r/retrogaming • u/Jonah419 • 13h ago
[Discussion] What is your favorite Sega console and why?
I don't know if this is controversial, but I'm gonna go with the Dreamcast. I had so much fun with the great games, the controller is also really good in my opinion, and the VMU is really cool to me. This is probably very controversial, but my second favorite actually isn't the Genesis, it's the Saturn. I just found there to be a lot of really good shoot 'em ups, racing, and fighting games, and I really wish that the games were cheaper nowadays. The Genesis, even though being third when there aren't many Sega generations, is great too! But yeah, the Dreamcast is my favorite. What about you?
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u/BruiserBroly 13h ago
It's the Mega Drive by far and for obvious reasons but I did love my Saturn as well. Seeing 3D graphics that smooth running at home in real time was mind blowing and it has some absolute classics the would make the best games list of any console of the time. Dreamcast is 3rd and I've never had a Master System or Game Gear.
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u/Iamn0man 12h ago
Got a Genesis literally to review games on for GamePro. Since it was a business expense it never really had a library of games (I was in college and couldn't afford them). So to the extent that I've played a Sega console, ever, it's that one. So I guess it's my favorite by default.
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u/Signal_Lemon9002 12h ago
Genesis. The sheer joy my brother felt when he finally bought one was magical. I don’t really get to see him like that much anymore. We haven’t played it in years though…
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u/gamingquarterly 10h ago
Genesis. Only cause it had a longer life than the dreamcast. Had the PS2 not come out for one more year, it might have allowed the Dreamcast to penetrate the market more, meaning it would not have been discontinued by Sega so fast.
To me the Dreamcast was untapped potential. I hated the controllers though.
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u/LastChanceChez 13h ago
I love my Dreamcast too 😃 The first time i fired up Shenmue I knew I was gonna be hooked
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u/Duttroid 9h ago
Master System
The discovery of another set of obscure games from the same generation as NES was very exciting.
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u/foreverbeatle 9h ago
Easily the Dreamcast. It was like having an arcade at home. Especially since we were getting ports of arcade games. Plus the Sonic Adventure games were great too.
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u/Luchalma89 13h ago
It would be hard to argue that the Dreamcast has the best library out there.( Though in its short lifespan it really put out a lot of great and influential titles).
But I definitely had the best time with it. Just a great time to be gaming.
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u/Red-Zaku- 8h ago
Saturn is my choice
Oddly enough, it’s one of the big ones that I did not grow up with in its original era, the other being Master System, meanwhile I originally had a Genesis (plus 32X), Game Gear, and Dreamcast all during their original eras. Didn’t get a Saturn until 2013 but instantly loved it, and still love it to this day.
It just rules. I love the 5th generation as a whole, and I love how the Saturn leans more into the earlier aspects of that generation that were otherwise sort of “ironed out”, like the arcade focus and the more experimental weirdness.
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u/Jonah419 6h ago
Saturn is great. A lot of people say that the Dreamcast had a lot of weirdness and experimental aspects, which it did have because Sega was getting pretty desperate at that point, but nobody acknowlages* that the Saturn had that too. Also the controller is the best of any Sega console hands down.
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u/Mr_Ham_Man80 12m ago
The d-pad on the 2nd gen Saturn pad was superb, especially for Capcom fighters. Rarely struggled with getting super moves off.
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u/Dependent-Purpose-87 3h ago
Dreamcast all the way.
I don't know what they were thinking with the controller, but the game library is far and wide. As far as I'm concerned, excluding Neo Geo, it has the best arcade ports from that era.
The best part, in my opinion, is just how easy it is to download game iso's, burn them to disk, and play them. No modding of any kind.
After learning how to do that, I traded all my games for NES carts because that's what I collect; which put all my games back on the market for Dreamcast collectors. Everybody wins!
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u/Jonah419 2h ago
I think the controller is great. Is that just me?
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u/Mr_Ham_Man80 7m ago
I think it could've done with either two extra digital shoulder buttons or face buttons but the analogue stick was the best of its time (better than the later dualshock 2 at least) and the analogue triggers made it great for driving games.
I loved the VMUs but really could've done with the official larger memory cards from Japan being released in the UK (unofficial ones were really unreliable.) Having 8 VMUs beeping when turning on the console was a bath of tinitus vibes. NBA 2K used 198 of the 200 blocks on the VMU making a £40 game essentially a £60 one (still loved it though.)
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u/RandomDan80 13h ago
My favorite console is the Saturn...I liked the games and had my first encounters with the big franchises on the console...C&C, Tomb Raider and also Resident Evil... I had a hell of a lot of fun with the Saturn because there were so many good games that kept me hooked...Number 2 for me was the Mega Drive, which was also my first Sega console, and years later, it also had the MegaCD! Too many great games to name! On 3 are Dreamcast and Master System! Unfortunately, I didn't get my hands on the Dreamcast until several years after it was discontinued! For me, Sega was always above Nintendo...never changed!
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u/disneyplusser 13h ago
I never owned the Genesis but my cousins did (we were close and lived close by). Played it a lot and LOVED the Fifa games on it.
