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[Jubenhimer]

The Super Nintendo is one of the most beloved consoles ever created. Even more than 20 years after release, people still play SNES games and still clamor to play those games again on their Switch. And for a very good reason. The Super Nintendo IMO, was when Nintendo was at a creative and commercial peak with their software. Other platforms brought some interesting ideas and success to the table, but no Nintendo console before or since has been able to balance creativity, profitability, and critical acclaim in such perfectly balanced harmony with first party games as the SNES accomplished.

The SNES saw 2D Mario and Zelda at their peak, refining and building on the mechanics introduced by their 8-bit counterparts. New Faces like F-Zero and Star Fox helped diversify Nintendo's portfolio as well as use the hardware to create new ways to play. SNES saw typical oddball Nintendo experiments like the Super Scope and SNES Mouse paired with equally strange games like Battle Clashers and Mario Paint. Nearly all of Nintendo's studios at the time contributed to the console from EAD, R&D1, R&D2, Intelligent Systems, HAL, etc. Donkey Kong made its triumphant comeback with Donkey Kong Country, a game that delivered the Final Blow to Sega, extended the SNES' lifespan, and established Nintendo's partnership with developer Rareware all in one swift strike. And the majority of these games were met with record sales and rave reviews.

I Feel Nintendo consoles afterward haven't been able to strike such a perfect balance as the SNES had done. The N64 had revolutionary games, but lacked both variety and quantity in games from Nintendo, with the only new IP from EAD being a Snowboarding game. The GBA had half its first party titles being ports, with all of the original stuff coming from non-EAD developers within Nintendo. The GameCube was when Nintendo started taking their games in weird directions, and not everyone was a fan of that. The Wii and DS gained the non-gamer audience with unconventional new concepts, at the cost of vocal hardcore fans who wanted a focus on more traditional games for longtime players. 3DS had a lot of games, but didn't have a ton of creative or groundbreaking concepts, with most of that being digital only games courtesy of the eShop. The less said about the Wii U, the better.

But I think so far, the Switch might dethrone the Super Nintendo in the long run. Nintendo's Switch lineup thus far feels like a culmination of everything Nintendo has learned since the SNES days, creating what is perhaps its most varied, dynamic, successful, and potentially largest first party slate in the company's entire history. If Nintendo keeps up the pace, the Switch could replace the SNES as Nintendo at its creative and commercial peak.

 

[Vawn]

The Super NES was one of my favorite consoles ever, but that was more to them having near-exclusive access to most of the biggest third-party developers, namely Squaresoft.

 

[Hobbesian]

In terms of their own development production, yeah. As the 3D and HD eras started to become the norm, Nintendo's output dropped in response and their console became what they are today.

 

[cryptoadam]

hmmm what about DS ???

 

[Jubenhimer]

In terms of their own development production, yeah. As the 3D and HD eras started to become the norm, Nintendo's output dropped in response and their console became what they are today.

The N64 and Wii U days were especially rough for Nintendo. The N64 almost single handedly needed to be carried by EAD and Rare alone due to its complex architecture, 3D worlds needing more staff and lack of third party support. The Wii U not only had Nintendo needing to deal with AAA HD games requiring even more development time, but also doing so on console with an outdated and complex architecture in an era where PC-style game development became the standard on consoles. I think the Switch is the best answer Nintendo had found to modern game development yet. It's easy to develop for, and its PC-like tablet processor and development thanks to Nvidia allow support for all the latest game engines, allowing Switch games to be easy, and cheap to make for many teams. And combined with re-releases and its hybrid nature, allows Nintendo's output on a single console to be the largest its been in years.

hmmm what about DS ???

DS was a great system, and was Nintendo at its most interesting and experimental. But It wasn't Nintendo at a critical high I would say. Most of their main franchise titles received mixed or lukewarm reception by fans, and not everyone in the community was for the non-gamer focus of some of their more original titles. Most DS fans will say that third parties regularly outdid Nintendo on the system, at least in terms of critical reception.

 

[Bakkus]

Too hard to say.

