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[trikster40]

The only DC game is trash Shenmue?

I played 22 of those.

Soul Calibur was in there. Where’s Power Stone, NFL 2k, NBA 2K, Hydro Thunder, Dynamite Cop...tons of awesome DC games missing.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

No DLC, no day one patches, no bullshit.

Literally just walk into a store and you walked out with a complete product.

This so much. This is everything I hate about modern gaming.

 

[JordanN]

Soul Calibur was in there. Where’s Power Stone, NFL 2k, NBA 2K, Hydro Thunder, Dynamite Cop...tons of awesome DC games missing.

It was a lot of games that year.
I am updating the list little by little though.

Like I was looking for a Mega Man game that came out that year and the Misadventures of Tron Bonne showed up (released in Japan first).

 

[JordanN]

Sorry guys, I hit the image limit.
Only 50 max I could put in the OP.

That said, truly a testament to just how much content existed back then when I only scrapped the surface of release titles.

 

[DogofWar]

Damn, what a year. I was 6/7 at the time. While I played Spyro 2 my older brother got Silent Hill. He showed me the beggining in the diner. One of my strongest impressions ever from a video game.

"Huh, radio. What's going on with that radio."

Was too amazed to be scared.

 

[Old Retro]

My faves from that year:

Syphon Filter - good for being a "poor man's Metal Gear"

Silent Hill

Need for Speed: High Stakes

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - ashamed to say I never beat it

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - legendary 2 player fun

Gran Turismo 2 - unfinished trash but still enjoyable trash

I'll throw in the unpopular N64 Castlevanias. Loved the enemies and music!!!

 

[cartman414]

Where are Planescape: Torment and Suikoden II?

 

[Nymphae]

I remember getting CTR and Nofx's The Decline that year for Christmas, had the album on repeat while playing CTR that Christmas holiday. Pretty insane year when you look back.

 

[shaddam]

UT99, AOE2 and AVP in one year? Crazy times

 

[T8SC]

These deserve a place on the list.

 

[JordanN]

These deserve a place on the list.

Hey, Wipeout 3 was my first PS1 game.

Kinda funny I missed it. But yeah, it was exceptionally a good game.

Not sure what I did with my copy. I think I traded it with a neighbor or it got lost in one of my moving boxes.

 

[SF Kosmo]

The only DC game is trash Shenmue?

I played 22 of those.

SoulCalibur as well. That whole first year of the DC had some bangers, especially if you liked arcade genres.

In 1999 I was in a weird spot. I squandered my console budget for the gen on 32X and when that flopped I went full PC Gamer for a few years until I got a Dreamcast.

But in 1999, the big thing for me was emulation. There were a ton of breakthroughs that year; MAME took off and hugely expanded what it could do, UltraHLE for N64and VGS for PlayStation unlocked the more recent console stuff I missed. I think I was totally down that rabbit hole and missed most of the new releases from 1999 until a couple years later.

 

[Naibel]

Unpopular opinion, I found this game to be far superior to 2097 and it clearly is my favorite entry in the series.

I found its design and art style superior, its graphics are of insane quality for the PS1, it can be displayed in widescreen, some tracks have such tight turns they put me in the Zone every time I play them, and the Special Edition with all the tracks from the previous games is an absolute must-have. 2097's soundtrack is better but that's it really.

Such a gem. My young self was put off my by the very minimalistic menus and its weird font and missed out on a great title back then. What a shame.

 

[T8SC]

Unpopular opinion, I found this game to be far superior to 2097 and it clearly is my favorite entry in the series.

I found its design and art style superior, its graphics are of insane quality for the PS1, it can be displayed in widescreen, some tracks have such tight turns they put me in the Zone every time I play them, and the Special Edition with all the tracks from the previous games is an absolute must-have. 2097's soundtrack is better but that's it really.

Such a gem. My young self was put off my by the very minimalistic menus and its weird font and missed out on a great title back then. What a shame.

We can't mention it and not at least post a track, you're right, 2097 had an amazing soundtrack.

 

[Bergoglio]

What about 1996?

 

[Umbral]

Wow, what a fantastic year of games.

 

[Evil Calvin]

I bought 13 of those that year. Had the PS1, N64, PC and the Dreamcast. Great times!!

 

[Dave_at_Home]

Update: I hit the image limit. Only 50 games I could put in the OP. That said, plenty of users have helped kept track of the rest in this thread.

1999 was the year many people thought the world was going to end, yet despite this, every month had a must play title.

