Anyone really miss the Sega Genesis vs. Super NES days?

[Yoko/葉子]

I barely remember as I am a 91 baby, so who misses the friendly competitive 16-bit era? I mean, though I only had access to many of these games through my Wii (until recently when I found retro stores in my area), it makes me feel happy just playing them, having games based on movies, cartoons and were extremely hard, the "Sega does what Nintendon't," tagline that I recently became aware of, early examples of voice acting and chracter sound effects being part of those 2D legends.

So what makes this era special to you?

Edited March 21, 2012 by ChunkyKongZero

[Patticus]

The topic doesn't appear to be much more than a status update, but I'll let it slide right now as it might produce some interesting discussion (in spite of the opening post, not because of it). It'll need to be very interesting and not full of status update replies to survive though.

As I was born in 1988, and only obtained a Sega MegaDrive in 1996, after that console generation had officially drawn to a close, I am incapable of reminiscing about it in the way you'd like me to; I do reminisce about my MegaDrive years, but those reflections can never be a fond look at that generation or era as a whole so much as a fond look back at my experiences with half of that generation's Big Two consoles after its time had passed. Going by the way subsequent intensely competitive generations turned out though, I have to say that the only thing I would miss about that era, if I had been able to appreciate it, is playing the classics we hold high today as a young boy, for the very first time, on their home platforms. Probably. Perhaps the advertisements too. I did enjoy the Saturn ads, after all.

[Indigo Rush]

I have to say that I do sort of miss them in an odd way. I mean, I was blessed with owning both the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo, so it's not like I was hardcore SEGA vs Nintendo, but the very idea that Mario and Sonic were competing for the top spot in gamer's hearts such a long time ago, the idea that we have SEGA to thank for putting Nintendo in it's very first tough spot, and that you didn't have to be a red plumber or an elf in green to make sales was really important for the industry.

I guess I just miss the fact that SEGA had it's own hardware business going on. You can argue that it's better that SEGA is 3rd party, and I'm quite happy to be able to have games like Smash Bros Brawl or Mario & Sonic, but there was some sort of essence that SEGA had with their games that really made them stand out... and this is besides Sonic, too. Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Chu Chu Rocket, Ristar, NiGHTS, Alex Kidd, Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, and countless other original franchises helped set them apart from Nintendo's colorful cast, and it really felt like SEGA was a sort of "2nd Nintendo." I have to be honest, I can't think of all that many original pure-Sony/Microsoft mascots besides Sackboy and Master Chief that even hold a candlelight to the likes of Mario or Sonic.

I mean, honestly, I do kind of miss the days where SEGA was a force to be reckoned with.

And this is just cool:

SEGA and Nintendo stand out as the old-school kings to me. Even though SEGA isn't a hardware developer anymore (despite some people shouting BELIEVE) I think that they deserve equal rights along with Nintendo in the nostalgia department. And I'm glad that SEGA still makes games, even though it's not on their own proprietary hardware. It makes them more accessible to gamers of all varieties. Nintendo gamers, Xbox, Playstation, PC, handhelds, iPhones, and so on. But still, I can't say that I don't miss the good ol' days of hype and guerrilla marketing.

For every Mario there's a Sonic.

[bmn]

It was an interesting time, where prices meant you typically only had one company's console(s) and there were a hell of a lot more exclusives due to the differences in the consoles. On the one hand, you could miss so many great games on the consoles you didn't have, but if you had a friend with one it was very much a fresh experience to have all these "new" games to play.

I had a Megadrive back in the day, but playing Super Mario Kart, Link to the Past etc with friends on their SNES was special times. Even within one company, I recall having hella fun playing on a mate's Master System despite it being the outdated thing it was at the time.

But now with the exception of 1st party stuff, particularly Nintendo, those days are gone. I'm not sure whether I prefer these new times or not...

[LATER BUDDY]

I kinda got a console when I was 4 in 1994, but I was pretty oblivious to any sort of rivalry going on until it was over in the late 90s honestly, like after Playstation got on its feet. Though I remember playing my Genesis damn near daily, playing the same 10 games I owned hours on end. If anything, I miss the time where I could have a game and play it for months or even years despite being the same thing over and over again. Now I just get a new game, and seem to toss it to the side after a week, or even less sometimes.

On the rivalry though, it was more over just a "who had what" thing. My neighbor that I went to for the afternoons had a SNES, so I found myself playing that a lot whenever I wasn't at home. Super Mario World, Link to the Past, and so forth was almost as much time wasted in my youth as all my games on the Genesis. Good times XD.

I then kinda got a Gameboy later after an unfortunate event as a distraction for things, and it worked insanely. I grew up to want an N64 and Gamecube after that and sorta jumped on Nintendo's side of the board up until the PS3 really. I even forgot about Sonic and SEGA honestly until I found Mega Collection at a Walmart once for Gamecube, and here I am now XD!

All in all, I think it was more simple back then. I love where we are in gaming nowadays though, I don't think I'd go back.

