I'd say the difference between Ghost and Goblins and Ghouls and Ghosts is a perfect example.
True. Looking at games with direct parallels you get: (probably general consensus)
Super Ghouls and Ghosts > Ghosts and Goblins
Super Mario World > SMB 3 or SMB
Super Metroid > Metroid
A Link to the Past > Legend of Zelda
Secret of Mana > Crystalis (I love Crystalis, but I don't think this is a stretch)
Super Smash TV >> Smash TV
Arcana > NES renditions of Wizardry (maybe debatable)
etc
But there are quite a few great NES games with no direct SNES analog:
Startropics
Faxanadu
Zelda 2
Mario 2
Blaster Master
Yup.
Played both Seret of Mana and Crystalis. Played Crystalis TWICE!!
Never played Arcana played Wizardry (read the thead on Arcana) There are a few more on the SNES I would love to play (Wizardry V, Dungeon Master, Drakken?, Might & Magic?)
Would love to play Startropics (just another on my bucket list)
Faxanadu was awesome!! played it twice!!
Another might be Castlevania. I've tried and tried to beat that game and never could get past the Reaper. SNES Castlevania was THEEE game that got me into console gaming. IMO the controls, graphics, level designs, music (you name it) was mind boggling. Being able to wiggle the whip around was soooo cool. Talk about having an Epihany...
There are dozens of NES games I would love to play.
I have never played Mario 3 or either of the 3 SNES Donkey Kong games
My list is endless
Then comes the fighting games like Street Fighter II etc. no way you could play those on the NES.
Another might be Castlevania. I've tried and tried to beat that game and never could get past the Reaper. SNES Castlevania was THEEE game that got me into console gaming. IMO the controls, graphics, level designs, music (you name it) was mind boggling. Being able to wiggle the whip around was soooo cool. Talk about having an Epihany...
Then comes the fighting games like Street Fighter II etc. no way you could play those on the NES.
Most purists would dispute that Castlevania IV was as good as the NES offerings.
Really, if they'd just taken Castlevania 3 and given it SNES graphics and music, it would have worked.
But the game really shifted the strict (and often abusive) physics of the original to practically make it a different series.
In terms of fighters though, absolutely right, whole genres that basically don't exist in a functional way on the NES.
Same goes for any of the early FPS adaptations. Sure SNES Wolf3D or Doom weren't great compared to the PC versions... but they weren't even possible on the NES.
I honestly think Might Final Fight is much better than SNES Final Fight (FF II & III are a different story). Also, Double Dragon II > Super Double Dragon.
I honestly think Might Final Fight is much better than SNES Final Fight (FF II & III are a different story). Also, Double Dragon II > Super Double Dragon.
Double Dragon 2 was 1988.
Haven't played enough Mighty Final Fight to render an opinion on that one, though.
The Wii had a lot of crap, no doubt, but there were tons of great games. I just unpacked my collection last night and found a lot of sweet titles... rough number 40?? that I personally own. Not saying it has the most high quality games, but it has a far better library than most people give it credit for, it's too new for people to get a nostalgia boner for it. I would put it around same level as Gamecube but higher than N64.
Let's be realistic here, every Nintendo console has a massive percentage of crap games, including the SNES. The honor should go to Virtual Boy. Out of 22 games, only Virtual Lab is widely considered to be outright garbage by fans. Every other game has fans to some extent or another.
1 bad game out of 22 is by far the highest percentage here. VB wins.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning. The biggest lists are of N64 and SNES for me. I get that a lot of people grew up with the NES, and I did though I had limited experience with it, but I find it hard to go back and play a great many of those old titles. Is the original Metroid great? Yes, it was when it came out, but it is just a chore to play nowadays. Same goes for Legend of Zelda, and Kid Icarus. The Castlevania games are fun but less fun to me than Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania 64, Symphony of the Night, or even Lords of Shadow. For 95% of NES's games, I strongly prefer games of the same franchise or of similar genres on almost any other Nintendo console.
Not trying to prove anyone wrong, just stating my opinion. I'm sure 99.9% of NA will not agree with me, but that's the beauty of forums - you get to share your opinion. Anyway there's my 2 cents.
TL;DR - I feel the NES is inferior to the SNES, N64 and GCN. :-P
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning.
The only Nintendo console or handheld I struggle to find 50 games worth playing is the GBC. The N64 is right around that 50 title mark for me.
