What's your cutoff point? (in terms of system power)

[Anthony1]

The question that I'm posing is......What is your cutoff point? What I mean by that, is which system is your cutoff system, in terms of not playing anything earlier than that system?


For example, I've pretty much determined that the TG-16 is my cutoff point. I don't really play much of anything pre TG-16. I'll play TG-16 and Genesis, etc, on up.

For a little while I was collecting and playing NES, but I just can't get into NES that much. I also had a Atar 2600, even got a super expensive S-Video mod for it, but it turned out to be a brief phase for me. There is only so much time left in my life that I need to focus on systems and games that I really, really want to play.

I've decided that the Turbo is about as retro as I want to get.

For me, the Turbo is a perfect cutoff point, because it's really a 8 bit system in a 16 bit disguise, so it gives you that flavor of the 8 bit era, but it has some very nice 16 bit trappings to it. 512 simultaneous colors is a very nice 16 bit trapping if you ask me. But at the real core of the TG-16 it is basically a 8 bit system, and that is as far back as I want to go with my graphics.

It's the graphics whore in me. I will totally admit that I'm a big time graphics whore. So that is definitely a factor. Also, I will occasionally play a game of Contra or Metal Storm on my XBOX NES emulator or on Pocket NES on the GBA, but I've just decided for the most part to roll with TG-16 on up.

I got a Sega Master System awhile ago, primarily because it's the oldest standard console system to offer RGB output. But I quickly learned that RGB really doesn't do much for it, it just has too few colors to play with. (This makes me also think that the holy grail of somehow playing NES in RGB is probably way overrated). The Master System unfortunately has to deal with a very small amount of colors on screen, and I never had a master system originally, and all of it's best games appear to be downscaled Genesis ports.

I know that it's more me, than the Master System. I never had a Master System originally, and I've never played a single Master System game till just recently. But it didn't take me long to determine that the Master System is just a little too underpowered for me to really get into it. I know that's pretty shallow on my part, but hey, I might as well realize it now, before I start buying tons of stuff and not using any of it.




Ok, getting back to the original topic, my cutoff point is the TG-16, what's yours?

Also, I'm sure that some people don't even have a cutoff point. They play everything all the way back to pre Atari 2600. And that's perfectly fine and acceptable.


I'm guessing that alot of people have a cutoff point at the NES and Sega Master System. That those are the two oldest systems that they will play on a consistent basis.

[Arcade Antics]

My cutoff point is a system with no power.

If it doesn't power up, I refuse to play it. If it does power up, I'm there, no matter what era, what company, what color, what controller style, what spokesperson, etc. :D

[Xexyz]

I get what you're saying. My cut-off point would be the NES/SMS. Anything before it, I just can't experience with much passion. It feels like a chore for me to play an Atari 2600. Sad, I know, but to each their own.

[NE146]

Heck, I'll play my darn Coleco Colortron Pong powered by two 9volt batteries. :P

It's all about what you grew up with and are familiar with. I play all the games no matter how primitive because I remember how they were in their day. Although I don't have too much interest in Odyssey 2 or Intellivision since I have zero memories of those because I didn't have them.

Turbografx though.. that isn't exactly retro yet is it? Heck I remember the day I stole one from the store like it was yesterday LOL I also remember the guy at a remote Software Etc. telling me I was one of the few odd people who bought Turbo games. O_O

[Gamereviewgod]

NES.

I do own a 7800, an Intellivision, and a small stack of 2600 games, but nothing special. Just some personal favorites. If I find a stack at a garage sale, I'll pick them up and see if there's anything I like. If not, it's eBay or the BS forum here.

[digitalpress]

No cutoff point for me either. I really enjoy the retro stuff. Not always for the gameplay but for the charm of it all. I am still amazed at what game designers were able to do with just 4k of code, it puts today's designers with their fancy tools to shame.

Though quite honestly, I still have more fun playing a game like Outlaw on the 2600 than half of the crap that's churned out in today's market. It has been and always will be about the gameplay to me.

[Anthony1]

Turbografx though.. that isn't exactly retro yet is it? Heck I remember the day I stole one from the store like it was yesterday LOL I also remember the guy at a remote Software Etc. telling me I was one of the few odd people who bought Turbo games. O_O


Yeah, turbo isn't exactly the oldest system out there, so whether or not it can truly be considered "retro" is up for debate.

It actually came out in Japan in October of 1987, which is a pretty long time ago.

