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[Hudo]

Deep down we all wanted a NeoGeo back then, we just couldn't afford it at our ages, lol.

Word. The NeoGeo was this sacred thing. Unattainable for mere mortals (poor folk). The arcade stick controller alone makes it superior to its contemporaries. And it was stylish as hell. (The only thing more stylish was the Sharp X68000).

 

[Vlaphor]

Word. The NeoGeo was this sacred thing. Unattainable for mere mortals (poor folk). The arcade stick controller alone makes it superior to its contemporaries. And it was stylish as hell. (The only thing more stylish was the Sharp X68000).

The X68000 is the best. It emulates fine...but I still want to actually own one. I did pick up a Japanese Neo-Geo several years ago at a pretty good price.

 

[Chiggs]

Playing shmups on Genesis was really the only comparison you needed to make, friend. I love my SNES but high-octane arcade gaming was always better on the Genesis (with a few notable exceptions on SNES). Mickey's World of Illusion, Sonic & Knuckles, and Ranger X can go toe-to-toe with anything on the SNES, IMO.

What does SNES have that can hold up to Grind Stormer (or any other Toaplan stuff), Gleylancer, Verytex, or Thunder Force 4?

Remember the port of Thunder Force III for SNES? Thunder Spirits? What a mess that was. Slowdown galore and somehow the music got worse?

R-Type III and Axelay are pretty good SNES shooters, but they just lack, well, "speed."

 

[Mochilador]

This intro on the Genesis was pretty impressive.

Damn, that's impressive but the woman looks like she shitted in her pants.

 

[Sapiens]

I feel like you really need threads like this once in a while to counter the defening Pro-Snes screeching.

They were both incredible systems. And if you can’t acknowledge that one wasn’t definitevly better than the other, you need to not be a part of these conversations.

Imo

 

[Hudo]

This thread also reminds me that I should probably play Phantasy Star 4 at some point. There are some people claiming that it's better than FF6, after all...

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Remember the port of Thunder Force III for SNES? Thunder Spirits? What a mess that was. Slowdown galore and somehow the music got worse?

R-Type III and Axelay are pretty good SNES shooters, but they just lack, well, "speed."

U.N. Squadron, Biometal, Phalanx, and Space Megaforce (Super Aleste) all run pretty speedily but overall yeah, SNES shmups felt much slower. Genesis games seemed to use parallax a lot more (SNES had it, but by that point it had been mastered on the Genesis already) so that lent itself quite well to any shmups.

The better shmups were on Genesis, that's really all there is to it. It had the better Aleste game, all the good Technosoft stuff, more Toaplan games, more Namco shmups, and a ton of lesser-known shmup developers like Tokai, Aprinet, Telenet Japan, and Masaya. Even SEGA developed some (like Biohazard Battle).

The only nod I'll give to SNES is the TwinBee games, which were solid ports.

 

[tkscz]

Well that depends what which games we're talking about here. The Genesis could never pull off Megaman and Bass or Street Fighter Alpha 2. That second one actually had load times on the SNES, but still ran great. Don't see the Genesis pulling off Yoshi's Island either, same goes for DKC:2 and 3, not with the same fidelity. While the Genesis could pull out some amazing things with just it's 61 colors, the SNES could pull off a lot more. This gave the systems two distinctly different looks when it came to sprite work.

 

[cireza]

not with the same fidelity

Of course the MegaDrive can't. That's pretty much what happens when two consoles have very different strengths and weaknesses. They each can do things that the other can't.

The MegaDrive could do these games, but with less colors, and no true transparency. But it could do them in 320*240, with greater scrolling speed if wanted. And possibly better animation. And unzipping stuff is nothing for the Genesis. Street Fighter Alpha 2 had load time because the processor had to unzip data if I am not mistaken, something you can be sure would be achieved waaaaaay faster by the Genesis.

