Super NES or Sega Genesis?

[CoteRangers]

Which console of the 16-bit era do you think is better? The Super Nintendo, or the Sega Genesis?

[IHatedSega]

For me Super Nintendo. But if you like Shooters only then the Genesis is the console for you, it tears the SNES to shreds in that genre. Every other genre I care for though, the SNES towers over anything Genesis has to offer. Sonic games I tried, but cant get into, Mario is just better, he can do much more than Sonic with all his power ups. The SNES was the best game console ever till the PS2 came out.

[CoteRangers]

For me Super Nintendo. But if you like Shooters only then the Genesis is the console for you, it tears the SNES to shreds in that genre. Every other genre I care for though, the SNES towers over anything Genesis has to offer. Sonic games I tried, but cant get into, Mario is just better, he can do much more than Sonic with all his power ups. The SNES was the best game console ever till the PS2 came out.

Alright, sounds good. Personally, I do like both systems, since they both have their share of amazing games. Everybody has their different tastes, but for me, both Mario and Sonic have really great games during the 16-bit era (like Sonic 2 and Super Mario All-Stars, which I both own).

[Gunstar Hero]

Personally, I own both and won't ever be able to decide between them as they're both just that good. Obviously they both have their stronger genres but having both will really make the most out of 16-bit gaming.

[Edmond Dantes]

when I was younger I would've said the SNES, because I was an RPG fan and the SNES owns that genre.

But these days I tend to favor the Genesis. It is in fact the one system I never unhook. When it comes to more action-oriented games, the Genesis.... well, I won't say "has the SNES beat hands-down" but it seems easier to find decent ones that have more of that kinda-oppressive-in-a-fun-way aesthetic I love (Valis, Thunder Force, etc.) I feel like the Genesis was a more "adult" system, although that could just be me B.Sing myself.

Still love my Super though.

[o.pwuaioc]

During the height of the 16 bit wars, I would have said Genesis, then I discovered SNES' RPGs and switched over. Now, though, I still say SNES, but not only from RPGs. The first party titles in my opinion blow anything on the Genesis out of the water: Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country, Link to the Past - love em! I also find that the SNES shmups are more my style. Not that I dislike what the Genesis offers - on the contrary! - but to me there's something still classic about many of them, especially Gradius III. I also tend to like some of the older SNES Konami games over the Genesis counterparts, so SCVIV over Bloodlines, Contra III over Hard Corps. And finally, Mega Man X was an SNES exclusive.

[LimitedEditionMuseum]

Are there any games like gunstar heroes on SNES?

[Gameguy]

Both are great but I have to go with the Genesis.

[CoteRangers]

Both are great but I have to go with the Genesis.

But why, though? Can you tell me the reason why you'd go with the Sega Genesis?

[Gameguy]

But why, though? Can you tell me the reason why you'd go with the Sega Genesis?
Overall it has better games, more that I'd want to play on that system than the SNES.

[CoteRangers]

Overall it has better games, more that I'd want to play on that system than the SNES.

Ah, I see.

[Atarileaf]

But if you like Shooters only then the Genesis is the console for you, it tears the SNES to shreds in that genre.

Two words - Space Megaforce

That is all

[CoteRangers]

Two words - Space Megaforce

That is all

So the Super Nintendo, right?

[LimitedEditionMuseum]

Are there any games like gunstar heroes on SNES?

[BricatSegaFan]

But why, though? Can you tell me the reason why you'd go with the Sega Genesis?

Because genesis does what Nintendon't

[CoteRangers]

Are there any games like gunstar heroes on SNES?

I doubt Gunstar Heroes is on the Super Nintendo, since I'm pretty sure it was made by Sega.

[CoteRangers]

Because genesis does what Nintendon't

That's true. XD

[sterz]

When I was kid, and both systems were current, I would have said Genesis all the way. I was really into the first three 'NHL' games, and for whatever reason, EA couldn't work their gameplay magic on the SNES.

Sonic and Streets of Rage were big for me too.