If you play a game like China Warrior, you will think the Turbo is pretty damn retro.

[Videogamerdaryll]

No real cutoff point for me..
I collect a lot of Pong type systems..I'll try them(Test),play them a bit but It's not something that I keep going back to play again unless someone who comes here wants to check them out/asks.

If I say cutoff it would be in reverse.....It would be with current stuff, going online to play games....Right now though I have all the means to go online with the Xbox and PS2, I don't want to,I don't want to dedicate the time to do it..My gaming time fluctuates to much..I fear it'll take away from other things I do/family etc..

So,I've cutoff to the point of not playing games online..If everything was online only I would be playing everything before that.

[bargora]

Well, I've not really played much before the 2600. But that's not to say that I'd sneer at older stuff if it fell in my lap.

However, on a regular basis I find myself playing on 32-bit (Saturn, PSX) and more recent machines much more than I get to the older stuffs, with the caveat that sometimes I'm using the machine to emulate older games.

EDIT: I don't play games that suck too powerfully.

[Jumpman Jr.]

I own consoles from all era's: Intellivision, 2600, NES, SNES, Dreamcast, Ps2, DS etc... But I don't really play anything pre-NES.
I think it all depends on what you played before you started collecting. I had never played anything pre-NES until I bought my 2600 about a year ago, and I can't really seem to get the same fun out of it that people who grew up playing it get.
However, I probablly get more fun out of the NES because I was a huge NES fan growing up.

I don't play anything post-N64 either. The N64 is the only 3 dimensional console I play, so that means that I don't play the 3D consoles that came out before that.

[Jibbajaba]

I definitely do not have a cutoff point. If it plays games, I'll play it. My VCS collection is easily in my top five as far as number of games goes. I would guess that it's third. I get more excited about getting a new retro console than I ddo about getting current-gen systems. But then, the fact that you are into RGB/s-video/component/etc sayd that you are into the flash and pizzaz of it all, and the VCS, O2, Coleco, Intelly, etc. don't have that.

Chris

[NE146]

If you play a game like China Warrior, you will think the Turbo is pretty damn retro.

Played it? man I bought that damn game for like 40 bucks or something brand new. There weren't all that many games in the beginning if you remember after the U.S. launch. Man... did I feel gypped LOL

The other games more than made up for it though, and really.. In China Warrior the characters were a lot bigger than we were used to so I guess that was the "draw" of that game. :hmm:

[chadtower]

Though quite honestly, I still have more fun playing a game like Outlaw on the 2600 than half of the crap that's churned out in today's market. It has been and always will be about the gameplay to me.

My cutoff point for anything other than 30 seconds of checking it out is the N64.... of course, that's my HIGH point, I will only play systems older than that usually. Anything more complex than an N64 isn't worth bothering with.

[evildead2099]

My cut-off point is the Atari 2600.

[Daria]

I refuse to play the tiger handheld type games. I even hated them as a child.

[evildead2099]

I refuse to play the tiger handheld type games. I even hated them as a child.

Good call, but, don't you play consoles which came out before those crappy Tiger handhelds hit the market (i.e. Atari 2600, Colecovision, etc.)?

[mezrabad]

I won't play anything earlier than "Tennis for Two".

EDSAC games bore the hell out of me.

[Daria]

I refuse to play the tiger handheld type games. I even hated them as a child.

Good call, but, don't you play consoles which came out before those crappy Tiger handhelds hit the market (i.e. Atari 2600, Colecovision, etc.)?

>.>'

Actually I wasn't sure when they started making those. Weren't game and watch based on the same kind of technology?

[evildead2099]

I refuse to play the tiger handheld type games. I even hated them as a child.

Good call, but, don't you play consoles which came out before those crappy Tiger handhelds hit the market (i.e. Atari 2600, Colecovision, etc.)?

>.>'

Actually I wasn't sure when they started making those. Weren't game and watch based on the same kind of technology?

Perhaps, but I find it difficult to believe that they could have been anywhere as krappy as the Tiger Handhelds were.

[Wookie]

I won't play anything *newer* than a dreamcast or older than a pong system.

[The_EniGma]

Hmm, this is a hard one. Id say NeoGeo since i dont enhoy the gameplay and graphics (i hate realllly crap graphics, gotta be a balance somewhere like the neogeo) with the exception of the nes and its mario bros :)

[namzep]

The farthest I'd go back is the 2600. That was the first system I ever owned and is pure nostalgia. But that is the only system before the NES that I have any real desire to collect.