 

[Sapiens]

Well that depends what which games we're talking about here. The Genesis could never pull off Megaman and Bass or Street Fighter Alpha 2. That second one actually had load times on the SNES, but still ran great. Don't see the Genesis pulling off Yoshi's Island either, same goes for DKC:2 and 3, not with the same fidelity. While the Genesis could pull out some amazing things with just it's 61 colors, the SNES could pull off a lot more. This gave the systems two distinctly different looks when it came to sprite work.

Right. Just like the SNES could never pull off sonic game with the same fidelity as even Sonic 1.

Both systems had their strengths which developers did max out, uniquely.

 

[Enzo88]

Snes is still the Goat, deal with it.

 

[tkscz]

Right. Just like the SNES could never pull off sonic game with the same fidelity as even Sonic 1.

Both systems had their strengths which developers did max out, uniquely.

And I miss that.

 

[GrayFoxRJ]

All hail Mega Drive

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I think people underestimate the sort of quality hardware that SEGA was pushing out at the time. It's much easier to look back and reflect on how SEGA did poorly in many areas (botched 32x and CD launches, botched Saturn lifecycle, decline of their arcade market, etc) but they did a lot of things right.

Genesis/MD was built to port arcade games. That's why the it was based on the System 16 board, why it had another common arcade component (the Motorola 68k processor), why it had an arcade-quality Yamaha YM2612 for sound... and this system launched in 1988. The fact that it was still going toe-to-toe with a system 2 years younger should demonstrate how well-built it was.

 

[LittleBusters]

All hail Genesis - the best console there ever was. A time when you could go into Toys R Us and see all the consoles on display - Sega, Nintendo, Atari and those checkerboard Sega cartridges. Damn. Millennials don't realize that back in 1990, the mania over Phantasy Star 2 was like it is for Zelda BOTW in 2017. Oh and back then it cost $100 the game + guide book. In 1990 dollars which would be $192 in 2018. So back then kids like myself had no trouble paying 3x as much for a AAA if it was great. So when I look at all the whining about $60 games in 2018 I have to laugh. But then I don't see anything right now worth spending $200 for except possibly Cyberpunk 2077. Remember games like this are an investment. You play it originally and then many times over the next several years.

 

[jufonuk]

Axelay
Contra 3
Hook
Actraiser 1 & 2
Super Metroid
Super Mario world
Super aleste
Street fighter alpha 3

 

[pramod]

OP have you played Zero Tolerance?

 

[Horsemama1956]

I get a good laugh when I picture games like Mega Man X, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 on the Genesis.

 

[Xenon]

Genesis was amazing. So many great games, and broke Nintendo's stranglehold on gaming.

NeoGeo was a powerful system with good fighting games and few other gems, but mostly forgettable Arcade games. I wish they would have made a serious attempt at a home console focused game or got a 3rd party to make one.

 

[Hudo]

I think people underestimate the sort of quality hardware that SEGA was pushing out at the time. It's much easier to look back and reflect on how SEGA did poorly in many areas (botched 32x and CD launches, botched Saturn lifecycle, decline of their arcade market, etc) but they did a lot of things right.

Genesis/MD was built to port arcade games. That's why the it was based on the System 16 board, why it had another common arcade component (the Motorola 68k processor), why it had an arcade-quality Yamaha YM2612 for sound... and this system launched in 1988. The fact that it was still going toe-to-toe with a system 2 years younger should demonstrate how well-built it was.

I've actually read fairly recently that the home console hardware team was actively looking at what the arcade division was doing. So the choice for basing it on the System 16 board came pretty naturally. However, there was a conflict in the beginning of the project with the financial department. The Motorola 68000 was fairly expensive at that point in time and the hardware team was instructed to look for a 8-bit CPU as fallback. Luckily, the managed to get a deal with Signetics, a company that built the Motorola 68000 in license. Cutting cost was also the reason why the Mega Drive ended up with 64KB of VRAM rather than the 128KB of VRAM, as originally planned.

