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August 15, 2012 at 7:29 pm
YES!!!! Part 2 is here, baby!
August 15, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Thanks for not making us wait too long for part 2!
August 15, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Part 2 ftw.
August 15, 2012 at 7:34 pm
That was way quicker than I expected! Someone’s working overtime
Love this idea though, great work!
August 15, 2012 at 7:37 pm
That was fast. So glad you are back. Looking forward to watching my regularly scheduled nerd videos.
August 15, 2012 at 7:42 pm
This is so awesome. i’m like 3 minutes in and a can’t believe how thorough you are. even talking about game boxes.
August 15, 2012 at 7:46 pm
The look on your face after the “a BIT better” pun, hahaha!
August 15, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Awesome! I agree, I’ve purchased so many copies of Link to the Past over the past few years because its likely my favorite game ever made as well. Having the option to pick it up and play on my Wii or my GBA is great!
I agree with your assessment James!
August 15, 2012 at 7:55 pm
Very nice. I’m glad you did an open-minded review of both of the consoles and didn’t completely take the fanboy route. You were definitely right choosing SNES over Genesis in games. SNES has more classic, head turning, world-renown games.
August 15, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Thank you guys for the work you put into these videos.
SNES forever!
August 15, 2012 at 7:59 pm
YEAH! 16 BIT!
When he was comparing the music, I was astonished when he included Final Fantasy VI. James rarely ever mentions RPGs. Incredible music!
When it comes to comparing the games, I also feel that the SNES takes the cake. There are many other great Genesis that stand up to the competition though. Perhaps James and many others never had a chance to play some of the more memorable Genesis titles. I’ll make a short list here, for anyone who happens to be interested.
- Shining Force I
- Shining Force II
- Gunstar Heroes
- Rocket Knight Adventures
- Phantasy Star IV (If you’re going to play any one PS, play this one)
- RIstar
- Comix Zone
- Lost Vikings
- Kid Chameleon
- Strider
- Pulseman
- The whole Road Rash series
- All of the Splatterhouse games
- Mega Man the Wily Wars
- Dynamite Headdy
- Alien Soldier
- Shadowrun
August 15, 2012 at 8:00 pm
That was most excellent. Makes me want to dig out my consoles. I never owned many games, I rented more, but I played the crap out of what I had like Donkey Kong Country, General Chaos, and Streets of Rage. Was never a Mario or a Metroid fan so I spent more time with Genesis. Long live 16 bit is right.
August 15, 2012 at 8:01 pm
You know. The European version of the SNES is alot more sexy than the American release. You probobly know of it but forgot about it. But its far more sexy than the genesis.
August 15, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Nintendo is what Genesisn’t !
August 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Terranigma, the golden era of JRPGs.
How much more mature can you get than attempted suicide and self-sacrifice? COD, now that’s a game for kids.
August 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm
great retrospective. having conversations with your younger self was what made the episode great.
you should do an episode where you argue with the angry video game nerd over the review of a game and you be yourself. that would be funny.
August 15, 2012 at 8:05 pm
I know this was much loser to your childhood but any chance aat all of a N64 vs PS1. These are my childhood consoles and I had a N64 which i loved but at the school during lunch this argument that was always going. I saw friendships broken up over the fact that someone got a ps1 instead of a n64 or vise versa
August 15, 2012 at 8:07 pm
Brand me a Sega boy. I never had a SNES, but there’s reason. Nintendo was known as a family system. This spoke to me as a kid. I wanted the original Mortal Kombat with more blood and gore. I wanted burps and farts(Beavis and Butthead). In the SNES version, Butthead didn’t fart. Yeah, I have a simple mind. All I can say is- Genesis does what Ninten… Alright, if I finish that sentence someone will murder me.
August 15, 2012 at 8:08 pm
While it is true that the SNES has MORE brilliant games, it’s hard for me not to like the Mega Drive better when I own Streets of Rage 2, the best game ever made, and James Pond 3, which might be the greatest 16-bit game.
There is an SNES version of James Pond 3, but oh man is it garbage that just vomits over how great that game is.
In fact when it came to games that were on both consoles, my experience is that the Mega Drive version is almost always better in terms of graphics, music, and gameplay. A couple of famous exceptions, of course.
August 15, 2012 at 8:09 pm
The console turning yellow is actually a chemical reaction from UV rays. You can reverse this yellowing with a witches brew of oxyclean and a few other things I cant remember at the moment. They have videos for it on youtube.
