Top 10 - Favourite Gaming Systems

[Seraph Man]

Do you guys miss renting games? Don't get me wrong, I love owning and collecting games, but boy do I have some fond memories of renting them.

I enjoyed the rental days, but I've come to realize that I appreciate ownership even more. NES Complex summed it up pretty well.  click to 3:37-3:53 of the video

Am I the only person in the world who never rented a game? I always feel left out when people talk about renting games. That idea was just foreign to my young mind. Rent games the same way you rent movies? People do that?

[FritzWhite]

Back in the 90s, we would go to Blockbuster to try a game or movie. It was either that or buy it at Babbages, Electronics Boutique, Target, Kmart, or Toysrus.

[FritzWhite]

Sorry for back to back posts, but I remember renting Donkey Kong Country for snes at Blockbuster during the time they were having the competition. Did anyone else play in that? I practiced the crap outta that game for a day or two before I got my folks to drive me to the store to compete. I had the top score after my play, but some kid came in and bested me at the last minute after I left (I found out later that night).

I made it a little ways into the sunset stage with the barrel monkeys before I ran out of time. I believe the competition was for most bananas and I knew of all the secrets back then. Whoever beat me couldn't have done it by much. Fun times

On topic:

1. xbox360- This is what I'm most likely to play and have fun with right now. I love the older consoles, but I like online multiplayer and the newer gen graphics a lot too. It's kind of stupid to build my 360 collection of games up as much as I already have considering that I'll be able to find 360 games for dirt cheap for the next 10 years, but at the moment I most enjoy playing current gen. I'm having a seriously hard time holding off on GTA5 until I can find a copy for $20 or $30. It looks like it could be a while before that happens...

2. xbox- Another modern console. I know for a lot of people original xbox doesn't make their list, but for me the xbox is special for a few reasons. This is where online started for me and it was amazing! I never imagined I'd be able to play with people from all around the world. I first got xbox live while renting an apartment with 2 buddies from high school back in 2004. My best friend Mitch and I put my system and his big ass tv together and played the crap out of that setup. Before we had xbox live I used to lug my xbox and 100lb tv up the stairs to his apartment so we could play halo 1 and 2 on system link. We were Halo junkies : p

We shared the internet bill and always had a few of those 2 month xbox live trial cards around to keep us gaming online. My 3 favorite online games back then were Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate, Doom3, and Halo 2. Mitch was an incredible Halo 2 player. One time he's playing and he says, "watch this". I watch him focus on a far away enemy player running up some ramp on the map 'Midship'. Mitch threw a sticky grenade right on the guy's head. Suffice to say that Mitch was good. He introduced me to Halo and really got me back into gaming again altogether. When I play some of the xbox games I remember my friend and some of the good times. He was too young when he passed away from cancer a few years ago.

3. Jaguar- Now before you reach for your torch and pitchfork to chase me off the forum, hear me out. This was the last system I played before I got back into gaming with the ps2. People say the Jaguar doesn't have a lot of good games for it and while this is true, it wasn't out of the norm for me to only own 4 good games for a system in those days.
I'm a huge fan of first person shooters. I was completely hooked on the idea of fps back in the early 90s from the moment I first heard of one (probably in an arcade or magazine, it's been so long). When I heard about Doom and Wolfenstein coming to snes I was pumped, but they really paled in comparison to what the Jaguar could do with the same fps. Look at these comparative videos and try to imagine how thoroughly blown my 12 year old mind was back in 1994 by the awesomeness of the Jaguar!

Wolfenstein 3D (snes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1v1WEV6YsY

Wolfenstein 3d (jaguar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f41NoC4sKU

Doom (snes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGIye6Bkxvw

Doom (jaguar) *sadly, this version has no epic music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Q_Jl7nGdM

Tempest 2000 (jaguar)
Another one of the few great games for the system that I had.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pRIJFnL5H8

Alien vs Predator (jaguar)
This was amazing at the time after my experience with fps on the snes. The reviewer is right about the game being a maze. It's a big drawback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXR6OJ5pJFI

4. SNES and NES- I know my list is already getting kind of long now and my memories here are the same as everyone else. Great! I love the old classics.

