Do You Have Any Unpopular Gaming Opinions?

[fastbilly1]

-Assault is my favorite Star Fox game, and the on-foot sections were my favorite part

Right there with you

[Retronomy]

-Final Fantasy 7 is not a gift from the gods
-Kirby's Epic Yarn is the worst first party Nintendo title I've ever played.
-The original XBOX controller was perfect.
-I enjoyed Shadow The Hedgehog quite a bit and had no problem with hedgehogs with guns.
-I find no problem with Rouge The Bat's sweater muffins.
-Sonic R is a great game.
-Sonic 3D blast is a great game
-Super Mario Sunshine is the Second worst first party Nintendo title I've ever played.
-Skyrim is just awful
-Despite my unending love for Sega, I believe they should stay out of the console market and focus on what they do best, making games. No need for Dreamcast 2.
-Gen 3 Pokemon was easily the best generation
-Pokemon Diamond and Pearl is vomit inducing
-The only good Halo game was the first.
-Half life is an acceptable series but isn't worth the unending praise it's given.
-Final Fantasy X and above are laughably bad, except XII.
-Megaman is only good in it's original NES style.
-Capcom makes their games in a shot gun method, waits until one hits a target audience, and then bleeds that game's audience dry by releasing the same exact game with minor tweaks that are negligable to all but Capcom fans.

Yep.

[BurningDoom]

-Assault is my favorite Star Fox game, and the on-foot sections were my favorite part

Right there with you

I thought I was the only one. Everyone constantly says Starfox 64.

[Krejlooc]

The Atari Jaguar is massively underrated and its library is a good deal better than the 3DO's library. Not that being superior to the 3DO is an enormous accomplishment or anything.

The Sega Saturn was the best system of the 32-bit era (including the N64).

The Sega Master System stomps the NES.

Sega as a whole is the greatest gaming company of all time.

Castlevania IV is insanely overhyped and legitimately a terrible game. Castlevania 3 is much better and Rondo of Blood is the best game in the series.

The best 8-bit action game is Turrican 2.

I could keep going like this forever. I have a pretty unique set of values.

EDIT: Oh, and a biggie for europeans - The Amiga CD32 is a better gaming machine today than an Amiga 1200.

[Hazerd]

The Atari Jaguar is massively underrated and its library is a good deal better than the 3DO's library. Not that being superior to the 3DO is an enormous accomplishment or anything.

The Sega Saturn was the best system of the 32-bit era (including the N64).

The Sega Master System stomps the NES.

Sega as a whole is the greatest gaming company of all time.

Castlevania IV is insanely overhyped and legitimately a terrible game. Castlevania 3 is much better and Rondo of Blood is the best game in the series.

The best 8-bit action game is Turrican 2.

I could keep going like this forever. I have a pretty unique set of values.

EDIT: Oh, and a biggie for europeans - The Amiga CD32 is a better gaming machine today than an Amiga 1200.

I sense a MASSIVE Sega fanboy.

[Krejlooc]

The Atari Jaguar is massively underrated and its library is a good deal better than the 3DO's library. Not that being superior to the 3DO is an enormous accomplishment or anything.

The Sega Saturn was the best system of the 32-bit era (including the N64).

The Sega Master System stomps the NES.

Sega as a whole is the greatest gaming company of all time.

Castlevania IV is insanely overhyped and legitimately a terrible game. Castlevania 3 is much better and Rondo of Blood is the best game in the series.

The best 8-bit action game is Turrican 2.

I could keep going like this forever. I have a pretty unique set of values.

EDIT: Oh, and a biggie for europeans - The Amiga CD32 is a better gaming machine today than an Amiga 1200.

I sense a MASSIVE Sega fanboy.

Unabashedly and proud.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Give some examples of SMS games that are better than their NES counterparts (in your opinion).

I can see how one could argue that Ys: The Vanished Omens and Phantasy Star are better than any NES JRPGs - and I would be inclined to agree.

But I think NES action/run n gun/shmup/platformer/strategy/sports games stomp those that were released on the SMS. SMS has nothing that compares to a Super Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 2, or Contra.

[BurningDoom]

Give some examples of SMS games that are better than their NES counterparts (in your opinion).

I can see how one could argue that Ys: The Vanished Omens and Phantasy Star are better than any NES JRPGs - and I would be inclined to agree.

But I think NES action/run n gun/shmup/platformer/strategy/sports games stomp those that were released on the SMS. SMS has nothing that compares to a Super Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 2, or Contra.

One thing the SMS did do better, were arcade ports. But that's largely due to most of those being made my Sega themselves, I'm sure.

[Krejlooc]

Give some examples of SMS games that are better than their NES counterparts (in your opinion).

I can see how one could argue that Ys: The Vanished Omens and Phantasy Star are better than any NES JRPGs - and I would be inclined to agree.

But I think NES action/run n gun/shmup/platformer/strategy/sports games stomp those that were released on the SMS. SMS has nothing that compares to a Super Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 2, or Contra.

