1997 was the greatest year in history of gaming

[leino]

Planetescape: Tournament

He meant PlanEscape: Tourniquet.

Beavis & Butt-Head Bunghole In One also came out in glorious 1999.

 

[DemonKing]

1998 is my favorite year.

Baldur's Gate, Half-Life, Thief: The Dark Project, StarCraft...pretty hard to argue there.

I am also partial to 2004 with Rome: Total War, Far Cry, Half-Life 2 being highlights.

If you're into CRPGs though it's hard to go past 2014! So far this year I've played and enjoyed Blackguards, Might & Magic X, Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2, Lords of Xulima and Legend of Grimrock 2. There have been so many good CRPGs released that I've barely touched a strategy or FPS game all year!

 

[Jaesun]

FF VIII

Final Fantasy VIII is awesome. FUCK THE HATERS!

 

[Siveon]

Spoiler

Civilization II is from 1996.

Also, behold 1992 and weep:

Alone in the Dark
Amberstar
Breath of Fire
Chakan
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Dark Seed
Darklands
Dragon Quest V
Dune II
E.V.O.: Search for Eden
Final Fantasy V
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Ishar: Legend of the Fortress
King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
Lunar: The Silver Star
Megaman 5
Metroid II: The Return of Samus
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
Mortal Kombat
Ninja Gaiden
Prince of Persia 2
Quest for Glory I (VGA remake)
Quest for Glory III
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny
Shin Megami Tensei
Shinning Force
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Star Control II
Street Fighter II
Streets of Rage 2
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario World 2
The Dark Queen of Krynn
The Legend of Kyrandia
The Lost Vikings
The Summoning
TMNT: Turtles in Time
Treasures of the Savage Frontier
Ultima Underworld I: The Stygian Abyss
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
Wolfenstein 3D

You know I love you Fallout, but 1992 is the best year by far.

'97 had less weeb shit.

Just kidding, I highlighted the games I've played/liked, and italicized the games I want to play. Both years were awesome, though I would spend all of today trying to figure out which one was better.

Was Breath of Fire really that noteworthy, though? I tried it once and it felt pretty mediocre compared to other JRPGs in that era.

You could be a dragon, though.

Well, you got me there.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

1997 didn't have Command Ops. So the list is wrong.

 

[Grunker]

Final Fantasy VIII is awesome. FUCK THE HATERS!

And you detest DA:O...

 

[Jaesun]

Final Fantasy VIII is awesome. FUCK THE HATERS!

And you detest DA:O...

FF VIII has one of the BEST card games (excluding Arcomage).

 

[Grunker]

brb, gotta draw spells for the next 7 hours

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Good games released in 1997:

7th legion
Age of Empires
Battle arena toshiden 2
Beast and bumpkins
Blade Runner
Blood
Blood omen Legacy of Kain
Broken Sword 2
Carmageddon
Civilization 2
Close Combat
Command and Conquer Red Alert Aftermath
Constructor
Curse of Monkey Island
Dark Colony
Dark Earth
Die Hard Trilogy
Dink Smallwood
Earth 2140
Dungeon Keeper
Fallout
Flying Corps Gold
G-Police
Hexen 2
Ignition
Incubation
Interstate 76
Krush Kill n Destroy KKND
The last Express
Little Big Adventure 2
Lost Vikings 2
Mageslayer
Myth
Need for speed 2
Abe's odyssey
Outlaws
Panzer General 2
Postal
Quake 2
Jedi Knight Dark forces 2
Shadows of the empire
Xwing vs TIe fighter
Turok Dinosaur hunter
Twisted metal 2
Warlords 3
Wing Commander 5 Prophecy
Xcom apocalypse
Warhammer 40k Final Liberation

Yeah, it's also my favourite year, you misssed some excellent stuff though:

Ace Ventura
Diablo: Hellfire
Doom 64
Final Fantasy Tactics
Goldeneye 007
GTA 1
Last Rites
MDK 1
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Quake: Scourge of Armagon / Dissolution of Eternity
Red Alert: Counterstrike
Redneck Rampage
Shadow Warrior
Street Fighter III
Take No Prisoners
Total Annihilation
Virtua Fighter 2 PC
War Gods


Plus:
Toshinden 2 is from 1996.
DHT was utter shit.

 

[grudgebringer]

Can't brofist you enough, OP. Also add Netstorm to the list.

 

[Accept]

2007 CoD: MW, better than every game from the 90's combined!

 

[Cyberarmy]

I embrace the 90s games as whole especially after looking back to 2002-2014 games...

 

[Makabb]

Dink Smallwood

Your point?

Dink Smallwood is the best game of all time. ALL TIME!

Exactly, only those who haven't spent a lot of time with Dink Smallwood can't say it's a good game.

This makes looks Hatred like childs play!