It seems to me like for most NES game you have a comparable SNES game so I'd have to give the title to the SNES for improving them.
As far as all systems, I agree the Wii had the most crap. Even the good games wore out. The Wii U has a lot of great games but not many people know about them. The 64 aged the worse for me.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
In general I'd say the SNES "iterations" are much better than the NES versions of most series.
SMW > SMB3
This is the only one I'd disagree with. To me SMB3 is the better game. However since Mario All Stars is a better version of it and is on the SNES it still works out to be the same conclusion.
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning.
The only Nintendo console or handheld I struggle to find 50 games worth playing is the GBC. The N64 is right around that 50 title mark for me.
Yeah I can agree with that about GBC, but most people put GB and GBC together so I would include the two together, and there is definitely at least 30-50 games that are worth playing on those.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
The thing about the Wii is that the games were often butchered to use the wii-mote and nunchuck. I'd consider that poorer than an otherwise lesser game using the Gamecube controller. Things would have been different if nintendo has pushed the classic controller a bit harder. New Super Mario for example depended on the Wii-Mote because of one single control (as far as I remember) to make Mario spin in the air. Hence the game is worse that the DS and Wii U versions in my book.
In general I'd say the SNES "iterations" are much better than the NES versions of most series.
SMW > SMB3
This is the only one I'd disagree with. To me SMB3 is the better game. However since Mario All Stars is a better version of it and is on the SNES it still works out to be the same conclusion.
Gross. I really dislike how the All Stars games look and feel compared to the originals, or compared to SMW.
SMW > SMB3 for the addition of Yoshi alone, let alone the other elements of interest like switch blocks and hidden exits.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
The thing about the Wii is that the games were often butchered to use the wii-mote and nunchuck. I'd consider that poorer than an otherwise lesser game using the Gamecube controller. Things would have been different if nintendo has pushed the classic controller a bit harder. New Super Mario for example depended on the Wii-Mote because of one single control (as far as I remember) to make Mario spin in the air. Hence the game is worse that the DS and Wii U versions in my book.
To each his own, i guess.
I don't recall being annoyed by the control schemes on any of the games I played, but I'm generally pretty adaptable with different control setups to not be bothered by such a thing.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Animal Crossing > Animal Crossing:City Folk
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Resident Evil Remake, Zero & 4 > Anything Resident Evil related on Wii (even prefer RE4 on GCN over Wii)
-Sonic Adventure DX, 2, Heroes > Anything Sonic on Wii
-RPGs in general are better on GameCube - Tales of Symphonia, Skies of Arcadia, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, Phantasy Star Online, Mega Man X Command Mission > all better than the RPGs on Wii - Xenoblade, Last Story, etc
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
-Any GCN Mario Sports game > any Wii Mario Sports game (Power Tennis, Toadstool Tour, Strikers, Superstar Baseball, all better than their Wii counterparts IMO)
-Pikmin 1 & 2 on GCN are more fun than the New Play Control versions IMO
-Chibi Robo on GCN - no counterpart on Wii
-Eternal Darkness - no counterpart on Wii
...should I keep going?
But there are a few games in which Wii is far superior than their GCN counterparts...
- Donkey Kong Country Returns > Anything DK on GCN
- Kirby Epic Yarn/Return to Dream Land/Dream Collection > far better than Air Ride on GCN
- Endless Ocean has no equivalent on GCN
And I won't even get started on which titles are superior on SNES or N64 than the rest. That's a whole nother list. :-P
Let's be realistic here, every Nintendo console has a massive percentage of crap games, including the SNES. The honor should go to Virtual Boy. Out of 22 games, only Virtual Lab is widely considered to be outright garbage by fans. Every other game has fans to some extent or another.
1 bad game out of 22 is by far the highest percentage here. VB wins.
Oh yeah, if we're talking percentage of good to bad, VB undoubtedly wins. You could say the VB quit while it was ahead :-P
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
...should I keep going?
Clearly a matter of opinion, rather than objective fact, since I can't agree with any of those.
For instance, Metroid Prime 3... I thought it was a PERFECT example of how the inherent light-gun capability of the Wii shines in an FPS/FPA setting.
Head-and-shoulders more enjoyable experience, to me, than the control scheme of Metroid Prime on the GCN.
I didn't play the GCN version of Twilight Princess, but thought the Wii version was totally adequate.
