It’s always fun for me to watch fanboys/girls start arguing whenever two games that are somewhat similar are released. It’s even more entertaining watching the ever-growing debate between Minecraft and Terraria fans. The chart I just whipped up at the bottom of this post sums the basics of the two games in a nutshell, but I personally think the debate over which one is better is pretty stupid.
One sentence I always hear/read: “Terraria is just a 2D sidescrolling version of Minecraft.” I honestly wonder if the people who believe this have played Terraria. Sure, Terraria borrowed/was inspired by the idea of mining. But guess what? Notch borrowed/was inspired by mining in another game, and readily admits it. That’s sort of how art works, folks. Nothing is ever that original - ideas are taken and evolved and most people don’t even recognize that there was something before the evolved product. My point is, DEAL WITH IT.
That said, writing Terraria off as a Minecraft rip-off is insulting to the crazy crap that it has going for it. I mean, it has ridiculous boss battles, more enemies, NPCs, a currency system, a more advanced multiplayer system, more types of armor, magic, and probably more stuff that I can’t think of at the moment. Just because the basic principles of the games are similar doesn’t mean one is copying off another. Hell, millions of us – myself included — buy the annual Call of Duty games year after year and they’re (mechanically speaking) the same game over and over again. BY THE SAME COMPANY.
Secondly, Terraria is not “the Minecraft killer.” Besides the rabid fanboys/girls who will steadfastly refuse to even consider Terraria, there are people like me who enjoy Minecraft’s mods, first person POV, and giant green exploding phalluses. Okay, maybe not that last one. For me, at least, Minecraft is more exploration and building based, while Terraria is more geared toward combat. I mean, look at how many more enemies Terraria has. Sometimes I want to kill a lot of stuff, so I play Terraria. Sometimes I want to build a lot of stuff, so I play Minecraft.
We can also discuss the crazy huge modding community Minecraft has. I mean, when/if Notch ever gets that modding API going so that mods don’t break every update, that will be huge. I know I’m far from being the only person who rarely plays Minecraft without any sort of mod on. The Minecraft community also provides texture packs (which can radically change the look of the game) and challenge maps to keep things fresh. With a game as open as Minecraft, you seriously can do almost anything you want with it. Terraria, although it’s pretty open-ended as well, puts some limits on modding due to bosses and NPCs. It will be interesting to see what type of mods are created for it.
My point to all of this crap is, as with almost everything else in the world, it comes down to personal preference. I recommend trying each one out, so that if you do want to get into your little fan wars you will at least know what you’re talking about when you voice your opinion.
| Current Version (as of writing) |
Minecraft Beta 1.6.6 |
Terraria 1.0.3 |
| Programming Language | Java | C# |
| Graphics | 3D first-person | 2D sidescroller |
| Cost | €14.95 while in Beta, €20 when finished (with discounts for those who purchased in Beta) | $9.99 on Steam |
| Goals | Mine for resources, survive, kill enemies, build | Mine for resources, survive, kill enemies, build |
| Character Customization | Can create and/or upload skins, otherwise stuck with “Steve” (unless mods are used) | Can choose male or female and color of clothing, eyes, hair, and skin |
| Ores/Valuable Resources | Coal, Redstone, Diamond, Gold, Iron, Obsidian | Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Meteorite, Demonite, Hellstone, Obsidian |
| NPCs/Mobs/Monsters | Non-hostile: Pigs, Sheep, Cows
Neutral: Wolves Hostile: Zombies, Skeletons, Spiders, Creepers, Slimes |
NPCs: Guide, Demolitionist, Merchant, Dryad, Old Man, Arms Dealer, Nurse
Monsters: Zombies, Slimes, Goblins, Demon Eyes, Skeletons, Eater of Souls, Giant Worms, etc. Bosses: Eye of Cthulhu, Devourer of Worlds, Skeletron |
| Game Modifications | Not officially supported, but there are many, many mods out there | Not officially supported, few if any mods out there (it also just came out, so there’s that) |
| Multiplayer | Have to host your own server, basically the same as single player | Dedicated servers (as of version 1.0.3), PVP |
Terraria FTW >:L
Although i have both terraria and minecraft
Although i have both minecraft and terraria i think that they are actually 2 different games. both the games could have improvements. terraria becomes 3d that would make it awesome and minecraft that has a TON of bugs. both games are great expect its really hard to compare them
the thing is that one of the great things about terraria is that you have a large side view. also the fact that MC has bugs is because it is 3D. if terraria went 3D just like MC then it would have bugs as well. i personally like them both but i think they should stay with the general game design because what if i wanna build a giant detailed statue? off to MC! what if i want to build a epic castle with realistic furnishings and NPC,s? off to Terraria!
uhm.. no you don’t know what you are talking about. There are lots of reasons games have bugs other than being a 3D game. Seriously don’t open your mouth unless you know what you are talking about.
Terraria is just a 2D sidescrolling version of Minecraft.
OH, YOU.
you couldn’t be more wrong kind sir.
You idiot! Terraria has bosses, walls, much more mobs, MANY MORE BLOCK TYPES AND ORES, and a lot more than Minecraft can handle! I don’t care if Terraria is 2D! Try it, and find out if it really is what you claim!
I agree with bob,
i have both minecraft and terraria and used to think the same as everyone else!
