I've been wanting to make a blog for a while discussing my five favorite video game platforms of all time, but just never posted it. The gaming consoles I enjoyed most do have a special place in my heart (all because I had so much fun with them), so I pretty much enjoy talking about them whenever. There's no denying my list and views will be very different from many people. I'm not using backwards compatibility to determine which console is better (or games being ported hurting a console).

1. PlayStation

I know many would put PS2 above PS1. While I could possibly say that now after going back through games on both platforms (mostly because a bunch of certain PS1 games won't hold up now), PS1 definitely had the biggest impact on me gaming wise. It was the platform that wowed me the most, and the platform that got me into the most new genres. Before owning a PS1, I was mostly a platform, somewhat RPG, Mortal Kombat, licensed games, etc. type gamer. I got my PS1 for Christmas back in 1995 and it certainly was memorable (being the first console that had no RF adapter support, so I had to find a TV that supported A/V, lol).

The main reason PS1 is my favorite platform of all time is having my favorite installments of many of my favorite franchises. Three of my favorite games of all time are all PS1 exclusives (FFVII, Xenogears, and FFIX). PS1 was the first to get my favorite Castlevania game, my favorite Mega Man game (was also on Saturn too at the time, MM X4), my favorite Breath of Fire (BoFIV), Suikoden (II), etc. It also had the majority of my favorite JRPGs of all time, which is definitely my favorite genre. It also got me into flight games more (with how awesome Ace Combat was), 3D fighters (with how great Tekken was, especially the 3rd), music games (PaRappa The Rapper was totally unique at the time), racers which weren't kart (playing Ridge Racer and Wipeout at launch was amazing), many action games (such as MGS), sports games when in 3D, etc. Also the first platform I saw many series I love today such as Hot Shots Golf, Twisted Metal (minus 3 and 4 which Single Trac did not make), Silent Hill (maybe not as much anymore), Resident Evil, Suikoden, etc. Platform genre was the only genre I wasn't too impressed with on PS1 (Crash, Spyro, and Ape Escape were all fun, but nothing like Super Mario 64 and NiGHTs to an extent IMO). What also really helped PS1 was many of my favorite SNES games were also brought to PS1 (even if the loading sucked).

While the loading sucked in early PS1 games (and some games had control issues before the analog stick came), the audio quality was superb. I was amazed by FMVs in games (which I never saw before), loved seeing games evolve to 3D (like Final Fantasy), loved having playable demo disks were easy to obtain, and so on. There's no denying I also just really loved the PS1 controller, and was so glad rumble didn't require batteries.

2. PlayStation 2

With my huge love for PS1, I was instantly sold on PS1. However, just shortly after launch (when I could finally find one), I was extremely disappointed in it. Many of its launch games didn't impress me like PS1 games did at launch, and many games it had were sequels to PS1 games (which weren't as good IMO, and at full price). But after around 8-9 months, PS2 started to finally pick up. After over a year is when the console started to become a little special to me.

The main reason I loved PS2 was the massive quantity of awesome games on multiple genres. It had great fighters, great JRPGs, great racers, great platforms (definitely a improvement on PS1), great music games, great action games, etc. As much as I love PS2, I'll honestly admit it lacked my absolute favorite games of all time which I'd rank in the top 5-10 I played of all time (too many felt like I've played before, but with better graphics. Also, too many of my favorite series saw a decline such as Mega Man X, FF after X, Wipeout, Ridge Racer, Suikoden, Wild Arms, etc.). Regardless of that, PS2 still had a ton of JRPGs I just really loved (like Kingdom Hearts games, Xenosaga games, FFX, Star Ocean: TTEOT, etc.), along with some new action games such as Zone of the Enders series. PS2 was also the platform I owned the most games for (200+) and could easily own more. PS2 was probably the gaming platform I played most overall, and the one I re-bought in 2002 still works great today (300 of those hours went into DDR games alone). Despite me ranking PS2 at number 2, it could very well be my favorite console of all time, but its initial impression along with some series disappointing me hurt a bit.

3. Super Nintendo

The first gaming platform I ever bought the year of release (got it in 1991) and easily one of my favorites. I loved the SNES as a kid and still love it now. I played Super Mario World all day when I got it for Christmas, and I still sometimes like to play it now.

The Super Nintendo was a very quality console to me. Its 2D sprites looked great and still hold up well today. Its sound quality was great. It had some awesome platform games. SNES definitely has multiple games which would make my all time favorite game list, such as Secret of Mana (my 4th favorite JRPG ever), best Chrono Trigger version, FFIV, FFVI, Lufia II, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Super Bomberman 2 (possibly my favorite Bomberman, since I never played the Saturn one), Super Mario Kart, etc. Only thing that hurt SNES was that many games never came stateside I would have loved, and I didn't have all that much money at times for games (also, Lego was my main hobby as a kid so less money/time spent on games). Super Nintendo also had awesome sequels to NES games I liked such as Contra III, Super Castlevania IV, Mega Man 7 (Mega Man X1-3 were also really awesome), FFIV, Legend of Zelda: Lttp, etc. I could easily buy up a ton of SNES games on VC.