But when you got to December 25th, 1999, how did you know what game you wanted to play? Just look at this list,

WCW/nWo Thunder
Release: January 15, 1999

Super Smash Bros
Release: January 21, 1999

SimCity 3000
Release: February 1, 1999

Final Fantasy VIII
Release: February 11, 1999

Syphon Filter
Release: February 17, 1999

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
Release: February 23, 1999

Silent Hill
Release: February 23, 1999

Power Stone
Release: February 25, 1999

Beetle Adventure Racing
Release: February 28, 1999

Need for Speed: High Stakes
Release: March 1, 1999

EverQuest
Release: March 16, 1999

Um Jammer Lammy
Release: March 18, 1999

Pokémon Snap
Release: March 21, 1999

RollerCoaster Tycoon
Release: March 22, 1999

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
Release: March 23, 1999

Team Fortress Classic
Release: April 7, 1999

Pokémon Pinball
Release: April 14, 1999

Aliens versus Predator
Release: April 30, 1999

Midtown Madness
Release: April 30, 1999

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Release: May 10, 1999

Ape Escape
Release: May 31, 1999

Driver
Release: June 25, 1999

Croc 2
Release: June 30. 1999

Dungeon Keeper 2
Release: July 7, 1999

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Release: July 22, 1999

Outcast
Release: July 31, 1999

Madden NFL 2000
Release: July 31, 1999

Soulcalibur
Release: August 5, 1999

System Shock 2
Release: August 11, 1999

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Release: August 16, 1999

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Release: August 31, 1999

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
Release: September 9, 1999

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Release: September 22, 1999

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Release: September 29, 1999

Crash Team Racing
Release: September 30, 1999

Age of Empires 2
Release: September 30, 1999

Jet Force Gemini
Release: October 11, 1999

Grand Theft Auto 2
Release: October 22, 1999

Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Release: October 29, 1999

Medal of Honor
Release: October 31, 1999

Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
Release: November 2, 1999

Chrono Cross
Release: November 18, 1999

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
Release: November 19, 1999

Pokémon Gold and Silver
Release: November 21, 1999

Unreal Tournament
Release: November 22, 1999

Donkey Kong 64
Release: November 22, 1999

Turok: Rage Wars
Release:November 23, 1999

Quake III Arena
Release: December 2, 1999

Gran Turismo 2
Release: December 11, 1999

Shenmue
Release: December 29, 1999

Fucking ridiculous. Who was able to play all these games in a single year?

The answer to your question is Metal of Honor and Resident Evil 3. Those were the Christmas presents.

Crash Team Racing was a birthday present .

All these other games my brother and I played at, or during their respective releases in that year: Grand Turismo 2, THPS, Driver, Need for Speed, Syphon Filter, Silent Hill

We were kids with all the time in the world and knew how to save money. Some of the other games on this list we played as well since we've always had friends with the other consoles. Worked out great. There was an unwritten, but understood system, that everyone followed in order to maximize your ability to play as many different games as possible. This seems lost on a younger generation that has such incredible access to so much media and almost a Netflix level of choice. Back in my day (I'm 34) we scoured gaming magazines each month and looked for every review/screenshot/tiny-ass low-quality-quicktime video on our 56K internet that we could. Granted, that's if you had internet and even a computer to begin with within your friend group. Honestly, looking at PC gaming magazines back then felt like reading an exotic car magazine. Here are these machines that your tiny brain can't understand and cost as much money you would only ever hope to accumulate as a kid. Word of mouth traveled far in school, and even a mediocre game was worth the price of admission if it was at least something different from what you've been playing. I guess I come off as an old man here, good times.

 

[Ovek]

Not being a console peasant back in 1999 I got Quake 3 for Christmas. Came in a big metal tin if I remember correctly.

Edit: It was a metal box.... Hype I wonder where the hell mine is....

 

[Dave_at_Home]

These deserve a place on the list.

Psygnosis burned too bright for this world. Classic PS1 developer.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Incredible year

 

[brap]

WCW/nWo Thunder
Release: January 15, 1999

This was straight up anal sauce bruh.

 

[T8SC]

Psygnosis burned too bright for this world. Classic PS1 developer.

When you list their games, before they became Studio Liverpool, they were one of the most talented developers who had hit after hit -

Lemmings series
Shadow Of The Beast series
G-Police series
Colony Wars series
Wipeout series
Destruction Derby series
Formula 1 series

Amazing.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

After constant bitching and moaning at my parents to buy me Jet Force Gemini it worked plus got a date with the belt that evening for making them look bad at Walmart. It was the last time they bought me a game.

 

[GlassAwful]

You can basically pick any year from early 90s to early 2000's and say the same.

The better distinction to make is the difference between now and then and the shallow shell the entire industry is of its former self.

Yea, point to your favorite franchise thats making record profits in its 15th entry since it was introduced back then... whatever.

The fact is we are standing upon a massive grave of dead franchises, developers and entire genres where everything left is being homogenized and built by committee to be sold in increments over long periods. So few left taking chances and pushing the envelope.

