Let's Look Back at the 1st–5th Generation of Consoles

[Moonface]

With the launches of the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 less than a week away, I thought it'd be fun to have a discussion series on the different console generations to have a look back at everything since our experiences with the new consoles are going to filter in as we buy them and spend more time with them at our own individual paces. For this first thread, I'm going to have it cover every generation up to and including the 5th just because I know not everyone here will have a lot of experience with all of these generations, so I feel this will be the best way to get a decent discussion going. I plan to give the 6th, 7th, and 8th gens their own thread since I know everyone has experienced those and I expect will have a lot more to share about those individual generations.

So what are your fond memories with anything from the 1st–5th Generation of Consoles? Do you have a favourite system? Memorable games/moments? Since I expect most of us got our first console from one of these generations, how was that moment? How'd you get it? What did you get? What did you first play?

I don't have a large amount of experience with all the generations this thread covers, since the only system I owned from all of them was the PlayStation. I didn't really know Nintendo existed, and I don't even recall playing on one as a child. The only other system I played on was probably the Sega Genesis at a hospital, which had Sonic the Hedgehog on it. I remember liking it, but not to the point I wanted one for myself probably because I only played it due to not much else to do with yourself in a children's hospital play area except playing with whatever other toys were around.

I think I got my PlayStation for Christmas in 1996, since it came with Rayman and Street Racer and the latter didn't release in the EU until December '96 on PlayStation. Being only 6 I can't really remember my reaction to getting it, but I do know it was immediately set up and me, my brother and my dad all played the shit out of it. I don't know when I got it but this demo disc was one of the most iconic things for the PlayStation for me that wasn't an actual game:



That demo got me into so many games.

[ShiraNoMai]

Man that demo is such a product of its time

I started off my life playing in the 4th generation of games with the Super Nintendo that I was either gifted as a hand-me-down or brand new, not sure, but it came from my brother, who was moving out and I guess didn't want to play games at the time?

Other than that, I didn't play much else from the gens prior. 5th gen is where I started playing a bit more, with the Nintendo 64, the GameBoy Color, and PlayStation coming out. I didn't own a PlayStation, but my best friend at the time had one (well, his dad did, but then he passed away so it became his) so I got to play some things on that, though not the classics as most have.

[Eric]

Man, the hard bevel and shadow effects on EVERYTHING on that demo load menu lol. I didn't have a PS1 but I remember playing my cousin's demo disc that came with the original Spyro, MedEvil, and some trailer for whatever Resident Evil game was coming out at the time. I had to be around 4 or 5 yrs old so course kid me never grew tired of playing the same level over, and over, and over...lol

My console of choice (or rather, lack of choice since we were poor) was the Nintendo 64. Man, I loved Donkey Kong 64 and Majora's Mask. Those are THE games of my childhood. I didn't own a console before that, but I know that my dad owned a NES since I saw it collecting dust in the garage at one point. I wish I had enough points in Persuasion at age 6 to prevent him from selling it.

[Mr EliteL]

Ah, that demo takes me back and the many more we had during that time in PS1 era.

As Atari 2600 discontinued in '92 and I was born '91 my family must of had before or something, I don't know when we got it. So perhaps it was for my brother as he was....4 or 5 at the time. I've mentioned the game I remember from this console a few times before but my brother, sister and I not knowing what was going on in Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark and laughing our heads off whenever we were chased by whatever this black thing is meant to be.  I did watch a completed play-through sometime ago on YouTube, but I still couldn't tell you anything about what to do.


PlayStation I think we may have got the console in one of these years; '94, '95 or '96. Best moments are of my and my siblings playing the three Tekken games (my Dad also joined in, he liked playing Jack), Road Rash, Bust-A-Move 2, Twisted Metal 2, Worms and Worms Armageddon. I also played with my brother sometimes on his games like TOCA Touring Cars, FIFA '98, Formula 1 games and I really liked Newman Haas Racing too where we'd play as teammates or once or twice in different teams.

A moment I'm kind of embarrassed to tell but to heck with it for old time sake, was when really young and playing Tekken 2, Yoshimitsu was my favourite character at the time to the point of me crying as I watched Kuma use his grab move when he bites into the opponent and KO'in my Yoshimitsu. Playing Team Battle with my bro and sister at the time. I would later get better at the game than them so I would usually win later unless I played Random and got a character I'm useless with, or went easy on them so they would keep playing.

[Moonface]

A moment I'm kind of embarrassed to tell but to heck with it for old time sake, was when really young and playing Tekken 2, Yoshimitsu was my favourite character at the time to the point of me crying as I watched Kuma use his grab move when he bites into the opponent and KO'in my Yoshimitsu. Playing Team Battle with my bro and sister at the time. I would later get better at the game than them so I would usually win later unless I played Random and got a character I'm useless with, or went easy on them so they would keep playing.

I have a stupid story to chip in here. When I was first playing Crash Bandicoot 2, there's a cutscene with N. Brio where he tells Crash that with the gems, he'll be able to "create a laser beam that'll destroy the space station to smithereens". The audio isn't super clear to begin with, plus Brio speaks with a maniacal twitch, and kid me misheard it that he was going to destroy my PlayStation instead and I turned the game off because I was scared if I kept playing something would happen to it. The fact I was 7 when the game came out just makes it worse.

