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Rank your Nintendo consoles and handhelds

M

mrkgoo

Member
IrishNinja said:
see, this explains a lot to me. you're naming first party nintendo stuff (which was largely really awesome on the n64, with your examples + star fox 64), but SNES had that too for me with some absolute classics from capcom (and disney!), squaresoft, konami's finest, and a whole lot more. N64 suffered greatly from 3rd parties flocking to the PSX, so in my mind its library is not as full/rounded.

i'm just busting balls - clearly you're not alone, as seen from the crazy follow-up votes, it just always struck me as a weird vote, unless you grew up after the NES/SNES, personally.

*edit yeah reading some of the details here, it seems to be an age thing. kinda assumed that the way the NES rates so low too.
Click to expand...

By and large, my favourite games are Nintendo ones.

Yeah, I played a bunch of stuff on SNES. Aladdin and stuff, but none of them were classics, aside from the fighting games. And Bomberman.

Hmmm. Actually, Rocky and Pocky was good. Wasn't particularly a huge fan of Secret of Mana. I probably liked Illusion of Time (Gaia) more.

I grew up with the SNES (and GB). Well, 'grew-up' is probably generous. To be totally hones,t I grew up with Game & Watch :p (never had a NES though).


And as an aside, but because people mentioned it: I frigging LOVED my Dreamcast. I didn't think the games generally held a candle to most Nintendo ones, but I spent so much time with Soul Calibur, Rez, SFIII, Project Gotham Racing, Shenmue, Seaman, Phantasy Star Online (Hell, I bought the keyboard to play this game!), and of course Code Veronica and Grandia II....good, good times, man. And played lots of demos, like Jet Grind, - I just had a lot of variety on the DC. What a great all round console.
 
A

AkimbO_Arcana

Banned
zoukka said:
Age has nothing to do with it. The 3DS is objectively 100% sure a worse device than the DS was. The library has nothing to do with it.
Click to expand...
Hardware quality wise, yes. Feature wise, I disagree. Streetpass and the coins system make carry around my 3DS ALL the time. I never did that with my DS's. And there is online. MK7 is one of the most fun online experiences I EVER had on any system.
 
Z

zoukka

Member
AkimbO_Arcana said:
Hardware quality wise, yes. Feature wise, I disagree. Streetpass and the coins system make carry around my 3DS ALL the time. I never did that with my DS's. And there is online. MK7 is one of the most fun online experiences I EVER had on any system.
Click to expand...

The DS had online. And lol streetpass. That surely makes up for the build quality, region lock, battery life, form factor and the insane support DS gathered because it still was mainly a 2D system.

But it doesn't mean that 3DS is bad or anything. You just don't go comparing it to the god of all handhelds.
 
W

Why would you do that?

Member
AkimbO_Arcana said:
Hardware quality wise, yes. Feature wise, I disagree. Streetpass and the coins system make carry around my 3DS ALL the time. I never did that with my DS's. And there is online. MK7 is one of the most fun online experiences I EVER had on any system.
Click to expand...

I agree here. Even though the 3DS makes my hands cramp while playing games like Mario Kart 7, it's still a pretty awesome system in other areas.

Though not considering games, I'd say the DSi XL is the best, but the 3DS XL is destined to be better than that.
 
L

LeleSocho

Banned
The 3ds has so much useless stuff for gaming that is embarrassing
it also lacks on the basics things on how to make a good (portable) console
what a worthless piece of hardware
 
A

AkimbO_Arcana

Banned
zoukka said:
The DS had online. And lol streetpass. That surely makes up for the build quality, region lock, battery life, form factor and the insane support DS gathered because it still was mainly a 2D system.

But it doesn't mean that 3DS is bad or anything. You just don't go comparing it to the god of all handhelds.
Click to expand...
There was online, but not on the same level. Huge RE fan here and I got 2 amazing RE online experiences in the first year)
If 3DS wouldn't play DS games I would agree. It does though. Sure, it doesn't compete with the quality of the DSi XL screens but still, I have acces to this awesome library.
(I hope, DS games will look better on 3DS XL)
 
B

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
1. SNES
Kept me entertained during my childhood years until I got a GameCube. It would be a disservice to rank it any lower.
2. GameCube
My leap into 3D gaming. I was still pretty young so I was entertained by a lot of games so I actually never felt periods of draught. Dwindled in the latter years so I got a PS2 for the few games I missed out on.
3. Wii
In some ways the games are better than the GameCube's but it was at this point I became a handheld gamer. Also the system itself doesn't seem as durable. If I get a WiiU I might find myself using that to play my Wii games whereas I still use my GCN for its games. Or maybe I'll buy one for cheap when the mass of Wiis go on sale soon.
4. NES
I have one game for it.

