It has always been my opinion that — pound-for-pound — the two best consoles in history were the SNES and the PS2. I’m talking in terms of quality, classic video games here. You can argue that point in the comments, but today I’m going to ask you to vote. PS2 or SNES. SNES or PS2.
It’s a tricky one isn’t it?
On the one hand you have the greatest line-up of games in Nintendo history. You have the moments that main franchises were solidified with arguably the definitive entry into every major Nintendo franchise ever.
With the PlayStation 2 you have all the third parties operating at the absolute peak of their collective powers. At a point where they could focus all of their attention on one console and do their absolute worst. You have variety, you have classics, you have mainstream appeal.
Man, this is a tricky one.
I’ll leave it for you all to decide.
Comments
41 responses to “The Big Question: SNES vs PlayStation 2”
SNes
I love ps2 but snes, snes, snes!!
I played more DS than PS2.
DS>SNES>PSX
GameCube!
I was never that big a fan of the PS2. Even outside of fanboyism, I can’t think of anything I played at my friends’ places that ever really appealed to me at all.
Not to mention the danger of cutting yourself on the edge of one of those jagged PS2 polygons 😛
PS1.
Yes!
I feel like you may have misunderstood the question.
The SNES had Yoshi’s Island, case closed.
I never owned a SNES and to be honest I can’t recall if I ever actually played one. I had friends who owned an NES when I was a kid and I’m sure they upgraded to a SNES at some point, but I can’t distinctly recall.
I think for a long time I assumed that I was playing 16-bit games because of the graphical quality but in retrospect it seems like the slew of retro-inspired pixel art PC games that have come out lately have resulted in my underestimating what the NES could churn out. I know I played games on the Mega Drive too but I couldn’t say for sure which ones. Probably some Sonic games, I guess. Toejam and Earl? Earthworm Jim?
Well, anyway, I don’t have any distinct memories of the SNES. The PS2 was the first console I owned after my Sega Master System died. My first two games on the PS2 were Kingdom Hearts and FFX and those are the only two that stand out in my memory other than Dragon Quest VIII which I never finished (anyone know if that iPad port is playable yet?). There were plenty of other games but the bulk of them were probably multiplatform releases.
I was fond of it but it was eventually supplanted by the Xbox, and the 360 secured me as a committed Xbox fanboy.
Wow, the two consoles that played (soz for the pun) the biggest roles in my gaming life. Some of my earliest memories are centered around the SNES but the ps2 is what really solidified my love for gaming.
Dreamcast.
Damn, thats a tough one. I loved my snes, but my PS1 saw some great times in gaming. FFVII, Ridge Racer, GTA, MGS, Bust a Groove etc
Even so, the nostalgia is stronger with the snes….so Nintendo wins this fight
Wow this one IS tricky.
The SNES introduced me to games, made me fall in love with them, and exposed me to amazing Nintendo franchises which I’ll forever hold dear, colouring my glasses distinctly rose when I look back at it.
SNES.
SNES.
PS2 had a lot of shovelware on it, which brings it down a few points in my opinion. Also, as a developer, I hated the PS2.
I think I had much more fun on Mega Drive and N64, but for the sake of the argument, I’ll go SNES.
SNES was the most formative console of my gaming life, bar none – even beats my first NES. So many incredible games, it’s library is second to none. PS2 was fantastic for many reasons, but the SNES really shaped me more than any other.
That is a tough one…. I probably sunk more hours into the SNES as a kid but damn there were some good games on PS2.
The PS2 had some great games, but mostly those aren’t games that I’d personally ever go back and replay. SNES games still hold up today 100%, graphically and gameplay wise.
This is a really difficult question, on one hand you have undoubtedly the best pure gaming platform the industry has ever seen in the Super Nintendo. Arguably the best line up of 1st party titles Nintendo has ever produced and backed up with a very robust 3rd party line up that Nintendo can only wish they had today.
On the other hand you have quite arguably the most influential gaming device of all time, coupling the PS2 with a DVD player right as the platform was becoming the industry standard was a stroke of goddamn genius. Not only that but it was when we saw both Sony’s fledgling first party studios beginning to flex their creative talent as well as 3rd party’s hitting their stride, Including Rockstar giving the world the first ‘true’ installment of a franchise that would go on to arguably be one of the most influential and successful of all time in Grand Theft Auto III.
