Opinion Your 1991 GOTY

[Bonfires Down]

So with the 1990 poll ending with Monkey Island edging out Super Mario Bros 3, let’s move on to 1991. Coming right after SMB3 is Super Mario World, commonly cited as one of the best platformers ever. Meanwhile Sega’s mascot Sonic had his debut this year in another classic game. Street Fighter II is the second best selling fighting game ever after Smash Bros, though it didn’t appear on consoles until 1992. Monkey Island 2 is a more than worthy successor to the first game, and Sid Meier’s Civilization kicked off the most popular turn based strategy franchise ever.

Here is the preliminary list for 1992:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Flashback
Star Control II
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Super Mario Kart
Streets of Rage 2
Darklands
Dune II
Alone in the Dark
Wolfenstein 3D
Mario Paint
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Mortal Kombat
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Ecco the Dolphin
Alien 3
Super Star Wars
Soul Blazer
Night Trap
Final Fantasy V
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

 

[Tizoc]

Had to shill for Turtles in Time. The SNES ver. would release in 1992, but the arcade original is still a lovely game all on its own

 

[MJunioR]

Well, again I only played a couple of these. I played the two first Civs some years ago as I was curious about them, and played SMW, Sonic and SF2 when I was a kid. Well, on this pool I'm going with SF2, I had so much fun with it.

 

[Milena]

1991 was a good year, lots of games I really liked.

But easy win for Monkey Island 2: LeChruck's Revenge for me
I played this together with my sister, my uncle, my aunt and my cousin in the summer of 1995, as they didn't get the game at release, so it was new for everybody.

So, again, a lot of great memories and the game is objectively great! Well, apart from that impossible puzzle for non-english speakers of couse. I don't even remember how much time we lost on that one, resorting at last to just try everything on every single thing.

 

[Joe Spangle]

Lemmings for me because my whole family got really into it and we all team played and took turns trying to get through the harder levels. Even my mum!

 

[Durante]

It's a hard decision for me between SMW, Civilization and Lemmings.
(I never actually played Monkey Island 2, shame on me!)

 

[Futaleufu]

Between SF2 and Civilization I ended up voting for the former.

 

[lashman]

(I never actually played Monkey Island 2, shame on me!)

 

[Bonfires Down]

I haven't played enough of Mario World to judge it, so Sonic wins this for me. And while I don't expect anybody to vote for it, James Pond 2 is a fond childhood memory of mine.

 

[Alexandros]

I had to vote for Wing Commander II. It was between this, Civ and Monkey Island 2 for me but I had to give it to one of my favorite genres, space combat sims.

 

[Ge0force]

Metroid 2 for me. But only because I didn't have an SNES at that time.

 

[Ruvon]

So with the 1990 poll ending with Monkey Island edging out Super Mario Bros 3, let’s move on to 1991. Coming right after SMB3 is Super Mario World, commonly cited as one of the best platformers ever. Meanwhile Sega’s mascot Sonic had his debut this year in another classic game. Street Fighter II is the second best selling fighting game ever after Smash Bros, though it didn’t appear on consoles until 1992. Monkey Island 2 is a more than worthy successor to the first game, and Sid Meier’s Civilization kicked off the most popular turn based strategy franchise ever.

Here is the preliminary list for 1992:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Flashback
Star Control II
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Super Mario Kart
Streets of Rage 2
Darklands
Dune II
Alone in the Dark
Wolfenstein 3D
Mario Paint
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Mortal Kombat
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Ecco the Dolphin
Alien 3
Super Star Wars
Soul Blazer
Night Trap
Final Fantasy V
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

Wait. Where's Dune in this 1992 list ? The one and only, not Dune II the STR.

Dune (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[m_dorian]

Another world.

Also great Wing commander 2 and Civilization. Also if Monkey Island 2 had a better ending I would probably favoured this over the excellent Another World.

Also adding Eye of the Beholder to this list of great games. Spend nights and nights trying to map the levels.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Wait. Where's Dune in this 1992 list ? The one and only, not Dune II the STR.

That's why I post the list before creating the poll. I'll add it.

Another world.

Also great Wing commander 2 and Civilization. Also if Monkey Island 2 had a better ending I would probably favoured this over the excellent Another World.

Also adding Eye of the Beholder to this list of great games. Spend nights and nights trying to map the levels.

I was considering about adding Eye of the Beholder 2 but I also want to stop the lists from getting out of control long

 

[Taborcarn]

Another tough choice but when it comes down to time played and enjoyment had in the year itself, I have to give it to SF2.

 

[z1ggy]

Such a great year, too many classics came out. Ill go with Street Fighter 2, it changed it all back then.

 

[sauce]

Hard choice between SMW and SF2, but I think Mario edges it out. 1991 was a great year for games

 

[Aelphaeis Mangarae]

I have to give it to Lemmings. Such a sublime synergy of puzzle mechanics, and an incredibly effective approach to art design and level design that translated surprisingly well across platforms. It's an incredible readable game, visually. There was a good GDC talk.

