The ‘90s were a great decade for video games, as they marked a transitional point for the industry as a whole. This was an era when video games made the tentative shift from 2D to 3D visuals, and expanded as a medium, with epic stories that could, for the first time, match those in movies and TV shows.
Each year in the ‘90s produced an absolute banger of a title, some of which helped shape the industry going forward. This was a time when experimentation was rewarded, where the arcades hummed with life, and CDs expanded what was capable to a point never seen before, especially when it came to music and voice acting.
Super Mario World Is the Best Game of 1990
Super Mario World banner that features Super Mario and Yoshi.Credit: Image via Nintendo
The SNES was carried by its launch games, with Super Mario World helping to sell the system during its initial run, as everyone wanted to see what this new era of 16-bit gaming was capable of. Nintendo didn’t disappoint, as they created a game that was absolutely packed with color and content, masterfully showing the upgrades that the new system provided, both in terms of visuals and scope.
Super Mario World introduced a ton of concepts to the series that would go on to become iconic, such as Yoshi and the Koopa Kids. These expanded the Super Mario Bros. universe in exciting new ways, while still keeping things familiar to returning fans. Throw in incredibly tight controls and an amazing soundtrack, and the SNES was off to a fantastic start.
Street Fighter 2 Is the Best Game of 1991
Ryu being hit by Ken in Street Fighter 2.Credit: Image via Capcom
Street Fighter 2 wasn’t the first fighting game, but it may as well have been. This was the game that cemented the genre as an arcade staple and helped establish competitive gaming in ways that had never been seen before. It’s one of a few SNES games that are flawless from start to finish.
With a packed roster of characters with diverse playstyles, Street Fighter 2 quickly established itself as a top-tier two-player game, with an entire audience trying to work out the best match-ups and uncover the most damaging combos, all while shoving coins into arcade machines. The importance of Street Fighter 2 to gaming as a whole cannot be understated, and nothing else that year came close.
Super Mario Kart Is the Best Game of 1992
Super Mario Kart art featuring Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, Donkey Kong and Yoshi.Credit: Image via Nintendo
No one who played Super Mario Kart back in 1992 could have guessed that this would be the first game in the best-selling racing franchise of all time. All of the elements were here, but it would take time for the mainstream audience to realize just how genius it all was. Super Mario Kart never tried to be a serious racing experience, as it focused on the fun and colorful visuals.
This was a game where players could get back in the race with the help of items, meaning that there were ways to pull off a comeback without needing the other players to screw up. The Super Mario Bros. charm also helped to sell the game, establishing it as something that casual players could enjoy, helping to wean them onto the mechanics, before they reach the brutally difficult final stages, where the maddening Rainbow Road waits at the end.
Doom Is the Best Game of 1993
Credit: Image via Id Software
It’s an incredibly complimentary mark on Doom’s greatness to say that it’s just as awesome to play today as it was back in the ‘90s. Anyone who has played the modern remasters can immediately jump in and start blasting demons, and it’s still as fun now as it was back then. Like Street Fighter 2, Doom wasn’t the first game in its genre, but it was so incredible that those other titles may as well not have existed.
Doom’s faux-3D visuals were the technical leap that people had been waiting for, with smooth movement and a frame rate that made the combat more realistic than anything seen up to that point. It helps that it has incredible level designs, with stages that have stood the test of time, all staffed by a roster of demons that are just asking for a bullet to the face.
Final Fantasy 6 Is the Best Game of 1994
Credit: Image Via Square Enix
The mid-‘90s were a time with amazing JRPGs that were often overlooked in their time, and wouldn’t find an audience until much later. Final Fantasy 6 was one such title, as its successor was the one that helped JRPGs break into the mainstream. Those who experienced Final Fantasy 6 back in the day know that it was just as good, if not better than Cloud Strife’s journey.
