Hey, everyone. I've recently came into a new hobby of mine which is collecting. I decided out of all the things I could collect I wanted to collect retro gaming consoles. Out of all the forums I know of this one seems the most fitting for the question. As this website seems to be based on that kind of thing! So I guess what I'm asking is..  
What were you favorite consoles growing up and games to go along with them? I'd really like to know. The more in depth the better!
Any feedback would be appreciated in helping me make a decision on what to buy to add to my collection! 

Until recently, my favorite retro console was the Sega Genesis (Mega Drive.) I had it for as long as I could remember, until my jerk brother threw it down the stairs. My favorite game for it was, by far, Ghouls N' Ghosts. It was fantastic. As a kid, I never beat it because I got so frustrated that once you beat the final area you have to go all the way back to the beginning to get some sort of mystical item. Total BS. I also really like Sonic and Knuckles 3. Very cool.

I recently found a Sega Genesis and a few games at a garage sale and decided to buy them. I got Sonic, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Eternal Champions, X-Men, and X-Men 2, with complete packaging. Here's my copy of Sonic the Hedgehog as an example. The "not for resale" is there because this game was bundled with the Genesis that I bought.

More recently, I've fallen in love with the SNES. It just has such a fantastic library. You should try to get Sonic All-Stars + Super Mario World, Chrono Trigger, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.

I'm late to the party here, but depending on what you consider retro, I could offer a few suggestions.

First up: PS2. This probably won't be considered retro just yet, but if it is, it's a great system with a TON of games. In fact it has a port of one of my favorite games of all time: Winback (originally an N64 and PSX game). If you enjoy Third Person Shooters you should love this one. Also it has other great games like Genji: Dawn of The Samurai, The Mark of Kri, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, and a lot more that I'll spare to list because I'm already rambling too much.

GameCube - Again, probably not retro, but it was a good system. Plus with the price of GameCube games these days, I can see the system being quite valuable when supply dies down.

PSX - Now we're getting into the retro stuff. lol This system revolutionized gaming in so many ways, plus it has some of the greatest retro games ever made.

N64 - Again, great games. That's all I can say about this one.

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive - Good system with some good games. This was my console of choice in the 16 bit days, despite owning it and an SNES.

Sega Master System - I struggle to pick this one over the NES because I'm not familiar with it's library, but it was by far the better of the two consoles in my opinion. Also, because of the NES' success, the SMS will likely be more rare in the coming years. Also it does have some really good games, though as I said my experience with them isn't very extensive, and the games will likely be much more difficult to come by at a good price.

Oh and the GBC. Certain models of it are already selling at upwards of $1,000 I'm told, so it could be wise to snatch one up before they all follow suit.

Annnd maybe Virtual Boy simply because there aren't all that many of them. True I've heard it's games are awful, it's a pain (literally) to use, and it had like thirteen games...but rarity. xD

Get a NES. Your retro collection is not complete without it. It was the console that saved video game game home consoles from going under thanks to Atari's ET. NES saved home consoling. Anyway there are tons of awesome games on the NES. But first, you have to know something about the NES. You should get a toploader to play your games on, because of the 72 Pin connector in the front loaders get messed up easily. I had two front loaders with 72 Pin connector problems and also spring problems from the loading tray. I tried fixing them myself, which worked at first, and then totally screwed up, resulting in the need for more 72 pin connectors. Honestly I love the front loader for it's looks, and because it was the first console I played. However, the top loader works a lot easier, and if I were you I'd get a composite output Mod for the red/yellow/white cords. There are tons of awesome games for the NES and some that are really weird. I'd start you with Mario/Duck Hunt, the Mega Man games, Contra, Super C, Ninja Turtles 2, Dr. Mario, and Tengen Mrs. Pac Man. There are tons more awesome games. Just remember that Tengen Tetris is the legit Tetris and that it's better than the one by Nintendo. Only its a little expensive but a lot cheaper than Little Sampson...even though that game is good too.

The ultimate game/console combinations for myself growing up would be...
a Ps1 with Spyro 1, 2, and  3, as well as Crash Bandicoot 2.
and a gamecube with Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

I accidently collected things.

I saw a thing and I was like OMG I WANT THAT but it came bundled with other stuff so I was like YEA LETS GET IT

and thats the story of how I got a dreamcast and an NES in the same box


On a more serious note, the first console I ever had was a Sega Genesis. it had the Not-For-Resale sticker yadda yadda yadda

Then I got my n64 and I have had the largest amount of bias towards it

its perfect

even if its not perfect

Then I got ps2 and stuff which is great but

Dude, N64 is bae

my NES only came with a SMB/Duck Hunt cart which I play on occasion..

On the subject of the 72 pin connector, that can be prevented by ejecting the game. Instead of having it clicked down into place, let it just sit in the tray if you MUST keep the game in it.

But my favorite system overall is my PSP because it plays PSP, PS1, Genesis, MegaDrive, SMS, GB, GBC, GBA, NES, and Sega CD games. ANd probably others but i dont care about others