Summary
Growing up in the ’90s was a magical experience that is remembered fondly by anyone that was lucky enough to be there. One large pizza from Pizza Hut and a visit to Blockbuster was all it would take to enable a perfect weekend. So which game was the most enticing for those young and older gamers of the time?
Some games were too radical to pass up and others have a soundtrack that continues to worm its way into our brains. Then there were the games that made you feel older and more mature for having snuck around playing them.
Donkey Kong 64 has an amazing soundtrack that constantly reminds you of its existence. The DK Isle theme immediately fills you with a sense of nostalgia even if you didn’t grow up in the ’90s. That’s the power of Donkey Kong’s first3D platformer.
Collecting Golden Bananas was just one of the many different items to look out for in your journey. You had banana medals, blueprints, colored coins, crowns, and so much more. Plus, who could forget the legendary DK Rap that played every time you booted up the game.
Mortal Kombat is the type of game parents constantly warned you about. This fighting game had way too much violence and bloody fatalities for the mainstream. However, that’s what made the game so enticing for those who grew up in the ’90s.
Behind all the blood and gore are some really creative ways to demolish an enemy. From blowing up heads with electricity to tearing out hearts, the unique fatalities made mastering the different characters feel rewarding. This is one game you didn’t want your parents catching you playing. Luckily, the best version existed in arcades.
Every video game character needs a good partner to rely on. Mario has Luigi, Donkey Kong has Diddy, and Sonic the Hedgehog would get Tails in his 1992 adventure. For this reason, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is an instant classic as it changed the dynamic of the original game.
Tails is always following close behind the blue speedster, even if it often feels like you’re leaving him behind in the dust. Tails could be chosen as an alternative character to play as, or you could use him as the second player with another controller.
Lara Croft is an iconic ’90s character due to her cool intro and dual pistols. She’s a no-nonsense adventurer on the hunt for lost treasures and artifacts. This is the kind of game that made you want to travel the world or made the museum seem cool to a ’90s kid.
Artifacts aren’t easy to find. Being able to get to them is even harder as each tomb has a series of traps waiting to catch you off guard. To shake things up even further, enemies aren’t just your usual animals or raiders, you got dinosaurs and Atlantean creatures as well.
The original Resident Evil always felt like a game for adults. Save files are limited, movement takes a bit to get used to, and the mansion’s creepiness factor could make any kid steer clear. That’s the spirit of a ’90s kid though, taking a dip into games clearly meant for an older audience.
Nothing beats staying up past your bedtime playing Resident Evil. With enemies around every corner and not enough ammo to kill them all, you need to be strategic as to when to fight and when to run.
Final Fantasy has the perfect combination of traits to be considered a staple of the ’90s. It had a cool and brooding protagonist that was anti-establishment, and a rebellion that sought to free the planet from environmental destruction.
With a dark atmosphere throughout the first segment of the game, it was enough to make anyone pay attention to the game’s art style. It has a bit of everything from romance, betrayal, loss, and action. This made it one of the bestgames for the PlayStation.
Banjo-Kazooie is a silly little game about a bear and bird duo that go on a quest to stop an evil witch from becoming beautiful. Actually, it’s a bit more complicated than that, as Gruntilda plans to steal all that beauty from Banjo’s sister Tooty.
To come out victorious, Banjo and Kazooie must use all their 3D platforming skills to collect musical notes and jigsaw puzzle pieces across a variety of different worlds. They each have unique abilities that make them important in different situations, whether it be swimming or going up steep ramps.
There’s always that one cool game that makes you want to ditch your platform for another one. Half-Life is that game that made you stop paying attention to your Nintendo 64. Half-Life had everything, including zombies, aliens, unique physics, a secret laboratory, and the military out to get you.
However, it only released on PC, so it existed as that fabled game of the late ’90s that signified a shift in what games could be. With plenty of action and a narrative that didn’t use cutscenes, it was the definition of advancement in gaming.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an instant classic from the ’90s. It’s the first 3D Zelda game that made Hyrule feel larger than ever before. It even served as an origin story for the timeline before splitting it into multiple different paths.
The game always feels like it gets bigger. From the first time you leave the Kokiri Forest to the moment when you wake up from the seven-year timeskip, everything keeps changing. Now, try getting that Lost Woods theme out of your head.
Like many other Nintendo series in the ’90s, Super Mario 64 took its main protagonist to the third dimension. This meant exploring Princess Peach’s castle and all the magical paintings on the walls. Leaping into them will transport you towards the various stages.
This game set the stage for what the 3D Mario games would become. It’s all about tackling the same stage repeatedly with added twists and completing challenges that unlock stars. With the castle expanding with each set of stars collected, this 3D platformer was a must-have in the 90s and still is one of the greatest Mario games of all time.
