The 15 Best Video Games Consoles of All Time

A friend of mine recently posted a link to this Guardian article about the best video game consoles ranked. This absolutely pile of trash disguised an article got me so outraged that it forced me to sit in front of my computer on a Saturday afternoon and write my first blog post in three years and write about the 15 best video games consoles of all time instead of helping my girlfriend paint the utility room.

Despite the fact that I have written the list in usual-listicle-reverse order ensuring there is zero suspense, here is my personal list of the greatest video consoles of all time which absolutely nobody asked for nor is interested in.

1) Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom

Simple yet elegant. It was always a joy to drop to your knees & blow into that front loader

Whilst Atari were dumping copies of ET into the Nevada desert Nintendo were readying the system which would single-handedly save the gaming industry and sell over 61.91 million consoles worldwide, whilst amassing something like a 92% market share in the USA alone. The NES cemented Mario as the most recognised mascot in the world with Mario Bros 3 (and the Wizard movie, fuck yeah) surpassing even Micky Mouse.

The NES allowed developers to not only create new types of games but entire genres and in Japan was at the forefront of technology with the Famicom Disc System and the Famicom Network System for online access. Mario, Zelda, Megaman, Tetris, Metroid, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear. All these were all essentially born, or at the very least popularized on the NES. In my opinion, if it wasn’t for the NES the gaming industry would be at least 10 years behind where it is now.

2) Nintendo Game Boy

The green screen made it hard to see anything, but we didn’t care on a dimly lit road trip

The Game Boy sold over 118 million units worldwide with the lion’s share of them being in the 90’s. This little system absolutely dominated the handheld gaming space and utterly destroyed any competition who meekly stepped into the ring with the handheld heavyweight. This green screened gem brought the world Pokemon, which is the highest-grossing entertainment media franchise of all time with $90 billion (billion! With a B!) worth of sales. Surprisingly though, the 340 million units Pokemon has sold still pales in comparison to Mario’s 623.4 million units sold, and that data is from December 2017!

3) Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom

If you think the North American version looked better then you are wrong!

The SNES took everything its older brother did and improved upon it. The slick machine allowed developers to truly bring their ideas to life in an era where CPU power was still very limited. The system had online functionality in Japan with the Satellaview (man, living in Japan in the 90’s would have been so freaking cool) and sold a total of 49.1 million copies worldwide.

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The Mira – Kawloon, Hong Kong Review

The Mira Kawloon Hong Kong

Nice hotel, good location, can be affected by the protests.

I wrote this review after staying at The Mira back in November but have only just remembered to place it live now.

The Mira is a very nicely situated hotel in the heart of Kawloon. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the hotel from the airport by Uber or Taxi, and may be slightly more via train due to having to change stations once you get into Hong Kong.

The hotel check-in was fairly swift with no complaints. The rooms are modern in design. The room I had overlooked Nathan road, which houses a ton of shops selling every brand you can imagine.

The bathroom and shower are kept nice and clean with good pressure, albeit it is quite odd to have the sink outside the bathroom. This is only something I have experienced before in Mainland China.

The hotel facilities are top-notch. The indoor pool is beautifully designed with a nice wet room & sauna off to the side, along with a nice spa. There are multiple restaurant options with a sports bar that shows Premier League and serves decent bar food.

If you want to do a spot of shopping, then you are in one of the best places in the world. There are many markets just a stone’s throw away. You have the beautifully lit neon signs, and there are a bunch of restaurants and bars down near Heart Ave.

The only downside to this hotel is that during the protests, it is essentially ground zero. Almost every time the protests flare up, then the roads to this hotel become filled with people. And with the debris the next day, it can make getting to and from the hotel difficult. On the flip side, this has brought the price per night down considerably.

I would stay at the Mira Hotel again if I were in the Kawloon side of Hong Kong.

JW Marriott Hotel – Bangkok, Thailand Review

JW Marriott Hotel - Bangkok, Thailand

Awesome location, lovely rooms, great service.

This is my second time writing a review for the JW Marriott Bangkok in as many years, so I will keep this one brief.

The hotel is in a fantastic location — made even better by the recent opening of a sports pub right near the hotel. The rooms are a great size and have a modern feel since being renovated.

I was able to spend some time by the pool on this trip, and what a pleasant area it is — secluded enough to feel like a small oasis but perfectly positioned to catch the sun.

I’ll continue to stay in this hotel each time I am visiting Bangkok due to the reasons above and the fair price.

Koreana Hotel – Seoul, South Korea Review

Koreana Hotel - Seoul, South Korea

Nothing special, but does everything well for a fantastic price.

The Koreana hotel isn’t going to win any awards for its tired design, but it is a pleasant hotel in a great location with friendly staff at a very attractive price.

I landed in Seoul late Friday and was picked up from the airport via a pre-arranged hotel car. The travel time was about 50 minutes from the airport to the hotel and I actually arrived just before my friend who had landed an hour earlier and took the train.

You will immediately notice that the hotel is very… traditional. The lobby is almost like a time freeze from yesteryear, but the staff are friendly and speak good enough English for check-in to be efficient and painless for a Westerner.

The rooms are fairly small and share the same dated look as the rest of the hotel. The bed is comfy enough, but be careful about the power outlets not charging your devices! This hotel really isn’t the usual type I would stay in, but it has a certain charm to it that is difficult to explain. I had access to the lounge area, which served very basic food but was good to grab a quick snack and wait for my friends to get ready to head out.

The location seemed to be pretty good. There are quiet streets over the road that one can grab a beer at. The subway station is about a 10-minute walk at most and it was relatively easy to flag down a taxi.

I only stayed two nights, but I left feeling the hotel was good value. If you are looking for a luxury hotel in Seoul, then this is far from it. But if you are looking for a clean and cheap hotel that goes well above and beyond its price band, then you can’t go much wrong.

Henann Crystal Sands Resort – Boracay, Philippines Review

Henann Crystal Sands Resort

Nice grounds, good location, a little small.

The Henann Crystal Resort is located in the heart of station 2 and is a pleasant little resort.

Getting from Caticlan airport is easy and efficient. Henann has a private boat that takes you a short 10-minute ride across the water to Boracay and then it’s another 10-minute ride in a van to the resort.

Despite being busy, check-in was fairly painless and we were shown to our premier room. We were celebrating an anniversary and Henann had very nicely decorated the room with balloons and had provided a cake.

Except for the lovely decorations, the first thing I noticed about the room is how small it was. The second was how little privacy you have due to the weird wooden slats that are in the place of blinds. Each of the premier rooms overlooks the thin pool, so you can see into each room on each side, so be reminded to close the slats unless you are into a bit of voyeurism.

We also had an issue with the aircon and the shower in the bathroom, but both were fixed fairly quickly.

As mentioned, the main swimming pool is essentially a long thin pool split into two that runs the length of the resort. This pool doesn’t get too much sun and is mostly frequented by families. Fret not though as there is a fantastic pool located above the restaurant which gets the sun all day and also overlooks the beach. Unfortunately for us, this pool was closed for nearly two days whilst they prepared for a Haloween Party, which was disappointing.

I’d mark the food at the restaurant as ok. The buffet is quite basic and fairly small. There isn’t anything outright wrong with the food, it’s just forgettable and not particularly varied, so we found ourselves eating out quite often.

Checking out and the transfer back to the airport was pain-free. All in all, we found the resort to be pleasant and clean with a nice infinity pool on the roof. It is also reasonably priced.