DevilRising said:
I'm sorry, but the best possible answer is the leap from Gen 2 (which included far more consoles than just the Atari 2600, including the Atari 5200, the Intellivision, Collecovision, etc.), to Gen 3.
Yes, the "leap from 2D to 3D was big". But that was not THAT big of a jump, when you think about it. 2D gaming and 3D gaming are the same thing, just different styles. And games taking place on a 3D plane had existed for a good decade or more before Gen 5 came about anyway, so it was hardly anything new. It just because "the new thing", and in many ways got perfected or taken to new heights by games like Super Mario 64.
But, if we're being real, at least in my opinion, the leap from the Atari generation to the NES/Master System generation, was FAR bigger leap. Just go look at the difference in the games. The games on those Gen 2 systems were SUPER simple, not just the simple block graphics, but the actual gameplay, was very simple. That's not BAD, it can be (and was) very fun. But the games on NES and Master System were SO far advanced over what had existed in the previous gen, that it's not even funny.
Just on the NES alone, the gaming conventions that came about with Gen 3, that would be standards set for the rest of gaming history, are staggering. The conventional console controller set-up was established, with multiple action buttons, a "d-pad" control instead of some sort of joystick, start/select/option buttons, etc. And then you had genre starting/defining games, like Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid, etc. Super Mario Bros. alone established SO many conventions of gaming that hadn't even truly been though of beforehand, such as larger, expansive levels, multiple, varying game "worlds", more complex and responsive game-world physics and game controls, redefining the convention of "power ups", etc.
In general, while there were concurrent evolutions going on before and after Gen 3 really got started, in the arcades, and with home computer games, those Gen 3 games really fleshed out SO much of what gaming could be, as compared to Gens 1 or 2. From then on, for the most part, as far as I'm concerned at least, every gaming Gen after has mostly been about aesthetical improvements, better graphics, better sound, bigger physical mediums, more powerful hardware, etc.
Gen 3 was the Gen when gaming really got complex. And all you have to do is look at JUST how many games and franchises got their start or really got established during that gen: Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Excitebike, Punch Out, Alex Kidd, Phantasy Star, Wonder Boy, Bomberman, Mega Man, Castlevania, Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden, Metal Gear, Star Soldier, Tetris, Adventure Island, Contra, TMNT, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Outrun, R-Type, Dr. Mario, Gradius, Kirby, Fantasy Zone, Star Tropics, etc. etc. etc.
I definitely think that was the biggest leap forward.
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