You also have to keep in mind that there was a mandate that the Mega Drive should be backwards compatible with the Master System. That was also one of the main reasons why they went with the Yamaha YM2612 FM, it was very compatible to the Z80.

They've done a very good job, indeed.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I've actually read fairly recently that the home console hardware team was actively looking at what the arcade division was doing. So the choice for basing it on the System 16 board came pretty naturally. However, there was a conflict in the beginning of the project with the financial department. The Motorola 68000 was fairly expensive at that point in time and the hardware team was instructed to look for a 8-bit CPU as fallback. Luckily, the managed to get a deal with Signetics, a company that built the Motorola 68000 in license. Cutting cost was also the reason why the Mega Drive ended up with 64KB of VRAM rather than the 128KB of VRAM, as originally planned.

You also have to keep in mind that there was a mandate that the Mega Drive should be backwards compatible with the Master System. That was also one of the main reasons why they went with the Yamaha YM2612 FM, it was very compatible to the Z80.

They've done a very good job, indeed.

Yeah, SEGA had a good pipeline. They'd experiment and hone the technology in the arcades and then launch the home version, which also made for a wider variety of arcade-perfect ports. It would've been a far more powerful business model if the arcades survived. That was the problem.

 

[Wonko_C]

I get a good laugh when I picture games like Mega Man X, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6 on the Genesis.

I don't know about the other two, but I always wonder what could MMX have been on the Genesis: Faster-paced, more enemies on screen and harder-hitting rock-style music. It could have been awesome.

Lazygecko's rendition of Toxic Seahorse has a menacing quality that still sends me chills.

 

[RAIDEN1]

The point being of course that the Genesis marked Sega as being the "one-hit wonder" of the gaming hardware scene they could only DREAM of replicating that success with the 32x, Saturn and Dreamcast....where as Nintendo kept giving hit after hit...despite it's speed limitations amongst other things the SNES did win the 16 bit wars..

 

[#Phonepunk#]

i had an SNES as a kid. we could only afford 1 system so that was it for me but it was still a land of plenty. but i had friends Genesis and loved those games as well. even back then i knew console wars were childish competitive consumerism. each machine has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and even then, a technical weakness can lead to better results by sheer invention.

for instance it is often said that the SNES had "better" sound but i would far rather play/listen to Castlevania: Bloodlines over SCIV. there is something about that FM synth, it's so shiny, metallic, crisp. the SNES sound muddy by comparison. i even bought the soundtrack to Shinobi III on vinyl.

 

[Chiggs]

Well that depends what which games we're talking about here. The Genesis could never pull off Megaman and Bass or Street Fighter Alpha 2. That second one actually had load times on the SNES, but still ran great. Don't see the Genesis pulling off Yoshi's Island either, same goes for DKC:2 and 3, not with the same fidelity. While the Genesis could pull out some amazing things with just it's 61 colors, the SNES could pull off a lot more. This gave the systems two distinctly different looks when it came to sprite work.

Megaman X uses a "helper" chip, if I remember correctly.

 

[tkscz]

Megaman X uses a "helper" chip, if I remember correctly.

Megaman X 2 and X 3 did but only for the 3D effects, all 2D effects were done by the SNES itself. Megaman and Bass was a separate game that didn't use a special chip to run anything.

 

[metareferential]

I love the banter in OP.

And I couldn't agree more: Mega Drive for life.

 

[cireza]

Street fighter alpha 3

Are you sure it wasn't Third Strike instead ?

 

[jufonuk]

Are you sure it wasn't Third Strike instead ?

