Opinion Your 1992 GOTY

Stevey · Nov 23, 2019

Dune II, my first proper RTS, still enjoy playing it 27 years later

MJunioR · Nov 23, 2019

So, I didn't like TLoZ and I hated the first Mortal Kombat, so for me that leaves Mario Kart and Sonic 2. I was a Sonic stan for a long part of my life but I don't think I ever finished a Sonic game looking back at it, they never grab my attention for long, while MK, which admittedly, I didn't had the most fun with, had me spending days and days playing it though. MK is it then.

beep boop · Nov 23, 2019

Damn, ‘92 was stacked! I plan on playing UU soon. Based on everything I’ve read about it, that’s probably my top pick.

Out of the ones that I’ve already played, I guess ALTTP is my favorite?

kio · Nov 23, 2019

My heart wants me to vote Streets of Rage 2 but I'll probably vote for UU simply because of how revolutionary it was at the time. At the end of the day I feel the "best" title must be awarded to whatever pushed the medium furthest forward.

Either way it was a fantastic year and a great sign of what the rest of the 90s had in store for us. I, and most of us I guess, were truly blessed to be able to experience most of it.

lashman · Nov 23, 2019

Indiana Jones all the way ... best game of all time!

Alexandros · Nov 23, 2019

lashman said:
Indiana Jones all the way ... best game of all time!

That's what I voted for but the true best game of all time is coming up soon, in 1994.

lashman · Nov 23, 2019

Alexandros said:
That's what I voted for but the true best game of all time is coming up soon, in 1994.

Chris · Nov 23, 2019

Bonfires Down said:
Alien 3

Daaaaamn I remember hammering this as a kid on the Master System. It was tough, I was 8,

Seems hard to pick between Zelda and Streets of Rage 2, but I feel like there hasn't been another game like Streets of Rage 2 since 1992 (and yeah I'm counting Streets of Rage 3). I miss the side scrolling beat 'em up from the 90s like Golden Axe and co.

Digoman · Nov 23, 2019

Star Control 2. Probably my favorite game of all time (or at least top three). The exploration, writing which made me both laugh and be intrigued at the same time, great music, and simple but really addictive ship combat. I really hope that now with the whole lawsuit behind them, Paul and Fred can make a sequel (3 doesn't count

)... and yes, I know I'm going to be disappointed one way or another.

Fate of Atlantis comes close, and probably is the best adventure game of all time for me, even though I was more of a "Sierra guy" back then.

Honorable mention to Dune 2 because I also played a LOT of it.

Kind a incredible that I didn't even consider Wolfenstein 3D, but while it was revolutionary, it was on the next one where id really nailed the formula.

Alexandros · Nov 23, 2019

Bonfires Down said:
Spill the beans.

m_dorian · Nov 23, 2019

I voted for Indiana Jones but these polls make it really very hard for me to choose one.
Just like 90 and 91 there is no wrong answer here, i can't with all my heart vote only one.
Flashback, Wolfenstein, the Ultimas, Dune, Alone in the Dark, Kings Quest there were all wonders in my eyes, great games i had the luck to experience and they are all top games for me.

The above is not a rant but a praise, I like these threads very much even if they put me in the precarious position to choose a precious but that's also the fun of it.

Blizniak · Nov 23, 2019

I've not played all of them but Ultima Underworld wins easily for me.

m_dorian · Nov 23, 2019

Alexandros said:

YES. But also Tie fighter and probably some more i am not remembering now.
But yes this is my 94 pick too.

But for 93 i am certain even of it's not in the prepared list. Mateys.

Tizoc · Nov 23, 2019

Sonic 2 was a big part of my childhood so ima gonna have to shill for that one.

KainXVIII · Nov 23, 2019

Holy shit, 93 is crazy for pc gaming, so many games of generations for me, so hard to choose one game

Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Flashback
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
King’s Quest VI
Alone in the Dark
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen

z1ggy · Nov 23, 2019

Another crazy year full of classics. I will go with Streets of Rage 2, i still play it once a year or so.

