We love video games in whatever form they're delivered. Give us a disc or a stick or a digital download - if the game's a good'un, we'll be happy whatever the format.
However, around these parts, we're undeniably partial to the heft and clunk of a good old cartridge. Perhaps it's because we're gamers of, ahem, a certain vintage who grew up slotting lumps of plastic into larger lumps of plastic, but there's just something about locking software into your console in this fashion that's more satisfying than throwing a disc in a tray.
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
With Nintendo's long history of distributing ROMs on carts and physical media's continued relevance despite the inevitable slide to digital, we've been thinking recently about our favourite Nintendo cartridge designs and thought it would be worth posing the question: Which of Nintendo's many different cartridges is your personal favourite?
If this were a disc-based brawl, Wii would be watching from the sidelines while GameCube's cute little mini discs (not MiniDiscs, of course, which are also lovely) and Wii U's curvy-edged beauties would be duking it out.
But it's not — this is cart combat. So before we turn it over to you for the deadliest of all deciders (a reader poll on't internet), let's take a look back at the many and various cart-y contenders, in roughly chronological order, looking to take the trophy. We've added some of our own thoughts as to their pros and cons. We've also excluded exotic variants and stuck to the standard-issue carts for each platform that supported them, including regional variants where they exist.
We begin in Japan with...
The Famicom Cart
The original — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The NES Cart
The original Western variant — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
The Game Boy Cart
Gets the job done — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The Super Famicom Cart
Curvy and cool — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The Super NES Cart
Elicits sympathy for all our friends across the pond — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
The Virtual Boy Cart
Thought we'd forget this one, did you? — Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
The Nintendo 64 Cart
Beautiful and chunky monkeys — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
The Game Boy Color Cart
Inside out — Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life
The Pokémon Mini Cart
wut — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The Game Boy Advance Cart
Advanced tech — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The Nintendo DS Cart
'Carts' or 'cards'? — Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
The Nintendo 3DS Cart
A bit vanilla — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
The Nintendo Switch Cart
Bitter — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
So, there we are. Take to the poll below to pick the best cartridge Nintendo ever made.
Which is your favourite of all Nintendo's cart designs? (3,068 votes)
Famicom%
NES%
Game Boy%
Super Famicom and NES (EU)%
Super NES (NA)%
Virtual Boy0.6%
Nintendo 64%
Game Boy Color%
Pokémon Mini0.2%
Game Boy Advance%
DS%
3DS%
Switch%
Was it a tough decision? Which ones did you struggle to pick between? Are you more of a disc lover? Sure, the way the Wii sucked in its media with that sultry blue light was neat, but better than a cart? No, no, no.
Feel free to head down to the comments below and let us know how the 64DD (it's a disc!) was robbed.
Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy.
As much as I have nostalgia for a lot of the early cartridges, it's pretty hard to go past the practicality and convenience of the tiny Switch cartridges.
Nintendo 64 and gameboy colour, it's so easy to hold n64 cartridge and so easy to put gameboy colour games. Nintendo 3ds carts are okay but it kind of hard to put the cart in my 2ds xl because of the cartridge flap.
Hard choice between SNES NA and DS for me but in the end....yeah I gotta go with SNES. I absolutely love the simplicity of the DS cartridge and its dark-grey colour is immensely iconic for me, but the SNES cartridge is pretty much perfect. It's:
big
stylistically unique
slots into the system well
allows a great display of the game's cover art
contains the game's name on the top
I may hold a greater deal of nostalgia to DS, but the SNES NA cartridges are just MUAH:chef's kiss.
The original Famicom, for sure. Damien’s photo with the searing yellow SMB really put the hook in me.
It wasn’t really close between these, though i am very much a fan of the 3ds’ cart’s notchiness.
But the Gamecube with its itty bitty MiniDVDs(thanks wc!) is fairest to mine eyes.
Practicality aside, the N64 cartridge gives me all the sweet, sweet feelings of nostalgia. It's the console that brings back the best memories of couch co-op in my life during the end of middle school and into high school.
"We love video games in whatever form they're delivered. Give us a disc or a stick or a digital download - if the game's a good'un, we'll be happy whatever the format".
Call me extreme, but I reckon I'll stop buying video games if they ever go digital only.
In terms of utility? The NS carts are ideal. Small size makes them great for portability, or storage for folks who don't otherwise have space; their cases are slender enough that you can fit a lot onto a shelf, but also tall enough that they don't took too out-of-place next to DVDs and/or BDs.
In terms of tactility? Can't beat the N64 carts. Between the curve at the top, the rounded edges, and the deeply-satisfying clunk you get on insertion, they're the most fun to manhandle.
On balance? Probably has to go to the 3DS carts. They're pretty big for handheld carts, so they feel more durable and are less easy to lose, and the big notch on the side makes orienting them properly a non-issue. They're also just big enough for the cool art on the carts to be easily visible, and even come with fully 3D little dioramas in the UI when you insert them, which never ceases to be be fun.
Though, admittedly, they may be getting a boost here due to just how great the overall UX is with the 3DS. Absolutely peak Nintendo.
There's just something super cool about the Game Boy ones. I think it's the fact that they pop into this little handheld you can play everywhere and just looking like cool little chucks to complete your brick with, or something like that. I love them.