 

[Kandrick]

Civilization, Street Fighter 2 and Super Mario World ? There's no way i can pick one!

And that's without mentioning all the other good games on that list, especially Lemmings and Monkey Island 2, damn what a year that was.

 

[derExperte]

I'll go with Lemmings, it was 100% original and executed perfectly with the right amount of complexity. So damn great that there was literally no room for improvement and the follow-ups just made things worse.

And the 1992 list has to include Comanche, gameplay was arcadey and the maps small but visually it was far ahead of everything else, not only simulations, thanks to the voxel engine making realistically formed terrain possible. One of the seminal 'sorry Amiga, consoles go home' games that just couldn't be done anywhere else, a true system seller.

Plus Sensible Soccer.

Also James Pond 2 but no Falcon 3.0 or Space Quest IV for '91?

Oh no, just noticed a much graver injustice, Turrican 2's omission. I'd put that one even over Lemmings, peak Amiga awesomeness (C64 version was excellent too given the machine's age).

 

[Digoman]

I didn't have a Nintendo console so those games are out. Sonic was very good but couldn't touch (for me) what PC games were doing.

So I know it's not the best game (even without the consoles) on the list, but I got to go with Wing Commander 2. Love spacesims, love story based games, and that fucking intro with MT-32 music and Sound Blaster (Pro?) voices was something else. Unless I'm forgetting some game, the package as a whole was my favorite game of the year by a good margin.

Still.... amazing year with great games. Next year (1992) also had incredible games and it would be hard to choose... if it didn't had Star Control 2 in it

 

[NarohDethan]

I haven't played enough of Mario World to judge it, so Sonic wins this for me. And while I don't expect anybody to vote for it, James Pond 2 is a fond childhood memory of mine.

I played James Pond on a bootleg console, it was quite fun hahaha.
Super Castlevania IV for me.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I'll go with Lemmings, it was 100% original and executed perfectly with the right amount of complexity. So damn great that there was literally no room for improvement and the follow-ups just made things worse.

And the 1992 list has to include Comanche, gameplay was arcadey and the maps small but visually it was far ahead of everything else, not only simulations, thanks to the voxel engine making realistically formed terrain possible. One of the seminal 'sorry Amiga, consoles go home' games that just couldn't be done anywhere else, a true system seller.

Plus Sensible Soccer.

Also James Pond 2 but no Falcon 3.0 or Space Quest IV for '91?

Oh no, just noticed a much graver injustice, Turrican 2's omission. I'd put that one even over Lemmings, peak Amiga awesomeness (C64 version was excellent too given the machine's age).

Hmm, I don't know. Does anybody else have input on these games, Comanche, Turrican II, Sensible Soccer (92)? I'd rather not have a long list of games that nobody votes for and I'm already planning to axe some of the games from the list, but if there is a significant Amiga fanbase here I'll add them. I'll give a shoutout to all games that were axed though.

 

[Li Kao]

I voted Civilization but it is so hard to choose

 

[derExperte]

Hmm, I don't know. Does anybody else have input on these games, Comanche, Turrican II, Sensible Soccer (92)? I'd rather not have a long list of games that nobody votes for and I'm already planning to axe some of the games from the list, but if there is a significant Amiga fanbase here I'll add them. I'll give a shoutout to all games that were axed though.

Turrican 2 was 1991, sorry for the confusion. Comanche was quite significant but you're probably right that no one would vote for it. Sensible Soccer on the other hand, maybe.

 

[Kandrick]

Hmm, I don't know. Does anybody else have input on these games, Comanche, Turrican II, Sensible Soccer (92)? I'd rather not have a long list of games that nobody votes for and I'm already planning to axe some of the games from the list, but if there is a significant Amiga fanbase here I'll add them. I'll give a shoutout to all games that were axed though.

Even tho SWOS is the better version of the game, it came out later in 1994. But still, Sensible Soccer should be on the list for sure. But maybe i'm biased because i'm from Europe, and also owned an Amiga along with my PC.

 

[KainXVIII]

Monkey Island 2? Monkey Island 2.

 

[BlackRainbowFT]

I voted SMW but there's a ton of insane stuff on that list.

I don't think anybody is going to pick James Pond 2 from that list but in my opinion it's an underrated (forgotten?) gem. I played it a ton on my Amiga 500.

 

[Stevey]

Damn, tough year.
Between Sonic on the Mega Drive, and James Pond 2 on the Amiga.
Voted for Sonic in the end,

 

[kio]

As a Mega Drive kid my answer should be either Sonic or SF2 but I adore Lemmings!

 

[Bonfires Down]

Damn, tough year.

You ain't seen nothing yet

 

[Panda Pedinte]

I had no idea all these incredible games released in 1991

I had to vote for Sonic the Hedgehog as I played it for so many hours as a kid,

 

[QFNS]

Sadly my only choices here are SMW and SF2. Both amazing games, but I didn't play any of the others until MUCH MUCH later.

