I was reading on another forum about the relative strength of handhelds versus their contemporaries on the console side, and it made me realize I really don't know much about the difference between the GB and NES.
While tech specs are available all over the place, that doesn't always provide the whole picture. For example, Wikipedia say that the NES has a 1.7~ MHz processor with a 5~ MHz PPU, while the GB is stated as having a 4.1~ MHz processor. I didn't see anything about a PPU, did that single processor have to handle it all? If so, what does this work out to as far as relative power?
With the GB quoted as having 8k RAM and VRAM, coupled with no need for detailed color information and a much smaller screen...if it uses similar methods as the NES does for display, these aspects alone are much better than the NES. And it could handle much larger cart sizes.
Yet most games do not feel equal in terms of power and speed. This could be due to developers unfamiliar with the technology, or B teams being put on GB projects, or perhaps some other hidden hangups that I don't know about. Maybe they just made games slower so that the ghosting wouldn't be so bad! And it's true that four color grayscale with smaller resolution makes it harder to capitalize on.
What do you guys know about this? If you had to compare the two, what are the main strengths and weaknesses, and why?
While tech specs are available all over the place, that doesn't always provide the whole picture. For example, Wikipedia say that the NES has a 1.7~ MHz processor with a 5~ MHz PPU, while the GB is stated as having a 4.1~ MHz processor. I didn't see anything about a PPU, did that single processor have to handle it all? If so, what does this work out to as far as relative power?
With the GB quoted as having 8k RAM and VRAM, coupled with no need for detailed color information and a much smaller screen...if it uses similar methods as the NES does for display, these aspects alone are much better than the NES. And it could handle much larger cart sizes.
Yet most games do not feel equal in terms of power and speed. This could be due to developers unfamiliar with the technology, or B teams being put on GB projects, or perhaps some other hidden hangups that I don't know about. Maybe they just made games slower so that the ghosting wouldn't be so bad! And it's true that four color grayscale with smaller resolution makes it harder to capitalize on.
What do you guys know about this? If you had to compare the two, what are the main strengths and weaknesses, and why?