Poll What's The Best Sega System Of All Time?

The dreamcast had a pretty solid lineup, with both Sonic Adventures headlining the library. But no Sega console was as successful or as popular, and just awesome in general, as the Sega genesis. No wonder Sega ports genesis titles to modern consoles and even smartphones whenever possible. This put Sega on the map. Made Nintendo go on high alert for the first time. Sonic 1,2,3 and knuckles. Golden Axe 1 and 2. Gunstar and the numerous Phantasy Stars. Ristar (damn that’s a lotta stars). Streets of Rage 1 and 2. Shining Force. Fantasy Zone. So many good ones, and I’m probably forgetting a lot more than that.

The lack of game saves on most Mega Drive/Genesis games should prevent the Mega Drive/Genesis from winning this poll.

But nostalgia will prevail and the Mega Drive Genesis will win this poll.

Unsurprising that Mega Drive and Dreamcast top so far! Hard to pick between then for me, both great in different ways. I went for Mega Drive as it was formative; but in hardware design the Dreamcast was pretty great.

@UK_Kev

today i learned: some people only play games for the saves. 🙄

anyway, i vote dreamcast, then saturn, then genesis, but genesis totally deserves to win if im honest. 👍 ive just played those games to death.

@-wc-
There was a lot of arcade games on the MD/Genesis. It would have been great if your scores on those were saved.

@UK_Kev A fair complaint. I personally use the switch online version of select genesis games for the rewind features and suspend point, which is basically saving a certain point of the game. It helps a ton for when I play Sonic 2. Getting the Chaos Emeralds in the bonus levels without failing the ring requirement is a pain.

It's pretty much an even split between the Mega Drive / Genesis and the Dreamcast for me. Both were fantastic systems that really showcased what made Sega systems and games unique. Also, Dreamcast is the single best name for a home console / game system.... Ever.

I would say the Saturn & Dreamcast. Not so much the 32X sadly.

Gotta give the megadrive the love - so many great games and the perfect competitor to the equally awesome snes.

I would say the Dreamcast, but if you include the Japanese library, it is unquestionably the Saturn. It bombed outside of Japan, but in Japan it had an absolutely stellar library of games that stomps the Dreamcast and Genesis.

@MARl0
I think that was Sega's biggest issue then and what ultimately destroyed their consoles business; the disconnect between East and West. After Sega of America solidified their dominance in the U.S. and Europe, Sega of Japan jerked them around with the 32X and Saturn. There was such a lack of communication. Imagine if they were all just onboard with the Saturn and worked together on the games. No 32X or Neptune; just full steam ahead with the Saturn. They would have at least been able to stay in the fight, even with the insane Saturn architecture.

@UK_Kev to be fair there weren’t many games back then that did have save states. At the time I remember a handful of Nintendo ones (Zelda on NES, Mario Land 2 on Game Boy). When Sonic 3 released it was a revelation to be able to save your game on a Mega Drive.

Probably the Genesis, that's the only system that Sega consistently had good games for over its long lifespan. The Saturn was never really good until after launch and the Dreamcast was only good at launch. The 32X and Sega CD were hit or miss at most and the Sega Master System as well as its three previous predecessors were completely non-existence to me. The Game Gear was okay just didn't get as many support as I would want, the Pico was a toy, and the Nomad though good wasn't that comfortable or compatible with most Genesis stuff.

As arcade games are my thing the Dreamcast wins hands down for me I know the Saturn had its fair share of arcade games but the ones that were released in the west usually got an upgrade on Dreamcast anyway. Mega drive was my first console and I still have it whilst it’s an amazing console the Dreamcast still pips it for me the official arcade stick and a Dreamcast with capcom and SNK fighters is my idea of gaming heaven

Mega Drive/Genesis for sure. Great library during a wonderful time to be into gaming. My second pick would be the Saturn. I loved that thing when it was current. Surprisingly good library. The biggest knock from me would that be that many of its great games are arcade ports than can now be played elsewhere. Dreamcast was great, but I preferred the games that were made during the Saturn era. Just a matter of timing there. Also, the DC controller was a sad step down to me.

@WhiteTrashGuy No doubt. They had major problems between their Japanese and western branches at the time. Really makes you wonder what today's gaming landscape would be like if they went all in on the Saturn at the time worldwide.

@sdelfin the Dreamcast pad is pretty bad it’s useable not bad for racers it’s very similar to the Saturn analog controller which again was great for racing games but the Saturn controller was and probably still is the best for fighters

@Gamecuber
Some Game Boy games had saves. Mega Drive cartridges were more expensive than Game Boy cartridges. Sega were just being cheap. I traded in most of my arcade games because the high scores were not saved.

Mega Drive. I really liked the Saturn as well, but it's hard to explain how cool the Mega Drive was in the beginning.

Those early days hold so many memories for me. I remember standing in Comet playing Altered Beast and trying out Spider-Man in the Co-op, then I actually got my own one with Golden Axe and Revenge of Shinobi. Loads of my neighbours came round to play Sonic, and I used to borrow Castle of Illusion and Quackshot from my other neighbour. Reading about the latest games in Sega Pro and Mean Machines. I even loved the way the little "Sega" logo drew itself before a game started. I know it's rose-tinted but they really were amazing times.