Was it alpha 2? Sorry long day haha

 

[Chiggs]

Megaman X 2 and X 3 did but only for the 3D effects, all 2D effects were done by the SNES itself. Megaman and Bass was a separate game that didn't use a special chip to run anything.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification

 

[Isa]

I was totally a Genesis/Megadrive kid back then, it was the my first system purchase (I had other systems though). I got the Mk 2 with Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Good god the music. Also so many great memories renting games over the weekend. Or how my Mom was shocked by the puppy stages in Earthworm Jim 2. I love the appeal Sega gave me, like they were maturing with me, and Sony continued that. But in the early 2k's I learned more about my best friends' uncles' PCEngine/TurboGfx Cd. Oh man am I a fan. If I had the dosh and wasn't so into current gen gaming I'd go all out collecting for it. Incredible what they did with that back then.

 

[Nethernova]

A little on topic but what the technical reason the genesis sound comes through so clearly compared to the snes? Snes has always sounded muffled to me, like its coming through a cotton filter or something. Its way more details for sure, but it sounds so muffled whereas the genesis sound is twangy and not as detailed as snes but its crystal clear in comparison

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

A little on topic but what the technical reason the genesis sound comes through so clearly compared to the snes? Snes has always sounded muffled to me, like its coming through a cotton filter or something. Its way more details for sure, but it sounds so muffled whereas the genesis sound is twangy and not as detailed as snes but its crystal clear in comparison

Better sound chip. The Yamaha inside the Genesis was the same used for some arcade boards and (if I'm not mistaken) some of Yamaha's professional audio equipment.

 

[Deleted member 738976]

I would have wanted to see what the SNES CD could do.
Only a few rumored games besides Secret of Mana.

 

[caffeware]

wrong.gif

Calling Donkey Kong Country games ugly is calling FFVII ugly and calling Resident Evil 2 ugly.

The Megadrive had enchantment hardware also, it's called the 32x. Sega's engineering/business model just simply sucked. And let's not forget that mediocre racing game...

And don't get me stated on the music. I just don't understand how one don't hear the SNES superiority.

Now, if we talk Saturn vs N64, I go Saturn all day.

 

[MP!]

Search your heart. Put aside your bias. Overlook the crappier music and limited color palette. Deep down inside, you know it's true: Genesis games 1994 and later are just doing a lot more and, more importantly, aren't relying on a Super FX-esque way of achieving their ridiculous visuals. God bless the Motorola 68000 and god damn the Ricoh 5A22.

Examples:

• Alien Soldier - the SNES would fucking keel over trying to handle this goddamn spritefest.
• Comix Zone - nothing on the SNES that even compares, IMO.
• Vectorman 1 & 2 - Both are technical masterpieces and have convincing pseudo-3D visuals.
• Red Zone - FMV, a great soundtrack, and is that 3D I'm seeing on the goddamned Genesis?
• Beyond Oasis - Huge sprites, excellent animation.

You'll note that I didn't list Virtua Racing on the Genesis because I sniped at the Super FX chip above. But, if we're talking Sega's SVP chip...well, it kicked the shit out of Super FX. Virtua Racing on the Genesis smokes Super FX racing games (don't let the color palette fool you; look at the frame rate, and notice how the SNES/Super FX duo are using sprites for some of the visuals...and look at the freaking borders, for Christ's sake).

Some other notable titles:

• Contra Hard Corps
• Panorama Cotton
• Light Crusader
• The Adventures of Batman and Robin

Summary plus assorted notes:

• The SNES is cheating piece of shit that used a ton of gimmicky chips to pump out the nice visuals seen in its later years (and not just the Super FX, either).
• The SNES is a cheating piece of shit that still managed to have shittier frame rates than the Genesis, despite launching two years later.
• The Motorola 68000 is a much better CPU than the Ricoh 5A22, the latter of which really held the SNES back.
• If you like the SNES, you're probably a big dork who cries at Chrono Trigger and dreams lustily of Seiken Densetsu 3.
• The only Super FX game worth a shit is Yoshi's Island; the rest are trash, but Star Fox has a good soundtrack.
• Donkey Kong County 1-3 are ugly games.

