The Genesis really was better than the Super Nintendo.

I think that, for whatever reason, SNES fans have really maintained loyalty to their system over the years while Genesis fans have just moved on. Maybe for SNES fans, the "war" is still going on and they aren't going to be satisfied until their system is crowned king. Where does this loyalty come from?

Another theory of mine is that (among other things) it's related to the type of game that was popular on the SNES: the RPG. Players really become attached to RPG stories and characters. Just tell an SNES fanboy that you hate Chrono Trigger and watch their reaction! I don't think the more arcade-style games on the Genesis developed the same level of attachment in players.

It's also been my experience that N64 fans are incredibly defensive about the N64. Usually all it takes to get them started is to mention that I had a Playstation. "The N64 is so much superior!! How can you stand all that pixelation?? And the load times are horrible on the playstation! The N64 is designed for 3D graphics! And it has Goldeneye!!! And Zelda!" And I just nod my head and wonder why anybody still cares... Any retro news articles on the internet about the N64 will inevitably result in fanboys arguing about how superior the N64 was, but articles about the PS1 never seem to.

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Originally Posted by JumpingRyle

It's also been my experience that N64 fans are incredibly defensive about the N64. Usually all it takes to get them started is to mention that I had a Playstation. "The N64 is so much superior!! How can you stand all that pixelation?? And the load times are horrible on the playstation! The N64 is designed for 3D graphics! And it has Goldeneye!!! And Zelda!" And I just nod my head and wonder why anybody still cares... Any retro news articles on the internet about the N64 will inevitably result in fanboys arguing about how superior the N64 was, but articles about the PS1 never seem to.

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That sounds so familiar for some reason. Where have I encountered that, and who from? It's going to drive me nuts.....

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Originally Posted by JumpingRyle

I think that, for whatever reason, SNES fans have really maintained loyalty to their system over the years while Genesis fans have just moved on. Maybe for SNES fans, the "war" is still going on and they aren't going to be satisfied until their system is crowned king. Where does this loyalty come from?

Another theory of mine is that (among other things) it's related to the type of game that was popular on the SNES: the RPG. Players really become attached to RPG stories and characters. Just tell an SNES fanboy that you hate Chrono Trigger and watch their reaction! I don't think the more arcade-style games on the Genesis developed the same level of attachment in players.

It's also been my experience that N64 fans are incredibly defensive about the N64. Usually all it takes to get them started is to mention that I had a Playstation. "The N64 is so much superior!! How can you stand all that pixelation?? And the load times are horrible on the playstation! The N64 is designed for 3D graphics! And it has Goldeneye!!! And Zelda!" And I just nod my head and wonder why anybody still cares... Any retro news articles on the internet about the N64 will inevitably result in fanboys arguing about how superior the N64 was, but articles about the PS1 never seem to.

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The strong point of the SNES was certainly it's library of RPG titles I agree and as you say they probably account for at least half of the Nintendo machine's almost fanatical following.

Yes you raise a good point. It's certainly not just the SNES that has Ninty fans still screaming about it's supposed superiority to this day, they react just as furiously when asked about the N64 and truly regard it as the better machine when compared to the PS1. Very bizarre behaviour.

Nintendo still exists as a hardware developer and is still making new games in the same franchises that existed in the 8 and 16-bit eras (while Sega just keeps hammering away with the sometimes decent but often horrible Sonic). It's not much of a mystery as to why Nintendo has more loyal fans and why the popular perception of those gaming eras is strongly in favor of Nintendo. To Sega's credit they've become a solid publisher and sometimes throws their history a bone but they haven't even come close to maintaining their beloved intellectual properties as well Nintendo.

But I do agree it also has a lot to do with the type of games. Old-school arcade action has fallen out of favor with the majority. I wouldn't say it's because players don't form the same level of attachment with action games, but rather that changes in modern game design have left a lot of today's gamers clueless about how to approach older action titles so they're dismissed as lesser games.

And the N64 love comes mostly from people who were kids that owned the N64. There's a lot of rose colored glasses involved in regards to that console and honestly the entire early 3D generation.

Nintendo has crafted an identity that inspires brand loyalty. Sega dropped the ball in that regard. That's really the gist of it.

