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System Shock Your top three games of each year of the 1990s

Lemming42

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Codex loves threads where people just list shit, right? Give your TOP THREE of each year. Anyone who says "ooh ooh i couldnt pick just three so here's some honourable mentions ooh ooh" should get a permanent ban.

Es ist verboten to have less than three, ja? If you only like two games from any given year, you must pick a third to round out the list, even if it's a game you merely tolerate.

When the results are in, I shall use advanced AI tools to determine which game was mentioned the most, and it'll become the unofficial GAME OF THE 90s.

If this thread goes well, which it will not, we can do the 2000s and 2010s and even the 2020s. It's in your interest to make this a success so that we can at least have a 2000s thread, and laugh at people being forced to include shit like Titan Quest to beef out their lists for otherwise-awful years.

Mine:
1990
Wing Commander
Wizardry VI
Oregon Trail (DOS version aka best version)

1991
Sonic the Hedgehog
Lemmings
Eye of the Beholder

1992
Ultima Underworld
Alone in the Dark
Darklands

1993
Doom
Betrayal at Krondor
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands

1994
System Shock
Heretic
Descent

1995
Anvil of Dawn
Albion
Dark Forces

1996
Daggerfall
Tomb Raider
PowerSlave

1997
Fallout
Outlaws
Tomb Raider II

1998
Half-Life
Unreal
Thief

1999
Unreal Tournament
Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Urban Chaos
 

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Arcane
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Jul 5, 2013
Messages
906
1990
Wizardry VI
Centurion
Railroad Tycoon

1991
Lemmings
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Civilization

1992
Cosmo’s Cosmic Adventure
Wizardry VII
Star Control II

1993
Doom
The Settlers
Warlords II

1994
Transport Tycoon
Master of Magic
X-COM

1995
Albion
Warcraft II
Rayman

1996
Civilization II
Master of Orion II
Heroes of Might and Magic II

1997
Fallout
Dungeon Keeper
Theme Hospital

1998
Caesar III
Populous: The Beginning
Jazz Jackrabbit 2

1999
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Jagged Alliance 2
 
Last edited:

Falksi

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Very apparent doing this how certain years were banging for me. Years like 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997 were choca full of faves, and almost impossible to whittle down.

1990
Thunderforce 3
Hellfire
Star Control

1991
Zelda: Link To The Past
Streets of Rage
Monkey Island 2

1992
Contra 3
Atomic Runner
Dune 2

1993
Doom
Shining Force 2
Flashback (SEGA CD)

1994
X-COM
Contra: Hard Corps
Tie Fighter

1995
Phantasy Star 4
Daytona USA
Comix Zone

1996
Fantasy General
Soul Edge
Duke Nukem 3D

1997
Quake 2
Hexen 2
X-Com Apocalypse

1998
Baldurs Gate
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Radiant Silvergun

1999
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
Shenmue
Dance Dance Revolution (I shit you not)
 

schru

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Joined
Feb 27, 2015
Messages
1,141
While up to 1995 I don't have enough games I'd describe as my favourites, just some I found interesting enough to fill the list, from 1996 onwards, I have a few more definite favourites for each year.



1990

I'm not sure if I have played any.

1991

Duke Nukem

I'm not sure what other games from this year I may have played.

1992

Alone in the Dark
Wolfenstein 3D
Spear of Destiny


1993

Doom
Alone in the Dark 2
Duke Nukem II


1994

System Shock
Doom II
Heretic


1995

Star Wars: Dark Forces
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Master Levels for Doom II


1996

Duke Nukem 3D
Quake
Diablo


1997

Shadow Warrior
Blood
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game


1998

Fallout 2: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
MediEvil
Half-Life


1999

Silent Hill
The Longest Journey
Unreal Tournament
 

Beans00

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Messages
1,597
some of these years are from before I was born(I'm born in 92), prior to 95 it's really just games I had on the super nintendo. I had a mega man compilation on the gamecube where I placed all the classic ones on the NES.

1990
mega man 3

I can't even think of any other good games I played from 1990. Looking at a list I cant even think of anything else I played. I see you want me to round out my list, but I literally cant

1991
super mario world
mega man 4
metroid 2

hm- zelda alttp..... 5th place is maybe FF4? Not super crazy about that game though

1992
mario kart
mario paint (lol)
mega man 5

hm... Maybe FF5? I'm not super crazy about that game though

1993
mega man x
dark sun shattered lands
doom

Mario allstars could replace any of those, but thats 4 80s games in one so it's kind of cheating, mega man 6

1994
super metroid
heretic
final fantsy 6

-close calls, demons crest, mega man x2 could both replace ff6 depending how I feel

1995
mario yoshis island
command and conquer
warcraft 2

close calls, homm 1, mega man 7, dark forces

1996
strife quest for the sigil
super mario rpg
diablo

close call homm 2, duke 3d, technically the full version of heretic was released in 96

1997
fallout
final fantasy tactics
gran turismo

-close calls, aoe 1, carmageddon, KKND

1998
fallout 2
baldurs gate
pokemon yellow

- This year has the most close calls, unreal, thief, starcraft, half life all might replace pokemon yellow depending how I feel that day. I've been on a pokemon kick with my daughters lately so it gets the nod.
Also HM to sanitarium for being the ONLY adventure game I've ever beat. Not close to my top 3 though.

