16-bit wars
The 16-bit era was without a doubt my favorite gaming era of all time. The early 90s was when graphics and gameplay exploded in a mesh of splendour and originality that gamers had never witnessed before. This was the era of Nintendo versus Sega. Mario versus Sonic. Final Fight versus Streets of Rage etc. School discussions were abound. Afterschool arguments were regular. Your friend borrowing your games and never gave them back. So many great memories from this 16-bit era!
Did you start with Sega or Nintendo? Did you switch alliance at some stage? Favorite games from this era? What struck you the most regarding nostalgia from the 16-bit years?
Did you start with Sega or Nintendo? Did you switch alliance at some stage? Favorite games from this era? What struck you the most regarding nostalgia from the 16-bit years?
Comments
Striking me from Nostalgia? I don't know if it counts but at the end of the 16 bit era, and the beginning of 32 bit era I still remember going to a store seeing Nes, Snes, Genesis, Sega CD, 32x, Atari Lynx, Jaguar, Jaguar CD, game boy, game gear, , 3DO, CDI, Turbo duo, and PC games all fighting for shelf space all in one store. And a little later with play station, and Saturn with them. I kinda miss seeing all the different variety in stores.
That lasted about 3-4 years at which point I sold off the lot to purchase my first guitar. A knock off Gibson SG. Still have my NES though.
I was a big sports fan so Genesis fit the bill for me, the 6 button ABC layout was perfect for fighting games too. Also enjoyed platformers like Sonic and Earthworm Jim. Nowadays I enjoy SNES and Genesis both equally.
My brother and I saved up for a Genesis by mowing and such. We bought one from a college guy through the Want Ads.
And it was great times. I traded games with friends, we rented a lot.
My brother eventually decided to buy a SNES. A few years passed, and I noticed the Genesis was lagging behind in the graphics department by then. You could tell they were trying, but even the best-looking Genesis games couldn't compete with the likes of Donkey Kong Country 2. I Voltron'd my Genesis with the Sega CD and 32X in hopes that it could keep up. But after I played Chrono Trigger, there was no turning back. I ended up buying my brother's SNES from him and enjoyed both worlds. I found myself playing both consoles about equally. It would be a few more years of pure enjoyment before I would cave in and buy a PS1.
I enjoyed both the SNES and Genesis during the 16-bit era. I loved games in general too much to pick a side and be a part of the Console Wars. If I had the money, I would've gotten a 3DO and everything else I could get my hands on, too.
I remember getting Earthworm Jim and Comix Zone on my birthday but I of course already had Sonic 2 (pack-in). I also played a lot of World of Illusion.
Our SNES at my Dad's had Super Mario World, All-Stars, Super Mario Kart, Madden 94 and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (underrated)
I don't recall having a preference back then though I remember playing more SNES since my siblings lived with my Dad.
Now I prefer SNES but can't dispute the fact that the Genesis has an amazing library and shouldn't be overlooked.
(1) NES (family purchase)
(2) Game Boys (family purchases, over time -- DMG for me, Color for my sister, and I think my sister eventually got a GBA)
(3) Sega Game Gear (my mom bought this for herself, and kept it to herself)
(4) SNES (family purchase)
(5) Playstation (family purchase)
(6) Virtual Boy (on closeout/clearance at Kay Bee toys for maybe $20? bought it myself)
(7) Atari Jaguar (on closeout/clearance at Kay Bee toys, also maybe $20, also bought myself, same week as VB)
(8) PS2 (family purchase, used)
The SNES and Playstation were the biggest ones in my household, notably for Final Fantasy 3, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy 7 (almost all of us sunk many hours into those, including my mother)
I regret that I missed out on so many great Nintendo games from that time. I never really played any SNES games until I got emulators in the early 2000s, and never played the original console until I started dating a girl that had one in the late 2000s. With all that said, there were so many great games on the Genesis that I'm glad I got to experience as a kid. Aladdin, Sonic 1/2/3/Knuckles/Spinball/3D, Tiny Toons, Jurassic Park, Clayfighter, Ristar, and Ecco were all staples of my childhood.
You can't really go wrong with either, but from a collecting standpoint it's really hard for me to get over just how shoddy the quality of the label and cover artwork were for Genesis. It's like if every NES game was released by Acclaim, with cover art done at the local Kinkos
When I finally got around to getting a SNES, the N64 was just about out or already out. The SNES didn't stay with me that long. I remember playing a few games on it but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I did my NES. So it quickly got traded back to Gamestop for a N64 and games.