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Originally Posted by Obviously

But I do agree it also has a lot to do with the type of games. Old-school arcade action has fallen out of favor with the majority. I wouldn't say it's because players don't form the same level of attachment with action games, but rather that changes in modern game design have left a lot of today's gamers clueless about how to approach older action titles so they're dismissed as lesser games.

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I'm reminded of the time shortly after I got my first Genesis and brought it over to my Nintendo fan/modern gamer friend's house. He could not stop voicing his disbelief and disapproval that you couldn't save after every level in Vectorman.

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And the N64 love comes mostly from people who were kids that owned the N64. There's a lot of rose colored glasses involved in regards to that console and honestly the entire early 3D generation.

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I can't imagine anyone having fond memories of the N64 who didn't own one as their only console as a kid. I had a SNES and a PSX during that gen and the N64 is just barren in comparison. Even as a 7-8 year old I didn't like it when I used it at my friend's house.

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Originally Posted by JumpingRyle

I think the SNES lovers are, on the whole, much more defensive about the SNES because they had to be back in the day. The SNES was the uncool kiddie system, while the Genesis was the mature, adult-oriented system with violent arcade games. I know others have said this before, and it was certainly true in my situation, but when I was younger nobody wanted an SNES and if their parents bought them one they felt embarrassed by it. But the people who had an SNES and thought it was great had to really stand up for their system, and they still feel a strong attachment to it today, which is why there are so many SNES fanboys.

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Despite the desperate efforts of Sega advertising, there was no perception of uncool for the SNES. There was also nothing more mature or adult oriented about the system with a cartoon blue hedgehog as a mascot, no matter how much '90s 'tude he expressed.

Genesis fans may have thought they were mature adults, but really, they were this kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl8rrBaHW6U

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Originally Posted by Obviously

Nintendo still exists as a hardware developer and is still making new games in the same franchises that existed in the 8 and 16-bit eras (while Sega just keeps hammering away with the sometimes decent but often horrible Sonic). It's not much of a mystery as to why Nintendo has more loyal fans and why the popular perception of those gaming eras is strongly in favor of Nintendo. To Sega's credit they've become a solid publisher and sometimes throws their history a bone but they haven't even come close to maintaining their beloved intellectual properties as well Nintendo.

But I do agree it also has a lot to do with the type of games. Old-school arcade action has fallen out of favor with the majority. I wouldn't say it's because players don't form the same level of attachment with action games, but rather that changes in modern game design have left a lot of today's gamers clueless about how to approach older action titles so they're dismissed as lesser games.

And the N64 love comes mostly from people who were kids that owned the N64. There's a lot of rose colored glasses involved in regards to that console and honestly the entire early 3D generation.

Nintendo has crafted an identity that inspires brand loyalty. Sega dropped the ball in that regard. That's really the gist of it.

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I get the brand loyalty because I grew up with my Mega Drive and will always love SEGA but I am still capable of at least having an open and honest debate about the strengths and weaknesses of both Nintendo and SEGA along with their various consoles over the years. This is an ability that Ninty fans seem to be overwhelmingly incapable of without resorting to crap system comparisons, telling outright lies about rival companies hardware and finally resorting to almost tearful dewy-eyed nostalgia. It's almost as if some of them are just saying "Hey, at the end of the day I win the argument because, as a hallowed Nintendo fan, I automatically have the moral high-ground." You point to some almost romantic loyalty that surrounds Nintendo and that, supposedly, just because they are still in the hardware market that somehow justifies the idiotic and simply false crap that some of their fans spout. Yes SEGA dropped the ball, several times, and as a SEGA fan I know that better than anyone but I fail to see how that somehow absolves huge portions of Nintendo's fanbase online from acting in an incredibly moronic fashion.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

Despite the desperate efforts of Sega advertising, there was no perception of uncool for the SNES. There was also nothing more mature or adult oriented about the system with a cartoon blue hedgehog as a mascot, no matter how much '90s 'tude he expressed.

Genesis fans may have thought they were mature adults, but really, they were this kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl8rrBaHW6U

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Are you speaking for your experiences at the time? Because, as I said, in my situation the perception of the Genesis was definitely as an adult-oriented "cool" system while the SNES was for little kids. I mean, Mortal Kombat had blood! Aladdin had a sword! Of course it's silly and there wasn't really that much of a difference, but kids wanted the "R" rated system, not the G rated one. I don't think this was unique to my situation as I've heard it mentioned numerous times before. I suppose it depends a lot on your age at the time.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

Despite the desperate efforts of Sega advertising, there was no perception of uncool for the SNES. There was also nothing more mature or adult oriented about the system with a cartoon blue hedgehog as a mascot, no matter how much '90s 'tude he expressed.

