The SNES Mini Console vs The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini Console

Greetings and Welcome to a Special Edition Blog featuring both the SNES Mini Console and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini Console.


This is by no means a Death Match, nor it is going to focus on each sides combat capabilities. This is just a comparison blog that will be looking into the Consoles design, the controllers, game menu, soundtrack, and of course, the games.



The most important part to remember is this blog is entirely opinion based and the overall outcome really is just my honest opinion on which Console I prefer in the end.


So, without further ado, let's start this retro styled console war




Super Nintento Entertainment System (SNES) Mini Console

The SNES Mini Console comes with two six button controllers, a HDMI cable and a USB power cable. Unfortunately, the AC adapter is not included with the package, so you will need to buy one separately. However, if you have a Television Set/Monitor that supports HDMI capabilities, your already set XD!!!



Game Menu

Once the SNES Mini Console is ready to set, the game menu is shown. This menu is very simple and very easy to navigate. It is also worth noting that when your at the game menu, you can even change the graphics, the frames for your screen and even save your games with multiple files. Oh, and you can delete unwanted save files if you wish



Games

  

With a total of 21 Games installed to the console, the SNES Mini Console has incredible value. I will only list a handful of games from the console (These are actually my all time favorites)

Donkey Kong Country

Super Castlevania 4

  

Super Mario World

Super Metroid

The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past

Of course, there are other classic games such as Star Fox, F-Zero, Mario Kart, Kirby Dream Course, Yoshi's Island, Final Fantasy and Super Mario RPG. Yes, the line up is damn strong. And this is just some of the consoles games.





Graphics

Gameplay of Donkey Kong Country

 



















Graphically, the SNES Mini Console stays faithful to the original  16 bit SNES console. However, with the edition of graphical settings in the menu, the Console adds alot of versatility. While not changing much substantially, there is one setting known as "Pixel Perfect" which smooths the edges of the  game to make it as clean as possible.... and I really liked that.


Overall, the graphics of the SNES Mini Console are simply "Perfect"




Sound
The Sound of the SNES is full of iconic music ques such as Donkey Kong Country's theme and of course, has a wide range of classic soundtracks from Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda, Super Castlevania 4 and Super Metroid.







The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini Console

    














The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini Console comes with two three button controllers, a HDMI Cable and a USB Power Cable. Unfortunately, the AC adapter does not come with the package, so you will have to buy one separately. However, like the SNES Mini Console, if you have a Television Set or a Monitor that supports HDMI capabilities, your already set. 




Game Menu

The Mega Drive's Game Menu is a colourful and fantastic menu indeed. It is also very easy to navigate and despite it's size, it is very quick to navigate through all games entirely because they are arranged in a vertical position. So all you have to do is hold down the "Down button" and wala, you just reached the bottom before you know it.


Another great feature of the Mega Drive's Game Menu is the use of Language settings. While this may seem like a minor thing, if you actually changed the language settings to Japanese, you get the Japanese versions of the games in your own library. For example, Streets of Rage 2 becomes "Bare Knuckle 2" if you set the language to Japanese. How cool is that :D!!!




And finally, the menu also allows you to see a brief background of each game before you start playing. This gives the games more depth and detail in just a few sentences. 



Oh, and you can even look at the back covers of the games like their cartridge versions. Like this

 Bottom line. The Mega Drive's Game Menu is perfect.





Games
With a Whopping 42 games pre installed into the Mega Drive, it has amazing value. While I will only list a handful of games that I personally enjoyed the best, I will say, the game library has a massive variety of genres such as Action, Platformers, Beat Em Ups, Racing, Adventure, RPG's, Shooters, Fighting games and even puzzle games such as Tetris, which was installed exclusively for this console.


So, here are my favorite games of the Sega Mega Drive.

Streets of Rage 2

Golden Axe

 


 

Sonic the Hedgehog

 

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Phantasy Star 4

 

The Story of Thor/Beyond Oasis

Castlevania Bloodlines/The New Generation

Gunstar Heroes

As you can see, there are amazing titles to the Mega Drive's library. There are other classics such as Comix Zone, Vectorman 2, Megaman The Wily Wars, Altered Beast, Virtua Fighter, Shinobi 3 and The Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion Games. Yeah, the Mega Drive's game library is a monster sized treasure trove of classics.
  




  

Graphics

Streets of Rage 2

In terms of Graphics, the Sega Mega Drive Mini Console kicks ass. Some games look amazing such as Streets of Rage 2, Sonic, Phantasy Star 4, Golden Axe and of course, The Story of Thor. What's more, the graphics are more slick and more detailed than one may think, as the images provides superb detail and colorful artwork.




Sound
Amazingly, the Sound of the Mega Drive Mini Console is also a huge plus. Though there are reports of sound issues from the console, at least they are by no means game breaking. From my own experience, the sound plays perfectly. Though sometimes, when so much stuff happens, the sound sometimes does gloss over other sound effects such as explosions are louder than screaming and punching.


However, the Mega Drive's Music on the other hand is godlike. I can say without hesitation that Streets of Rage 2's soundtrack is my favorite soundtrack from a 16 bit game, possibly one of my Top 3 favorite soundtracks in gaming. That alone shows how much I love the Music of the Sega Mega Drive. That is not to say other games do not have the same claim. Sonic the Hedgehog has a kick ass soundtrack, Phantasy Star 4 has beautiful and sometimes, eerie music and Golden Axe's soundtrack is absolutely awesome. 


