Opinion Your GOTY 1990

[Bonfires Down]

I love all kinds of polls and statistics, so if there is enough interest I plan do a similar thread for each year up to present. I'm not that experienced with games from the 80s so I thought 1990 would be a good year to start with. I’m thinking I will list games by the date of their first release in the west, whether on PC, console or arcade.

Here’s my preliminary list for 1991, so please let me know if something major is missing:

Final Fantasy IV
Super Mario World
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Another World
Street Fighter II
Sonic the Hedgehog
Civilization
Lemmings
Super Castlevania IV
Actraiser
Metroid 2: Return of Samus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Battletoads
Road Rash

 

[MegaApple]

Torn between Secret of Monkey Island, Castle of Illusion, Railroad Tycoon

 

[Sarcastico]

I was only 4 years old in 1990 and I only had the NES at the time so the only game I played from that list was Super Mario Bros. 3. Therefore that's my vote by default!

I'd definitely be interested in seeing other peoples' GOTY for the subsequent years.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I was only 4 years old in 1990 and I only had the NES at the time so the only game I played from that list was Super Mario Bros. 3. Therefore that's my vote by default!

I'd definitely be interested in seeing other peoples' GOTY for the subsequent years.

I was six so I've only played a handful of these games too

 

[ISee]

You want me to choose between Monkey Island, Wing Commander and Ultima 6?
That's a hard one. Personally I think Ultima 7 is the better and more important Ultima.

Back then I would have probably chosen Wing Commander over Monkey Island.
From today's perspective: I think it's Monkey Island. I really like Wing Commander, but Monkey Island is more repayable and aged way better from a design and game-play perspective.

 

[Wildebeet]

It was rare in those days that I played a game in the actual year it was launched though. But I did actually have SMB3 at/near launch, so that's my pick.

Also Zelda LTTP was 1992 outside of Japan. Street Fighter 2 was '92 on home systems (though I do remember it in the arcade and proceeded to spend BOTH my quarters on it.) And anyway don't make me choose between SMW and LTTP.

Pretty sure that Dune 2 was out in 1991.

 

[Tizoc]

I cant decide too many great non-nintendo games on there.

 

[Bonfires Down]

It was rare in those days that I played a game in the actual year it was launched though. But I did actually have SMB3 at/near launch, so that's my pick.

Also Zelda LTTP was 1992 outside of Japan. Street Fighter 2 was '92 on home systems (though I do remember it in the arcade and proceeded to spend BOTH my quarters on it.) And anyway don't make me choose between SMW and LTTP.

Pretty sure that Dune 2 was out in 1991.

Thanks for the correction on Zelda. I was also uncomfortable about those two games stealing all the votes.

 

[Stevey]

Monkey Island, played that for so long on my Amiga 500

 

[MJunioR]

Didn't play many of these games, so for me it's SMB3 vs Mega Man 3, and I never really enjoyed Mario games so Mega Man it is.

 

[Le Pertti]

Hard choice, I would like to chose something that I liked the most then and not something I've learned to like over the years. Hmmmmh.

 

[HK-47]

Definitely SMB3. It’s the game I’ve played the most out of all of those and it’s gameplay certainly holds up. Second and third would be Ultima 6 and probably Wing commander

 

[beep boop]

Super Mario World probably but I don't even have very strong feelings on that game. I should continue messing around with GOG, I can see liking Monkey Island or Ultima more than SMW. I've grown rather lukewarm on the series over time, excluding Mario 64 and Mario 2 which I still love. Don't know why that is.

 

[m_dorian]

I went Wing Commander but i also liked Monkey Island and Railroad Tycoon too.

 

[Dandy]

Monkey Island for sure. Ultima VI is a close second though.

 

[kio]

For me it's a toss up between Ultima 6 and Monkey Island. Both deserve the top spot but I'm choosing Ultima mostly because it needs some love in the poll.

 

[z1ggy]

Super Mario 3 of course

 

[Kandrick]

I was 10 in 1990, that was a long time ago! To be fair to the games, i'll pick between the games that i actually played that year and not later, going from memory at least. So hmm.. i have been thinking far too long about this, and it's probably between Wing Commander and The Secret of the Monkey Island.

It's a tough choice, but i'll have to go with Monkey Island. Really enjoyed it back in the day, and even to this day i still find myself listening to the main theme and other music from it, and it always brings back the memories.


Voted Monkey Island!


Special mention to Super Mario Bros 3 of course, and the Ultima series as a whole.