 

[ghostdog]

Year 1990 , muthafuckas :

Super Mario Bros. 3
The Secret of Monkey Island
Final Fantasy
Mega Man 3
King's Quest V
Commander Keen
Ultima VI: The False Prophet
Wing Commander
Railroad Tycoon
Batman (NES)
Bionic Commando
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Champions of Krynn
Circuit's Edge
Crystalis
Deja Vu
DuckTales
Double Dragon II: The Revenge
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
Eye of the Beholder
Golden Axe
It Came From the Desert
Loom
Midnight Resistance
Neuromancer
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Nobunaga's Ambition II
North & South
Another World
Quest For Glory II: Trial By Fire
Red Baron
Rise of the Dragon
River City Ransom
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II
Sid Meier's Civilization
Super C
Super Mario World
The Dark Heart of Uukrul
The Immortal
Turrican
Turrican 2
Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge
TV Sports Basketball

Year 2000 was absolutely great too, it has some of my all time favorites :

Thief II: The Metal Age
Soldier of Fortune
Perfect Dark
Deus Ex
Diablo II
Icewind Dale
Chrono Cross
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
No One Lives Forever
Final Fantasy IX
Sacrifice
Hitman: Codename 47
MechWarrior 4
Vagrant Story
Age of Wonders
Breath Of Fire IV
Dragon Warrior VII
Nox
The Longest Journey
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Valkyrie Profile
Wizards and Warriors

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

Well, the final conclusion would be: gaming in the nineties (+/- a few years) was great. 1997 still wins though.

 

[Makabb]

Well, the final conclusion would be: gaming in the nineties (+/- a few years) was great. 1997 still wins though.

Would fist, 1997 had the largest variety of great games in all genres, and a few of those that are considered legendary by todays standards (Fallout, Dungeon Keeper) that's why it objectively wins.

 

[Carceri]

1999

Heroes of Might and Magic III
Jagged Alliance 2
Planetescape: Tournament
System Shock 2
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Thief Gold

Also 2 of the most awesome multiplayer shooters came out that year:

Quake 3 Arena
Unreal tournament

 

[Lord Azlan]

Civilization II is from 1996.

Also, behold 1992 and weep:

Alone in the Dark
Dune II
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
Prince of Persia 2
Ultima Underworld I: The Stygian Abyss
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant

You know I love you Fallout, but 1992 is the best year by far.

With all the years listed so far - agreed 1992 as the best year. Took out a bunch a games and left those I actually played a lot and still love a lot.

AitD - incredible experience back in the day. I crapped my pants a few times. Did not finish but I remember the feeling of playing that game.

Dune 2 - omg - is there anything to say? I completed it many times with various factions. Music just great. Ordos! I want more of this.

Fate of Atlantis - omg - is there anything to say? Clucking amazing. The beginning sequence, the Fez. I want more of this.

M&M Xeen - I don't know Jack. I think I was too young. I just played this A LOT and could not get anywhere. I just loved exploring. Then I would leave it and start again. Sorry, I prefer those M&M above Wizardries.

POP2 - the potions, the jumping, the fighting, I LOVED IT

UW1 - no text required. It's why I jumped from Amiga to PC. Some of the best games I remember I played on C64/ Amiga.

1992 wins!

 

[St. Toxic]

Sorry, 97 wins, period. It's the only list with Dink Smallwood. Every year before or after was just filler.

 

[Kalin]

Forgot to add King of Dragon Pass to the 1999 list, making that one year even more awesome.

 

[abnaxus]

brb, gotta draw spells for the next 7 hours

lol noob

 

[BLOBERT]

BROS 97 FALLOT BUT SHIT U7 AND SC2 ARE FUCKING GRAFET

ALSO TMNT AND STREETS OF RAGE 2 GET PLAYED ALL THE TIME

 

[Lyric Suite]

While not as good as '97, 2002 was a fine year as well before the true decline kicked in across all platforms.

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (best online game ever)
Divine Divinity
Eternal Darkness
Morrowind
Arx Fatalis
Age of Wonders II
Robin Hood: Legend of Sherwood
Age of Mythology
Rollercoaster Tycoon 2
Gothic II
Metroid Prime
Medieval: Total War
NoLF 2
Freedom Force
Stronghold Crusader
Battle Realms
Soldier of Fortune II
Sid Meier's SimGolf (one of the most overlooked, addictive games even for non-golf fans)
Icewind Dale II
Hitman 2
Disciples II
Mafia
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (fuck off, this was great for the time before the CoDs came along)
Ratchet & Clank
Warcraft III
Resident Evil (remake)
Soulcalibur II
Neverwinter Nights (okay the vanilla game was balls but it made the way for some quality expansions and fan mods)
Splinter Cell

Looking at that list, it seems the decline was already setting in, even if it doesn't seem obvious at first sight. Amazing how an industry can gradually turn to shit like that. Individual companies going retarded is understandable, but all gaming companies declining at the same time?

 

[Azrael the cat]

1997-2000 range were my favorite gaming years. Then came Xbawks.

Agreed, and I can't even claim kiddie nostalgia - was in the 2nd half of my 20s for much of that. Less a case of thinking back to the gaming I did as a kid (wizardry, Ultima series, double dragon at the arcade), more a case of gaming starting to fulfil my childhood dreams about what could be possible in a computer game, in terms of scope, mechanics and narrative. It's strange hearing folks now talk about liking games of that period as 'older is better' nostalgia, because for me there's no question that that era towered over anything I played as a teenager.

 

[Azrael the cat]

1999

Heroes of Might and Magic III
Jagged Alliance 2
Planetescape: Tournament
System Shock 2
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Thief Gold

Yeah, that's like the early 90s LA lakers of gaming there. Not a lot of depth to the team, but every single member of the starting 5 is an all time legend.