I've just recently gotten back into playing the retro stuff (and gaming in general); reading old magazines, and just kinda re-immersing myself into the culture and the mindset that I had. And what is really standing out is the effect that marketing had on me (and presumably a lot of other kids back then.)

When you're a kid, you're obviously quite easily manipulated, and man, I really ate those Sega campaigns up with a big spoon. It wasn't until years later that I even gave the SNES a chance.

Having, I think, shaken all of that off, and trying to be as objective as possible, I think the standard "It depends what kind of games you like" question is the best way to answer this question. Genesis has the better sports games. SNES has more RPG's, and the most high quality ones.

[tomwaits]

I think the standard "It depends what kind of games you like" question is the best way to answer this question.


Yup. Each console had its strengths. Genesis had a faster processor and was generally better for shmups, sports games, arcade ports, fast action games. SNES hardware had better graphics & sound, but the slow processor meant it was better suited for slower paced gaming like RPGs and platformers. Display too many objects on the SNES and it would usually slow down or flicker... esp in the early release games.

[BricatSegaFan]

I doubt Gunstar Heroes is on the Super Nintendo, since I'm pretty sure it was made by Sega.

Actually its made by treasure

[Wraith Storm]

Both systems have amazing games and killer exclusives, but for me the Genesis wins. Usually the darker pallet of the Genny was better suited for conveying atmosphere in games. Music is also VERY important to me and the FM synth chip in the Genesis is generally more apealing to me.

Don't get me wrong. The Genesis has no substitute for Snes musical masterpieces like Final Fantasy 6, but usually the organic nature of the Genesis's sound and graphics is more unique and refreshing to me than what the Snes has to offer.

[BricatSegaFan]

Both systems have amazing games and killer exclusives, but for me the Genesis wins. Usually the darker pallet of the Genny was better suited for conveying atmosphere in games. Music is also VERY important to me and the FM synth chip in the Genesis is generally more apealing to me.

Don't get me wrong. The Genesis has no substitute for Snes musical masterpieces like Final Fantasy 6, but usually the organic nature of the Genesis's sound and graphics is more unique and refreshing to me than what the Snes has to offer.

Oh god yes. The genesis has an awesome Yamaha fm synth that sounds spectacular with shmups. Like these


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko4ed7DF7tc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Robocop2]

I owned both back in the day and enjoyed them both. However, when I got back into classic gaming a few years ago, the first system I started collecting for was the Genesis. The SNES want really even a contender for me oddly.


At this point I have an NES, a TG16 and a fairly decent Jaguar collection and no SNES. So yes I prefer the Genesis for a lot of reasons already covered. But don't trust me I wanted a Jaguar more than a Super Nintendo.

[LimitedEditionMuseum]

I doubt Gunstar Heroes is on the Super Nintendo, since I'm pretty sure it was made by Sega.

I ment that style of game, not the exact game

[WCP]

Both systems are absolutely amazing, no question about it. They will both go down in history as two of the best systems of all-time, and two systems that enjoyed the limelight during gaming's best time frame. (early 90's)


Still, if I was to rank the 50 best games of all time, on any platform, there would be so many more SNES games represented in that top 50. The Genesis would have a few games that would make my top 50, but they would pale in comparison to the number of SNES games that would be littered throughout my list.

[sloan]

These were arguments for the fanboys during the 'wars', but these days the systems and games are so easily had, there is no excuse to not own both.

Kind of like 5200 and Colecovision during the 8-bit battles, everyone should own both Genesis and SNES for all the 16-bit goodness they offer.

[o.pwuaioc]

These were arguments for the fanboys during the 'wars', but these days the systems and games are so easily had, there is no excuse to not own both.

Kind of like 5200 and Colecovision during the 8-bit battles, everyone should own both Genesis and SNES for all the 16-bit goodness they offer.

I never got into the 5200. I always wrote it off as 2nd rate, especially since everyone says that the Colecovision version of Donkey Kong is the best (and thus, I assumed, their versions of games in general are better than the 5200's). Is it really something to get into? Another system to add?