1999
jagged alliance 2
rollercoaster tycoon
age of empires 2

-close calls, homm 3, gran turismo 2, unreal tournament, pokemon gen 2


Also side bar Lemming42. I played albion very briefly as a kid when I was like 7-8 years old(so 99 or 00). I was home sick from school and my mom walked into see the naked furry cat women at the beginning of the game and took the game away.
 

Ash

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Oct 16, 2015
Messages
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90s Best! First few years of the decade people were still figuring out how to do games more complex than arcade/text adventure/simple platformer etc, sometimes struck gold sometimes didn't. Year on year it generally gets better until the late 90s it was like everyone only had gold to offer, so picking only three is fucked.

1990
Star Control
Mario Bros 3
Alien Storm


1991
Streets of Rage
Zelda: Link to the Past
ToeJam & Earl


1992
Ultima Underworld
Final Fantasy V
Sonic the Hedgehog 2


1993
Doom
Zelda: Links Awakening
Sonic Spinball


1994
System Shock
Final Fantasy VI
Doom 2


1995
Donkey Kong Country 2
Descent
Worms


1996
Duke Nukem 3D
Tomb Raider
Resident Evil


1997
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Final Fantasy 7
Shadow Warrior


1998
Unreal
Resident Evil 2
Parasite Eve


1999
System Shock 2
Silent Hill
Descent 3


The golden age of gaming is 1988-2005 and the peak of the golden age is 1996-2002.

Also yes, Mario 3 is an 80s game. I cheated a little as it didn't release in the west until 1990.
 
Last edited:

Freedos

Educated
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Feb 17, 2020
Messages
55
Damn, good one...and difficult...

1990
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
The Secret of Monkey Island
Loom

1991
Super Castlevania IV
Streets of Rage
Street Fighter II

1992
Sonic 2
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Flash-Back

1993
Doom
Gabriel Knight
Day of the Tentacle

1994
Doom II
Sonic 3
Dynamite Headdy

1995
Gabriel Knight 2
Clock Tower
Comix Zone

1996
Duke Nukem 3D
Quake
Tomb Raider

1997
Fallout
Blood
Final Fantasy VII

1998
Half-Life
Metal Gear Solid
Thief

1999
Silent Hill
Outcast
Planescape Torment
 

Butter

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1990:
Wizardry VI
Champions of Krynn
Super Mario World

1991:
Lemmings
Zelda: A Link to the Past
Pools of Darkness

1992:
Wizardry VII
Ultima Underworld
Final Fantasy V

1993:
Doom
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
Zelda: Link's Awakening

1994:
Heretic
Super Metroid
System Shock

1995:
Albion
Donkey Kong Country 2
Chrono Trigger

1996:
Quake
Tomb Raider
Civilization II

1997:
Fallout
Diablo
Final Fantasy VII

1998:
Starcraft
Thief: The Dark Project
Fallout 2

1999:
System Shock 2
Planescape: Torment
Roller Coaster Tycoon
 
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Had to use MobyGames to help me with the chronology of the early decade. Some stuff I thought was late 80s, other stuff came much later!

1990
Stunts
Metal Gear Solid 2 Solid Snake
Ultima VI

1991
Scorched Earth
Streets of Rage
Sonic

1992
Ultima VII Black Gate
Streets of Rage 2
Ugh! (really!)

1993
Dark Sun Shattered Lands
Princess Maker 2
Sim City 2000

1994
Master of Magic
Uncharted Waters New Horizons
Little Big Adventure

1995
Warcraft 2
Jagged Alliance
Albion

1996
Tomb Raider
Civilization 2
Resident Evil

1997
Final Fantasy VII
Carmageddon
Fallout

1998
Thief
Metal Gear Solid
Gran Turismo

1999
Alpha Centauri
Final Fantasy VIII
Silent Hill
 

dbx

Arcane
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I was an Amiga fan boy till 1997 so...

