Which consoles do best and worst in each genre?

[Meldarion]

I'm new here and to collecting in general. My favourite genre's are platforming, beat em' ups and action/tactical RPG's. So any console recommendations for those would be useful, but in general I want this thread to be more about which consoles you think do the best and worst in each genre.

[Jmustang1968]

For tactical rpgs, I'd say the ps1 and ps2 are your best bet for consoles. The psp and ds have a great library on the hanhelds. There are some great srpgs on the gba as well.

For a-rpgs, the snes has several, and pc has a bunch of western action rpgs. There are some on the ps1 and psp as well. Action rpg is a bit broad, so not sure what flavor of action rpgs you prefer...

[Ack]

For 2D platformers, the 8-bit and 16-bit eras are the kings. The NES and Master System excel at 8-bit platforming, while the SNES and Genesis/Megadrive hold copious amounts of 16-bit 2D platforming. Between them all, I prefer the Nintendo route, but I am not a big fan of the genre and prefer Nintendo consoles of that era for various reasons, so I am not an unbiased source. Later consoles have 2D platforming, but nowhere near the level of that era.

Now for 3D platforming, I would say the Nintendo 64 is a top contender for best choice. There are quite a few solid 3D platformers present, including the landmark Mario 64.

[Meldarion]

Fallout 3 and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines would be two examples of what I consider action rpg's. I also like Zelda and Okami, not even sure what genre they would come under action-adventure?

I was hoping to find out the what the strongest library of games was for each console though i.e Saturn - Schmups, Snes - Rpgs, but it would also be useful to know if that console has a weakness in one area of its games library.

[Jmustang1968]

Snes holds the 'golden age' of jrpgs, but ps1/2 have more of them. You also can't go wrong with a handheld. I am not sure which has the strongest library, very subjective...

N64 has the weakest library of rpgs with there only being a handful. Dreamcast doesn't have many either. Saturn doesn't have many, but the ones it does have are mostly very good.


I would say the PC has the strongest library for the action rpgs you prefer. If you want console only, then either the 360 or ps3 as they have many western rpg pc ports.

[ATARI800XLfan]

For best arcade ports and arcade style games I would have to say the SEGA DREAMCAST

[brunoafh]

Let's not forget MegaDrive/Genesis now. Platformers and beat em ups galore. Not so many RPGs when compared to SNES and Sony consoles, but still some good ones.

Saturn doesn't have many, but the ones it does have are mostly very good.

Saturn has tons of RPGs. Some of the best tactical ones out there too, Langrisser and DragonForce series. The problem with the Saturn RPG library is that most of them have a language barrier and are unknown in NA.

[BoneSnapDeez]

The SNES has the strongest JRPG library of all time: Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Lufia 1 & 2, Secret of Evermore, Ogre Battle, etc... The only downside is that many of the games never made it to North America: Bahamut Lagoon, Romancing Saga 1-3, Final Fantasy V, Alcahest, Treasure Hunter G, Terranigma, Star Ocean, Tales of Phantasia, Seiken Densetsu 3, Dragon Quest 5 & 6, etc... So you'll definitely need an emulator or reproduction carts to experience the entire library, unless you speak Japanese of course.

PlayStation 1 has the second best JRPG library. One strength of the PS1 is the fact that nearly every decent JRPG did actually get an American release this time.

I know you didn't ax this question, but the TurboGrafx-16/Turbo CD probably has the best "good-games-to-crappy-games" ratio. You can pick almost any game at random and I guarantee it will be awesome. The console lacks shovelware and movie-licensed games almost completely, I don't think I've ever played bad TG16 game.

[Sonicx360]

For best arcade ports and arcade style games I would have to say the SEGA DREAMCAST

X2!!

Dreamcast also has the best fighting game library IMO, even for today's standards!

[Jmustang1968]

Let's not forget MegaDrive/Genesis now. Platformers and beat em ups galore. Not so many RPGs when compared to SNES and Sony consoles, but still some good ones.

Saturn doesn't have many, but the ones it does have are mostly very good.

Saturn has tons of RPGs. Some of the best tactical ones out there too, Langrisser and DragonForce series. The problem with the Saturn RPG library is that most of them have a language barrier and are unknown in NA.

I was referring to ntsc games. I personally can't enjoy an rpg in another language as they are obviously text heavy games. You can get away with it easy with fighters and shmups...