Technically the MD contains all the components of the MS, so MD votes should also be counted as MS votes 
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Well, I couldn’t resist voting here! Here are my three favourite consoles and why:
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PlayStation 1 - I think PS1 came along at a perfect moment in my transition to my teenage years and as such hit my demography perfectly. Saturn was just a no show in my country and so I ended up with a PS1. I was blown away when wipEout was shown on a shop display and the whole console sold me into the 3D age. So many fantastic memories of Ridge Racers, wipEouts, Resident Evils, Tomb Raiders, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Dino Crisis, Tekkens and more. I played that console to death and the innovation just never stopped.
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Xbox 360 - I never though I’d love a new generation as much again after the PS1. But the 360 proved me wrong. So many great games that brought the HD era to consoles, as I’d dabbled in PC gaming prior to it. I was blown away with how user friendly the blades were and the ease of setting custom background music, the Xbox Live store, the super easy invites to game an chat. The whole online aspect of 360 was fantastic and I played endless hours online. You’d send og get and invite, press one button and you’d enter the chat party and start booting up the game. Red ring aside, I just played so many cool games that gen and made friends online. Good times. It even rivals my PS1 memories at times!
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Mega Drive - It’s hard to choose MD over SNES and vice versa. They still stand as the best console war ever. Taking great and simple concepts from the 8-bit era of NES and MS, with prettier 2D visuals and cool new games pushing the 2D even further. MD wins with cherished games like the Sonic trilogy, SOR trilogy, Shinobi, decent Outrun/Afterburner ports and lots of cool shmups. Everything about MD looked so cool and perfectly tuned into my age at the time with it’s edgy take on gaming.
That’s my top three!
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N64 - the first console I got as a kid. I know the games aren’t great and there aren’t that many of them but the nostalgia is strong and I love learning as much as I can about the system’s library.
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GBC - great battery life for two AA’s, kinda small screen but it at least doesn’t have ghosting and it feels great in your hands. Mario’s Picross and Mario Golf are great simple games and there’s such a deep library to explore. Do yourself a favour and grab one with an Everdrive.
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3DS - similar to the GBC but a more modern library and more Picross than you can poke a stick at.
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This is tough. I will narrow it down by only including retro consoles (let’s say pre-DC/PS2/GC/XB era), and doing three different console manufacturers in three different generations.
- Genesis/Mega Drive
Such a powerhouse of timeless 2d gaming. SNES is close but Sega CD games put the Genesis over the edge for me. I love the PCE/TG16 but it doesn’t have quite the cultural variety as those two. Neo Geo is awesome but being primarily an arcade format, it has the least varied line up by far.
- Playstation
The Saturn has been catching up for me and the Nintendo 64 has some amazing games that couldn’t have been done justice to on the competing consoles but the PS1 still ranks #1 for that console generation. It does so many things so well, both 2d and 3d.
- NES/Famicom
I consider the SMS a much closer contender than most people do and with a comparable “best ofs” list but I think the NES managed to surpass it overall with variety and number of good games. The 7800 isn’t in the same league as those two as it lacks ambitious titles and has a small library. I think of the XEGS more as a computer variant than a console since so many games require the full set with the keyboard but its line up isn’t NES/SMS level anyway.
Commodore computers and PC gaming had a huge impact on me but they don’t fit this thread. Various pre-NES consoles are underrated and had a major influence on me and gaming in general, too.
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Reminder that voting stops in a few days. Be sure to get your votes in!
Famicom/NES is #1.
The best there is, the best there was, the best there will ever be.
…
After that I can’t say really, everything else is an honourable mention:
- Gamecube
- DS
- Super Famicom
- Saturn
- Nintendo 64
- Dreamcast
- PS1
- Game Boy
- PC Engine
- Mark III
- Wii
- PS3
I think I mostly have clear favourites for most generations (eg SNES and Gamecube) with the exception of 32/64bit where I loved all three (four including Dreamcast) main consoles almost equally.
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I’m curious why the Mega Drive didn’t make that list of honourable mentions. It has a lot of overlap with the type of games on NES.
Hope I made it in time!
1 -Saturn. I was super excited when I eventually learned of it and collected a nice batch of games at the time. Since busting into the Japanese scene I’ve just continued grabbing games for it. My most played console and the one I have the most games for. Perfect controller, some nice experimental games and hardish to emulate. Also the PAL boot sound is nice. I would have really liked to have seen the hard ware used to full advantage.
What would a really nice, well designed game fully utilising it’s strengths have been like?