1990
Speed Ball 2
The secret of monkey island
Turrican

1991
Turrican 2
SWIV
Utopia

1992
Darkseed
Monkey Island 2
Formula One Grand Prix

1993
Hired Guns

Cannon Fodder
Syndicate
Indiana Jones and the fate of atlantis

1994
UFO: Enemy Unknown
The Chaos Engine
Dreamweb

1995
Sesible World of Soccer 95/96
Colonization
Alien Breed 3D

1996
Breathless
Black Viper
Fightin' Spirit

1997
Fallout
Blade Runner
Tomb Raider II

1998
Half-Life
Unreal
StarCraft

1999
Unreal Tournament
System Shock 2
Alpha Centauri
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
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  • 1990 (decidely inferior to both 1989 and 1991)
    • Champions of Krynn
    • Red Baron
    • ??? Sid Meier's Pirates! was belatedly ported to the Commodore Amiga this year, with glorious graphics and sound, so I'm going to count this version
  • 1991 (arguably the best year ever for computer games)
    • Lemmings
    • Another World
    • Civilization
  • 1992
    • Agony
    • Black Crypt
    • Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
  • 1993 (also an excellent year)
    • Lemmings 2: The Tribes
    • Master of Orion
    • Perihelion
  • 1994
    • Beneath a Steel Sky
    • Final Fantasy VI
    • X-Com: UFO Defense
  • 1995 (weak year)
    • Heroes of Might & Magic
    • I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
    • Jagged Alliance
  • 1996 (year of sequels)
    • Civilization II
    • The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
    • Heroes of Might & Magic II
  • 1997 (weak year)
    • Fallout
    • Faery Tale Adventure II: Halls of the Dead
    • Diablo
  • 1998
    • Thief: The Dark Project
    • Grim Fandango
    • Fallout 2
  • 1999
    • Alpha Centauri
    • Jagged Alliance 2
    • Planescape: Torment

If we included 1989, there would be a year where the top 3 games were designed for a Commodore 64, an Atari ST, and a Commodore Amiga:
  • 1989 (another excellent year)
    • SimCity
    • Dungeon Master: Chaos Strikes Back
    • Populous
 

Humanophage

Arcane
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
5,349
1990
California Games 2 *
??
??

1991
Civilization 1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (NES) *
The Simpsons *

1992
Alone in the Dark
Ultima 7
Tecmo Basketball *
(Haven't played enough Darklands)

1993
Warlords 2
Sam and Max Hit the Road
Master of Orion 1

1994
Master of Magic
Heretic *
Robinson's Requiem *

1995
Woodruff and the Schnibble of Azimuth
Descent *
Mortal Kombat 3 *

1996
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
ADOM
Master of Orion 2

1997
Age of Empires 1
Fallout 1
Magic: The Gathering - Shandalar

1998
Baldur's Gate 1
Might and Magic 6
Fallout 2

1999
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Planescape: Tournament
Unreal Torment

* marks nostalgia reasons and I probably wouldn't like the game now.

I like a fair amount of games from before 1990, but for some reason there is nothing in 1990.
 

Incognito

Backlog incliner
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From the top of my head, with a little help from MobyGames to remember the exact year of release.

1990
The Secret of Monkey Island (Amiga)
Cadaver (Amiga)
Speedball 2 (Amiga)

1991
Sid Meier's Civilization (PC)
Eye of the Beholder (Amiga)
Another World (Amiga)

1992
Ultima VII: The Black Gate (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past (SNES)
Pinball Dreams (Amiga)

1993
Doom (PC)
Flashback (Amiga)
Syndicate (Amiga)

1994
Super Metroid (SNES)
Beneath a Steel Sky (PC)
X-COM UFO Defense (PC)

1995
Command & Conquer (PC)
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Jagged Alliance (PC)

1996
Daggerfall (PC)
Tomb Raider (PC)
Diablo (PC)

1997
Fallout (PC)
Symphony of the Night (PSX)
Final Fantasy VII (PSX)

1998
Baldur's Gate (PC)
Half-Life (PC)
Fallout 2 (PC)

1999
Metal Gear Solid (PSX)
The Legend of Mana (PSX)
Unreal Tournament (PC)

Ask me again tomorrow for a different answer.
 
Last edited:

Ash

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Oct 16, 2015
Messages
7,006
1997 (weak year)

STRONG year! Some of my favorites include:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Blood
Shadow Warrior
Tomb Raider 2
Final Fantasy 7
Quake 2
Age of Empires
Final Fantasy Tactics
Turok
Doom 64
G-Darius
Herc's Adventures
Nightmare Creatures
Take No Prisoners
Worms 2
Carmaggedon

In addition to codex favorites such as Fallout, Riven & Diablo. Or fun charming little titles like Overboard, Outlaws and Oddworld.

You're correct about 1990 and '95 being somewhat weak but claiming that for '97 is madness.
 

