technology

The answer to these questions is usually "the one you had when you were young and life was easiest". For me that's the SNES; I love everything about that console and even painted my office in its two-tone grey.

Despite that, the Switch is just the best. It's a home console that you can take on the go (or on the couch while someone else has control of the television). You can play with friends on a big screen or take it on the bus. It's had a long lifecycle that has seen some of the very best games ever made across all of Nintendo's franchises, plus tons of third-party and indie games.

The 3DS is in second place, mostly because it's the one portable-only system that Nintendo got right on the first try.

I probably have spent the most time with the snes so I'll go with that. Runner-up is the gamecube, played a lot of biohazard remake and 4 on it when it was exclusive.

I never owned an Nintendo 64, but most of my earliest video game memories were playing N64 at other people's houses--Super Mario 64, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64, and GoldenEye (plus the required Blockbuster Pokémon Snap kiosk experience). It really wasn't all that much time in total, since it was more a sporadic encounters rather than a friend whose house I'd go to regularly, but I still have a few specific fond memories.

The Game Boy Color has a special place in my heart because it was my first console, and I actually still have my original one nearly 25+ years later (although I lost my cute Pikachu carrying case, sadly). I actually only ever had two games for it because my mom confiscated it and lost it (or "lost" it perhaps); I found it years later behind some cookie sheets in the kitchen. Even though I only had it for a short time, it was my first real taste of video games and it grabbed hold of my imagination. It evokes that deep nostalgia that kinda makes me want to curl up into a ball and cry.

Never had a Game Boy Advance, but while the GBA SP is the more practical pick I honestly prefer the original GBA in purple aesthetically and ergonomically. If I ever get one it'll be one of those with a modded screen (I remember my friend trying to play dark-ass Castlevania: Circle of the Night on an original GBA and holy shit was it impossible to see anything).

The GameCube was my first home console, and easily the one I played on the most out of any console to this day. It's the one I had the most games for and has so many cherished memories--playing Pikmin with my dad on Christmas morning (I think the only game we've ever played together to this day), countless afternoons and sleepovers playing Melee and Soul Calibur II with the boys, yahooing my way through Sunshine, learning how relaxing games could be with Animal Crossing...this is the console that really made me into a gamer, seeking out new experiences and reading Nintendo Power cover-to-cover.

If I had to pick a console for pure aesthetic and ergonomic perfection, it'd be the Nintendo DS--specifically the DS Lite (the OG is pretty ugly, let's not kid ourselves). It's got an incredible library, of course (some of the games I enjoyed the most at the time were SM64DS, all three Castlevanias, Nintendogs, and Animal Crossing: Wild World, to name a few), one that I'm still working through to this day, but even apart from that the DS Lite is a work of art and a joy to play with. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.

I've had other Nintendo consoles since then, but none of them have nearly as deep a place in my heart as the three I had in my most formative years. If I only had to pick one, my mind says DS for the endless library, but my heart says GameCube for the comfy nostalgia...

(oh yeah, and if we're talking pure modern practicality I'd go Wii U for the perfect GC+Wii compatibility plus emulators for most of the other stuff I'd want to play. PC/phone can handle the remainder)

I liked the TV theme of the Wii, and when I would visit my cousins in NJ, I would spend hours just going through the news and weather channel of all things.

But seriously, thank god for emulation. Just a nice reminder to Nintendo that they can try making PC ports for their ROMs at any time. Literally easy money.

I still have my old Game Boy, DS, SNES, and Wii. Unfortunately my GBA kicked the bucket this year

I pick the 3ds with the multicolor buttons (thats the one I have)

SP all the way.

3DS or Wii U. I have four Nintendo DS family consoles and that numbers only gonna grow >:)