August 15, 2012 at 8:14 pm
RESOLUTION! Hahahahahaha!
LMAO
August 15, 2012 at 8:17 pm
I’m sorry, I mean RESOLUATION
August 15, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Too bad Fatal Fury 2 was not compared.
No Robocop vs. Terminator comparison?
Streets of Rage 1 is the only clunky 1.
The Genesis has so many hidden jem’s like “Growl” “Mazin Saga Mutant Fighter” , “Valis” “TWO CRUDE DUDES” etc.. It’s a library worth looking deep into.
The Cheesiness of The Sega Genesis breaks the tie for me, PLUS WE GOT A FUN CHEETAHMEN GAME WITH THE BEST MUSIC EVER!!!
Love the video and I LOVE SUPER NINTENDO TOO!!
August 15, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Sweet work and yes, of course, SNES was way, way better.
August 15, 2012 at 8:45 pm
he should do it with all the console generations!
August 15, 2012 at 8:46 pm
No, little James ( Jimmy) had it right. It will take CENTURIES to top the SNES! Sure newer consoles have better sound/graphics..but, to this day, the ONLY console that achieved perfection for its time, was Super Nintendo!
August 15, 2012 at 8:51 pm
I will give you that Super Nintendo may have been better, but I call bullshit on an unlicenced add-on that lets you play NES games giving that round to Nintendo. Genesis had that category! Sound & graphics, definately SNES though.
I had both growing up. I bought MK on Genesis for the blood, but when I heard MK2 would have blood on both consoles, I went with SNES….no contest!
August 15, 2012 at 8:54 pm
It’s a little bit normal about the sounds…
The soundchip on snes was using samples in 12bit if I remember well
The Genesis is a simple FM Soundchip.
So in a sense it was easier to pull some great sounds with the snes when on the genesi you totally need to work on your sounds if you want it to be a little bit good !
August 15, 2012 at 9:00 pm
HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED THE BEST BEAT EM UP EVER MADE , STREETS OF RAGE 2????????????????IT CRAPS ON FINAL FIGHT SHITTY SNES PORT
August 15, 2012 at 9:04 pm
I noticed that you renamed Magus to Janus
James Rolfe confirmed for being a true Chrono Trigger fan
: )
August 15, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Ok, just hearing the FF3 music makes me want to go play it. Such an awesome game. Between that and Chrono Trigger, the best RPG’s ever made.
August 15, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Great video, James, but you have to admit that you went into a fair bit of SNES fanboy-ish behavior in the second half. I can understand that you mainly grew up with a Sega Genesis as a kid, but considering how you did seem to keep any fanboy-ish behavior to a minimum it was annoying to see you start to sound like a SNES fanboy in the last moments. I don’t know if Mike grew up any different, but this video really should have had a second opinion to help push the whole “Versus” idea.
Also, I agree on calling bullshit on you being willing to use an unlicensed SNES add-on that lets you play NES & Famicom games just to give the SNES the advantage in terms of backwards compatibility (where is should be a tie), yet you strictly didn’t want to bring up the Genesis 6-button controller, which would have made the controller argument a tie in the end, as well. Let’s face it, once the 6-button came out no one ever used the 3-button Genesis controller, so forcing yourself to restrict yourself to only the 3-button is kind of silly, not to mention that the 6-button gave the Genesis the same number of buttons as the SNES controller… Though, admittedly, only a handful of games actually utilized the Mode button on the top of the controller.
August 15, 2012 at 9:19 pm
woo!
August 15, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Oops, I meant that James mainly grew up with a SNES as a kid, not a Sega Genesis. My bad, but the point still stands.
August 15, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Yea what made my choice was the final fantasy series,god the music and sounds were amazing back then,and it helped that they had the best stories too! FF6 is still my all time fav.
August 15, 2012 at 9:34 pm
I think the most forgotten Genesis game has to be Wiz ‘n’ Liz.
August 15, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Great video, as always. I hope to get a Super Nintendo soon.
August 15, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Love these videos. I hope you’ll consider doing a N64 vs. PlayStation series. I’m not sure to what extent you experienced those two, but it’s always great to hear you opinions on more recent games.
August 15, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Springboard sucks monkey jizz and elephant ass.
August 15, 2012 at 9:58 pm
I can’t believe james didn’t mention secret of mana for best sound, the score was unbelievable!