5. PS2- First system I played after the Jaguar. This got me back into gaming and fps until I really jumped in balls deep with Halo on xbox. I played a lot of FFX, Manhunt, Red Faction 1 and 2, ATV Offroad Fury 2, Tenchu, and GTA: Vice City on this system.

[AxelSteelBMX]

Standard 1-10 is pretty rough, but I think I've been able to categorize it pretty well, based on which console/handheld I'd rather play over another. Sucks not being able to put all your systems on the list, but hey, that's the nature of the beast. This is some Sophie's Choice-level bullshit.

01) PS1
02) SNES
03) PS3
04) GameCube
05) PS2
06) GBA
07) Genesis
08) 3DS
09) N64
10) NES

[Retro Deckades]

I'm glad you found it challenging, AxelSteelBMX. It should be. It's a lot easier to list all of your favourites rather than be forced to choose which one you like better than another and why. I wanted people to really think about their consoles, and you've done just that. Thanks for posting your list!

[Dr.Agon]

in no particular order;

Dreamcast
Megadrive
Super NES
PC Engine
Xbox
NES
N64
FM Towns Marty
PS2
Neo Geo CD

honourable mention needs to go to the PSP, amazing little system,
also, dont know if this is allowed, ( dont care! ), JAMMA supergun, the boards work just like carts...

[Quazimoto]

Do you guys miss renting games? Don't get me wrong, I love owning and collecting games, but boy do I have some fond memories of renting them.

I enjoyed the rental days, but I've come to realize that I appreciate ownership even more. NES Complex summed it up pretty well.  click to 3:37-3:53 of the video

Am I the only person in the world who never rented a game? I always feel left out when people talk about renting games. That idea was just foreign to my young mind. Rent games the same way you rent movies? People do that?

I've literally only rented one game in my life...  WWF War Zone on the PSOne.  Bought plenty of used games from places that did rent them when I'd go in to rent movies, but only ever rented the one game.  Mainly because, although I love me some games, I kinda suck at most of them so it would typically take me a while to get into a game and get to the point of beating it so I just figured (and my parent's figured) it was more economical just to buy them (usually used).

On topic, my personal top ten systems would be...

10. Nintendo DS
--- I'm actually really new to the DS, so there's not much experience to base this ranking on.  I like what I've played so far though and can definitely see this little systems climbing the ranks soon.

9.  Atari 2600
--- Not a superb system really, but has a special place in my heart as it was my first experience with video games after finding a system and 20 or so games at a church sale one Summer/

8.  Super Nintendo
--- Only briefly had a SNES back in the day, but loved the few games I had for it.  Just don't have much experience with it and tended to play my Genesis more.

7.  GameBoy/GameBoy Color
---  Excellent game library.  Would probably rank higher if the systems had lit screens (thanks to Wiggy, mine now does).

6.  PlayStation
---  This is another one with a special place in my heart as it was the first system I purchase with my own money (ie not from my parents or allowance).  I save for a solid year working odd jobs for friends and neighbors to buy the system and put hours upon hours upon hours into playing a ton of different games on it.

5.  PlayStation 3
---  I've always been a PlayStation type of guy, so I find the PS3 to be an awesome system.  Great selection of titles, some of which rank as my favorite games of all time.

4.  NES
---  All about the game library on this one.  Probably the best selection of games of any system.  Games were usually pretty simple, but it's hard to beat the fun factor of NES games.

3.  PlayStation 2
---  Probably the system that I've put the most hours into.  Got it on launch day (still have that very system and it still runs perfectly).  Great game library to choose from and IMO, the last of the "game machines" (modern and next-gen systems seem to be about games and movies and music and twitter and facebook and youtube and yada yada yada.

2.  GameBoy Advance
---  Awesome game library and a real treat to be able to take so many SNES caliber type of games on the go.  I still play this one at least three times a week.

1.  Sega Genesis
---  The Genesis will always be my favorite game system simply because it was one of my first systems and something I lost myself in many a time after school.  Plus, I've always been a sucker for colorful platform games and it's hard to beat the Genesis in that category.

