Games of the Year: 1984 to present

Timett

Timett

CAG Veteran
I was bored so I compiled a list of my favorite games each year since I was born. 1984 seems like a reasonable time to start anyways since the whole crash thing happened the year before. I went with when games were released in the US. I'd be curious to see your lists.


1984 - Kings Quest
1985 - Super Mario Bros
1986 - Mike Tyson's Punch Out!
1987 - The Legend of Zelda
1988 - Mega Man 2
1989 - River City Ransom
1990 - Super Mario Bros 3
1991 - Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge
1992 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1993 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors
1994 - Final Fantasy III
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - Super Mario 64
1997 - The Curse of Monkey Island
1998 - Xenogears
1999 - Silent Hill
2000 - Deus Ex
2001 - Halo
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2004 - World of Warcraft
2005 - Guitar Hero
2006 - Final Fantasy XII
2007 - Bioshock

I enjoyed making my list. For a lot of the older games I used gamefaqs search filters to get a list of games by year. Just put in the year, published in US, and the console you want to browse.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/search/index.html?game=&platform=0

After 2000 or so I started using the 'notable releases' in wikipedia's "20xx in video gaming" pages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_in_video_gaming
 
1984 - Mario Bros.
1985 - Super Mario Bros.
1986 - Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter
1987 - Super Mario Bros. 2
1988 - Leisure Suit Larry Goes Looking for Love (In Several Wrong Places)
1989 - Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Monkey Island 2: Lechuck's Revenge
1992 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993 - Maniac Mansion 2: Day of the Tentacle
1994 - Full Throttle
1995 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
1996 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
1997 - The Curse of Monkey Island
1998 - Crash Bandicoot: Warped
1999 - Super Smash Bros.
2000 - Perfect Dark
2001 - Max Payne
2002 - No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.s Way
2003 - Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
2004 - Half-Life 2
2005 - Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
2006 - Hitman: Blood Money
2007 - Half-Life 2: Episode 2

These are the best games of individual years judged by today, so games that were innovative at the time may not be the best anymore (Half-Life, Grand Theft Auto 3, Goldeneye, etc...).
 
2001 was a difficult choice for me. I like FFX a lot. FFIV, VI, X and XII would certainly make up my top 4 FF games. The order changes from time to time but I like all the games a lot. In the end I decided that I put so much time into Halo multiplayer with my buddies that I just had to go with it.

SSBM, Halo, MGS2, Ico, Silent Hill 2, FFX, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Paper Mario were all considered for the spot.

FFXII was a pretty easy decision for 2006. I didn't like Gears of War that much, Twilight Princess was good but not spectacular. Dead Rising was good but not GOTY material. It was a toss up between XII and Guitar Hero 2.
 
Here's my list ^_^

1984 - King's Quest (PC)
1985 - Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986 - Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES)
1987 - Castlevania (NES)
1988 - Mega Man 2 (NES)
1989 - Dragon Warrior (NES)
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1991 - Street Fighter II: World Warrior (ARC)
1992 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
1993 - Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (SNES)
1994 - Final Fantasy III (SNES)
1995 - Chrono Trigger (SNES)
1996 - Super Mario 64 (N64)
1997 - Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
1998 - The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (N64)
1999 - Tekken Tag Tournament (ARC)
2000 - Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
2001 - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
2002 - Resident Evil (GCN)
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
2004 - Tekken 5 (ARC)
2005 - TIE Resident Evil 4 (GCN), Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
2007 - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (PS2)
 
I did not realize that Curse of Monkey Island came out in 1997. I don't like FFVII all that much at all but I honestly didn't see a better game that came out that year. Good choice.

Choosing Chrono Trigger over Earthbound for 1995 is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do :(

In '96 I was tempted to put Terranigma over Super Mario 64. Terranigma never came out in the US but it came out that year in Europe (I think the year before in Japan). For that reason and the fact that we're talking about Mario freakin' 64 made me just keep the list how it was.
 
