The 10 Most Underrated Consoles (page 2/2)

Sega Master System

Released in 1986, a year after the NES, Sega's first home console would go on to sell more systems than either the Saturn or Dreamcast, but it would finish a distant second when compared to Nintendo's 8-bit victor. Still, the Master System enjoyed a decade of life in remote areas of the world thanks to several classics. Though largely forgotten, the Master System would lay the groundwork for the lovable Genesis.

Must-play games: Wonderboy, Shinobi, Alex Kidd (the system's unofficial mascot), Phantasy Star, Golden Axe Warrior, and even Street Fighter II (Who knew?)

PlayStation Portable

When you get your trash handed to you by a worthy opponent (Hi, DS!), surely you're a gaming failure, right? Wrong. Despite trailing the DS in total games, mindshare, and sales, the PSP is the most successful handheld not manufactured by Nintendo thanks to its ginormous screen, multimedia extendibility (read: MP3s, videos, and photos), and improving game library which consists of quirky originals, hardcore favorites, and PS2-like ports.

Must-play games: ROM emulators, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, LocoRoco, Patapon, God of War: Chains of Olympus

Atari 2600

While the NES gets all the retro love, it was actually the Atari 2600 that popularized modern home consoles. Its notable contributions to gaming included an iconic joystick (with just one button!), faithful ports of white-hot arcade sensations like Space Invaders and Pong, and the creation of mega-hit publisher Activision, formed by a gang of disgruntled ex-Atari employees. Looking past the vast amount of shovelware games (which the 2600 largely invented), it's no coincidence theVCS (Video Computer System) remains the longest-lived console in U.S. history with more than 14 years of official support.

Must-play games: Pong, Space Invaders, Pitfall, Adventure, Breakout, Yars' Revenge, and a whole lot more (but beware of crap)

GameCube

The GameCube is the worst-selling Nintendo system in history, save only the embarrassing Virtual Boy. Its casting was distressingly plastered in purple (a look that discouraged older gamers from buying), it suffered from a devastating year-long release drought, and it lacked some much-needed third-party support when compared to PS2 and Xbox. Even so, the GameCube served up some of the best first-party games of any Nintendo platform, SNES and N64 included, and was grossly underappreciated.

Must-play games: Eternal Darkness, Cellda, Metroid Prime, Paper Mario, Pikmin, Smash Bros. Melee, Resident Evil 4

Dreamcast

Sega left the hardware business with an influential bang in 2001, only two years after the release of the cherished Dreamcast. In spite of its brief shelf life, the Dreamcast yielded both offbeat and familiar game favorites in copious quantities. It also introduced console piracy with easy-to-copy discs (a factor that added to its cult following), and it paved the way for online console gaming (via built-in modem and optional Ethernet connector). Even to this day, the Dreamcast is a delight to play -- easily the most underrated console of all-time.

Must-play games: Jet Grind Radio, Crazy Taxi, Ikaruga, Power Stone, Samba de Amigo, Virtua Tennis, Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, 2K Sports, MDK II

See also:

Comments [106]

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Se7entySe7en

I definately miss my game gear. I loved that thing. I played Sonic and Batman Returns to death on that system. Hey where's the Sega Nomad on this list???

dlocdabudsmoka69

ahh to be a child again. all of these were the shit. how i miss my nes2 and my master system

Toneman

the Commodore 64 was literally the first living-room computer
I beg to differ... the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_VIC-20"]Vic 20 [/url]was the first. My dad bought one and I remember it well... it had a whopping 5k of RAM... and you could store data on audio cassettes! Good times!

AANTHUNDER

The Dreamcast is buy far one of my " most favorite console." It was unmatched in 2D fighting games, Fatal Fury: Mark of Wolves, Tech Romancer.SFIII are but a few of Dreamcast great fighting games. till this day Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is better on the Dreamcast than PS2 or Xbox Lets not forget the 3D games, Soul Calibur, Rival Schools: Project Justice. Dreamcast had its share of duds, Fighting Force 2, Seaman, and any cross platform game. But the Dreamcast graphics and game play started my love for gaming all over again. I have a good library of Dreamcast games and 3 working systems with controllers. The most underrated system of all time , Dreamcast.

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