[Tron 2.0]

In the 90's i did favor the genesis a little more when that was the,only console i had.Still these days i like both since i have both again.

[Atarileaf]

So the Super Nintendo, right?

Yep, great shmup, its part of the Aleste series, and a kind of pseudo sequel to Blazing Lazers on the TG-16. As far as I know, it isn't on any other platform other than the SNES

[Atarileaf]

When I was kid, and both systems were current, I would have said Genesis all the way. I was really into the first three 'NHL' games, and for whatever reason, EA couldn't work their gameplay magic on the SNES.



Yea I don't know what it was but the NHL games just felt and played better on the Genesis. I didn't like the SNES versions even though they should have been exactly the same. In fact the NHL games were the main reason I bought a Genesis in the first place.

[A.C. Sativa]

SNES, and to me it's not even close.

[T2KFreeker]

Man, if we are doing a "16 Bit Wars" thing here, how come we ain't including the Turbografx 16/Turbo Duo/PC Engine? My favirute of that era.

Anyway, onto the main focus, the Genesis for sure. I read all this about how great platformers were on the Super NES, but man, Genesis versions of games on both systems can most surely be better. Great examples: Flashback, Earthworm Jim 1 & 2, Boogerman, and a few others that don't run through my head at the moment. Not to mention some seriously cool Genesis only games like the Streets of Rage series. I HATE MARIO. I always have after the original Mario Bros. I'm talking the one where Mario and Luigi knock crabs and Turtle off of platforms as they come out of pipes, not "Super". Not to say I am a Nintendo hater as I always did like the Zelda series and Metroid. I own both systems, but really, my Genesis now, and back in the day, is hooked up much more than the Super NES. Oh, and talk about a bad first impression, the first game I played on the Super was Final Fight. Yeah, argue all you want about Aesthetics, but Final Fight on the Super is crap, period! Left a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't a good first impression.

[sloan]

I never got into the 5200. I always wrote it off as 2nd rate, especially since everyone says that the Colecovision version of Donkey Kong is the best (and thus, I assumed, their versions of games in general are better than the 5200's). Is it really something to get into? Another system to add?

If you are into 80's arcade titles, then Colecovision and 5200 are definitely complementary systems. CV has exclusives like Frenzy, Turbo, and Donkey Kong (although with later XE conversion, the 5200 version is now more 'arcade-correct' with all four levels), and 5200 had awesome titles like Space Dungeon, Robotron 2084, and Pac Man (again remedied by homebrewers for CV).

I see Genesis vs. SNES argument in the same light. Where Genesis had games like Gunstar Heroes, MUSHA, and the Phantasy Star series, SNES had the DK country games, many excellent RPG's, and Super Mario World. Just get both systems and enjoy all the 16-bit goodness they had to offer.

[sneekyweezel]

http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/sneekyweezel/3s7svu.gif

Oh I see a trick question! Don't try to pull a fast one on me! Nah but seriously I loved em' both, so I won't pick.

[Zthun]

This is such a hard question to answer. Back in the 90s, the SNES and Genesis were two different machines with a lot of different exclusives. Two equally titled games played differently on SNES and the genesis. You don't get that today. Normally, when a AAA title is released, it gets released for PS3, 360, and PC, so there's no real reason to own all platforms unless there's a specific exclusive you want.

For me, it will always be the SNES, but mainly because of the RPG titles. Genesis had the sonic, streets of rage, and gunstar heroes series, but that will never beat out having Chrono Trigger, FF6, FF4, Illusion of Gaia, Secret of Evermore, Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu II), etc.

[Flashback2012]

Turbografx-16! ;)

[o.pwuaioc]

If you are into 80's arcade titles, then Colecovision and 5200 are definitely complementary systems. CV has exclusives like Frenzy, Turbo, and Donkey Kong (although with later XE conversion, the 5200 version is now more 'arcade-correct' with all four levels), and 5200 had awesome titles like Space Dungeon, Robotron 2084, and Pac Man (again remedied by homebrewers for CV).