2- Megadrive. my first console that was my very own. Having grown up on Golden axe, final fight and shinobi the triple game cart I got with GA, shinobi and Streets 1 was the perfect way to get me. Having played a bit on one of my friends (as well as getting used to a lot on his master system, I was ever so ready for all that came along. And it was a nice machine that provided hours of amusement. I also love 2d Sonic
3- C64. My introduction into gaming. Not a console at all, but my dad bought one and I have fond memories playing it with him. Wizard of Wor 2, many many (possibly) pirated games and the glorious Ultima series (and all those damn discs and long loads). Oh and the music was generally surprisingly catchy and has influenced my taste ever since.
Honourable mentions:
Dreamcast (I spent my first real long time playing Skies of Arcadia)
PS2 and to a a lesser extent 3
It’s odd, thinking about the PS4, I like it, but really I’ve played far fewer games on it than others. BUT I have been way more selective with what I play.
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(definitely)
Let’s be real, there isn’t a single C64 or Amiga user in history that didn’t have a ton of copied disks. 
People used to bring disks to school and trade with friends, and meet at the kid’s house with two disk drives for disk copying sessions.
I remember my brother used to talk to the neighbors down the street over a CB radio, to arrange copying sessions lol.
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- NES
The NES is far and away my favorite retro console. It sparked my love for videogames that would carry through my life and eventually lead to my career. It fired up my creativity and gave me untold inspiration. I spent as much time drawing new characters and designing my own levels as I did playing it. My dad brought home a second hand unit in 1988 with a stack of games. Metroid, Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros, Excite Bike, Gumshoe, Double Dragon, Spy Hunter, 1942, Tetris, and Punchout were all in that first stack. I’m pretty sure you could hear my pupils dilate when they first fired that thing up. I was hooked. I was still pretty young when we got it so my previous experience with videogames was very limited. I think I’d done a fair amount of standing and looking at arcade games at the laundry mat or grocery store but the NES was on a completely new level. It’s also the genesis of modern gaming if you ask me. Sure, there were still hold overs from arcade design philosophy. But this was still the wild west of development and devs were trying EVERYTHING. I mean, there was a video-game Ouija board released for it. Aside from all the weird stuff this is where genres started to solidify. The platformer, shmup, jrpg, etc. started to coalesce during this time period. These weren’t the first ones but this is where they became what they would eventually be. It paved the way for the rest of the industry that followed. Absolutely pivotal system in my life and in the industry. It’s also still my favorite to collect for.
- PS1
I never owned a 16-bit system. Instead I made due playing with on my friend’s consoles at sleepovers and on weekends. I could have gotten a Sega Genesis when I was in the third or fourth grade for my birthday but I opted for a pellet gun instead. As a result of that I had to knuckle through the lean years of the late NES era although I did get some real gems like Mega Man 6 and Kirby. The wait was worth it because I got a PS1 the year it came out. My family didn’t have a ton of money so I had to sell off my NES collection to help pay for it. I considered it totally worth it at the time. The jump from an 8 to a 32 bit system was mind blowing. All my friends more or less got one that Christmas. I went out Christmas day and picked up DOOM: Playstation Special edition and spent my holiday break slaying demons. Graphics like that on a home console were something truly unique at the time. I grew up in a town where Sony had a disc manufacturing plant so there was actually a thriving PS1 black market at my middle school. Discs would walk off the line at the plant and a $5 bill could get you a copy of just about whatever they were printing at the time. Just the disc of course. I can remember snagging Spider, Jet Moto, Twisted Metal 2, and a handful of others this way. I was also fortunate that my dad worked at the plant which meant that he had access to their software library. He could check out two games a week for me and during the PS1 era I played a LARGE chunk of what got released for that system. It was a really special and unique time/place to be playing the PS1.
- SNES
This choice was really tough for me. SNES had an edge but the Sega Genesis what right behind it. Super Mario World and A Link to the Past solidified it. I played countless hours of those two games at my friends’ houses growing up and I have very fond memories of the 16-bit era even though I never owned one. I collect more for the Genesis now since it isn’t as cost prohibitive as the SNES but I find myself playing the SNES more in general these days.
Honorable mentions here will be the Sega Genesis of course, the PS2, and the GBA.
Sega Genesis is my fave 16-bit system to collect for. Just tons of really cool and unique games for it.
PS2 was HUGE when it dropped in high school and that era saw me solidify my future life path playing the games that came out for it. Some truly epic releases on that system. One of the best in history.
The GBA was the last great 2D system and had some truly phenomenal games. I got a Glacier in 2002 or 3 and jumped right in to Metroid Fusion. It reignited my love for handheld games since the last handheld I had was a Game Gear.