 

[Jubenhimer]

The Super NES was one of my favorite consoles ever, but that was more to them having near-exclusive access to most of the biggest third-party developers, namely Squaresoft.

Third parties did well too, But I think SNES was Nintendo at such a high point creatively, commercially, and critically that we haven't seen since until the Switch. No other Nintendo console in between that time was able to balance all three of those elements as expertly as the SNES did.

 

[dirthead]

Mario 64 was peak Nintendo. Nintendo at its most technically advanced, ambitious, all while still making an awesome game. They've never aimed higher while succeeding flawlessly.

Super Metroid's their best game, but it wasn't as ambitious as Mario 64. Mario 64 was nuts when you really think about how much of it was brand new and how much it got right on the first try. Truly one of the greats. Even the succeeding mainline Mario games don't play as well as it.

 

[AngularSaxophone]

Peak Nintendo was peak Konami.

 

[dirthead]

Peak Nintendo was peak Konami.

Peak Konami was Treasure. Gunstar blows away any Contra, and Guardian Heroes is better than every Konami made beat 'em up combined.

 

[Spukc]

Sorry in what reality did wii&ds not top everything?

 

[Jubenhimer]

Sorry in what reality did wii&ds not top everything?

Wii and DS were good. But it's not just about creativity, profitability, or critical reception on their own. It's about how a console can balance all three of these elements in harmony with each-other. Wii and DS had amazing sales and creative games, but lacked somewhat in critical reception as there was push-back from the more vocal hardcore Nintendo fans about being abandoned in favor of "Teh casuals" it didn't help that the gaming media played up that same "hardcorez" propaganda at the time either.

SNES was the only console until the Switch that Nintendo was able to balance all three of those elements seamlessly and consistently with each-other.

 

[PassionateGAMER]

Nintendo's Switch lineup thus far feels like a culmination of everything Nintendo has learned since the SNES days, creating what is perhaps its most varied, dynamic, successful, and potentially largest first party slate in the company's entire history.

I agree with most of your post but this part I don't understand.
I own almost all consoles but haven't bought a switch because there seems to be very few interesting games. Only Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles come to mind.
What are the top 10 first party games in your opinion? Maybe I should finally get a switch.

 

[Jubenhimer]

I agree with most of your post but this part I don't understand.
I own almost all consoles but haven't bought a switch because there seems to be very few interesting games. Only Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles come to mind.
What are the top 10 first party games in your opinion? Maybe I should finally get a switch.

That depends on what your in to. But if you want 10 first party games you may like then in addition to those three, I would recommend.

* ARMS
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
* Sushi Striker
* Splatoon 2
* Snipperclips
* Mario Kart 8 DX if you don't own a Wii U
* Super Mario Party

We're still fairly early in the Switch's life, but already it's off to a pretty great start first party wise. And in under 2 years, it already has more first party games available than the Wii U had in the same time frame.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I would say the absolute golden age of Nintendo was from Super Mario Bros 3 to Wind Waker.

Obviously the original SMB has its place in history, but I consider a lot of the NES games, the original Zelda, the original Metroid etc to be kinda warm ups and dry runs, obviously very groundbreaking for their time but a little "you had to be there" today.

SMB3 on the other hand is when they created their first all time classic that holds up just as well today, that set the stage for the SNES, which is when things really got cooking, but they continued on to deliver classics like SM64 and Ocarina of Time on the N64, then they came out outta the gate strong with the Gamecube with Luigi's Mansion, Super Smash Bros Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime and Wind Waker, plus the GBA kept some of the SNES style alive.

But sadly it was when the Gamecube failed to really take off sales wise was when some of the magic was lost and they gradually started to move away from being focused on games first and foremost and more on gimmicks.

Though thankfully in recent times that's changed, Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of The Wild are as good as anything else they've put out and the Switch's gimmick is one that crucially doesn't get in the way of the games themselves.