I see Genesis vs. SNES argument in the same light. Where Genesis had games like Gunstar Heroes, MUSHA, and the Phantasy Star series, SNES had the DK country games, many excellent RPG's, and Super Mario World. Just get both systems and enjoy all the 16-bit goodness they had to offer.

Robotron and Pac Man also came out on the 7800 - is the 5200 worth it if I already have the superior system?

[Oldskool]

Genesis. Only because mine has been solidly hooked up for 2 decades plus or minus a few months, while my SNES seems to be hooked up half the time.

I really like the SNES but I seem to get bored with most of the games pretty quickly. It's not a graphics or sound thing, I know that the SNES is a bit superior in that aspect but I do still like the graphics and music on the Genesis. I guess the Genesis just seems more FUN. And since I have a hard time getting into RPGS the Genesis wins hands down for me.

Not to mention that if you want to play games it won't cost you and arm and a leg like the SNES. The Genesis is just more gamer/collector friendly and affordable - and fun.

[Steven]

Heh... as if someone had to ask me. See the sig :)
SNES to me is the system that ages gracefully like fine wine. I can still pick up 75% of the games I enjoyed back in the day and still have a blast with them. In some ways I even appreciate them more now than I did 20 years ago (due to being older and understanding different concepts that flew over my head as an 8 year old). It's the one system and library that I know I will always carry with me, and still play when I'm 50, God willing. It is a haven for gaming greatness :D

I like Genesis too, but for me it just doesn't compare. I respect the Genesis, but I love the SNES.

[sloan]

is the 5200 worth it?

Space Dungeon and recently released Tempest are not available on 7800. Pac Man never came out on the 7800.

[o.pwuaioc]

Space Dungeon and recently released Tempest are not available on 7800. Pac Man never came out on the 7800.

Ah, right, I was thinking of Ms. Pac-Man. My concern though isn't whether there are two games on the 5200 not on the 7800, but rather whether it's worth it overall. I would need more than a small handful of games to take the plunge on a new system, as crowded as my TV stand already is (and with several systems packed away :( ).

Space Dungeon does look pretty rad, though!

[Manga4life]

I loved them both but I was a SNES guy through and through and stayed fairly loyal to Nintendo up until I bought an Xbox in 2003 after being dissatisfied with my GameCube. I still play my Genesis games from time to time but my heart was solidly with the SNES and my memories with the SNES will always stay with me, though I do have some fond memories of the Genesis as well.

[retroman]

I had both as a kid and still do, but for me its the Genesis. Reason for me is, while I love Nintendo, then and till this day the Genesis has more for me to play that I like over the SNES.

[Haoie]

Boy, this has been done a gazillion times.

Anyway, I think we can all agree with SNES, from a modern view, had much more lasting power and influence overall and far more memorable games.

[wiggyx]

Boy, this has been done a gazillion times.

Anyway, I think we can all agree with SNES, from a modern view, had much more lasting power and influence overall and far more memorable games.

I think you really best not speak for everyone.

[thegamezmaster]

Both! :)

[Bloodreign]

To me the 16 bit wars are long over, now I reap the benefits of the fallout from it. I don't favor one system over another, so I say I like both. I do have a few more Genesis games than SNES (both over 120 games), both offer things I like, shmups, puzzlers, platformers and the like.

I was an SNES guy in my childhood days and never gave Genesis a chance till finally in 1998, after that I started appreciating what that system had for me. Both have their pros and cons, both have a solid library of great games, so in the end no clear cut choice for me.

Both are proudly in my collection, no sway either way.