Galaxy vs Sunshine, I just completely and utterly disagree. I thought Sunshine looked like the absolute dumbest Mario-series game since Mario Is Missing
And I thought the Galaxy games were great, both in their creative level design and overall gameplay.
Mario Kart... could have done without 50 different control schemes, but "normal" controls on that game worked great, and I thought it was more fun the the double-dash gimmick, personally.
The other games on your list I don't really have an opinion on.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
...should I keep going?
Clearly a matter of opinion, rather than objective fact, since I can't agree with any of those.
For instance, Metroid Prime 3... I thought it was a PERFECT example of how the inherent light-gun capability of the Wii shines in an FPS/FPA setting.
Head-and-shoulders more enjoyable experience, to me, than the control scheme of Metroid Prime on the GCN.
I didn't play the GCN version of Twilight Princess, but thought the Wii version was totally adequate.
Galaxy vs Sunshine, I just completely and utterly disagree. I thought Sunshine looked like the absolute dumbest Mario-series game since Mario Is Missing
And I thought the Galaxy games were great, both in their creative level design and overall gameplay.
Mario Kart... could have done without 50 different control schemes, but "normal" controls on that game worked great, and I thought it was more fun the the double-dash gimmick, personally.
The other games on your list I don't really have an opinion on.
Well to each their own. I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better than Sunshine, but like I said, I just had more fun with Sunshine. I liked the bigger more open levels of Sunshine rather than the "point A to point B" objectives in Galaxy 1 & 2. This whole thread is all opinion based. If I were to pick a console that I think is objectively the highest quality, it is undoubtedly SNES. Wii does have a number of real quality games but I just don't really like the console overall, it's not terrible, but it's just by far my least favorite.
Arcana > NES renditions of Wizardry (maybe debatable)
"maybe" ? Arcana had no classes, small amount of items, much less impressive magic (You can teleport in wizadry; that alone is awesome) and arcana was a liner chaper bases setup with not one single hidden door. Except for the ice maze, there was very little in the term of mazes to begin with; follow the right wall and "boom, exit" For crawlers, I'd rank it below the wizadrys and bards tale just cause of lack of substance.
Beats the crap out of the nes pool of radiance though
Higher quality as in higher percentage of good titles?
Higher quality in terms of the good games themselves being "better" than another console?
I think in terms of absolute number of memorable games, the NES is going to take the trophy.
Almost anybody (into vintage games) can rattle off dozens of games worth playing on the console, to the point that nobody can agree on even a "top 50".
On the other hand, I'd have to give it some real thought to even conjure up 50 SNES games to put on the list in the first place.
But in terms of the RELATIVE quality of the two systems' games, I'd say the SNES probably has the better games, overall.
That is, IF you winnowed down to a top 10 or top 20 on each system, the top 10 on the SNES is going to involve better games than the same list for the NES.
Great post, and pretty much sums up how I feel as well.
It's hard not to be objective. What I would consider to be the best or worst someone else might totally disagree. For example, Blackthorne is, to me, one of the best games on the SNES. The mood, music and graphics are in the top 50 that SNES produced. Someone else may be a little less enthused about it.
The same could be said about Kid Icarus. Alot of old dudes like me can look back through PS4 shaded glasses and say "how could this have ever been considered a good game" but again, to me, it's a top 10 classic.
Overall I would have to say for the most high quality games between the NES & SNES only, it's too close to call. I can easily come up with what I feel are 50 games for each console that based on the capabilities of each system could be counted as fully playable and enjoyable even by today's spoiled standards.
Comments
I'd say the difference between Ghost and Goblins and Ghouls and Ghosts is a perfect example.
True. Looking at games with direct parallels you get: (probably general consensus)
Super Ghouls and Ghosts > Ghosts and Goblins
Super Mario World > SMB 3 or SMB
Super Metroid > Metroid
A Link to the Past > Legend of Zelda
Secret of Mana > Crystalis (I love Crystalis, but I don't think this is a stretch)
Super Smash TV >> Smash TV
Arcana > NES renditions of Wizardry (maybe debatable)
etc
But there are quite a few great NES games with no direct SNES analog:
Startropics
Faxanadu
Zelda 2
Mario 2
Blaster Master
Yup.
Played both Seret of Mana and Crystalis. Played Crystalis TWICE!!
Never played Arcana played Wizardry (read the thead on Arcana) There are a few more on the SNES I would love to play (Wizardry V, Dungeon Master, Drakken?, Might & Magic?)