I’m loving reading through these. Keep em coming folks!
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I feel like i’m going to do disservice to so many consoles by limiting this to 3! I love all the consoles I have.
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I think it has to be Super Nintendo. My parents had an Atari when I was growing up, but my Aunty had a NES. Once I played Super Mario Bros. 3 at her house, I wanted it so bad, but by then Super Mario World was out (and All-Stars on the horizon), and i was enamored with Street Fighter 2 in the arcades, so i asked for a SNES for Christmas. I have the most memories from this era and it has the most of my favorite games of all time - no surprises; Super Metroid, Zelda 3, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, Yoshi’s Island. Though i’ve played them to death so much that they’ve lost a little luster over the years, I can’t look past their brilliance and those games are largely responsible for my lifelong addiction!
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Nintendo 64 has so many memories too. Time spent playing Goldeneye and Mario Kart 64 with friends was some of the best ever. Nintendo was on fire reinventing series with Super Mario 64 and Zelda OOT, and again it has some of my favorites of all time, Wave Race 64 and F-Zero X.
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Gamecube. This is a recurring theme with my list it seems, but a few games simply elevate the cube for me, namely Metroid Prime 1 & 2, F-Zero GX, and over a long period of time, i grew to love Wave Race Blue Storm as much as Wave Race 64.
I have to mention Saturn and PS1 as well. They’ve definitely had the most to offer me when it comes to exploring their libraries later in my life, so i’d put them as my favorite systems to collect for. The Saturn has so much overlooked or under-appreciated quality, and the PS1 simply has such a wealth of games that it probably has the most quality overall of any system. I look back most fondly on that 32/64 bit era, as that was the time I felt gaming was at it’s most exciting. When a developer cracked the transition to 3D properly, it was such a revelation, and I haven’t really felt that ever since.
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As I begin counting votes, just want to clarify that ties will not count. That doesn’t mean that the entire ballot will be thrown out - for example, if you have Genesis as #1 and then 2 and 3 are tied between GameCube and Sega Master System, only the Genesis vote will be counted (as 3 points). Be sure to break any ties if you want all of your votes to be counted!
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Damn dude. That’s awesome!
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It really was! I first played King’s Field, In the Hunt, Wild Arms, Einhander, and so many others this way. King’s Field was one of my favorite games that generation and it is the reason that I jumped on the Demon’s Souls import before it was ever released in NA. Just absolutely loved the design philosophy and dream like atmosphere of that series. Incredibly ahead of its time.
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Gotta cut the list off somewhere, it would likely be next somewhere, along with stuff like 3DS and NGPC (as opposed to say Wii U which I actively dislike). Just not that many games on it are favourites. Mostly I see PC Engine as achieving most of what it does but better, eg 80s arcade stuff like shooters, and CD stuff, while Super Fami handles the rest better.
I’ll probably elaborate later, but I don’t want to miss out on getting my vote in!!
- NES
- SNES
- PS1
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I love all the autobiographical reminiscence in this thread. Games are more than just objects to collect, distractions, escape fantasies, and power trips. They become touchstones of periods in our lives, and connections to friends and family. They can tell powerful, emotional stories in ways other media can’t, and can be part of coping strategies and help reinforce positive self identity.
At least that’s part of how I see some people’s responses, and how I’d like to relate, and model that relationship to my kids.
Anyway, thanks for the inspiration to gush about my own experiences. On to my list.
1
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
If Commander Keen 4 for DOS is what got me interested in platform games, Donkey
Kong Country made me good at platform games. I remember skipping school in grade 4 to walk 20mins down to the Toy World to play the demo.
Needless to say, if I wasn’t exactly “sick”, I was afflicted by something.
About 18 months later I finally got a 2nd hand Super Nintendo for my birthday, after weeks of scouring the Trading Post (weekly classifieds newspaper) for a good deal.
It came with Super Mario All stars, Super Mario World, Unirally (which I played the heck out of), Mario Kart (gold on star cup is quite challenging, and I enjoyed grinding out time trial records on the Ghost stages), F-Zero, and of course Donkey Kong Country, which I beat in the 2 week school holidays immediately after my birthday.
I’ve still got it, along with the original controllers, but I use the fabulous Super Famicom these days.
I remember playing heaps of Ninja Warriors at a friend’s place, swap controller after death, and being amazed by the detailed graphics. Occasionally I would think about it, and wonder if I was remembering some arcade game or other, but never putting my finger on it. I never saw it mentioned at all in retro circles until Tim Rogers mentioned it in his 1994 retrospective. It’s still great. Pity about current cart prices.