1983 - M.U.L.E.
1984 -
1985 - Super Mario Bros.
1986 - Dragon Quest
1987 - The Legend of Zelda
1988 - Super Mario Bros. 2
1989 - Tetris
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Final Fantasy IV/Super Mario World
1992 - Star Control II
1993 - Secret of Mana
1994 - Final Fantasy VI
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - Super Mario 64
1997 - Final Fantasy VII
1998 - Final Fantasy Tactics
1999 - Suikoden II
2000 - Vagrant Story
2001 - Capcom vs. SNK 2
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3
2005 - Shadow of the Colossus
2006 - Final Fantasy XII
2007 - Mass Effect

Finally done. For the most part, I went with the US release dates/versions I first played. I couldn't come up with anything for 1984. And oh god, I already had to cut so many fantastic games out to get this far. Don't make me decide on just one for 1991.
 
[quote name='PenguinMaster']1984 - Mario Bros.

2007 - Half-Life 2: Episode 2

[/quote]

I will argue you with that one all day long, but it's your opinion, and your entitled to it, no matter how crazy it is. :D

I started with '90, since I'm not old enough to remember anything before that, considering I was born in '87.

1990: Super Mario World (SNES)
1991: Street Fighter II (GENESIS)
1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GENESIS )
1993: Link's Awakening / Secret of Mana (GB, GB)
1994: Super Metroid (SNES)
1995: Chrono Trigger (SNES)
1996: Super Mario 64 (N64)
1997: Final Fantasy VII / Goldeneye (PS1, N64)
1998: Metal Gear Solid (PS1)
1999: Super Smash Bros. (N64)
2000: The Sims (PC)
2001: Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2002: Kingdom Hearts (PS2)
2003: KOTOR (XBOX)
2004: Katamari Damacy (PS2)
2005: Dragon Quest IIX / God of War (PS2, PS2)
2006: Oblivion / Guitar Hero II (360, 360)
2007: Bioshock / Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360, 360)

Phew.
 
1988 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
1989 - Tecmo Bowl
1990 - Revenge of Shinobi
1991 - Streets of Rage / Gaiares / John Madden Football
1992 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors
1994 - NBA Live '95
1995 - Mortal Kombat 3
1996 - Street Fighter Alpha 2
1997 - Goldeneye 007
1998 - Metal Gear Solid
1999 - Final Fantasy VIII / Sonic Adventure
2000 - Shenmue
2001 - Devil May Cry / Halo
2002 - Spinter Cell
2003 - SOCOM 2
2004 - KOTOR 2 / Ghost Recon 2
2005 - Resident Evil 4 / Dragon Quest VIII
2006 - Oblivion / GRAW / GeoW
2007 - CoD4 / Orange Box

Sorry, some years are too hard to decide so I have multiple choices, and my memory in the mid-nineties is vague at best because I was still in high school (too busy with booze, dope, and getting laid. I also would likely included Final Fantasies IV, VI, VII, and IX in the years that came out, but didn't actually play them until '01.
 
I would do a list if I actually played most of the games during the year they came out. Whenever MArvel vs Capcom came out in the arcade, then that would be my gamf of the year for that year.
 
The year you played the games doesn't matter. I didn't play the Sierra 'Quest' games until recently, for example.

I forced myself to choose only one game per year. It's supposed to be difficult!

Orange Box is cheating. I nearly picked Portal for my goty 07 though.
 
[quote name='Timett']The year you played the games doesn't matter. I didn't play the Sierra 'Quest' games until recently, for example.

I forced myself to choose only one game per year. It's supposed to be difficult!
[/quote]

It's too difficult for me too choose on alot of them, but if I HAD to make a choice, I'd rather play Goldeneye than FF7, Oblivion more than GHII, and DQ8 more than God of War, but I'm keeping bioshock and Cod4. No matter what lol.
 
I started at 1985 with Super Mario Bros. for the NES, since that's essentially the birth of modern gaming.

