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[Theslammer]

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And now we're stopping in 1998. Phew, kind of busy, eh? Things I noticed:

1. In one year, we had the launch of the 3D Metal Gear games with Metal Gear Solid, the beginning of Starcraft, the start of Half-Life, the start of Gran Turismo, the start of Grand Theft Auto, and the start of the Pokemon games with Red and Blue.
2. Arguably the best Tekken came out this year with Tekken 3.
3. Arguably the best Zelda came out with Ocarina of Time.
4. Arguably the best Crash Bandicoot came out with Warped.
5. Fallout's sequel was released.
6. Car combat continues to expand with Vigilante 8 and original Twisted Metal creator's Rogue Trip, plus the first sequel to Twisted Metal by 989 Studios.
7. We had some notable Sega Saturn released with Panzer Dragoon Saga and Shining Force III.
8. Squaresoft was on a roll with Final Fantasy Tactics, Parasite Eve, Brave Fencer Musashi, Einhander, Bushido Blade 2, Xenogears, and SaGa Frontier.
9. AKI's wrestling game WCW/NWO Revenge
10. Other series are launched with Hot Shots Golf and Dead or Alive.
11. Resident Evil 2 is released, to the delight of many here who consider RE2 to be one of the best in the series, if not the best.

Have fun reminiscing.

Unlisted games start on this page on Gamerankings.
As usual, apologies if I didn't list a big one, or if I forgot some good PC ones as I'm a lot greener to PC games at this time (except Starcraft, which was my thing for years and years!).

1080: TenEighty Snowboarding (N64)
Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome (PC)
All-Star Baseball 99 (N64)
Armored Core: Project Phantasma (PS)
Backstreet Billiards (PS)

Baldur's Gate (PC)
Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
BattleTanx (N64)
Battlezone (PC)
Blasto (PS)
Body Harvest (N64)
Brave Fencer Musashi (PS)

Breath of Fire III (PS)
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (PS)
Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling (PS)
Burning Rangers (SAT)

Bushido Blade 2 (PS)
Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition (N64)
Bust-A-Move 4 (PS)
Bust A Groove (PS)
Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now (PC)
Casear III (PC)
Castlevania (N64)
Civilization II (PS)
Close Combat III: The Russian Front (PC)
Colin McRae Rally (PS, PC)
Colony Wars: Vengeance (PS)
Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (PC)
Cool Boarders 3 (PS)

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS)
Darkstalkers 3 (PS)
Dead or Alive (PS)
Delta Force (PC)
Descent: Freespace - The Great War (PC)
Devil Dice (PS)

Diablo (PS)
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill (PS)
Einhander (PS)
Elemental Gearbolt (PS)
European Air War (PC)
F-1 World Grand Prix (N64)
Falcon 4.0 (PC)

Fallout 2 (PC)
FIFA 99 (PS, N64, PC)
Fighters Destiny (N64)
Final Fantasy VII (PC)

Final Fantasy Tactics (PS)
Forsaken (PC)
Future Cop: L.A.P.D. (PS)

F-Zero X (N64)
G.Darius (PS)
Gex: Enter the Gecko (PS)
Grand Prix Legends (PC)

Grand Theft Auto (PC)
Gran Turismo (PS)
Grim Fandango (PC)
Guilty Gear (PS)

Half-Life (PC)
Heretic II (PC)
Hot Shots Golf (PS)
Independence War (PC)
International Superstar Soccer '98 (N64)
Incoming (PC)
Israeli Air Force (PC)
Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu (PS)
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (PS)
Links LS 99 (PC)
Madden NFL 99 (PS, N64, PC)
Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. (N64)
MDK (PS)
MechCommander (PC)

MediEvil (PS)
Mega Man Legends (PS)
Metal Gear Solid (PS)
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (PC)
MLB 99 (PS)
Mortal Kombat 4 (PS, N64, PC)
Motocross Madness (PC)
Moto Racer 2 (PS)
Myth II: Soulblighter (PC)
NBA Jam 99 (N64)
NBA Live 99 (PS, N64, PC)
NCAA Football 99 (PS, PC)
NCAA GameBreaker 99 (PS)
Nectaris: Military Madness (PS)
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (PS, PC)
NFL Blitz (PS, N64, PC)
NFL GameDay 99 (PS, PC)
NFL Quarterback Club 99 (N64)
NHL 99 (PS, N64, PC)
NHL Breakaway 98 (N64)
NHL FaceOff 99 NPS)
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus (PS, PC)

Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT)
Parasite Eve (PS)
Point Blank (PS)
Pokemon Red/Blue Version (GB)
Populous: The Beginning (PC)
Quake (N64)
Railroad Tycoon II (PC)
Rally Cross 2 (PS)

Resident Evil 2 (PS)
Rival Schools (PS)
Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 (PS)
Roll Away (PS)
Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA (N64)

SaGa Frontier (PS)
Sanitarium (PC)
Shining Force III (SAT)
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division (PC)

SimCity 3000 (PC)
SkullMonkeys (PS)
Space Station Silicon Valley (N64)
Speed Busters: American Highways (PC)

