as unbiased as possible (if that is possible) Snes v MD v PC Engine

[Team Andromeda]

Original question.......

I think alot of people are missing the point, forget which was your best console back in the day, which is your favourite?

I now still play the snes, I am playing Lufia II and Yoshis Island, where as my MegaDrive is sitting in a box somewhere.

I am not saying that was the case when they were released but certainly is now. Which makes the Snes my favourite.

But I still play the likes of Thunder Force 4, Sensible Soccer (the best football game ever), PGA Golf III (still the best gold game ever made), Street Of Rage II on the MD today. It's a mute point really and proves nothing.

I?ll say this.. The Snes had the better range AAA unbeatable games like Mario V, Metroid of which the MD couldn't touch ,but the MD had by far the biggest range of good games.
For every good Snes platform game, there was at least double on the MD. Like the Sonic, Shiobi, Mickey Mouse, Wonderboy series of games backed up ny Dynamite Heady, Aladdin, and so on.

Really the only area the MD didn't really complete with the SNES was in the RPG dept. Though it did have some fine example like Lanstaker, Shinning Force, and Story Of Thor. But those did pale to the top Snes RPG's

[Duddyroar]

Really the only area the MD didn't really complete with the SNES was in the RPG dept. Though it did have some fine example like Lanstaker, Shinning Force, and Story Of Thor. But those did pale to the top Snes RPG's

I dunno, Story of Thor is an amazing game, there's nothing quite like it on the SNES IMO. Landstalker is also excellent, if a little rough around the edges in places. Shining Force 1 & 2 have no equal on the SNES IMO. And let's not forget Langrisser 1 & 2, either. And although people knock it all the time, I adore Light Crusader.

Granted the SNES had the best number of RPGs by a mile but some of the MD's finest role players were just as good.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Hell yes that why I like the Snes more than the MD if were're not talkng add on's, as a games machine. For me the MD had no answer to Mario V (best platform game ever), Super Castlevannia IV, Super Metroid, F-Zero, Pioltwings

The MD did have some top platformers though, what about Castle of Illusion or Quackshot?

And the MD had it's own Castlevania, which while not as pretty as SC4 was still an excellent game.

As you say though the MD did have it's own brand of power. Gunstar Heroes, Contra, and Thunderforce 4 blow away anything on the SNES for sheer full on graphical impact.

[Duddyroar]

The MD did have some top platformers though, what about Castle of Illusion or Quackshot?

Exactly, two excellent platformers with stunning visuals and brilliant gameplay - and they are both first generation MD platformers!

And the MD had it's own Castlevania, which while not as pretty as SC4 was still an excellent game

The MD Castlevania is in many respects better than the SNES version. You've got two playable characters for a start. The levels are more interesting and complex (towards the end of CV4 the level design suffers IMO) and the music is as good, if not better than CV4's legendary OST (it's just that the MD sound chip can't do the tunes justice). However CV4 is more polished and just seems to 'play' better in places. I'd put both on a pretty equal footing to be honest. I love them both!

[Team Andromeda]

I dunno, Story of Thor is an amazing game, there's nothing quite like it on the SNES IMO. Landstalker is also excellent, if a little rough around the edges in places. Shining Force 1 & 2 have no equal on the SNES IMO. And let's not forget Langrisser 1 & 2, either. And although people knock it all the time, I adore Light Crusader.

Granted the SNES had the best number of RPGs by a mile but some of the MD's finest role players were just as good.

That's why I did point them out, I loved the Shining Force series,Landstalker and Story Of Thor (of which the Snes had no equal too what so ever).

But guess I was talking more of your typical traditional RPG. While the MD did have some good ones, it really didn?t have any answers to Square Soft finest (Mega CD did, but that?s another point) .

I liked Light Crusader too, very diff from Treasue , and felt very western for an Japanese developed RPG

[Team Andromeda]

Exactly, two excellent platformers with stunning visuals and brilliant gameplay - and they are both first generation MD platformers!



The MD Castlevania is in many respects better than the SNES version. You've got two playable characters for a start. The levels are more interesting and complex (towards the end of CV4 the level design suffers IMO) and the music is as good, if not better than CV4's legendary OST (it's just that the MD sound chip can't do the tunes justice). However CV4 is more polished and just seems to 'play' better in places. I'd put both on a pretty equal footing to be honest. I love them both!

Yes I agree That's why I said the MD had the greater number of good games ect. But as good as Quackshotect were, they weren't a patch on Mario IV, Yoshi, Super Castlevania IV, though Revenge Of Shinobi comes oh so close .

I liked the MD version of Castlevania as well (ok but nothing special), but the Snes version was leagues ahead of the MD version. In fact Castlevania IV is my 2nd fav Platform game of all time, after Mario IV

[Team Andromeda]

The MD did have some top platformers though, what about Castle of Illusion or Quackshot?

.

As you say though the MD did have it's own brand of power. Gunstar Heroes, Contra, and Thunderforce 4 blow away anything on the SNES for sheer full on graphical impact.