I can understand why people will choose one over the other, but my vote has to go with the PS2, while you could argue that the SNES is the perfect gaming device, I think you can just so easily argue that the PS2 singlehandedly revolutionised the entire industry and turned it into the multi billion dollar behemoth it is today
Nevermind the console. It’s the games that matter, :).
So I vote for both. The SNES has Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI and the PS1 has Chrono Cross and The Legend of Dragoon.
Edit: Scratch my post, I missed the “2” on my first read, :S.
SNES – Super CastleVania 4 and Dracula X are my favourite games on the system. Twinbee Rainbow Bell Adventure is amazing too. Way too much vintage Konami on the SNES for me not to give it the nod. I did love Curse of Darkness, but I owned the XBOX version, so I don’t exactly associate it with the PS2.
So yup, SNES it is 🙂
SNES had Mario Kart – case closed. And Shadowrun.
Oh wow, that’s a toughie. Some of the best RPGs in gaming were on the PS2… some of the best GAMES in gaming were on the SNES… It could be nostalgia-goggles, but I think SNES held more of my fondest memories.
In the SNES corner:
Actraiser
Big Sky Trooper
Blackthorne
Bomberman series
Chaos Engine
Crono Trigger
Demon’s Crest
Earthbound
Earthworm Jim
EVO
Final Fantasy 6
Flashback
Front Mission (even if I only played it uh… digitally)
Harvest Moon (THE ORIGINAL!)
Illusion of Gaia
Jurassic Park (SNES was hands-down the best version)
Kirby
Lemmings
Lost Vikings
Mario Kart
Mario RPG
Mega Man X
Metal Marines
Mortal Kombat series (Yeah, yeah, even without blood)
NBA Jam (the MegaDrive version was better IMO)
Parodius
Pocky & Rocky
Populous
Secret of Mana
Shadowrun
SMASH TV
Starwing
‘Strike’ series (Desert Strike, Urban, Jungle),
Syndicate
TMNT: Turtles in Time (not as good/frustrating as the NES version, though)
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Worms
Yoshi’s Island
Zombies Ate My Neighbours
In the PS2 Corner:
Ace Combat series
Armored Core series
Blood Omen 2
BloodRayne (WHAT, IT WAS GOOD OK)
Crazy Taxi
Destroy All Humans
Devil May Cry series
Dirge of Cerberus (VINCENT RULES)
Disgaea
Driven (or was it Driver? I forget… It was basically GTA set in London, I think. Shit, am I thinking of The Getaway?)
Dynasty Warriors
Ecco the Dolphin (yeah yeah, MegaDrive IT STILL COUNTS!)
Fahrenheit (I liked it, OK!)
Fatal Fury (if only because I wanted a Streets of Rage type game mentioned here somewhere)
Final Fantasy series (basically everything after 6, really…)
Ghost in the Shell
Gladius
God of War
GTA series
Guitar Hero series
Gungrave (the anime was somehow better)
Harvest Moon… I GUESS. Better on SNES, though.
Hitman
Ico
Killzone (might not have been Playstation’s Halo, but it was good!)
Magna Carta
Manhunt
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Max Payne
Mega Man series (if we’re being fair, I guess… still better on SNES.)
Oni
Onimusha
Resident Evil series
Rune
Shadow of the Colossus
Silent Hill
Silent Scope
Soul Reaver 2
True Crime: Streets of LA (early Sleeping Dogs!)
Vagrant Story (or was that PS1?)
Virtua Cop (gun games rule!)
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (most underrated game in the world)
(And I guess if you care about popular but shitty games like Kingdom Hearts, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Rayman, Sly Cooper and all that bullshit I never understood why anyone liked.)
Still too hard to call. Leaning SNES. But damn there were some good’uns in the PS2 column…
For completionist’s sake:
SNES:+
Terranigma
Evo
Seiken Densetsu 3
BoF
Tactics Ogre/Bahamut Lagoon/Der Langrisser/Treasure Hunter G
Star Ocean
Tales of Phantasia (best Tales of IMO)
FF IV
Romancing Saga 3
–
Syndicate, Populous, Lemmings (not the best way to play, although awesome they’re available)
PS2:
+
FFX
MGS 2/3
Kingdom Hearts
Jak series
Ratchet & Clank series
TimeSplitters
–
FF X-2 (not THAT good)
FF 7,8,9 (PS1)
Vagrant Story (PS1)
I was only able to play SNES games… digitally… unfortunately, since we had a Master System 2, but I vote for it, anyway. Choosing between SNES and PS1 is the hardest, for me
Gran Turismo and NFS Underground..
