What are your top 10 consoles of all-time? What makes them your favorite? What are some of your favorite games on them? Or maybe you just want to bash my list, go ahead.
The Top 10 Consoles of All-Time According to Nathan:
1. Super Nintendo (SNES)
This system is pure 2D gold. It took everything great about the NES, and made it better: Better graphics, better sound, bigger and longer games, a better controller, and much more reliable hardware. And it had one of the greatest libraries of games of all-time such as: Super Mario World, Super Mario All-Stars, LoZ: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country series, Street Fighter II series, Mortal Kombat 1-3, Actraiser, Mega Man X, Maximum Carnage, X-Men, and others.
2. Nintendo (NES)
The NES is what made me fall in love with gaming. It wasn't my first console, that distinction goes to the Atari 2600, which was actually my older sister's but we all played it. Atari 2600 didn't hold my interest for longer than 20 minutes. But when I was 6 (or maybe 7) I got a Nintendo for my birthday from both my Grandparents and my Mom. Along with it I got the pack-in-game (Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt Combo-Cart), as well as The Legend of Zelda, Star Soldier, Pin-Bot, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was hooked. It was like digital crack in my NES years. I went on to enjoy many of the other classics like Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, Bionic Commando, Contra, TMNT II: The Arcade Game, Batman, Super Mario Bros. 2 & 3, Castlevania, Mega Man series, and others.
3. Sony Playstation
Sony Playstation. The system that brought me kicking and screaming into the 3D age. At first, I wasn't happy at all with the explosion of 3D gaming. I was very happy with the NES era and the 16-bit wars between SNES and Genesis. Most of all, I had to get used to 3D gaming controls. It sounds ridiculous to some of you younger gamers, I'm sure, but a lot of us grew up with nothing but 2D games for well over a decade and the 2D gaming style was ingrained into us. But what finally brought me over was seeing someone playing the original Resident Evil. I'm a huge horror fan, I ESPECIALLY love the George Romero Living Dead Trilogy, and Resident Evil was totally paying homage to those films. My mom heard me going on and on about it to friends and as a birthday present to both me and my brother (yeah, we shared it) she bought us a Playstation with Crash Bandicoot, Gex, Ridge Racer, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil 2. That's an incredible starter set for PS1. PS1 had such a huge and diverse library of games and a LARGE number of gems including: King's Field 1 & 2, Diablo, Resident Evil 1-3, Spider-Man 1 & 2, WWF Attitude, WWF Smackdown 1 & 2, WCW Nitro, WCW Mayhem, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1-3, Mega Man Legends, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and others.
4. Sega Genesis
Sega Genesis. Sega's crowning achievement, IMO. Such a great system with such a great library of exclusives as well as plenty of great multiplatform games. It was the system that really introduced me to Sega, other than the random Sega arcade here or there (pretty much Golden Axe, Space Harrier, and Altered Beast). My best friend had one first. We played the hell out of Mortal Kombat and Sonic the Hedgehog games. Then towards the end of the 16-bit era, I traded in my SNES towards a Genesis because I had played all the great SNES games and decided it was time for a change. Maybe not the best trade in retrospect, but back then I only owned 1 console at a time. I'm still VERY happy I did it, or else I wouldn't have experienced classics like: Sonic the Hedgehog series, Mortal Kombat series, Comix Zone, Strider, Revenge of Shinobi, X-Men 2: The Clone Wars, Spider-Man, Vectorman 1 & 2, Ristar, and others.
5. XBox
Not counting the much earlier released Dreamcast which I had, XBox was the first last-generation system that I owned. It was the first system of choice for me from 2001 to 2006 (however I also have a PS2 and Gamecube). It had the best hardware last-generation, it had the best-looking graphics on multiplatform games, it has a hard-drive (I have so much music on mine plus plenty of room for game-saves and expansions), it has been reliable in my experience, and it has some killer exclusives. Some of my favorites for the system include: ES III: Morrowind, Halo 1 & 2, Jade Empire, Fable, MechAssault 1 & 2, WWF Raw 1 & 2, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2, Dungeon & Dragons: Heroes, Star Wars: Battlefront 1 & 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, X-Men: Legends 1 & 2, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Darkwatch, Gun, GTA series, and others.