The industry is so less interesting now its sad. And its only getting sadder as time goes on.

 

[Ceallach]

King of Fighters 99 was a fucking train ride when it came out.

 

[V4skunk]

My top 1999 games are.
C&C Tiberian Sun
GranTurismo 2
Final Fantasy VIII
System Shock 2

 

[celsowmbr]

Dreamcast owners were too busy browsing the internet on their new machine anyway.

Yeap!

 

[Estocolmo]

Such a good year in general. Life was so good.

 

[93xfan]

Played theough Resident Evil 3, Silent Hill and FF8 that year.

It was a good year, but not even the best year of that gen.

 

[godhandiscen]

Amazing titles, and I played most of those.
We were truly living in a golden age during those years; genre defining titles released every month, which shaped gaming for generations to come. It was glorious.

 

[PhoenixTank]

Came here to be sure that Age of Empires II is here. I'm not disappointed

Wololo.

 

[Kazza]

1996-1999 were among the most fun years of my life. I played most of the games on that list, and somehow had a social life.

Most of the games then were relatively short (10-15 hours), so you could actually play a lot and still find the time to do other things. That's one of the reasons I like retro gaming, modern 100+ hour games have too much padding.

On top of it all, I distinctly remember going to Hollywood Video and there only being a few shelves of Nintendo 64 games and multiple walls of Playstation games.

I had a similar experience when going to rent Saturn games at Blockbuster Video 1997/98: wall after wall of Playstation games, and then a paltry couple of shelves for Saturn games (N64 only did a little better with 4/5 shelves to itself). Even though you didn't have sites like GAF back then, it was still obvious which platforms were selling the best.

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

1996-1999 were among the most fun years of my life. I played most of the games on that list, and somehow had a social life.

Definitely. I had no shortage of games to play during that time, and my parents house was a rotating door of friends coming over to play.

 

[the_master]

wasn’t even a top 10 DC game of that year.

edit, speaking of 99, even though it just barely made it out in 99 in Japan. Was a 2000 game for most people.

Wasn't top 10 acording to whom and in which regard?

Was then most expensive game ever made at the time, with quality levels over the clouds, incredible ammount of content and very innovative in many areas. Not a game for everyone, but at the time it was something impressive and deserves admiration.
Biggest mistake was doing no marketing.

 

[KyoZz]

Wololo.

 

[Tschumi]

At that time, aoe2 was the sum total of my gaming desires. Though i would shortly get really in o the rainbow six games.

 

[hariseldon]

1996 tho.

The jump in scores from 2017 on represents the gaming press jumping the shark - where they became fully anti-consumer.

 

[BlackTron]

Not bad, but 98 had Ocarina of Time and Starcraft.

God damn I love the 90's.

 

[Esca]

I owned most of them eventually. I got into the eq beta so I was hooked on that then it's retail release. Man I miss eq

 

[Pantz]

A lot of good memories from 1999, video games and otherwise.

 

[DavidGzz]

The only DC game is trash Shenmue?

I played 22 of those.

Soul Caliber is one the best games on the list and it came out on Dreamcast that year.

 

[Breakage]

Shenmue just blew everything else away in the visual department. That's what I remember.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

So many games from 90s were so good. No bullshit.

I remember seeing this at the store in the late 90s. It's from 1999. lol so many edgy games like this.

It's on GOG now btw.

 

[loktaiextatus]

1996 tho.

I remember 1996... I remember the year I got Quake and Diablo the same year and almost destroyed my highschool career entirely.

 

[jadefire66]

Usually when I point out how great gaming used to be, I get gaslighted with "gaming is better now than it's ever been, stop seeing things through nostalgia and rose tinted glasses". Nice to see some actual gamers in this thread, I'm so sick of modern gamer normies who think every ps4 game is a 9/10 lol.

 

[loktaiextatus]

Back in 1999 I also had Mario Party 2, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, and Dino Crisis.


The Dreamcast made you restart the system if you wanted to play after browsing.

Well, the system booted in like 2 seconds so.....

 

[DonMigs85]

It was probably the N64's last big year as well. Other than Banjo-Tooie and Majora's Mask I can't really think of notable games that came out for it in 2000.

 

[DavidGzz]

I remember 1996... I remember the year I got Quake and Diablo the same year and almost destroyed my highschool career entirely.

Yep, bought a $2500 dollar PC back then to play Diablo after I got a taste at a friends house. I don't think I'll ever experience such an amazing game again. The mind is so different in your teens.

 

[The Pleasure]

What a glorious time. Calling in sick to buy a dreamcast day 1 with soul calibur and no second controller. Friends playing 1 player and we just watched in awe at the graphics.