well... honestly this war still rages... and I'm not saying those games aren't impressive... but there are glaring things lacking to me... like transparencies. all the shadows in comix zone for example are some odd dithering or stripe effect. waterfalls in beyond oasis are the same stripey thing. Color palate will always be an issue for me. I'm impressed by the framerates and draw distance of the SVP chip over the Super FX chip. but again color palate and visual quality were probably a lower priority. But wow that framerate, I actually am impressed. I wonder if red zone was actually parallax sprites rather than 3d, but I don't know. Alien soldier I don't think is out of the realm of SNES, I'm not convinced.

If I were a genius programmer I'd port all sorts of retro games to other consoles just for the fun of it. Like FFVII to 64, and some of these SNES VS genesis games to each of those platforms ... just to see what would be possible and what sacrifices you'd have to make.

I love the comparison of cool spot to illustrate the differences in hardware back then... the intro shows the strengths and weaknesses of each console.



theres just so much more going on with SNES on that title screen, you could attribute that to development choices ... but I just don't think the genesis could pull of the same title screen as SNES in this case.

 

[mayhemking]

HOLY SHIT another Vectorman fan?! I thought I was alone...

 

[TheWatcher]

Genesis was amazing until I played Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Country.

 

[Clear]

Much as I love to hear the... well, love, the 68000 wasn't really all that impressive. Bear in mind both the Amiga and the Atari ST were 68k machines from 1985, and there's a pretty big difference in the performance of those machines despite the former having a slightly slower clocked cpu.

It was largely about the co-processers in those days, and the Megadrive/Genesis had a really good one. Its only real drawback was the cheap-ass video output circuitry, which really lacked "pop" next to the SNES.

 

[Deleted member 738976]

HOLY SHIT another Vectorman fan?! I thought I was alone...

Wrong

 

[Soleil rouge]

Vectorman is more impressive than Donkey Kong Country. Don't even @ me.

 

[Deleted member 738976]

Vectorman is more impressive than Donkey Kong Country. Don't even @ me.

I only wish that Vectorman 2 was a better sequel like Donkey Kong Country 2 was to Donkey Kong Country 1.

 

[phil_t98]

Vectorman is more impressive than Donkey Kong Country. Don't even @ me.

while Vectorman is good and the animation is top notch DKC just had a next gen feel at the time when it came out. I don't know if you remember but when the press where shown DKC they thought it was running on next gen hardware at the time and it blew them away when they showed it was the SNES running it. still both great games

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I agree there's some really impressive looking late Genesis games, one example for me is Garfield: Caught in The Act, I love cartoon like it's visuals are, I also really love Castlevania Bloodlines' graphics.

But there's also some impressive late SNES titles too, I think it just stems from both hardwares being a few years old by that point and devs really figuring out how to make them sing.

 

[Soleil rouge]

while Vectorman is good and the animation is top notch DKC just had a next gen feel at the time when it came out. I don't know if you remember but when the press where shown DKC they thought it was running on next gen hardware at the time and it blew them away when they showed it was the SNES running it. still both great games

Makes me wonder how the marketing people over at Atari felt after seeing DKC running on a 16-bit console while their "64-bit" console featured games like Atari Karts at the time.

 

[dirthead]

I'm sorry, but you basically have to be a fanboy to prefer the Genesis over the SNES. If you look at it even semi-objectively, just compare the systems by genre:

* SNES RPGs just absolutely decimate Genesis ones. It's not even close here. The Genesis didn't get any of the Square games.
* Genesis is the clear winner in the sports category with the EA games. Even NBA Jam played better on the Genesis.
* Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, the Donkey Kong Country games are better than Sonic. You can say what you want, but it's true.
* The Genesis has the best run n' guns. Gunstar Heroes and Contra HARD Corps are better than Contra 3.
* SNES had the better version of SF2, better version of Mortal Kombat 2, and the Genesis had had the better version of Mortal Kombat 1 even though it was hideous looking. Killer Instinct more than cancels out Eternal Champions. Another clear SNES win.
* The Genesis wins the beat 'em up category. There's nothing on the SNES as good as Streets of Rage 2.
* Super Mario Kart and F-Zero edge out any racers on the Genesis. The Genesis notably has Road Rash, but the aforementioned SNES ones are still stronger.
* The Genesis doesn't even have an answer to/competitor for Super Metriod, one of the best games ever made.
* The Oasis games are a joke compared to Zelda 3. The SNES is the clear winner in action/adventure.
* Puyo Puyo 2 is one of the best puzzle games of all time, but Tetris Attack on the SNES is also one of the best puzzle games of all time. This is almost a tie, but when you factor in that the SNES got a port of Puzzle Bobble and the Genesis didn't, this is probably yet another SNES win.
* What about all the random awesome Natsume games like Wild Guns that aren't on the Genesis?
* Neo Geo fighting game ports blew on both consoles. Irrelevant comparison there.
* Castlevania 4 is better than Bloodlines, so the SNES once again got the better game.
* Konami arcade ports (TMNT2, Sunset Riders, etc.) were better on the SNES
* The Genesis has the best team fighter in Yu Yu Hakusho. That is one clear winner for the Genesis.

The SNES is just flat out better. It had an absurdly amazing game library. I love the Genesis, but when you just look at the games, it's a landslide for the SNES.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I'm sorry, but you basically have to be a fanboy to prefer the Genesis over the SNES.

 

[Son_of_Zardoz]

pefect_answer.gif

No words need to be said--that gif sums it up.

So many great memories on the Genesis. When we (I'm the youngest of 3 brothers) got our NES it was awesome but I was young and pretty crappy (at least compared to them) at games. That being said we still had a blast with it. However, the Genesis came along when I was in middle school and blew my mind. I couldn't get it for my b-day (too expensive) so I rallied my brothers and we asked for it for xmas. That started my whole secret "don't buy lunch at school, eat right when I get home and save that money for Genesis games" plan. Bought so many games like that. I still remember the first time I saw/played the system. They just had one sitting out at a Brendle's and my mom would shop while I played Altered Beast. Soooo much nostalgia.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I'm all about opinions, but calling someone who prefers one system over the other a "fanboy" is pretty fanboyish yourself. My comments

I'm sorry, but you basically have to be a fanboy to prefer the Genesis over the SNES. If you look at it even semi-objectively, just compare the systems by genre:

* SNES RPGs just absolutely decimate Genesis ones. It's not even close here. The Genesis didn't get any of the Square games.

Agreed, though it seems strange to artificially prop up one system with strong RPGs when back then it wasn't even considered a big deal. Most people in the West didn't realize how much of a treasure-trove the SNES was until 10 years later when everyone started messing around with emulators.

* Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, the Donkey Kong Country games are better than Sonic. You can say what you want, but it's true.

Ah, "but it's true". Well, no debating it, then!

Thing is, Genesis got far more mid-tier platformers than the SNES did. If you look beyond the handful of platformers you named, the Genesis is packed with other platformers like Chiki Chiki Boys, Wardner, Dynamite Heady, Decap Attack, Ristar, Kid Chameleon, Rocket Knight Adventures, Shinobi, Alisia Dragoon, and many others. SNES's library of platformers was mostly 1st-party Nintendo and Disney stuff (which was also on Genesis).

So if you only want 1 or 2 platformers, yeah, I can see why someone would go with SNES for DKC and SMW. But if you're actually a fan of platformers and want to play the widest variety? I think Genesis has the upper hand there.

* The Genesis has the best run n' guns. Gunstar Heroes and Contra HARD Corps are better than Contra 3.

Don't forget Mega Turrican, Alien Soldier, Midnight Resistance, and Vectorman series.