[scarmullet]

In no particular order

1) SNES
2) Gameboy/Color
3) Genesis
4) Dreamcast
5) NES
6) PS1
7) N64
Amiga A500/600
9) Nintendo DS
10) PSP

[e_brugal]

Do you guys miss renting games? Don't get me wrong, I love owning and collecting games, but boy do I have some fond memories of renting them.

I enjoyed the rental days, but I've come to realize that I appreciate ownership even more. NES Complex summed it up pretty well.  click to 3:37-3:53 of the video

Am I the only person in the world who never rented a game? I always feel left out when people talk about renting games. That idea was just foreign to my young mind. Rent games the same way you rent movies? People do that?

Here in my City there is a place that you can rent video games for new consoles (PS3, Wii U, Wii, PS2, Xbox), some people do that i don't like to rent them, prefer to buy the games. Back in the 80's and 90's we exchange games with friends for one week, after the week we have to turn the game back and our friend turn back our games to us. But never rent a game. So i'm with you

[Kriegspire]

One of the great things about the big DS is that you can play GBA games on it too.

That system has so many great games that way. Both GBA and DS.

[SnesGuy]

Do you guys miss renting games? Don't get me wrong, I love owning and collecting games, but boy do I have some fond memories of renting them.

I enjoyed the rental days, but I've come to realize that I appreciate ownership even more. NES Complex summed it up pretty well.  click to 3:37-3:53 of the video

Am I the only person in the world who never rented a game? I always feel left out when people talk about renting games. That idea was just foreign to my young mind. Rent games the same way you rent movies? People do that?

Here in my City there is a place that you can rent video games for new consoles (PS3, Wii U, Wii, PS2, Xbox), some people do that i don't like to rent them, prefer to buy the games. Back in the 80's and 90's we exchange games with friends for one week, after the week we have to turn the game back and our friend turn back our games to us. But never rent a game. So i'm with you

People like you are the reason I have to scrub sharpied names off half my cartridges ;P

[larryinc64]

I love how nobody can list number 8 without it turning into a emoticon. 

[Blueprint]

My list of top 10 consoles/handhelds

1. Snes
2. Nes
3. Ps1
4. Ps2
5. N64
6. Genesis
7. Gamecube
8. Dreamcast
9. Dmg gameboy
10. Gba



I also like the current gen console(wii/ps3) but i don't feel they deserve a spot in my top 10 since they are current gen.

[e_brugal]

Do you guys miss renting games? Don't get me wrong, I love owning and collecting games, but boy do I have some fond memories of renting them.

I enjoyed the rental days, but I've come to realize that I appreciate ownership even more. NES Complex summed it up pretty well.  click to 3:37-3:53 of the video

Am I the only person in the world who never rented a game? I always feel left out when people talk about renting games. That idea was just foreign to my young mind. Rent games the same way you rent movies? People do that?

Here in my City there is a place that you can rent video games for new consoles (PS3, Wii U, Wii, PS2, Xbox), some people do that i don't like to rent them, prefer to buy the games. Back in the 80's and 90's we exchange games with friends for one week, after the week we have to turn the game back and our friend turn back our games to us. But never rent a game. So i'm with you

People like you are the reason I have to scrub sharpied names off half my cartridges ;P

lol yes 

[wiggy]

We had an awesome rental store near my house called Video Synthesis. They rented games and travel videos. I remember them having a monitor in the window with Super Mario Bros. 4 (that's right, I called it that) playing all day long when they got their first Super Famicoms in. Their rentals were 1 week long. $4 per game, 3 for $10. Was a great deal, even back then.  I bought my first Super Famicom from them. US SNES launch was about 2 months away, so they liquidated a few of their consoles since they'd have little value after that in the rental market.  

I remember playing the US version of SMW and reaching 96 stars. We had no idea that 96 was it. The JP version doesn't give you the little star icon next to the number, so my friends and I had no idea whether we'd completed every level or not. We had assumed that 100 would be the total (seems logical, right?). It was both a relief and a bit of a let don't knowing that 96 was all there is.