 

[kunonabi]

As fantastic as some of their SNES output was there wasnt a huge amount of it. In terms of looking at quality, quantity, variety, and creativity together I have to give the edge to the Wii and DS era. They were just firing on all cylinders even if every title wasnt a homerun.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

The SNES was the "culmination" (to use your own phrase) of the arcade/NES mentality. It was a pretty big step down from the NES if you wanted a ton of arcade-style games, though.

I think the major reason why it is so well-remembered is it has a lot of story-driven games that've aged decently (read: they're fairly easy to beat and they are compatible with emulators). These games aren't remembered in their context, though: Super Metroid was easy compared to Metroid 1 and 2. Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island were easy compared to previous Mario titles. Super Ghouls n Ghosts and Castlevania IV were both easy compared to previous entires. All those RPGs with their recognizable soundtracks sure have aged nicely, too, but most people didn't own a big collection of those games back in the day.

"Peak Nintendo Development" has always been on their handhelds. Nintendo developers seem to perform better when they are constrained by hardware and limitations on the player's time/attention. Otherwise, their teams devolve into time-wasting pandering. See: the N64 and Gamecube eras, and the Wii U for final confirmation.

I echo Spukc : the DS and Wii are peak Nintendo development. They expanded the market ("blue ocean" strategy) and brought back the old NES/SNES market, the fans who'd fallen away during the dark 3D Years (N64 and GCN). The creativity during that time period is off the charts.

 

[petran79]

I think it they had reached a peak but for different reasons than the Switch. SNES launch was far from ideal due to Sega's established domination in the 16bit era. Add also the regional delays between European, Japanese and American game releases. SNES kicked in after the second half of its life cycle. As a result things were tied with Sega in Europe and America.
NES to Gamecube era was really a battle for survival. Wii and afterwards were more safe, aiming for their faithfull players and more family friendly games. Without the risk of losing or gaining players, they can now focus on their games

 

[Jubenhimer]

But sadly it was when the Gamecube failed to really take off sales wise was when some of the magic was lost and they gradually started to move away from being focused on games first and foremost and more on gimmicks.

I heavily disagree with this. NIntendo has always been about gimmicks. I mean, this is the same company that pushed a Robot and a Light-gun onto its first console in North America, and spent most of its pre-gaming history as a toy company.

Though thankfully in recent times that's changed, Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of The Wild are as good as anything else they've put out and the Switch's gimmick is one that crucially doesn't get in the way of the games themselves.

Switch is still littered with gimmicks though. Nintendo Labo and 1-2 Switch show Nintendo is still Nintendo. But I do agree that developers aren't obligated to use the more unique aspects in every game this time.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I heavily disagree with this. NIntendo has always been about gimmicks. I mean, this is the same company that pushed a Robot and a Light-gun onto its first console in North America, and spent most of its pre-gaming history as a toy company.



Switch is still littered with gimmicks though. Nintendo Labo and 1-2 Switch show Nintendo is still Nintendo. But I do agree that developers aren't obligated to use the more unique aspects in every game.

The gimmicks were always an element but it wasn't the core, the majority of their games were just things you played on a controller.

That all started to changed with the DS where the gimmick wasn't something optional but something at the core of the system itself.

You can easily treat the Switch as just a console and it just felt so damn refreshing to be playing Nintendo games with a mostly standard controller again.

 

[PassionateGAMER]

That depends on what your in to. But if you want 10 first party games you may like then in addition to those three, I would recommend.

* ARMS
* Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
* Sushi Striker
* Splatoon 2
* Snipperclips
* Mario Kart 8 DX if you don't own a Wii U
* Super Mario Party

We're still fairly early in the Switch's life, but already it's off to a pretty great start first party wise. And in under 2 years, it already has more first party games available than the Wii U had in the same time frame.

Thank you Jubenhimer. I'm mostly into single player games and therefore the games you mentioned are interesting but wouldn't convince me to buy a new console. I own a Wii U with almost all the good games which means that I already played games like Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Tropical Freeze, Bayonette and Captain Toad. Otherwise these titles would probably be worth buying a new console.

 

[Grinchy]

I didn't have a SNES

We got a Genesis for Christmas, so that was at least awesome, but I was always jealous of people who had the SNES. I tried to save up for it one summer with cutting grass, but my parents and neighbors got too good of a deal off of me to add up enough money for it.

