Games of the Year 1980-2016

[TheBlueTurtle1]

I recently completed this list of my favorite games of each year and figured it would create some interesting discussion. I'd like to hear all of your lists for your favorite games of each year.

My brother just released his article about his today:
http://sourcegaming.info/2016/09/20/...ear-1980-2016/

[Prowler]

Which Lion King game is that for 1994? The Genesis or SNES one? I had the Genesis version. It was a a fun platforming game for its time, but nothing special, imo.

As for my favorite games of the year from 1980 to 2016... too lazy to research which games came out in which year, so I'll just name drop some:

1988 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1990 - Super Mario World (SNES)
1991 - A Link to the Past (SNES)
1998 - Ocarina of Time (N64)
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)

[TheBlueTurtle1]

It would be the snes version.

[Storm Eagle]

I wanted to make my post more than a list post, but you all can have a look at some of my ramblings of my memories of these games at your own risk.

1990: Super Mario Bros. 3

Spoiler:

I got the game in the summer of that year and played the living hell out of it. When I started school again, and lent it to someone in my class, I might have become pretty popular. I also remember how right after I got it back from someone, a girl asked me if the game was mine. When I told her yes, she asked if she could borrow it, and I just had no problems letting her.

1991: TMNT II: The Arcade Game

Spoiler:

An opportunity to play the arcade game in your own home, and two extra levels. I remember the 10-lives code that Nintendo Power published in their February 1991 issue, and it didn't work. It turned out that the left and right directional arrows were printed incorrectly. Then there was a stage-select code, and then the code with allowed both a stage-select and 10 lives.

1992: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Spoiler:

I actually finished that in two days, but it was still fun. I still had to find the secret stages.

1993: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Spoiler:

That kept me busy for months. Got it in the summer and I was working on it all the way through my first couple months of my freshman year of high school. That summer, I was going to be going to Florida and wanted a fresh new game to take with me and work on during my vacation. I chose Kirby's Dream Land. Years later, I found out I could have gotten LA, and that would have been a much better choice for a new game to work on during my vacation.

1994: Super Street Fighter II (SNES), Mortal Kombat II (SNES), Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid (a tie)

Spoiler:

A tie between those four. The former gave me something to play during the summer. Mortal Kombat II for the SNES was a big deal since it actually had blood, and even had the better graphics and sound to boot. DKC for the obvious reasons, and Super Metroid was the first game in the series I ever bothered to own, and it made me a Metroid fan.

1995: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Spoiler:

I found that to be a big improvement over the first one. It gave me a lot more to explore.

1997: Star Fox 64

Spoiler:

I got the N64 in 1997 and Super Mario 64 was the first game I owned. Then I got Star Fox 64. Even after finishing Star Fox 64, I found myself playing that one more often.

1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Spoiler:

A fun game to explore, and it has one of the best soundtracks. A lot of the boss battles were epic.

1999: Donkey Kong 64

Spoiler:

I actually like DKC2 better than this one, but it was the best game I owned and played from that year.

2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Spoiler:

Just another nice Zelda game to play, and it's basically the only game I ever got that year.

2001: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons

Spoiler:

Hey, it's Zelda. Plus two new portable Zelda games that can be connected together. It was fun seeing how one game affected the other. Definitely the highlight of my summer of that year.

2002: Star Fox Adventures, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime (tie)

Spoiler:

The former was the reason why I got a GameCube. It's different from all the other Star Fox games, but I still enjoyed the quest aspect of it, and seeing the different types of dinosaur tribes. I also enjoyed Metroid Prime's first-person view.

2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Spoiler:

I was disappointed by the cartoonish look at first, but the game was actually a lot more enjoyable than I expected.

2004: Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (tie)

Spoiler:

I only ever got to play Mega Man 2 when my cousin lent me his copy in 1991. After Sonic Mega Collection came out, I thought it would be cool if the Mega Man series got the same treatment, and then it finally became a reality. I got to play all of the other Mega Man games I missed out on.

2006: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

2007: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (tie)

2009: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

2010: Donkey Kong Country Returns

2011: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Spoiler:

Despite the disappointment that some people expressed at this game, I still managed to enjoy it. I remember playing just a little bit of it at first and then slacking off. I don't think I played a lick of it in 2012, but I started playing again in 2013 since the Hyrule Historia book was coming out. I wanted to get that, and I didn't want to be spoiled on Skyward Sword. I still bought the book, and started working on the game again. Then I opened the book after finishing the game.

2014: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Spoiler:

Nice game, but I didn't get this until 2015.

[Cure]

This thread feels like a chore.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

I wanted to make my post more than a list post, but you all can have a look at some of my ramblings of my memories of these games at your own risk.

1990: Super Mario Bros. 3

Spoiler:

I got the game in the summer of that year and played the living hell out of it. When I started school again, and lent it to someone in my class, I might have become pretty popular. I also remember how right after I got it back from someone, a girl asked me if the game was mine. When I told her yes, she asked if she could borrow it, and I just had no problems letting her.

1991: TMNT II: The Arcade Game

Spoiler:

An opportunity to play the arcade game in your own home, and two extra levels. I remember the 10-lives code that Nintendo Power published in their February 1991 issue, and it didn't work. It turned out that the left and right directional arrows were printed incorrectly. Then there was a stage-select code, and then the code with allowed both a stage-select and 10 lives.

1992: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Spoiler:

I actually finished that in two days, but it was still fun. I still had to find the secret stages.