[Mono]

I got a Genesis when I was four (I think). I really didn't know really know/care about the SNES. I had my Sonic, I was happy.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Jay Rockman

[Jeffhog]

Same as a few others here: I was too young and wasn't into the gaming community when Mario vs Sonic was going around. By the time I got into gaming, SEGA already became a third party company.

[Stritix]

I was born in 1996. I didn't get a console until the end of 2005. I had been playing Sonic Heroes and Sonic Adventure DX for PC since the start of 2005 though.

[Solkia]

GENESIS DOES

YOU CAN'T DO THIS ON NINTENDO

GENESIS DOES

More like " Remember when advertising campaigns weren't bland?"

[Mick]

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis

When I was dead broke, man I couldn't picture this

I remember those days, it was a great part of my childhood. I had both consoles. I equally liked both. If I had to choose one and only one.... doi! Sega Genesis/Mega Drive all the way!

[Nepenthe]

I was way too young to understand much less be embroiled in any playground spats about who was the better mascot or console of the two, especially since my parents were blessed enough that we could afford both a Genny and a Super Nintendo easily, and I got significant mileage out of both of the devils back in the day. This seemed to be the fact of the matter for the majority of my life span; In fact, the only time I ever personally confronted the feud myself was on the Internet when the Dreamcast died and news came about that Sonic was migrating to Nintendo platforms. So much vitriol from Nintendo fans. Regardless, shortly after that, the battle was dead anyway, so everyone'd forgotten about it quickly. I'm kind of happy I didn't go through the motions of that war; I probably had a lot more fun than any joker or unfortunate soul who decided or was forced to pick a side.

[Mono]

Anyone here have/owned a Game Gear? I used it for years, I didn't get a Gameboy until 1999.

[Dave™]

I've never owned a Game Gear. I was raised on the old Nintendo consoles, and played my cousin's old Genesis on the weekends. I always wanted to know why SEGA games looked so arcade-like compared to m SNES.

Namely, I wanted Mega Man X to have the same kind of depth I saw in Ranger X. That would've been boss.

[mikeblastdude]

Being one of the older members here, I remember the Genesis vs. Super NES days very well. That was truly the "golden age" of video games in my eyes.

I was lucky and ended up having both a Genesis and Super NES during the 16-bit era (I got a Genesis in late '93, and a Super NES a year later around late '94). I was also subscribed to both the Sega Channel and Nintendo Power, so I always knew what games to get. The 16-bit days were so amazing for me...

Oh man, now I'm reminded of how incredibly awesome and ahead of its time the Sega Channel was. I'm tempted to start a new topic for it...

[Mono]

Sega Channel was god damn awesome. I didn't own it, but my best friend who lived next door had it. We played it for hours and hours and hours...

[Kuzu]

My brother and cousin had something of a rivalry with this; my brother had a SNES because my Dad gave us his, and my cousin had Genesis and whever we visited they'd always go on about which one was better, and since were the only boys at the time I was kind of stuck in the middle. Because I lived with my brother, I was more exposed to SNES so naturally i have more of an attachment to that than Genesis, but I appreciate the Genesis for at least giving me Sonic.

I have to say that I do sort of miss them in an odd way. I mean, I was blessed with owning both the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo, so it's not like I was hardcore SEGA vs Nintendo, but the very idea that Mario and Sonic were competing for the top spot in gamer's hearts such a long time ago, the idea that we have SEGA to thank for putting Nintendo in it's very first tough spot, and that you didn't have to be a red plumber or an elf in green to make sales was really important for the industry.

I guess I just miss the fact that SEGA had it's own hardware business going on. You can argue that it's better that SEGA is 3rd party, and I'm quite happy to be able to have games like Smash Bros Brawl or Mario & Sonic, but there was some sort of essence that SEGA had with their games that really made them stand out... and this is besides Sonic, too. Crazy Taxi, Shinobi, Chu Chu Rocket, Ristar, NiGHTS, Alex Kidd, Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, and countless other original franchises helped set them apart from Nintendo's colorful cast, and it really felt like SEGA was a sort of "2nd Nintendo." I have to be honest, I can't think of all that many original pure-Sony/Microsoft mascots besides Sackboy and Master Chief that even hold a candlelight to the likes of Mario or Sonic.

Jak, Ratchet, Sly, and Banjo?

[Katzii]

Anyone here have/owned a Game Gear? I used it for years, I didn't get a Gameboy until 1999.

Yes, and yes, although the one I own now isn't the same one from my childhood (which was my first gaming system asides from my Amiga). I ended up getting a Mega Drive since my friend across the road had one, and I had to move away from him. I got to play SNES at friend's houses.

I kind of miss the Sega/Nintendo rivalry in the sense that it's happy 90's nostalgia for me.

[Indigo Rush]

Jak, Ratchet, Sly, and Banjo?

With the exception of Banjo, duh. I said not that many, not none. Pay attention, bronik.

In any case, in response of those owning a Game Gear....

...yeah. I had one. All I had was Sonic Labyrinth. The batteries kept running out and the console eventually died altogether. I have no memories or affection for the Game Gear, sadly. I was a Game Boy kid.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[Tornado]

You know what really sucks? When you played the shit out of a game as a child, have touched it a few times here and there since because you loved it, then you look it up and realize that the version that you played and loved was the shit one?

