NES vs SNES vs N64 vs GameCube vs Wii vs Wii U vs Switch

[dscross]

I made a similar thread to this about Sony consoles, but I learnt so much about them by you discussing it that I thought because Nintendo had such a large number of home consoles, it was worth discussing too. (I did not include the Colour TV Game as it was released in Japan only. Also not including handhelds).

As with the Playstation thread, which do you think was the best for its time and what is your reasoning - taking into consideration the factors at the time of release? Again, you can use any criteria you want (for example, game library, sales, impact on gaming, innovation, effect on you, hardware, etc etc). It doesn't matter how subjective or objective your view is because it's interesting.

The PS2 seemed to be the most popular choice for Sony, with the PS1 being a close second. I would be interested to see what people come up with for Nintendo, although it looks like the Switch is doing pretty well and it may be too early to say for that one. It's up to you though.

 

[jademunky]

I'll go with the SNES. Its the only retro gaming console I keep coming back to again and again. It had some of the best games ever made (Super Metroid, Final Fantasy VI, A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger) and they all still hold up today. Granted I never owned a gamecube or switch but plenty of friends owned the GC and I played it often, it would probably be #2.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

Radically different eras of gaming my friend.

NES and SNES were predominantly 2D Side Scrollers.

Wii is all about the Motion Controls.

Its not that fair to compare each.

 

[dscross]

Radically different eras of gaming my friend.

NES and SNES were predominantly 2D Side Scrollers.

Wii is all about the Motion Controls.

Its not that fair to compare each.

That is why I said 'for its time' and that you can use any criteria you want (except to take into consideration the factors at the time of release). You can use the impact on gaming, the personal impact on you, hardware, games library, sales, replayability, innovation ...anything - objectively or subjectively. It's just a bit of fun.

 

[NiGHTSJOD]

NES was decent. Master System was technically superior and a much bigger commercial success in Europe and Latin America but NES destroyed it in North America and Japan. Plus, NES had Mario, Zelda and Kirby among others

SNES was phenomenal but so was it's competition. And said healthy competition gave us an absolute golden age of gaming. Has some absolutely amazing games such as Mario, Zelda and Kirby.

N64 was a continuation of the golden era (now with amazing 3D platformers and 4 player multiplayer games). Smashed by the competition though (or at least one of them). Also played host to some terrific titles like Mario, Zelda and Kirby.

Gamecube had some unbelievable games too but again, was smashed by all but the Dreamcast commercially. Some quality games like Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 to compliment games such as Mario, Zelda and Kirby.

Wii brought back the commercial success by pretty much shunning games for gamers in favour of a wider audience. Not all hope was lost though - they did at least start to embrace HD and were good enough to provide us with some traditional games too such as Mario, Zelda and Kirby.

Wii U was a complete 180 from it's predicessor by being a complete commercial flop. But it was a critical success at least - Had some excellent third party titles such as bayonetta to compliment a diverse range of first party stuff including the likes of Mario, Zelda and Kirby.

Personal ranking?

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

DNF: Wii

 

[dscross]

For 2D, NES was a big deal for sure, but I much preferred the SNES. It was the ultimate 2D console, with near CD quality sound and even early 3D effects with the FX chip. Its library was deep and mostly quality.

For 3D, even with its memory limitations I?d personally still have to go with the N64. It revolutionized 3D gameplay and Rare was still at the top of their game churning out some great platforming work, especially at a time when 3D platforming was in its infancy. It was mostly a 1st party console, but still had everything from Mario to Conker?s BFD to F-Zero to Blast Corps to Star Fox to KI: Gold. The controller wasn?t great for all genres but overall it pioneered 3D gaming more than anyone at the time.

GameCube was a great console but was more of a refined N64. At that point the competition had quite a leg up software-wise.

I won?t even comment on everything after as I didn?t have much experience with it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

SNES will always be my favorite.

 

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[DeliveryGodNoah_v1legacy]

Well the N64 has a very close place in my heart as being the first 3D console I ever had, and plus it had Turok, so instantly it gains 500,000,000 points.