Joe Spangle · Nov 23, 2019

Got to be Zelda for me. Mario Kart was close second. Alone in the Dark gets a mention, that game seemed pretty advanced at the time.

ISee · Nov 23, 2019

This one is easy for me: Ultima 7.
Yes it is cumbersome (especially inventory management), but the world simulation and level of detail is still something that most other, modern RPGs aren't able to achieve. After all, you are able to bake your own bread ^^

2. Indy
3. Dune 2
4. Alone in the Dark
5. Star Control 2

Funny enough: 1994 also has my number one game of all times. So that one will be easy as well.

Durante · Nov 23, 2019

Last one was hard for me, this one is extremely easy. Sure, Zelda, nice game and all, but Ultima 7 is easily one of the top 3 greatest achievements of all time in CRPGs. So far ahead of its time.

Oldschool PC · Nov 23, 2019

Ultima Underworld created a new genre, so I have to give it to that.

Wildebeet · Nov 23, 2019

I don't think I should be made to choose between Dune 2, LTTP, and Mario Kart. I think I actually played all of them in 1993.

Going with Dune 2.

Panda Pedinte · Nov 23, 2019

Streets of Rage 2 was mind blowing for me when I played it back in the day. I felt it was more complex than the first game and I liked the special abilities in place of the police cars.

Kandrick · Nov 23, 2019

Again so many great games, but this time it will be an easy pick, and for the first time, i'll pick a console game and not a PC game!

Voted for Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Honorable mentions to Ultima Underworld and Dune 2.

Wibblewozzer · Nov 23, 2019

I didn't get into PC gaming that much until closer to Half-Life so this list is pretty much just Zelda and then everything else. I even looked up a list online of other games for 1992 not listed and there really wasn't a ton of notable games for me in 1992. Definitely played a bunch but they aren't better than Zelda.

Futaleufu · Nov 23, 2019

Wolf3D

Milena · Nov 23, 2019

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is at the very top of my favorite games, so I voted for that one of course. But 1992 certainly was an amazing year.

Le Pertti · Nov 23, 2019

Again, as much as I like most games here, Zelda, when it came out was mind-blowing! That opening! And hearing actual instruments in the music, there wasn't a single person in my friends group that didn't just sit there with their mouth open.

Alextended · Nov 23, 2019

Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

ISee · Nov 23, 2019

Alextended said:
Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

lol

I remember being very confused by the game, so the video is actually a good representation

But Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny was my first person view RPG of the year (but with tactical isometric combat!). Probably nobody else remembers it anymore, but it was based on a popular pen and paper series over here: Das schwarze Auge (Black Eye). Though I'm certain Wizardry 7 was the better game! I've read a lot of positiv stuff about it over the years.

Tizoc · Nov 23, 2019

Masterful~

Ge0force · Nov 23, 2019

Forcing me to choose between Mortal Kombat and Fate of Atlantis is a huge crime

Voted for Mortal Kombat because I spent most time at that game. Of course today, Fate of Atlantis is the better game because it's timeless.

low-G · Nov 23, 2019

Voted the masterpiece of design LTTP. It was absolutely stunning at the time.

As usual for the 90's a lot of GOATs up in there.

Anyone else remember how Super Mario Kart was considered a 'sleeper hit' in the day? It was the original definition, a game that came out of nowhere and surprised with excellence. There wasn't the Internet around so games really could sneak up on you. I remember there was a lot of skepticism about Mario Kart as it came out. Now Mario Kart itself is iconic, so it's hard to even think of it as some 'oh look at these guys cashing in with some garbage', but that's a bit of how it was.

I was thinking about this because Jedi Fallen Order is about as close as we come these days. A lot of people, myself included, thought this was going to be some near-drek, especially a few months back, but it surprised the community a lot.

Li Kao · Nov 24, 2019

Those polls make me sweat bullets

How can I choose between the historical importance of Ultima 7, Wolfenstein 3d, and the hundreds of hours of fun of Mario Kart ?

Voted U7, not my favorite game, but the sheer ambition of it is historical.

