Probably 2000 for me, purely down to 3 games which I played endlessly: No Mercy, Diablo 2, and the greatest game of all time, Deus Ex. So many fond memories, it was a glorious time.
Impossible for me to pick a single year, but 1998-2002 stands out for me.
F-Zero X, Ocarina, Final Fantasy 9, Shenmue, Pokemon, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, GTA3/Vice City, Banjo Kazooie, & Skies of Arcadia just to name a few.
A truly classic era of gaming, and don't even get me started on the quality of the various games mags during that era.
We had the N64 for Christmas in 1997 with Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. In the coming months we'd get Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Starfox 64, Mario Party, Banjo-Kazooie, F-Zero 64...all absolute gems and the year ending with Ocarina of Time.
Sonic 2 Buck rogers Countdown to Doomsday Super Mario Kart Kirbys Dream Land on the gameboy Champion Ship manager on the Amiga Sunset Riders (megadrive version)
just to name a few but I think if I didnt have to go down to 1 year and instead could offer up a time period Id say 1991 to 1994
Sonic 2 Buck rogers Countdown to Doomsday Super Mario Kart Kirbys Dream Land on the gameboy Champion Ship manager on the Amiga Sunset Riders (megadrive version)
just to name a few but I think if I didnt have to go down to 1 year and instead could offer up a time period Id say 1991 to 1994
Sonic 2 Buck rogers Countdown to Doomsday Super Mario Kart Kirbys Dream Land on the gameboy Champion Ship manager on the Amiga Sunset Riders (megadrive version)
just to name a few but I think if I didnt have to go down to 1 year and instead could offer up a time period Id say 1991 to 1994
Yep, absolutely this era for me too.
Its the sort of era I return to the most , and I think seeing as I always find myself back on that stuff then it kind of tells me how important it is to me
We had the N64 for Christmas in 1997 with Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. In the coming months we'd get Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Starfox 64, Mario Party, Banjo-Kazooie, F-Zero 64...all absolute gems and the year ending with Ocarina of Time.
1998. I played games a lot as a kid then basically stopped. Then I saw a friend's PlayStation and was astonished by how much gaming had come on. When they reduced them to £99 I jumped in, and that was around the time that people were getting the machine to do astonishing things, while at the same time things like WipeOut 2097 and FF7 were getting released on the Platinum label...
Aww jeez this is gonna be tough to answer, even as I write this I still haven't decided which year I'd go for!...
I think I'm going to choose 1999, solely because of Pokémon Red and Blue! I was given Red and a Gameboy Colour for Christmas that year, I was 8 and all I wanted was actually a Gameboy Pocket, I was unsuccessful earlier on in the year for my birthday and assumed that was that, you can imagine my surprise when I opened this up Christmas day!
At the time I didn't even know the Colour existed, so my little mind was completely blown!
That console and game was the catalyst to making me a passionate gamer, so 1999 is quiet special for me!
Imrahil wrote:1992-1993, the glory years of the Amiga. Sensible Soccer, Cannon Fodder, Syndicate, Dune 2 and endless other great games.
This + SNES is where gaming properly started in earnest for me; plus, have the best memories playing and sharing games with my friends. Coupled with more free time!
2010 Was a pretty great year for the DS and Wii 2015 Had a lot of awesome games like the Witcher 3, Bloodborne and Batman Arkham Knight 2017 The Year of the Switch, but the PS4 had a stellar list of games as well.
It's so tough to choose just one year. I'll run through a couple and then decide!
1986 - In late '85 I upgraded from my Commodore Vic-20 to the Commodore 64, having saved up my morning paper-round money for a year. The system cost £199 (equivalent to around £616 in 2020, financial value fans!) and, boy, the tech jump was amazing. Both systems were 8-bit but the C64 had a higher resolution screen and sprite and scrolling capabilities that were so impressive. Whilst saving up I had bought two games for the system; Finders Keepers, a Mastertronic £1.99 title, and Rambo Firts Blood Part II, published by Ocean. Loading them up and then enjoying other new games during 1986 - often chosen according to their review scores in C&VG, Zzap! 64 and Commodore User gaming magazines - was just fantastic. I haven't used my C64 for over twenty years now but just the thought of it makes me feel good. The sheer variety of systems and the tech differences between them made it an incredible time to be gaming.
1996 - I bought the Sony PlayStation at launch in September '95 (thanks to ten interest-free monthly payments from Beatties, the old model and toy store) and it seemed as if the console ushered in a whole new era; it changed how most people looked at videogames. Gmaing had prevously been a pretty geeky pastime that many "cooler" folk shied away from and then gaming became fashionable and people I worked with actually owned the system, too. The PS1 was a huge step up and seeing Ridge Racer and Destruction Derby running - from CD! - on my mini colour TV was incredible. Over the next few years the PS1 exploded and so many great games arrived; with plenty of variation, too. The gaming magazine scene was still a big thingh then and that only fuelled my liking for the console and the games. It was a tremendous time!
2013 - I was totally enamoured with the Wii U. Having bought it at launch in November 2012, it was soon clear that the console was not going to be that popular. I couldn't really understand why; I was using it and hugely enjoying playing the games, but the general sentiment was that it was going to be a dud. Ironically my main love of the U is not for the games but for Miiverse; a lovely people-driven app that enabled drawing, chatting, screenshots and messaging with your online friends and the wider community. It was something that I hadn't experienced on a console before and haven't since. Some of the folk that I met through Miiverse I still communicate with now on Twitter. It wasn't the best console ever and it didn't have the biggest game catalogue (albeit some excellent ones!) but I just love the dang system.
I would like to include a recent year; something from around 2014 through to today, just to highlight how much I have enjoyed playing games on my PS4. It has grown to be one of my all-time favourite consoles; so many great games and I've really taken to online gaming and sharing media on social platforms. I've thoroughly enjoyed it but I can't identify just one specific year.
So... I choose 1986. Obviously nostalgia has ridden up high in my decision but, hey, good memories should be recognised :-).
jawaX wrote:It's so tough to choose just one year. I'll run through a couple and then decide!
1986 - In late '85 I upgraded from my Commodore Vic-20 to the Commodore 64, having saved up my morning paper-round money for a year. The system cost £199 (equivalent to around £616 in 2020, financial value fans!) and, boy, the tech jump was amazing. Both systems were 8-bit but the C64 had a higher resolution screen and sprite and scrolling capabilities that were so impressive. Whilst saving up I had bought two games for the system; Finders Keepers, a Mastertronic £1.99 title, and Rambo Firts Blood Part II, published by Ocean. Loading them up and then enjoying other new games during 1986 - often chosen according to their review scores in C&VG, Zzap! 64 and Commodore User gaming magazines - was just fantastic. I haven't used my C64 for over twenty years now but just the thought of it makes me feel good. The sheer variety of systems and the tech differences between them made it an incredible time to be gaming.
Welcome back Jawa it is great to see you.
I do consider the SNES/Megadrive days gaming's golden era but you make a good point here the Commodore 64/Sinclair Spectrum days were pretty darn great too specially the getting games for £1.99 part, lots of funny magazines as well even some with free games on them sometimes.