That’s all well and good, but I think we sometimes underestimate how much of an advantage the success of the NES was for the SNES. With the NES, Nintendo established not just a global market for their brand but a library of titles and partner studios whose initial SNES offerings were often upgraded versions of what they had previously developed for the NES. Indeed, the whole “Super” tag was often applied to games that were essentially remakes of NES titles (most notably, Super Castlevania IV and Super Metroid). Many of the world’s biggest developers were able to use the NES to test concepts that they would later perfect on the SNES.
Some of the Best Console RPGs Ever Made
Despite what the popular narrative suggests, the Sega Genesis did have some really good RPGs. It’s just that comparing the Genesis RPG library to the SNES RPG library instantly reveals one of the most significant genre gaps in the history of the console wars.
To be fair, Sega would have had to sell their soul to corporate Satan (AKA, the regular Devil) just to find a studio that could keep up with Square’s RPG output alone. More importantly, many of those RPGs quickly became the kind of console-selling epics that showcased so many of the things that the SNES could technically do better than the Genesis. That’s to say nothing of their widely-regarded status as some of the greatest games ever made. Not to rub salt in the wound, but many of the lesser and overlooked SNES RPGs would have instantly become some of the Genesis’ greatest genre offerings.
A Deeper (and Generally Better) Platformer Libary
While I certainly side with Mario in the great Mario vs. Sonic debate without any hesitation in my heart, you have to remember those were two platformer franchises at the forefront of a much larger war for relevance in the increasingly popular genre. It was a war that the SNES’ lineup ultimately won.
Granted, its victory can largely be attributed to the aforementioned contributions of Nintendo and those legacy NES studios (Capcom, Konami, Rare, etc.). But at a time when Sega turned having a viable Mario competitor into a big deal, it’s easy to forget that some of the biggest and best Super Mario competitors came from within the Nintendo ecosystem.
The SNES Controller’s Shoulder Buttons
I can’t argue with my esteemed colleague who suggests that the Genesis’ six-button controller often made it the superior option (especially for the genres that the Genesis generally excelled at). However, the SNES controller had one considerable advantage that is hard to live without to this day: shoulder buttons.