Final Fantasy 6 is a gorgeous game to behold, all wrapped in one of the best soundtracks in its franchise, which is no small compliment. While the SNES was starting to show its age, especially with the 32-bit systems on the horizon, the story of Terra proved that the 16-bit systems could still produce incredible games, with a JRPG of size and scope that had never been seen before.
Chrono Trigger Is the Best Game of 1995
Image Via Square EnixCredit: Image via Square Enix
Hot on the heels of Final Fantasy 6 was Chrono Trigger, a contender for the best video game of all time. This was the brainchild of some of the best minds in the industry, including the creators of Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy. Together, these great minds capped off the SNES with a classic that still stands as one of the greatest JRPGs ever made.
Chrono Trigger is a time travel story, merging multiple stories and genres into one. When a group of kids learn that the world is going to be destroyed in the year 1999 by an alien parasite, they travel throughout history seeking a way to save the planet. This begins an epic journey through history, as the player uncovers the truth about their foe while gathering the greatest warriors from each time period, culminating in an epic confrontation that is still fondly remembered by fans to this day.
Super Mario 64 Is the Best Game of 1996
Mario flies on the Super Mario 64 cover art.Credit: Image by Nintendo
Nintendo sure had a knack for kicking off their systems with a bang. Super Mario 64 had to help establish 3D visuals as the new hotness, and it would have been very easy to screw it up. Instead, Nintendo produced a genuine classic, one that still holds up. Sure, the camera is a little annoying, but the rest of the experience is stellar.
Super Mario 64 involves traveling to various worlds through magical paintings and earning Stars that pave the way to Princess Peach, who is once more in the clutches of Bowser. Super Mario 64 has absolutely amazing level design, and it’s shocking to think that the developers made such an amazing product this early in the 3D era.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Is the Best Game of 1997
Alucard is the main character of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.Credit: Image Via Konami
While 3D graphics were all the rage by this point in the ‘90s, there were still incredible games being made in 2D that left a huge mark on the industry. While Super Metroid mastered the dark, sci-fi Metroidvania, it was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night that crafted the other half of that genre’s name, with gothic fantasy in a massive castle.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night might be the best Metroidvania game ever made, with a ton of customization options to use, endless foes to face, and an absolutely gigantic world full of secrets to uncover. Alucard’s excellent adventure might have some terrible voice acting that was laughed at back in the day, but it has since become one of the memorable aspects of the Castlevania franchise, being quoted and parodied countless times.
Metal Gear Solid Snake crouching with a soldier coming up beside himCredit: Image via Konami
The PS1 had its fair share of cinematic games, with the Resident Evil titles feeling like interactive horror movies, but none felt as much like a movie as Metal Gear Solid. The sheer amount of cutscenes and voiced dialogue was shocking for a game at the time, especially one not on PC, with a story that felt like watching a film in the cinema.
Voice acting alone doesn’t carry a game, so it’s lucky that Metal Gear Solid just happens to have excellent gameplay. The stealth/action approach helped ingratiate players into Solid Snake’s world, as they weren’t some unstoppable ‘80s action hero. Solid Snake was just as susceptible to gunfire as the enemy soldiers patrolling around him, meaning the player had to use every advantage available to them, including hiding. Few games forced the player to survive in this manner, which is what made Metal Gear Solid such a fresh experience.
Silent Hill Is the Best Game of 1999
Credit: Image via Konami
The Resident Evil games were a big deal on the PS1, as they attracted many people to the console, eager to try out this more adult horror experience. Those games had their scary moments, especially the first one, but it was surface-level fear: jump scares and spooky monsters. The original Silent Hill completely blew the Resident Evil titles away in terms of scariness.
This was a game that used the limitations of the PS1 hardware to its advantage, shrouding the town of Silent Hill in a fog that hid the game world loading as the player moved. This town was bad enough during the day, but when night fell and the stone buildings were replaced by rusted and blood-coated metal, that’s when things get truly scary, all accompanied by an unsettling heavy metal/industrial soundtrack that signified that the player wasn’t in Silent Hill anymore, but somewhere far, far worse.