1. DS
So many great experiences. Took my favourite experiences from the GBA era and gave me more by the dozen.
2. GBA
I ended up buying ports of my favourite SNES games to play on the go. It did give birth to WarioWare and Rhythm Tengoku series, but it just can't compare to the DS.
GBA Miro is still the best handheld.
3. GBC/SGB
In some ways it benefits from being my first GameBoy so I also used it for the GameBoy's library of games as well as its own. This became my system for new games when I was still playing the SNES during the N64 years. At the time it entertained me but now there are so few games I ever go back to.

3DS will probably be ranked 2nd based on the output so far.
 
D

drspeedy

Member
I'm another one who didn't 'get' N64... Going bck now is tough. Like the NES, outside of a handful of great games there's not much that hasn't been done better elsewhere. Having said that, I still hold the brick GB in high regard, probably just because of the sheer number of hours I played it. Top 5:

1) SNES - because it really was the best time for games ever
2) Wii - BC, VC, great arcade like exerience for lightgun junkies like me, and of course the Galaxies and DKCR.
3) GCN - console that got me back into gaming
4) GBC - Mirco FTW!
5) GB - still love that baby, it was the first time handheld gaming mattered

Rest rank about the same.... Can't say on 3DS, but it'll potentially rank top 5 once XL drops and the catalog expands to the size of the DS's.
 
F

Firemind

Member
Not a lot of love for the GBA I see. SNES quality games on the loo? Mind = blown when I was a wee lad. Then the GBA SP came out which was unadulterated technological sex in the palm of your hand. The only thing it was missing was a headphone jack. The DS library may be more diverse, but pound for pound, the GBA library beats it.

Advance Wars 1+2 > DS+DoR
Castlevania AoS > DoS
Golden Sun 1+2 > DD
FFTA > A2
Fire Emblem > lol
Metroid Fusion/ZM > lol
Mario & Luigi SS > PiT
Minish Cap > PH+ST
Wario Ware > Touch

The only thing the GBA didn't have was a new Mario game, but I'd rather have (enhanced) ports of SM3, SMW and YI than NSMB and a shoddy port of SM64.

Plus, it has ports of LttP, FFVI (DS has Chrono Trigger to be fair), the sequel to Gunstar Heroes, the original Rhythm Tengoku.

GBA <3
 
A

AkimbO_Arcana

Banned
zoukka said:
The DS had online. And lol streetpass. That surely makes up for the build quality, region lock, battery life, form factor and the insane support DS gathered because it still was mainly a 2D system.

But it doesn't mean that 3DS is bad or anything. You just don't go comparing it to the god of all handhelds.
Click to expand...
There was online, but not on the same level. Huge RE fan here and I got 2 amazing RE online experiences in the first year)
If 3DS wouldn't play DS games I would agree. It does though. Sure, it doesn't compete with the quality of the DSi XL screens but still, I have acces to this awesome library.
(I hope, DS games will look better on 3DS XL).
And StreetPass is an amazing example of Nintendo still coming up with amazing game design. Sometimes when I walk around the city I think about the coins and the potential interaction and about what they will unlock/alter in my games. It expands the experience with the games beyond playing them. Plus it makes me carry the console with me all the time. I never did that with any handheld before.
 
T

theviolenthero

Member
#1 Wii

Backwards compatible with the GC & has the virtual console (SNES,NES,N64,GENESIS,TG16,NEO GEO) so it's easily the best Nintendo system ever.

Sidenote:
Component Cables are like $5 on the wii and like $75+ on the Gamecube.


#2 DS Lite

Backwards compatible with the GBA & a strong lineup of games.


#3 GBA-SP

Backwards compatible with GB & GBC games plus it's the best designed true portable system i've ever had.
 
B

brumx

Member
arcade 90's>NES>N64>SNES>GBAsp>GC>DS

They seem kind of lost since GC even tho Wii and DS sold large amounts its like they never thought it would happen and not sure where to go.
 