1985 - Super Mario Bros. (NES)

1986 - 720° (NES)

1987 - Jaws (NES)

1988 - Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

1989 - Tetris (Game Boy)

1990 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game (NES)

1991 - Home Alone (NES)

1992 - World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (Genesis)

1993 - Gunstar Heroes (Genesis)

1994 - General Chaos (Genesis)

1995 - Clockwork Knight (Saturn)

1996 - Resident Evil (PS)

1997 - GoldenEye (N64)

1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

1999 - Silent Hill (PS)

2000 - Shenmue (DC)

2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)

2002 - Animal Crossing (GC)

2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBox)

2004 - Fable (XBox)

2005 - Indigo Prophecy (XBox)

2006 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2)

2007 - Mass Effect (XB360)

Obviously, there are stories behind all of these choices, but I'll spare you the boring details. ;)
 
[quote name='007']

Obviously, there are stories behind all of these choices, but I'll spare you the boring details. ;)[/quote]

Feel free to add some of those details if you'd like. I hate it when people discourage actual discussion on forums. I've seen people on other boards make topics like "WHAT DO YOU THINK, A OR B? ONLY CHOOSE A OR B!!" and then the whole topic is just a big pointless list.

I know this topic isn't revoultionary or anything but I'm finding all your choices pretty interesting so far.
 
[quote name='Timett']Feel free to add some of those details if you'd like. I hate it when people discourage actual discussion on forums. I've seen people on other boards make topics like "WHAT DO YOU THINK, A OR B? ONLY CHOOSE A OR B!!" and then the whole topic is just a big pointless list.

I know this topic isn't revoultionary or anything but I'm finding all your choices pretty interesting so far.[/quote]

Ha, honestly, I was just too tired to mess with the formatting of the explanation paragraphs.

I, too, would love to see some explanation for why particular games were chosen. I mean, look at me... for 1990 (the year Mario 3 came out) I chose Home Alone for the NES, a roundly terrible game. However, it is the only game that I have a personal vendetta against. Every year or two, I pop it in and try to last the 20 minutes, and I still never have. It's not a great game, but I've put so much time into it that I can't help but put it on the list. That, and I have extremely fond memories of the day my friend and I watched the credits and counted seven names... and then realized that only four of them were unique. This game, this awful game that has bested me for 18 years, was created by only 4 people. I found that utterly hilarious, and totally indicative of the 'cheap cash-in licensed NES games' era.




Oh, and I completely agree with the OP, that you only get to pick ONE game per year. That's the entire point. I had to leave off my #4 favorite game ever because #3 came out the same year. Make the decisions, people.
 
I'm starting at 1985 even though I was born in 1983. I couldn't find any games I gave a damn about before then.

1985 - Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986 - Metroid (NES)
1987 - The Legend of Zelda (NES)
1988 - Ice Hockey (NES)
1989 - Tetris (NES)
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1991 - SimCity (SNES)
1992 - Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (SNES)
1993 - Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES)
1994 - Final Fantasy III (SNES)
1995 - Killer Instinct (SNES)
1996 - Super Mario RPG (SNES)
1997 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSX)
1998 - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
1999 - Soul Calibur (DC)
2000 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PSX)
2001 - Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)
2002 - Metroid Prime (GC)
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (XBOX)
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3 (PS2)
2005 - Resident Evil 4 (GC)
2006 - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (X360)
2007 - BioShock (X360)

Damn! That was a lot of work!
 
1984 - No notable games that I played.
1985 - Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986 - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (PC)
1987 - Legend of Zelda (NES)
1988 - Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
1989 - SimCity / Tetris (PC/GB)*
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1991 - Super Mario World (SNES)
1992 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
1993 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB)
1994 - Final Fantasy III (SNES)
1995 - Yoshi's Island / Chrono Trigger (SNES/SNES)
1996 - Super Mario 64 (N64)
1997 - Goldeneye 007 (N64)
1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
1999 - Suikoden II (PSX)
2000 - Skies of Arcadia (DC)
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)
2002 - Suikoden III (PS2)
2003 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)
2004 - Pikmin 2 (GC)
2005 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess / Wii Sports (Wii/Wii)
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy / Portal (Wii / Whatever)

I guess you can tell I've primarily played Nintendo systems, but I still feel fairly confident with my choices. There were some great years that had several games worth mentioning, so it was still somewhat difficult narrowing them down to only or or even two at worst.
 