August 15, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Well i agree with james but it just depends really witch consle advertisment or tv comercial you saw that influenced you the most like i saw the snes and by the time i saw sega i was already taken and didnt i didnt care about it thats what i thinck every one is differnt.
August 15, 2012 at 10:16 pm
512 X 448 …That’s twice the re-sol-you-ation as other 16-bit video games…Color layering, big characters and multi-scrolling backgrounds…Jimmy is awesome ! ! !
August 15, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Oh my god another good Video but 1 thing you missed. When you were talking about RPGs you didn’t even mention Earthbound. That was one of the greatest rpgs on the snes ever made.
August 15, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Nice! Waited since I saw first one
August 15, 2012 at 10:29 pm
I noticed that during the video, you used softer, boring music for loser of each category, and you used a faster, more catchy rock alternative for the winner. I like how you use these subtleties to sway people to your point of view, just like you mentioned in part 1, it’s all a marketing strategy
August 15, 2012 at 10:40 pm
I grew up with both systems (I actually had the Genesis first), and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the SNES was the better system. The Genesis was great for what it was, but the greatest games of all time were on the SNES. I can still play many of them today and be amazed.
August 15, 2012 at 10:42 pm
Super Metroid had better side-scroller controls than any game I’ve ever seen. Using the triggers to aim diagonals, it was just awesome. I don’t think there’s any bottomless pits or instant death in the game. That’s just awesome.
August 15, 2012 at 10:47 pm
I’d have to agree that the Super Nintendo was an all around better system, but I’ve always been big into sports games. Genesis is my winner, but only by a slim margin. If i was more into the Final Fantasy’s and Metroid’s i’d pick SNES hands down
But I own both, so best of both worlds is better than just one.
August 15, 2012 at 10:48 pm
Long live James…It felt so nice to remember all the debate we had when we were younger. Thanks a lot!
August 15, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Nice video! I am a Super NES fan all the way, but I agree with the points you gave to Genesis.
I think you should have mentioned Donkey Kong Country in the graphics category, because it looked so much better than anything else when it came out, and Genesis couldn’t come close. It looked more like 3D rendered animation than flat 2D sprites.
August 15, 2012 at 11:00 pm
I agree the SNES is the best console all though the genisis is a great console too…. great video
August 15, 2012 at 11:08 pm
Did somebody knows Who create the sounchip for the SNES?? that’s right SONY!!!!
August 15, 2012 at 11:09 pm
OK the 16 bit games were awesome its was my first console however i was about 3 but in 97′ the N64 was released in America and i was when 5 got it i loved my snes just for link to the past(i have the remake on the gba and the wii console port) but the n64 vs ps1 is where a lot of your target audience lies. So for the people N64 vs. PS1
August 15, 2012 at 11:12 pm
I was mostly neutral back then. I thought Sega was cooler, but I enjoyed playing both systems. I played way more SNES, though. And Donkey Kong Country made it difficult to look back.
Props for actually picking a winner!
August 15, 2012 at 11:56 pm
GREAT video james. i really loved the younger version of yourself. dont ever stop making videos, your just way too great at making them.
August 16, 2012 at 12:05 am
No competition at all, super Nintendo all the way. I mean come on they made a “home improvement” game for it! I was eight when I bought by super Nintendo at toysrus and now I’m a CPA and still love me some donkey kong.
August 16, 2012 at 12:28 am
I am of the opinion that, though the race may be tight, the SNES is the greatest console of all time for sheer number of exceptional games. Playstation 1 and 2 are just a peg behind, with XBox 360 and Playstation 3 just behind them. SNES is Michael Phelps, the rest can be Lochte. Lochte’s the future of swimming… but Phelps has annihilated just about every Olympic record known to man. I feel that way about the SNES – I just get that excited about it.
I still have to play through Final Fantasy Thr… th… six and Chrono Trigger at least once every two or three years or something just feels off.
But if you want hours of fun with another person – it’s all about Metal Combat: Falcon’s Revenge. Ah, the good ol’ days.
August 16, 2012 at 12:42 am
Well…you can`t call “Clunky” to the streets of rage series just playing the first one (yeah..is very clunky)
The second and third games are very different, specially the thrid part, with a very high valuable gameplay
August 16, 2012 at 12:58 am
Great fair and honest review! To be honest, I didn’t own either console at the time, but I played both at friends’ houses. Thank you for pointing out Sega’s supremacy in the sports title department. I believe NBA Jam and NHL ’94 on Genesis are two of the best video games ever made, nonetheless the best sports games of the time. With regard to sound, my favorite has to be Rock n’ Roll Racing on SNES – what a great soundtrack.