1993: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Spoiler:

That kept me busy for months. Got it in the summer and I was working on it all the way through my first couple months of my freshman year of high school. That summer, I was going to be going to Florida and wanted a fresh new game to take with me and work on during my vacation. I chose Kirby's Dream Land. Years later, I found out I could have gotten LA, and that would have been a much better choice for a new game to work on during my vacation.

1994: Super Street Fighter II (SNES), Mortal Kombat II (SNES), Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid (a tie)

Spoiler:

A tie between those four. The former gave me something to play during the summer. Mortal Kombat II for the SNES was a big deal since it actually had blood, and even had the better graphics and sound to boot. DKC for the obvious reasons, and Super Metroid was the first game in the series I ever bothered to own, and it made me a Metroid fan.

1995: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Spoiler:

I found that to be a big improvement over the first one. It gave me a lot more to explore.

1997: Star Fox 64

Spoiler:

I got the N64 in 1997 and Super Mario 64 was the first game I owned. Then I got Star Fox 64. Even after finishing Star Fox 64, I found myself playing that one more often.

1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Spoiler:

A fun game to explore, and it has one of the best soundtracks. A lot of the boss battles were epic.

1999: Donkey Kong 64

Spoiler:

I actually like DKC2 better than this one, but it was the best game I owned and played from that year.

2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Spoiler:

Just another nice Zelda game to play, and it's basically the only game I ever got that year.

2001: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons

Spoiler:

Hey, it's Zelda. Plus two new portable Zelda games that can be connected together. It was fun seeing how one game affected the other. Definitely the highlight of my summer of that year.

2002: Star Fox Adventures, Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime (tie)

Spoiler:

The former was the reason why I got a GameCube. It's different from all the other Star Fox games, but I still enjoyed the quest aspect of it, and seeing the different types of dinosaur tribes. I also enjoyed Metroid Prime's first-person view.

2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Spoiler:

I was disappointed by the cartoonish look at first, but the game was actually a lot more enjoyable than I expected.

2004: Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (tie)

Spoiler:

I only ever got to play Mega Man 2 when my cousin lent me his copy in 1991. After Sonic Mega Collection came out, I thought it would be cool if the Mega Man series got the same treatment, and then it finally became a reality. I got to play all of the other Mega Man games I missed out on.

2006: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)

2007: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (tie)

2009: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

2010: Donkey Kong Country Returns

2011: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Spoiler:

Despite the disappointment that some people expressed at this game, I still managed to enjoy it. I remember playing just a little bit of it at first and then slacking off. I don't think I played a lick of it in 2012, but I started playing again in 2013 since the Hyrule Historia book was coming out. I wanted to get that, and I didn't want to be spoiled on Skyward Sword. I still bought the book, and started working on the game again. Then I opened the book after finishing the game.

2014: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Spoiler:

Nice game, but I didn't get this until 2015.

You actually have some really cool choices, I tried to avoid "ties". Some years were more stacked than others, for example 96 was a hard choice between Mario 64 and Diddy Kong racing.

[Wildcat]

Is this list only based on Nintendo systems? I don't think anyone can really make a GotY or Top X list unless they've played every mainstream release ever. Which is highly improbable. Separating games by genres makes more sense.

It's why I don't care for professional reviews. It's just 1 person out of a whole staff saying why a game is great or awful. Not everyone considers the same things (whatever they might be) a plus or minus.

I could list my favorite games. I don't know the years each came out though.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

You actually have some really cool choices, I tried to avoid "ties". Some years were more stacked than others, for example 96 was a hard choice between Mario 64 and Diddy Kong racing.

I thought it was supposed to be a personal GOTY thing for people as individuals. I see what you mean about ties, but I couldn't decide.

[TheBlueTurtle1]

Originally Posted by Wildcat

Is this list only based on Nintendo systems? I don't think anyone can really make a GotY or Top X list unless they've played every mainstream release ever. Which is highly improbable. Separating games by genres makes more sense.

It's why I don't care for professional reviews. It's just 1 person out of a whole staff saying why a game is great or awful. Not everyone considers the same things (whatever they might be) a plus or minus.

I could list my favorite games. I don't know the years each came out though.

It's just what game you liked best for each year. Use your memory or google dates, remember some games were released in different years in some regions.

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

I thought it was supposed to be a personal GOTY thing for people as individuals. I see what you mean about ties, but I couldn't decide.

It is a personal list, but I made sure I went for only one game per year.

Do you guys like my artwork?

[TheAnvil]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

Snip

Love these picks. Tropical Freeze was neck and neck with me for 2014, but I ultimately went with South Park because I already had 2 other DK games in my list, plus Diddy Kong Racing.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

Do you guys like my artwork?

It's neat. What program did you use?

[TheBlueTurtle1]

All hand drawn using paint.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Can you please if possible expand back to 1972, when Pong started modern commercial videogaming. Or at least as much back as possible. 1978 could be Space Invaders, 1979 could be Asteroids.

[Storm Eagle]

Originally Posted by TheBlueTurtle1

All hand drawn using paint.

I almost wanted to ask if you used Mario Paint. It would have been kind of fitting.

[TheAnvil]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

Can you please if possible expand back to 1972, when Pong started modern commercial videogaming. Or at least as much back as possible. 1978 could be Space Invaders, 1979 could be Asteroids.

That'd be interesting, but for me a lot of those years would be rather hard to come up with. Early 80s each generally had 1 per-year as it was.

I wouldn't rule it out. I'd have to do some research.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by Cure

This thread feels like a chore.

I like the art. Every one is pretty much instantly recognizable and is very well done, I think.

But I don't even remember enough games to pick a GOTY for even 2 years running let alone my entire life.