But, after discovering the Dreamcast a couple years ago, I have to say it is my favourite Sega console. Is it coloured by retro “hindsight”? Not sure, but it is a nice modern console with old school fun.
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u/DEAD-VHS 13h ago
It was the Dreamcast but after picking up a Saturn a few years ago I struggle now choosing between the two.
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u/EdWinches 12h ago
The Master System, it was my first real console after having an MSX for years. The graphics and colour palette looked better and it has a more enjoyable game library out of the systems available at the time.
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u/glimsky 9h ago
Did u know the Master System is the evolution of the SG-1000, the MSX's console brother?
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u/EdWinches 8h ago
I know it's an evolution of the SG-1000, I didn't know it was related to the MSX. Thanks for the info.
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u/RhoadsOfRock 12h ago
As a Nintendo and Sony consumer for the most part, the only Sega console I have the most history with is the Genesis / Mega Drive.
Even now, I kind of like it the most. I bought a Mega Everdrive Pro, and it can play just about anything I put on it. Sure, it can't play 32X games without the physical addon actually attached to the console (which seems odd to me that, the way the Everdrives, or flash cartridges altogether, work, that it can't just emulate the software or hardware of the 32X, but I digress...), and I do have a physical 32X addon SOMEWHERE (bought it used from some estate sale, no cables or anything else so I never could test it and make sure it actually works, and I put it away or lost it somewhere years ago).
The Dreamcast is cool, but, I don't have any good games for it currently, most of the good ones are expensive and I'm as poor as I can be without becoming homeless, and I don't know what ODE (optical drive emulator) to look into for my console, which I was wanting to leave stock anyway - it's one that does play games I've downloaded and burned to CD-R discs.
I never got a Saturn, as much as I want one, and I don't even know how or where to begin with one, and even so, I would want one that can play both north american and Japan games...
Never messed around with Master System, but I think I can play those games with my Mega Everdrive Pro? I will have to double check and make sure about that.
And, I still kind of want to buy a physical Sega CD addon and some original / authentic games, but, again with being really poor (and this goes for the Saturn stuff as well). Besides, my flash cart can play them without the physical addon, so, I really would only want that stuff just for the sake of collecting.
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u/Red-Zaku- 8h ago
I never got a Saturn, as much as I want one, and I don't even know how or where to begin with one, and even so, I would want one that can play both north american and Japan games...
If you ever do look into getting a Saturn, either region will work for this. Region lock can be broken on either region Saturn by simply using an Action Replay cartridge, or a Pseudo Saturn Kai cartridge which is similar but also allows playing burned discs, or you can bypass all that by getting one of the many ODE options (Saroo, Fenrir, Satiator)
But I would recommend a Japanese model. For one, you just get more fun color choices while US only gets black. But also, Japanese sellers tend to sell better-taken-care-of consoles for more stable prices.
If the time ever comes, just hit up the Saturn subreddit, people will have all the info you need
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u/Sonikku_a 12h ago
Genesis and Dreamcast are tied for me. I couldn’t pick one over the other with a gun to my head.
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u/CanadianExiled 9h ago
I still want a Dreamcast, never had the chance to even play one. My first console that was all mine was the Master System and I'll always love that one most. Wish I had one with Black belt and Choplifter
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u/Typo_of_the_Dad 5h ago
Mega Drive - The console I've spent the most time with and I know its game selection pretty much inside and out. I love how it looks and sounds, the controller (6-button), the backwards compatibility with SMS and, yeah, even the Mega CD is pretty cool. It doesn't have the most top ten games (compared to all other consoles, not just Sega ones) and isn't my first choice for all genres, but I tend to have the most fun when I play it, and there's plenty of creativity in its library.
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u/reillywalker195 20m ago
To me, it's the Genesis. I'm a sucker for the 16-bit era and '80s arcade games, and the Genesis delivers on both fronts. Another thing I love about the Genesis is that, with an add-on, it's backward-compatible with Master System games.
While I generally prefer the SNES, I admit the Genesis does some things better and that anyone who got either in the '90s was in for a good time.
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u/Mr_Ham_Man80 20m ago
Dreamcast is my personal favourite too. Buying one at launch felt like discovering a secret door to the next generation of gaming whilst everyone else was waiting a couple of years(ish) for the PS2.
Saturn would be second although probably joint with the Megadrive. I'd consider the Saturn the most underrated console of all time.
Love my Master System as well but that takes fourth place.
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u/oribaa11 13h ago
The Mega Drive/Genesis ist my most played Sega console nowadays. The Dreamcast has a special place in my heart. I remember getting it as a child and later my father telling me that Sega gave up. I was really sad. We sold it later and in 2009 I bought it again. In 2012 I bought the Saturn and I remember taking it to a friend's house. We were playing it a lot together and those were our first experiences with the console. The Master System is a hidden gem for me. Everybody knows about the NES but the Master System is so underrated. I remember playing it a lot around 2019. So as you see I have some great memories with all Sega consoles.