Voted NES, just hits the right nostalgia buttons for me (even though I never had one as a kid). They just look nicer than SNES or N64 to me as a collectible. I have a lot of love for the Game Boy(all iterations) too. the newer ones are just memory cards to me so wouldn't buy any of those without a box.
I grew up with 8 bit bootlegs whose Asian origin meant Famicom designs as opposed to NES ones, and I suppose they're the ones to vote for here - pretty much all the other Nintendo platforms in my possession would be dominated by digital stuff, so I don't have enough experience with their respective physical media to beat the nostalgic factor. Although I can admit that without calling other poll competitors "nondescript".
I have cartridges for most of these systems in abundance. NES and SNES (NA) are the easiest to browse through. They're all fun and satisfying to use, though.
As much as I love N64, the cartridges can be a bit of a pain to browse. Same with all of the Gameboy systems.
There's nothing like booting up your favorite games just as they were intended to be played when they released.
Not just cartridges, but disks too. I love GameCube disks as much as my cartridges.
DS for me, the click is super satisfying, also I am far too young to have nostalgia for anything before the GBA. The N64 ones and the Super Famicom ones are nice though.
Voted for the SNES NA cart but honestly, it’s a bit of a tie between that one and the DS/3DS ones. As far as home consoles go, the SNES one is the go to for sure, but the DS cart was just the right size for a portable game console, not too small that you would lose it immediately, but not too bulky that it’s awkward to carry multiple around at the same time.
I liked the simplicity of GBA cartridges. Could put it into my SP and tote it in my pocket everywhere. Those were the days of my youth. Hell, I still pull out GBA carts and the SP and give it a go.
The first three Nintendo consoles were my favorite. So any of the three but I voted N64. The N64 was just so awesome when it was released. I have not experienced a release like it since.
Opened the article all ready to vote for N64, but I had to give it to SNES: for the cartridge itself, the curved top and flat faces are the best way to go, but not having the label on top is an issue. Even if I have my N64 games meticulously organized (and numerous moves over the years means that I don't), it's still hard to track down the game I'm looking for in my collection.
I lean more towards the bulkier the better (within reason of course). I want something substantial and nowadays you get practically nothing physical from games. SNES/N64 were peak. NES was big but quite light.
That said, I did vote for the Game Boy cart. Physical media was still real. It managed to be both substantial and small. Slotting them into the bulky GB was real. The lived-in feel of a cyberpunk world. You touched it but you also connected digitally.
You don't connect to the Matrix with bluetooth. You jack it into your spine.
I almost picked N64, but the biggest drawback is there is not title sticker on the top of the cartridge. If you stack them, you have to sift through them to find the one you want. The SNES has the title on the top, so it's perfectly reasonable to stack them and easily find the title you want.
In terms of just the cartridge itself, I'm tempted to go for 3DS.
If we were including the process of inserting/removing the cartridge from the device, I'd probably say N64. The 3DS experience has always felt a bit like something's getting damaged inside the slot.
Least favourite? Probably GBA. Them things be uuu-gleee. But they do have robustness in their favour.
I have a soft spot for the Game Boy, but the clear case for Famicom Salamander is extremely rad.
Also, bonus points for the Famicom carts for being the size of an audio cassette case, so most storage for cassettes can be used for FC as well. Thank you Sakurai for that gem of wisdom!
Gameboy Color and N64 were my first Nintendo consoles, so both are special to me. The GBC won out because of the transparent plastic. 3DS is 2nd place for handhelds due to the reasons others have given above, with the GBA being in 3rd. SNES is 2nd for consoles, followed by the NES.
I went with the SNES carts. (Of course the SNES is still probably my most fond system!). I remember when eBay first came along, I was able to buy those little clear plastic covers that went on the bottom of the cartridge in bulk so that all of the games in my collection had one.
Game Boy because its stackable and the cart size and concave logo area gives a good grip for removing without fingers getting on the game’s label. NES had a similarly well-thought out grip but it’s less important with so much unlabelled area to grip.
I don't know, but I do appreciate the top label. Very nice to be able to identify your games while in a case/drawer or on a shelf (unless you're lucky/rich enough to have cases for all of them). I've seen used video game shops that will print out top labels for the N64 carts and tape them on.
I do not understand how someone could pick the switch carts, to me they're just so small and boring, more power to you if it is your fav but I'm going to go with SNES
I voted GBA for being the most modern of the plasticky, toy-like era, but at a size where it’s easy to store them together.
I definitely think something was lost in the move to disks, and now what are basically memory cards. An advanced game coming out of something so chunky and plastic, that you don’t have to handle delicately, has a sense of magic to it.
I went for Switch carts because they're the most convenient to use. It's like how the Switch OS is my favourite OS despite stuff like themes and eshop music not being present.
@CartoonDan This is why I think I favour the Snes and N64 ones. They are nice to look at. The Switch ones are too tiny for the artwork to be appreciated.
Classic Game Boy all the way. The most important reason being the plastic cases that came in the box with every game. They switched to loose cartridges with starting with GBC, but my original Game Boy games are all still in stellar condition thanks to those free, high quality cases.
the gamecube discs are called "MiniDVDs" and the "Wii U's curvy-edged beauties" I'd assume are just blurays, they have those "tumbled" edges that felt so premium at the time 👍
A good cart must have:
1: a large label for art, on the front.