Because I've found that to happen to a lot of multiplatform games I had one the Genny (though vindication has happened as well, so it isn't all depressing).

Edited March 21, 2012 by Tornado

[Linkabel]

I really do

I remember that my cousins owned both the genesis, 32x, CD and then had the SNES (though they never took care of their stuff and always broke the systems). It wasn't till I was like 7 that I got a genesis of my own. It was around this time that I met a friend (who informed me of the rivalry) that had the SNES (and later will get the 64) and even though he had them he always wanted to go to my house to play Sonic and other genesis games.

And I do miss that Sega doesn't have a console business anymore. I always thought that they were ahead with their systems and I can't even imagine what new console they would had created if they would had remained up to this time.

[Katzii]

You know what really sucks? When you played the shit out of a game as a child, have touched it a few times here and there since because you loved it, then you look it up and realize that the version that you played and loved was the shit one?

Because I've found that to happen to a lot of multiplatform games I had one the Genny (though vindication has happened as well, so it isn't all depressing).

If you had Mickey Mania, then be rest assured that the Megadrive version was FAR superior to the SNES crap. To be honest, I personally found a lot of the time that multiplatform games fared better on the Megadrive. Maybe if I had a SNES in my childhood instead, I would think differently, but they always seemed to play better on the Megadrive, to me. At least those I played!

[mikeblastdude]

Yeah, some games definitely had superior versions on different systems. The Genesis had the "good" version of Mortal Kombat with actual blood in it (I remember entering the blood code in that as a little kid and thinking it was the most awesome thing ever at the time). Also, I preferred the Genesis version of the Aladdin game over the SNES one.

Although, on the other side of things I found the Super NES version of Sparkster to be much superior to the Genesis one.

[Sami]

Being one of the relatively younger members of our forum; I have to say I wasn't even born when this rivalry was happening. Despite my birth coinciding with the inception of the Playstation, however, I did happen to get my start with the Genesis and NES. My friend owned both consoles, and I had a great time going over to her house every once in a while to play some games. At the time, I was totally unaware of the rivalry that was going on (though the advertising had died down significantly by that time, so there wasn't really much in my way that would indicate its existence) and mostly only being exposed to commercials for the Playstation, so the only real "rivalry" was the one that took place in my head: "What should we play? Super Mario Bros. 3 or Sonic 2?"

Surprise surprise; I usually ended up picking Sonic. I loved Mario as well, don't get me wrong, and I really loved playing all three of my Game Boy games at home (Mulan, Mickey's Dangerous Chase, and Tetris), but Sonic always held a special place in my heart; especially after borrowing my uncle's Dreamcast (which I bought off of him last summer because I'm sentimental as hell) to play Sonic Adventure.

Unfortunately (?) they both hit the backburner once I got my Playstation, and I've been a Playstation gamer ever since. The PS2 is my favorite console of all time, the PS3 is my favorite from this generation, and the PS1 is the console I have the fondest memories of. I did become a huge Sonic fan back in '05 (perfect timing, I know) and ended up picking SEGA over Nintendo in the end as well, but like I said, the whole thing happened before I was even conceived.

[HeroMystic]

I was way too young to understand much less be embroiled in any playground spats about who was the better mascot or console of the two, especially since my parents were blessed enough that we could afford both a Genny and a Super Nintendo easily, and I got significant mileage out of both of the devils back in the day. This seemed to be the fact of the matter for the majority of my life span; In fact, the only time I ever personally confronted the feud myself was on the Internet when the Dreamcast died and news came about that Sonic was migrating to Nintendo platforms. So much vitriol from Nintendo fans. Regardless, shortly after that, the battle was dead anyway, so everyone'd forgotten about it quickly. I'm kind of happy I didn't go through the motions of that war; I probably had a lot more fun than any joker or unfortunate soul who decided or was forced to pick a side.

Story of my life, here. Hell, my parents took it a step farther and got me a Game Gear and soon after a Game Boy Color. I knew there was some war between the two consoles, but I was in my perfect world that never really cared about it. I also believe it was only prevalent to adults, because it was never mentioned in any of my elemtary or middle school I've been to. However I can easily relate to the war because in my own head, I always wondered who was my favorite character: Mario or Sonic? I never made a clear choice until well after the Dreamcast era, so I molded pretty well within the console war once I learned about it.

But I never chose a side, and continue to not choose a side as well. Games are just games to me, and if a game I really want to play is on a system I don't have, I'll work on getting it.

[Tails spin]

I can't say I really miss this because I was obivious to it, despite being born in the late 80s. I had both a Super NES and Genesis and like both Mario and Sonic equally. Now in terms of playing I played the SNES a little more because the only games I was interested in the genesis were the Sonic games, a major league baseball game, lion king and the animaniacs. It wasn't until I was 10 and my older cousin gave me a treasure trove of genesis games that I discovered Toejam and Earl. But like I said I never took a side.