1993 - Gaming's Greatest Year?

Just a little video asking the question - what is your favourite year in gaming? I think we'll all have very different answers to that question, and I'm keen to hear everyone's answers and reasoning.
#1993 #dosgames #amiga

[@onaretrotip]

So what's your favourite year?

[@Dr170]

2001 Final Fantasy X Metal Gear Solid 2 GTA III Max Payne Wario Land 4 THPS3 And those are only the ones I could come up with on short notice.

[@psychopompous3207]

98 was good too.

[@SteveBrandon]

1999 mainly for the western release of the Sega Dreamcast, the last console to really blow my socks off at launch by how much better the *launch* games looked compared to the previous generation's offerings. Since then, the graphical advances between console generations, especially at launch, have been a lot more incremental. And I was already 24 turning 25 in the final quarter of the year in 1999 so I'm not basing 1999 as being my favourite year in gaming on any childhood nostalgia, just young adult nostalgia.

[@SteveBrandon]

Some other notable games I played in 1999 beyond the Dreamcast: Silent Hill Midtown Madness (the first fully 3D open world city racing game I remember playing since 1989's way-ahead-of-its-time Vette) Star Ocean: The Second Story Gran Turismo 2 Crazy Taxi (in an arcade a few months before the Dreamcast launch) Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (probably the best of the original Tomb Raider games)

[@AlbertB.-zy6nz]

1988 NEC PC Engine

[@Dwedit]

Master of Orion and Privateer were two incredible 1993 games.

[@onaretrotip]

1993 was just incredible.

[@mayamanign]

1993 was indeed glorious. I was an adult working in the industry and 93 was amazing. The era of 85 to 2005 was the literal golden age. I enjoyed gaming in the 70s but it wasn't until I was earning my own money in 1984 as a high school senior that I truly got heavy into gaming at home. Until then it was all about the arcade. The years between 1990 and 99 was so fun because you had consoles emerging and Arcades while waning were at the peak of their technical prowess. I left gaming in 99 to work on Wall Street, but it remains my favorite time of my life. The true golden age. 85 to 2005. ❤❤❤

[@onaretrotip]

Definitely. We'll never see days like those again.

[@apu_apustaja]

@@onaretrotip Playing Outrun in the arcade. *SIGH*

[@TheoDGoodman]

I was 10 in '93, but by age 14 enjoyed spending my pocket money on budget, often aged titles, so I fell in love with Monkey Island, Doom, Beneath a Steel Sky, plus others in this video

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, I really made this video based on release year, but in reality I would have played many of them in the years after their release. Like you, I had minimal pocket money to spend on games, so often went for the budget re-releases.

[@megadruretrogames]

Great video Pete! 1993 was incredible! Some superb arcade games - NBA Jam, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs 😁 Mortal Kombat 2, Super SF2! I'd probably go for 91, mainly for Street Fighter 2, Vendetta, Wrestlefest, Turtles in Time, Sunset Riders. The list is endless 😂

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Dru! It's so hard picking a year, but that early '90s era was certainly magical.

[@MattyStoked]

Love this! The early 90s was mega not just for games but toys, films, comics. Straight banger year! I think my favourite would be 1998/99. Very late DOS, Windows 95 games. Half Life. Soul Reaver. PS1 was going strong. It is hard to choose though, every year has value!

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Matt. I had a feeling you'd go for something late '90s. But yeah, really tough singling out one year.

[@stigkenobi7525]

Betrayal at Krondor deserves a mention as well, I think. It was voted as the top rpg of the year back in those days.

[@warwickclark2143]

Damn straight

[@onaretrotip]

I only mentioned game I played and loved back then, and I didn't ever play RPGs. I'm sure there are many more great 1993 games.

[@BRSL]

I'm the same age and I pretty much agree with you that some year of 1990 to 1994 must be my favourite, although I cannot decide which one. I got my first Amiga in 1992 and played many games from the early 90s several years after their original release. My parents bought a PC in late 1994 and so I also enjoyed many DOS games from the early 90s later, except for a few that I got to play earlier at my uncle's.

[@onaretrotip]

What a time to be a PC/Amiga owner!

