The video game industry has developed rapidly in the past decade. Now we have high-end games that have outstanding graphics, gameplay, and story. This was not always the case. In the 90s people enjoyed games which at that time were considered to have the best graphics.
Right now the situation has changed. Even any game on your smartphone has an order of more complex graphics than retro games, which we will discuss in this article. Even though not all of these games were released in the 90s they were enjoying huge popularity in these times.
Tetris
Created by Soviet programmer Alexey Pajitnov and launched on the world market by a Japanese company, Tetris has become a worldwide phenomenon in a very short time. After Nintendo ported the game to NES and GameBoy, Tetris’s success was unsurpassed. From then to this day, this game is available on almost any gaming device.
It is proven that although the game causes addiction, it alleviates the alarming conditions and consequences of post-traumatic syndrome. Fans of games with many years of experience claim that the process of the game is most similar to meditation.
Space Invaders
This arcade shooter, brought to life by the space-obsessed culture of the seventies, was one of the first classic video games. Developed in 1978 and released two years later on the Atari 2600, it became a link in a chain of cultural phenomena that began with War of the Worlds. A screenshot from Space Invaders was frequented along with the ever-accelerating pace of the game and sound effects. Playing it today is like watching an ancient movie with naive combined shots. But without Space Invaders there would be no Halo. We should never forget our roots in gaming.
If we take an example from the modern video game industry Space Invaders could be compared to Smite. And gamers of Smite pretty much associate it with the abovementioned game. Smite as you know has a third-person view and for some, it is an old school one. Even though the game is now a part of esports and a very popular game, people generally think more about how to bet on smite rather than how to encourage developers to improve its graphics.
Legend of Zelda
True fans of eight-bit consoles remember the indescribable feeling that accompanied every hour spent on this game. Combining a huge map, excellent puzzles and many weapons, the game’s chief designer Shigeru Miyamoto created something that had no analogs for many years. It seemed to be a miniature garden that could be picked up and put in a desk drawer. This game became an all-time classic and numerous copies were sold. Right now newer and remastered versions have been released but the nostalgia towards the original version remains all the time. And it is not surprising that gamers experience such nostalgia.
Mario
The Japanese company Nintendo began the occupation of living rooms around the world, and brothers Mario and Luigi led the campaign. They trampled mushrooms, smashed brick walls with fists, took winged turtles out of shells, and threw fireballs as if it were normal behavior for plumbers. No matter how crazy it is, playing it is still as much fun as it was thirty years ago. It is thanks to Mario’s endless running console that NES has become a dream of every child.
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat always tried to differ from other fighting games, moved from the halls of slot machines to the rooms of teenagers. It is famous for its absolutely limitless cruelty. Perhaps that’s why it involved a large number of people over the age of 15 in the world of gaming. But it’s not just violence. Excellent characters, graphics, a lot of tricks and combinations, well-researched management – all this has earned the game a place in history.
Donkey Kong
A 1981 game created by Nintendo genius Shigeru Miyamoto, not only set the stage for Mario but also introduced the world to platformers, a genre of games where the character has to climb or jump on short flat stretches of landscape. Donkey Kong has influenced a variety of computer games, from Ice Climber to New Super Mario Bros on the Wii console. Even today, this game, requiring a lot of attention and patience, can deliver a lot of fun (in addition, perhaps, this is the very first game with rolling barrels).
Super Mario Kart
Transforming car racing into fun fruit tossing, Super Mario Kart seemed like the cleverest game of its time. The first in a dynasty of great games, it was innovative in many ways: a circuit race with different difficulty levels, a split-screen mode, thanks to which you could compete with friends in real-time and demonstrate the skills you have developed in single races. It was in this game that virtual racers polished special skills such as drifting and the use of all kinds of booster bonuses.
Castlevania
This monster game, which pushed the boundaries of eight-bit architecture, featured breathtaking graphics, challenging (for the time) physics, and unforgettable music, perfectly combined with the eerie storyline. A survival horror game that balanced the fun Mario universe. While exploring Dracula’s castle as the vampire hunter Simon Belmont, the player was faced with some truly terrible things. The first opponents met you at the gates covered with bloodstains, the throwing weapons were crosses and vessels with holy water, and Death had to be defeated – and it was the final boss.
Pong
The great-grandfather of modern video games also deserves a place on this list. This table tennis simulator with the simplest two-dimensional graphics owes its appearance to the very concept of mass video games. Two movable rectangles and a circle representing a ball are all that made up the graphical interface of the very first computer sports game.
At first, Pong was played only in slot machine halls, but in 1975 a home console went on sale that could be connected to a TV. A little later, competing companies released similar games, and the console war began, which has not yet ended. This game may not seem all that exciting compared to the others, but its essential component is a worthy contender.
Final Fantasy
Without Final Fantasy, the list of 90s video games is incomplete. SquarEnix launched around 8 Final Fantasy games throughout the 90s. In fact, if you add the spin-off and re-releases to the count, then it would be 12 releases in total.
Final Fantasy was certainly a global hit. Over 600 thousand copies were sold after its first entry for the NES, gathering around $45 million is Japan alone. In 1990, the release in North America sold over 700 thousand copies.
Pokémon
The Pokémon series was released in 1996, and it had a great impact on the video game industry. The series was developed multiple times and its popularity is increasing significantly since then. The famous Pokémon series was inspired by this video game, and it went viral throughout the world.
Street Fighter
Street Fighter was another popular game of the 90s. As the name suggests, the game is based on fighting with 18 unique characters who fight for either revenge or training. It was released in the 1996 for Super Nintendo and Neo.
Bomberman
Particularly designed for the Neo Geo, Bomberman is an action-based video game with maze arcade. It was made in 1997, and is still one of the most popular Neo Geo games.
In this, gamers control Bomberman and place bombs around to block and destroy monsters in the maze. You complete the level after destroying all the monsters and eventually move to the next step. Every level is harder than the previous one. Bomberman video game also allows multiple players.
Resident Evil
The next on the list is a combination of adventure, horror and science fiction. Resident Evil was released in the 1996 and consists of several parts. Its rich and strong plot distinguish it from other games and also helped it reach the Cinema World. Several films are created after taking inspiration from this game.
In short, the story of Resident Evil is about a group of scientists who work together for developing a drug to improve and change human genes. However, one of them produced a devastating virus to use as a biological weapon to control the world. Quite opposite to the plan, the virus spread in the palace and forest, leading to emergence of giant wild animals.
Conclusion
It may seem that since the late 80s, children and adolescents have only been playing video games, and this seems to make them stupider and fiercer than every previous generation. In fact, the harm from computer games is not obvious, but the benefits are undeniable.