2: a "spine" label for the title.
3: flat, parallel faces so they can stack or sit on a shelf like books.
EDIT - 4: a dust cover or case that also protects the cart from abrasions
I voted NES because it is the only one that meets all these requirements (SNES is a close second but they dont really have the flat parallel, orthogonal surfaces if you really think about it. 👍)
Every cart without a spine label is automatically disqualified. THERE IS NO GOOD WAY TO DISPLAY N64 GAMES 😮💨 or store gba carts ffs.
EDIT - from the comments it seems like most people are choosing their favorite cart based system, as opposed to "the best cart."
Going into this, I really thought I would be voting N64 or GBA (honestly, my favorite Big N format are the GCN DVDs). But I voted for the 3DS. I love the look, size, and weight. They are all still safe and pretty in my case. Much more substantial than the OG DS and Switch formats.
@Game_Boi Yep. At that point it would be a monthly digital subscription service. Luckily, we have Nintendo who are probably at least one or two life cycles away from that nightmare of a future.
My favorite game cart are the red Mother/Earthbound carts (FC/SFC/SNES/GBA). No other cart can compare! (That’s my opinion though, you can disagree with me if you want. I’m just being silly, and shouting how much I love their designs)
Despite living in the US, I had to hand it to the Super Famicom. Love how much of the cartridge that the art takes up, the curved design, and the ridges. The N64 cart is really nice too and easily carries the most nostalgia for me.
Biggest con of the Switch cart is the size. Yes, holds a lot, but oh, so easy to lose them. I refuse to by games on cart for my kids to share. It's a sure bet the game would be lost within a week before they call got time to play it. Shame too because it would be way cheaper than having to by multiple digital copies of the same game. SIGH.
I have a high nostalgia for the SNES carts since I had the most of those than any other Nintendo system. But, I kinda like the design of the NES carts. It never bothered me knowing they were mostly empty. I think the carts that fascinated me the most, non-Nintendo system, were the TG-16 ones. Little did we know then it would be come the norm now. LOL
Absolutely shocked that N64 is leading. Possibly the worst cart design with that rounded bump of a top and no top label. Only thing it has going for it is that lenticular label. Famicom carts for me.
In terms of the rounded, weighted, chunkiness, shoving an N64 cartridge into your N64 felt great. There's one problem that several of these have, and that is that your thumb runs the risk of smudging the label, unlike the NES which gets my vote.
@dartmonkey You could make an entire article about the variety of licensed Famicom cartridges alone. At one point I had amassed a collection of nearly every variety of licensed Famicom cartridge. Nintendo itself had a few case variations, as did the seven licensed publishers allowed to print their own cartridges: Bandai, Irem, Jaleco, Konami, Namco, Taito, Sunsoft
Probably the most bizarre one-off is (I hope I get the name right) Nanttetatte Baseball by Sunsoft. A cartridge that is bent up over itself and looking more like an obese Mega Drive cartridge, in order to house an expansion slot for which Sunsoft released two update cartridges (I remember reading an idea from an EGM reader in the early '90s asking why EA didn't just release roster updates as expansion carts. Who knew that a few years earlier on the other side of the world, Sunsoft already had already done that!)
@Daggot My nephew's Pokemon Moon cart got destroyed by a single dog bite from their fairly tiny but very bitey dog. I have a few GB and GBA carts that survived dog bites from the bulk of the plastic. An original GB cart's outer layer is probably as thick as an entire 3DS cart.
@Game_Boi Is it sad that Taito had developed a digital-only console... in 1992? Called WowoW! They soon after repurposed the hardware into one of their arcade boards, Taito F3. Too bad that one of the games (seemingly) they had in the works for that console was never released. Recalhorn, I think it was. They did rework into an arcade game but it looks like it wasn't mean enough to the player to make arcade owners happy. Looks pretty nice, too bad they never put it into a home console like the many other console games they released.
@dartmonkey Also with a negative of Switch cards, I've heard of a couple games (a Super Robot Taisen game and a Namco baseball game) where the size of the label left just enough room for the copyright text to take up almost all of the space for the art.
You know there are loads of Americans on this site when NES and SNES carts are beating Famicom and Super Famicom carts. But like the box art brawls to be honest.
Still, glad to see N64 carts on top. Those carts are substantial and feel good to hold and slot in.
Why the Switch doesn't list "being the smallest cartridge is the easiest to lose" as a con?
Having at least one cartridge of everything except Famicom, NES and Super Famicom/PAL SNES, I'm gonna say my favorite has to be Game Boy or Game Boy Advance.
N64 being a close 2nd/3rd, them not having end labels isn't a problem if you know/remember how you organize your own games. Thankfully for me I organize my games by series and companies.
Virtual Boy is a runner-up, inserting and removing a cartridge is a nice stress reliever.
On the subject of chonky N64 carts, why did they have metal plates in them? As far as I know, no other game cartridges had them. What purpose did they serve?
SNES usa. The most practical and also feel big when actually grabbing them. The super famicom has a better label but not being able to see the title sucks. Cant believe n64 is winning, just having the game image in the label without any formatting is not that good, same as with the boxes
I actually like all the carts, something nice about holding a physical cartridge. I am not a huge fan of the switch or DS cards though, too small.