[@WWammyy]

I am looking back and quite possibly 94/95 was my best gaming memories. The Sega Saturn and PS1 had just come out and the jump to 3D graphics was amazing and then you had Arcade ports that were finally like what we saw in the Arcades. Blown away by ports of Street Fighter Alpha, Ridge Racer, Tekken, Panzer Dragoon , Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA. Now while some people consider Daytona USA to be a bad port of the Arcade. As a kid I never played it in the Arcade and the Sega Saturn version was my first exposure to the game I loved it quite honestly the graphics were amazing to me at the time too. Also the Snes and Megadrive were also firing on all cylinders with their end of life games like Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Yoshi's Island. Sonic 3. I was remembering seeing Donkey Kong and Yoshi's Island thinking the quality is 32bit even though they were not 3D. Also a lot of games were reduced in price we got Super Metroid with Players Guide for 20 pounds it was an amazing game. Also we bought a Super Gameboy at that time relatively cheap and player Zelda links awakening on the TV it was fantastic. The End of life of the Snes/Megadrive pushing the consoles to their absolute max and beginning of the 32bit era with the shift to 3D I personally feel was one of best times in gaming.

[@onaretrotip]

Definitely something magical about the first half of the '90s.

[@RetroCrisis]

Wow dude this is phenomenal! I was working on a similar video funnily enough, but man you've set the bar so high!!! In answer to your question, I'd say 92/93 were my favourite years for video games

[@onaretrotip]

Awesome, let me know when you do yours. Interesting topic.

[@Bellpipe41]

Age definitely plays a part, and though my personal favourite would probably be 96 or 97, I’ve always shouted for 93 and the main reason for that is Doom. Doom was the biggest cultural shift in gaming that I’ve ever seen, especially considering everything that came after. Compared to other leaps in the genre, sure Wolfenstein came before and Quake was probably more important on a technical level, but the sheer impact of Doom was unlike anything else.

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, it's hard to explain what a phenomenon Doom was unless you experienced it first hand.

[@Andres33AU]

1993 was a very good year for gaming, and I loved the LucasArts point-and-click adventure games. Another game that came out that year was Kirby's Adventure for the NES, which pushed the hardware limits to maximum! I'm around the same age as your friend, as I was 12 in 1998, and one of my favourite games came out that year, and a game that has had a massive impact on my life, that being Half-Life. I really liked Doom, but I loved Half-Life.

[@onaretrotip]

Definitely something about that age isn't there.

[@Mightyguybrush2]

I am 43 in November so we are a very similar age. My gaming landscape very much mirrored yours. But for me 1996 sticks out as a quality year.

[@onaretrotip]

Interesting. The whole '90s was killer TBH.

[@ShishakliAus]

Close, but 1994 takes the cake

[@onaretrotip]

Fav games from that year?

[@mrshaneobuenosnodgrass3328]

I was 10 yrs old in 93 and I had the Sega Genesis since I'm from the States. I loved Sonic 1 and 2 and also funny kittle games like Toe Jam and Earl and can't forget Mortal Kombat. In 93 I was waiting for Sonic 3 to come out , and I was one of the first to buy it and still have great memories from that era.

[@NotMoreGames]

96 was my favourite year as that when I got the ps1. I just found out this week that a super fan has ported Cadillacs and dinosaurs to the mega drive. Just ordered a physical copy boxed from AliExpress.

[@onaretrotip]

Nice, Nick! Yes, I did a bit of coverage on C&D on the Mega Drive. It's okay but needs a fair bit of tweaking I think. Amazing achievement nonetheless.

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

1990 - 1991, MD PCE and SFC were out - good times 👍

[@onaretrotip]

Good times indeed!

[@JigglyRuff]

Yes!! Legend of Zelda ocarina of time was the 1st Zelda game I've played when I got my hands on the N64, 1993 was my favourite years as the first game I've played was Super Mario World.

[@onaretrotip]

Super Mario World was so amazing at the time. I'm sure it sold a lot of Super Nintendos.

[@Matropolis]

1993 waa definitely a great year! Man I'm finding this tricky. Definitely loved the eatly to mid 90s without a doubt. The era I was playing NES and then Mega Drive. Loved it when Final Fantasy 7 was released too! Ooh...going to have to think over this one! Great vid as usual!

[@onaretrotip]

It's a tough one picking a single year. Have a think. Would love to see a video response once you decide on a year, Mat.

[@Matropolis]

@@onaretrotip I'm going to do one. Just need to plan it 👍

[@retroimportgamer513]

Almost impossible to pick one year for me but the 90's were certainly the greatest for me so you could argue any point during that time i think. It was the greatest time in gaming both at home and the arcade for me The pinnacle was the Dreamcast for me when the arcade truly came home for the first time not discounting the Neo Geo which did it years earlier albeit on a much more niche way👍

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, pretty much any year in the '90s was great, for home and arcade. Creativity and experimentation was rife.