 

[Jubenhimer]

The gimmicks were always an element but it wasn't the core, the majority of their games were just things you played on a controller.

That all started to changed with the DS where the gimmick wasn't something optional but something at the core of the system itself.

Nintendo has always introduced some weird new gimmick to their consoles, many of these become standard in their future hardware. NES' D-pad, SNES shoulder buttons, N64 analog stick, and yes DS touch screen and Wii motion controls. Only the GameCube was really a standard controller, and the only actual stuff that failed was the 3DS and Wii U who's gimmicks didn't carry over. So Nintendo has always designed their games around their hardware inputs, it just became more pronounced beginning with the DS.

You can easily treat the Switch as just a console and it just felt so damn refreshing to be playing Nintendo games with a mostly standard controller again.

Not always though. Super Mario Odyssey for example practically begs you to play with its detached Joy-Con control scheme, and some games like Super Mario Party don't support traditional controls at all. It really depends on what developers want to do with a game, as not every game needs motion controls, touch screens, HD Rumble or 2 player stuff, but some obviously do. Even on the DS, developers didn't have to use the touch screen if they didn't want to, they could just make a hardcore button control game and use the bottom screen for stats or something.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

The gimmicks were always an element but it wasn't the core, the majority of their games were just things you played on a controller.

That all started to changed with the DS where the gimmick wasn't something optional but something at the core of the system itself.

You can easily treat the Switch as just a console and it just felt so damn refreshing to be playing Nintendo games with a mostly standard controller again.

There was a time when when the D-pad was considered a casual gimmick. Nintendo aimed the NES Advantage at the seasoned gamer who was accustomed to arcade games and the Atari lineup. The Gamecube controller -- with its oversized, misshapen buttons -- was itself a gimmicked version of the standard Dualshock.

If you look back at the Iwata Asks sessions and interviews in 2004-2006 during the time of the DS and leading up to the Wii, Nintendo stated plainly that controllers had become too complicated and games needed to be simplified in order to allow the masses to enter. This was before the smartphone gaming boom, by the way, and Nintendo's attitude was widely panned as "pandering to casuals" and so forth.

 

[cartman414]

Peak Konami was Treasure. Gunstar blows away any Contra, and Guardian Heroes is better than every Konami made beat 'em up combined.

As much as I love Gunstar Heroes, it was the point where they started getting too miniboss happy.

 

[elCT]

In terms of commercial success, Wii more than doubled SNES in sales (over 100M compared to less than 50M worldwide) and beat PS3 and Xbox 360 by a wide margin.

And in terms of creativeness, I don't know how to measure that but I feel like Nintendo is peaking right now. The latest Mario and Zelda might be the best games of the series while there are tons of other exclusives and games that can only be playable on Switch—like party games (1-2-Switch) or Arms.

 

[dirthead]

As much as I love Gunstar Heroes, it was the point where they started getting too miniboss happy.

I agree, but if I look at all of them, I can't say that any of them are as good as Gunstar Heroes. Contra 3 might have the strongest normal level flow, maybe, but I don't think it plays as well. I was really disappointed in Cuphead's gameplay. It could have legitimately been a new high water mark, but they just fucked up the level design and gameplay.

The latest Mario and Zelda might be the best games of the series

I'm not even being edgy or hyperbolic when I say Odyssey is shit compared to 64.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

Nintendo has always introduced some weird new gimmick to their consoles, many of these become standard in their future hardware. NES' D-pad, SNES shoulder buttons, N64 analog stick, and yes DS touch screen and Wii motion controls. Only the GameCube was really a standard controller, and the only actual stuff that failed was the 3DS and Wii U who's gimmicks didn't carry over. So Nintendo has always designed their games around their hardware inputs, it just became more pronounced beginning with the DS.