[ShiraNoMai]

I love your cute stories I don't think I've had ones as silly as those, but one of my most vivid memories was facing Big Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Island at like 4 or 5 years old. I remember what were probably my first heart palpitations when he would get closer and closer to the screen the more I missed the egg shots to kill him I would get nightmares about it later.

[Dragon Lord]

I grew up on the SNES, and I'm glad I did. I don't think I would have become as much of a gamer as I am today if I grew up as much on the N64 or the PS1. The SNES and it's amazing library of games really set in stone my love of gaming. I also had access to an Atari 2600 that I played a lot when I was young as well. I also had experience with the NES, but not as much as other systems.

In addition to the SNES, I also had a Sega Genesis for a good chunk of my childhood (still have it today and it still works, though I don't have it hooked up at the moment). Although I didn't play the Genesis as much as the SNES, it had some game I absolutely loved on it. Though I didn't get any more SEGA consoles after the Genesis, so no Dreamcast or anything for me, so overall my experience with SEGA systems is very limited.

So yeah, I'm very happy that I can say that the SNES is what hooked me on gaming. Even though now days I prefer PlayStation or PC, it was Nintendo that got me hooked. I still go back and play a lot of my favorite SNES games as well, they'll always be enjoyable no matter how many times I play through them.

[Moonface]

I love your cute stories I don't think I've had ones as silly as those, but one of my most vivid memories was facing Big Baby Bowser in Yoshi's Island at like 4 or 5 years old. I remember what were probably my first heart palpitations when he would get closer and closer to the screen the more I missed the egg shots to kill him I would get nightmares about it later.

I don't think I've ever had nightmares from a game. At least not from those that aren't horror games. The only horror games I played on PS1 were Nightmare Creatures (which wasn't really a scary game), Alien Trilogy, and Alien Resurrection. The last two were scary but both had cheats, which when you turn those on it doesn't take long for the game to stop being scary because nothing can hurt you, which for me is the big thing that gets me in horror games even now. Once I stop being scared about dying the only things left the game can get me with is maybe atmosphere if it's really, really good or a jumpscare.

I still go back and play a lot of my favorite SNES games as well, they'll always be enjoyable no matter how many times I play through them.

Which games did you enjoy the most on the SNES and Genesis? Also, were there any games you had/have on those systems (or the others) that you either disliked at the time, or went back to years later and found them to actually not be good games and/or have aged very poorly?

Same question can apply to anyone else who wants to throw their two cents in on it.

[WR91]

I started off with the Super Nintendo as a kid. I loved it and it's what gave me the spark for the love of gaming.

Next my family and I got a original Nintendo Entertainment System. Duck Hunt was my jam.

Next, I got my favorite console of all time; the Nintendo 64. It is and was the reason I have stuck with gaming. Through the years I've owned 6 or 7 N64's. Mostly because I wanted to get the latest and greatest console or game system. But after awhile I missed playing some of my all-time favorites. So I bought it back time and time again.

Then I got the original PlayStation. While a fun console, it never gave me the spark the N64 did. Classic nonetheless.

A little while later I got the Sega Genesis (model 2) at a garage Sale with Ms. Pac-Man. It was fun for what it was but that was the only game I ever owned for it. So it's not as memorable as the others were/are.

The only console I have yet to get that I have grown a liking to in recent years is the Atari Jaguar. It looks like a fun little console that many have crapped on for what looks like no reason.

[Moonface]

@"WrestleRacer91": Where would you sell your old N64's? How much money do you think you spent on them all overall compared to how much you made back on the ones you sold?

[WR91]

@"WrestleRacer91": Where would you sell your old N64's? How much money do you think you spent on them all overall compared to how much you made back on the ones you sold?

EB Games/GameStop back in the late 90's and early 2000's. As for how much I've spent vs how much I got back is way too much to even think about. But lets just say I would trade in my N64 and like 10-15 games and get back like $50-$80. So yeah, I got screwed a lot.

[Mr EliteL]

@"WrestleRacer91" It's safe to say you'll never sell an N64 ever again? Apart from the...absolutely worse situation. Assuming you still own that 6th/7th N64. Man you must've really needed the money when getting the latest console to consider selling them, I would've thought just the once. Still good to hear your connection to the console never died.

[WR91]

@"WrestleRacer91" It's safe to say you'll never sell an N64 ever again? Apart from the...absolutely worse situation. Assuming you still own that 6th/7th N64. Man you must've really needed the money when getting the latest console to consider selling them, I would've thought just the once. Still good to hear your connection to the console never died.

That's the sad thing though. I didn't need the money. Time after time I just wanted to "move on" from the older consoles and head into the next gen but without fail, the "old" gen kept bringing me back and pulling me in. Yeah, I know it's dumb. But it is what it is.

[Moonface]

I will say one thing about at least the 5th generation (can't speak for the earlier ones) is that the consoles were clearly built to last. I feel like every generation that followed the 5th had so many hardware issues that weren't a thing beforehand.

[ShiraNoMai]

Probably has to do with the fact that they use significantly less fragile and complicated parts to them for them to operate. The "primitive" nature of the parts keeps the longevity strong, I imagine. It's how games that get increasingly more complex with different branching systems and AI tend to be more buggy than more basic, simple titles.