Aelphaeis Mangarae · Nov 24, 2019

This is a hard one. 1992 was an absolutely incredible year for game design. And there's a delicate line between games in 1992 that are fun to go back to and games that are incredibly important milestones of design.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis was one of the finest point and click adventure games ever made. A worthy successor to the films that preceded it. It was one of the earliest cases of a videogame being the "true sequel" to a movie, I think.

Ultima Underworld is fundamentally the reason something like Cyberpunk 2077 exists. It was a landmark work of first person RPG design. We owe so much to it. I think it deserves a lot more credit than Wolf 3D.

Alone in the Dark is a landmark piece of game design. The original survival horror game. The first videogame with interpolated animation.

Ecco the Dolphin was a frustrating game (later cart revisions and re-releases reworked the difficulty), but it was a majestic work. Ecco was a game where art, sound, mechanics, story -- it was all holistic. During its development, focus testers wanted human enemies, and the developers flat-out refused, and fortunately, SEGA's American division was brave and daring enough to give their developers the freedom to pursue a vision, even if audiences didn't initially understand it. Of course, executive meddling helped the game not be an dementedly hard piece of shit, but there's a unification of tone and theme and mechanics that was really rare because pretty much all its contemporaries were designed around the familiar. Ecco is all about the unfamiliar. The alien. The unexpected. It's a game about dolphins. A game about what happens when you take a shitload of ketamine and hallucinate the Earth Coincidence Control Office (Or ECCO) stealing your penis.

I think that the question comes down to, "Which on this list would you like to spend the afternoon playing?" And for me, the answer is Indiana Jones. Arguments could be made that some of these other games are more important, are better, or whatever. But I think Indiana Jones was kinda forward thinking in its difficulty, its puzzle design, and so on. It could release today, and it wouldn't look out of place. I mean, so could Ecco, IMO, but I think Indiana Jones has a more universal and approachable quality.

Wildebeet · Nov 24, 2019

I was thinking today about how my first experience with Zelda: Link to the Past was a rental. I used to rent games. There was a time you could rent a scuffed up, permanent marker scrawled cartridge in a clear plastic box, and somehow that was awe inspiring to me back in that time. I was so blown away by the experience that I "double rented" it with the remains of my warchest (mostly pocket lint and a lot of found change and bottle deposits), and had it for a whole 5 days. Luxurious. Never did beat the game in that time. I couldn't afford LTTP without saving for damn near ever, but that's what I eventually did and it was totally worth it even in kid bucks, even if it took me months.

When Dune 2 came out I didn't even have a computer. I was fascinated by PCs, but they were fucking expensive back then and basically useless. There wasn't any real internet then. I had a friend down the street whose brother bought him a high end PC and would always supply him with the coolest stuff of the day, like Dune 2, Doom, Wolfenstein, Simcity, Wing Commander, etc. (we never had any point & click games though). Dune 2 blew me away, like I couldn't believe it was even possible since there was nothing like that on consoles. Huge power trip having a whole army and a fortified base. There was no drag select for units. Each was moved individually by clicking it, selecting "MOVE" from a menu, and then clicking where it was to go. Nevertheless, we liked to mine the whole map of spice, create needlessly large armies, massive bases, then crawl them one at a time across the desert to fight an incompetent AI enemy that had no chance in hell against 180 armored vehicles, suddenly nuke and air strike them into oblivion, then congratulate ourselves on our strategic genius.

Sounds like I could've been a real-life general, but anyway...

Kvik · Nov 25, 2019

This thread didn't get any easier, but at least I know I had to vote Ultima VII. It used to blow my mind how the NPCs in that game actually have set schedule every day, They wake up, go to work, come back to their home and sit at their dinner table, and sleep. And repeat.

It's probably nothing really special by today's standard, but in 1992 it was a big deal for me.

Arsene · Nov 25, 2019

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for me. Its not as good as CD, Sonic 1 or Sonic 3 but still an iconic classic and one I spent a ton of time playing.

Dandy · Nov 25, 2019

Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Easily one of the best RPGs ever made. The world is massive, exploring it was immensely rewarding, and it's filled with unique NPCs with their own daily schedules. It was such an ambitious game, even by today's standards.