Not always though. Super Mario Odyssey for example practically begs you to play with its detached Joy-Con control scheme, and some games like Super Mario Party don't support traditional controls at all. It really depends on what developers want to do with a game, as not every game needs motion controls, touch screens, HD Rumble or 2 player stuff, but some obviously do. Even on the DS, developers didn't have to use the touch screen if they didn't want to, they could just make a hardcore button control game and use the bottom screen for stats or something.

There was a time when when the D-pad was considered a casual gimmick. Nintendo aimed the NES Advantage at the seasoned gamer who was accustomed to arcade games and the Atari lineup. The Gamecube controller -- with its oversized, misshapen buttons -- was itself a gimmicked version of the standard Dualshock.

If you look back at the Iwata Asks sessions and interviews in 2004-2006 during the time of the DS and leading up to the Wii, Nintendo stated plainly that controllers had become too complicated and games needed to be simplified in order to allow the masses to enter. This was before the smartphone gaming boom, by the way, and Nintendo's attitude was widely panned as "pandering to casuals" and so forth.

See, I just don't see things like dpads, shoulder buttons or analog sticks as "gimmicks" like touch screens or motion controls.

There's evolution and there's revolution, the Wii was literally code named "Revolution", something like motion controls completely changes how you play a video game, adding more buttons to a controller is not the same.

I'm not even being edgy or hyperbolic when I say Odyssey is shit compared to 64.

You're tripping.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

See, I just don't see things like dpads, shoulder buttons or analog sticks as "gimmicks" like touch screens or motion controls.

There's evolution and there's revolution, the Wii was literally code named "Revolution", something like motion controls completely changes how you play a video game, adding more buttons to a controller is not the same.

In their context, they were considered gimmicks.

Calling DS's touch controls a gimmick in today's market would earn you confused stares. But at the time, it was very much considered that way. I would include sixaxis, pressure-sensitive buttons, two-stage analog triggers, asymmetrical sticks, VMUs, and rumble on the list of gimmicks, some of which were adopted for wider use and some of which were relegated to the dustbin of history.

 

[Jubenhimer]

There's evolution and there's revolution, the Wii was literally code named "Revolution", something like motion controls completely changes how you play a video game, adding more buttons to a controller is not the same.

You could say the same thing about stuff like the analog stick and Mode 7. SNES' Mode 7 allowed for the creation of new types of games at the time like F-Zero. The Analog stick fundamentally changed how 3D games should be played as 360' movement and analog control allowed for new approaches to level design in a 3D space. These things don't seem novel now, but back then this stuff wasn't standard, so it stood out.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

In their context, they were considered gimmicks.

Calling DS's touch controls a gimmick in today's market would earn you confused stares. But at the time, it was very much considered that way. I would include sixaxis, pressure-sensitive buttons, two-stage analog triggers, asymmetrical sticks, VMUs, and rumble on the list of gimmicks, some of which were adopted for wider use and some of which were relegated to the dustbin of history.

There's plenty of gimmicks, but it's a question of whether the gimmick gets in the way of the game itself.

For me it did with the Wii.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

In terms of first party quality and variety, yes

In terms of power and influence over the industry, Nintendo 64 and is not even close.

 

[cartman414]

I agree, but if I look at all of them, I can't say that any of them are as good as Gunstar Heroes. Contra 3 might have the strongest normal level flow, maybe, but I don't think it plays as well. I was really disappointed in Cuphead's gameplay. It could have legitimately been a new high water mark, but they just fucked up the level design and gameplay.

I preferred the flow of the original to be honest. Others swear by the Metal Slug games which I still have yet to play.

I'm not even being edgy or hyperbolic when I say Odyssey is shit compared to 64.

Mario 64 was more platform adventure than action. Not a bad thing, but lacked the speed and finesse of the other games.

Odyssey somehow nailed the latter feel within a large scale Mario, and I'm still scratching the surface. So good.

 

[cireza]

Technically speaking, I feel like Nintendo was at their best on Gamecube. This is the only period were I find that they were actually pushing the boundaries just as much as every other developer. Melee, Double Dash, Sunshine, Prime, Wind Waker... All these games were technical achievements (or at least ambitious) for their time, and huge jumps compared to the N64.