August 16, 2012 at 1:27 am
Don’t get me wrong. I love Final Fantasy. I love Chrono Trigger. But you can keep them both as long as I have my Phantasy Star and Shining Force series. Phantasy Star II and IV are, in my opinion, up there with the best RPGs ever made and they’re both in my top 5, PS4 taking the #1 spot.
Also, I’ll have to call bullshit when you give the “backwards compatibility” award to SNES by including 3rd party attachments and such but at the same time don’t count the 6 button controllers for Genesis in the controller category. Seems a little bias bleeding through.
Bottom line, I always felt that SNES games tended to feel more “sterile” if that makes sense. We all know Genesis had the weaker hardware, but in fairness it did release two full years before the SNES. When you compare just how well the Genesis held up, that’s pretty impressive.
And yes, I’m a Genesis fan boy if you want to label me, but there’s just something about that system, a feeling that I never got from SNES.
August 16, 2012 at 1:53 am
Hey James –
I haven’t played Legend of Zelda Link to the Past since it first came out over 20 years ago and I was what, 12? I have long considered it one of the 3 best games I’ve ever played. Do you think it would hold up today, or should I leave it alone as a well remembered gem?
August 16, 2012 at 2:03 am
I luved this SNES vs Genesis 2 part video.As much as i luv the AVGN and think its funny as fuck but I personally enjoy these types of videos more. Being around the same age I can definitely relate with you James on that era of gaming, I had both consoles and enjoyed them both the same.
I would just like to say Thank You and will always look forward to what ever comes next.
Cheers
August 16, 2012 at 2:04 am
You know what’s Buuuuuuullshit? SPRINGBOARD!
I fucking hate that thing. It never works, gives you tons of errors and makes it almost impossible to watch videos outside from North America. What’s wrong with the old player?? Everything was fine. Every time a new video is uploaded to your home page I get so fucking exited to watch it, but I always have to ask myself: Will it work or not. That is so frustrating…
Ah now I get it! You don’t want to be the only one that gets angry. You want to show us how it feels to be fucking aaangry! You want to make us fucking hate you!!!
But seriously, please go back to a player that is more user friendly. Thank you.
O by the way, you know what else is Bullshit? When you are trying to post a comment and get an error message that states that you are a spambot^^
August 16, 2012 at 2:16 am
This is a great throw down but when it comes to the two system sales speak for them selves Sega was desperate to keep up with how fast the snes and games where selling, it had better graphics, music for just about any game, great controls mostly, I mean when its all said and done we all know who is the winner over all!
Lets put it this way James, there’s a reason why the Super Nintendo to this day is still be considered the best game console ever, most people feel that after the SNES gaming went down hill I say it started to go down hill after PS1 I love both systems allot! Super Nintendo had its fair share of crappy games but even those where appealing to some. The Sega just didn’t have what the SNES had and all ways will have!
August 16, 2012 at 2:22 am
SNES had way way more games, more sales in the end, more RPG’s, Adventure and action games too! I’ve always been hard pressed to like Sega Genesis its the same with the N64 I want to like them but I guess for me it will always be a love/hate relationship for Genesis and N64 I do have my favorite games on both but SNES kicks both their asses any day!
Long Live the King SNES!!!!
August 16, 2012 at 2:24 am
Fantastic breakdown, James. Having been a Nintendo nut all my life, I wholeheartedly concur with your final verdict, but I will concede that you made better points in defense of the Genesis than I can recall anyone making back when the glory days of the 16-bit console wars were actually happening. With each passing day, I get more and more thankful that I was a kid too during that magical era. From what I have seen being in a position while serving as a teacher (or at least used to, before I was laid off), it seems like the whole concept of a console war is virtually nonexistent with kids/teens today. Without that sometimes heated, sometimes friendly rivalry between Nintendo and Sega back in the day, I don’t think I would’ve become quite as passionate about games over the years, and I think kids/teens today are really missing out on that.
In any case, I wish I had something to record myself when I was that age. I bet if I did, my video would’ve turned out a lot like yours. It would be wonderful right now to be able to look back to a simpler time like that, and I can’t tell you how much I wish I could go back to those happier times right now given my current job situation. I have to admit that it made me tear up a bit when you wrapped this video about how life used to be when all people of our generation had to worry about was putting up a good fight to defend our choice for 16-bit supremacy.
