What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

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JWK
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What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby JWK » June 29th, 2017, 5:48 pm

What are your picks for the most overrated console ever and the most underrated console ever? And why?

Disclaimer: this topic is not meant to hurt feelings or start a forum fight. Also, I'm prone to hyperbole, so be aware! I'll start with my own picks.

Most overrated: The Nintendo 64
I've never understood the love this console gets and I doubt I ever will. The controller tops the short list of worst design, terrible draw distances are hidden with fog and every games' visuals generally look like the screen has been smeared with Vaseline. It's worthwhile game library is minuscule compared to every other Nintendo system, sans the Virtual Boy. The system has almost no RPGs, the genre seemingly replaced with heaps of collect-a-thon 3D platformers (which haven't aged too well, imo) and same-y racing games. Oh, and after nearly perfecting 2D gaming with the SNES, Nintendo decided it would abandon the craft altogether for the N64. You know, the visual style that is timeless and aged well? Gone. Wise move, Nintendo! The PS1 and Saturn are systems with 5th generation libraries that have aged far better and yet I *still* see every "Top XX consoles of all time" list with the N64 near the top. How is that possible?!?!
The console's pluses include sticking with carts, some fun multiplayer games (yay! 4 controller ports!) and quicker load times than the competition. It's biggest plus is when Nintendo releases the N64 mini next year and it sells out in 4 minutes, I won't care.

Most underrated: The Sega Saturn
Probably the most capable 2D system ever made with the greatest retro controller to boot. The 4th gen saw Nintendo, Sega and Hudsen trying to find the right compromises for home conversions of arcade games, but it wasn't until the Saturn that the arcade experience was truly brought into the home. Incredible 2D fighting library-- second only to the Dreamcast, imo. X-Men vs Street Fighter or Marvel vs Street Fighter in action (with the 4MB Ram cart) is a surreal experience on a 5th gen console, even today. And it's made all the better on the Saturn pad; intuitive 6 button layout and the *perfect* d-pad, which frustratingly, no one has been able to replicate. 2D shooters? Best library ever. Dreamcast, PC-Engine, PS1, Genesis and not even the 360 can match the Saturn's incredible shmups. And in a bizarre twist of fate from the 4th generation, Sega got many good RPGs (Shining series, Working Designs stuff, Panzer Dragoon Saga) while Nintendo was left in the dust. If you're willing to import and not afraid to spend some $$$, you'll play the Saturn and wonder where it's been all your life.

The console's downsides include some cost prohibitive games, inferior 3D, difficult processors to program for (some inferior ports vs PS1), NA long boxes are annoyingly fragile and cumbersome. Biggest downside is the system isn't nearly as impressive without the Japanese imports.

What are your choices?

Voor
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby Voor » June 29th, 2017, 8:59 pm

Regarding the 64--it's so highly regarded because it was the first "party" system. Goldeneye, Mario Kart, and smash bros with 4 players elevated gaming among friends. Through in some all time great games like Mario 64 and Ocarina of time and you have a system that had a small library, but made a huge impact. It's my favorite system of all time.

*ill concede that the graphics look bad today, but they were designed very well and looked great for the time.

**the controller wasn't ideal, but Nintendo did a great job figuring out how to incorporate analog control. Nintendo, for all their quirks, isn't afraid to take chances and you really saw that here. Just changing Mario from "race to the end of the level" to "find the stars" took guts and was well done.

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ptdebate
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby ptdebate » June 29th, 2017, 9:48 pm

I agree with Voor regarding the 64.

Its 3D graphics in general look far better than the Playstation's. There are some awful-looking titles that came out early in the console's life, but look at something like Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Majora's Mask, Sin and Punishment, or Episode 1 Racer. At a slightly higher resolution, they could easily pass as Dreamcast titles.

JWK
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby JWK » June 30th, 2017, 12:02 am

I figured I'd be taken to task over my claim of N64 as most overrated. You guys had some great points and I'm happy to hear it's Voor's favorite system. I like hearing differing opinions and im happy so many people found so much to love about a system I really don't care for.

@PT - I'd say I half agree with you on polygonal games N64 vs PS1. The earliest 3D titles on PS1 are almost all garbage and look even worse today. But despite the N64 being able to render more polygons and having a higher resolution, the PS1's visuals looked a lot "cleaner." Not sure what it was about the 64's specs that made so many of the games look smeary and unfocused.

Anyway, I'm interested to hear you guys' picks for underrated and overrated consoles!