I really wanna say SNES, but PS2 was a damn good era with a lot of great franchises
The SNES had Super FX. Game over!
I still wish the dreamcast caught on, have a sweet spot for the system.
Snes my first game was donkey kong!!!
The best of the GTA series, GT3, MGS 2 & 3, FFX, Guitar Hero, Rachet & Clank, Burnout 3, countless others. The PS2 for me was (and still is) pure fun. Unlike the next gen which had more of a focus on graphics than gameplay, the PS2 had both in abundance
I’m not saying the SNES wasn’t, whenever I played one I had a blast, but I had a Megadrive myself 😛
SNES all the way.
Secret of Mana and Zelda: A Link to the Past practically defined my childhood. That kind of nostalgia is impossible to shake off. I recently downloaded a SNES emulator for my PC to play all the classics. You should have seen me when I got Zelda up and running. I was like a little school kid. My fiancé was looking at me rolling her eyes.
Actually, I’m gonna go fire it up right now….
Never owned a SNES or PS2…..
Always preferred Mega Drive and Dreamcast though…..
Ignoring the Dreamcast though; in the 16bit era, I much more enjoyed the games available on the MD. I never did,and still don’t, “get” the Mario games. Not saying they aren’t good, they’ve just never appealed to me. Likewise with DK, Zelda and the other Nintendo IP’s.
SEGA SATURN – Anyone?! anyone?!
Original Xbox was a better PS2 than the PS2, Just look at Burnout 2/3/4 the SNES is clearly the winner.
Never owned a SNES, though I appreciate it’s place in gaming history.
Gotta go PS2, though. The amount of hours I spent on the GTA series alone is enough to cement it as my favourite console. Once you add God of War, FFX and the Ratchet and Clank series, it’s just game over. No questions asked.
SNES. It had The Lion King, Unirally and Bubsy the Bobcat. Oh yeah, and mario kart, link to the past, super ghouls n ghosts, super metroid….. Life was good. Still is if you own a SNES.
Pretty hard… devil may cry, ffxii and mgs3 pushed me over though
MARIO PAINT.
PS2 for me.
The sheer ubiquity of the thing meant it allowed publishers to spend money on some niche kind of titles that, in the days before digital distribution, they wouldn’t have made on a system with a smaller install base (e.g. Katamari Damacy, Okami).
Also stuff like Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War 1 & 2, MGS3, and Guitar Hero (it was actually amazing when it first came out, let’s not let that memory be tarnished by what happened to it once Activision get their hands on it).
Xmas 1992 – SNES w/ Street Fighter II. Best Xmas ever.
I’d say the SNES. Although i love the PS2 dearly with so many great games across many genres, it was the snes that has the most memories and just ground breakingly good games from yesteryear. It’s no mistake that so many of it’s games were later ported to GBA, Wiiware and DS/3DS.
SNES without a doubt for me and its still my favourite video game console of all time.
Thing is, SNES marked my video game passion as a kid. My brother and I had Mario Kart, Bomberman and Street Fighter 2 (all versions!!) tournaments for entire weekends. I played Link to the Past over and over again, same with F-Zero, Star Fox, Lost Vikings, the list goes on. I’d read Gamepro and EGM awaiting the next games to come out.
Id like to say its rose coloured glasses and to an extent it is, but Ive bought a lot of these games again on the Virtual Console (not to mention I had a resurgence a few years back where I hunted down all the hardware and games all over again from eBay) and still enjoy them just as much.
By the time the PS2 came out, I was in my 20’s and not interested in video games at all. The times I did play, at mates houses or where ever, the games just seemed too convoluted and involved (plus I thought a lot of the “3D” graphics at the time looked a bit crap).
For me it has to be the SNES. I feel it was much more revolutionary in terms of home gaming. I feel that the games were of better quality when they were originally released and have stood the test of time better than the PS2.