Favorite is definitely the SNES though(and I imagine it would apply to the super famicom too) The smell of opening a new box with plastic around the cart and a nice well-made manual, along with the awesome clicking sound the cart made when it goes into the console brings back nothing but solid memories. I dont have any related fondness of any other cart aside from maybe the genesis pre cardboard box.
The N64 seems to be the most popular, but it felt just average to me. It could be though that I was older when the N64 came out, and while I had a NES and was old enough to remember getting it and buying games, I was like 10, so it didn't stick as well. Also, those carts never worked....
North American SNES with N64 a close second. Having the game's title on top is a big plus. N64 carts are easy to hold with their rounded tops and they have bigger artwork, but the SNES' art still looks nice enough within the black and gray border.
Purely by looks it’s GBA for me. By nostalgia it’s NES. For practical purposes I don’t have an opinion because I don’t accumulate carts any longer and have no use for them
As a collector, it's SNES all the way for me. They look amazing on a shelf and aren't as bulky as the NES carts. Nothing else comes close to those two cart designs.
I’m really surprised and confused N64 is winning unless it’s just a nostalgia thing. It always seemed weird and annoying that they don’t have the game name on top especially when the SNES, just the previous generation, did have the game names on top.
I was having trouble choosing between the SNES or GBC carts since the SNES carts are perfect for function and organization but the GBC carts are just cool.
I am glad to see N64 winning this poll. To this day I still feel a sense of wonder when I have an N64 cart in my hands. There was always something so 'quality' about the N64 carts when they were new and I guess I will carry that sense of wonder with me for the rest of my life.
For me, personally, it's the SNES (EU) cart, because NOSTALGIA. There's really no other reason. I just get so happy seeing SNES carts from my teenage years. Their design was great, sleek, round and with enough sticker space for artwork.
My biggest pet peeve with Switch carts is their size and the fact that the stickers are covered with PEGI ratings, leaving zero room for actual artwork, leaving the carts with only simple logo designs of the game.
I think that's why I also love LPs. It's not just an album with music, it's the entire package that makes it an EXPERIENCE. I think we lost some of that over the years. Although one could argue that the real experience is the game or the album itself, of course.
N64 carts are beautiful things but I just love SNES ones so much. The european variant of the course. They are so beautiful. I genuinely think if they released a cartridge based TV console now, they could/should just keep that design and modernize it a little, though not much needs to be done honestly.
Super Nintendo (PAL) and Gameboy. But i think most agree, the Switch ones are sooo boring. Take a look at the Evercade, same Technology, just different Formfactor.
Famicom all the way! They're colourful, just the right size, and they're roughly the size of a cassette tape case, which makes finding storage/display solutions easy.
SNES/SFC for me. For my money, it's the most consistent sense of design in any Nintendo hardware. I think the PS1 is my favourite console overall, and the strong focus on satisfying system-wide aesthetic is largely owed to its roots as a Super Famicom project. Maybe not the most practical, but it's pretty fundamental in my idea of what a "games console" looks like.
For overall design, I pick the Super NES. Bonus: These things could pack a punch, including another processing chip for more power! That's something you just don't see anymore. The label also extended to the top of the cartridge and many had a little plastic cover to protect the cartridge's contacts, which were some nice and functional features for storage. Runner up, original Game Boy or the black dual-system Game Boy/GBC cartridges, along with nice plastic cases for protection. Pure classic.
While the N64's cartridges were nothing special on their own, put one in the system and IMO you've got one very attractive console. They go hand in hand, its overall design is like a work of art.
I liked the original DS's simple square shape and black color, but admittedly by this time these things are starting to get too small. In comparison, the 3DS's notch (while necessary) and bland gray color made it a bit more boring. But at least they still offered the ability to save!
Switch... no, just no. They have truly crossed the line with these things in terms of size. They're just too small, an ugly shape, barely even have a label worth note. They don't even offer any way to save data. Might as well just use a microSD card at this point; other than preservation as physical media, Switch cartridges are just uninspired and bland and on top of that offer no potential for enhanced processing capabilities like SNES.
I picked SNES-NA, as it has a bit more nostalgia value to me than Game Boy plus utilized expansion chips for enhanced functionality with the console.
Comments 112
It'd be nice if there was a rating out of ten to go along with the pros and cons.
Always loved the little nub of the 3DS cart. Its just neat.
NES all the way. Being a 41 year old, the look and design just brings back all sorts of good feelings from the 80s.
3DS is my favorite cartridge design.
Light grey color cartridge, White box case, the app icon on their spine, mmuah...! (Chef kiss) 😘
As much as I have nostalgia for a lot of the early cartridges, it's pretty hard to go past the practicality and convenience of the tiny Switch cartridges.
Switch is definitely the tastiest cart!
Nintendo 64 and gameboy colour, it's so easy to hold n64 cartridge and so easy to put gameboy colour games. Nintendo 3ds carts are okay but it kind of hard to put the cart in my 2ds xl because of the cartridge flap.
Hard choice between SNES NA and DS for me but in the end....yeah I gotta go with SNES. I absolutely love the simplicity of the DS cartridge and its dark-grey colour is immensely iconic for me, but the SNES cartridge is pretty much perfect. It's:
I may hold a greater deal of nostalgia to DS, but the SNES NA cartridges are just MUAH: chef's kiss.
