to do with the original marketing strategy.

For most every game that people cite as being faster on the Genesis, the reason is largely due to the dinky sprites on the genesis and fewer effects like th color layering. Nintendo versions of multi-platform titles traded speed for richer graphics.

So, if you want the game that runs faster, buy Genesis. Bigger sprites and more detail/color, buy SNES.

I recall Miyamato replying to the Blast Processing campaign by stating something along the lines of "sure, we could make Mario fly across the screen at the same speed as Sonic (the Hedgehog), but what's the fun on that?"

[sloan]

LOL! "Blast Processing" was JUST a marketing tool, nothing more. It doesn't point to any real tech inside the console.

I can see through marketing gimmicks, but it does not negate the fact. For the record, I was neither a Sega or Nintendo fanboy, and have both systems now, so no need for me to hype either side. The fact remains that many SNES games move slow compared to Genesis titles. I don't like them any less, just stating the obvious.

[Shriek of the Mutilated]

To you Sega Genesis enthusiasts, what are things that Genesis did better than Super Nintendo?

This:

http://flashbackgames.co.uk/ShopResources/96/Thumbs/DSCF2268.jpg

Oh, and Earthworm Jim's New Junk City theme sounds way better in the Genesis version. Love that tune.

[davidbrit2]

So, if you want the game that runs faster, buy Genesis. Bigger sprites and more detail/color, buy SNES.

Genesis has higher horizontal resolution, actually, and even supports an interlaced video mode (though I think Sonic 2 was the only game to use it). And generally, I'd opt for the smoother gameplay. I wonder what Gradius III would have been like on the Genesis.

[wiggyx]

Genesis has higher horizontal resolution, actually, and even supports an interlaced video mode (though I think Sonic 2 was the only game to use it). And generally, I'd opt for the smoother gameplay. I wonder what Gradius III would have been like on the Genesis.

As best I can find, the SNES could display up to 512×478 interlaced and 512×239 in progressive scan.

The Genesis did 320×448 interlaced and wasn't capable of progressive scan.

I'm looking at wiki. Are you looking somewhere else?


Besides, neither really means much in terms of sprite size and quantity, and there are very few SNES games that make use of the progressive scan option (IIRC).


I agree with you (and the others) about shmups. I'd way prefer slowdown-less gameplay over color layering, mode 7 effects, etc. Slowdown is like the worst thing possible in a shooter. Just ruins your rhythm. I never played sports games, but I imagine the same would hold true for most folks.


"Better" or more sophisticated graphics are great, but history has proven that it's not the the most important feature with regards to selling units. The PS2 was technically the "weakest" console of the 6th generation (save for the poor DC), but it outsold the competition by a massive margin. It's all about the games, and in the 16-bit era, exclusive titles were plentiful. You had to seriously consider what games you liked, or thought you would like before buying a console. And back then, try before you buy wasn't nearly as easy as it is today.

I recall many friends literally selling their current 16-bit console to buy the other when a certain game dropped. I had at least a few friends sell their SNES when Sonic came out, and other that did the inverse for Street Fighter. I was really fortunate in that I had a SNES and my younger sister had a Genesis (for all the sweet Disney games).


Which brings me back to the OP's Q. Disney games were kick-ass on the Genesis. Some I liked slightly better on the SNES, like Aladdin, but if I had to pick one console for that type of game, it would be the Genesis hands down. Quackshot and Castle of Illusion were just plain awesome.

[NeoZeedeater]

The Genesis has a larger number of quality Western-developed games, both in ports of computer games and in original content.

[djshok]

It would be silly to dispute the objective differences in processors between the two consoles, but I dispute the use of those sorts of multiplatform releases as supposed proof of one console's technical superiority over another. In many cases, it's not surprising to discover that the superior version happens to be for the console that was the lead platform during development; a project that begins its life being built for Genesis hardware may suffer when that same project is moved to the SNES and vice versa. A developer's programming experience with multiple platforms and appropriateness of project scope relative to the hardware makes a big difference here, I think. For instance, an indentical-in-design multiplatform release that plays slower on Genesis is B.O.B., that's in addition to the differences in colour palette and audio that one would expect.

