The 90s were peak gaming for me - a lot a creative things were going on, new genres being explored. And we were spoilt for choice with all the blatant piracy.
But if I had to choose one game that really blew me away, that would be Thief.
I don't really know what to pick so I'm going to go with something kind of obscure, "The Adventures of Bouapha: Spooky Castle". The gameplay is a little hard to explain but it kind of plays like Zelda but you can pickup upgrades for your main weapon that allows it to be thrown in many directions and it has sub-weapons that can either be found or dropped by enemies and they have limited ammo.
I actually forgot this game existed until itch recommended me "Hamsandwich", which is a free and open-source collection of updated versions of a bunch of old Hamumu Software games. There are mods available for specific games and it's available for Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android and any other OS/device that can play the online version.
In more or less this order:
Fifa 99
Duke Nukem 3D Doom
Rise Of The Triad
Test Drive 5
Simcity
Hardball 3
Madden 98
Starcraft
Age Of Empires 2
Need For Speed 2
All Points Buletin
Super Mario Kart and NHL '94
Technically 2000, but Sacrifice. It's still one of the most unique games I've ever played, and is my top wish for a remake/remaster.
It's a hybrid action RPG and RTS, which isn't completely unheard of, but even in its niche genre it's unlike anything else. You play a wizard with a range of both spells and summonable units, which can be ordered around to a limited degree, or more commonly used as a personal escort. Both the units and your own spells are very creative, and the higher level ones can be ridiculously powerful. In a glorious early celebration of terrain deformation, many of the high level spells will create volcanoes, mountains, craters, or even gaping voids in the already surreal landscapes. The story mode is also very weird and funny, with some top level voice actors.
I've always been a Nintendo fan, and their first- and second-party catalog from the 90s is phenomenal:
Outside of Nintendo, the standout titles for me are:
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
TOCA Touring Car Championship
Gran Turismo
Syphon Filter
Super Mario 64
Baldur’s Gate. That game blew me away.
Can't decide between at least:
Homeworld
Frontier: Elite II
Warcraft II
Burden of the Crown
X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance
The ones I played the most were:
Heroes of Might & Magic
Civilization
Genghis Khan ][: Clan of the White Wolf
ZZT
Final Fantasy 6
not in order, mind
The one i played the most was probably super mario world
My favorite snes game
But ocarina of time was great too.
For pc id say, red alert or diablo.
I don't think I can choose between games like Alpha Centauri, Marathon, Chrono Trigger, Homeworld, Quake, Counter-Strike (I played the beta in '99, does that count?), not to mention King of Fighters '98, Half-Life, Star Craft... wow it really was the golden era of gaming wasn't it?
It's impossible to pick just one (even when talking specific genres)
But when it comes to fighting games, Marvel vs. Capcom and KOF '97 where among the best.
I liked the Marathon series for Mac and the Twisted Metal series for PS.
Flashback. There's something cinematographic in that old Delphine gem.
MGS 1 for obvious reasons.
Blitz and NBA street 1&2 were definitely some faves.
Jet Moto series.
Jet grind radio had so many hours sunk into it.
Resident evil 1-2 was absolutely terrified of these games but couldn’t stop playing and quickly became a favorite of me and my dad.
Sonic Adventure.
If 1998 in Japan and 1999 everywhere else is too close to the '00s (and in the context of what SA1 meant for the Sonic franchise I wouldn't blame you,) Sonic CD.
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~