Would love to play Startropics (just another on my bucket list)
Faxanadu was awesome!! played it twice!!
Another might be Castlevania. I've tried and tried to beat that game and never could get past the Reaper. SNES Castlevania was THEEE game that got me into console gaming. IMO the controls, graphics, level designs, music (you name it) was mind boggling. Being able to wiggle the whip around was soooo cool. Talk about having an Epihany...
There are dozens of NES games I would love to play.
I have never played Mario 3 or either of the 3 SNES Donkey Kong games
My list is endless
Then comes the fighting games like Street Fighter II etc. no way you could play those on the NES.
Another might be Castlevania. I've tried and tried to beat that game and never could get past the Reaper. SNES Castlevania was THEEE game that got me into console gaming. IMO the controls, graphics, level designs, music (you name it) was mind boggling. Being able to wiggle the whip around was soooo cool. Talk about having an Epihany...
Then comes the fighting games like Street Fighter II etc. no way you could play those on the NES.
Most purists would dispute that Castlevania IV was as good as the NES offerings.
Really, if they'd just taken Castlevania 3 and given it SNES graphics and music, it would have worked.
But the game really shifted the strict (and often abusive) physics of the original to practically make it a different series.
In terms of fighters though, absolutely right, whole genres that basically don't exist in a functional way on the NES.
Same goes for any of the early FPS adaptations. Sure SNES Wolf3D or Doom weren't great compared to the PC versions... but they weren't even possible on the NES.
The TMNT games were much better on SNES too.
Probably true for any 90's-era arcade port.
The TMNT games were much better on SNES too.
Probably true for any 90's-era arcade port.
I honestly think Might Final Fight is much better than SNES Final Fight (FF II & III are a different story). Also, Double Dragon II > Super Double Dragon.
The TMNT games were much better on SNES too.
Probably true for any 90's-era arcade port.
I honestly think Might Final Fight is much better than SNES Final Fight (FF II & III are a different story). Also, Double Dragon II > Super Double Dragon.
Double Dragon 2 was 1988.
Haven't played enough Mighty Final Fight to render an opinion on that one, though.
Originally posted by: mbd39
Does the military shooter genre ("Heavy Barrel", "Guerrilla War", "Jackal", "Ikari Warriors", "Commando") exist on the SNES?
Pegboy mentioned Firepower 2000 and while not necessarily "military" per se, the SNES has:
Total Carnage
Soldiers of Fortune
Operation Logic Bomb
1 bad game out of 22 is by far the highest percentage here. VB wins.
Does the military shooter genre ("Heavy Barrel", "Guerrilla War", "Jackal", "Ikari Warriors", "Commando") exist on the SNES?
Pegboy mentioned Firepower 2000 and while not necessarily "military" per se, the SNES has:
Total Carnage
Soldiers of Fortune
Operation Logic Bomb
Mechwarrior 3050 was fun and of a similar genre, as well.
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning. The biggest lists are of N64 and SNES for me. I get that a lot of people grew up with the NES, and I did though I had limited experience with it, but I find it hard to go back and play a great many of those old titles. Is the original Metroid great? Yes, it was when it came out, but it is just a chore to play nowadays. Same goes for Legend of Zelda, and Kid Icarus. The Castlevania games are fun but less fun to me than Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania 64, Symphony of the Night, or even Lords of Shadow. For 95% of NES's games, I strongly prefer games of the same franchise or of similar genres on almost any other Nintendo console.
Not trying to prove anyone wrong, just stating my opinion. I'm sure 99.9% of NA will not agree with me, but that's the beauty of forums - you get to share your opinion. Anyway there's my 2 cents.
TL;DR - I feel the NES is inferior to the SNES, N64 and GCN. :-P
But I seem to find more and more SNES games that I love, so maybe SNES will catch up.
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning.
The only Nintendo console or handheld I struggle to find 50 games worth playing is the GBC. The N64 is right around that 50 title mark for me.
As far as all systems, I agree the Wii had the most crap. Even the good games wore out. The Wii U has a lot of great games but not many people know about them. The 64 aged the worse for me.
Wii U -> Snes -> Nes -> Gamecube -> Wii -> N64
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
In general I'd say the SNES "iterations" are much better than the NES versions of most series.