If only…
August 16, 2012 at 2:31 am
Man, I was heartbroken when you didn’t mention Secret of Mana in the RPG part. Every time people talk about the 16-bit games of Square they mention Final Fantasy and sometimes Chronotrigger but never Secret of Mana which sucks because I thought it was damn near as good as Link to the Past.
Anyway a great fun video (again) and hope the nerd movie’s coming along nicely.
August 16, 2012 at 2:38 am
“Also, I’ll have to call bullshit when you give the “backwards compatibility” award to SNES by including 3rd party attachments and such but at the same time don’t count the 6 button controllers for Genesis in the controller category. Seems a little bias bleeding through.” ~ AGREED!!
August 16, 2012 at 2:55 am
Also Tales of Phantasia and Secret of Mana in RPG for SNES. Man that the important part, games, glad you dedicated the longest part to that, people need to learn that. Whatever the console is, even if it’s graphcally inferior but has games that’s the console to have.
And i’m not talking about multiplatform games.
Good job.
August 16, 2012 at 3:19 am
@Wildside50
A Link to the Past, IMO, is the best aging game I’ve ever played. The graphics are still eye pleasing and the bosses still look phenomenal. In general, I feel like, for the most part, the 16 bit games aged very well.
August 16, 2012 at 3:25 am
“Much of my childhood just wanted a genesis of the design because it … Children can have a mind of shit yourself. Anyway, I consoled myself playing Super Nintendo … Legal Times.”
Almost a poet.
August 16, 2012 at 3:51 am
nice review, the 16 Bit era just rocked!
Oh and that tune at the end of the video, I remember that music but don’t know from what game it’s from…can somebody help me with this?
August 16, 2012 at 3:58 am
Good item James. But I do have to make a note at the backwards compatability. With the controllers you make a point
of only including the original controllers, with the backwards compatability it is suddenly ok to get an unlicensed
third party contraption that can play the older nes games while Sega had one they build themselves. I would have called it a draw or if I had to choose award it to Sega because they brought it out themselves.
With games I again would have called it a draw for the simple reason that you stated that it all comes down to personal preference. I have some games I love on the genesis and I have some games I love on the snes.
In the end I think we should be happy that both consoles were there and that Sega paved the way for other console builders to come in and give us the diverse selection of games and consoles we have today.
Someone in the comments said that almost everyone agrees games went downhill after the snes, I think there is no-one that I know that feels that way. There are people that prefer retro games but who can also still enjoy the new games.
Your love for the past shouldn’t cloud your vision on games today because there’s some awesome games out there you might miss that way.
But again James good item and you did good at trying to be as impartial as possible.
August 16, 2012 at 4:01 am
I think the SNES is better than the Mega Drive but why is the US SNES so ugly.
August 16, 2012 at 4:05 am
When I grew up I lived in a very small place were very few people had consoles or even cable TV, I didn’t know about Nintendo Power til the N64 days. So I was never aware of the whole console wars, it wasn`t till the days of PS2, Xbox, and GameCube I knew there was a rivalry between consoles where people would get on my case that I chose Xbox over PS2, yeah no one I knew ever defended the GameCube.
Note I was living in a bigger place when I got a Xbox.
August 16, 2012 at 4:11 am
That was beautiful. Sure brings me back. I’m glad you made so clear that the Sound and Games part was a matter of opinion. I for one prefer the Genesis sound, I’m not very fond of the SNES’s low notes. But that could just be my nostalgia talking.
I was a lucky kid. I didn’t have both systems, but my neighbour had a SNES and I had a Mega Drive, so I grew up playing almost every major game from both systems. Fun times when every weekend meant a new rented game (and here in Brazil they got the craziest japanese games I could never remember the names again).
August 16, 2012 at 4:12 am
Koji Kondo and Kenji Yamamotot were the best Composers of that era for Super nintendo Games! I still listen to all that music now!
August 16, 2012 at 4:17 am
Great video! loved seeing little Jimmy get into so much, haha.
August 16, 2012 at 4:17 am
The SNES and Mega Drive are my two favourite consoles. I’d say the SNES is the best because it has a better game library overall, but the best games for the Mega Drive (Sonic, Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage etc…) are just as good. Great video.