While it is true that different developers were responsible for making versions of the same game for the SNES and Genesis (and sometimes one side would be much better than the other) I don't think Max Carnage started as a Genesis title. If anything I'd be more inclined to believe that it was a simultaneous release/development from the start. That aside though, a lot of the SNES exclusive brawlers, ie: Knights of Round, Captain Commando, Final Fight 2 & 3 etc... run very slowly compared to similar brawlers on the Genny. This isn't to say that KoR and CC are bad games, they're both decent, but they do slow down and flicker a lot. While even the most hardware resource intense Genesis brawlers Ie: Streets of Rage 3 hardly slow down at all.

As for B.O.B yes you're right, it is slower on the Genesis. The difference in palette is because that's a thing that the SNES does better

[davidbrit2]

As best I can find, the SNES could display up to 512×478 interlaced and 512×239 in progressive scan.

The Genesis did 320×448 interlaced and wasn't capable of progressive scan.

Most Genesis games seem to run at 320x224, with Sonic 2 being the lone example of interlaced mode. I've never seen an SNES game run at anything but 256x224. If you know of any, I'd be interested in checking them out.

I think it boils down to this: Genesis was better for lots of motion and finer details, and SNES for color depth and in audio fidelity. That's probably (partly) the reason why the Genesis had the sports and shooter markets, and SNES had RPGs. Platformers were mostly a tossup, not depending too heavily on either strength.

[Ryudo]

Blast Processing always was Marketing thing but a fun one back in the day when we were kids and would argue with our friends

[SparTonberry]

Some SNES games used the higher resolution mode, but only for menus (Secret of Mana) and some Japanese RPGs only used high-res mode on the text window scanlines (Madara 2, G.O.D, Rudra no Hihou).
I don't know if any games that ran the entire game in high-res. I'd suspect it'd be a bit slower. Plus it also would display the entire tilemap on screen, not giving it any buffer room for drawing parts of the level map before it is scrolled on screen (which was a problem on the NES). Hence slower performance as the game code would probably have to manually shift everything on the screen over and out.

[old_skoolin_jim]

Shooters and Brawlers. The Genesis had a better processor so the games ran faster with less slowdown and flickering. The SNES had more detailed graphics, but that became something of a disadvantage when combined with the weaker processor; the games just ran even slower. Play something like Spider-Man and Venom Maximum Carnage on both systems and you'll see what I'm talking about. The games themselves are identical, but the SNES one plays like you're underwater.

Agree with this. This also applies to WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game. SNES was horribly slow, and was missing two characters to boot. Samurai Shodown also had all the characters (and scaling too, I think), but didn't play as well.
Genesis was ultimately batter at fast-paced action games, as they could really deliver a better sense of speed.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

The 7.67 MHz processor created faster games. That's pretty much the main advantage.

Yes, "blast processing" is not the name of an actual feature inside. Calling it out as a a marketing gimmick does not mean you instantly win the argument :). I had both systems at the time, and the speed difference was very evident, even before I saw advertising about it.

Sega also had a ton of arcade franchises to pull from at the time, so the Genesis got a lot of arcade quality, exclusive games. Not as graphical as most SNES games, but a heck of a lot of fun.

[Ryudo]

Back in the day when consoles truly offered something different.

You wanted sports and more action oriented games and arcade ports? SEGA
You wanted Platformers & RPG's? Nintendo

[Gameguy]

Yes, "blast processing" is not the name of an actual feature inside. Calling it out as a a marketing gimmick does not mean you instantly win the argument :). I had both systems at the time, and the speed difference was very evident, even before I saw advertising about it.
Blast processing was referring to DMA(Direct Memory Access). Other systems used it too, but the Genesis actually did it better than the SNES.

http://trixter.oldskool.org/2008/12/05/blast-processing-101/

[Yago]

In my opinion Earthworm Jim one of my favorite platform games was better on the Genesis than the SNES. Probably the best part about Genesis is I could use the controller on my Atari 2600. Brilliant!

[o.pwuaioc]

WWF Royal Rumble for the Genesis had Papa Shango, who didn't appear on the SNES version.

[FrankSerpico]

The WWF had a pattern of doing weird stuff with the rosters like that in their games at the time. The SNES version of Rumble had Ric Flair and Tatanka while the Genesis version didn't.

[madman77]

The 7.67 MHz processor created faster games. That's pretty much the main advantage.
Comparing the clock speed of two entirely different CPU architectures is not apples to apples. The topic of the 68000 vs 65816 has already been beaten to death.