Bottom Line, while people seem to criticize the Sega Mega Drive for the sound quality being "too basic", oh boy, what were they thinking? The Sound of the Mega Drive is perfect in every sense of the word.





Summary

SNES Mini Console

  










Advantages

• All the Games in the Console are vastly longer than any of the Mega Drive's games. Though Phantasy Star 4 does close the gap 
• Incredibly, the SNES controller is also compatible with the Sega Mega Drive, making it leagues more versatile
• The SNES controller has far better versatility with having 6 buttons compared to the Mega Drive's 3 button Controller. However, a 6 button version of the Sega Controller can nullify this advantage but since I am comparing package contents, that is out of the window
• Much more memorable music such as Donkey Kong Country, Legend of Zelda and Super Metroid
• You can delete save files individually. Unlike the Mega Drive, which actually wipes all saved files after reverting back to "Factory Settings"
• Graphics wise, the SNES has more versatile options
• Super Castlevania 4 is the best game of the console

Disadvantages

• While the SNES has 21 pre installed Games, the Mega Drive destroys it with 42 games in total
• While the sound is very good, the Mega Drive edge out in terms of greater volume
• The Console's Look is more like a Kid's Toy compared to the Mega Drive, which looks much cooler in comparison
• Far less variety of games compared to the Mega Drive
• The start button of the SNES controller is far less versatile than the Mega Drive's, which can take you back to the game menu
• The game menu may be great. But the Mega Drive's menu is far superior in terms of having a vertical layout for easier navigation and having a brief synopsis of each game  
• The Menu Music is not quite as cheerful as the Mega Drive's Menu Music 

 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini Console

 













Advantages

• 42 games vs 21.............. No contest
• Has a much cooler console design than the SNES
• The start button of the controller is far more versatile than the SNES controller since it can both pause the game and even take you back to the main menu if you wish to save your progress
• The Mega Drive has a massive variety of games to choose from.
• The Sound quality crushes the SNES Mini Console
• The Game Menu is literally much easier to navigate and has the edge of having a brief synopsis for each game, giving them depth
• The Game Menu has better music and has a more light hearted feel to it.
• Streets of Rage 2 is the best 16 bit game ever.

Disadvantages

• The Controller is far less versatile because it only uses 3 buttons compared to 6
• The Mega Drive's games are not as long as a SNES game in terms of 1v1 comparisons. Though Phantasy Star 4's length does close the gap
• Less versatile Graphics options
• In order to delete Save files, you have to revert back to factory settings form the game menu. This is pretty risky though, because it takes all save files out at once.
• The music is not as legendary and memorable as Donkey Kong Country's and The Legend of Zelda

The Verdict

 










This comparison is a very interesting comparison to say the least. Both consoles have their own strengths and neither of them are particularly outclassing the other side because of it.


While it is true that the Mega Drive has 42 games, the fact that the SNES does have longer game length's means that factor is evenly matched for the most part. Though Phantasy Star 4 is the longest game of the Mega Drive's library by far. Still, I think the SNES has the edge here in terms of game length 

However, in terms of other categories, this is where the line is crossed. The Controllers for each system serve their purpose, but it is the SNES who wins out again. 6 buttons vs 3? You can never go wrong there. The SNES controller is simply more versatile and easier to handle. While the Mega Drive's Start button allows you to go back to the game menu to save your progress, that still doesn't help that the SNES controller does have another edge, It can also be used with the Mega Drive as well XD!!!!!!

So in terms of controllers, the SNES wins by a landslide


However, in terms of Game Menus, the Mega Drive wins this. The Menu screen for the SNES is great, but the problem is that it can be a bit tedious to navigate around. However, the Mega Drive on the other hand has a faster scroll speed, and the menu is in a vertical layout, so you can just hold down the "Down" pad and wala, you reached the bottom before you knew it.

 It also helps that the Mega Drive has a language option that not only changes the text, but the games are also different versions from the English versions, giving it pretty much an extra game in the library.

The only downside for the Mega Drive is that you can't delete multiple save files without reverting back to Factory Settings, which the SNES has the edge substantially. Still, it is more or less a minor drawback since your likely sticking to just one save file if you play on your own



So now, we go into the Games. Which in my opinion, really seals the deal here.

Both consoles have a great library of games. But only one side takes the home run. For starters, the Graphics for the SNES does edge out the Mega Drive due to having more options, a Pixel Perfect setting that makes the games smoother, and even more background frames. However, the Mega Drive Graphics are just as good, if not better in some regards.

The real trump card is that the Mega Drive Graphics are faster paced than the SNES console, which also makes their games better paced and more action packed in general.

It also helps the Mega Drive that the console has a much wider variety of game genres such as Action, Adventure, RPG, Beat Em Ups, Puzzles, Shooters and Fighting games.

As for sound, while the SNES console has the iconic soundtrack for it's library such as Donkey Kong Country and The Legend of Zelda..... Streets of Rage 2's soundtrack single handedly blows them out of the water. It is not just Streets of Rage 2 but also Sonic has a kick ass soundtrack and even Golden Axe has another addition to the Mega Drive's already impressive library of music.


So, with all that said, I personally believe that the winner of this comparison is the Mega Drive due to having more games, superb 16 bit graphics, a better game menu, and overall, the sound quality is just crisp clear and of course, Streets of Rage 2.



The Winner is the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Mini Console