Hey everyone! This week is 90s week at SeppinRek Entertainment and today we are looking back at our favorite video games that were released in the 1990s. Of course, this decade was filled with a lot of advancements in video game graphics, physics, new gameplay, and more complex stories. With this said, this list isn’t meant to encapsulate every video game from that era as a whole, only to demonstrate our ten favorite games from the time period.
Let’s get started then!
10. Tomb Raider
It might come as a surprise that Tomb Raider made it on this list, but I believe that Eidos Interactive’s hit title was surprisingly important in the evolution of video games. It was originally planned to have a male lead similar to Indiana Jones, yet the developers had to change it for copyright restrictions. This sparked the creation of Lara Croft who was then envisioned to be an icon for a younger generation and, more importantly, a female centered audience. Besides the creation of Lara Croft’s character, the game itself offered impressive movement/controls at the time as well as 3D graphics despite having a modest budget.
9. Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat was a huge point of controversy for video games in the 1990s due to its excessive violence and the helicopter parents who tried to put a stop to it. Of course, highlighting the gruesome fatalities on the news only succeeded in creating good publicity for the game. Brutal fighting controls were amazing for the time, hopping off of Capcom’s successful arcade game, Street Fighter. Also, the live action characters were goofy at times. Fatality!
8. Half-Life
This was a big leap for gaming. Honestly, it could probably be placed higher on my list. When Valve released Half-Life, video games changed. The game’s release brought about an all new physics engine that transformed 3D gaming entirely moving forward. It offered a brand new experience to the world of First Person Shooters and is still beloved by fans to this day. “Rise and shine Mr. Freeman.”
7. Final Fantasy VII
I mostly put this on my list for Seppin since he was a huge fan of the remake that came out last year. Are the controls janky, the graphics dated, and perhaps a bit overhyped? Well, you aren’t wrong. However, this game remains on many gamers’ lists as one of the best video game stories ever told. A groundbreaking RPG that cements itself as one of the best in its franchise.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
I was never much for Nintendo. However, everyone knows Ocarina of Time. A fantastically written and designed adventure with excellent music built into the game. “HYAHH!”
5. Super Mario World
It was a hard toss-up between Super Mario World and Super Mario 64, yet I would argue that this game has aged a hundred times better than Mario 64. Sticking with the 2D graphics, this might be one of the pinnacles of platformers in video game history.
4. Resident Evil
Don’t call me biased because I’m a Resident Evil fan! I could have put this game higher on the list if I really wanted to…
Honestly, this game was frightening at the time with the atmosphere created by the colorful backdrops, the zombie filled mansion, and the reliance on inventory management. Your only solace could be found in the calming safe rooms. This game defined the Survival Horror genre.
With that said, the camera angles can be bad and the tank controls God awful.
3. Metal Gear Solid
A little bit later in the 90s, but it was released in the 90s nonetheless. Hideo Kojima and Konami changed stealth based shooters from this point forward. Metal Gear Solid is just an excellent game. Period.
2. 007 GoldenEye
The first and second place was really a tie in my book. Each game on this list was equally spectacular for the time, but these top two stole the show. Golden Eye 64 was revolutionary. Based on the stellar performance of Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in the similarly titled film, it’s almost a perfect game and it had a profound impact on the future of first person shooters that it simply deserves to be at the top of anyone’s list.
1. Doom
In case you couldn’t have guessed which game would take first place, it was obviously going to be Doom. There is no video game that better fits the 90s than this one. Violent, fun gunplay where you kill hordes of demons with tons of secrets to find. I shouldn’t have to explain this, but Doom is one of the best video games to come out of the 90s.
I hope that I haven’t angered too many people with my picks. Again, each of the games on this list are all on a level playing field of being amazing and should be recognized as such.
So, what were your favorite video games from the 90s? Let us know your favorites in the comments below!
Until next time…
~Rek
~Seppin
SeppinRek 
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