6. Sega Dreamcast
The Sega Dreamcast was Sega's last hurrah. Back in the day, it was absolutely jaw-dropping when it came out. Online gaming from a console, so easily, was nearly unheard of and a generation ahead of most of the internet-linked consoles of the current generation. The graphics were absolutely gorgeous when compared to the other consoles of the time: PS1 & N64. And I just love the VMU and the little screen icons and animations that play on it's screen during gameplay. The near arcade perfect-ports of fighting games and Quake III: Arena & Unreal Tournament kept me and my friends busy for a while. I was working my first job so I had money to burn. I got mine with a fine selection of games: Shenmue (which I mostly just drooled over the graphics then it collected dust), Sonic Adventure, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Marvel vs. Capcom (got stolen), Crazy Taxi, and Draconus: Cult of the Wrym. Great games: Resident Evil: Code Veronica, RE 2 & 3, Marvel vs. Capcom, Soul Calibur, House of the Dead, Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm, Quake III: Arena, Unreal Tournament, Record of Lodoss War, WWF Attitude, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Spider-Man, and others.
7. Playstation 2
The Playstation 2 makes my list for the sheer number of titles available for the thing. The variety and amount of games this system has is incredible. And right now, that library of games is going for dirt cheap, which is great for a game collector like myself. I can play all the games I missed while I was focusing on XBox without it hurting my wallet much. Plus it's been around for 10 years and is still alive, on life support, but still alive. Just look at some of the best from it's library: King's Field: The Ancient City, God of War 1 & 2, Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, Resident Evil 4, RE: Code Veronica X, Champions of Norrath, Champions: Return to Arms, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2, Star Wars: Battlefront 1 & 2, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Mega Man Collections, Capcom Collections, Devil May Cry 1-3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Ghostbuster: The Video Game, WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw series, and others.
8. XBox 360
This is the console of choice for me, current generation. I also have a Wii, but I play my 360 FAR more than I do my Wii. I don't have the privilege of owning a PS3 yet, so I can't compare it to the 360. PS3 is a bit too pricey for me. The 360 has had some solid titles, and I love the XBox Live Arcade which allows me to play old-school classics and new games that are in that old-school style. The hard-drive is great, just like the original XBox. And the graphics on 360 have really wowed me. Some favorites on XBox 360: ES IV: Oblivion, Halo 3, Halo: Reach, WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania, WWE: Smackdown vs. Raw series, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Batman: Arkham Asylum, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Lego: Batman, Raiden IV, Ghostbusters, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, Lara Croft: Guardian of Light, Mega Man 9, and others.
9. Gameboy Advance SP
The Gameboy Advance is the greatest handheld console of all-time, as far as I'm concerned, and the SP model is the greatest model of the Gameboy Advance. I'm not much of a handheld gamer, but the GBA-SP really is special. It's pretty much a handheld 16-bit Nintendo system. It's like Super Nintendo's little brother. And since SNES is #1 on this list, it's no surprise I love this thing so much. Great graphics, great sound, long battery life and rechargable at that, an AWESOME backlit screen, a flip-feature that protects the screen from those annoying scratches most handhelds get over time, and best of all: Backwards compatibility with Game Boy and Gameboy Color games. The backlit screen makes those older games better looking than they ever were on their original handheld systems. Some favorites for Gameboy Advance: Super Mario Advance 1, 2, & 4 (I don't like Yoshi's Island, too cutesy for me), Sonic Advance 1-3, LoZ: A Link to the Past, LoZ: The Minish Cap, Metroid: Fusion, Metroid: Zero Mission, Castlevania series, Metal Slug Advance, Contra Advance, Doom, and the entire line of NES Classic Series. Plus great old Game Boy/Gameboy Color games like: Bionic Commando, Duck Tales 1 & 2, Super Mario Land 1 & 2, LoZ: Link's Awakening, LoZ: Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons, Metroid II: The Return of Samus, Operation C, Ninja Gaiden Shadow, Tetris, Dr. Mario, Castlevania series, Mega Man series, and others.
10. Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn was the system to have in the 32-bit era if you wanted great arcade-ports. At least that was the bill it fit in the U.S. I know it had a different image and library of games in other countries, but in the U.S. it was the arcade go-to console. I didn't actually own a Saturn until a few years ago. I played the Saturn at friends house and at this pay-per-hour console arcade that was in a local video store in our town. I loved playing fighting games on it since it had the perfect gaming pad for it and it usually had the best ports of 2D fighters at the time. Some of my favorite games on the system: Marvel Super-Heroes, X-Men: Children of the Atom, Street Fighter Alpha 1 & 2, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Mega Man 8, Shinobi Legions, Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon: Orta, Doom, Quake, Virtua Cop 1 & 2, Guardian Heroes, Galactic Attack, In the Hunt, Darius Gaiden, Sonic 3D Blast (yeah, I DO like that game), Resident Evil (okay, I played it on PS1, but still an incredible game).