The original Famicom, for sure. Damien’s photo with the searing yellow SMB really put the hook in me.
It wasn’t really close between these, though i am very much a fan of the 3ds’ cart’s notchiness.
But the Gamecube with its itty bitty MiniDVDs(thanks wc!) is fairest to mine eyes.
Practicality aside, the N64 cartridge gives me all the sweet, sweet feelings of nostalgia. It's the console that brings back the best memories of couch co-op in my life during the end of middle school and into high school.
"We love video games in whatever form they're delivered. Give us a disc or a stick or a digital download - if the game's a good'un, we'll be happy whatever the format".
Call me extreme, but I reckon I'll stop buying video games if they ever go digital only.
In terms of utility? The NS carts are ideal. Small size makes them great for portability, or storage for folks who don't otherwise have space; their cases are slender enough that you can fit a lot onto a shelf, but also tall enough that they don't took too out-of-place next to DVDs and/or BDs.
In terms of tactility? Can't beat the N64 carts. Between the curve at the top, the rounded edges, and the deeply-satisfying clunk you get on insertion, they're the most fun to manhandle.
On balance? Probably has to go to the 3DS carts. They're pretty big for handheld carts, so they feel more durable and are less easy to lose, and the big notch on the side makes orienting them properly a non-issue. They're also just big enough for the cool art on the carts to be easily visible, and even come with fully 3D little dioramas in the UI when you insert them, which never ceases to be be fun.
Though, admittedly, they may be getting a boost here due to just how great the overall UX is with the 3DS. Absolutely peak Nintendo.
GameBoy and N64 are the best two for sure.
There's just something super cool about the Game Boy ones. I think it's the fact that they pop into this little handheld you can play everywhere and just looking like cool little chucks to complete your brick with, or something like that. I love them.
Nintendo DS cartridges for me. Small and cute.
Voted NES, just hits the right nostalgia buttons for me (even though I never had one as a kid). They just look nicer than SNES or N64 to me as a collectible. I have a lot of love for the Game Boy(all iterations) too. the newer ones are just memory cards to me so wouldn't buy any of those without a box.
I grew up with 8 bit bootlegs whose Asian origin meant Famicom designs as opposed to NES ones, and I suppose they're the ones to vote for here - pretty much all the other Nintendo platforms in my possession would be dominated by digital stuff, so I don't have enough experience with their respective physical media to beat the nostalgic factor. Although I can admit that without calling other poll competitors "nondescript".
I have cartridges for most of these systems in abundance. NES and SNES (NA) are the easiest to browse through. They're all fun and satisfying to use, though.
As much as I love N64, the cartridges can be a bit of a pain to browse. Same with all of the Gameboy systems.
There's nothing like booting up your favorite games just as they were intended to be played when they released.
Not just cartridges, but disks too. I love GameCube disks as much as my cartridges.
DS for me, the click is super satisfying, also I am far too young to have nostalgia for anything before the GBA. The N64 ones and the Super Famicom ones are nice though.
1. Super NES
1a. Switch
Voted for the SNES NA cart but honestly, it’s a bit of a tie between that one and the DS/3DS ones. As far as home consoles go, the SNES one is the go to for sure, but the DS cart was just the right size for a portable game console, not too small that you would lose it immediately, but not too bulky that it’s awkward to carry multiple around at the same time.
One big negative of the Switch cart is they are too small to have good label art.
Gameboy colour, transparent plastic makes things at least 100% cooler!
I liked the simplicity of GBA cartridges. Could put it into my SP and tote it in my pocket everywhere. Those were the days of my youth. Hell, I still pull out GBA carts and the SP and give it a go.
The first three Nintendo consoles were my favorite. So any of the three but I voted N64. The N64 was just so awesome when it was released. I have not experienced a release like it since.
Opened the article all ready to vote for N64, but I had to give it to SNES: for the cartridge itself, the curved top and flat faces are the best way to go, but not having the label on top is an issue. Even if I have my N64 games meticulously organized (and numerous moves over the years means that I don't), it's still hard to track down the game I'm looking for in my collection.
Famicom is my favorite. So much color variety on the cart and ample room for cover art.
As far as an interesting object, it wins hands down for me.
I lean more towards the bulkier the better (within reason of course). I want something substantial and nowadays you get practically nothing physical from games. SNES/N64 were peak. NES was big but quite light.
That said, I did vote for the Game Boy cart. Physical media was still real. It managed to be both substantial and small. Slotting them into the bulky GB was real. The lived-in feel of a cyberpunk world. You touched it but you also connected digitally.
You don't connect to the Matrix with bluetooth. You jack it into your spine.
I almost picked N64, but the biggest drawback is there is not title sticker on the top of the cartridge. If you stack them, you have to sift through them to find the one you want. The SNES has the title on the top, so it's perfectly reasonable to stack them and easily find the title you want.
@SpinEnDash Same happened to me.
In terms of just the cartridge itself, I'm tempted to go for 3DS.
If we were including the process of inserting/removing the cartridge from the device, I'd probably say N64. The 3DS experience has always felt a bit like something's getting damaged inside the slot.