SMW > SMB3
This is the only one I'd disagree with. To me SMB3 is the better game. However since Mario All Stars is a better version of it and is on the SNES it still works out to be the same conclusion.
It's funny to me when I see people say they "can't come up with more than 20 titles worth owning" for any given system, because all of Nintendo's systems (sans Virtual Boy) I can list a good 50 titles or more of games that are worth playing/owning.
The only Nintendo console or handheld I struggle to find 50 games worth playing is the GBC. The N64 is right around that 50 title mark for me.
Yeah I can agree with that about GBC, but most people put GB and GBC together so I would include the two together, and there is definitely at least 30-50 games that are worth playing on those.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
The thing about the Wii is that the games were often butchered to use the wii-mote and nunchuck. I'd consider that poorer than an otherwise lesser game using the Gamecube controller. Things would have been different if nintendo has pushed the classic controller a bit harder. New Super Mario for example depended on the Wii-Mote because of one single control (as far as I remember) to make Mario spin in the air. Hence the game is worse that the DS and Wii U versions in my book.
In general I'd say the SNES "iterations" are much better than the NES versions of most series.
SMW > SMB3
This is the only one I'd disagree with. To me SMB3 is the better game. However since Mario All Stars is a better version of it and is on the SNES it still works out to be the same conclusion.
Gross. I really dislike how the All Stars games look and feel compared to the originals, or compared to SMW.
SMW > SMB3 for the addition of Yoshi alone, let alone the other elements of interest like switch blocks and hidden exits.
It did to SMB3 what SMB3 did to SMB 1.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
The thing about the Wii is that the games were often butchered to use the wii-mote and nunchuck. I'd consider that poorer than an otherwise lesser game using the Gamecube controller. Things would have been different if nintendo has pushed the classic controller a bit harder. New Super Mario for example depended on the Wii-Mote because of one single control (as far as I remember) to make Mario spin in the air. Hence the game is worse that the DS and Wii U versions in my book.
To each his own, i guess.
I don't recall being annoyed by the control schemes on any of the games I played, but I'm generally pretty adaptable with different control setups to not be bothered by such a thing.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Animal Crossing > Animal Crossing:City Folk
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Resident Evil Remake, Zero & 4 > Anything Resident Evil related on Wii (even prefer RE4 on GCN over Wii)
-Sonic Adventure DX, 2, Heroes > Anything Sonic on Wii
-RPGs in general are better on GameCube - Tales of Symphonia, Skies of Arcadia, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, Phantasy Star Online, Mega Man X Command Mission > all better than the RPGs on Wii - Xenoblade, Last Story, etc
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
-Any GCN Mario Sports game > any Wii Mario Sports game (Power Tennis, Toadstool Tour, Strikers, Superstar Baseball, all better than their Wii counterparts IMO)
-Pikmin 1 & 2 on GCN are more fun than the New Play Control versions IMO
-Chibi Robo on GCN - no counterpart on Wii
-Eternal Darkness - no counterpart on Wii
...should I keep going?
But there are a few games in which Wii is far superior than their GCN counterparts...
- Donkey Kong Country Returns > Anything DK on GCN
- Kirby Epic Yarn/Return to Dream Land/Dream Collection > far better than Air Ride on GCN
- Endless Ocean has no equivalent on GCN
And I won't even get started on which titles are superior on SNES or N64 than the rest. That's a whole nother list. :-P
Let's be realistic here, every Nintendo console has a massive percentage of crap games, including the SNES. The honor should go to Virtual Boy. Out of 22 games, only Virtual Lab is widely considered to be outright garbage by fans. Every other game has fans to some extent or another.
1 bad game out of 22 is by far the highest percentage here. VB wins.
Oh yeah, if we're talking percentage of good to bad, VB undoubtedly wins. You could say the VB quit while it was ahead :-P
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
...should I keep going?
Clearly a matter of opinion, rather than objective fact, since I can't agree with any of those.
For instance, Metroid Prime 3... I thought it was a PERFECT example of how the inherent light-gun capability of the Wii shines in an FPS/FPA setting.
Head-and-shoulders more enjoyable experience, to me, than the control scheme of Metroid Prime on the GCN.
I didn't play the GCN version of Twilight Princess, but thought the Wii version was totally adequate.
Galaxy vs Sunshine, I just completely and utterly disagree. I thought Sunshine looked like the absolute dumbest Mario-series game since Mario Is Missing
And I thought the Galaxy games were great, both in their creative level design and overall gameplay.