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Stalvern
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby Stalvern » June 30th, 2017, 12:37 am

For overrated, the NES. Nintendo's domination of the American market with that system made it go down in history (written on the Internet by Americans) as the single system that mattered in the post-crash '80s, which it wasn't remotely. You'd think that the democratic hindsight of emulation would have opened up that era's legacy to the Master System and the C64 (which was to Europe's game developers what the Nintendo and Sega systems were to Japan's), but the NES has retained a monolithic stature that it doesn't deserve.

Underrated: the 3DO. Indisputably a failure, but it was a noble failure. People lump it in with the Jaguar as an also-ran flash in the pan, but while the Jaguar was genuinely lame on every level, the 3DO was brought down by unfortunate circumstances. It was a 3D-oriented system that should have been the vanguard of the fifth generation, but the climate of 1993 saddled it with hordes of FMV "games" and late cash-ins on 16-bit trends. The 3DO Company's awful business model made it exorbitantly expensive, and while this might have worked if it had more cutting-edge games like The Need for Speed and Return Fire, nobody was about to spend $700 to play a library better represented by Plumbers Don't Wear Ties and Way of the Warrior. So the 3DO failed, and its M2 successor - which would have been a Dreamcast in the mid-'90s! - only saw use as an arcade board. The 3DO was revolutionary. That it was let down by the people around it should not make it a laughingstock.
Last edited by Stalvern on June 30th, 2017, 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

eneuman96
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby eneuman96 » June 30th, 2017, 2:51 am

Most overrated: Xbox (2001)

I definitely think this is the most dated sixth generation console. The vast majority of its best games are playable on more recent/better systems and the controller has not aged well, even the more recent 360-esque version.

Most underrated: Neo Geo Pocket Color

Most people who have played this system tend to sing its praises, but hardly anyone has played it in the first place. It lasted less than one year on the market in the US before being unceremoniously discontinued, which is a major shame considering just how high its percentage of quality titles is. Its only real drawbacks are that the joystick produces somewhat noisy clicking sounds whenever you use it and that it only has an "Option" button as opposed to the Game Boy Color's Start and Select buttons, but that didn't stop SNK from making one hell of a portable.

rockofhysteria
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby rockofhysteria » June 30th, 2017, 2:55 am

I will start with Underrated first


Most Underrated-Nintendo Gamecube A lot of people wrote off the system from the start due to it's look the choice of media they used and fact that they didn't have much 3rd party support compared to PS2 and XBOX but IMO I think it was better than both. I certainly got much more enjoyment out of it and ended up buying more of those games after renting them than I did PS2 and Xbox.


Even today I still have a GC and PS2 but not a XBOX but I find myself going back to the GC over my PS2 by about a factor of 6 to 1 usually. And I don't even miss my original XBOX



For most overrated I'm sticking with Nintendo and I know this might make a few rage but I'm going with the NES. Sure it had it's landmark games that we all know and love but for every Super Mario Brothers or Zelda there is at least 10 to 20 Street Fighter 2020's lol

CaptainCruch
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby CaptainCruch » June 30th, 2017, 3:30 am

I think the (original) Wii is underrated, like it's only a console for kids or something. I agree there's a lot of thrashy games for it, but there are also many unique titles, with well-implemented motion controls. It has some of the best Nintendo games (Mario Galaxy) around and the console is very easy to use. I bought a Wii at the end of its lifespan, because I also thought I never would like the controls, but I have to say: it's one of the finer console in my collection.

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scotland
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby scotland » June 30th, 2017, 8:05 am

Overrated - The NES

It merits a place of respect and importance, but its legacy generally ignores the huge depth, diversity and creative interplay of home gaming in the family computers such as the C64 and Speccy. Family computers allowed gaming to include making your own games, graphics and music, something the NES clipped off and PCs would return.

Underrated - Sega CD

In its day, it was overpriced, overhyped, and its library had shovelware and FMV issues that worked against justifying adoption. Yet, as a retrogamer, I got mine cheap, it still works fine, I use the same Genesis controllers, and I can burn to a CD any game I want to try. If you think the Genesis was short on RPGs, look at the Sega CD library for a few more.

JWK
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Re: What are the most overrated and underrated consoles???

Postby JWK » June 30th, 2017, 11:09 am

Wow! NES the most overrated?! CONTROVERSY!! Ha ha.

@CaptainCruch - Agree with you that the Wii is underrated. After the hype died down most gamers saw shovelware and a small handful of first party titles. Truth is there are a ton of hidden gems. With apologies to the GameCube and Wii U, the Wii might be Nintendo's best console since the SNES.

@scotland - Even as a huge Nintendo fan during the 16 bit era, I love the Sega CD. It has some excellent Working Designs RPGs, the best home versions Final Fight, some solid shooters, my favorite Sonic game and Snatcher, which remains my favorite visual novel ever.


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