Least favourite? Probably GBA. Them things be uuu-gleee. But they do have robustness in their favour.
Game Boy Advance (SP) carts for sure. It's where all my fondest memories with Nintendo carts lie. Plus, I love the size and style.
Did the article writer taste-test all the carts? 😂
I have a soft spot for the Game Boy, but the clear case for Famicom Salamander is extremely rad.
Also, bonus points for the Famicom carts for being the size of an audio cassette case, so most storage for cassettes can be used for FC as well. Thank you Sakurai for that gem of wisdom!
I like the sleekness of the N64 carts, but I gotta go with the Snes.
Gameboy Color and N64 were my first Nintendo consoles, so both are special to me. The GBC won out because of the transparent plastic. 3DS is 2nd place for handhelds due to the reasons others have given above, with the GBA being in 3rd. SNES is 2nd for consoles, followed by the NES.
I went with the SNES carts. (Of course the SNES is still probably my most fond system!). I remember when eBay first came along, I was able to buy those little clear plastic covers that went on the bottom of the cartridge in bulk so that all of the games in my collection had one.
I like the NEO GEO cart because I can throw it at a mugger and deal massive damage.
"Distinct flavour profile" 🤣😂
Game Boy because its stackable and the cart size and concave logo area gives a good grip for removing without fingers getting on the game’s label. NES had a similarly well-thought out grip but it’s less important with so much unlabelled area to grip.
I can only imagine the excitement of holding brand new NES/SNES/N64 cartridge for the first time!
This was tough, but got to go with that OG gold Zelda NES cartridge. It was the envy of all the kids on the playground.
SNES by a mile! Something about that cart just gets me all 🥹
I don't know, but I do appreciate the top label. Very nice to be able to identify your games while in a case/drawer or on a shelf (unless you're lucky/rich enough to have cases for all of them).
I've seen used video game shops that will print out top labels for the N64 carts and tape them on.
I do not understand how someone could pick the switch carts, to me they're just so small and boring, more power to you if it is your fav but I'm going to go with SNES
I voted GBA for being the most modern of the plasticky, toy-like era, but at a size where it’s easy to store them together.
I definitely think something was lost in the move to disks, and now what are basically memory cards. An advanced game coming out of something so chunky and plastic, that you don’t have to handle delicately, has a sense of magic to it.
I went for Switch carts because they're the most convenient to use. It's like how the Switch OS is my favourite OS despite stuff like themes and eshop music not being present.
As nostalgic as I am for the earlier cartridges, utility comes first for me and so Switch it is (and also shoutout to the 3DS and DS ones)!
SNES is my favorite console, but I’ll be damned if the N64 carts weren’t the most attractive.
N64 for me followed closely by Snes (PAL) versions.
@CartoonDan This is why I think I favour the Snes and N64 ones. They are nice to look at. The Switch ones are too tiny for the artwork to be appreciated.
@jump Ha, I didn't want to sway things too much. N64 would get 10/10. GB(C) and Famicom behind that, then descent down to Switch at the bottom.
Classic Game Boy all the way. The most important reason being the plastic cases that came in the box with every game. They switched to loose cartridges with starting with GBC, but my original Game Boy games are all still in stellar condition thanks to those free, high quality cases.
GBA > SNES > DS > 3DS > GB(C) > N64 > NES
Another Code made the DS carts really cool by putting them around as collectible easter-eggs with lore messages in the gameplay.
POINT OF INFORMATION:
the gamecube discs are called "MiniDVDs" and the "Wii U's curvy-edged beauties" I'd assume are just blurays, they have those "tumbled" edges that felt so premium at the time 👍
A good cart must have:
1: a large label for art, on the front.
2: a "spine" label for the title.
3: flat, parallel faces so they can stack or sit on a shelf like books.
EDIT - 4: a dust cover or case that also protects the cart from abrasions
I voted NES because it is the only one that meets all these requirements (SNES is a close second but they dont really have the flat parallel, orthogonal surfaces if you really think about it. 👍)
Every cart without a spine label is automatically disqualified. THERE IS NO GOOD WAY TO DISPLAY N64 GAMES 😮💨 or store gba carts ffs.
EDIT - from the comments it seems like most people are choosing their favorite cart based system, as opposed to "the best cart."
Going into this, I really thought I would be voting N64 or GBA (honestly, my favorite Big N format are the GCN DVDs). But I voted for the 3DS. I love the look, size, and weight. They are all still safe and pretty in my case. Much more substantial than the OG DS and Switch formats.
@-wc-
WiiUs BluRays are sooo sexy! #SmoothToTheTouch
@WhiteTrashGuy
lol that was fast! 😂
i genuinely miss the wii u, and the wii era generally when i wondered "what on earth will nintendo do next?!"
(A: a tablet based "hybrid" console with bad controls 😑)
@Game_Boi
Yep. At that point it would be a monthly digital subscription service. Luckily, we have Nintendo who are probably at least one or two life cycles away from that nightmare of a future.
None of the cons for the NES cart have anything to do with the cart. Very telling, as the NES cart design is the best cart design.
@Dr_Corndog
"None of the cons for the NES cart have anything to do with the cart"
I almost dove into this but I'm glad someone else did instead 👍 so true.
Will have to be N64 and it seemed a great era for me game wise as well, especially with the 3d revolution and MARIO 64 and Wave Racer to name two.