August 16, 2012 at 4:18 am
@Wildside50
Trust me, A Link to the Past is still phenomenal to this day.
August 16, 2012 at 4:48 am
August 16, 2012 at 5:00 am
Great video, as always.
Both were great consoles. The Genesis/Mega Drive was probably the most successful console ever from Sega.
The Genesis is the winner in my opinion. That’s probably just because it had more games that appealed to me personally.
August 16, 2012 at 5:01 am
I almost cried in nostalgia watching this vid, James… You mentioned FFIII(VI), Super Mario RPG, AND Chrono Trigger (a game I hoped you mention someday, somehow). I had lost hope of you recognizing that last one halfway through the vid lol… I mean, you talked about best music and mentioned FFVI which was cool, but Chrono Trigger had what is commonly considered one of if not the best video game soundtracks of ALL TIME. But yeah, it was about capability, not the actual music.
If you or Mike ever do an episode of best obscure RPGs, it would make me extremely happy. =]
August 16, 2012 at 5:29 am
Our european version of the snes looks a bit better imo. ^^
-> http://ryuujinken.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/snes.jpg
August 16, 2012 at 5:43 am
man, some games are good on one and some are good on the other, why are we still debating this now, u do realise that some games are good on one console and vice versa….dam people…LIVE YER DREAM
August 16, 2012 at 6:21 am
The European Super Nintendo looks way better IMO.
Also, can’t believe you didn’t mention Secret of Mana when comparing RPGs! It’s one of the best RPGs of all time!
August 16, 2012 at 6:30 am
Well, another good video, but I’m going to have to pick you up on one thing that’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine. It’s ‘addictive’ and not ‘addicting’.
August 16, 2012 at 6:36 am
Very good and fair comparison. Loved it. I will say though, that everyone always forgets about Shining Force II for Genesis. The only 16-bit RPG that I can think of that holds it’s own against Chrono Trigger and FF3.
August 16, 2012 at 6:50 am
That was awesome James! . . . the best part of the video was Mike & Chad were not in it.
August 16, 2012 at 7:00 am
Hi James,
Watching the videos for years and quite a fair comparison. I do disagree in some respects – beat ‘em ups feel the opposite for me on SNES – they are clunky and slow. Though having Knights of the Round is a big bonus (shame no Cadillacs and Dinosaurs).
I can see why some people are annoyed about the backward compatability issue as you didn’t include the alternative controller (which was an official accessory unlike the Super 8) and the emulation isn’t always perfect on that type of add-on e.g. the Gameboy add-on for gamecube.
Gotta agree there are some unforgettable RPG’s on the SNES (just playing Chrono Trigger on DS) however perhaps because I came to megadrive first I have really fond memories of the Shining Force series (that people have already mentioned though of course Fire Emblem is the natural counterpoint), King’s Bounty and The Immortal (yes it was on NES too).
Though I didn’t play them I also know Rings of Power and Sword of Vermillion had some acclaim.
August 16, 2012 at 7:31 am
Hi James & Mike,
Just wanted to say congratulations on an awesome video – It’s good to see you back on form
My brother and myself have been fans of yours since the early days and have the AVGN DVD’s in pride of place in our media collections.
I will however be the first to admit I’ve been concerned as to where your recent videos have been going, It’s not a bad thing, just a confusing one. This video however has restored my faith in you, no matter what you do in life you cannot please everyone -
Keep making the videos and keep playing the games, It’s nice to see some fresh new material but remember the retro classics too.
Admiral
August 16, 2012 at 7:50 am
Hi,
Great video but you didn’t show Streets of Rage 2. It is THE beat ‘em up game that kills any other fighting games. Awesome playability, graphics, sound, two player mode etc.
Even though, I like both consoles very much. Back then people didn’t have that much money to buy both so choice had to be done.
Me
August 16, 2012 at 7:52 am
Hey James, awesome video as expected and my winner is also SNES.
About the RPG games, my personal favourite of all time is Lufia Rise of the Sinistrals. Have you ever played that one? If so, what’s your opinion?
I wasted hours and hours on that game as a child. I even set an alarm to wake up a few hours before school. When I was just 12 or 13 years old.
August 16, 2012 at 7:58 am
That was great. Really brought back some memories.
I never owned a Super Nintendo, but I’m seriously considering buying one now. I think that was the big thing back then; when you’re ten or twelve you have no way to just make some money and buy a console and games for yourself so you’re at the mercy of whatever you can convince your parents to buy for you.