[JLukas]

pre-NES / pre-C64

[SkiDragon]

My cutoff point is probably chess, but I occasionally enjoy a game of checkers.

[Retsudo]

I wont play anything before Nes. Thats my cutoff point.

[imanerd0011]

As far as home consoles go, I won't play anything older than NES, because everything before that is before my time and I think they are truely unplayable. Although I do enjoy many arcade games (Pac Man, Punch Out, many others) from before the NES. I also rarely play anything newer than the SNES. I guess I am just stuck in the years 1988-1994. :)

[UrQuan]

I'd have to say my cutoff point is the NES, however I do play 2600 games. The only reason is because my dad had his from his youth still and I was enthralled by the machine when I was a kid. No other five year old in my area had even heard of it. So yeah, even though the 2600 is a bit before my time, I still have nostalgia for it.

[Anthony1]

I guess I am just stuck in the years 1988-1994. :)



You know, those are some damn good years to be stuck in. I'm basically stuck in the years 1989 (Turbo and Genny released) till 1996 (debut of the N64)

I love all the systems that came out in this era. It's the classic 16 bit and 32/64 bit era that we all know and love, but as far as the 32/64 bit era, I'm more interested in the early years of that era.

[ozyr]

Cutoff! Don't have one, and never will. If it's a game, I'll at least try it.

[petewhitley]

Cutoff! Don't have one, and never will. If it's a game, I'll at least try it.

Ditto. I've never really even considered the concept, but it's an interesting one. The earlier consoles had gameplay concepts and mechanics that I can understand some people just not enjoying. There's an inherently repetitive nature in many pre-NES games. But those Tiger LCD handhelds, ugh, what amazes me is that they still make some of those. From a collecting standpoint they have some interest, but I'll be damned if I've ever played one which was remotely interesting (and that includes my precious Golgo 13 LCD).

[Lothars]

my cutoff point is none ill play any system and any games

[AlexKidd]

I own two 2600's and a vectrex which I play once in a while but generally I only play nes and newer. I can appreciate the gameplay of the 2600 games but the lack of graphics and sound bothers me. The graphics and sound on the nes weren't great but at least there was some music and you can generally tell what you're looking at. I go through phases though, sometimes i'm all about 80's stuff,sometimes 16-bit and at the moment i'm playing mostly ds and gamecube. I also refuse to play a black and white game boy. Some of the games are good but the lack of color makes them look horrible.

[The-Bavis]

NES for me. I grew up on the 2600, but I rarely play it. It's fine when I do, but I prefer newer than that.

I agree with the B&W gameboy games in general. I still play QIX and Tetris carts on my SP, but the rest are fairly unbearable to me.

[starchildskiss78]

I originally would say that the NES was my cutoff. However, I got the Atari TV Game and it got me wanting to play the games on the original system. So I went hunting for an Atari 2600 and some games. It's not bad...but I probably won't go any further back than the NES again. The 2600 (and Intellivision...which I had one of...may get the Intellivision compilation for the Game Cube) just don't have the hold that the NES and later consoles do. I also thought my Dreamcast was going to be the newest console I owned but the other day I got my Game Cube (and LOVE it.)

[googlefest1]

I don’t have a cut off point although I do find myself neglecting to play the older systems (pre C64). But I also find my self neglecting to play the current systems that are out on the market. I’d say the biggest factor in neglecting the older systems is that they all use RF that plugs into a coax. Many times I feel too lazy to take out an older system, unscrew the RF that is occupying the single coax connector and screw in the new one. I have a beat up laserdisc player that only displays the image and sound through the coax and that ends up occupying the RF going to the tv – that and a VCR actually. I haven’t been able to find any kind of RF switch box like the kind I have for the AV and I’m against destroying my current systems by hacking an AV or s-video output .

Another factor that helps my neglect of the older systems is the graphics and game play. Sometimes I just don’t want to look at vomit on a screen and pretend it’s a crook, cop, or space ship.

Personally I feel that the older games are more challenging than the new ones. They all have their degree of difficulty but for some reason I think it is easier to control a character in third person around a three dimensional map than a two dimensional sprite on a two dimensional plane. So sometimes I don’t feel like going through the aggravation of getting killed a hundred times playing vanguard on the Atari 2600. Sometimes I think I have gotten too used to playing these newer fancy pants games that I go on a big retro kick and play these older systems trying the regain the gaming glory I had as a kid and I end up getting frustrated at how bad I have become at these true hand eye coordination games.