 

[texhnolyze]

I was just barely born to this earth lol.

But I did play Super Mario Bros 3 years later. Maybe that.

 

[Wildebeet]

Super Mario World probably but I don't even have very strong feelings on that game. I should continue messing around with GOG, I can see liking Monkey Island or Ultima more than SMW. I've grown rather lukewarm on the series over time, excluding Mario 64 and Mario 2 which I still love. Don't know why that is.

Interesting. I feel exactly the opposite, where I loved Mario 64 when it came out and was happy to move on from the SNES days, but now it just doesn't seem to hold up. For the last five (I think?) summers I've played through Super Mario All-Stars, SMW, and Yoshi's Island. They're so comfortable that I can blow through them brainlessly. Then when I play SM64, Mario Sunshine or Galaxy it's like it's cool, but that ease is gone. Maybe it's huge nostalgia though, seeing Super Mario Bros on NES back in the day was mind blowing to me. As soon as I saw that World 2-2(?) underwater level I was all in.

 

[ISee]

I should continue messing around with GOG,

Monkey Island 1 and 2 were remastered a couple of years ago. You can switch between the original graphics and the remastered ones on the fly.
The only thing that's missing is the Roland mt32 soundtrack imo. But the new remastered one is also nice.
You can buy it on Steam and gog.

That glorious monkey Island midi sound makes me smile to this very day.

 

[Kvik]

I love Ultima VI, so it got my vote. But yeah, secret of monkey island is great and it should be played by everyone!

If you have both the original and the remastered version, you can use this to build the definitive version of the game:

Monkey Island Ultimate Talkie Editions

Build DOS and ScummVM versions out of the Monkey Island Special Editions

www.gratissaugen.de

Stick with ScummVM for MT-32 emulation and the best experience.

 

[low-G]

Yeah the 90's were nuts for amazing games

For me, it's SMB3 by a landslide, both in the day and today. But Monkey Island, Wing Commander, Mega Man 3, Dr. Mario, and Star Tropics are absolute titans of gaming.

Inconceivable today to drop so many games with decades (and probably hundreds of years to go) of legacy.

 

[Alextended]

Wizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[fearthedawn]

wow, i went with monkey island over smb3 but what a tough choice

missing for 1991:

Tecmo Super Bowl

it has made various "greatest games of all time"- and "most influential video games of all time"- lists and afaik it has an active tournament scene even today

 

[Trisolarian]

I was 2. Literally the only games I played where the remasters of Castle of Illusion and Secret of Monkey Island .

I'll go Monkey Island, if only because I have a deep love for the Lucas arts adventure games. I still haven't finished the remaster . ( I have finished Grim Fandango, which I have a boxed copy of, Full Throttle and DoTT)

 

[Bonfires Down]

I have finished Grim Fandango

Respect, if you managed to do it without excessively following a walkthrough

missing for 1991:

Tecmo Super Bowl

it has made various "greatest games of all time"- and "most influential video games of all time"- lists and afaik it has an active tournament scene even today

Thanks, I have little experience with sports games.

 

[Trisolarian]

Respect, if you managed to do it without excessively following a walkthrough


Thanks, I have little experience with sports games.

Oh, I believe that I used the walkthrough at times, this was like in 2010 or something when I finally finished it. This was back when I still had a decent CRT monitor for the full classic experience. I should pick up the remaster just because.

 

[Milena]

The Secret of Monkey Island without a question
I absolutely love the game and I sometimes still get some of the songs stuck in my head.

I didn't play it at release of course, I was 3 in 1990, but I did complete it in the summer of 1994, as my mom kicked me and my sister out of our house and we spent all summer at my cousin's place-
I learned reading super fast (well, for an almost 7 years old) just for that game, as my cousin, my aunt and my uncle all played it the year before and I couldn't follow what was going on, but I was super intrigued.
It did take me all summer and my cousin helped with a few puzzles of course (I would never have figured out the head puzzle near the end by myself).

 

[fantomena]

I really like Mario games, so I went for that. Haven't played Monkey Island, but want to, someday.

 

[Joe Spangle]

Holy shit i remember that Chip n Dale game!

 

[Taborcarn]

I voted Mega Man 3 because that's the game that I probably played the most during that actual year (I was 9) but SMB3 was real close.

Monkey Island would be too, but I played that much later and only once.

 

[KainXVIII]

The Secret of Monkey Island easily (but i want to try U6 someday too!)