And everything else I don't really give a toss about unless handhelds count.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Statistically, NES, because it was responsible for opening the flood gates of console gaming after Atari ruined the party for everybody else. They couldn't even call it a video game console because those were stigmatized that bad by Atari. No, it was an "Entertainment System".

Personally though, the N64, hands down.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I'm kind of limited in experience here, as the N64 was the last console I seriously gamed on, but I have to go with the SNES. Not only because it hosted Final Fantasy 2 and 3, two of my favorite games of all time, but because it proved so versatile as developers managed to push its hardware in ways even Nintendo didn't seem to imagine possible in the beginning.

 

[Hawki]

On the question of "which do you think was the best for its time"


6) Wii U (a flop)
5) Gamecube (similar to the 64 - good console, but completely overwhelmed by the PS2, in hindsight feels archaic due to the lack of media support)
4) Nintendo 64 (played second fiddle to the PS1, but at least represented a big shift from the previous era)
3) NES (historical role post-Atari)
2) SNES (built on what the NES did)
1) Nintendo Wii (because of its sheer market penetration)

Too early to rank the Switch.

On the question of personal ranking:

4) Wii (bleh)
3) SNES (never owned, but did play at a friend's house, and has some games I've played in recent years)
2) N64
1) Gamecube

Can't comment on the others.

 

[CriticalGaming]

A Nintendo thread without Yoshi? He must be sleeping.

Anyway, for me it's hard to argue that SNES isn't the best Nintendo console ever. Now don't get me wrong, every system has it's gems. But SNES was a powerhouse of gems. All that system did was shit diamonds for god's sake.

From great RPGs like Earthbound, Chrono trigger, FF 4 & 6. To amazing platformers from the Mario Worlds to the Donkey Kong Countries. To great racing title's like OG Mario Kart and F-Zero. IMO the only good Starfox game.

I sadly can't say the same from any other Nintendo system.

I thought the N64 was a trash heap compared to Playstation. Gamecube was a joke compared to PS2. And then Nintendo lost it's fucking mind.

I honestly think the only reason we got the Wii and everything that came afterwards was because Nintendo realized it wasn't going to match up or directly compete with Sony or Microsoft anymore, especially in terms of raw gaming power. So since Nintendo started as a toy company, they decide to go back to their roots and make video games into toys again. That's were I believe the Wii really came from, a motion controlled gimmicky-toy of a console designed to take things in a different direction.

Ever since the Wii, Nintendo has relied on gimmicks over gaming efforts for their systems. Even today, the Switch is by far the weakest power console on the market and relies on the portability gimmick to stand out. So far it seems to be working, but I wonder if the Switch would have had nearly as good of a public reception if Zelda hadn't been a launch title.

 

[CaitSeith]

It's like discussing which of your kids you love more. Each one has a place in my heart... except the second Wii model (why no backward compatibility!?).

 

[CaitSeith]

A Nintendo thread without Yoshi? He must be sleeping.

Quick! Keep the thread in a positive tone before he awakens!

 

[COMaestro]

I would definitely need to go SNES. Out of the Nintendo consoles, I only had NES and SNES until the Wii came out and I picked up one of those. While I had far more games for the NES, the SNES just had better games. I got to play stuff on the N64 and GameCube, and there were some real standout titles, but to me the SNES had an overall better library of games than any of Nintendo's other offerings.

 

[CriticalGaming]

A Nintendo thread without Yoshi? He must be sleeping.

Quick! Keep the thread in a positive tone before he awakens!

You act as though I might be invoking Cthulu.

 

[Yoshi178]

A Nintendo thread without Yoshi? He must be sleeping.

Quick! Keep the thread in a positive tone before he awakens!

You act as though I might be invoking Cthulu.

 

[dscross]

snip

I?m surprised you don?t have an opinion on this if you love Nintendo a lot - or are they all equally good in your eyes?

 

[CriticalGaming]

snip

I?m surprised you don?t have an opinion on this if you love Nintendo a lot - or are they all equally good in your eyes?

Ever tried to choose a favorite puppy?