Spyro the Dragon (PS)
Starcraft (PC)
Starcraft: Brood War (PC)
Starsiege Tribes (PC)
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (PC)

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (N64)
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D (PC)
Street Fighter Collection 2 (PS)
Tactics Ogre (PS)
Tales of Destiny (PS)
Team Apache (PC)

Tekken 3 (PS)
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (PS)
Tetris DX (GBC)
Tex Murphy: Overseer (PC)
The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard (PC)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (GBC)

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
Theme Hospital (PS)
The Operational Art of War, Vol. 1 (PC)
The Unholy War (PS)
Thief: The Dark Project (PC)
Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf (PS, PC)
TOCA Championship Racing (PS)

Tomba! (PS)
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (PS)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (PC)
Total Air War (PC)
Triple Play 99 (PS, PC)
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (N64)
Twisted Metal 3 (PS)
Ultim@te Race Pro (PC)
Unreal (PC)

Vigilante 8 (PS, N64)
Viper Racing (PC)
WarBirds (PC)
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate (PC)
Warhammer: Dark Omen (PC)
Warlords III: Darklords Rising (PC)

WCW/NWO Revenge (N64)
West Front (PC)
Wetrix (N64)
WipeOut 64 (N64)
World Cup 98 (PS, N64)

WWF War Zone (PS, N64)
WWII Fighters (PC)
X-COM: Interceptor (PC)
Xenogears (PS)

 

[Chromium.Wings]

Holy shit, I knew 1998 was packed, I just never quite realized it was THIS packed.

That said, for me, RE2 any day of the week.

Can we have a repeat of 1998? Good God damn.

 

[Hellshadow]

Great year. Gotta go with Half-Life.

 

[Syf]

StarCraft. No doubt about that one for me, even in a year this stacked.

 

[KORNdoggy]

Too easy,

METAL GEAR SOLID!!!

 

[Bucket Mouse]

What a fucking ridiculous year for iconic games.

 

[SalvaPot]

What a year.

Ocarina still the GOAT.

Personal favorite is Banjo Kazooie.

 

[James Scott]

Big year.
For me it has to be Ocarina of Time. While the original is hard to go back to, the 3DS remake modernizes it making it feel new again. Still a great time.

 

[ErasureAcer]

Best game of all time is at the bottom of the list.

 

[Markitron]

Banjo-Kazooie, one of my favourite games of all time, Zelda is right behind it though. Rogue Squadron would be in there too but it didn't release until February 1999 here.

 

[McHuj]

Star craft

 

[Theslammer]

StarCraft. No doubt about that one for me, even in a year this stacked.

This is one of the few stacked years that I can unequivocally say what my favorites are as Starcraft and Brood War are easily number 1. It's one of my favorite games ever made, and the SC2 Mass Recall remakes are also fantastic.

The story of Brood War was so good, and the wait for the sequel and the story's conclusion was sooooo long.

 

[Alphahawk]

It's ironic that such a great year doesn't give me any pause because it has a "correct" answer. Zelda all the way.

Yeah great year though.

 

[formasymphonic]

Has to be Ocarina of Time. I've played a lot of great games since then but I dot know if I can say I've played anything that gave me the feels i had as a kid playing OoT for the first time.

I still remember that feeling when you first get the master sword and you think the game is starting to wrap up - but you travel through time and realise that its just getting started...

great year though - Turok, Links Awakening, Future Cop LAPD, OG Pokemon, Rival Schools & of course MGS and so many others.

 

[PillarEN]

I'll give it to Metal Gear Solid. I played it for the first time 10 years later and I was still blown away.

"Hurt me moar!"

 

[TheGreatDirector]

Spyro The Dragon. It's the first 3D game I played and owned. I absolutely love it.

 

[Garmonbozia]

Arguably the best year ever for gaming.

Half-Life, Ocarina of Time, Fallout 2, RE2, Xenogears AND Metal Gear Solid in the SAME YEAR.

Real hard act to follow up.

I'm split between Half-Life and MGS, but the barrage of HL mods makes it my favorite of that year.

 

[Jawbreaker]

I have to say Metal Gear Solid, without hesitation.

 

[Bloodborne]

Damn, 1998 was stacked with classics, but for me it would be Zelda Ocarina of time.

 

[Strike]

Metal Gear Solid.

 

[Drusyc]

Final Fantasy Tactics. Bunch of other great games that year though.

Still waiting on a proper sequel...

 

[ag-my001]

OoT and FFT still get frequent play throughs from me.

3rd place would be Xenogears.

 

[Nielm]

1. Metal Gear Solid
2. Grim Fandango
3. Fallout 2

 

[TheDinoman]

Guh-huh.

 

[Theslammer]

I'll give it to Metal Gear Solid. I played it for the first time 10 years later and I was still blown away.

"Hurt me moar!"

I first played it in 2013 via the Legacy Collection. The

Spoiler

scene where you find out that Master Miller is actually Liquid Snake

floored me. I also loved how

Spoiler

Liquid kept coming back from the dead every time you thought you killed.