[Drixxel]

While it is true that different developers were responsible for making versions of the same game for the SNES and Genesis (and sometimes one side would be much better than the other) I don't think Max Carnage started as a Genesis title. If anything I'd be more inclined to believe that it was a simultaneous release/development from the start. That aside though, a lot of the SNES exclusive brawlers, ie: Knights of Round, Captain Commando, Final Fight 2 & 3 etc... run very slowly compared to similar brawlers on the Genny. This isn't to say that KoR and CC are bad games, they're both decent, but they do slow down and flicker a lot. While even the most hardware resource intense Genesis brawlers Ie: Streets of Rage 3 hardly slow down at all.

As for B.O.B yes you're right, it is slower on the Genesis. The difference in palette is because that's a thing that the SNES does better

Agreed on Maximum Carnage, it seems to be the result of pretty evenhanded development that probably began simultaneously for both platforms. As for performance issues of SNES beat-'em-up exclusives compared to those on the Genesis, yeah, I suppose there's more of a tendency for slowdown and flicker on the SNES side. It's not a genre that I've ever felt the SNES was especially weak at, though, and beat-'em-ups as a genre aren't typically super fast games anyway. A game such as Super Double Dragon is definitely slower compared to the likes of Streets of Rage 2, but then a game like Iron Commando runs arguably as quickly and consistently even with larger sprites.

Going back to B.O.B., which is honestly the only example of an identical multiplatform release I could think of where the Genesis version clearly runs slower than the SNES version, I'd chalk the obvious inferiority of Genesis B.O.B.'s palette more to poor colour selection than anything. It seems to me that the colour limitations of the hardware weren't that big of a deal when the matter was approached a little more thoughtfully and creatively, the Sonic games are perhaps the greatest example in the Genesis library where the number of on-screen colours is a non-issue for even the most critical of gamers.

Anyhow, pointless technical quibbles aside, I echo previous sentiments about arcade ports being a strength of the Genesis, they filled out the library from its earliest days in an awesome way. Also, who doesn't love Genesis clamshell cases? The black grid clamshells are perhaps my favourite game packaging of all-time in terms of both practicality and aesthetics.

[j_factor]

Most Genesis games seem to run at 320x224, with Sonic 2 being the lone example of interlaced mode. I've never seen an SNES game run at anything but 256x224. If you know of any, I'd be interested in checking them out.

I think it boils down to this: Genesis was better for lots of motion and finer details, and SNES for color depth and in audio fidelity. That's probably (partly) the reason why the Genesis had the sports and shooter markets, and SNES had RPGs. Platformers were mostly a tossup, not depending too heavily on either strength.

I find I tend to prefer platformers on Genesis, as the larger horizontal resolution allows you to see more. Platformers that were made exclusively for the SNES are usually fine, but multiplatform ones were cropped on SNES.

[Retrocade Fantasia]

For those saying SNES games ran slower than Genesis games did.

The Street Fighter II Turbo 10 star code would like to have a word with you!

As for what the genesis did better?

Well the SNES promised add-ons... Sega had what 3? I don't care what people say the 32x and Sega CD were AWESOME even if you needed your own power station to run all 3.

I still maintain today that the Streets of Rage was better than ANY snes beat-em-up. The Closest the SNES/SFC had was the Rushing Beat Series.

I also think Genesis games had their own personality even multiplatform games you just KNEW they were Genesis games same with the SNES. The biggest problem the genesis had was it's soundchip was ASS but that didn't stop sonic and Streets of Rage from having some of the best 16-bit OSTs of all time.

I love them both and I will pretty soon be buying a Retron 3

[Shriek of the Mutilated]

Probably the best part about Genesis is I could use the controller on my Atari 2600. Brilliant!
Yeah, this was one thing I truly loved about the Master System and the Genesis. They both used generic 9-pin connectors instead of proprietary ones, allowing for broad intercompatibility.

[swlovinist]

Agree with the speed and sports comments...Sega Generally had the edge.

As for RPGS and Platforms, I agree that SNES had some killer titles. Two I felt that were better on the Genesis were

Aladdin
Shadowrun

[thegamezmaster]

I liked the ability to play Sega Master System games on my Genesis.

[o.pwuaioc]

I liked the ability to play Sega Master System games on my Genesis.

Aw, man, you know how awesome the SNES would have been if it had backwards compatibility with the NES??

[wiggyx]

Aw, man, you know how awesome the SNES would have been if it had backwards compatibility with the NES??