[@GimblyGFR]

I totally agree with you. My favorite game of all time is Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and it was released in 1993. Man, I LOVE that game. That year we also had Shinobi III, Aladdin, Samurai Shodown, Robocop vs. Terminator and many more on the Genny, plus Final Fight 2, Super Mario All-Stars, Mega Man X and many others on the SNES. And MK II, NBA Jam, and FIFA on both consoles. And Doom... Really, 1993 was peak gaming. Excellent video, Pete. Now I'm curious about your favorite games from that five-year period.

[@onaretrotip]

It was really tough singling out one year, but it's hard to argue with 1993. Killer year!

[@GimblyGFR]

@@onaretrotip Killer indeed.

[@AmAtAm]

Very interesting. I am also 42 and so maybe that’s why I think it hard to argue with 1993. But I think it might also objectively be The actual Best Year. 16-bit 2D games had been consistently great for a few years, and to have both the pinnacle of ‘triple A’ 2D games like Cannon Fodder and Syndicate AND that leap to 3D FPS with DOOM in one year - we will surely never see the like again. Anything else seems so incremental by comparison. But it’s a very interesting question.

[@onaretrotip]

Agreed! 1993 has so many great games, and it's hard to argue with milestones like Doom. Tough picking one year though.

[@Retro_B8]

Brilliant video mate, thoroughly enjoyed listening about all these classics from 1993, I think you should do the other 4 years as well!

[@onaretrotip]

Cheers, Paul. I was going to do one long video on all five years, but it probably would've been quite dull.

[@Retro_B8]

@@onaretrotip well I think I’ll have to make one as a video response, I really loved the format and the idea!

[@onaretrotip]

@@Retro_B8 Awesome! Would love to hear your response mate.

[@PyroNexus22]

I think for me it's either 2001 when the original Devil May Cry and Max Payne were released, which are two series that absolutely dominate my top-10 list, or it's 2003, during which a total of 10 games out of my top-100 were released: Devil May Cry 2, Castlevania: AoS, Silent Hill 3, Star Wars: KotOR, Star Wars: JK - Jedi Academy, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Max Payne 2, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Need for Speed: Underground, and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (although it's an expansion, but still a fantastic one)

[@onaretrotip]

That's basically how I arrived at 1993 - I wrote a list of all my favourite games each year, then picked the one that had the most.

[@stevesgaming7475]

1993 was a decent year (I was gaming on an Amiga then) but imo all the early to mid 1980 years were so much better. :)

[@onaretrotip]

I was mostly playing on Amiga too back then.

[@onaretrotip]

​@@edy13611993 wasn't late to own/play Amiga. Most Amiga owners I knew had them years past that.

[@stevesgaming7475]

@@edy1361Yeah, I used an Amiga A1200 until late 1999 when I sold it for £600 and bought my first PC. :)

[@Po4to]

Hey, I was born the same year, just a couple months earlier than you :D Not sure I'd say 1993 was my absolute favorite, but I when I got my first PC in 1995, most of the first games I played happened to be from 1993: Mortal Kombat 2, DOOM, Goblins 3 - and they were pretty iconic at the time (the former two still are). Later on my list expanded with some more absolute classics from that year: Day of the Tentacle and Legends of Kyrandia 2. That said, the game that blew my mind the most was Lemmings, which I played on a friend's Amiga in 1992 - and as a result, my first PC CD-ROM purchase was its 1995 sequel, followed by Little Big Adventure (also from 1995, iirc). I remember 1997 quite fondly, too, for LBA2, MDK and Monkey Island 3. But then there were so many games that were revolutionary and I never played them because my computer wasn't good enough at the time: most notably, Quake and Unreal.

[@onaretrotip]

I loved Lemmings and Little Big Adventure back in the day too. Good times! :)

[@AtariLegend]

Great video and I totally agree with the age point. I have almost exactly the same opinion as yours, 1993 was amazing. Great games. Born in 1980 but instead of an Amiga, I had an ST 😂❤ (and a pc by end of 93)

[@onaretrotip]

Interesting how that age, just becoming a teenager, can be such formative years. i think the passions we develop at that age can last a lifetime.

[@AtariLegend]

@@onaretrotip indeed, at the age of 43, this passion (or rather obsession) is as strong as it ever was ;)

[@onaretrotip]

@@AtariLegend Same!