Gameboy415

Gameboy415

Member
Consoles:

1. SNES - my all-time favorite games are on Super Nintendo
2. Super Famicom - so many amazing Japan-only games
3. NES - my first introduction to gaming & the origin of most of my favorite Nintendo franchises
4. Wii - tons of amazing new (Nintendo) games and lots of classics on the VC (+ GameCube BC)
5. GameCube - lots of excellent games (like Smash Bros Melee) & the Game Boy Player
6. N64 - Smash Bros owned my life in High School, but unfortunately N64 games hold up the worst visually
7. Panasonic Q - Japanese GameCube + DVD player with an amazing design
8. Famicom - some great exclusives but nothing as amazing as on Super Famicom
9. Famicom Disk System - some interesting exclusives, but most were re-released on carts

Portables:
1. GBA SP(+) - compatible with every Game Boy game ever and has one of the best screens ever
2. DSiXL/DSiLL - I love the glorious giant screens
3. 3DS - becoming better and better with each new release and the eShop & built-in features are pretty great
4. Game Boy Advance - excellent games & form-factor but was obsolete in my eyes the minute the SP was released
5. Game Boy Micro - incredibly small & portable!
6. DSLite - nice smaller design w/GBA capabilities
7. Game Boy Color - I was addicted to the amazing Zelda games and Pokemon Pinball!
8. DSi - better screens, but GBA capabilites >>>>>>>> DSiWare
9. Game Boy Pocket - tiny form-factor with actual black & white screen
10. Game Boy - simply classic
11. DS - pretty clunky design, but introduced some amazing new game concepts & franchises
12. Virtual Boy - actually had some very cool games, but is a pain to play
13. Game Boy Light - basically a B&W GB with a light-up screen, interesting but not too useful these days
14. Pokemon Mini - pretty impressive for being the smallest portable with interchangeable carts, but the games aren't anything special
 
T

The Boat

Member
Hmmm... I'm not sure, I hate rankings. Number 1 is DS, after that maybe Wii somewhat tied with SNES, after that it's so murky I won't even bother.
 
C

Colonel Mustard

Banned
-SNES (The pinnacle of 2D gaming)
-Wii (VC, Wii games, gamecube games)
-3DS (3DS has had the best first year of any handheld I've ever owned + plays DS games, closest thing to a portable Dreamcast that I've seen)
-DS
-GBA (Gave me Golden Sun. Was like a portable SNES
-Gamecube (Had it's ups and downs. Liked stuff like 1080, Waverace, Eternal Darkness, etc)
-N64 (Loved it at the time. Gives me headaches now. Ogre Battle 64 is STILL amazing)
-NES
 
K

Kokonoe

Banned
Separating the two.

Consoles

1. N64
2. Gamecube
3. SNES
4. NES
1292. Wii

Handhelds

1. Game Boy Color
2. Game Boy Advance
3. Nintendo DSi
4. Game Boy Pocket
5. Game Boy
 
Ein Bear

Ein Bear

Member
If we're not counting backward compatibility or virtual consoles (otherwise the Wii and 3DS win by default, obviously) then I'd rank them:

Gamecube > Wii > SNES > N64 > NES

DS > 3DS > GBA > GB/GBC
 
M

MoxManiac

Member
Regulus Tera said:
Super Mario World is way too easy to be considered the best Mario.
Click to expand...

??

All Marios are piss easy except for Lost Levels. It's weird to label one easy mario as inferior to another easy mario because it's...easier?

My rating in order from favorite to least favorite:

SNES
NES
DS
Wii
GCN
GBA
GB/GBC
N64
 
L

LSauchelli

Member
Original Wii with GCN parts > Wii without GCN parts > GameCube > SNES > NES > N64

The Wii having pretty much all relevant games from the other consoles makes it the best Nintendo console. The newer version without GCN ports and stuff is missing some great gems from the GameCube and is thus a lesser console.

3DS > DS > GBA > GBC > GB
 
S

StayDead

Member
For purely my enjoyment and what games I have currently and what's coming soon I'll say this.

Handhelds:

1. 3DS
2. DS
3. GBA/GBC

Home Consoles:

1. GameCube
2. Wii
3. Nintendo 64 (Didn't have this back in the day, had a PS1, got it after my gamecube)
4. SNES (Amazing games but only recently got it last year)

That's going off what I've played/enjoyed. NES and Virtual Boy is absent as I've never played either of them.
 
B

Busaiku

Member
1. DS
2. SNES
3. Wii
4. GCN
5. GBA
6. NES
7. GB
8. N64
9. VB

No point in ranking 3DS now, but if I had to, it would be above GB.
I imagine by the end of it, it'll overtake DS or be just behind it.
 
Clockwork

Clockwork

Member
1) SNES
2) NES
3) N64
4) Gamecube/Wii (I treat these the same as I use my Wii now for both)
.
.
.
.
.
.
5) Handhelds (I never really cared about them)
 
M

MattKeil

BIGTIME TV MOGUL #2
1. DS (Lite, specifically)
2. SNES
3. GBA
4. N64
5. GameCube
6. NES
7. 3DS
8. Game Boy
9. Wii

I'm not really a huge Nintendo fan overall, but I would say the DS is one of the best systems I have ever owned. Just a jaw-droppingly great library of games.
 