It sucks, because that was actually the plan from the get-go :(

[davidbrit2]

Aw, man, you know how awesome the SNES would have been if it had backwards compatibility with the NES??

That would have been sweet, if only to have an S-Video NES.

(Can't the SNES actually run some NROM games in a limited capacity?)

[jb143]

Also, who doesn't love Genesis clamshell cases? The black grid clamshells are perhaps my favourite game packaging of all-time in terms of both practicality and aesthetics.

That's a good point. It's much easier to find good condition CIB genesis games than SNES games these days...and that's a big plus in my book.

[old_skoolin_jim]

In my opinion Earthworm Jim one of my favorite platform games was better on the Genesis than the SNES. Probably the best part about Genesis is I could use the controller on my Atari 2600. Brilliant!

Truth! I remember the SNES version of EWJ also had fewer voice samples, too. Although EWJ2 on SNES had that cool "warp the cows' voices at the end of a level" thing too... so I guess ultimately they even out... sort of. :p
Agree on the controller ports, too... They also sort of worked in my C64. They somehow disabled some of the Function keys, so I ended up having to use the legit clicky joysticks for most games, though.


WWF Royal Rumble for the Genesis had Papa Shango, who didn't appear on the SNES version.


The WWF had a pattern of doing weird stuff with the rosters like that in their games at the time. The SNES version of Rumble had Ric Flair and Tatanka while the Genesis version didn't.

That's right... I remember being astounded at how many other wrestlers the Genesis version had when playing it at a friend's house, after playing it on my brother's SNES. I used to annoy my friend by playing the song from "The Model" (I think that was his name?)... good times.

[Hep038]

Hands down sports games played better on the Genesis. After that I think most games ( Except RPG's SNES was King) were really close so it would just be personal preference.

[sheath]

For my tastes, the Genesis does Arcade Action games better than the SNES, almost universally. If the game involves a lot of explosions, fast scrolling with more than three background layers, more than three to five enemy sprites, or tons of animation, the Genesis has these genres in a very real way in library over the SNES. This is especially visible in Side or Horizontally scrolling shooters, Run n Gun games, Side Scrolling Action games and Beat-em Ups.

Somebody mentioned that the SNES has better "detail", I'd like to see that. The Genesis typically runs at 320x224 unless it's a SNES port running at 256x224, and thanks to the VDP's native cell scrolling more Genesis games feature much more diverse background scrolling "tricks" than SNES games do. The SNES' 512x224 mode was rarely used in game, as far as I know one game used the interlaced 512x448 mode early on for one game that is known for having "jumpy" graphics.

As I understand it, the Genesis is "better" with sprite objects just because it has a more flexible sprite size list than the SNES has. The SNES should technically be able to throw around just as many objects as games like Gunstar Heroes do, but the sprite size limitations make this more challenging, so developers chose not to. Similarly, more Genesis games having over five scrolling layers in the backgrounds than comparable SNES games is more due to the ease of implementing that effect thanks to the VDP handling it natively versus the SNES' H-DMA.

[Oldskool]

You have it wrong everyone. It was the High Definition Graphics!

[wiggyx]

For my tastes, the Genesis does Arcade Action games better than the SNES, almost universally. If the game involves a lot of explosions, fast scrolling with more than three background layers, more than three to five enemy sprites, or tons of animation, the Genesis has these genres in a very real way in library over the SNES. This is especially visible in Side or Horizontally scrolling shooters, Run n Gun games, Side Scrolling Action games and Beat-em Ups.

Somebody mentioned that the SNES has better "detail", I'd like to see that. The Genesis typically runs at 320x224 unless it's a SNES port running at 256x224, and thanks to the VDP's native cell scrolling more Genesis games feature much more diverse background scrolling "tricks" than SNES games do. The SNES' 512x224 mode was rarely used in game, as far as I know one game used the interlaced 512x448 mode early on for one game that is known for having "jumpy" graphics.

As I understand it, the Genesis is "better" with sprite objects just because it has a more flexible sprite size list than the SNES has. The SNES should technically be able to throw around just as many objects as games like Gunstar Heroes do, but the sprite size limitations make this more challenging, so developers chose not to. Similarly, more Genesis games having over five scrolling layers in the backgrounds than comparable SNES games is more due to the ease of implementing that effect thanks to the VDP handling it natively versus the SNES' H-DMA.