My favorite game cart are the red Mother/Earthbound carts (FC/SFC/SNES/GBA).
No other cart can compare! (That’s my opinion though, you can disagree with me if you want. I’m just being silly, and shouting how much I love their designs)
N64 for me.
Despite living in the US, I had to hand it to the Super Famicom. Love how much of the cartridge that the art takes up, the curved design, and the ridges. The N64 cart is really nice too and easily carries the most nostalgia for me.
Nintendo 64. Also love the power on button. Always puts a smile on my face
My first console system with carts was the NES and I will always have a fondness for them
Biggest con of the Switch cart is the size. Yes, holds a lot, but oh, so easy to lose them. I refuse to by games on cart for my kids to share. It's a sure bet the game would be lost within a week before they call got time to play it. Shame too because it would be way cheaper than having to by multiple digital copies of the same game. SIGH.
I have a high nostalgia for the SNES carts since I had the most of those than any other Nintendo system. But, I kinda like the design of the NES carts. It never bothered me knowing they were mostly empty. I think the carts that fascinated me the most, non-Nintendo system, were the TG-16 ones. Little did we know then it would be come the norm now. LOL
Absolutely shocked that N64 is leading. Possibly the worst cart design with that rounded bump of a top and no top label. Only thing it has going for it is that lenticular label. Famicom carts for me.
Impossible to choose only one, man! A top 3 is required for a smooth vote. Other than that, not feasible!
I keep my collection in all their boxes so this means nothing to me.
😜
NES because you can stack them to high heaven without any wobble and clearly read the game labels
GBA. It's small enough to be practical but with just enough chunkiness.
Super Famicom would be the winner, but the lack of a top label hurts. NES for me.
@WaveBoy Completely agree. 80s/90s was the golden age of amazing hand painted box/cartridge art.
SNES/N64 for nostalgia, switch for practicality, but GBA for just loving how small they were at the time vs what came before!
I mean... they're all fine? It's like asking what's your favorite rectangle.
snes, specifically the red doom cartridge even though it's a bad port. super metroid too.
In terms of the rounded, weighted, chunkiness, shoving an N64 cartridge into your N64 felt great. There's one problem that several of these have, and that is that your thumb runs the risk of smudging the label, unlike the NES which gets my vote.
@dartmonkey You could make an entire article about the variety of licensed Famicom cartridges alone.
At one point I had amassed a collection of nearly every variety of licensed Famicom cartridge.
Nintendo itself had a few case variations, as did the seven licensed publishers allowed to print their own cartridges: Bandai, Irem, Jaleco, Konami, Namco, Taito, Sunsoft
Probably the most bizarre one-off is (I hope I get the name right) Nanttetatte Baseball by Sunsoft. A cartridge that is bent up over itself and looking more like an obese Mega Drive cartridge, in order to house an expansion slot for which Sunsoft released two update cartridges (I remember reading an idea from an EGM reader in the early '90s asking why EA didn't just release roster updates as expansion carts. Who knew that a few years earlier on the other side of the world, Sunsoft already had already done that!)
@Daggot My nephew's Pokemon Moon cart got destroyed by a single dog bite from their fairly tiny but very bitey dog.
I have a few GB and GBA carts that survived dog bites from the bulk of the plastic.
An original GB cart's outer layer is probably as thick as an entire 3DS cart.
@Game_Boi Is it sad that Taito had developed a digital-only console... in 1992? Called WowoW!
They soon after repurposed the hardware into one of their arcade boards, Taito F3.
Too bad that one of the games (seemingly) they had in the works for that console was never released. Recalhorn, I think it was. They did rework into an arcade game but it looks like it wasn't mean enough to the player to make arcade owners happy. Looks pretty nice, too bad they never put it into a home console like the many other console games they released.
@dartmonkey Also with a negative of Switch cards, I've heard of a couple games (a Super Robot Taisen game and a Namco baseball game) where the size of the label left just enough room for the copyright text to take up almost all of the space for the art.
May be nostalgia talking but N64 all the way for me, the boxart they came in were best too, if a bit flimsy.
You know there are loads of Americans on this site when NES and SNES carts are beating Famicom and Super Famicom carts. But like the box art brawls to be honest.
Still, glad to see N64 carts on top. Those carts are substantial and feel good to hold and slot in.
Why the Switch doesn't list "being the smallest cartridge is the easiest to lose" as a con?
Having at least one cartridge of everything except Famicom, NES and Super Famicom/PAL SNES, I'm gonna say my favorite has to be Game Boy or Game Boy Advance.
N64 being a close 2nd/3rd, them not having end labels isn't a problem if you know/remember how you organize your own games. Thankfully for me I organize my games by series and companies.
Virtual Boy is a runner-up, inserting and removing a cartridge is a nice stress reliever.
Snes Pal all the way, n64 after that
I'm going SNES but the N64's pretty solid too.
On the subject of chonky N64 carts, why did they have metal plates in them? As far as I know, no other game cartridges had them. What purpose did they serve?
SNES usa. The most practical and also feel big when actually grabbing them. The super famicom has a better label but not being able to see the title sucks.