I was always a Genesis guy by default because there was no way in hell my parents were going to buy both consoles for me.
August 16, 2012 at 8:12 am
The problem with Crono Trigger, was that it wasn’t released in the PAL regions. So I always feel that it’s unfair to use Crono Trigger in this sort of thing; at least without mentioning that.
August 16, 2012 at 8:13 am
at 12:39 i had to stop the video to comment. Not holding a candle? Seriously? I do not know if these games are not available in the US (or was) But shining force TO THIS DAY, No 16 bit game have had better RPG, feel to it. No random shit when walking around, perfect script and lovely music and ambiance. Nothing made in the 16 bit era by final fantasy *number* can even compare to those two masterpieces. Shining force 1 and 2 is still by this day the best story and turn based battles ever made. The Sega CD version did not have as good writers and the lovely town ambience was mostly gone and focusing sadly only on the battles. It got a bit better again on the sega saturn, and is to this day together with shenmue one of the prime reasons anyone buys a saturn. All three Shining force games on the saturn costs a fortune, but they are still AWESOME. Nothing in turn based RPG on the SNES compares, and if compared it would be a complete “HUMILIATION!” of the snes library in the category..
August 16, 2012 at 8:26 am
addition to the comment: Ok Zelda was the game that made me buy a SNES i give in to that one. But in Sweden we only got games imported by a company imported by Bergsala AB afaik. And those people always denied us Swedish gamers the privilegium of playing the whole SNES library. The genesis games was available everywhere, and many games was in bargain bins, which never happened with SNES games. As a poor (relatively) the SEGA had a much breader appeal. It also had awesome games like Daffy duck in space or something, Quackshot , NHL, World championship hockey (you know, us northern swedes love our hockey) and many more. There was even swedish only MegaDrive games. Most of them are ports from the AMiGA, but oh so fun.
Now i consider myself somewhat of an collector, and i would gladly rip you a rom of some of the swedish games, but unless you have a knowledge in swedish or a translator, they might be very confusing. (think amnesia, dark descent with no voiceovers)
August 16, 2012 at 8:35 am
It would be a tie for me. I understand that people tend to like SNES more because it has more well-known great games but Genesis has MANY hidden gems. For example, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy and Rocket Knight Adventures are definitively on my list of favorite games.
August 16, 2012 at 8:37 am
ResoluAtion!
That made me laugh my ASS of out LOUD!!!
August 16, 2012 at 8:41 am
I thought about why the SNES is my favorite: I think it’s because they took the same formulas from games on the NES and multiplied it with the SNES hardware and blew my fucking mind. Super Metroid and Zelda are my prime examples.
August 16, 2012 at 8:52 am
Also want to add:
The Genesis’ answer to Link to the Past? Death Duel. Face.
August 16, 2012 at 9:04 am
I love how he used final fantasy 3 as an example for music. One of the best game sound tracks out there.
August 16, 2012 at 9:14 am
The Super-FX chip was an addon by normal definition. It was a co-processor integrated into the game cartridge, which added features the SNES processor didn’t have by design. The 32X was basically the same thing, except that the addon was seperate from the actuall game.
August 16, 2012 at 9:26 am
I was fortunate to have both consoles growing up, and I love them equally to be honest. So, so many great games on both.
Over the last 2 months or so, I’ve been alternating between my two consoles, replaying some of my favorite SNES and Sega games. When my sons saw how epic Final Fantasy 3 (6), Secret of Mana, Super Mario World 1 and 2 was, including Phantasy Star Sonic 1, 2, Sonic and Knuckles+Sonic 3, Shadowrun, Shinobi just to name a few I’ve played so far, it just blew them away. They don’t even really care about my xbox 360 and kinect I have, they want to play the games I played when I was growing up. The first games my son ever played was Super Mario Brothers, Sonic and KNuckles+Sonic 3, and Megaman X (not surprisingly, Megaman X is where he picked up a lot of his skills from, which is exactly how I refined my coordination and timing).
Glad I watched this because it makes me feel great that not only have I been reliving some great stories and action growing up, but now I can share what’s great with my sons, and they’re loving every minute of it.
August 16, 2012 at 9:36 am
I played super nintendo but GENESIS rocks, also the game ” Sonic 3D blast”. Dizzy sucks but i recommend Genesis.