Looking back on it now I wish I had been into Civ at this age, but alas, it wasn't until Starcraft and then later Warcraft 3 that I got into PC games.

 

[KainXVIII]

Console game winning in poll even on MC

 

[Ruvon]

That's why I post the list before creating the poll. I'll add it.

Thanks !
1992 could have been a difficult choice too without Dune

 

[Sarcastico]

Tough year but I had to give it to SF2.

 

[ISee]

Oh no, that's even harder.

I liked Monkey 2 more than the first one. Especially the iMUSE music system was impressive. Fluid music transition and instrument additions between scenes! It's an impressive system to this very day.


Civilization started my love for 4x strategy. Games I still play and enjoy to this very day.

Lemmings is a classic, there can be no doubt.

And finally Wing Commander 2. I loved the story telling and fiction in this one. Game installation took forever, but this was this the first game with real speech. The speech pack had to be bought separately though. Chris Roberts was innovating something! Just look and listen to the intro! I watched endless times back then. (No worries it's in englisch)



I think I'm going with c:\wc2\wc2.exe this time around.

 

[Le Pertti]

As much as I like many games on the list, SMW when it came out was like nothing else, me and all my friends played it like crazy, People even bought SNESes just for it and they weren't even gamers.

 

[Ruvon]

And finally Wing Commander 2. I loved the story telling and fiction in this one. Game installation took forever, but this was this the first game with real speech. The speech pack had to be bought separately though. Chris Roberts was innovating something! Just look and listen to the intro! I watched endless times back then. (No worries it's in englisch)



I think I'm going with c:\wc2\wc2.exe this time around.

Nice choice of video, from Barbarian_bros, historian of retrogaming, pillar of Abandonware France, le site rétrogaming PC/Mac

Check his twitter, he post boxes of old games on a regular basis : https://twitter.com/barbarian_ltf

 

[ISee]

Nice choice of video, from Barbarian_bros, historian of retrogaming, pillar of Abandonware France, le site rétrogaming PC/Mac

Check his twitter, he post boxes of old games on a regular basis : https://twitter.com/barbarian_ltf

Cool, I just picked the version with MT 32 tbh.

But everybody that is tweeting about Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat is worth following imo. Magic was op in that game.

 

[sk2k]

Eye of the Beholder II. It was my first blobber. I was glued to the screen.

 

[Bonfires Down]

Oh no, just noticed a much graver injustice, Turrican 2's omission. I'd put that one even over Lemmings, peak Amiga awesomeness (C64 version was excellent too given the machine's age).

Eye of the Beholder II. It was my first blobber. I was glued to the screen.

I've added these games now in case you want to change your votes.

 

[gabbo]

As much as I love SMW, and I do, my brothers and I shared way too many hours with Turtles in Time for it not be that.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

SMW is the only game on that list that I would give a 10/10.

I know how legendary SFII is, but it was also not arcade-perfect. That wasn't possible until the PSX era.

And I would never play SFII again, but I could see myself running through SMW a few more times in my life. Especially to unlock all the Super Secret Star World levels.

 

[Kvik]

Some tough fuckin' choices in there. Also nostalgia-ing hard right now, lol

Despite the popular choices of Lemmings, Monkey2 and CIV1, I'll have to go with Might and Magic III, which started my love with DRPG.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

Wasn't sure if I should base this off of if I was playing the games in 1991 or today. Because in 1991 I thought Final Fantasy IV was the best. But now I don't rank it particularly high within its series as I think there's plenty of better games that have improved upon most all elements and have made it less fun to enjoy now than back then.

So I went with Super Mario World. It's still fun to play and has aged well.

I did also play and enjoy Lemmings and Another World (Out of This World for me) but I can't honestly tell myself I thought they were better overall games than Super Mario World. But Lemmings was pretty close for also being fairly timeless.

 

[Futaleufu]

SMW is the only game on that list that I would give a 10/10.

I know how legendary SFII is, but it was also not arcade-perfect. That wasn't possible until the PSX era.

And I would never play SFII again, but I could see myself running through SMW a few more times in my life. Especially to unlock all the Super Secret Star World levels.

I dont think anyone that voted for SF2 was even thinking about the SNES port. Thats like not voting for Civilization based on the SNES port.

 

[Li Kao]

M&MIII was that year ? I take back my vote, all the love for M&M.
You are good people Kvik

 

[warp_]

Super Mario World is the best game of all time so of course it wins this too

 

[Bonfires Down]

Some tough fuckin' choices in there. Also nostalgia-ing hard right now, lol

Despite the popular choices of Lemmings, Monkey2 and CIV1, I'll have to go with Might and Magic III, which started my love with DRPG.

M&MIII was that year ? I take back my vote, all the love for M&M.
You are good people Kvik

Added Might & Magic III to the poll for you two.