What Is the Best Video Game System?

Despite competition from Sega and Nintendo (N64), "the One" has sold millions of consoles and had a lot of popular games, yet no gaming system has experienced more exclusion.

No gaming system has experienced more exclusive game titles and more classic gameplay than the Super Nintendo. It's true that the PlayStation One has had a lot of game hits and sold millions of units against stiff opposition from both Sega (Dreamcast) and Nintendo (N64).

Due to increased competition from the Sega Genesis, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) did not dominate the hardware sales charts as Nintendo had been able to with the original NES console (over 60 million units sold), but the sheer quantity of high-quality games for the SNES was exceptional for a system that had over 700 games in its game library.

Now, the cool, killer games I'm referring to don't include titles like Mortal Kombat or Madden Football, which were available on all gaming consoles. Specifically, I'm referring to SNES-only games.

The SNES introduced gamers to a new moniker, Mode 7, while Sega was gushing about "blast processing." Game developers use effects in Mode 7 like rotating and resizing of sprites that had never been seen on a console before. Axe lay, Contra III, and Super Castle Vania IV are just a few of the popular video games that feature Mode 7 effects. While being standard on today's generation of gaming consoles, Mode 7 effects were groundbreaking on the Super Nintendo.

The following is a list of those uncommon SNES titles that are still considered to be modern masterpieces (some have even been ported to the Game Boy Advance or, in the case of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy, to the PlayStation One system)

• Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
• Super Castle Vania IV
• F-Zero
• Super Mario Kart
• Super Mario World
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
• Super Mario Bros. All-Stars Edition
• Final Fantasy II
• Final Fantasy III
• Contra III: The Alien Wars
• Super Metroid
• Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
• The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
• Chrono Trigger
• Super Mario RPG
• Star Fox
• Space Mega Force
• Act Raiser
• Act Raiser 2
• Axe lay
• Donkey Kong Country Trilogy

The SNES was the birthplace of many important Nintendo franchises, including Mario Kart and F-Zero. However, certain series, such as Act Raiser, Axe lay, and Space Mega Force, was only available on the SNES. The aforementioned games were available on the Sega Genesis; however, they were not as good as the SNES counterparts. One game with improved visuals and Mode 7 effects was Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts.

Nine Super Nintendo games made the top 25 in Electronic Gaming Monthly's list of the 100 greatest video games ever released in its January 2002 issue, more than any other gaming platform (not including games available on multiple game systems like Tetris). If you ever possessed a SNES back in the day, you may appreciate how engaging games like Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World, and Final Fantasy III allowed you to play for hours on end.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) introduced players to a variety of innovative programming techniques, such as rotating levels and transparent, scaling bosses as seen in Super Castlevania IV and Contra III: The Alien Wars, or the cartridges' ability to play orchestrated soundtracks to set the mood in games like ActRaiser (possibly the best cartridge soundtrack ever) or Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts.

Even though Donkey Kong Country had the best graphics, ActRaiser may have had the best game soundtrack. With the aid of Advanced Computer Modeling (ACM), the game developer Rare was able to produce graphics on a 16-bit system that were superior to those of the majority of 32-bit Playstation One game. Fully rendered graphics, which made it possible for things to appear three-dimensional, were supported by ACM. Donkey Kong Country sold 8 million records and featured sharp, bold graphics made possible by ACM.

The SNES represented the biggest improvement in graphics and audio quality compared to other later Nintendo system iterations. In reality, there won't likely be much of a difference between the next-generation computers expected in 2005 and 2006 in terms of their graphics and audio capabilities. The computing power of the early gaming machines, however, increased dramatically.

Indeed, the SNES had a major flaw: slowness. Nintendo's processor could only reach rates of 3.58 MHz, while the Genesis advertised its greater processor speed of 7.67 MHz, which they called "blast processing." In shooters like R-Type III, the action would sluggish when there were too many sprites on screen at once (although at times this was actually a helpful feature for many shooters instead of a hindrance because these games are so frantic and intense).

The question of the moment is whether the Super Nintendo actually prevailed in the greatest game console conflict in history. According to statistics, Nintendo sold twice as many SNES units as Genesis units, and despite Sega's ability to reduce Nintendo's market share (peaking at 65%), Nintendo had regained over 60% of its original 95% market share of the NES days when Sega started not supporting the Genesis in its later cycle life days with high-quality games like the SNES enjoyed.

Strangely, Nintendo had intended for the first NES console to be a 16-bit device, but the cost of the components at the time prevented this. Consider the impact that might have had on the SNES vs. Genesis conflict. Instead, would Sega have introduced a 32-bit Genesis? Would we currently be using a 512-bit PlayStation 2 as opposed to a 128-bit console?

Every genre of game was represented on the SNES. Nintendo needs to draw lessons from the SNES's success. RPG and shooter titles, for instance, which were plentiful on the SNES, are seriously lacking on the N64 and GameCube.

Square Enix's return to supporting a Nintendo home console has improved the GameCube's range of games, but if Nintendo is to recapture market share against Sony's PlayStation consoles, it will need to bring back the SNES's golden era of unique, high-caliber franchises.

The last Nintendo game console that was genuinely supported by gamers was the SNES. The NES and SNES era sales dwarf those of the N64 and GameCube. Metroid, Final Fantasy, Contra, Donkey Kong, F-Zero, Super Mario Bros., The Legend Of Zelda, Star Fox, and Castlevania are just a few of the major gaming franchises that can be found on a single platform thanks to the Super Nintendo. No other console offers these games on a single gaming platform.