The Ultimate Console War: Super Nintendo Vs Sega Mega Drive/Genesis

30/11/2015

Who here doesn’t remember this debate? Raise your hand, there’s no shame. Perhaps you were too young? Perhaps you weren’t even born? In the early to mid-nineties a household either had a Super Nintendo console or a Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and it was often a hot debate in school as to “which one is the best”. Usually, we’d choose the console we owned and paid no regard to the technical spec. I used to say things like “I like the coloured Snes buttons (red, yellow, blue and green in PAL and JP regions) over the predominantly black Mega Drive controller. This is a pathetic argument to support the Snes but back then it was valid.

There are two ways to approach this and I’m eager to see your views in the comments: Objectively and Subjectively. Objectively we can analyse the both consoles and it is clear that the Super Nintendo wins all day long. Click here for a really easy breakdown on each console by technical specifications. Let’s not beat on about that. The Super Nintendo is clearly the superior console in terms of spec...

Starfox: The North American title

Starwing: The PAL title

The Super FX chip added added a lot of versatility to the Snes, particularly in games like Starfox where the graphics looked out of this world for the time. Great! We can play games with high quality rendered graphics on a 16bot console right? Well consider this. Firstly, a lot of people were turned off by the slightly higher price of Snes games that included the Super FX Chip. Secondly, the Super Nintendo has a library of over 700 games and out of that lot only eight Snes games included the Super DX Chip! Eight! Was it really worth it? Let’s be honest, who wanted to play Winter Gold on the Snes because of the Super FX Chip? Not me. I only played Starfox, Stunt Race FX and Doom. That eight now becomes three for me. Despite that little analysis, I believe Argonaut Games did a phenomenal job at creating this wonder chip which stretched the life of the Snes well in to the 32bit era. Sega developed a chip to compete with the Super FX Chip but this was only used in Virtua Racing. The eight game super FX library now seems vast compared to this.

Which did you prefer?
I always remember being drawn to the tasteful colour palette and vibrancy of games such as Super Mario Allstars, Yoshi’s Island and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The Snes looked great and played really well. The Mega Drive was also an enjoyable piece of kit too. I’ll never forgot the first time we played Sonic 2. I was drawn to the speed and agility of the Special Zone; the best half pipe I ever saw needless to say that I was terrible at collecting the crystals. Sonic 2 was obviously a Sega character and Mario, the King of Nintendo so I find comparisons between the two a little unfair. I’ve always found the most valid way to compare are to play cross-console games; games released on both the Snes and Mega Drive. Zombies is a title I played fiercely as a child (Zombies Ate my Neighbours in North America). Personally I think the Snes version has smoother textures and frame rate. I also prefer the layered status bar as opposed to the Sega Mega Drive version. The status bar is off to the right. It looks ugly. It's rumoured that the Mega Drive had a much more shallow layering system compared to the Super Nintendo which would explain the status bar being off to the right.

Zombies on the Super Nintendo

Zombies on the Sega Mega Drive

Looks can be everything. The Sega Mega Drive certainly isn't as pretty as the Super Nintendo. The jet black model one console with white trimmings does the trick I suppose. When I compare the two on my own gaming shelves my eyes naturally glance towards the Snes over Sega's baby. The Mega Drive Model 2 redeemed the aesthetics slightly with the red power and reset buttons (and on the controller too) but it still doesn't live up to the glossy red, blue, yellow and green of the Super Nintendo. If you're not bothered about aesthetics then let's talk about sound. There's nothing better than hearing the 16bit chiptunes from the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo! I'm 32 and it never gets tired on me. The Snes had 8 Stereo sound channels compared to the Mega Drive's six. Now I'm not very techy when it comes to sound but my ears prefer the overall music and sound effects on the Super Nintendo. It's less tinny. Although, Earthworm Jim probably sounds slightly better on the Mega Drive compared to the Snes. What are your thoughts?

And in pole position...
I did most of my gaming in the 16bit era. I adore both consoles. If I had to live on a Desert Island with only one; it's be the Super Nintendo. Drop me a comment below and share your thoughts.

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4 Comments

Dan Tootill link

30/11/2015 20:58:44

I was a Sega person; I just preferred the games. The SNES had that nice hardware scaling and Street Fighter II, but it cost you. By the time the SNES was launched, I had already bought a stack of MD games and couldn't afford to switch.

It used to annoy me when SNES owners would say "Megadrives are crap", because they were slightly inferior at worst. It also made me consider SNES owners to be dicks. I just went on telling myself that the MD was better. SNES Mortal Kombat had no gore, so I rest my case.

Some time later I began to realise that the MD really was the best system for me. I got to spend my days playing Sonic, Road Rash, Streets of Rage 2 and the like, plus Street Fighter II came out eventually and it was great conversion too. It's just a shame both the Mega CD and 32X were so dreadful.

Juicy Game Reviews

1/12/2015 16:41:33

That's nice to read your thoughts. The MD is a great console and I agree that the Mega CD and 32X were crap!

I preferred the Snes as I stated above. We had both consoles in our house so I had the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the comment :)

retroshmuper

8/1/2016 15:45:54

Hi,
A good thought provoking article. I had a snes on import the week they came out and loved it (still have it and play) I did get a mega drive as well when that had a UK release both of these did get me away from beloved Amiga. At the time the snes was my clear favourite with the RPG's and platformers. Now I favour the megadrive and play it more due the shmups I love so much. Like you these great console are a huge part of my gaming history and I would not want to be without either. I looked at some of my collection last night and what a rich catalogue of games there is. So in short if only one now it would be the megadrive - arcade classics. Great shmups. And fantastic hardware (not 32x) but nomad for example.