August 16, 2012 at 10:17 am
BOO! come on, the zelda games are the most overrated games ever!
And megadrive had landstalker, wich are pretty equal to link to the past!
and lets not forget the blast processing! Snes aint got shit to go up against blast processing!
August 16, 2012 at 10:24 am
Wow. James, I’m a little insulted that you show just about EVERY good SNES RPG but Earthbound. What’s the deal?
August 16, 2012 at 10:31 am
I always preferred Beyond Oasis on the Genesis over A Link to the Past.
But man…. F-Zero’s soundtrack will do it to me everytime. That and Top Gear’s.
August 16, 2012 at 11:47 am
Great video as always James. I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t mention the power base converter for the Sega genesis which is actually for backward compatibility as the master system was the successor to the genesis as opposed to the game boy which was a different kind of console than the super Nintendo. http://segaretro.org/Power_Base_Converter
August 16, 2012 at 11:53 am
Very good review and very sound arguments. It was so interesting, thank you!
I think both consoles are good in their own way.
August 16, 2012 at 12:04 pm
Thanks for that, James!
August 16, 2012 at 12:09 pm
What Donkey Kong song is that at 8:22? I wanna make metal version of that song >.< soo sick!
August 16, 2012 at 12:12 pm
that was great!!!! what about the 64bits console era???
August 16, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Has anyone else noticed how James always missed out the N in Nintendo and says Superintendo? The younger James says it right. Great videos though and it’s good to have the nerd back.
August 16, 2012 at 12:42 pm
You press Y to run and B to jump in a Mario Game? What are you drinking James? *G*
Maybe you should stop playing these 52 Games
August 16, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Will he do one based on the 32/64 bit era because I would of loved to see his opinion and which one was superior?
August 16, 2012 at 12:58 pm
And Secret of Mana 2 is the best RPG ever made
(I even enjoyed it more than A Link to the Past.)
August 16, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Awesome video, I love both my SNES and Megadrive. But I always liked Sega a little more
But I couldn’t live without Mario World either. 
August 16, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Super metroid and Secret of Mana were my favorites
August 16, 2012 at 1:44 pm
I had both the genesis and super nintendo, I loved both systems, Genesis just blew my mind with all the sonic games (reason I got it was for sonic) but I did own more and had more fun with the Super nintendo. 3 of my top favorite games I ha dthem on my snes (donkey kong country, Prince of persia by konami and Out of this world) And I do belive the Snes had a beter library of games but I did had some good times playing all the sports games with my friends and cousins . Both are good in there own way it skind alike comparing a PS3 and a 360 but the Snes and genesis are far superior than todays consoles
August 16, 2012 at 2:06 pm
This was a fantastic video! I always love it when James brings up the videos he made as a kid and splices them in! It’s like an interesting version of those “talking to your future self” videos you see on youtube lol.
August 16, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Truth is, Final Fantasy 3 is the best RPG on SNES equally with Earthbound. Speaking of good music, Earthbound nails it too.
Now, I’ve watched you play like 12 seconds of A link to the past and the only thing I need in my life right now is to start a new game right freaking now.
August 16, 2012 at 2:46 pm
A fairly good breakdown and I would have to agree on the outcome. Genesis brought some amazing action games to the table and did have that more arcade style sound to it. What it really comes down to is that SNES just has more masterpieces and better support overall. Castlevania, Mario, Donkey Kong, Final Fantasy, Super Metroid, Zelda.
I mean, really. How are you supposed to top that? Sonic is a good series and there were some other astoundingly good games on Genesis (Gunstar Heroes for instance), but for every great game on Genesis there are two great games on SNES and Genesis essentially had only the Phantasy Star series for RPGs.
Graphically, SNES has better color palettes, which lend themselves to great artistic capability (Chrono Trigger is arguably the best example). That ‘higher’ resolution and greater colors really showed itself to be an asset. Genesis had ‘speed,’ but not all games can be or even should be fast. We can only keep up with so much.
As far as sound is concerned I think that one is a bit of a wash. I think that the SNES was capable of producing more variety though. Between Donkey Kong 2 and Final Fantasy 6 it’s hard to make an argument for Sega. The musical scores are just that good.
I think the one thing that really blows Genesis out of the water was the SNES controller. I don’t think Sega ever had a truly good controller.
So, really I think that while SNES was the slightly better system. It was the support from really talented people that made it what it is. The game library for SNES is just too good.