The 80’s and 90’s were great times for a kid to grow up – the introduction of computers and gaming consoles at that point of time allow those in that era to experience the initial stages of gaming technology. Today, technology is advancing at such a breakneck speed that it gives us affordable personal computers, the internet, Sony PlayStation and other established consoles. If you’ve been gaming since then, you’ve probably experienced a notable growth to the graphics and gameplay of games as time went on. Here are a list of 23 games that we’re sure you have spent countless hours of your childhood playing.
1) Sonic the Hedgehog
Who hasn’t heard of Sonic and his friend Tails, running through the game at high speed with the ding ding sound from collecting the rings to stop Dr Robotnik?
2) Prince of Persia
Thrown in the dungeon with only 60 minutes to save the princess, you have to leap past obstacles, duel with enemies and make your way quickly through each level. Well now you can relive all those memories online here for free!
3) Super Mario Bros.
Everyone growing up in the 80’s and 90’s are sure to have heard of Super Mario, just like they are sure to have been force fed the icky Scott’s Emulsion at some point in their lives.
4) Pac-Man
It is remarkable how a simple game of a yellow ball eating pellets and avoiding ghosts has generated billions through the years. This is a sign of a truly classic game, simple rules, simple gameplay; just stay alive.
5) Street Fighter
This combat game is still popular in the arcades even up until today. Did you know that Street Fighter II is the first ever one-on-one fighting game that allows player to choose a variety of characters with different moves? We imagine at some point during your schooling days, you’ve probably given your friends a hadoken during recess time.
6) Mortal Kombat
The Mortal Kombat craze took off in the 90’s and was easily the most gruesome game at that time. It’s a wonder that kids were still allowed to play it in the first place.
7) WWF and later WWE
In the 80’s and 90’s whole families sat down and watched wrestling together. Fans had many games to choose from too – the Wrestlemanias and Smackdowns were popular choices.
8) Doom
There are only 2 things you need to remember to play Doom – IDDQD and IDKFA.
9) Wolfenstein 3D
Not as awesome and popular as Doom, but another fun FPS nevertheless.
10) Worms
One of the most popular game during the 90’s. Outwit your opponent’s worms with cool weapons, remember the super sheep or the banana bomb?
11) Final Fantasy
Whether you think the best of the FF series is 6,7,9, 10 or whatever, if you’re a fan of RPG and have never played this game, it’s like being born to Asian parents and have never eaten rice before. This was the hottest RPG game of the decade.
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12) Monkey Island
‘You fight like a dairy farmer!’
From the hilarious insult sword fighting to witty punchlines, there’s nothing not to love about the quirky protagonist Guybrush Threepwood. For those who remember this game, you are sure to have searched online for a walkthrough to complete the game. Ha!
13) King’s Quest Series
For the adventure buffs, you are sure to have heard and played this series of games. Wear clean undergarments, brush after meals and always remember: nothing is as it appears.
14) Starcraft
Zerg, Protoss or Terran? Starcraft has known to be one of the best real-time strategy game in history for having to raise the bar for game developers in this category. Did you know there was a Starcraft course held at the University of California Berkeley in 2009?
15) Warcraft
Some of the biggest games today existed because of Warcraft. Unlike Starcraft, the Warcraft franchise is still going strong today thanks to the decision to switch from a real time strategy to a MMORPG, World Of Warcraft (WOW). Not only that, DoTA existence was because of Warcraft too!
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16) Command And Conquer : Red Alert
Definitely a cult classic game, and we choose the Soviets every time for the Tesla coils.
17) Crash Team Racing
‘Papu much tired of watching puny slugs race so slow! Papu want in action, to lay boom down big!’
CTR – A legendary kart game considered by many to be the best casual game – at that time of course.
18) Gran Turismo Series
Sticking with racing games, the Gran Turismo franchise has been the racing game of choice for fans since it was released in the 90’s. Till today, you’ll see this game commonly over at the arcade.
19) Fatal Racing
It’s either Global Celerity MkII or the Reise Wagon Merkur GT, everytime. #forthewin
20) Need For Speed Series
One of the car racing classics, with memorable cars like the Lambo Diablo and Toyota Supra. This game features great scenery too – at that point of time.
21) GTA
This game was officially released in the 90’s but it’s popularity only started took off when Grand Theft Auto III was introduced in 2001. The game is widely popular even today, especially with the recent release of Grand Theft Auto V which features online gameplay.
22) Gods
An action adventure game, armed with simple weapons. You advance through levels collecting power ups and defeating the bosses along the way. A very fun game which can last for hours. To relive the memories, click here.
23) Castlevania
The first ever series was released in 1986 for the NES. The story is about a clan of vampire hunters in a mission to destroy Dracula. Equipped with a magical whip, players will be able to power up their weapon through collectables in the game. This popular series is eventually developed for the Gameboy and even Playstation 1 and Playstation 2.
24) Prehistorik
Basically, you’ll go through the game looking for food, defeating enemies and dodging obstacles. Its toon-like graphics was it’s best attraction back then. Click here to play for free.
25) Contra
A platform shooter which was initially released as a coin-operating arcade game in 1987. Unfortunately its almost impossible to find an arcade machine featuring this game anymore. The best part of the game is the boss fights at the end of each stage which looks pretty badass.
26) Pokemon
One of the best games of all time during the 90’s which was introduced when the Gameboy was first released. The game grew so popular that the trading card versions were introduced both physically and virtually later on. This game is all about you as trainer, capturing and training wild monsters to fight against other trainers, with the mission to be the very best – that no one ever was – to catch them is your real test – to train them is your cause – POKEMON!
27) The Legend of Zelda
A hack and slash game which features a mix of action, adventure and puzzle-solving gameplay. You play as the main character, Link (which kinda looks like an elf) whose mission is to save Princess Zelda and Hyrule from the evil Ganon. The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, being among the ranks of Super Mario and Pokemon.