[Scotterpop]

From a collecting standpoint, I'm an absolute fanatic for the Genesis. For example: Those flimsy SNES cardboard boxes have NOTHING on the much nicer plastic clamshells that hold the carts and manuals perfectly while looking oh-so-regal lined up on my shelves! And add-ons, oh man... no other system can boast the sheer amount of peripherals the Genny had, from the Power Base Converter to the Sega CD to the 32X. And then there's the cool alternate versions of the console including the amazing Nomad and CDX as well as the X-Eye and Sega pac for the Laseractive. The SNES just doesn't offer this wide range of collectibility. The Genesis is the only system I own from three different regions (NTSC, PAL and NTSC-J). Sure, I love my SNES and all the amazing games it has to offer (Chrono Trigger, Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Contra 3 and countless others), but I take much more pride in my Sega collection.

[Manga4life]

Boy, this has been done a gazillion times.

Anyway, I think we can all agree with SNES, from a modern view, had much more lasting power and influence overall and far more memorable games.

This is truly the most accurate response, the overall majority would side with the SNES, especially since they did at the time too seeing as how Nintendo beat Sega in the 16-bit wars. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blinded by fanboy-ism or was simply a non-SNES owner.

[wiggyx]

This is truly the most accurate response, the overall majority would side with the SNES, especially since they did at the time too seeing as how Nintendo beat Sega in the 16-bit wars. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blinded by fanboy-ism or was simply a non-SNES owner.

This is all I see.

[Tron 2.0]

This is truly the most accurate response, the overall majority would side with the SNES, especially since they did at the time too seeing as how Nintendo beat Sega in the 16-bit wars. Anyone who thinks otherwise is blinded by fanboy-ism or was simply a non-SNES owner.
With a comment like that who's being the fanboy !? The sega and snes had there exclusive,but that doesn't mean one was better then the other.Both 'had there strength and weakness what matter was the software after all.

[Casati]

The NES was the first console I bought (although my family had an Atari before that) and the Sega Genesis was the next (and an amazing improvement in graphics versus the NES). I sold off and got out of gaming by the time the SNES was released, so I don't have much nostalgic memories of the SNES. I own both the SNES and Genesis now since they offer different catalogs of games. For games that were released on both consoles, I go on a case by case basis. I think they both have good rpgs and shooters, and there are several SNES sports games that I like, so they both have good sports games as well. I don't think one is supreme over the other though if forced to choose, I'd probably go with the SNES for Zelda, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World and other Nintendo staples.

[j_factor]

They're both very much worth owning.

But personally, I find it harder to be excited about SNES. This is a very broad generalization, but SNES games are generally slower-paced, and SNES music is generally mild and subdued (if not outright muffled). Not that I don't enjoy slow-paced games, but my bread and butter is fast action. I also have all complete Genesis games and all loose SNES games, because complete SNES games are a bitch to find and a bitch to pay for. While packaging doesn't make a game, I think that contributes on some level, especially the lack of a manual in some games.

[Rickstilwell1]

I ment that style of game, not the exact game

Sunset Riders is kinda the same style and is available on both platforms, but it's a bit slower paced than Gunstar Heroes and is a port of an arcade game. Neo Geo AES had Metal Slug which is a bit closer in style to Gunstar Heroes than Sunset Riders is.

Ah speaking of 16-bit era, it would have kicked major ass to be rich and own a Neo Geo AES and many of its games in that time period instead of a Genesis. It pretty much catered to the same crowd as the TurboGrafx-16 and Genesis crowd - the arcade style gamers except graphically and audibly blew them away. It's missing Sonic and RPGs though. SNES had a uniqueness to it in the types of games that were most popular though. It's the reason why so many people go through save battery hell these days. You couldn't say the Neo Geo AES could replace that experience like it could the Genesis experience.

[Manga4life]

With a comment like that who's being the fanboy !? The sega and snes had there exclusive,but that doesn't mean one was better then the other.Both 'had there strength and weakness what matter was the software after all.

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout. It does appear that the overall conensus and the general gaming media favors the SNES, however.

[o.pwuaioc]

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout.

That's not quite how it works...

[123►Genei-Jin]

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout. It does appear that the overall conensus and the general gaming media favors the SNES, however.

LOL no, the only reason the SNES outsold the Genesis is because SEGA discontinued the Genesis 2 years before the SNES was discontinued, the 16-bit wars between those 2 consoles was pretty even before that.