Is it just me or do others also think that the older games are more challenging to play?

My favorite time period in the video game chronology is the 8 bit – 16 bit period so I end up playing these more than I do the 3d systems. But when I play these systems I seem to play a game for a little while and switch to a new one. I end up being more dedicated to a single game on the newer 3d systems. (although my game cube committed suicide because I have virtually totally neglected that system.)

I agree with the person that mentioned it’s all about the memories – I tend to play the systems that have the most memorable connection to me from child hood. For example – as a kid I really, really wanted an Atari and instead my father got me a C64. so I played the Atari at my relatives house – coleco at a friends house – and c64 at my house. So out of the older systems these get played much more then say the odyssey 2 or channel F or astrocade. I just don’t have that connection to them other than being a collectible.

[Lost Monkey]

I don't play anything that isn't M rated. No f'in kiddy games for me. Nuff' said.

[Cmosfm]

No cutoff point, a true retrogamer/gamer enjoys a game no matter what the graphical capabilities of the system is.

[Lost Monkey]

I don't play anything that isn't M rated. No f'in kiddy games for me. Nuff' said.

;)

I don't think I have a real cutoff point in terms of consoles the 2600 was my first as a young teen in 1982, but I do not enjoy handhelds at all...

[Ed Oscuro]

Well, I wrote out an answer yesterday (Arcade Antics' reply is the best, heh), but my Internet ate it...I generally don't mess with pre-1985 games much, outside of SG-1000...it's not power so much as the selection of games available.

I haven't really tried to branch into Coleco or Intellivision, though, so I haven't come to any conclusions about those systems. If a game has good gameplay, I'll be all over it, no matter the system or year :)

[le geek]

No cut off point! I'm more likely to play a "bad" 2600 game than a "bad" NES game, but that's just me and nostalgia...

I used to be into the 2600 then NES and up, but now I have a Colecovision, 5200 and Vectrex.

For me a good game is a good game is a good game.

Cheers,
Ben

[jhd7]

I have two cutoff points: the oldest I play is the ColecoVision, tho I have a few 2600 games to play with the expansion module. Going forward, my most recent systems are the Duo and SNES. I can't count higher than 16 bits. :)

jeff d

[dreamcaster]

I don't purposely have a cut-off point, I just find that I tend to focus on the 16-bit onwards.

Being born in 1985 means that I missed out on the Atari/Coleco/Intellvision era. And when I started gaming, it was on a PC. I didn't have much experience 'in the day' with Master System or NES.

The 16-bit is where I got into games.

That said, there are some 8-bit games I enjoy - mainly on the Master System. The NES doesn't hold much interest for me beyond Super Mario Bros.

The Atari 2600 I have gets the occasional thrash. I'm a big fan of old arcade games such as Space Invaders, Ms. Pac-Man, Super Breakout and Asteroids. The pure, twitch gameplay is irresistable!

But yeah for me, the best years are the 90's. Mega Drive, SNES, Saturn, PSX, N64 and Dreamcast. These are the consoles where I spend most of my time.

[Jibbajaba]

I find a lot of these responses shocking considering that this is a classic gaming board...

Anything before the NES is unplayable???? x_x

Chris

[k8track]

I have absolutely no "cutoff point" whatsoever. I've got a complete Magnavox Odyssey, so you can't get any older than that (for home systems). I'd be willing to go back "all the way" if I had the money and get tons of old pinball machines, arcade skill games (e.g. shooting games, etc.), even all the way back to bagatelle games! (Somewhat related, I also love board games, and the same goes for them--the older the better.)

I prefer the "retro" stuff far, far more than the modern systems; the older the better. I can't tell you how many times I've gone into a pawn or flea and asked "do you have any video games?" "What kind you looking for?" "Pretty much everything; the older the better." And to them, "vintage, antique" games are NES. Going into a shop and seeing a bunch of PS2 and Xbox games does nothing for me. But when I happen into that very rare place (such as Sean Kelly's store in Norridge) and see actual boxed 2600, 5200, Coleco, and Intellivision games on the shelf, that does do something for me and I feel a powerful tinge of excitement.