Genesis fans may have thought they were mature adults, but really, they were this kid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl8rrBaHW6U

---

I don't know how old you are but when I was a kid there was a definite uncoolness associated with the SNES and whether or not that was down to SEGA's aggressive and impressive advertising or just down to kids naturally preferring the Mega Drive/Genesis is up for debate. Nintendo having a childish image and not being regarded as 'cool' in the early 90's is certainly no myth though, not where I grew up. That is exactly how a lot of kids percieved them like it or not.

Well, you also have to understand the NES had the Japanese and North American markets in the '80's. That's where a lot of it really starts.

I'll never understand how the Angry Nintendo Nerd was so influenced by Nintendo on the whole, since he started with some 2nd generation consoles. You'd think having played other consoles would have nullified that kind of fanboyism for any specific brand...

On the flip side, the NES was my first. I didn't ever come to think Nintendo=video games, and everything else was just a pretender or something. I liked trying out other consoles, if I knew they existed.

I'll admit, I was probably close to becoming a SNES fanboy myself. I wanted one for that generation. However, not because I thought it would be the superior machine, or that I was butthurt over Genesis does or whatever. I just expected another generation of more of what I was used to(Castlevania, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden[which didn't happen...], and of course Nintendo's usual 1st party titles). When I got my Genesis, well, it was a new console on Christmas morning. I don't think I had 1 regret about not getting an SNES. The old man had explained to me that he thought it looked better, and hearing the interview's with Al Nilsen and the tour with Sonic and Super Mario World, I'd recently began to understand that decision (though, knowing him, the lower price point was also a big factor in that decision :p).

As I said in one of my first posts here though, I don't recall Genesis owners ever starting that argument. It'd be that one SNES kid that would, in fact. Funny enough, if you recall that moment in the AVGN vid, he basically admits he was the instigator, until "blast processing" would shut him up.

I guess that "kiddy console" stigma was enough for SNES owners to develop an inferiority complex, I don't know. All I wanted to do was play games. I never gave a damn which console was supposed to be "superior." Hell, I wouldn't even mind giving the baby his bottle on that one, if they weren't so antagonistic about it, which brings out the worst in everyone really.

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Originally Posted by midnightrider

Well, you also have to understand the NES had the Japanese and North American markets in the '80's. That's where a lot of it really starts.

I'll never understand how the Angry Nintendo Nerd was so influenced by Nintendo on the whole, since he started with some 2nd generation consoles. You'd think having played other consoles would have nullified that kind of fanboyism for any specific brand...

On the flip side, the NES was my first. I didn't ever come to think Nintendo=video games, and everything else was just a pretender or something. I liked trying out other consoles, if I knew they existed.

I'll admit, I was probably close to becoming a SNES fanboy myself. I wanted one for that generation. However, not because I thought it would be the superior machine, or that I was butthurt over Genesis does or whatever. I just expected another generation of more of what I was used to(Castlevania, Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden[which didn't happen...], and of course Nintendo's usual 1st party titles). When I got my Genesis, well, it was a new console on Christmas morning. I don't think I had 1 regret about not getting an SNES. The old man had explained to me that he thought it looked better, and hearing the interview's with Al Nilsen and the tour with Sonic and Super Mario World, I'd recently began to understand that decision (though, knowing him, the lower price point was also a big factor in that decision :p).

As I said in one of my first posts here though, I don't recall Genesis owners ever starting that argument. It'd be that one SNES kid that would, in fact. Funny enough, if you recall that moment in the AVGN vid, he basically admits he was the instigator, until "blast processing" would shut him up.

I guess that "kiddy console" stigma was enough for SNES owners to develop an inferiority complex, I don't know. All I wanted to do was play games. I never gave a damn which console was supposed to be "superior." Hell, I wouldn't even mind giving the baby his bottle on that one, if they weren't so antagonistic about it, which brings out the worst in everyone really.