As for SEGA...I never knew about a SEGA console/game until late in life. I think my first taste of their stuff was on the Gamecube. And I just thought they were game developers. It wasn't until I was into game collecting and learning about all this stuff that I learned what SEGA was.
I still don't quite know why I had no knowledge of SEGA...it's like I didn't even see ad's for it. There's just no memories of SEGA anything until Gamecube.
The 16 bit era was without a doubt the most competitive generation ever. Based on sales numbers, some might argue that the 7th generation was the most competitive, but I would disagree. The 7th generation was the first generation where it was extremely common to own more than one console from the same generation, and that had a lot to do with the close sales numbers. The 4th generation sales numbers show how competitive it really was, and it was the only pre 7th generation to not have a clear runaway winner (despite the SNES having the highest sales).
Just to show where I was in each generation:
- 1st- N/A
- 2nd- 2600
- 3rd - NES
- 4th - SNES
- 5th - PS1
- 6th - PS2
- 7th - PS3 followed by Wii, followed by 360
- 8th - PS4 followed by Wii U (30 days apart)
Like many others, the 7th generation was the first generation where I owned more than one console while they were still "active." In fact, I ended up with all 3 major consoles before the generation ended. Kind of sad to say that I never onwed a Sega console while it was still active, but I do have all of them today.I dont want to miss all the good times with my Genesis games(awesome game-library) but nothing could beat the snes and nothing will ever be able to beat it
I was an NES -> Genesis -> N64 kid. I didn't get much SNES experience until I was an adult collector.
I was a big sports fan so Genesis fit the bill for me, the 6 button ABC layout was perfect for fighting games too. Also enjoyed platformers like Sonic and Earthworm Jim. Nowadays I enjoy SNES and Genesis both equally.
Me too, but I played all the SNES games on emulators back in the day when they first started coming out.
I have a special place for Genesis, that thing rocks.
The 16-bit era was without a doubt my favorite gaming era of all time. The early 90s was when graphics and gameplay exploded in a mesh of splendour and originality that gamers had never witnessed before. This was the era of Nintendo versus Sega. Mario versus Sonic. Final Fight versus Streets of Rage etc. School discussions were abound. Afterschool arguments were regular. Your friend borrowing your games and never gave them back. So many great memories from this 16-bit era!
Did you start with Sega or Nintendo? Did you switch alliance at some stage? Favorite games from this era? What struck you the most regarding nostalgia from the 16-bit years?
Final Fight was on Sega CD as well.
There were too many games on that system, so I am not even going to try to answer the 'favorite games' part, but I will say that the fondest memories were gaming on that system in general. This is both with my family and by myself. There is no way to explain it.
To be honest I was never really aware of any console wars until about the ps2/game cube/xbox era and that was when I transitioned to the darkside and purchased a ps2 (my first ever own console, my brother got a gamecube) I didnt really like the game cube and I think all of my friends at the time had a playstations. after that i got sucked into the wii gimmick and never looked back
The 16-bit era was without a doubt my favorite gaming era of all time. The early 90s was when graphics and gameplay exploded in a mesh of splendour and originality that gamers had never witnessed before. This was the era of Nintendo versus Sega. Mario versus Sonic. Final Fight versus Streets of Rage etc. School discussions were abound. Afterschool arguments were regular. Your friend borrowing your games and never gave them back. So many great memories from this 16-bit era!
Did you start with Sega or Nintendo? Did you switch alliance at some stage? Favorite games from this era? What struck you the most regarding nostalgia from the 16-bit years?
Final Fight was on Sega CD as well.
Yes it was, but I was talking about the 16-bit era only.
I was actually a Sega fanboy from the start, with the Master System being my first entry to the console world. Then the early 90s I jumped to the Megadrive, with the pack-in Altered Beast. Sonic, Shinobi games, Streets of Rage were my all time favorites. Looking back, I definitely was a fanboy, as I remember arguing with a classmate that Sonic was better than Mario, even though I had never actually played Super Mario World!
Though I eventually switched to the SNES and Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart were my favorite Nintendo games. Never really got into the Zelda/Metroid games back in those days. Other favorites not produced by Nintendo were Mystical Ninja, Pocky and Rocky and of course, Street Fighter II!
20 years on, I'm a much more level-headed gamer/collector. No more fanboyism! Both 16-bit systems were truly great and one could argue, Nintendo might never have been the legendary company that it is, without the push and shove from Sega.