Lemming42

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97 is really good, in addition to all those I'd add The Last Express, Claw, Hexen 2, Crash Bandicoot 2, Battlespire, and Myth: The Fallen Lords.

97 and 98 were the hardest to choose only three from because there's like 10+ games in both years that are legit good.
 

Bendu

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Bavaria
Back in the 90s I was way more into strategy, adventures, sims and Star Wars. Good times...

1990
The Secret of Monkey Island
Red Baron
Wing Commander

1991
Sid Meier's Civilization
Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge

1992
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Dune II
The Patrician

1993
Sim City 2000
Star Wars: X-Wing
Lemmings 2: The Tribes

1994
Star Wars: TIE Fighter
X-COM: UFO Defense
Sid Meier's Colonization

1995
Command & Conquer
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Panzer General II

1996
Sid Meier's Civilization 2
Diablo
The Elder Scrolls II - Daggerfall

1997
Fallout
Age of Empires
Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

1998
Thief
StarCraft
Half-Life

1999
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Planescape: Torment
System Shock 2
 

octavius

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Bjørgvin
1990
Champions of Krynn
Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday
Wizardry: Bane of the Cosmic Forge

1991
Death Knights of Krynn
Disciples of Steel
Pools of Darkness

1992
Ultima Underworld
Dark Queen of Krynn
Darklands

1993
Ultima Underworld 2
Master of Orion
Doom

1994
Nahlakh
Doom 2
System Shock

1995
Jagged Alliance
Heroes of Might and Magic
Hexen: Beyond Heretic

1996
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
Diablo

1997
Outlaws
Hexen II
Fallout

1998
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
Thief: The Dark Project
Baldur's Gate

1999
Natuk
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Age of Wonders
 

Avonaeon

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Messages
664
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Denmark
1990
F29 Retaliator
F-Zero
Super Mario World

1991
Duke Nukem
Scorched Earth
Crystal Caves

1992
Wolfenstein 3D
Dune II
Secret Agent

1993
Doom
Duke Nukem 2
Monster Bash

1994
Doom 2
Heretic
Raptor

1995
The Dig
Dark Forces
MechWarrior 2

1996
Duke3D
Quake
Terra Nova

1997
Fallout
POD
Fighting Force

1998
Delta Force
Fallout 2
Half-Life

1999
Unreal Tournament
SWAT 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

I didn't really get into gaming until 1993, so it was a bit difficult to fill the years before.
 
Joined
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2,459
1990
Final Fantasy 3
Dyna Blaster
Wizardry 6

1991
Street Fighter 2
Fatal Fury
Micro Machines

1992
Wolfenstein 3D
Mortal Kombat
The Island of Dr. Brain

1993
Punisher
Shadow of the Comet
Cadillacs & Dinosaurs

1994
SSF2T
Colonization
Virtual Fighter 2

1995
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultimate Doom
Tekken 2

1996
Quake
Civilization 2
Z

1997
Dark Colony
Quake 2
Myth: The Fallen Lords

1998
Dune 2000
SiN
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

1999
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Quake 3 Arena
Tiberian Sun
 
Last edited:

Ryan muller

Educated
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Oct 10, 2021
Messages
436
1990
The secret of monkey island
Megaman 3
Wizardry 6

1991
quite dull year, dont think ive played anything noteworthy in 91 aside from Monkey island 2 and maybeee megaman 4

1992
King's quest VI (look at pfp)
Ultima underworld
FFV

1993
Doom
Megaman X
Gabriel knights sins of the father


1994
X-COM(everything else was shit)

1995
Chrono trigger
Megaman 7
Egar allan poe's The dark eye

1996
Civilization 2
Quake
Everything else was quite mid, but DK3D is ok i guess

1997
SaGa frontier (fav game actually)
Fallout
Klonoa

1998
Fallout 2
Thief: TDP
Sonic adventure

1999
System shock 2
Planescape torment
Age of empires 2
 

Ryan muller

Educated
Joined
Oct 10, 2021
Messages
436
Fuck, i forgot Exile 3 was released in 97, take Klonoa out, move Fo1 one rank bellow and there is it, full list
 

Falksi

Arcane
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Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,903
Location
Nottingham
Just to give an idea of how hard it was to pick for some of these years, these were just some of the contenders I had for 1990. All top tier games for me back then, with only a few having aged to the point I don't play them much any more...

FqNB7iY.jpg
 

H. P. Lovecraft's Cat

SumDrunkCat
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Feb 7, 2024
Messages
2,389
I didn't game much until around 1995 because my mom didn't have a whole lot of money to spend. Most of the stuff I got to play was whenever I stayed over at a friend's place. I think around '95 or '96 I got a Sega Genesis and then a PSX and eventually a Dell PC which I mostly played Diablo and Starcraft on.
 

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