Star Control II is also up there for me, but Ultima 7 is the blueprint for what makes a great RPG for me and most modern RPGs still don't match it.

Sidenote, but my top 3 favourite videogames of all time are Secret of Monkey Island, Ultima 7/7.5, and Star Control II. The early 90s were definitely the best era of gaming for me.

Li Kao · Nov 25, 2019

I'm pretty sure Ultima 7 intro was my first time hearing voiced dialogs. Needless to say, it's forever burned in my mind.
Voice from the grave, big red face with bright yellow eyes, 'Avatar...' Jaw drop.

Dandy · Nov 25, 2019

Li Kao said:
I'm pretty sure Ultima 7 intro was my first time hearing voiced dialogs. Needless to say, it's forever burned in my mind.
Voice from the grave, big red face with bright yellow eyes, 'Avatar...' Jaw drop.

Yeah, I think it was the same for me as well.

Durante · Nov 25, 2019

Dandy said:
Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Easily one of the best RPGs ever made. The world is massive, exploring it was immensely rewarding, and it's filled with unique NPCs with their own daily schedules. It was such an ambitious game, even by today's standards.

Star Control II is also up there for me, but Ultima 7 is the blueprint for what makes a great RPG for me and most modern RPGs still don't match it.

Sidenote, but my top 3 favourite videogames of all time are Secret of Monkey Island, Ultima 7/7.5, and Star Control II. The early 90s were definitely the best era of gaming for me.

Very well said!

Given all the talk about Ultima 7, I want to mention Exult (an open source multi-platform Ultima 7 implementation). I'm sure most of you are already aware of it, but if someone wants to try and see what Ultima 7 is all about in 2019 it's the best choice.

Ruvon · Nov 25, 2019

Well, I asked so I had to vote for Dune, and I still thinks it's one of the best game ever made, but wow that year was huge. I had my first PC in 93 so I played these games at least one year after release, but my first games were, in that order : Sim City (came with the machine), Monkey 2 and Dune and all these 3 mesmerized me for so long...

If I had the possibility, I would have voted for all these below :

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Flashback
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
Dune
Alone in the Dark

Bonfires Down said:
Premilinary list for 1993:
DOOM
Super Mario All-Stars
SimCity 2000
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
Day of the Tentacle
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Secret of Mana
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Syndicate
Mortal Kombat II
Myst
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle
Shadowrun
Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds
NHL ‘94
Master of Orion
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos
X-Wing

Honorable mentions:
Sonic CD
Gunstar Heroes
Simon the Sorcerer
Cannon Fodder
Frontier: Elite II
Rocket Knight Adventures
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
Return to Zork
Betrayal at Krondor
The 7th Guest
Star Fox
Daytona USA
Ridge Racer
Virtua Fighter
NBA Jam
Landstalker
Pocky & Rocky
Aladdin SNES/Genesis
Cool Spot
Eternal Champions

Damn 93 gonna be tough too

Oldschool PC · Nov 25, 2019

I have to give a special mention to Darklands. It's easily one of the most ambitious open world sandboxes ever created.

Dandy · Nov 25, 2019

Oldschool PC said:
I have to give a special mention to Darklands. It's easily one of the most ambitious open world sandboxes ever created.

It's memorable for me in that I had no idea what the hell I was doing, and died almost immediately!

Durante · Nov 25, 2019

Oldschool PC said:
I have to give a special mention to Darklands. It's easily one of the most ambitious open world sandboxes ever created.

I never played it, but it sounded amazing when I read about it in the CRPG book.

FunnyJay · Nov 25, 2019

I would just like to state my appreciation for these threads, and all the lovely retro discussion they inspire!
Kudos!

Opinion Your 1992 GOTY

Game of the Year 1992?

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Ultima VII: The Black Gate

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Flashback

Super Mario Kart

Streets of Rage 2

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Star Control II

Wolfenstein 3D

Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss

Darklands

Contra III: The Alien Wars

Dune

Dune II

The Lost Vikings

Mortal Kombat

King’s Quest VI

Alone in the Dark

Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant

Other

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