* SNES had the better version of SF2, better version of Mortal Kombat 2, and the Genesis had had the better version of Mortal Kombat 1 even though it was hideous looking. Another clear SNES win.

Truth. Genesis did have more fighting games and a native 6-button controller, so it has that going for it.

* Super Mario Kart and F-Zero edge out any racers on the Genesis. The Genesis notably has Road Rash, but the aforementioned SNES ones are still stronger.

Uhh, no, gonna have to disagree with you here. It entirely depends on what sort of racers you like. SNES did top-down racers quite well and had a handful of fun gems like Battle Cross. However, Genesis was basically spearheading the whole racing genre in the arcades. Outrunners, Super Monaco GP, and Super Hang On were a lot of fun.

* The Genesis doesn't even have an answer to/competitor for Super Metriod, one of the best games ever made.

The SNES doesn't even have an answer for a lot of stuff on Genesis, either. What compares to Streets of Rage?

* The Oasis games are a joke compared to Zelda 3. The SNES is the clear winner in action/adventure.

I've never understood this comparison between Beyond Oasis and Zelda, but okay.

* Puyo Puyo 2 is one of the best puzzle games of all time, but Tetris Attack on the SNES is also one of the best puzzle games of all time. This is almost a tie, but when you factor in that the SNES got a port of Puzzle Bobble and the Genesis didn't, this is probably yet another SNES win.

Genesis had Columns III which could play up to 5 on one screen.

* What about all the random awesome Natsume games like Wild Guns that aren't on the Genesis?

What about all the random Toaplan games like Hellfire, Fire Shark, Truxton, and Zero Wing that aren't on SNES? What about all the random Technosoft games like Thunderforce 4, Herzog Zwei, Devil's Crush, and Elemental Master not on the SNES? What about all the random awesome EA games like Mutant League Football, Mutant League Hockey, NHL 94, etc?

I mean, we can pick random companies back and forth. It's no secret that each system had its strengths and weaknesses.

* Castlevania 4 is better than Bloodlines, so the SNES once again got the better game.

I personally don't care for Castlevania, so I have nothing to add.

* Konami arcade ports (TMNT2, Sunset Riders, etc.) were better on the SNES

Yeah, but Genesis has Rocket Knights Adventures which is one of Konami's best games ever. SNES does have the better version of Sparkster, though.

* The Genesis has the best team fighter in Yu Yu Hakusho. That is one clear winner for the Genesis.

I never played many fighters on Genesis to be honest.

The SNES is just flat out better. It had an absurdly amazing game library. I love the Genesis, but when you just look at the games, it's a landslide for the SNES.

It's really not. It's a "landslide" if you like certain genres in which the SNES is stronger. SNES is really strong in RPGs, fighting games, platformers, and action games. Genesis is really strong in shmups, arcade conversions, platformers, sports games, beat 'em ups, and top-down shooters.

 

[Chiggs]

I'm sorry, but you basically have to be a fanboy to prefer the Genesis over the SNES. If you look at it even semi-objectively, just compare the systems by genre:

* SNES RPGs just absolutely decimate Genesis ones. It's not even close here. The Genesis didn't get any of the Square games.
* Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, the Donkey Kong Country games are better than Sonic. You can say what you want, but it's true.
* The Genesis has the best run n' guns. Gunstar Heroes and Contra HARD Corps are better than Contra 3.
* SNES had the better version of SF2, better version of Mortal Kombat 2, and the Genesis had had the better version of Mortal Kombat 1 even though it was hideous looking. Another clear SNES win.
* Super Mario Kart and F-Zero edge out any racers on the Genesis. The Genesis notably has Road Rash, but the aforementioned SNES ones are still stronger.
* The Genesis doesn't even have an answer to/competitor for Super Metriod, one of the best games ever made.
* The Oasis games are a joke compared to Zelda 3. The SNES is the clear winner in action/adventure.
* Puyo Puyo 2 is one of the best puzzle games of all time, but Tetris Attack on the SNES is also one of the best puzzle games of all time. This is almost a tie, but when you factor in that the SNES got a port of Puzzle Bobble and the Genesis didn't, this is probably yet another SNES win.
* What about all the random awesome Natsume games like Wild Guns that aren't on the Genesis?
* Neo Geo ports blew on both consoles. Irrelevant comparison there.
* Castlevania 4 is better than Bloodlines, so the SNES once again got the better game.
* Konami arcade ports (TMNT2, Sunset Riders, etc.) were better on the SNES
* The Genesis has the best team fighter in Yu Yu Hakusho. That is one clear winner for the Genesis.