I am not discussing the quality of their SNES releases, but they feel technically "safe" and not that amazing, compared to what others were doing.

 

[Ogbert]

No. It was a golden age for third party developers on Nintendo.

 

[tassletine]

Problem is, if you ingnore the WiiU, then you're missing out on some sublime creativity, which strongly feeds into the Switch as a lot of those ideas were reused.
Nintendo have been at their creative peak since then.

 

[pramod]

Not sure if it was peak Nintendo development, but it was definitely peak 3rd party development on a Nintendo console.

When I go thru my list of all time favorite SNES games, about 80% of them are 3rd party games(Capcom, Konami, Square, Taito, Masiya, etc) and only 20% Nintendo.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Problem is, if you ingnore the WiiU, then you're missing out on some sublime creativity, which strongly feeds into the Switch as a lot of those ideas were reused.
Nintendo have been at their creative peak since then.

I've been through the Wii U era. IMO, I feel it was Nintendo at its most creatively bankrupt. That's why I said "The less said about the Wii U, the better". It wasn't just a commercial flop, it was a creative low-point for the company as well. The vast majority of games on the Wii U consists of continuations of Wii series games, many of which didn't really bring anything new to the table, and were seen as Passe by the general public. recycled concepts from the DS and 3DS like Super Mario 3D World, and the occasional moment of creative brilliance in Splatoon or The Wonderful 101. Nintendo also put out far less games on Wii U than any previous platform as well.

Now you might argue that wouldn't the SNES be just a rehash of the NES? Well the difference is that Nintendo's staple series were evolved and refined on the SNES vs the NES. AlttP, Super Metroid, and Mario World were polished, refined, and built on the foundations their NES entries introduced, making them the perfections of their 2D incarnations. Even there, NIntendo still put out plenty of creative ideas like Yoshi's Island, Star Fox, Stunt Racer FX, among others. Wii U by comparison had a comparatively safe 3D Mario game, another worn out NSMB retred, tired Wii Rehashes, and one break out original hit in Splatoon.

 

[nkarafo]

Nope. N64 was.

It has the best 3D Zeldas (Majora's Mask has not be bested IMO), the best Starfox, the Best F-Zero (better than GX IMO but that was made by Sega so X is the best F-Zero Nintendo ever made, period), the best 3D Mario and some other games that they haven't manage to best later on like Waverace and 1080 Snowboarding.

It's not perfect though, it doesn't have a Metroid game but either way Retro Studios made the best Metroid after Super. Also, Mario Kart 64 isn't the best in the series and Yoshi's Story isn't very good either. And Smash Bros has been improved with the sequels obviously.

But overall, i thing their N64 efforts were the highest quality when it comes to software.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

For me it was the nes/gameboy

 

[Ogbert]

Nope. N64 was.

It has the best 3D Zeldas (Majora's Mask has not be bested IMO), the best Starfox, the Best F-Zero (better than GX IMO but that was made by Sega so X is the best F-Zero Nintendo ever made, period), the best 3D Mario and some other games that they haven't manage to best later on like Waverace and 1080 Snowboarding.

It's not perfect though, it doesn't have a Metroid game but either way Retro Studios made the best Metroid after Super. Also, Mario Kart 64 isn't the best in the series and Yoshi's Story isn't very good either. And Smash Bros has been improved with the sequels obviously.

But overall, i thing their N64 efforts were the highest quality when it comes to software.

I think that's a fair comment. OoT and Mario 64 are arguably the greatest games released by a developer for any given generation.

In terms of sheer magic, I often think that Galaxy 1 and 2 are peak Nintendo - the sort of utterly wonderful games that only they could produce. But the foundation for both of those games can be found in 64.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

Technically speaking, I feel like Nintendo was at their best on Gamecube. This is the only period were I find that they were actually pushing the boundaries just as much as every other developer. Melee, Double Dash, Sunshine, Prime, Wind Waker... All these games were technical achievements (or at least ambitious) for their time, and huge jumps compared to the N64.

