The 1990s was an interesting time for video games. Game genres were starting to expand, consoles became a main source of entertainment in a steadily increasing amount of households and the general advancements in graphics and gameplay was incredible. The ’90s also gave players things like Sega Channel, which gave players a subscription to a cable based source of games and switched the content up each month.
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This growth allowed players to experience a vast array of video games, some great, some not so great. Now in 2020, fans often reminisce on the games of the ’90s. Usually games likeSonic the Hedgehog,The Legend of Zelda, orDoomare among the first games that will come to mind. There are other, slightly more obscure, but still widely popular games, fans remember, likeKid ChameleonorBattletoads. Then, there are games that everyone played but the memory has slipped back into a portion of the brain and sits, waiting to be pulled out by some catalyst. In no particular order, here are some forgotten games that everyone played.
10BATMAN
Movies based on video games have received a lot of criticism, butgames based on movieswere made just as often, if not even more, during the ’90s. Released to arcades in 1990,Batmanis a side-scrolling action game based on the movie starring Michael Keaton. In fact, audio clips of the actors are used in the game as well as direct images from the film. Gamers who spent any time in arcades know this Batman game, but with asmany titles as Batman has spawned, this game tends to be forgotten.
9SIMANT
Electronic Arts, Maxis has come a long way fromSimCity. Fans have been able to build up towns, cities, kingdoms, play as individual sims, and if players pull from their memory, played as ants.SimAntis a simulation of an ant colony and allows players to expand a black ant colony by controlling one ant at a time to help find food, attack enemies or fend off other hazards like humans. The game is just as addicting as EA’s other games and even wonBest Simulation Gamein 1992.
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Gamers now have games likeGoat SimulatorandWildcraft: Animal Sim, which shows, animal simulation games are not that weird after all.
8BUGS BUNNY BIRTHDAY BLOWOUT
TheLooney Tuneswere not shy to the world of video games in the ’90s. Fans now are more likely to remember games likeAnimaniac’sor any of theTiny Toon Adventuresgames, notBugs Bunny Birthday Blowout. However, the memories come flooding back when the cover art surfaces, which shows Bugs leaning against his birthday candle. This side scrolling adventure was released in Japan, Europe and North America under slightly varying names in 1990 with positive reviews.
7GEX
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The 1998 sequel toGex,Gex: Enter the Gecko, is far more memorable. In fact, although this game was widely popular,Enter the Geckoseems to get all the attention, but fans everywhere played the originalGexgame. The overshadow of its sequel seems to push this gem into the forgotten realm of video games. Ask a gamer now to name a funny video game character from the ’90s who had a lot of quips and jabs and they will probably say someone like Earthworm Jim, even though many gamers poured hours into playing this original side-scroller from 1995.Gexalso brings back memories of the original MTV since this gecko was tv enthusiast.
6BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD
Another tv enthusiast addition, which keeps the memories of MTV and adult based cartoons flooding back isBeavis and Butt-head. Released in 1994, the plot simply surrounds Beavis and Butt-head finding their tickets to a Gwar concert. It may not be memorable for its own merit, it was not a great game with plenty of negative criticisms, however, the likeness of the characters to the tv show was fantastic.
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The ’90s gave us the iconic laugh of this duo and though the tv show remains forever in people’s memory, the game, though every fan of the show picked it up, was forgotten.
5PRIMAL RAGE
Primal Rageoriginally released in arcades in 1994 and was later ported to Sega Genesis and SNES among others as well. While this game was played heavily in arcades, the release to consoles was promoted by a video game tournament as well as a release on Sega Channel with chances to win prizes. This game was well received, but also clouded in controversy and a sequel to the game was abandoned. With other games likeBloody Roar, which spawned three additional games, and althoughPrimal Ragedid well, both in arcades and at home, the memory ofPrimal Rageis much like its abandoned sequel… forgotten.
4SYSTEM SHOCK
System Shockis one of those games where when a gamer see’s a screenshot a whole lot of memories come rushing back. This game sold more than 170,000 copies and is credited for being a predecessor to games likeBioShock. The gameplay was intelligent and innovative and the world was immersive. The reason this game was forgotten is because thiscyberpunk genregrew so extensive, many gamers more easily recall other successful games andSystem Shockis left in the background of memories. Professional game companies however often refer back to this game as inspirational. In fact, Nightdive Studios plans to release a reboot ofSystem Shockin 2020.
3COOL SPOT
There was a time when Burger King andXboxteamed up to bring gamers advertising and gaming in one, but before the Sneak King came to existence there was the pairing of other companies, like Cheetos and 7Up with games.Chester Cheetah Too Cool to Foolwas released in 1992 and remains burned in gamers memories as the advertising game of the ’90s.
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However,Cool Spot, released in 1993, may have slipped into the recesses of memory simply because the mascot was not as blatantly representative of the brand. It received fairly positive reviews, but the Chester Cheetah is considerably more memorable, especially since the Cheetos brand continues to use Chester as their mascot today.
2PIZZA TYCOON
Gamers who enjoyed the tycoon style games played games likeRoller Coaster TycoonandCasino Tycoonand retain fond memories of building up a theme park or business.Pizza Tycoonfocused on owning a pizzeria, managing the staff, inventory, recipes, atmosphere of the restaurant and of course, gangs. Players could buy “ice cream” from a vendor, which was code name for weapons. The different flavors represented different weapons, like vanilla equaled flame throwers.Pizza Tycoon’sreception, which was mixed, helped form the idea that there definitely was an audience for the food tycoon games we have today. In fact,Pizza Tycoonwent on to becomePizza Connectionand the fourth installment was released in 2017. So, unfortunately, this game will remain hidden and forgotten by the name change.
1NIGHTMARE CREATURES
The 1997horrorsurvival gameNightmare Creaturesis one that most gamers vaguely remember. It sounds familiar, but they just can’t completely recall the game. Then they see the cover art. Some of the ’90s games had such memorable cover art that it’s a shame the actual game fails to be as memorable. It was received with high praise, it sold more than 1.5 million copies. At the end of the decade, it was announced thatNightmare Creatureswould be adapted to film. However, the film was abandoned. The sequel,Nightmare Creatures II, failed to come close to the praise of the first. With all the follow up of an abandoned movie and negative sequel, the original just fell by the wayside as well. Gamers will more likely remember theResident Evilof the time instead.