It's the other way around. The sprite size/quantity is limited for the Genesis versus the SNES.

[Razo00]

What the genesis did better? Streets of Rage 2 :) .

[Gameguy]

It's the other way around. The sprite size/quantity is limited for the Genesis versus the SNES.
Not according to one of the people who worked on the animation for the Earthworm Jim games.

http://www.sega-16.com/2010/03/interview-mike-dietz/



Sega-16: Which version of Earthworm Jim do you prefer, the Genesis and SNES versions? Why?

Mike Dietz: I much prefer the Genesis version over the SNES, because the SNES was more limited than the Genesis in the number of sprites you could have on screen at any one time. Since our animation compression scheme was based on each frame of each character being constructed of multiple sprites, that meant the SNES version had less frames of animation and the size of individual frames was more limited, which meant we couldn’t stretch the character as much. So we would animate the characters first for the Genesis, and then we’d have to go back and selectively remove some frames and shrink down other frames for use on the SNES. The SNES did have better color palettes, so the character and background art looked better, but as an animator I liked the Genesis better because I had more frames of animation to work with.


For me, usually any game that's both on the SNES and Genesis I seem to prefer the Genesis version as it plays better. I'm not sure what's exactly wrong with the games but I notice that something is usually off with the SNES versions. At least I noticed this when playing games like The Lion King.

[Razo00]

I'm a genesis guy, always been. I grew up playing the genesis. I've learned to love the Snes alot over the last couple of years though. Mortal Kombat II is great on the Snes, and not so great on the Genny. I prefer Earthworm Jim on the Genny. Maximum Carnage is pretty similar on both systems, might sound better on the Snes, but most Snes games sound better then Genny games anyways.

[homerhomer]

I feel the Genesis had more variety in the arcade conversion department. While not always prettier or sounding better, the Genesis had more choice. I really liked back in the day on how the Genesis get a lot of arcade games.

Games like:

Strider
Forgotten Worlds
Paperboy
Gauntlet IV
Rolling thunder II
MERCS

The SNES seemed more focused on RPG and original titles.

[sheath]

It's the other way around. The sprite size/quantity is limited for the Genesis versus the SNES.

Without derailing the thread with too much technical stuff (http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/content/sega-genesis-vs-super-nintendo), you are technically correct. The SNES had a higher limit to how many sprites could be displayed on screen and per scanline than the Genesis. But the SNES also had less flexible sprite size limitations combined with the lower horizontal resolution going against that limit. The Genesis' sprite size flexibility allows for more sprites of various sizes to be displayed on screen than could practically be done with the SNES in a similar game. I'm not sure why more Genesis games display more frames of animation than SNES games do, this could simply be due to the SNES audio being entirely made up of samples and that taking more ROM space.

[wiggyx]

Not according to one of the people who worked on the animation for the Earthworm Jim games.

http://www.sega-16.com/2010/03/interview-mike-dietz/

That's an interesting read, thanks.

It's nice to hear a developer's take on a multi-platform title(s). It seems like they found a crafty work-around, so to speak, which allowed them to shoehorn more frames of animation into the game. I wonder if that specific work-around/trick just didn't jive with the SNES architecture, or if that was a problem that he/they ran into with other multi-platform titles when working with the SNES (extra frames or not).

Really, I should know better than to cite tech specs as the sole measurement of the capabilities of any platform. Of course different developers will have different experiences, and different genres will may work better on one platform than another, etc. I didn't mean to throw that out there as the "end all, be all" of sprite processing capability for either system.


Without derailing the thread with too much technical stuff (http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/content/sega-genesis-vs-super-nintendo), you are technically correct. The SNES had a higher limit to how many sprites could be displayed on screen and per scanline than the Genesis. But the SNES also had less flexible sprite size limitations combined with the lower horizontal resolution going against that limit. The Genesis' sprite size flexibility allows for more sprites of various sizes to be displayed on screen than could practically be done with the SNES in a similar game. I'm not sure why more Genesis games display more frames of animation than SNES games do, this could simply be due to the SNES audio being entirely made up of samples and that taking more ROM space.

OK, so I don't want to derail this thread any further, but I'm curious about "sprite size limitations". Does that just refer to what you mentioned? i.e. more sprites of various sizes displayed simultaneously.