Perhaps the NES might reach higher highs than the SMS from time to time - because few if any 8-bit titles compare to Mario 3, for example - but overall the SMS has a much better library than the NES. In the end this all comes down to opinion, so I'll spare us the usual list wars nonsense, but I'll touch upon one commonly repeated refrain from NES fans - that it was a better system for platformers than the SMS.

To be certain, I am a platformer fan first and foremost. I am also American. Back in 1991 - the year I got my Genesis and Sonic the Hedgehog - I probably would have told you that the NES was a better platformer machine than the SMS, based on the library I owned at the time. Today, with hundreds of SMS titles in my possession (and a comparable NES library, to boot) I feel that notion is incorrect.

Let's begin by defining a platformer, because it's a vauge definition. A platformer, to me, is a game whose main mechanic is jumping. The more emphasis placed on jumping, the better. This doesn't mean you need to jump on enemies to be a platformer, but when weapons become a bigger focus than jumping, it moves into the action games realm. As such, I wouldn't classify Contra or Megaman as platformers, nor would I classify something like Wonderboy 3 as one.

Obviously there are some stand out NES platformers. The mario series is the stand out on the system, but there were some strong second tier efforts like McKids or the Ducktales games. I adore those kinds of titles.

But there is simply more of them on the Master System. The games which usually get held up as the champion of the SMS platformer world are usually common world-releases that don't really hold up. I frequently see people touting stuff like Alex Kidd in Miracle World or Psycho Fox to do battle with the NES great. Those games are merely ok, and if that's your base comparison of the platformers available for each system, you're going to walk away thinking the NES wins hands down. No no, that's the populist battle.

The REAL battle lies in the European and Brazilian exclusives. The SMS begins strong with a trio of outstanding platformers that would likely have been hailed as all-time classics had they released on the NES and a few years prior: Sonic the Hedgehog, Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse, and Asterix. For the uninformed, all 3 are wildly different from their 16-bit counter parts and are entirely different games. They were made to focus on the strengths of 8-bit gaming and display a masterful touch not usually seen on US shores when exploring SMS gaming. For my money, Castle of Illusion is the best of the bunch, but depending on who you talk to, all 3 will likely get consideration as not only the best platformer on the system, but the best platformers of the entire era.

Beyond those, you also have titles like Land of Illusion, Legend of Illusion, Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, Dynamite Heddy, Chuck Rock II, James Pond 2, Fire & Ice, etc. When you're talking solely numbers, the larger library of the NES makes it impossible for the SMS to compete in terms of pure numbers, but I do believe the SMS strikes a better balance between quality and quantity. There might be hundred of platformers on the NES, but the actual number worth playing is lower than the number of platformers worth playing on the SMS.

With regards to comparable SMS and NES titles, I'll give a quick, nowhere-near exhaustive rundown of some comparisons which I believe favor the SMS: Outrun vs Rad Racer, Rampage, Double Dragon, Ys: The Vanished Omen, Space Harrier 3D vs Cosmic Epsilon, Battlemaniacs vs Battletoads, Master of Darkness vs Castlevania, Operation Wolf, Rainbow Islands, Star Wars, Bubble Bobble, Fantasy Zone, Fantasy Zone II, etc.

That, of course, ignores entries where the SMS versions are weaker than their NES counterparts, but not by much. Ninja Gaiden fits this description - each of the 3 NES titles is better than the SMS title, but not leaps and bounds better. I'd say Zelda is better than Goldenaxe Warrior, too, but again not by much.

You also have to take in the number of excellent SMS exclusives. Phantasy Star and Wonderboy 3 being head of the class. There isn't any NES title that can really compare to R-Type, Sagaia, or Aleste, for example. There are awesome shmups on the NES, sure, like the gradius games (although, for my money, I prefer the MSX versions by a mile) but nothing quite like those 3. I can't think of a single beat 'em up on the NES that comes anywhere near the SMS port of Streets of Rage - truly the best 8-bit beat 'em up regardless of system.

I think, much like the Atari Jaguar, people simply aren't familiar with the bulk of the library, hence when I make such claims they seem outlandish. I assure you it's a well researched opinion - between my MSX, C64, SMS, and NES, I have over half a thousand titles. I just happen to believe that the SMS' full library sits a top its contemporaries.

EDIT: Jesus, I didn't realize this post had gotten so large. To make a quick, summation claim - the longer life span of the SMS allowed it to enjoy much of the Genesis and Amiga's library as well. It was able to draw excellent ports of both stellar Genesis and outstanding Amiga titles, to compliment it's already outstanding library. Overall, I think what it has to offer is much more compelling than the stuff the NES offers.

Although, the NES did have Super Turrican. So it's not all that bad

[Violent By Design]

I enjoyed the long post sonicretard. I agree that in terms of numbers the SMS has the nes beat when it comes to platformers worth playing.