Overall, the SNES was just all sorts of awesome and still rocks now. Although, between PS1 and PS2, it had the fewest games I liked (partially because many stayed Japan only).

4. Dreamcast

To an extent I may be placing the Dreamcast too high, but the console was just really loved by me. I bought mine at Midnight on 9/9/99, and loved it since the beginning (had either my favorite or second favorite launch line-up ever). I enjoyed its triggers (L and R, more so than on Saturn) and loved the VMU display (even if most games didn't utilize it). The Dreamcast turned me from being a huge Sega hater to a Sega lover.

The three main reasons I loved Dreamcast were its perfect Arcade ports, new original games, and great multi-player console. Dreamcast was home to tons of awesome arcade games, such as Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead II, Virtual On: OT, etc. Many of them looked just as great on DC as they did in the arcade (due to the Naomi arcade board). Also was an awesome console for fighters (with Power Stone, Tech Romancer, Project Justice, many vs. and Street Fighter games, SNK games, Soul Calibur was beyond amazing, etc.), had some good shooters (like Gunbird 2, GigaWing 1 and 2, and Mars Matrix), pretty good racers, and awesome exclusive sports (NBA 2K and NFL 2k were better than EA sports IMO). Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 were great Sonic games at the time (not so much now IMO, but better than other 3D Sonic games). In the new/original games area, Jet Grind Radio was beyond amazing when I played it (with its graphics and unique gameplay...I prefer it to JSRF on Xbox), Shenmue felt like a real life, Samba DeAmigo shaking the maracus, playing Phantasy Star Online for free (I felt PSO was the best online PS game), and others. I felt Dreamcast graphics were definitely impressive at the time, although started to pale once Xbox came out (and PS2 and GC started to mature). Multi-player support was awesome on Dreamcast, where most games were best played with 2 people.

What does hurt DC a little was its JRPGs (only 3 good ones IMO, while some were beyond horrible IMO like Time Stalkers), and it just didn't get to see all that many games due to it short lifespan. I was extremely sad to see it die. While most games have been ported elsewhere now, it still had a great lineup of games.

5. Gameboy Advance

GBA is kind of a surprise pick because I hated the original GBA design (no backlight) and I'll admit many of its good games early on were ports (especially on SNES). While I use to mostly play GBA on my GB Player (GC) on the TV, I ended up playing it more than any other handheld I owned. The GBA was excellent at bringing 2D gaming back.

Main reason I love the GBA is having awesome games in series I love (even if too many). It had great Mega Man games (early Battle Network games, Zero games, and Mega Man & Bass was awesome), Castlevania games (Circle of the Moon & Aria of Sorrow were awesome), some good FF games (I truly loved FF Tactics Advance), Sonic games (all Sonic Advance games were fun), and so on. It had excellent ports of SNES games I loved (outside of sound quality). It had tons of 2D JRPGs published by ATLUS I loved (like Summon Night Swordcraft Story, Super Robot Wars, Lufia Ruins of Lore, etc.). Konami Krazy Racers was a ton of fun. I felt Nintendo's first party games were top notch on GBA, with Golden Sun games, Fire Emblem games, Advance Wars games, Mario Golf: Advanced Tour, Wario Ware, and so on.

While the sound quality was not that great (ruined some ports like FFIV) and there were a ton of horrible games out there, the good games really made me feel like I was playing SNES again. While many love the DS (not trying to knock it), I still haven't had anywhere near the same love for it as GBA.

So why aren't some platforms listed?

The main two people probably wonder why I didn't list are NES and Genesis. The NES might have made the list if I played it before 1990. When I got my NES in 1990, while I loved Super Mario Bros. 1 and 3, Little Nemo, Mega Man, Zelda, Castlevania, Contra, etc., I honestly didn't get into too many series outside of them. Mostly, I played games on SNES first, and going back to NES wasn't easy (due to not having as good graphics or sound). Many NES JRPGs are just too old for me (never really got into DQ or FF much on NES). I think the NES is a great platform, just that I didn't get into it much.

As far as the Genesis is concerned, part of it related to me being a huge SNES fan for years, where most multi games were better on SNES to me (outside of Mortal Kombat), wasn't really a fan of the controller, and got into it late. With the Genesis, I honestly really only knew about Sonic and Mickey Mouse games (bought my Genesis in 1993). While I went back later to play Streets of Rage, a bunch of Sega arcade games, some JRPGs (such as Phantasy Star and Shining Force), many (outside of Streets of Rage) weren't like as much as similar games on SNES. Genesis Sonic games were tons of fun.

Saturn is actually a decent contender having a few of my favorite games, but it honestly just didn't have enough. I liked GC, Xbox, etc. too, but missing holes in some areas.

I honestly didn't include any of the current consoles because they are still gaining games, and I'm honestly not sure where I'd rank them just yet. I definitely believe 4 of them can battle this list.

Honestly, I'll admit what helped PS1 so much was Squaresoft. They were just so awesome back then, but now it just isn't the same (started to decline last gen).