This is one of the reasons that the 16-bit consoles are my absolute fav! There's so much love and passion for them that debate is sparked almost every time someone asks a question specific to either the Genesis or SNES :)

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

These arguments are the same ones we had 20 years ago; they're just more detailed now. :)

I was fortunate to have both systems at the time, and constantly switched between them. I knew other gamers who did the same thing. If you played only one of the systems, then you were missing out on a lot of good games. That goes for today as well, but my sense is that most of us now own both.

The 16-bit battle between Sega and Nintendo was probably the greatest rivalry between two gaming companies ever.

[sheath]

OK, so I don't want to derail this thread any further, but I'm curious about "sprite size limitations". Does that just refer to what you mentioned? i.e. more sprites of various sizes displayed simultaneously.

This is one of the reasons that the 16-bit consoles are my absolute fav! There's so much love and passion for them that debate is sparked almost every time someone asks a question specific to either the Genesis or SNES :)

I enjoy the conversation, and every new little thing I learn about these consoles is fascinating to me. Yes, the sprite size limitation on the SNES games is that they can't have as many varieties of sprite sizes on screen simultaneously, which makes it harder to have a bunch of bullets and explosions with a bunch of object sprites at the same time. But that's just in relation to the Genesis when comparing games that were designed for it. I had the sprite sizes in the link in my previous post, but it goes like this:

Genesis:
80 sprites at:
8x8, 8x16, 8x24, 8x32
16x8, 16x16, 16x24, 16x32
24x8, 24x16, 24x24, 24x32
32x8, 32x16, 32x24, 32x32

SNES:
128 sprites at:
8x8 or 16x16, 8x8 or 32x32, 8x8 or 64x64, 16x16 or 32x32, 16x16 or 64x64, 32x32 or 64x64, 16x32 or 32x64, 16x32 or 32x32

You see the ORs in there for the SNES sprite sizes versus the Genesis being able to do any size from 8x8 to 32x32.

[Lerxstnj]

Sega's "Blast processing" just meant that to get it to work, you had to blow into the cart less than on a SNES.
:)

[SonicBoom]

I Think the Genesis had a better design, I Find the SNES to be less attractive, And also, The game cases. I Hate the fact that SNES had boxes that ripped up so easy. Sega had that good plastic casing for SMS and Genesis and I like the durable case/

[y9784]

I like Tommy Tallarico's work with the Sega sound chip vs his work on the SNES. I too loved the voice samples on Earthworm Jim. Groovy!

[y9784]

I Think the Genesis had a better design, I Find the SNES to be less attractive, And also, The game cases. I Hate the fact that SNES had boxes that ripped up so easy. Sega had that good plastic casing for SMS and Genesis and I like the durable case/

This could be one of the reasons why prices for Genesis games are on average much cheaper than SNES. The case design did a great job protecting against damage and is possibly the reason why there are more of these around today. The case utilitarian design probably convinced most kids and parents to keep them instead of throwing them away like some cardboard backing for an action figure or other toy.

[jammajup]

I like both machines but to answer the question and give an opinion - Genesis had more games and so overall more good titles so there are many games i like on Genesis that are not on Snes like Streets Of Rage,i also prefer Sonic over Mario.Snes had custom chips but the Gen had a slightly faster cpu so although it did not always look as pretty with Sega things did run a little slicker.So overall i love some classic games on Snes but i lean slightly towards Genesis .

PS-Blast Processing was just an imaginary load of cr*p Sega came out with while advertising Sonic 2 and comparing it to Nintendo`s games at the time.

[genesisguy]

Sports games for sure.
Shoot em ups and Run and Gunners too. Not only better titles but they ran so much smoother. Play Thunder Spirits on the SNES then Thunder Force III on the Genesis. Huge difference.

The Genesis looked cooler and offered something different than the Nintendo experience. To my 10 year old mind I thought the SNES was just a glorified NES and with the Genesis I'd get a new experience.

My 30 year old mind finds the Genesis arcady games much more fun to sit down and play for a half hour or hour after work.
I know the SNES has great titles but most of them are very indepth and I just can't dedicate time towards them these days.

That's what makes the Genesis and NES my two favorite consoles.

[Gamevet]

Yeah, the sports crowd definitely preferred the Genesis. I was working in retail at the time. Whenever the new Madden or NBA Live hit the Genesis versions always sold WAY more copies than their SNES counterparts. I wouldn't say that they were better on the Genesis, but they definitely sold more.