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Absolutely. It's their sheer arrogance and antagonism on the subject that gets under my and other peoples skin and makes me want to call them out over their bullshit when really I should just walk away and leave them to it. I like the SNES, always have, is it superior to the Mega Drive? No it's not. For a machine that came out about two and a half years after the Mega Drive and that supposedly had superior hardware SEGA's machine and it's library of games matched it blow for blow and in many parts of the world such as Europe, South America, Asia and Australia the Mega Drive was by far the more popular machine. That's something that crazed Nintendo fanboys just need to deal with and hopefully move on with their lives.

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Originally Posted by Mega Drive Bowlsey

I fail to see how that somehow absolves huge portions of Nintendo's fanbase online from acting in an incredibly moronic fashion.

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Well I'm only trying to explain some elements that lead to the phenomenon, not try to absolve anyone of bias nor justify bias. I'm pointing out why so much of that bias is in favor of Nintendo in the modern age, not that it's deserved but rather because they're still drawing in new fans and those fans are unfairly revising history in their favor in the process. If you got the impression that I was trying to act as an apologetic for fanboy idiocy I wasn't.

I certainly don't find brand loyalty to be a positive thing, just a success on behalf of Nintendo's marketing which has nothing to do with the consoles themselves.

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Originally Posted by midnightrider

All I wanted to do was play games. I never gave a damn which console was supposed to be "superior."

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That's exactly how I feel. All consoles have something to offer and I want to play them all!

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Originally Posted by Obviously

Well I'm only trying to explain some elements that lead to the phenomenon, not try to absolve anyone of bias. If you got the impression that I was trying to act as an apologetic for fanboy idiocy I wasn't.

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Oh I know that mate it's just I'd heard the argument you put forward to explain some Ninty fans odd behaviour before and was talking about it in a wider sense not accusing you of defending their attitude.

We're all guilty of being nostalgic over certain things and memories and we all have our own brand of rose-tinted specs that we put on from time to time, I know I certainly do, but I guess some Nintendo fans had their particular brand of rosey specs surgically grafted to their faces sometime around 1992.

I'm gonna guess you who saw the Genesis/Mega Drive as "more mature and adult" were probably around 8-10 years old at the time, the same demographic that in modern day loves Call of Duty.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

Despite the desperate efforts of Sega advertising, there was no perception of uncool for the SNES. There was also nothing more mature or adult oriented about the system with a cartoon blue hedgehog as a mascot, no matter how much '90s 'tude he expressed.

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I don't know that Sega advertising had much to do with it, but the perception was definitely there. Nintendo had cultivated an image in the NES era of being family-friendly and oriented towards kids. In 1991-94 there were a lot of "NES kids" who had gotten older and wanted something else, which Sega capitalized on. Nintendo even promoted their lack of mature content, in contrast to Sega's, in Congressional hearings on violence in video games. Nintendo enforced strict censorship policies, while Sega was much more lax. Not just violence either -- you couldn't use words like "damn" in an SNES game, and they even censored the phrase "chop shop" out of Shadowrun.

Plus Sega had the sports games, Road Rash, Mortal Kombat with blood, etc.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

I'm gonna guess you who saw the Genesis/Mega Drive as "more mature and adult" were probably around 8-10 years old at the time, the same demographic that in modern day loves Call of Duty.

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Speaking for myself and my friends at the time, and yes we were around 9, we loved the Mega Drive for games like Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage and Desert Strike, not because we thought "It's cool so we have to have one.". That was what other kids in school thought perhaps but me and my friends loved it for the games and the reason we all got a Mega Drive was so we could swap our games with each other as they were so eye-wateringly expensive back then, simple as. My absolute love for the machine grew naturally from there.

I notice it's fashionable to slag off the COD games these days as the franchise is supposedly a sign of a complete lack of originality in the games industry today. Maybe they are and maybe they aren't but I for one enjoy them and find them incredibly stress-relieving, so sue me.

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Originally Posted by Mega Drive Bowlsey

I notice it's fashionable to slag off the COD games these days as the franchise is supposedly a sign of a complete lack of originality in the games industry today. Maybe they are and maybe they aren't but I for one enjoy them and find them incredibly stress-relieving, so sue me.

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There man, fixed it for you, no need to thank me.

I loved the original modern warfare, it was super cool at the time. It's a bit of a shame they've rereleased it more times than I can count under different names.

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Originally Posted by Kamahl

There man, fixed it for you, no need to thank me.

I loved the original modern warfare, it was super cool at the time. It's a bit of a shame they've rereleased it more times than I can count under different names.