In fact, until this past month, I had a "reverse cutoff" point and would collect hardly anything modern; just a smattering of Dreamcast, GBA, and Gamecube games (which I do love, by the way). I fiercely dug in my heels and said I would NEVER get a PS2 or Xbox. However, I'm now eating my words as I just got a PS2 (but only for one game--Katamari Damacy, and possibly Taiko Drum Master in the future) and am now salivating to get an Xbox (but not for any actual Xbox games; I'm solely interested in it for the emulation potential and region-free DVD viewing).

[Anthony1]

I find a lot of these responses shocking considering that this is a classic gaming board...

Anything before the NES is unplayable???? x_x

Chris


I think alot of this also depends on the age of the person. Guys in their 20's, aren't likely to be big time Atari 2600 junkies. They didn't grow up with it. So for these guys, going back and playing the "really" old school games typically ends in dissapointment.

I actually grew up with an Atari 2600. I got one for XMAS when I was 7 years old. Me and my brother played it for about 4 years or so. Then dad got a Atari 800XL computer, and we played with that for awhile, but then we lost interest in gaming altogether.

Then as a early teenager, I got a NES for XMAS from my Mom. But I still wasn't a big time gamer.

I didn't become a big time gamer till I went to college and bought a TurboGrafx-16 in 1989. I also got a Genesis around the same time, and that is when I became a hardcore game freak.

So when I got into retrogaming, I did go all the way back. I got a Atari 2600 and all the games I used to have, I got a NES, and all the games I had and tons that I didn't have. I also got my old Atari 800XL (still haven't played that cause I don't have the damn power brick!).

For a few weeks I was playing 2600 games, but after awhile, I determined that the 2600 was best left a part of my past, and that I didn't need to revisit it anymore. It was definitely a nice look back into my early childhood and gaming, but not something I would want to do again and again.

As for the NES, at one point I was really into collecting carts for the NES, and I was really hyped on the NES, but after awhile I also grew tired of it. Part of it was all the blinking lights, and blowing on carts, etc, etc. Just got sick of all the hassle after awhile. I still play NES every now and then, but I play it on my XBOX.

In regards to the whole "cutoff" point issue. I decided to make a "cutoff " point just so that I could focus on the systems that I'm truly passionate about. That would be systems from the TG-16 forward. The SNES is my all time favorite, the TG-16 is a close second, and I also love the Saturn and Genesis and early PSX games. I also like messing around with the Jaguar and 32X, and I had a Neo Geo way back in the day, and I'm looking for a Neo Geo CD system at some point. I might also want to get a FM Towns Marty at some point, and a Phillips CD-I.

Basically, I really like early and mid 90's video gaming, and I've decided to just focus on that. So I made my "cutoff " point the TG-16, just so I can stop buying games and accessories and systems, if I know that I'm not really going to every play them very much.

One thing that I've learned, is that there is only so much damn time in the day to be able to play games, and I have so many freaking games that I would like to play, that it really isn't that bad a thing to narrow my focus a little bit.

[digitalpress]

Why limit yourself?

Do you only eat certain types of food because it's too complicated to eat the others? Do you travel only within a certain radius because there's too big of a world beyond it?

Gaming has a rich history and there are games from EVERY era that you'll be missing because you're putting up barriers. You're doing yourself an incredible disservice to limit what you will and will not play.

[Ed Oscuro]

Even if you don't really enjoy pre-NES titles (and there's a few everybody should be able to), it's fun to see how the first designers pushed the hardware in pursuit of better gameplay...they didn't always succeed, but there are enough awesome games from back then to make up for that.

[drummy]

I get what you're saying. My cut-off point would be the NES/SMS. Anything before it, I just can't experience with much passion. It feels like a chore for me to play an Atari 2600. Sad, I know, but to each their own.
That's exactly it for me. All that pixelly-ness just annoys the shit out of me. Maybe because I didn't grow up in that era. I grew up in the slightly pre-NES era, where games for systems like the SMS were played.

[WanganRunner]

I definitely wouldn't say that I have any fixed cutoff.

Thus far, the focus of my collecting has definitely been on NES-and-later gaming, simply because I'm 23 years old, so that's what I know.

I've dabbled with 2600 and some early arcade stuff, I'm particularly a fan of Battlezone and Zaxxon.

One big reason I haven't done much gaming in the pre-NES era however is because most of my favorite genres simply didn't exist then. There weren't really any RPG's, certainly no platformers, etc...

I was never terribly into playing for a high score, I sorta missed that era.

[Anthony1]

Why limit yourself?

Do you only eat certain types of food because it's too complicated to eat the others? Do you travel only within a certain radius because there's too big of a world beyond it?