Also, I owned an SNES back then and still prefer the Genesis. I hate J-RPGs (love western RPGs BTW), so that genre does nothing for me. I simply have more fun playing Genesis exclusives than I do with SNES exclusives in general.
Both consoles are great and very different from each other, enjoy them for what they are and if you can't enjoy both I feel sorry for you.

[VG_Maniac]

I've never been that much of a fan of the games on the Genesis aside from the Sonic the Hedgehog games and a couple of others. The SNES has some of my favorite games of all time on it like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III, Secret of Mana, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man X trilogy, Donkey Kong Country trilogy, Yoshi's Island, Turtles in Time, etc. To me, the Genesis library just can't compete with the SNES.

[Tanooki]

Nice to see this all civil and not a whiny fight like a duo of these posts over at NA in the last month.

Here's a spin on it though. If you're rating hardware SuperNES hands down, it came out second, had better parts to work with. The SNES had some incredible capabilities despite having a slower main processor which made up for a lot due to DMA capabilities of the hardware and the chip clock cycles allow more per each moment than the base speedier Genesis. SNES was that first system that allowed for over a VGA level of colors on screen as each layer(of which there's 4) could do 256 colors and from a full run of 32K of them, and could do transparencies, Mode7 scaling and rotation, plus a video mode did high res graphics(Secret of Mana menus), and high color pictures(see Indiana Jones using movie stills.) The sound on it was epic, all using sampled audio and could playback up to 33khz(nearly CD quality) and could run twice the audio channels of the Genesis.

That said if you were to throw software into the mix, that is where you can get fights as it comes down to preference. In my home I had the NES in 1985 for the Christmas test launch era and around 1990 my brother went and got a Genesis fed up with it(had a 2nd of his own.) I just didn't like it, couldn't get into it, and the ad campaigns wanted me to punch the tv with the lies they used to sell the thing. I got the SNES when it popped up and I could tell he didn't appreciate me not letting him use it from the complaining. :) He did love that system though, in time I did end up using it and liking it, but it did again come down to software preferences. I eventually got a Genesis 3(ugh) and a Nomad and had a blast with stuff but usually it was Sega arcade conversions like that fun Virtua Racing, some unique to system games like Vectorman or Streets of Rage, or multi-system franchises like Ghouls n Ghosts(preferred the SNES one though.) SNES though it gave me a nice run of sequelitis from all the stuff brought up yet again from the NES -- Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, Super Ghouls n Ghosts, FInal Fantasy 2(still my favorite), TMNT4, Gradius III(amazing conversion on arcade difficulty), and more. The more being great unique titles like Aleste(Space Megaforce), Actraiser(which blew my mind with the unique genre and ear candy music, my first purchase along with Gradius 3), the better Street Fighter II conversion, Starfox, the ahead of its time looking Donkey Kong Country, Mega Man X, Pilotwings, F-Zero and more.

These days with a little kid, job, and lack of time plus a bad run of it nearly a decade ago having to sell off a majority of my stuff, I no longer have other makers consoles other than a Master System from Sega. One thing I can say, it has allowed me to discover some bitchin SNES gems I missed out on like Wild Guns, Swat Kats, Super Valis IV, Sunset Riders, Pocky & Rocky, EVO, Lufia II, Final Fight 2 and 3(had 1), and the list goes on. IN the end the control, game play, familiar faces, and the insane audio/visual capabilities just took me to the next level while the Genesis felt lost somewhere in no mans land between my NES and the SNES.

[Tron 2.0]

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout. It does appear that the overall conensus and the general gaming media favors the SNES, however.
You got proof for the figures or it didn't happen.If any thing it was a close race between the two in the u.s at least.Not to mention sales were not every thing beside depending where you live at the time.Some i knew then just had a genesis or the snes or flipped flop with the two consoles.Since you mentions sales of a console that doesn't all ways means it's better.Heck before i had a snes&genesis i owned a turbografx 16 first,sure it was the underdog in the u.s but i highly enjoyed for what it offer.