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lol yeah I do admit that there is absolutely no originality left in the tank of, not just the COD franchise, but in the whole FPS genre but for sheer stress busting fun after having a tough day there isn't many games that give me that feeling of pretending to be Arnie in Commando and just being a ridiculous one-man army just mowing down everything in sight. Having said that Rambo III and Mercs on the Mega Drive capture that feeling pretty damn well too! :)

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Originally Posted by zetastrike

That sounds so familiar for some reason. Where have I encountered that, and who from? It's going to drive me nuts.....

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I'm sure that's sarcastic but in case it's not, A Black Falcon.

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

I'm gonna guess you who saw the Genesis/Mega Drive as "more mature and adult" were probably around 8-10 years old at the time, the same demographic that in modern day loves Call of Duty.

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Um, yeah, I'm not quite sure that the Call of Duty demographic can be limited to 8-10 year olds.

I don't know what point you're trying to make. That kids are stupid? That they are easily manipulated by advertising and peer pressure? Yes, yes they are.

First you say that nobody saw the Genesis as being cooler than the SNES, which obviously isn't true. Sega played up the "mature content" shit big time. Sales for the Genesis went UP during the Night Trap congressional hearing business. It's even hypothesized that one reason Sega created the Videogame Rating Council to promote the violence in certain games. That "MA-17" label on games was a total lure at a time when games were largely being played by kids.

I was a teenager when SNES came out. All of my friends, who were actually older, more mature, didn't see SNES as uncool or Genesis as the "edgy, cooler, mature" system. That was the marketing for little kids who aspire to be seen as older. We were driving cars and had jobs, we didn't need extra validation to be seen as "older more mature." That's the irony in that kind of marketing; it's actually directed at babbies.

http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/...9006-pokem.jpg

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Originally Posted by Mega Drive Bowlsey

lol yeah I do admit that there is absolutely no originality left in the tank of, not just the COD franchise, but in the whole FPS genre but for sheer stress busting fun after having a tough day there isn't many games that give me that feeling of pretending to be Arnie in Commando and just being a ridiculous one-man army just mowing down everything in sight.

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I've always liked the old Build Engine games for that (Duke 3D, Blood, Shadow Warrior, ...). They're over the top and full of cheesy one liners, like old 80's action flicks, pure fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

I was a teenager when SNES came out. All of my friends, who were actually older, more mature, didn't see SNES as uncool or Genesis as the "edgy, cooler, mature" system. That was the marketing for little kids who aspire to be seen as older. We were driving cars and had jobs, we didn't need extra validation to be seen as "older more mature." That's the irony in that kind of marketing; it's actually directed at babbies.

http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/...9006-pokem.jpg

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I don't know why we're talking about Call of Duty, but more than 100 million people have played the game according to http://www.vg247.com/2013/08/13/call...fired-to-date/ That's a hell of a lot of 8-10 year olds! (Note: I do not play CoD, but I think it's pretty silly to make ANY comparisons between it and the Genesis).

I'm very glad that you, as a teenager, were above marketing directed towards children. That is good to know, and I can sleep a little easier tonight knowing it.

Us "babbies", however, weren't lucky enough when we were 8-10 to be driving cars and having jobs. We were, unfortunately, kids.

The first RPG on the Genesis, out the same year as the console came out in North America, has a mature scene with visible blood. An RPG.

The SNES would censor the word "pub/bar," for as long as RPG's would be released on the console, and there's gore on the Genesis in year one, which was still 2 years away from the SNES' release.

It's really not hard to see how these perceptions came about.

A typical Sega in-house game:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...ps945bc23b.jpg

They certainly didn't shy away from the blood and gore...

No, no, no. You guys got it wrong. It wasnt about SNES fans being little dorky kids, and Genesis fans being cool mature guys (well i cant deny we are:p). BITD, it was all about SNES fans being fags, and Genesis owners being true machos. Oh and in the case of girls, SNES owner=fat ugly chick, Genesis owner= hot chick. Seriously, thats how i remember it ;).

Whatever I don't know what you guys are going on about. We all know the 3DO was really the cool "mature" system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ZOOMB-540

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Originally Posted by saturndual32

No, no, no. You guys got it wrong. It wasnt about SNES fans being little dorky kids, and Genesis fans being cool mature guys (well i cant deny we are:p). BITD, it was all about SNES fans being fags, and Genesis owners being true machos. Oh and in the case of girls, SNES owner=fat ugly chick, Genesis owner= hot chick. Seriously, thats how i remember it ;).