I know Madden ran much better on the Genesis. The early Madden titles on the SNES had gimped player animations and an overall jerky appearance. I'd heard that the later titles were a big improvement though, but I don't know if they were better than the Genesis versions.

[duffmanth]

I think the Genesis definitely did a better job with sports games and more mature titles. I loved playing Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Shinobi etc on the Genesis. Those type of games never really existed on the SNES that I can remember any way?

[Black_Tiger]

What I've always appreciated about Genesis games over SNES games, is that they tend to feature more artwork and look less tiled. Even when Genesis games like Beyond Oasis don't have a crazy amount of variety in tile art, it's how it's all put together that makes them look more like a real picture and less like a cobbled together video game.




I wonder what Gradius III would have been like on the Genesis.

Gradius II for PC Engine is a pretty good indication.




I'm looking at wiki. Are you looking somewhere else?


It's the other way around. The sprite size/quantity is limited for the Genesis versus the SNES.

I'm guessing that you're going entirely by your interpretation of tech specs. The SNES can only use two sizes of sprites, which became the main bottleneck in games actually made. The Genesis has more flexibility in sprite sizes than either the SNES or PC Engine. If you look at the actual games for both consoles, SNES games tend to have smaller sprites and fewer sprites onscreen at a time in general, when compared to Genesis games.




Comparing the clock speed of two entirely different CPU architectures is not apples to apples. The topic of the 68000 vs 65816 has already been beaten to death.

You're right that the cpus aren't exactly the same, but in the end SNES games in general have less going on at a time, are slower overall at normal speeds and are more prone to slowdown than the Genesis or TG-16/PC Engine. The fact that the Genesis and PC Engine cpu clock speeds are twice as fast as that of the SNES may be a coincidence, but it doesn't change the fact that the SNES rarely or perhaps never packs as much action and/or speed as the busier Genesis/PC Engine games.

[wiggyx]

I'm guessing that you're going entirely by your interpretation of tech specs. The SNES can only use two sizes of sprites, which became the main bottleneck in games actually made. The Genesis has more flexibility in sprite sizes than either the SNES or PC Engine. If you look at the actual games for both consoles, SNES games tend to have smaller sprites and fewer sprites onscreen at a time in general, when compared to Genesis games.


Thanks, but this was already explained to me many posts ago.

[CelticJobber]

And also, The game cases. I Hate the fact that SNES had boxes that ripped up so easy. Sega had that good plastic casing for SMS and Genesis and I like the durable case/

Until 1994 or so, when Genesis games started coming in crappy cardboard boxes that were arguably even worse and easier to rip up than Super NES boxes.

[QuickSciFi]

Most multiplatform games looked way better on the Genesis (partly because Nintendo opted for a zoomed-in aspect of the same game, which made them looked washed-out or stretched horizontally).

Examples of games that were better on the Genesis

Earthworm Jim (SNES counterpart is stretched horizontally and is incomplete)
All multiplatform Disney Games (They looked washed-out and the music is subpar compared to the Genesis)
Cool Spot (Look-up the best track in the game, Rave Dance Tune, and you'll see what I mean)
Disneys' Aladdin (The SNES' Aladdin is a good game, but Aladdin on the Genesis is outstanding!)
Mortal Kombat II (Not because of the blood, but because of the Genesis pad)
Shmups in general
The whole "Strike" series (which was awfully zoomed-in on the SNES).
Various Run N Guns

I would understand the slow-down in shmups and the like, but it's the subparity in graphics and sound in those multiplatform SNES games that gets me; particularly when it is in fact the graphics and sound department where the SNES usually reigned.


Games like Lion King or Toy Story were more visually appealing and superior to people's eyes than the SNES ports.

Yup.

[o.pwuaioc]

Most multiplatform games looked way better on the Genesis (partly because Nintendo opted for a zoomed-in aspect of the same game, which made them looked washed-out or stretched horizontally).
Not going to argue for the most, but...


Disneys' Aladdin (The SNES' Aladdin is a good game, but Aladdin on the Genesis is outstanding!)
Two different games.


Mortal Kombat II (Not because of the blood, but because of the Genesis pad)
Disagree. First, the SNES port of MKII also had blood. Second, the SNES button layout is far superior and more efficient due to the (now standardized thanks to the SNES) R and L buttons. It's even closer to the arcade's layout than the Genesis pad.