[o.pwuaioc]

Nice to see this all civil and not a whiny fight like a duo of these posts over at NA in the last month.

NA and S-16 are two places that, while there are a lot of cool people and interesting discussions, have just way too much fanboyery to enjoy too often.

[j_factor]

SNES was that first system that allowed for over a VGA level of colors on screen as each layer(of which there's 4) could do 256 colors and from a full run of 32K of them, and could do transparencies, Mode7 scaling and rotation, plus a video mode did high res graphics(Secret of Mana menus), and high color pictures(see Indiana Jones using movie stills.) The sound on it was epic, all using sampled audio and could playback up to 33khz(nearly CD quality) and could run twice the audio channels of the Genesis.

This is inaccurate in multiple ways:

- VGA is 18-bit color (262k colors), whereas SNES is only 15-bit (32k colors) - still way better than Genesis, of course
- SNES cannot do 4 layers of 256 colors each. The SNES has different modes that allow for different combinations of colors/layers. Mode 0, the only mode with four background layers, only allows 4 colors per layer. Consequently, it saw little use.
- Mode 7 is one of the aforementioned modes, it's not a separate effect. In Mode 7 there is only a single layer.
- Genesis has 10 audio channels, to the SNES's 8. Although, counting channels says little.

I don't understand why people feel the need to exaggerate.

[Tanooki]

No actually I'm not wrong, I was speaking of the classic 256 color displayable VGA PC's had in the DOS era. The SNES can handle what I said, it's just that games didn't do it with the visuals as I had explained to me by 2 different emulator authors. I never said that Mode7 was a different effect nor did I say it was on multiple layers either and it's obvious to anyones eyes it's not. The GBA did a 'mode7' of sorts on more than one and allowed for sprites to scale and rotate too which SNES didn't without help (Yoshi, FX2).

I'm not exaggerating, you're having a literacy problem other than me being off on the sound channel total.

[Aussie2B]

I would never want to give up either, but I like the SNES just a bit more. I'm sure part of that is the fact that I had the SNES while it was active (granted, not until 1993), while I never owned the Genesis until it was long dead. But beyond that, I'd say the SNES is just a bit more in line with my tastes. Platformers and Japanese RPGs are tops for me, and I feel the SNES is superior in both genres. In fact, I think the SNES is superior in those areas with just the US library alone, but with my Super Famicom importing, the SNES comes out even more ahead. I adore games like Shining Force and Castlevania: Bloodlines, but when I look at the SNES, it's got the DKC trilogy, Kirby Super Star, Castlevania IV, Super Mario All-Stars, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, Lufia II, and so many, many more. But, yeah, they're both fantastic systems, and if anything, my preference for the SNES just tells me I need to dig into the Genesis library more and try to catch up on all the years I owned a SNES but not a Genesis.

[brainerdrainer]

I keep hearing this question and I keep saying the same thing. Both are amazing. None is better. They both rule

[Atarileaf]

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout. It does appear that the overall conensus and the general gaming media favors the SNES, however.

The problem with "better" is that's a subjective term when it comes to something like this. I would say that many bought the SNES because of brand recognition - they owned an NES so a SNES was a natural progression as games with characters they were familiar with appeared on the new console.

The Genesis was the successor of the Master System - a System that didn't sell well in North America and didn't have the same brand recognition. Despite that, it seems that both systems sold very well and both are excellent systems to own. Take a SNES and a Genesis and add a Turbografx-16 and you've got a fantastic lineup of 16 bit gaming goodness.

[zachhargis]

Though I love the genesis, I consider the SNES to be the best consol of all time, so I have to go with the SNES. I love RPGs and platformers, so the SNES is my system of choice. But don't get me wrong, the Genesis rocks.