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Now that you mention it, yeah, that's exactly how I remember it!

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Originally Posted by JumpingRyle

A typical Sega in-house game:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...ps945bc23b.jpg

They certainly didn't shy away from the blood and gore...

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I really don't think that is typical at all and barely even in-house, more like summer-home.

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Originally Posted by Black_Tiger

I really don't think that is typical at all and barely even in-house, more like summer-home.

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Yeah, I know ;)

But then again this was an MD launch title...:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...ps197b5264.png

And they pussied out and removed that and the Fist of the North Star license elsewhere smh.

Not that the game was any good anyway.

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Originally Posted by JumpingRyle

Yeah, I know ;)

But then again this was an MD launch title...:

http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/...ps197b5264.png

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But they also put out something like 16 Sonic games, 8 Shining games, 5 Wonderboy games, 3 Ecco games, 3 Columns games, 3 Thunder Force games, 2 Fantasy Zone games, 2 Alex Kidd games and stuff like Flicky, Kolibri, Into-the-screen-shooters, racers, sports, war sims, etc, during the run of the Genesis.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gentlegamer

I was a teenager when SNES came out. All of my friends, who were actually older, more mature, didn't see SNES as uncool or Genesis as the "edgy, cooler, mature" system. That was the marketing for little kids who aspire to be seen as older. We were driving cars and had jobs, we didn't need extra validation to be seen as "older more mature." That's the irony in that kind of marketing; it's actually directed at babbies.

http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/...9006-pokem.jpg

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Newsflash! Kids play COD games and adults play Pokemon games! Well who'd have believed it? You do realise that absolutely anyone of any age or gender is entitled to play and enjoy different games even if it's not necessarily marketed at them don't you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Black_Tiger

But they also put out something like 16 Sonic games, 8 Shining games, 5 Wonderboy games, 3 Ecco games, 3 Columns games, 3 Thunder Force games, 2 Fantasy Zone games, 2 Alex Kidd games and stuff like Flicky, Kolibri, Into-the-screen-shooters, racers, sports, war sims, etc, during the run of the Genesis.

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Edit: Didn't mean for that to sound antagonistic, if it did before.

I remember character portraits getting bloodied in Shining Force. On top of that, obviously we know Sega weren't afraid to let the original Mortal Kombat have a means to keep the blood in.

Prior to Nintendo lifting the blood ban, we saw Splatterhouse 2 & 3. Then there was the Mutant League games(Hockey was after, but let's face it, it still would have come out that way if the idea was in '89). Predator 2's Predator victims blew up in a pile of gore. Blades of vengeance sees organic enemies turn into drops of blood. The immortal had more gory death scenes than any of version of the game.

The Genesis version of Robocop vs. The Terminator came out after Nintendo lifted the blood ban. The SNES version didn't. When the Genesis got a Castlevania, zombies bled. Eternal Champions. Zero tolerance, even if you don't see it up close, it leaves behind bloody corpses.

Even without blood, you have concepts like Road Rash/Skitchin'. Most remembered SNES racer? Mario Kart. Skeleton Krew, which doesn't have in-game gore, but has a lot of blood/skeletal imagery in it's presentation. Devilish with skeletal/demonic imagery. Dragon's Fury with similar imagery, in spite of being a censored Devil's Crush. Hell, Dragon's Revenge has similar imagery.

That's without mentioning the nudity in Rings of Power.

On the flip side, '95, a perfect time to make something gory on the SNES, Spawn, of all titles, has absolutely none.

Bring up all the less graphic, family friendly titles on the Genesis you want, there's a legit reason these console were seen as they were.

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Zero tolerance, even if you don't see it up close, it leaves behind bloody corpses.

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The thing that blew my mind in Zero Tolerance was the blood splattering on the walls, really. That was so cool.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Obviously

The thing that blew my mind in Zero Tolerance was the blood splattering on the walls, really. That was so cool.

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Yep, blast an infected soldier with the shotgun at close range and the blood splatters on the wall behind him and then slowly drips down to the floor. It was such a cool effect!

