I can't resist starting a list of media to check out for April focusing on the years 1990-1994. This is roughly console Generation 4. My only rule for gaming is to stick to the consoles that came out those years regardless when the games actually were released. That means Game Boy, SNES, and Genesis. I'm largely ignoring Turbografx-16 and Neo Geo for the moment because I don't have those systems. I also made a short list of PC, board/card and arcade games I might have time to play. Here goes.
Game Boy: The Game Boy was the best selling system for 1990-1992 and 1994. At the time, I had no idea about the Game Boy even existing. I only learned about it much later when I got a DS in 2004. I found a list on Polygon by Jeremy Parish, the 30 greatest GB games. I'm starting with just the first 4 for this all other lists.
1. Donkey Kong '94
2. Game Boy Camera - I used to own one but I don't anymore. You can maybe get one for $40 but not less. I think I'll probably just read about it.
3. Pokemon Series - Pokemon Yellow was remade for Switch called Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Evee. Since I never downloaded the first Pokemon games on my 3DS when they were available, I may have to settle with renting these from my library instead.
4. Wario Land Series - The two Game Boy games are only available on 3DS if you downloaded them when the store was up, so I'll have to see about the price of physical copies. Gives me a good excuse to visit my local game shops.
SNES: The SNES won the console wars in 1993 beating out Game Boy for top sales, so I'm listing it second. I can't wait to check the games out on my Retron 3 (the SNES disapeared from my collection a long time ago). These come from IGN's top 100 SNES games.
1. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - on Switch sub service.
2. Chrono Trigger - probably too expensive to get physically on SNES or DS but maybe it's still on some digital service on PS or Switch? I'll have to check. It's on Steam, but I don't have a good PC at the moment.
3. Super Metroid - on Switch sub service
4. Final Fantasy VI - part of the Pixel Remasters which I will buy for sure.
Genesis: I think I had a Genesis first before any other console when I returned to the fold in '93 or '94. My buddy Mad Krammer and I played it before we started collecting. Soon I had a SNES and NES and was caught up when Gen 5 hit in '95. It's third though. Most of the best games are playable on the Sega Genesis Collection on modern systems. If I can though, I'll try and pick up physical copies and play them on the deck I still have. The list is from IGN's top 35 Genesis games.
1. Streets of Rage 2 - I have the first one physical but not the second. I loved brawlers on the Genesis back then.
2. Sonic - It's on the SG Collection for sure. I'm not a huge Sonic fan but I'll give it another try and see if I feel different about it now.
3. Sonic II - same as the first.
4. Rocket Knight Adventures - I remember playing this on Xbox Live during the 360 years. I think it's still available on current Xbox. I used to own the cart years ago. Oh, how things leave my collection all the time.
Other: I can't help adding some things from PC, board/card and arcade during these years. My friend Mad Krammer and I were playing Genesis but we also had PCs all over the place since he worked in IT and had extras all the time. Here's some stuff I loved.
1. Warcraft: Orcs and Elves (pc) - When Warcraft was a RTS and not a MMO. I guess I could play this on Steam now but probably not on console anywhere. I wonder why the first three WarCraft games haven't been remastered for consoles like the Age of Empires games. I wish for that.
2. Heretic (pc) - I could put Doom here too but I especially loved the fantasy setting of this Doom clone. Mad Krammer and I were playing a lot of FPS games on PC at the time.
3. Magic the Gathering (card) - I've always wanted to get into this but have only played the digital games here and there. I may have to get a starter set just for fun.
4. Dungeons and Dragons Chronicles of Mystara (arcade) - Mad Krammer and I played X-Men around this time, but when I found out about this fantasy brawler much later it became my favorite arcade game from this time. Luckily it's available on console right now.
And that's my starter list for the month of April. If I get through it, I'll keep adding more from the various lists I have and see what I get hooked on.
What were your favorites in these years?
Comments