Gaming has a rich history and there are games from EVERY era that you'll be missing because you're putting up barriers. You're doing yourself an incredible disservice to limit what you will and will not play.


It simply comes down to the issue of time. If I had the ability to stop time, and while time is stopped, to be able to play all the games I would like to play at some point, then sure, I wouldn't limit myself, but the reality is that I don't have this super power, and I'm looking at over 1,000 games that I would like to play at some point. I know that I'm never going to be able to actually play all 1,000 of those games, but still I hope to play them. And that is just TG-16 forward.

So, it's not like I'm limiting myself, I'm just choosing to narrow my focus.

I played some 2600, and it didn't excite me very much. The initial Nostalgia factor was there, but it faded away pretty quick.

I will still occasionally play the NES via a emulator on my XBOX, but I just don't have much time to mess with the NES.

Plus, remember, I'm a graphics and sound whore. I'm also a HDTV whore and a RGB whore, and a Surround Sound Dolby Pro Logic IIx whore.

So the TG-16 is a perfect cutoff for me. The TG-16 has true stereo sound, it can put 512 colors on the screen (like the SNES). It's RGB compatible. It has that 8 bit flavor to it. It's a perfect cutoff for me.

Also, part of this is the fact that I'm running out of space in my house to store all this crap. My Wife is on my ass about how many cabinets in the Garage I'm using to store this stuff when I'm not using it. I have to draw the line somwhere.

[Ed Oscuro]

It simply comes down to the issue of time.
(Noting that the post goes on much further than that) Well, Anthony, if it all came down to time, then surely you'd be able to play more games on old systems than new, all other things being equal...but they ain't, are they?

[digitalpress]

So, it's not like I'm limiting myself, I'm just choosing to narrow my focus.

You say potato, and I say you're limiting yourself :)


Also, part of this is the fact that I'm running out of space in my house to store all this crap. My Wife is on my ass about how many cabinets in the Garage I'm using to store this stuff when I'm not using it. I have to draw the line somwhere.

AHA! Finally an answer that makes some sense to me. To this I have no argument.

[Gamereviewgod]

AHA! Finally an answer that makes some sense to me. To this I have no argument.

Oh come on Joe, of course you do. We all know you get rid of the wife in that case. :P

[Ed Oscuro]

Also, part of this is the fact that I'm running out of space in my house to store all this crap. My Wife is on my ass about how many cabinets in the Garage I'm using to store this stuff when I'm not using it. I have to draw the line somwhere.
AHA! Finally an answer that makes some sense to me. To this I have no argument.
Haha, I missed that the first time through. I KNEW Anthony was hiding something in that post..!

[NE146]

It simply comes down to the issue of time. If I had the ability to stop time, and while time is stopped, to be able to play all the games I would like to play at some point... I played some 2600, and it didn't excite me very much. The initial Nostalgia factor was there, but it faded away pretty quick.

So you wouldn't play a twitch game like Kaboom which lasts literally a couple of minutes at most? :) There's a pure gameplay game if there was one...

[hydr0x]

right now for stuff i have it's NES, but i can absolutely see myself get an Atari 2600 soon, and i'm not afraid of buying earlier stuff :D

[The Manimal]

VCS/2600, though I hate Intellivision games.

[SuperNES]

i do'nt own or play anything before SNES and the 16-bit era. i started gaming on a Genny 3, so i don't really truly enjoy anything before that. okay, i do play a lot of NES stuff on emulators like super mario bros, legend of zelda, and excitebike, but in terms of actually owning/playing the real thing, i've never owned anything before genny/SNES. i've never even played an atari. :embarrassed:

[Poofta!]

im with you there Anthony

at first i considered the NES, but after getting most of the games i loved during my childhood (not that many, maybe 20), going farther into games everyone says are the shiznit is very difficult, i find it hard to play nes zelda, final fantasy double dragon etc etc.

i can play the marios any day, and kirby and a couple other select games. but thats basically it.

i tried earlier systems but found that i have never turned on my O2 since after testing it.

so im there with you, select games from NES, other than that, TG16 and up (and i show much tg16 lots of love)

if however i had to choose my favorite era of games that i prefer to play, it would be the psone. simply because it had everything from snes and then some. it has all of snes' awesome megaman games, rpgs, fighting and shooters. but instead of torturing us with crappy driving/sim games, we get playstation's greatly upgraded ones.