Mario Kart... could have done without 50 different control schemes, but "normal" controls on that game worked great, and I thought it was more fun the the double-dash gimmick, personally.
The other games on your list I don't really have an opinion on.
I really think that terms of pure quality, SNES, N64 and GCN blow NES, Wii U and Wii out of the water. Yes, I like the NES less than SNES, N64 and GCN. I think many NES titles are overrated and there are so many bad games for it, and despite it having a number of excellent titles that are timeless classics, I still think that even the best of what the NES offers still pales in comparison to the best of what the three consoles that come after it offer.
I'm curious what GCN games are inherently better than some equivalent on the Wii. I can't think of many, if any.
But I'm in the camp that only perceives a handful of games on the N64 to be worth playing in the first place, so I completely disagree with your opening statement
I'm not saying they're inherently better but I strongly prefer most GCN games over Wii games. Some examples though...
-Zelda Wind Waker/Four Swords/Twilight Princess > Zelda Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess (and still prefer the GCN Twilight Princess over the Wii one)
-Super Mario Sunshine > Galaxy 1 & 2 (I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better but I found Sunshine to be more enjoyable)
-Metroid Prime 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3 & Other M (and even Prime Trilogy) - I strongly prefer the GCN controls in these games.
-Mario Kart Double Dash > Mario Kart Wii (just enjoyed DD a lot more)
...should I keep going?
Clearly a matter of opinion, rather than objective fact, since I can't agree with any of those.
For instance, Metroid Prime 3... I thought it was a PERFECT example of how the inherent light-gun capability of the Wii shines in an FPS/FPA setting.
Head-and-shoulders more enjoyable experience, to me, than the control scheme of Metroid Prime on the GCN.
I didn't play the GCN version of Twilight Princess, but thought the Wii version was totally adequate.
Galaxy vs Sunshine, I just completely and utterly disagree. I thought Sunshine looked like the absolute dumbest Mario-series game since Mario Is Missing
And I thought the Galaxy games were great, both in their creative level design and overall gameplay.
Mario Kart... could have done without 50 different control schemes, but "normal" controls on that game worked great, and I thought it was more fun the the double-dash gimmick, personally.
The other games on your list I don't really have an opinion on.
Well to each their own. I can agree that the Galaxy games are objectively better than Sunshine, but like I said, I just had more fun with Sunshine. I liked the bigger more open levels of Sunshine rather than the "point A to point B" objectives in Galaxy 1 & 2. This whole thread is all opinion based. If I were to pick a console that I think is objectively the highest quality, it is undoubtedly SNES. Wii does have a number of real quality games but I just don't really like the console overall, it's not terrible, but it's just by far my least favorite.
Arcana > NES renditions of Wizardry (maybe debatable)
"maybe" ? Arcana had no classes, small amount of items, much less impressive magic (You can teleport in wizadry; that alone is awesome) and arcana was a liner chaper bases setup with not one single hidden door. Except for the ice maze, there was very little in the term of mazes to begin with; follow the right wall and "boom, exit" For crawlers, I'd rank it below the wizadrys and bards tale just cause of lack of substance.
Beats the crap out of the nes pool of radiance though
Higher quality as in total number of good titles?
Higher quality as in higher percentage of good titles?
Higher quality in terms of the good games themselves being "better" than another console?
I think in terms of absolute number of memorable games, the NES is going to take the trophy.
Almost anybody (into vintage games) can rattle off dozens of games worth playing on the console, to the point that nobody can agree on even a "top 50".
On the other hand, I'd have to give it some real thought to even conjure up 50 SNES games to put on the list in the first place.
But in terms of the RELATIVE quality of the two systems' games, I'd say the SNES probably has the better games, overall.
That is, IF you winnowed down to a top 10 or top 20 on each system, the top 10 on the SNES is going to involve better games than the same list for the NES.
Great post, and pretty much sums up how I feel as well.
The same could be said about Kid Icarus. Alot of old dudes like me can look back through PS4 shaded glasses and say "how could this have ever been considered a good game" but again, to me, it's a top 10 classic.
Overall I would have to say for the most high quality games between the NES & SNES only, it's too close to call. I can easily come up with what I feel are 50 games for each console that based on the capabilities of each system could be counted as fully playable and enjoyable even by today's spoiled standards.
Since only two systems are in the running, I'm easily going with SNES.