“oh! Terraria is rubbish its just minecraft but 2D” but its not trust me, i used to be one of the people who said that but as soon as I started playing Terraria, I realised how different they are.
Terraria is more of an adventuring game and minecraft is more of a building game, Trust me, give Terraria a go
I play both and they shouldn’t be compared. Terraria has much more stuff in it such as npc’s and bosses, but I’ve been end to end, all the way to the underworld, and through all of the dungeon and have all molten equipment in just 40 hours of gameplay on single player. Personally, the best thing about Terraria is that it runs smoothly on my laptop.
I think the Terraria devs are going to make some harder world types to extend gameplay a bit, but yeah, once you get all of the endgame stuff there’s nothing else to do right now other than to start a new character. And yes, the games shouldn’t be compared. I was reaching trying to make that damn chart.
I completely agree, they are too different to be compared!
I prefer minecraft i play both but i find much more ecxiting the 3D world of minecraft and minecraft maybe has less craftings and no npc but in the building has much more options and is more realistic than terraria also minecraft is still a beta isn´t nearly finished and has been slower than terraria on that beacause of minecraft nature but if i prefer minecraft now when it becomes a finished game it will be much better than terraria.
sorry for mi english mi first language is spanish
You can host minecraft on Dedicated Servers… Not just your own computer….
the whole debate is retarded, it is like comparing doom to contra 3. just stupid. they are both fun games in their own different ways.
I prefer Terraria but I think it could definitely learn from Minecraft and add farm animals, a weather system etc. I also think Minecraft has better music and I would love to see a 1st person feature so you can get the vast openness sense you get in Minecraft in Terraria…
I think that they are both awesome games, but minecraft is a little bit better.
Minecraft is much better than terraria
wow, he used caps lock. fury is unleashed D:
Who is this “he” you speak of?
I have a lot to say. First Notch was INSPIRED by infaminer. He only took the basics of it but they are completely different. Terraria isnt really a ripoff though.2, minecraft gives you a 3d world, animals, and lots of good stuff.3, anything Terraria has can be modded into minecraft.4, minecraft has mods.5, Terraria has bosses. And 6, The’yre both really good, but I prefer Minecraft.
Minecraft is a building game with RPG materails,
Terraria is a RPG game with building materails.
hey if you ghyz like minecraft you have to check out this new game my island fortress i recieved my beta copy about four weeks ago omg its freakin hot! there are some vids on youtube i am going to post my own video next week some time its going to be freakin hilarious ill call it something like “blowing up chickens” keep an eye out for it. thought i would pass on the msg you ghyz will get a kick out of this vid. Oh and p.s theres no bugs (YEAH) check out their site you can get a free beta copy http://www.myislandfortress.com
FUCK TERRIERIA OR WHATEVER MINECRAFT RULES NOTCH’S DEAD BROTHER INHABITS IT WHAT ABOUT GAY LITTLE TERRERIA HEROBRINE FTW
TERRARIEA IS AS AWESOME AS A FUCKING FICUS SOOOO TAKE THAT BITCHES
I don’t know if you meant to compare Terraria to a genus of trees, but if so, +50000 for creativity.
Pretty cool, if you are not looking for hard data.
its like comparing mariokart to grand theft auto
It is kind of dumb comparing them, but I think that for me Minecraft wins (I have both games, now) simply because of the MASSIVE modding community. That’s what buys me over. So many talented modders, so many exciting variations. That’s the problem, see, that some people tend to view Minecraft as just vanilla Minecraft, but a large chunk of the spirit of MC is the mods that add so many new things.
Heck, there’s a guy doing a Terraria mod for Minecraft.
But, it’s as the OP said, it comes down to personal opinion. Some people prefer Minecraft, some prefer Terraria. They’re similar, almost the same when you break them down to their very essences, but it’s like saying, “Herp derp, MAC or WINDOWS, HERPITY DERP!” What I mean by this is that the arguments are basically fanboys sticking up for their game/OS, and that they don’t realise that WINDOWS might not suit a MACINTOSH user, and vice versa.
You are all fucking retarded. Get your facts straight.
I personally think Minecraft is better, and i don’t really give a shit what you fanboys think.
I personally think that Minecraft is a better, more developed game that Terraria. I have both and have played both for a very long time (they are both very addicting) so I have experience about both of the games. However, Terraria is a bit too busy when it comes to gameplay. I remember that I was constantly being attacked by monsters which never stopped coming. Also, Minecraft allows you to be more of a part of the game by allowing you to be in first person mode. It also allow you to be part of the game by having such a wide range of customibility, (skins, mods and texture packs). However, it really depends on personal interest, but I strongly suggest you choose Minecraft if you wish to buy a game soon.
(I know I will be harassed by Terraria fanboys but I want to say this to them,
Terraria – Gay Game = 0
So Terraria minus gay game equals ‘O’???
This happens in too many places, it happens when people compare CoD to Battlefield, or Mortal Kombat to Streetfighter. This happens to goddamn much, i mean, most of the people in this argument that say Minecraft/Terraria are better than the other have never even played the game they’re arguing against. Honestly, I like Terraria a little better, and when i say this i mean by about an inch more, and the only reason is ive had Minecraft since about November of 2010, so Terraria for me is newer and thus, more exciting. But im sure if Terraria first and Minecraft later, i would be sure to like Minecraft more