[chrisbid]

I wasn't talking about games, I was talking about cold hard facts and actual sales numbers. More people owned an SNES console than they did a Genesis and therefore would say the SNES was the better system, so obviously someone that didn't own a SNES but owned a Genesis would go that rout. It does appear that the overall conensus and the general gaming media favors the SNES, however.


you must be referring to the years 1991, 1992, and 1993 when sega had a higher market share than nintendo

[j_factor]

you must be referring to the years 1991, 1992, and 1993 when sega had a higher market share than nintendo

Yes, here, Genesis sold better. Worldwide, though, SNES sold more in total, due to its dominance in Japan (while Mega Drive was #3, behind PC Engine).

[tom]

Sales figures are never accurate, as stated in the book Game Over, Nintendo always over exaggerated their sales figures (as did Sega btw).
this was already disproven with the C64 worldwide sales figures, it was always assumed to be 17 mill, which of course, was a huge lie, now to be proven more in the region of 12 million (Still a bit high in my opinion, but there you go)

Also, for many companies sales are 'shipped to retailers/shops etc', not actually sales to customers, no matter how long the hardware sits on the shop shelf or doesn't even sell. Way back it was common practice with the record instustry.

As for SNES or Magadrive, I like both, but the Megadrive had the extra 'cool factor', whilst the SNES 'had the same game again', referring to SMW is just like SMB3. But overall, the Megadrive had the better games in a long run,
not just 8 bit rehashes (With Megadrive it was the other way 'round, 16 bit games were ported to 8 bit)

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/Alison123456789/bookGameOver.jpg

I just don't understand Greg Fischbach saying 'people don't know how to write for 16 bit yet', Activision's been supporting Amiga and ST for years, but I believe he was more referring to the Nintendo people.

[Rob2600]

Toward the bottom of that page: "Sonic was not a great game..."

Looking back, I'd say Super Mario World is a well thought-out, finely-crafted classic, whereas Sonic the Hedgehog is a standard platformer that was backed by a huge Sega marketing campaign.

[Tanooki]

Wow is that guy ever a fat liar in that book. I remember hearing something of that before but never did see it in print. Trust me people at Nintendo before the stuff hits the market knows how to code whatever they like with the hardware. Miyamoto incompetent on the hardware that'll be a cold day in hell. I do believe though in the era of the companies Nintendo was the most forward about their numbers as they'd quote 'sold' while Sony has always and Sega mostly too said 'shipped to stores' and used them as prop numbers of 'moved product' which was playing with words.

[tom]

A book with input from NCL, Yamauchi, Miyamoto, NOA, Yokoi, Lincoln, Main, Arakawa, Tilden and many more from the Nintendo stable.

You better be careful who you're calling a liar, Lincoln will chew you up and spit you out in court, he's very good at that.

[Tanooki]

Ehh good luck finding me. :)

[dra600n]

No actually I'm not wrong, I was speaking of the classic 256 color displayable VGA PC's had in the DOS era. The SNES can handle what I said, it's just that games didn't do it with the visuals as I had explained to me by 2 different emulator authors. I never said that Mode7 was a different effect nor did I say it was on multiple layers either and it's obvious to anyones eyes it's not. The GBA did a 'mode7' of sorts on more than one and allowed for sprites to scale and rotate too which SNES didn't without help (Yoshi, FX2).

I'm not exaggerating, you're having a literacy problem other than me being off on the sound channel total.

So you're saying the SNES is the only one who can use the 256 color palette from the early 90's? Cool story. Genesis has 512 colors. Yes, SNES has more available, but it wasn't the only one.

"Mode 7" can be done on Genesis. In fact, is has been done. That's a moot point.

Sprite scaling and rotating can happen on the Genesis as well, even faster than the SNES if programmed correctly.

Genesis has transparency natively. You're thinking of opacity, which, ironically, the Genesis can also do, and without dithering - it just takes a little bit of creativity.

And yes, you are exaggerating.

ETA: Attached is an opacity demo for the non believer. You can use an emulator provided by the one you get your info from.

ETA #2: There's a demo out there showing it's possible to get over 1,000 colors on screen at once with the Genesis, with the possibility of displaying around 1,300 unique colors at once.