Console Wars! - Gen 3, NES vs MasterSystem

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my opinions on consoles of each generation, and I figured it would be cool to start a little series of posts doing comparisons between the main consoles of each generation.

I'll be judging the systems in the following metrics: Hardware power, game library, input method/controller, features and long-term support.

I'll not be factoring in sales because that makes things a little too simple. For instance I'll be starting with the 3rd generation on this post, which means Master System vs. NES, obviously the NES Would win on sales so I feel like it's not fair to compare that.

Anyway, without further ado, let's go on to it.

• Hardware Power

This one is a bit simple, the Master System takes the cake easily. Why? Well, its Zilog Z80 processor runs at 3.58mhz whilst the NES's Ricohs 2A03 and 2A07 run at 1.79 and 1.66mhz respectively.

For graphics the NES can do 256x240 pixels with 25 colors simultaneously out of a palette of 54 colors.
The Master System can do 256x192 pixels, which is ever so slightly more than the NES and it can do 32 colors on screen simultaneously from its palette of 64 colors.
On the sound department the NES wins by a narrow margin for having more channels, but the sound quality in practice on both of them is nearly identical.
As for RAM, the Master System has 8KB of RAM and 16KB of VRAM which is largely superior to the NES' 2KB of work RAM and 2KB of VRAM (and also a 256 byte sprite ram).
However it's fair to note that NES can have its ram expanded by using mappers on cartridges and this was done extensively, which means games can go way beyond the limitations of the NES itself and it's something that showed itself a lot on the end of the NES' life cycle.

It's fair to say the Master System wins here but in my opinion most late NES games look way better than what the Master System had, it's not too much of a surprise as developers were squeezing every last drop of hardware power from the machine with mappers and other sorts of tricks but objectively speaking, without the help of external hardware, the Master System wins.

Master System 1x0 NES

• Game Library

/v/'s recommended games is a great website.

There is no contest here. Whilst the Master System had a great number of first party SEGA titles, the NES wins by a huge margin. The amount of third party support and Nintendo's exclusives just made it a much more compelling buy.
Even if SEGA's games were usually of very high quality, you simply didn't get the quality-quantity you got with the NES.
It's where legendary franchises such as Super Mario Bros., Contra, Castlevania and more got their start so there's really no way the Master System can beat the NES.

I'd say it's definitely worth checking out the library of both systems though, because they both played to different strengths and had very different styles of games. For instance, Phantasy Star was something completely mind-blowing for me as a game from that generation, but at the same time the NES had Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

Master System 1x1 NES

• Controllers

This is a more subjective question here, but in my opinion the NES had a better controller. Be it the Famicom or the NES, it simply felt better to hold and use, and specially the dpad was a lot better on the NES, which isn't really a surprise as Nintendo were the ones who invented the cross shaped dpad with the Game and Watch and held a patent for it back then.

There is also something else that really pisses me off about the Master System, and that is that the start button is on the console itself. I don't know what kind of blunt they were smoking for that decision but it's frankly quite ridiculous.
Later revisions of the Master System, specifically here in Brazil, come with a MegaDrive/Genesis style controller with the start button on the controller itself which makes things a lot better, but still, we had to wait quite a while to get that revision.

The light gun for both consoles is quite good however, I really like the design of the SEGA light phaser more than the zapper, but they're both good at what they have to do.

But anyways, simply because of its timeless design from the Japanese and American versions, and the inclusion of start and select buttons right on the controller, the NES takes the cake here.

Master System 1x2 NES

• Features

What do I mean exactly by "features"?
Well, it's anything that the console can do, be it regarding to games or things that aren't games.

For instance, both consoles could do 3D (depth perception, not polygons), but that was better utilized on the Master System as far as I'm aware as only two 3D NES games got world wide releases (Rad Racer and 3-D Battles of WorldRunner).

The Famicom handily beats the Master System with all things considered.
With the Family BASIC cartridge and keyboard for instance, you could transform your Famicon into a computer capable of running programs written in BASIC.
The Famicom also had a modem which allowed you to access stuff like banking, horse betting (JRA-PAT) and more.

Not to mention the legendary Famicom disk system which made the cost of getting new games a lot cheaper due to disks being cheaper but also gave the console added audio capabilities and the option to save your progress with its onboard RAM. The NES just wins all around on this one.

Master System 1x3 NES

• Long Term Support

This one is quite simple: The Master System is still being manufactured and sold in some markets such as Brazil thanks to TecToy. Meanwhile the NES was discontinued in 1995.

If you want to play NES games officially nowadays, your only option is through the Switch's online plan and its limited selection of titles or through the NES mini which isn't being sold anymore - or of course buying a system and praying that it still works after all these years.

Meanwhile the Master System still has new hardware being made with games built-in to that hardware just like the NES mini but usually with a far higher quantity of games, and the controller they're shipping with these new Master System variants is a Genesis styled controller with a start button.

Simply because of TecToy's commitment to keep the dream alive, the Master System wins here.
Even if both consoles have immortal game libraries and a huge significance on gaming history, the Master System is the only one still left standing.
I'm sure the next generations I cover will just have end dates for all consoles, but it's kinda crazy that the Master System is still going.

Master System 2x3 NES

• Rounding Off

Both consoles are simply great, with great game libraries, specially when factoring in first party titles but the NES wins.
This is quite unfortunate for me to admit as a huge SEGA fan, but there's no two ways about it. The game library, the controller and the extra gimmicks Nintendo added on top just simply make the NES/Famicom a more impactful system in gaming history - not to mention its popularity.

This was fun to write, and I hope to do more of these in the future, specially with generations I grew up with and didn't have to experience after the fact (which is the case with this generation).

Also keep in mind that whilst I'm trying to be objective, some subjectivity will always creep up and lead to me saying things that ring true only in my head - and in that case, feel free to call me out and dispute my claims or thoughts, in a civil manner of course, it's always fun to talk about these things.

But anyways, I've got some Alex Kidd and Mario Bros. 3 to play, gotta get going!

Thanks for reading!