Which should I get?

[harper]

Hmm, honestly not sure why you're not interested in the Genesis.

Because Nintendo is what Genesisn't. Duhh.

@ OP, of you decide you want a super nintendo, I have an extra one, as well as super Mario all-stars and donkey kong country that I could sell on the cheap to help get you started.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I've got to go with the PS2. Extremely cheap, expansive library of games in all genres, and the slims are pretty durable.

Seriously though. Why no Genesis? The things are built like tanks and are extremely cheap. The plastic clamshell cases also may just be the best media case ever designed by man. Most complete games don't run that much more than loose on that basis. Plus there are tons of awesome, quirky games.

IF the Saturn weren't so expensive I'd recommend that, as it's arguably the system I've had the most fun with in my entire history of gaming, but it's expensive.

[Soldier Blue]

You already have a Wii, right? Why not download a bunch of SNES games via the virtual console?

Because a lot of them cost as much/more than the original carts, for one. Because Nintendo Points are stupid, for two.

Edit: Here we go. Not exactly up-to-date but should give you an idea. I don't like how they totaled the prices at the end; the outliers from the inflated titles give the false impression that retro collecting is far more expensive than the Virtual Console rather than mildly so. (Turbografx notwithstanding)

Thats a really outdated list. Games like Final Fantasy 3, Secret of Mana, Kirby Super Star are always a lot cheaper on the vc and most SNES games worth wild are over $10.

[Bradtemple87]

Sega Saturn all day!

[Razzmatazz]

I would suggest PS2. I had a silver slimline and they are so much more durable than the original monstrosities, and the games are dirt cheap. It has a strong library of literally every genre, except Mario. In fact that's the only reason to pick a SNES over the PS2, the Mario, Zelda and Metroid games were stone cold classics. But then you have a Wii, so download them on the VC (you can find Nintendo points cards up to half price on ebay) and then grab a PS2 slim, memory card and 13 games.

As I'm bored, I'll do a shopping list (although I'm English so $100 translates as £65)

PS2 Slim - £30 (most places)
PS2 8mb memory card - £2.99 (gamestation.co.uk)
GTA San Andreas - £1.70 (amazon)
Resident Evil 4 - £4.20 (amazon)
Timesplitters 2 - £1.70 (amazon)
WWE Smackdown Here Comes The Pain - £1.70 (amazon)
Metal Gear Solid 3 - £1.70 (amazon)
Deus Ex - £1.70 (amazon)
Half Life - £1.70 (amazon)
R Type Final - £3.68 (amazon)
Metal Slug 5 - £1.70 (amazon)
Viewtiful Joe - £1.70 (amazon)
God of War 2 - £4.30 (amazon)
Beyond Good & Evil - £1.70 (amazon)
Final Fantasy 12 - £3.69 (amazon)

=£64.16/$99.92 incl. delivery.


In fact, I might do this myself! Sold my Ps2 a few years back and forgot how good it was.

If anyone else wants to put together a comparison with a Saturn or SNES?? I know in the UK SNES titles are pricey, as are Saturn ones unless its a Sega Rally or Virtua Fighter.

[isiolia]

In fact that's the only reason to pick a SNES over the PS2, the Mario, Zelda and Metroid games were stone cold classics. But then you have a Wii, so download them on the VC (you can find Nintendo points cards up to half price on ebay)

OP's sig also lists a GBA and DS, which have ports of quite a number of notable SNES games too.

Mario World and Yoshi's Island are Mario Advance 2 & 3. A Link to the Past has a GBA edition with the Four Swords multiplayer thing. Super Metroid isn't there, but Fusion and Zero Mission are. There are versions of Mario Kart, F-Zero, DKC games, Final Fantasies, and so on.

There's already access to a large library of SNES-like games, if not SNES ports.

[MyNameIsVince]

Honestly, it really depends on what type of games you want to play.

If you want the sheer amount of games, 3D games, and what not, PS2 is your best bet. Of course if you're doing this, make sure you get a PS2 console for no more than 20 bucks (If I can get a Sega Saturn with cables, 2 controllers, and Virtua Fighter 2, all for 20 bucks, you can surely do the same for PS2).

If you want the 2D stuff, and have money leftover for dinner, get a SNES. Hell, if you have any leftover, get a Genesis.

I got lucky with getting my Saturn at a great price, but honestly, had I known I would only play it twice since I got it in January, I probably would have never gotten it. Plus many of those games are expensive. Yes there are some inexpensive Saturn games, but most of those are disc only (if you care about that sort of thing) and there's not a big threshold of inexpensive Saturn games.

Now I'm sure some of you are like "But Vince, the SNES is expensive too!". Yeah but the library of SNES games is much bigger than the Saturn so you're more likely to find cheaper games for the SNES if you want to start out on a budget, many of them quite decent. Also worth noting when you find some SNES games that are vastly superior to their GBA port versions (I'm looking at you R-Type III and Donkey Kong Country 3 with changed-for-the-worse music).

But, like I said, that's my 2 cents. It's up to you.

[TheBrick]

I'm considering the SNES over the Genesis because every wii Classic controller I've used has a shitty dpad, and the analog stick doesn't work as well as the dpad on 2D games (meaning the gc controller's also out). I've got wii remotes for genesis games, so that's why I'm not getting one of them immediately. I do want to get one in the future, just not right now.
For the Saturn, it's because it's got so many games that were never rereleased for anything else, like:
Panzer Dragon/Zwei, NiGHTS, Die Hard Arcade, apparently the best version of Sega Rally, Darkstalkers, Albert Odyssey, Dragon Force, Burning Rangers, Shing Force III
The Ps2 is because of games like:
Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2/3/4, Psychonauts, Metal Gear Solid 2/3, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Ico, and Grand Theft Auto III
That I missed out on, because I have a Wii. Don't get me wrong, I love my Wii, but I do wish Nintendo had gone with a bigger format for the gamecube, so that the bigger titles could easily fit onto one disc. The mini-dvd isn't that much bigger than a gd-rom, storage-wise.

[TheBrick]

Oh, and I forgot to mention this in the earlier post, but I was at a yard sale yesterday, and I found a model 2 SNES for $10! It came with the power cord, two a/v cords, and the first two mortal kombat games.
The power and a/v both work, but the console itself is dead. Sadface.
So, another question: does the power brick for a model 2 work for a normal snes as well? Because I'll most likely end up buying just a console at some point this summer.

[isiolia]

The power and a/v both work, but the console itself is dead. Sadface.
So, another question: does the power brick for a model 2 work for a normal snes as well?

They use the same one. How do you know the power adapter works if the console is dead?

Just wondering if maybe they gave you an NES power brick instead, since the two look very similar (though you can't plug it in unless the port is broken, which isn't unheard of).