I'd still like to say my argument for 32-bit generation being the worst is because of it's included bretheren.
For every Playstation there was a CD-i
For every Saturn was an Atari Jaguar
It's not just the best systems of that generation - it's the *whole* generation. In a math sense it's like it averages out to a lower score - greatly hindered by that damn CD-i
Now just to add a fun side argument -> where do we place the TG-16 generation wise? 8 or 16-bit
*dons asbestos suit*
-AB+
Holy crap. It's been a while.
16 < 8 < 32 < PS2/DC/Wii/etc < 360/PS3
I'm not going to try to rank the pre 8-bit era, it's not part of the same flowing evolution and it spans 10+ years and a huge variety of hardware from the Odyssey to the SG-1000.
Yeah but how many waggle or instrument games are there?
8-bit obviously. Just look at the games, they have 8-bit quality aesthetics, gameplay and design.
Last edited by Black_Tiger; 07-04-2009 at 12:44 PM.
Last edited by Baloo; 07-04-2009 at 04:22 PM.
I've never played Super Mario Kart, so I wouldn't know how it is in comparison, but when I go back to Mario Kart 64 after playing Double Dash, Mario Kart DS, and Mario Kart Wii for so long, it can't light a candle to the superiority of the later versions in terms of control, replay value, amount of tracks, quality of tracks, and did I mention control?
That game was absolute garbage. It hasn't aged poorly, it's just a piece of crap.
I thought Mario Kart 64 sucked to begin with. I never understood why that game was so popular. It controls poorly, most of the tracks are dull, and it's very cheap.
Same goes for most of the games on your list, actually. Tekken was Virtua Fighter's weak cousin. I did like Sonic the Fighters (what a weird mention, it was never popular), but I realized it wasn't really a great game, it's just shallow fun. I never played MK 4, but I thought MK Trilogy was the last one anyone cared about. The first Crash Bandicoot was rather poor and only popular due to marketing (although I did like the third one). I rented Spyro when it first came out and I found it slow and boring.
Originally Posted by TheShawn
I actually think the original Crash Bandicoot has aged well compared to other PS1 games like Tomb Raider and Twisted Metal. In general the games that were going for a more realistic look back then don't look so good now while the more colorful cartooney type games have survived. This is part of the reason why 16-bit games have aged much better than the early PS1 games also.
Looking at it 12 years later:
Best generation: As far as the overall game experiences, the 7th generation (what Wiki calls the 6th): PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Dreamcast era. There was such a wide variety of games available in this era because the midsize, "indie" developers still had more of a chance in the market. Nowadays it seems that due to the colossal budgets required for a triple-A game, the same few genres are done to death by a handful of developers. This was also the last generation where online wasn't an integral part of most games. It was the pinnacle of the "buy a game at the store and fire it up" mentality; all you needed was the console, a controller, the game, and maybe a memory card.
Worst generation: The last one, the 9th (Wiki 8th). What did we add with this generation? By this time, you'd often buy a game, you'd need a 10, 20, even 50 gigabyte download. Your console also has to be connected to the internet. So, you buy a game, you get it home, you have to wait half an hour or more to play it. And it's probably some game that's the same genre as 467 others that came out that same year. After constant progress from the 1970s through the 2000s, the 2010s has seen a backslide. No, I don't want a 37 gigabyte patch. No, I don't want to have to play online. The one good thing is that consoles have hard drives now, but that was in the previous generation as well. This generation added nothing meaningful, unlike every generation before it.
I know the 6th generation (Wiki 5th) gets a lot of flack, but it introduced a lot of features that improved the gaming experience. 3D, for one. I know the early 3D often looked ugly, but it progressed quickly; most of the later 6th gen (1998 and later) games looked significantly better than the early (1995 to 1997) ones. (And I'm talking about the true 6th gen consoles, PS1, N64, and Saturn) There are certain game genres that hugely benefited from 3D. I know many will disagree with me but 3D is almost a requirement for RPGs, and I enjoy the 3D platformers more than 2D ones. Also, analog sticks, CD storage (which facilitated longer and more complex games), much more widespread game save features, and a myriad of other things. It was a quantum leap in just a few years.
Real collectors drive Hondas, Toyotas, Chevys, Fords, etc... not Rolls Royces.