Exaclty!.
Thunder Force 4 pisses on most 32Bit shooter, never mind 16bit ones.
The SNES had no answer to those graphics at all (Snes TF was pants), and TF 4 on the MD even outclassed most Neo Geo Shooters for graphical effects. Still to this day the game looks amazing.
Streets Of Rage II looked like a Neo Geo Fighter thanks to HUGE sprites and and Stunning parallax scrolling the likes of Vectorman, Batman& Robin ect were do insane effects which wouldn't look out of place on a GBA game.
Adv Batman & Robin on the MD features multi rotating sprites, that rotate so smoothly you could swear it?s a Saturn game.

The only bad part to most MD games is thier weak colour pallet, which really shows up in this day and age

[Duddyroar]

The only bad part to most MD games is thier weak colour pallet, which really shows up in this day and age

True, but the SNES suffers from this too. I've found myself revisiting some SNES games recently and being very unimpressed with the colours. The truth is both machines are growing old disgracefully in terms of visuals but at the end of the day it's gameplay that counts.

Thunder Force 4 pisses on most 32Bit shooter, never mind 16bit ones

I remember showing my Amiga-owning mates TFIV and helping them pick their jaws up off the floor afterwards.

I need to get hold of another copy of this game. I had the PAL version when it was released and loved it to bits, but I got rid of it when I flogged my first MD. I saw a PAL copy in Leicester Gamestation for ?2.99 but I'd rather have the Jap version...anyone selling a copy?

[Kotatsu Neko]

I remember Thunderforce 4 got a semi luke-warm review in Mean Machines at the time. Shocked me as I thought it was completely amazing, but the reviewers thought it just another shooter.

Was playing it last night on my Xbox, and wow, it's still completely amazing and totally compelling. A masterpiece.

Does anyone else find most SNES games rather slow paced? Not just compared to Thunderforce but in general. The MD just seemed to have quicker more arcade like games.

[gIzzE]

Does anyone else find most SNES games rather slow paced? Not just compared to Thunderforce but in general. The MD just seemed to have quicker more arcade like games.

Yeah definitely. I always thought of Sega consoles as machines for a quick bash on when bored, you knew their games you could pick up and play for 20-30 minutes and feel you had done it justice. Where as the SNES was the machine that I would sit down and play a game on for a whole weekend, probably because it was the slower machine I used to buy games accordingly.
Same with the N64 and Saturn.
Same with the PS2 and the Dreamcast.

[Duddyroar]

The MD had a faster processor, hence faster games.

Can anyone remember Sega's 'blast processing' claims? When Sonic was released Sega said the MD was able to use this power to create 'faster' effects. They gave the example of the speed of the animation when Sonic does his spin attack. They said this was down to the 'blast processing'. I remember it being covered in EGM at the time. Even they couldn't figure out if it was bull**** or not.

[Team Andromeda]

The MD had a faster processor, hence faster games.

Can anyone remember Sega's 'blast processing' claims? When Sonic was released Sega said the MD was able to use this power to create 'faster' effects. They gave the example of the speed of the animation when Sonic does his spin attack. They said this was down to the 'blast processing'. I remember it being covered in EGM at the time. Even they couldn't figure out if it was bull**** or not.

Wasn't that just SOA bullsh8t hype ?.

Anyway there must have been doing something with Sonic II That game is so fast it?s insane
One point at Chemical Zone is so fast it takes the piss, Sonic goes so fast he literary goes off the screen .

Also remember in an interview Yuji Naka saying they double the horizontal resolution of the MD for the 2 player mode

[Team Andromeda]

I remember showing my Amiga-owning mates TFIV and helping them pick their jaws up off the floor afterwards.

Yeah that was a game to shut up all the doubters. Still to this very day the game looks awesome.

Also I remember showing my Amgia loving mates (that loved to make fun of the MD) Strider running on the system.
Stil have a laugh now and again at how the smile was wipped off thier faces. All there could say was '**** that's the Arcade game '

[Durham Red]

the Md was by a mile second fiddle for shooters, the pc engine ruled supreme when it came to shooters. I'm always going to say that the snes has better shooters than the md as i'm a raving MD Hating/SNES loving fanboy.

'Unbiased as possible' my ass. Someone oughta report this thread under the Trade Descriptions Act.

[muse hunter]

lol i guess i am a bit of a snes fanboy but thats just because the snes is the best console ever made

The MD can't really compete with the pc engine when it comes to shooters, the pc engine is up there with the saturn when it comes to these. Yes i do know that the MD is much better than the snes for shooters, but the snes will always be my personal fav because of twinbee and the parodius's.

Strangely i was once a MD fanboy, being brought up on a master system playing the likes of sonic, alex kidd and golden axe. I had always preferred the MD and wanted one back then, but when i first came in contact with a snes it all changed, playing marioworld, mario kart, and street fighter 2 totally blew me away, and i never looked back.