I love how Zero Tolerance has effects that are not present in Doom 32x: ZT has those blood spatters, plus shooting damage onto the walls, plus the ability to jump. Amazing for the limited hardware.

I like how you can shoot the same guy and keep running after him, and if u keep shooting, he'll keep flying back without ever falling down to the ground. You can make a guy fly back across a whole stage if you do that lol.

As for this thread: Clearly the OP was talking about modern-day collecting prices and he probably never expected the thread to blow up so much lol.

Re: SNES being more kid-friendly: Well it was. Everyone knew that.

Also you have to think about poor kids (like me) who had limited games. SNES came with Mario World with childish, cartoon graphics. Genesis came with Sonic, & graphics are way more "mature" even though it sounds funny to say that.

As a poor kid in the 90's, my console came with Sonic 1 & 2 (both destroying MW visually & in gameplay), and I randomly bought a used Storm Lord (naked women fairies and evil skeletons in a boring game of collecting items). There was no comparison to going to a friend's and playing MW with cartoon graphics!!

Since this thread is about the Mega Drive / Genesis being better than SNES my take on this is that it definetly owns in the following areas
- faster gameplay ('blast processing';) ) - in general the MD can do more sprites on screen - with SNES its either slowdown (Super Ghouls and Ghosts, UN Squadron) or a limitation on the number of opponents on screen (e.g. Final Fight with just 3 opponents vs countless opponents in Streets of Rage)
- higher actual in game resolution - compare games such as Desert Strike on both systems, in this regard the SNES was a paper spec queen
- better ports of home computer titles (from Amiga or Atari ST)
- more 'mature' games (in terms of subject matter, gore, religious imagery etc.)
- better RGB output - a bit debatable but generally SNES is regarded to have more blurry visuals; some argue its the way Nintendo intended things to be to smooth out the graphics
- the 'cooler' system - I think it was the combination of the more mature titles, classic Sega arcade franchises and the sports games, backed by notable sport personalities. More often than not it was the SNES owners that secretly looked on with envy / admiration at the Genesis / Mega Drive than the other way round.

This comes from the owner of a SNES back when the 16-bit wars were in full swing and currently the owner of both systems.

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Originally Posted by midnightrider

Edit: Didn't mean for that to sound antagonistic, if it did before.

I remember character portraits getting bloodied in Shining Force. On top of that, obviously we know Sega weren't afraid to let the original Mortal Kombat have a means to keep the blood in.

Prior to Nintendo lifting the blood ban, we saw Splatterhouse 2 & 3. Then there was the Mutant League games(Hockey was after, but let's face it, it still would have come out that way if the idea was in '89). Predator 2's Predator victims blew up in a pile of gore. Blades of vengeance sees organic enemies turn into drops of blood. The immortal had more gory death scenes than any of version of the game.

The Genesis version of Robocop vs. The Terminator came out after Nintendo lifted the blood ban. The SNES version didn't. When the Genesis got a Castlevania, zombies bled. Eternal Champions. Zero tolerance, even if you don't see it up close, it leaves behind bloody corpses.

Even without blood, you have concepts like Road Rash/Skitchin'. Most remembered SNES racer? Mario Kart. Skeleton Krew, which doesn't have in-game gore, but has a lot of blood/skeletal imagery in it's presentation. Devilish with skeletal/demonic imagery. Dragon's Fury with similar imagery, in spite of being a censored Devil's Crush. Hell, Dragon's Revenge has similar imagery.

That's without mentioning the nudity in Rings of Power.

On the flip side, '95, a perfect time to make something gory on the SNES, Spawn, of all titles, has absolutely none.

Bring up all the less graphic, family friendly titles on the Genesis you want, there's a legit reason these console were seen as they were.

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A very good addition to the discussion – I especially like the point you made which is often omitted concerning 'mature' game concepts. A lot of the focus is on blood and gore, but somehow I can not see games portraying illegal, dangerous and unsporting behavior such as Road Rash or Skitchin being given the green light by Nintendo.
One game, which I feel kind of slipped the Nintendo censorship net was Super Smash TV on SNES - very violent, very bloody and with a subject matter that could hardly be considered as childish, yet somehow it got released as an official Nintendo endorsed title. What I find interesting about this game also is that it features a high number of sprites on screen but no flicker or slowdown - goes to show that with proper programming one can overcome a lot of the supposed hardware limitations of a given system.