I love the Dreamcast dearly, and one of my prized possessions is one that I modded with a MODE.

But you just can't deny the impact the Genesis/Mega Drive had. It has a fantastic library of games, and the punchy arcade-like vibe of most of them really makes the console feel fun and accessible — ready to go any time you want to just have some fun for an hour or two.

The Genesis is probably my most-played classic console. It's an easy winner here.

@Gs69 Yes, I agree. The Saturn had a better layout and fantastic D-pad for fighting games and other games that benefited from precise, reliable digital input. For games using the analog stick and triggers(like racing games, as you mentioned), the DC pad was not bad, aside from the loss of two buttons. The L and R triggers weren't as durable though. I've never been hard on my stuff and had a trigger break on me while playing Virtual On 2. I've been inside the Saturn 3D pad to compare and saw that the design is different and looks more durable overall.

I voted for the Saturn as it's my favorite Sega console. I think it's hard to argue against the Genesis as the best since it was popular and had a ton of support, and therefore a lot of great games. Dreamcast had an amazing lineup considering it was only supported for 2 years - it definitely has the best first party games of their history I would argue.

Dreamcast could have been a contender, if it had DVD playback capability. PS2 knocked everybody else aside with that Trojan horse strategy. DC really was an amazing system. The graphics were just beautiful at launch compared to anything else out there. On 9.9.99 I bought a piece of the future, and it was sweet. I've always been a Nintendo main, but I sure miss when Sega made consoles.

I voted for Mega Drive because it was my first and I have so many great memories from it. Back then I didn't know much about consoles so didn't know the Dreamcast was a thing. Would have really loved to have had one had I known.

I almost bought a Dreamcast recently till I realised how expensive everything was and most games were ported to Xbox anyway

Genesis for me. It was the Sega console that I put the most time into, and it had so many awesome games. I would've loved to have a Dreamcast back in the day, though.

The Sega Saturn for me, when taking into account it's huge Japanese library it has an amazing selection of games, many of which are still exclusive. And the combination of VDP1/2 created a look that is still unique in gaming.

That said the Megadrive was a 16Bit dream and the Dreamcast felt like having a truly high powered arcade machine at home as well as feeling like the last truly huge generational leap

Tough call, personally i love the Saturn and Dreamcast. But I'm going on success and the sheer amount of awesome games, the Megadrive has to be king.

@Grail_Quest
Sega did plan a Dreamcast DVD payer. But they never released it. If you google Dreamcast DVD player, there's pictures and a video of it at a game show.

Dreamcast, obviously.

@UK_Kev

"There was a lot of arcade games on the MD/Genesis. It would have been great if your scores on those were saved."

well sure. but, your contention is that nostalgia is only reason that people are going to look past lack of high score saves and vote MD/gen, and my sarcastic reply was to point out that that is absurd.

hey look! i did it again. 😊

I selected Genesis/Mega Drive because that's the classic definitive Sega console. Then it's easily the Dreamcast at the #2 spot. After that probably the Sega CD.

@-wc-
Nostalgia makes people forget negatives. In the Mega Drive's case, it makes people forget that the Mega Drive controller isn't that great. It makes people forget the SNES had the better library. It makes people forget that the games didn't look that good on TV screens at the time. (Most gamers connected their MDs/Genesis' via an RF cable.) And it makes people forget how annoying it is when you can't play another game until someone else has seen your high score.

Those negatives are forgotten about because people play MD/Genesis games on modern systems without those issues.

They're all awesome. I'm going to go weep in the corner now for what could of been.

Seriously though that's a really hard choice but I'd have to say probably the MegaDrive. It's just a classic with an amazing library of games.

@UK_Kev Gotta disagree with you there, especially on the "SNES had a better library" comment, which is highly subjective. I always thought the Genesis had the better library, it's got far more games that I consider favorites and classics of mine. That and it had Sega Channel, a revolutionary concept for the time, and something really made it standout above competitors. To top it off, it always looked great on TV's of the era, no worse than the SNES at least, so I have no idea what you're going on about there.

Genesis by a mile. For the simple reason it had the most amount of quality games.

The Dreamcast was so far ahead of its time that its features were antiquated once time caught up. That was only a year later with the PS2, which featured a DVD player, while internet access was more widespread for those interested in online play. The modem built into the Dreamcast was, while sounding nice at the time, was redundant for most people. Sega, following the Saturn debacle, still had trust issues, and silly things like the controller cord out the wrong way and even the VMU gimmick reinforced doubts and that perhaps Sega had rushed Dreamcast simply to get out before the PS2. Many of the games were of the gimmick/arcade nature, and even with a noted favourite like Daytona, the first one was average. Of course, in trying to launch ahead of the PS2 meant that the inevitable PS2 (which was already announced) would likely be superior, so people waited. The rest is history.

