Snesmd
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

For kids growing up in the '90s, there was one debate that ruled the playground - Sega Vs. Nintendo - and now thanks to a brand new video from the YouTuber Retro Comparisons, we have perhaps the most definitive visual comparison between the Super Nintendo and the Mega Drive/Genesis yet.

The video compares the 329 games which were all available for both systems, as well as a selection of additional unreleased titles. Clocking in at a whopping 3 hours, it's a bum-numbingly long watch, but one that shows off some of the key differences between the two system's libraries in action. It's also ordered alphabetically, so if you don't have the time to sit around through the whole thing (who can blame you!) you can jump around to look for something more specific.

Watching the video simply confirmed a lot of what we already knew about the two machines. While the SNES could output a higher number of colours and had better sound, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis had a higher resolution and a faster processor, and these factors often come into play when watching these side-by-side comparisons.

You can see this when comparing licensed games like Mickey Mania, Toy Story, or AAAHH!! Real Monsters. These actually play slightly harder on the Super Nintendo compared to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis versions of the game, because you're less likely to see what's ahead of you due to the system's 4:3 aspect ratio and percentage of the stage being shown.

Hardware pros and cons aside, there are also other points to consider too, which this video brings up through its choice of games: namely art direction and design. The video shows multiple titles, like Aladdin, Animaniacs, and Jurassic Park, which received drastically different games depending on the console.

In these cases, it's really going to be a matter of taste (and let's be honest, nostalgia) that decides what you prefer. Nevertheless, we're glad that someone went to the effort to make a video detailing these differences so we can spend our day putting these games (and our memories) through the wringer!

[source youtu.be]