I am thoroughly convinced

"Nibbles" (nibbles) 05/15/2015 at 19:35 • Filed to: sega does wat nintendon't

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The only reason the Super Nintendo sounded better than the Genesis back in the day is because sound systems back then were shit. Been listening to various soundtracks as of late and, save a select few (which may only seem better because nostalgia), the Genesis’ chip created much better music by far.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > Nibbles 05/15/2015 at 19:41

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Pretty sure it was also the blast processing.

Nibbles > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 05/15/2015 at 19:47

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Don’t get me wrong; the SNEZ had better graphics overall. The Mode7 chip was groundbreaking in itself. Unfortunately for some reason most games that came out looked rather cartoony and didn’t really use the hardware to its full potential. Genesis did better in the gritty, functional graphics department.

StoneCold > Nibbles 05/15/2015 at 19:55

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Do those select few exceptions include the Donkey Kong Country series?

Nibbles > StoneCold 05/15/2015 at 19:59

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I’ve never played the Donkey Kong Country series, so no. I will listen to them in Glorious 32kHz Stereo™ and provide an opinion

jariten1781 > Nibbles 05/15/2015 at 20:08

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Genesis sounded better through our hi-fi. Also the model one Genesis sounded best out the headphone jack which people didn’t know to use... SNES was better everywhere else, especially shitty built in speakers on our el-cheapo Zenith/RCA TVs, but even on decent minisystems. Most people just used the tv speakers.

Nibbles > jariten1781 05/15/2015 at 20:32

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Makes perfect sense. The S-SMP chip in the SNES is capable of producing 8 separate channels in 16-bit stereo. A good number until you realize that has to be split for both music and sound effects. The Genesis, on the other hand, uses the Yamaha YM2612 for music, which can output 6 separate channels of 16-bit stereo, and the TI SN76489 for sound effect processing, allowing the Genesis to provide more discrete tracks for music. Couple that with the discrete controller (Zilog Z80) and it’s understandable why the Genesis sounds better.

Nibbles > StoneCold 05/15/2015 at 20:35

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After listening to DKC1 and DKC3 at least partially through, I can honestly say no. These are actually good examples of why the SNES doesn’t produce better sound than the Genesis. Especially DK3. For being a 1996 game, it certainly sounds 1992. Maybe the designers stopped caring by that point but the majority of what I listened to sounds like it could be easily reproduced by this:

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > Nibbles 05/15/2015 at 20:40

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Yes. SNES always looked cartoony. And the sound... so much reverb it sounded like you were in a cathedral. It tried too hard to sound real.