The SNES is just flat out better. It had an absurdly amazing game library. I love the Genesis, but when you just look at the games, it's a landslide for the SNES.

• SNES RPGs just absolutely decimate Genesis ones. It's not even close here. The Genesis didn't get any of the Square games.
  • I can agree with this.
• Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, the Donkey Kong Country games are better than Sonic. You can say what you want, but it's true.
  • I never mentioned Sonic, and I don't like him. So I agree. I think DKC games are pretty weak, personally.
• The Genesis has the best run n' guns. Gunstar Heroes and Contra HARD Corps are better than Contra 3.
  • Definitely.
• SNES had the better version of SF2, better version of Mortal Kombat 2, and the Genesis had had the better version of Mortal Kombat 1 even though it was hideous looking. Another clear SNES win.
  • I'd call this a draw just because of the MK1 debacle on the SNES. They completely forced mighty Nintendo's hand.
• Super Mario Kart and F-Zero edge out any racers on the Genesis. The Genesis notably has Road Rash, but the aforementioned SNES ones are still stronger.
  • Outrun, Super Monaco GP, Combat Cars, Super Hang On? Come on, the Genesis had plenty of good racers.
• The Genesis doesn't even have an answer to/competitor for Super Metriod, one of the best games ever made.
  • I'm a huge Metroid fan, and this is a great point. Interesting counter: the SNES never got a game like it afterwards. And was this really a system seller? I'd say the jury is out on that.
• The Oasis games are a joke compared to Zelda 3. The SNES is the clear winner in action/adventure.
  • Beyond Oasis is an incredible game; give it a try sometime. Visually smokes Zelda.
• Puyo Puyo 2 is one of the best puzzle games of all time, but Tetris Attack on the SNES is also one of the best puzzle games of all time. This is almost a tie, but when you factor in that the SNES got a port of Puzzle Bobble and the Genesis didn't, this is probably yet another SNES win.
  • More of a draw, and I think you meant to type that out, but couldn't see past your blinding bias.
• What about all the random awesome Natsume games like Wild Guns that aren't on the Genesis?
  • I played Wild Guns a couple of nights ago and though it was good, not great. To be clear, I think you have a valid point.
• Neo Geo ports blew on both consoles. Irrelevant comparison there.
  • Yeah, complete crap on both sides.
• Castlevania 4 is better than Bloodlines, so the SNES once again got the better game.
  • Yes, and there is no question. I think Bloodlines is completely disappointing, which is also why I excluded it in my OP.
• Konami arcade ports (TMNT2, Sunset Riders, etc.) were better on the SNES.
  • Yeah, seems like a reasonable observation. Not really sure how significant of a win that really is, however.
• The Genesis has the best team fighter in Yu Yu Hakusho. That is one clear winner for the Genesis.
  • Good call out.

In my opinion, you're shorting the Genesis on shooters (Thunder Force III vs Thunder Spirits is good for a laugh), sports (pretty dominant, IMO) and disregarding some of their other unique titles that can't be found on SNES. And what about multi-platform titles? Sort of swings both ways there, right? Hardly a clear winner.

Finally, let's not forget the most important point ever made on this forum: Shadowrun on the Genesis is superior to the excellent version found on the SNES.