Cant believe n64 is winning, just having the game image in the label without any formatting is not that good, same as with the boxes
I actually like all the carts, something nice about holding a physical cartridge. I am not a huge fan of the switch or DS cards though, too small.
Favorite is definitely the SNES though(and I imagine it would apply to the super famicom too) The smell of opening a new box with plastic around the cart and a nice well-made manual, along with the awesome clicking sound the cart made when it goes into the console brings back nothing but solid memories. I dont have any related fondness of any other cart aside from maybe the genesis pre cardboard box.
The N64 seems to be the most popular, but it felt just average to me. It could be though that I was older when the N64 came out, and while I had a NES and was old enough to remember getting it and buying games, I was like 10, so it didn't stick as well. Also, those carts never worked....
I love the chunkiness of the N64 cart. There's something very satisfying about it.
North American SNES with N64 a close second. Having the game's title on top is a big plus. N64 carts are easy to hold with their rounded tops and they have bigger artwork, but the SNES' art still looks nice enough within the black and gray border.
Purely by looks it’s GBA for me. By nostalgia it’s NES. For practical purposes I don’t have an opinion because I don’t accumulate carts any longer and have no use for them
As a collector, it's SNES all the way for me. They look amazing on a shelf and aren't as bulky as the NES carts. Nothing else comes close to those two cart designs.
Famicom and Super Famicom carts are sleek, I love em. N64 takes the no.3 spot easy.
...struggling to put a Switch cartridge in the right way? That kinda just sounds like a you problem
I’m really surprised and confused N64 is winning unless it’s just a nostalgia thing. It always seemed weird and annoying that they don’t have the game name on top especially when the SNES, just the previous generation, did have the game names on top.
I was having trouble choosing between the SNES or GBC carts since the SNES carts are perfect for function and organization but the GBC carts are just cool.
I am glad to see N64 winning this poll. To this day I still feel a sense of wonder when I have an N64 cart in my hands. There was always something so 'quality' about the N64 carts when they were new and I guess I will carry that sense of wonder with me for the rest of my life.
For me, personally, it's the SNES (EU) cart, because NOSTALGIA. There's really no other reason. I just get so happy seeing SNES carts from my teenage years. Their design was great, sleek, round and with enough sticker space for artwork.
My biggest pet peeve with Switch carts is their size and the fact that the stickers are covered with PEGI ratings, leaving zero room for actual artwork, leaving the carts with only simple logo designs of the game.
I think that's why I also love LPs. It's not just an album with music, it's the entire package that makes it an EXPERIENCE. I think we lost some of that over the years. Although one could argue that the real experience is the game or the album itself, of course.
Long story short; I'm getting old and nostalgic.
N64 carts are beautiful things but I just love SNES ones so much. The european variant of the course. They are so beautiful. I genuinely think if they released a cartridge based TV console now, they could/should just keep that design and modernize it a little, though not much needs to be done honestly.
Super Nintendo (PAL) and Gameboy.
But i think most agree, the Switch ones are sooo boring.
Take a look at the Evercade, same Technology, just different Formfactor.
@dartmonkey The Super Famicom and NES (EU)
Erm should be SNES right?
Anyway the EU SNES was the ultimate
@Bunkerneath The 'Super' applies to both.
Are we really glossing over how Switch cartridges don't contain space for save games?
That's the real crime here.
Nostalgia is definitely crowding my decision. N64 carts for the win! You have the love the tombstone like design.
I dunno. I've never thought about it.
Famicom all the way! They're colourful, just the right size, and they're roughly the size of a cassette tape case, which makes finding storage/display solutions easy.
Yall n64 kids have no taste.
The Game Boy my favorite of all time.
SNES/SFC for me. For my money, it's the most consistent sense of design in any Nintendo hardware. I think the PS1 is my favourite console overall, and the strong focus on satisfying system-wide aesthetic is largely owed to its roots as a Super Famicom project. Maybe not the most practical, but it's pretty fundamental in my idea of what a "games console" looks like.
Top labels + on-cartridge saves = SNES. I don't think X and Y meet at any other coordinates, but I could be wrong.
Also, fun fact: SNES stickers have a red trim for first party and purple trim for third party.
For overall design, I pick the Super NES. Bonus: These things could pack a punch, including another processing chip for more power! That's something you just don't see anymore. The label also extended to the top of the cartridge and many had a little plastic cover to protect the cartridge's contacts, which were some nice and functional features for storage. Runner up, original Game Boy or the black dual-system Game Boy/GBC cartridges, along with nice plastic cases for protection. Pure classic.
While the N64's cartridges were nothing special on their own, put one in the system and IMO you've got one very attractive console. They go hand in hand, its overall design is like a work of art.
I liked the original DS's simple square shape and black color, but admittedly by this time these things are starting to get too small. In comparison, the 3DS's notch (while necessary) and bland gray color made it a bit more boring. But at least they still offered the ability to save!
Switch... no, just no. They have truly crossed the line with these things in terms of size. They're just too small, an ugly shape, barely even have a label worth note. They don't even offer any way to save data. Might as well just use a microSD card at this point; other than preservation as physical media, Switch cartridges are just uninspired and bland and on top of that offer no potential for enhanced processing capabilities like SNES.
I picked SNES-NA, as it has a bit more nostalgia value to me than Game Boy plus utilized expansion chips for enhanced functionality with the console.
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