Which consoles to start with?

[alienjesus]

I'd say the worst pick from his list is Saturn.

Games are hard to come by and super expensive for most of the noteworthy ones. You can import, but as a 'starting' retro console that adds a lot of hoops to jump through, and frankly even import Saturn prices are high.

I hear a lot about SNES prices being crazy in the states, but actually, unless you're collecting boxed, I find the top Saturn games to be much more expensive than the top SNES games over here.

I don't think it's true that the Master System doesn't have many good games, it's got plenty. It does however, have less 'amazing' games - there are few 'must haves' but a lot of enjoyable games to choose from otherwise. That said, if you're US based, that adds importing from Europe as another challenge, and the US SMS library is somewhat lacking.

My thoughts:

SMS - A good system if you're Europe based, and relatively cheap, but difficult to find stuff for in the US from my understanding. Not as many must-haves as some of the other systems.

SNES - Loads of great, defining games, but you'll be surprised how many were ported elsewhere. As a handheld gamer you might have played a bunch of the big games on GBA or DS already. A lot of the big games can set you back a pretty penny. Tons of amazing games to choose from though. Tends to have longer, more in-depth games than Mega Drive as save batteries were far more common on SNES.

Mega Drive - Probably the cheapest console to buy games for on the list. Lots of amazing action games, but games tend to be shorter than SNES.

N64 - Big game prices for this seem cheaper in the US than Europe, but there's lots of good stuff here. Good for racing, FPS and 3D platformers, but weak on RPGs. Lots of the 3rd party stuff is cheap, but 1st party varies a lot.

Saturn - Bring lots of money, it ain't cheap. You can get a bunch of arcade ports without going crazy on prices (Virtua Fighter, Manx TT, Sega Rally, Virtual On) as well as some cheaper multi-platform titles, but any big name game from later in the systems life will hurt to pay for.

Gamecube - I think the library of this system is incredibly strong, and the controller is one of the best ever. I couldn't tell you what prices are like (I got most of my Gamecube games when it was new) but I imagine quite pricy.

[Erik_Twice]

Personally, I think that the Mega Drive and the SNES are king and queen of console retro gaming, you can't go wrong with either of them, though the latter is much more expensive unless you decide to import.

But really, what I would do would be to write down which games you are interested in or like and then decide which console to get

Would love to get Sunset Riders among many others.

I do not recommend the contemporary ports of Sunset Riders. Both the SNES and the Mega Drive omit levels, characters and are heavily censored, specially in the former console.

I would stick to emulation for that one.

[Gunstar Green]

- Mega Drive/Genesis - 1/2 the cost of the SNES, and 1/2 the amount of great games

[Sarge]

Your mileage on SNES and Genesis is going to directly relate to the types of games you enjoy the most. If you're a huge sports or shmup fan, the Genesis is hard to beat. It also has some of the definitive(ish) versions of multiplatform games like Earthworm Jim or Mickey Mania.

If you like RPGs, action-RPGs, platformers, and the like, the SNES wins hands-down. It's not even close. Not that the Genesis doesn't have good RPGs, or action-RPGs, or platformers, but the sheer number of quality, all-time greats on SNES is astounding.

Honestly, though, I recommend the NES if you're really a platformer fiend. So many good ones there that it's ridiculous.

SNES is definitely getting expensive, though. You can much more easily put together a Genesis collection if you want to keep it cheap. If you're willing to go flash-cart, then don't limit yourself on systems at all, just make sure you get one in good shape.

[Gunstar Green]

Platformers are debatable. The Genesis and SNES both have their share. You really don't want to miss out on either one.

In any case if I were starting a collection today, I wouldn't. I'd go the route of flash carts as mentioned above. Collecting is currently a seller's market. Even the Genesis is starting to see a price hike, especially among the rarer and sought after titles.

[mas]

Bottom line genesis is your best bet. It's still somewhat cheap and the really rare gems are within 100.00 mark.

[samsonlonghair]

Genesis. The answer is always Sega Genesis.

[Edge Master]

Thanks for all the replies - great discussion. This seems like a really active board. I'm UK based by the way.

I had not really considered emulation because I like the nostalgic element of using the original consoles/controlers. However I visited a couple of game shops yesterday that stock retro games and almost all of the SNES/Mega Drive games were incredibly tatty, hence ruining any idealised memories I had of pristine cardboard cases and new smells!

I use a Mac at home so may explore emulation more.

[samsonlonghair]

I use a Mac too. Look into a program called OpenEmu. That's what I use.

[CRTGAMER]

Gaah, another repeat Thread posting of favorites! Hit the front page outside the Forum and look into the Hidden Gems and other topics for each console.

I'd say find a list of games that look interesting to you. Give some a try on emulators. Then get the system(s) needed for those games.

THIS. Every system has exclusive games for given console. The emulation the best first step.