@UK_Kev

you're probably right! i still play my genesis, so i guess im just happy in my own little world. i still think MD/gen has earned it, if it wins. though again i voted for dreamcast : )

btw youd never see me argue that SNES wasnt the superior console, but genesis is like the perfect salty to SNES's sweet! i love them both to pieces.

@HalBailman

being a Dreamcast early adopter was an incomparable joy! no year of gaming in my life before or since was anything like the y2000.

if you like arcade games, dreamcast was and still is the ultimate home system ever made. its a shame, as in my mind the DC and PS2 werent even really after the same audience. i have no doubt that sega would have an easier time marketing and selling such a device now, than they did in 1999.

i did eventually get a ps2 and fall completely in love with it, but the DC always has a special place in my heart.

@UK_Kev I had a launch version of the Genesis and I would have agreed with you back in the day that the SNES was superior and in terms of tech specs, it was. I really wanted a SNES and SF2 after playing SF2 in an arcade and I all but forgot about my Genesis.

However, it's not just nostalgia, I find myself going back to the Genesis way more than the SNES and I play on original hardware a lot of the time. I couldn't care less about high scores, unless I was in an arcade, it just didn't matter and I would say it still doesn't.

As someone said, the game quality is subjective. There's good and bad on both consoles. The Genesis model 1 is also one of the coolest console designs ever.

@JayJ
"To top it off, it always looked great on TV's of the era, no worse than the SNES at least, so I have no idea what you're going on about there."

RF cables (which the majority of MD/Genesis payers used) never looked great.

@Hexapus
The SNES had the better graphics and sound chips. But the MD/Genesis' CPU was more than twice as powerful. Giving each a different strength.

High scores matter little to me now.

Game libraries are subjective. But if you take in the number of games that review well, instead of personal favourites, the SNES beats the Genesis.

For me it's the Dreamcast, but they've all got some great games that make them worth playing on, especially the MegaDrive, Saturn and GameGear.

Genesis and Dreamcast are always the ones voted for, so I gave my vote to Game Gear as it was my first Sega and the one I spent the most time playing as a kid and collecting for as an adult.

My top 5:

• Game Gear
• Genesis
• Dreamcast
• Sega CD
• Saturn

I owned all Sega consoles released here in the UK with the exception of the Saturn because for the most part when it was out no where in my local area stocked it and the ones that did stopped by the time the N64 hit shelves in early 1997. So it's the only one I have no nostalgia for or experience with outside of emulation.

The Dreamcast probably came and went to quickly and suffered from ports of PS1 games that really held back the system before the PS2 killed it off.

That being said overall the Megadrive was by far the best for me as it had some fantastic exclusive games and I spent countless hours replaying certain ones and even today I enjoy discovering ones I overlooked back then.

I can't rate this fairly, I admit that. My First Sega system I owned was Dreamcast. So it's what get's my vote. Not because I'm youngin or something. No, we didn't have Sega in my house.

I will also remember my dad brought one home and proceeded to hook it up and then said it wasn't compatible with our TV. My excitement quickly turned to disappointment, So he returned it, never getting to experience it in my home. I, of course, played it at a friend's house or youth group, but that was just short bursts.

For my 18th I got a Dreamcast, mear days before they announced it would be discontinued. So Sega and have history. LoL. But I did enjoy my Dreamcast for a bit. Mostly for LightGun games. Those where a blast, and why Dreamcast gets my vote

The Mega Drive is Rocky to the SNES’ Apollo Creed. It may not have won the fight, but it went the distance against the champ and had a hell of a lot of heart that people loved (and still do to this day).

Mega Drive for me. I can still remember seeing Sonic running for the first time and standing there in amazement. I wish Sega would release a new little handheld a bit bigger than a phone, call it the Nomad 2 with Mega Drive/Genesis colours and another with Dreamcast colours. They can pop a few classics on there, release some digital only new releases for it, and some physical multi-carts.

You're missing the console I wanted to vote for, the Sega Multimega - combining the best of the Mega Drive and the Sega CD in one great package.

@UK_Kev A lot of people used RF cables for the SNES as well, that was a limitation with a lot of 80's and early 90's TV. The Genesis came with RCA cables, at least the gen 2 and 3, and I used that most of the time so I have no idea why you are going on about RF cables.

For me it is the Master System as it was my first console, only had a few games, so played Sonic (Built into my Master System II) to death and wrote down my scores in the back of the manual, then tried to beat it on the next run.

I was responding to your quote, "It always looked great on TV's of the era, no worse than the SNES at least."

The majority of gamers used RF back then. RF cables didn't look or sound great. But they did the job.

@Hikingguy
Most people use what comes in the box.

@UK_Kev I still don't see how that fits into any argument.

I first mentioned RF when talking about nostalgia. It wasn't to do with any argument.

Ignoring commercial success and judging only by the games, it's a tough battle between Megadrive, Saturn and Dreamcast. I have fond memories with all those console and their games, but the Megadrive had the most impressive library of all the three, and that's my vote.

If only Saturn and Dreamcast had more time/support they could have topped the Genesis.