R

Randdalf

Member
Handhelds
1. DS - best handheld ever, with the best library of any system (so far)
2. 3DS - expect it to overtake the DS at some point, excellent system
3. GBA - good for RPGs but not much else
4. GBC - only got it for Pokemon Gold

I haven't used my Nintendo consoles nearly as much as I might have done... I'd suspect N64 might sneak the win though with Pokemon Snap and Lego Racers.
 
B

backlot

Member
At this point I'd say:
DS
SNES
GBA
Gamecube
Gameboy/Color
Wii
3DS
NES
N64
Virtual Boy

I could definitely see 3DS rising a bit once more games come out for it though. There's some potential there. I don't see it ever eclipsing the original DS though. It just had so many great games.
 
A

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
I honestly can't tell if you guys are trolling or not... seriously N64 the best Nintendo console? I think yall love OoT way too much and it clouds your judgement.

There are less than 3 N64 titles that are still enjoyable in 2012.
 
A

AkimbO_Arcana

Banned
Adam Prime said:
I honestly can't tell if you guys are trolling or not... seriously N64 the best Nintendo console? I think yall love OoT way too much and it clouds your judgement.

There are less than 3 N64 titles that are still enjoyable in 2012.
Click to expand...

I think it has a lot to do with how old people are, don't you think?

And I call bullshit on "less than 3 N64 titles that are still enjoyable in 2012".
 
M

M-PG71C

Member
1) SNES - Truly, a system that defined an era. The amount of RPGs and platformers on it are absolutely ridiculous. That and Yoshi's Island.

2) Wii - I really feel some of Nintendo's best output came around this era. Kirby's Epic Yarn/Nightmare to Dreamland, DKC Returns, SMG 2, NSMB Wii, Xenoblade, Sin and Punishment 2, etc.

3) NES

4) GameCube

5) N64

For Nintendo Portables...

1) GBA - Truly a portable SNES, damn Godly of a machine.

2) 3DS

3) DS

4) GB

5) GBC
 
Jade Knight 08

Jade Knight 08

Member
Consoles:

N64
NGC
SNES
NES
Wii


Handhelds:

NDS (Lite)
GBA
GB (original)


3DS (haven't bought it yet)


Edit: misread the title thread. Sorry.
 
wondermega

wondermega

Member
Wow. I guess I am gonna have to be the gramps of this thread and be the only person to rank NES at the top, it was such a groundbreaking part of my childhood and as I've aged, I've only appreciated the nuances of gameplay, tech, and art that have made it's standouts so meaningful in the years since.

A huge part of that is nostalgia speaking, sure, but for the most part I just really haven't been so enchanted with the directions gaming has gone since I've grown up. That's just me, though.

Capcom, Konami, Sunsoft, Tecmo and of course Nintendo themselves ruled the roost when it came to putting out unstoppable games for this beast. Every season just got better; it even kinda laughed in the face of 16-bit, for a long time.

SNES should be my #2, but for some reason the system has not aged as well in my eyes. Audiovisuals were always excellent (especially early on, when they were jaw-dropping) but even then I could tell things were starting to focus on substance less than style. The best action games on the console looked way better than anything that had cone before, but gameplay design was starting to feel pretty by the numbers. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe I just was starting to have an assfull of derivative 2D gaming by then, no matter how nice it looked and sounded.

I guess I'll rank game boy micro as #2 then. It's got the best of so many worlds and is just impossibly portable, and just barely still comfortable to play. Never ideal for "big gaming sessions" for many reasons, but if mobile gaming never exploded on phones/etc then GBA micro would probably be my evergreen system.

As for N64, GC, Wii, etc- unpopular to say, but 3D gaming was kinda where I started checking out bigtime. Not that those experiences aren't good, but definitely not as accessible as the 2D paradigm for me. The N64 controller sums it up for me, awkward, unwieldy and kinda butt ugly. If anything the Wii kinda reeled stuff back in and made everything a bit more accessible again after generations, but so many stumbling points (hackneyed online experience, drought of 3rd party)

I skipped DS and do have a 3DS now. It's a nice diversion with a few cool titles, but already I can tell it will never be what I wish it could (Nintendo playing up to their gimmick and pushing lots of weird, out-there experiences that you just can't get anywhere else). I'll stick around and see how it unfolds, I don't regret the purchase but yeah it hurts my hands too-
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Consoles

1. SNES
2. N64
3. NES
4. Gamecube
5. Wii

Handhelds

1. Game Boy Advance
2. Game Boy original
3. DS

Still waiting to buy a 3DS later this year but I'm looking forward to it.
 
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