[@ewstargamer]

Hard to argue with you pere as we are very similar in age, link to the past will always be my favorite zelda game but links awakening is up there too for me. I think we were very lucky to be brought up in the 80/90s had the best of everything Great video fella 👍

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, we were very lucky indeed. Those years won't be replicated in terms of freedom of creativity in games.

[@MaximumRD]

Wonderful story.

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you!

[@TheRampageTulk]

I was only 3 in 93 😂 such a shame I missed out on most of the classics like Doom and SOR. But yes you are right, I remember the Dreamcast with the visual memory card, Crazy Taxi and Legacy of Kain pure nostalgia. N64 of course, played Golden Eye and Zelda to death! 👏👊👺

[@onaretrotip]

Yeah Dreamcast days were awesome. I'd just got my own flat, so it was blazing and Dreamcast 24/7 LOL

[@TheRampageTulk]

@@onaretrotip hahahahahah good old days with Mary Jane

[@shockz16]

I'm almost inclined to agree with you, Pete. I'm not sure on what year I got my GameBoy, I would've been 11 in '93. And that whole 16-bit era seemed like it lasted a lifetime lol. But really thinking about it maybe I'd go with '96 got the Sega Saturn and PlayStation was dominating. To me it was the switch to 'gaming is no longer just for kids' and games became a lot more immersive. The leap to 3D just seemed soo much more massive than any other next generation since too. Again a lot of it probably comes down to as you said in the video the age I would've been at the time. So for me '93/'96 depending on what day you ask me on lol.

[@onaretrotip]

It's so hard to pin down a single year, but there's definitely something to be said about that age - those formative years when becoming a teenager. Thanks, Adam!

[@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533]

A great question, I think I would have to go with 1987 and the release of Renegade on the zx spectrum. Funnily enough, I was 12, maybe that's a thing? Great choice though, plenty of classics, mega lo mania 🥰.

[@onaretrotip]

Yeah, maybe that age is a milestone because it's such a formative period, becoming a teenager and all that. Passions at that age can last a lifetime.

[@DadLadsGaming]

Loved this ....frigging hell though i dont know how you managed to pinpoint one single year✊

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Marcus! It was really tough.

[@kevinwood5048]

You missed one. Pirates Gold! Loved that game. Played the DOS version on our first family PC to come with VGA graphics 😎

[@onaretrotip]

Oh, there are loads more great 1993 games; these are just the ones I personally played and loved back then.

[@Champion2D]

Great video Pete. Since we're the same age I'm inclined to agree with you. For me it would have to be mostly for the arcades which as you pointed out were killing it back then especially when it came to beat em ups. Nintendo and Sega were on fire too with their home consoles. I'd have to really think about it but 93 was definitely a strong year.

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Rob. Yeah that early '90s era was just amazing for arcades and home consoles/computers alike. A time of true creativity and experimentation, before the industry got so money-driven.

[@not_enough_space]

I never would have guessed your age from looking at you. Healthy living? Good genes? Young at heart?

[@onaretrotip]

Ha. Thanks! I think it's mostly genes, but I do have a healthy diet (only eat plants, minimal alcohol).

[@puddleglum3306]

Bang on. We must be about the same age.

[@onaretrotip]

We are old LOL

[@dboechat]

Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle 🐍

[@onaretrotip]

👍

For me the nineties and I couldn't choose any year, I was part of the NES generation and I loved it, just I loved the SNES era and the PSX one; playing from Super Mario Bros. 3 til Megaman Legends was the greatest time in my life!

[@onaretrotip]

Definitely the '90s. Agree it's hard choosing one year though.

[@mikeymike3240]

Niiiiiiiiiiice one Pete mate 😊 my favourite year is when Elite came out on the BBC micro, hells yeah man, never was black and white graphics soooooo freaking mega

[@onaretrotip]

Ah, nice! What a game.

[@psychopompous3207]

Ok, you got me agreeing with you...mostly because of Doom.

[@onaretrotip]

Doom was such a game changer.

[@tetepeb]

My favorite game of all time is Full Throttle but i would not say that 1995 is my favorite gaming year, it´s more like the period 1995-1999 with alot of great PC Games but more so on the original Playstation with Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 1 and 2, Final Fantasy 7, Tony Hawk Pro Skater series, Twisted Metal 2, Cool Boarders 3, Gran Turismo, Tomb Raider, Colin Mcrae Rally and so on.

[@onaretrotip]

The '90s overall was such a great era for games.