I later rented heaps from our local game rentals store. Highlights included Yoshi’s Island, and Super Empire Strikes Back, which was this weird, dark coloured, square shaped cart, that needed a converter to play. Cool!
I must have played Super Probotector at a friend’s, because I never saw further than the ice stage. All references to Contra took a while to parse for a long time.
A neighbour lent a copy of DKC 2, which has left more of a mark on my appreciation of challenges, aesthetic, musical scores, and game play than anything else.
I only found some of the best this console has to offer in my return to the console a few years ago. A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Kirby’s Dreamland 3. I’m sad I missed these in my youth, as they didn’t hit quite as hard for me, particularly having played Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask first.
2
Playstation 2
The first console I bought myself.
After playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and GTA: San Andreas at a friend’s house, I had the same bug as when I first saw Donkey rolling around DK island back in '94.
I managed to find a decent condition 2nd hand console at a Game Traders shop, along with Sands of Time, and possibly some other games. They weren’t important.
I had also moved out with my girlfriend (now wife), and had a couch and nook in our room for her 14 inch CRT. It was the perfect little setup for games and DVDs.
Experiencing some more dramatic, cinematic, and mature content as I was also maturing into adulthood was really rewarding.
I’d left my childhood SNES and N64 with my younger siblings, and was exploring a whole new, edgy world, haha! 
(what 21 y.o isn’t a bit full of themselves?)
After I was finished with Ubisoft’s only good Prince of Persia game (fite me), I visited some of the rest of the library.
Metal Gear Solid 2, and later 3, were an experience. I think I only appreciate 2 as a meta contextual, interactive art piece now, rather than a video game. But Snake Eater is just great.
Grand Turismo 3 I didn’t fully understand until after I had played 2 years later. But it’s a masterpiece. Getting that gold on final beginner licence test in the purple R33 Skyline! Hooowheee! And the rest of the game is poetry with four wheels.
San Andreas speaks for itself, but the car physics is really what holds it together. There’s always a spare ride around the next corner, and it always feels good to fang it to your next destination.
Later I was playing around with a master save file, where you unlock as much as possible before the first mission. Lots of fun.
And finally, Shadow of the Colossus. Another art piece, but one of minimalist refinement, rather than bombastic, extravagant pop-philosophy (
Kojima!).
I recently read that Ueda wanted no HUD or on screen information at all, but the publisher thought the audience wouldn’t know what to do. I think that it might have worked, as long as there was some character indication of imminent loss of stamina. What a visionary endeavour.
I never though anything this massive, or imaginative, or beautiful, or sad was possible on something controlled with a few buttons and a couple of sticks.
I only recently discovered things like Katamari (thanks Sony Australia 
), and the Half Life port.
3
Nintendo Famicom
It’s the reason there even is a video game industry as we know it.
For me it’s home to Gimmick!, Akumajo Densetsu (CV3), Mario 3, and Kirby’s Adventure.
Apart from the Marios and a little Mega Man, I didn’t get to play it much as a kid, so it’s something I’ve come to as an adult, and learned to appreciate it’s library with a discerning eye.
Is also what drove me to pursue original hardware on CRT displays again, as the input lag made Mega Man and Metroid unplayable on a pc emulator. Haven’t looked back.
Honourable mentions:
Nintendo DS
And
Nintendo Wii
These two are sneaky, as one is also a Gamecube (and a pretty convincing 8/16bit machine too), and the other is a Gameboy Advance. I’ve probably played more GC and GBA content than Wii and DS at this point.
These two got me into libraries a generation old and still offered new release experiences. The Wii particularly opened my eyes again to 90’s console games, with the excellent VC offering. I first played Super Metroid on a PAL Wii on an LCD TV. A bit sad, but better than not knowing about it at all.
Playstation 1
Staying up at a friend’s place trying to beat the final cup on Need for Speed: High Stakes, while the single of Pearl Jam’s ‘Jeremy’ (containing the songs ‘Jeremy’, Footsteps (live acoustic), and Yellow Ledbetter) plays on repeat, has been burnt into my brain. I still love those songs, love that game, and loved giving shit to my mate for having my name on all the “top time for this track” records on his save file.
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Okay… I’m gonna go…
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N64
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DS
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Mega Drive
Purely based on the amount of good memories I have of each system, time put in, etc
Ask me next week it might be slightly different, but this is today!
Some which might make it in on other days: Gamecube, SNES, Master System
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I just looked back at my votes and I think NES would make the top 3 if I voted today.
What have you done to us @balb?! It’s too difficult to choose! /1st world problems 
You can still edit your post until the end of tomorrow!