My best experiances a with a console are as follows.
1.) GameCube (Mainly thanks to multiplayer Melee, played with friends all the time; Also first Zelda Experiance)
2.) Wii (Is second untill I get smash which will counteract melee; Also first Metroid Experiance)
3.) N64 (The first console I played with friends, but not alot. Missing out on Zelda Downgraded it.)
For me, It wasn't just the games, it was the multiplayer abilities. The better the multiplayer experiance on a console, the more fun it is.