[@quinncollects6764]

Good topic mate and lovely insightful video. I would say I’d do a VR but let’s face it, I probably won’t🤷🏼‍♂️🤣 Ye yours was a good year. I was playing all those games you listed on the MD that year so have fond memories….. for me though I reckon it’s maybe a little later, like 1997

[@onaretrotip]

Thanks, Craig. How old were you in 1997?

[@quinncollects6764]

@@onaretrotip I was 13 in 1997 mate

[@WannabeMarysue]

I'm about a decade younger than you, and my favourite years are about ten/fifteen years later than yours (2004 to 2009). I guess it really is about being 12. I do like the PC the most now, but for indie games and not triple A games. My favorite console then was the Nintendo DS, which pumped out weird cult classic after cult classic. There's not really a DS-like console around right now, unless you consider 3DS homebrew.

[@onaretrotip]

Yeah, there's definitely something about that age. Formative years and all that.

[@tonyhugill7704]

'98: - StarCraft - Half-Life - Unreal

[@lpnp9477]

I agree for different reasons. Ocarina, Banjo, Metal Gear Solid

[@onaretrotip]

Big year for PC!

[@steve36207]

So many great games in that year pete buddy.... i really dont know if it go 89, 90, so close to call

[@onaretrotip]

So hard picking one, Steve.

[@lpnp9477]

Homeboy you look 28 God bless

[@onaretrotip]

Ah, thank you! LOL

[@coochie8670]

6:51 "Ocariner of Time"

[@onaretrotip]

😂

[@coochie8670]

@onaretrotip I saw your original comment, you cannot hide from me! 🫠

[@onaretrotip]

@@coochie8670 Hahaha. I stick by that comment - that is how it sounds in British English. Edited the comment because I was worried it might have sounded rude LOL

[@coochie8670]

@onaretrotip You're all good mate, keep up the great content!

[@TMWRPJAYMZ]

This was a good watch pete. I'd have to think about an answer here. Although i'll be a bit contrary and say 2011-2014 was a great era for me... hammering call of duty day and night and loads of great games came out on the 360 during that time. But in terms of retro 93 is a great shout. Loads of my favs came out during that year. Good stuff mate and a pleasure to meet you at Scott's 👍

[@onaretrotip]

Thank you. It's such a tough question. Yeah, great finally meeting you mate!

[@larsdorka]

Wait, I know that background music. It's the famous calandrazz 😁

[@onaretrotip]

!

[@thefreshwaterpirate]

Id agree w you, even though im from 1985. I think I am supposed to be into ps1, dreamcast etc, but truth be told, in hinesight, i dont like the look of those games. id also moved on to the pc by then, so I dont have nostalgia for the ps1. I grew up w a master system (we got it in 93) and rented a ton of mega drive games until we got a pc in 96. Hence my fav will always be the 8 and 16 bit consoles. It was just the pinnacle of pixel art

[@onaretrotip]

Yes, it really was the pinnacle of pixel art. And as you say, have aged far better than the PS1 era.

[@thefreshwaterpirate]

@@onaretrotip 100% agree. I am also happy that I cared so little about my console games at the time, that I did not even think about selling them. Now they are all in my collection and it's not going to go anywhere

[@onaretrotip]

@@thefreshwaterpirate Man, wish I still had all my original games 😥

[@thefreshwaterpirate]

@@onaretrotip I feel ya :/

[@frameripperz8794]

1998

[@onaretrotip]

Why's that?

[@frameripperz8794]

@@onaretrotip it was the end of one era and the beginning of another . The 3D accelerator era with the games that will be majority 3D rendered in real time with true arcade like quality and resolution but at home. Example game engines like Unreal Engine, Quake ID engine, Half life source engines are in the DNA of many titles even until today. Some of those great titles were Unreal and Unreal Tournament, Quake III, ( first two esport games used in tournaments play as we know them today . StarCraft still used in tournaments. RTS and online MMORPG were also famous . Simulator games . Then the consoles well they had some classics also. If you just type games release on 1998 you will see console or Pc had a banger .

[@jaroca784]

1997

[@onaretrotip]

Nice. Great year!

[@AnthonyRiddle]

Too many to list. If I can remember correctly 2013 was a recent good year for gaming

[@onaretrotip]

So hard picking a single year.

[@greenkoopa]

I was 6 and played Sonic 2 and MK1 at my house, and went to my friends house with a snes and played StarFox and SF2 Street Fighter 2 is better than Mortal Kombat.

[@onaretrotip]

Oh, no contest.

[@juristuCDPC]

Nah, mate, it's 1998/1999.

[@onaretrotip]

LOL