I am not discussing the quality of their SNES releases, but they feel technically "safe" and not that amazing, compared to what others were doing.

Yes, the 'Cube was the last time Nintendo was developing on cutting edge hardware and it was also in context the most powerful hardware they ever had, being more powerful than the PS2, can you imagine Nintendo having more powerful hardware than Playstation today?

I miss that, it was probably the very last time Nintendo wouldn't be just a step behind the others technology wise, it's a real shame.

As great as Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of The Wild were, you can't help but wonder what they'd have been like on hardware on par with the PS4 and Xbox One. (at least it's not as big a gap as the Wii and PS3/360)

 

[Ballthyrm]

There was a time when when the D-pad was considered a casual gimmick. Nintendo aimed the NES Advantage at the seasoned gamer who was accustomed to arcade games and the Atari lineup. The Gamecube controller -- with its oversized, misshapen buttons -- was itself a gimmicked version of the standard Dualshock.

Some argue, myself included that the GC controller is the best ever made.
Nintendo has been at the forefront of controllers improvements since the beginning.

Things like :

• The D-Pad with Game&Watch
• The modern controller layout (direction on the left, button on the right) with the NES controller
• 4 Players inputs with the NES Satellite
• Shoulder buttons with the SNES controller
• The Analog Stick with the N64
• Vibrations feedback with the Rumble Pack, also N64
• Wireless controllers with the GC WaveBird
• I would add the gimmicked GC buttons too ( it's one of the only layout that works by feel, all the buttons are different shapes)
• Touchscreens with the DS
• Motion controls with the WII

I'm glad Nintendo invented all theses things.

 

[MilkyJoe]

For me, yes. So many great games, and the leap from a Spectrum was massive.

N64 had about 5 games i cared about and again a massive leap in tech. I lost interest in Nintendo when PS came out, I didn't bother with the GC, got a Wii for Wii Sports Bowling and then a 3DS just to see what the 3D looked like. They are dining out on Mari and Zelda, I've lost interest

 

[deriks]

It's not fair to judge "peak of development" in gaming. From time to time, it changes. It's not hard to see 100 people working 10 hours a day on a single game today, but in the 90's, 10 people could do fine.

 

[chinoXL]

SNES was def one of my top consoles..everything Squaresoft made was crack, Donkey Kong Country line, Mario World, Mario Kart, Yoshi's Island, Super Double Dragon the list goes on for the SNES. great system and most of the games aged well. i still go back and dabble into Final Fantasty 3 aka 6

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Some argue, myself included that the GC controller is the best ever made.
Nintendo has been at the forefront of controllers improvements since the beginning.

Things like :

• The D-Pad with Game&Watch
• The modern controller layout (direction on the left, button on the right) with the NES controller
• 4 Players inputs with the NES Satellite
• Shoulder buttons with the SNES controller
• The Analog Stick with the N64
• Vibrations feedback with the Rumble Pack, also N64
• Wireless controllers with the GC WaveBird
• I would add the gimmicked GC buttons too ( it's one of the only layout that works by feel, all the buttons are different shapes)
• Touchscreens with the DS
• Motion controls with the WII

I'm glad Nintendo invented all theses things.

I dislike the Gamecube controller, but that's neither here nor there. I am glad they innovate with their controllers, and even when they don't we get one of the best controllers ever made (Wii U Pro).

 

[tuco11]

SNES is my favorite all time console. Was so stoked to acquire the entire library for my Rasberry Pi. Off topic has anyone picked up the Super Nintendo Omnibus volume 1? Worth getting?

 

[PocoJoe]

Yes, i had only 7 games for snes and played it hours daily.

N64 = 3D crap

Gamecube = still good variety of games(non nintendo ip)

Wii wiiu switch = just feels like money making machine mode, same boring mario games, no good 3rd party support and weak peformance hardware.

Snes were pure gaming console, after gimmicks and low perf i lost interest

 

[Azelover]

Yeah, to me SNES was the best. But it might have something to do with the fact I was a kid back then.

I'd say impartially, the DS was probably the real best one. They had great games, and a lot of innovation.