 

[Saganator]

Definitely Half Life. Played the shit out of GTA, Starcraft, OoT, SimCity 3k, and a hand full of others on the list. Such a good year.

 

[decoyplatypus]

Still far and away the best year ever for videogames. I could make my all-time top ten games out of just 1998 titles and feel pretty good about the list.

 

[RenegadeXV8]

Crazy year. Can't really choose between Diablo, Half-Life, Fallout 2 or Independence War. Those games pretty much converted me into a PC gamer during my childhood.

 

[Dancing Queen]

1998 feels like 10 years ago.

Damn.

 

[Kathian]

One that's a fucking great year.

I'll go Spyro.

 

[Kaji AF16]

1) Descent: FreeSpace - The Great War
2) Fallout 2
3) Metal Gear Solid
4) Gran Turismo
5) Half Life

 

[jwhit28]

This is my favorite year in gaming easily. Ocarina of Time is my favorite game from that year but Pokemon took over the rest of my 9 year old life. I only got a taste of the PC hits when I went to relatives house, but Diablo and Grand Theft Auto hit PS1 that year.

 

[De_Legend]

MGS for sure.

Dammit I forgot OOT... the dilemma!

Ok OOT.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

My favorite year in gaming. Final Fantasy Tactics is probably my favorite of the bunch, closely followed by Xenogears, Baldur's Gate, and Metal Gear Solid. There were many other great games released such as Grim Fandango, Bushido Blade 2, Fallout 2, and Ocarina of Time.

Edit: forget to mention Parasite Eve and Brave Fencer Musashi. Also really good.

 

[immortald3ath]

1. Zelda OOT
2. Banjo Kazooie
3. Pokemon Red/Blue
4. Resident Evil 2

 

[sixteen-bit]

the saturn port of battle garegga

 

[Worldshaker]

Final Fantasy Tactics for me. Another great year of games.

 

[ForkNetwork]

Ah yes, the year that begun my existence.

Ocarina of Time is the best, and will always be the best, its on my top 15 and it will stay there for quite a long time.

 

[MikeE21286]

Zelda OoT followed by Metal Gear Solid.


What a great year

 

[Fuchsdh]

The best Zelda game that year was Link's Awakening DX, in my opinion. As a kid, I don't think I was prepared for that gut punch of an ending.

 

[DBT85]

Fuck. Starcraft was immense for me, close second is probably Theme Hospital. The only console in the house at the time was my younger brothers PS1 and I basically couldn't get near it so I was still firmly in the PC gaming bosom.

 

[Alric]

Myth II: Soulblighter

you even got to *Play over the internet for Free*, what a time.

I still play it from time to time even now and if anyone is interested ProjectMagma still updates the game, has a demo and a link to be able to play this amazing Bungie game online to this day.

 

[RPGam3r]

1. Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
2. FFT
3. Xenogears
4. Parasite Eve
5. Breath of Fire III
6. Pokemon Red
7. MGS

So many great RPG, but against a Zelda title it is a tough race for first.

 

[andymcc]

Sakura Wars 2 and Panzer Saga. long live sega.

 

[Zalusithix]

You expect me to choose between Banjo, Half-Life, StarCraft + Brood War, and Zelda:OOT? Damn that's tough. If I'm limited to 98 and only 98, I'd have to go with Zelda by a hair. If I'm allowed to use the years following, I'd shift to either Half-Life or StarCraft due to the legs that mods gave them. Half-Life in particular made Natural Selection possible, so I'd give that the edge.

 

[Strangelove77]

MGS.
So many good games. Probably my favorite year in gaming.

And I'd put Link's Awakening DX over OoT. Love Link's Awakening.

 

[Back-In-Black]

Too easy,

METAL GEAR SOLID!!!

.

That Pizza Hut demo is what sold me and my brothers on the whole game. Looking back we were lucky some asshole clerk didn't try and prevent our dad from getting us the game. We eventually had that problem when GTAIII came out, curiously enough the clerk didn't seem to offer any warnings for MGS2 which our dad also purchased at the same time for Xmas.

 

[Bishop89]

Armored Core project phantasma
Bust a groove
Crash bandicoot 3
Gran turismo
Half life
Metal Gear Solid
Pokemon red / blue
Spyro
Tekken 3
Tenchu


Were the top games for me, wow. What a list.

Pokemon would have been my favourite game that year. Would have been every pre-teens.

Looking back though, I'd say half life

 

[kromeo]

1.Resident evil 2
2.Final Fantasy Tactics
3.Ocarina of Time

 

[Walker_Boh]

Choosing between MGS and Zelda: OoT is like choosing who is my favorite child.

Myth II: Soulblighter

you even got to *Play over the internet for Free*, what a time.

I still play it from time to time even now and if anyone is interested ProjectMagma still updates the game, has a demo and a link to be able to play this amazing Bungie game online to this day.

I never got to play this one and I love the shit out of the first Myth. Is it available to buy on GOG?