[quote name='AGuth']LIST[/quote]

Well, I'm going to have to prod for an explanation on something here. You felt strongly enough about KOTOR2 to give it a halfsies nod along with Ghost Recon 2 in 2004, but went with a full-on Socom 2 in 2003, with the first KOTOR nowhere in sight.

I question it only because I find that KOTOR2 is generally regarded poorly in comparison to the first, yet it made your list while KOTOR didn't. I'm curious as to the thought process behind that, as I'd imagine that it's not going to be a strong theme throughout this thread (leaving out a strong first entry, but putting in a half-baked follow-up).

I really have to stress that I'm not degrading your list or choices in any way, this was just something that jumped out at me. :bouncy:
 
I think I'll also start with 1985:

1985 - Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986 - Gradius (NES)
1987 - The Legend of Zelda (NES)
1988 - Contra (NES)
1989 - Mega Man 2 (NES)
1990 - Final Fantasy (NES)
1991 - Super Mario World (SNES)
1992 - Super Mario Kart (SNES)
1993 - King Arthur's World (SNES)
1994 - Final Fantasy III (SNES)
1995 - Chrono Trigger (SNES)
1996 - Mario 64 (N64)
1997 - Final Fantasy VII (PS1)
1998 - Resident Evil 2 (PS1)
1999 - Mario Golf (N64)
2000 - Perfect Dark (N64)
2001 - Twisted Metal: Black (PS2)
2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)
2003 - Silent Hill 3 (PS2)
2004 - Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2)
2005 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
2006 - New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
2007 - Super Paper Mario (Wii)
 
I have some strange early choices, but thats what I really enjoyed playing at the time, the later titles are the real quality ones.

1988-Rampage
1989-After Burner
1990-Super Mario Bros 3
1991-Super Mario World
1992-Adventure Island 3
1993-Clayfighter
1994-NBA Jam
1995-Vectorman
1996-Super Mario 64
1997-Final Fantasy 7
1998-Metal Gear Solid
1999-Pokemon Snap
2000-Pokemon Gold and Silver
2001-Super Smash Bros Melee
2002-Super Mario Sunshine
2003-The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
2004-Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005-Resident Evil 4
2006-The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007-TIE Super Mario Galaxy and Team Fortress 2
So far of 2008-Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
 
1985 - Super Mario Bros.

1987 - Mega Man 2

1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3

1992 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in TIme
1993 - Sonic CD
1994 - Super Metroid

1996 - Super Mario 64

1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

2000 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy

I can't thin of anything else right now. It's early. I'll fill in the rest later.
 
Seriously, how do you put Super Mario Bros. 2 on a game of the year list?

I stopped reading after I saw 2 lists with it. Everyone may have their opinions, but please, think before posting on the world wide interweb next time.
 
Super Mario Bros 2 is a fair choice, I think. Mega Man 2, Mario 2, Zelda II are the stand out games that year IMO. I personally wouldn't put Mario above either of those games... but I love SMB2 all the same.
 
OoT is the 3rd best game of 98 on my list. Xenogears, MGS, OoT.

Majora's Mask > OoT. If Deus Ex wasn't one of the best games ever made Majora's Mask would have been my 2000 choice.
 
1996 - Super Mario 64
1997 - GoldenEye
1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
1999 - Soul Calibur
2000 - TIE - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and Crazy Taxi
2001 - Conker's Bad Fur Day
2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2004 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2005 - Call of Duty 2
2006 - Gears of War
2007 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
 
[quote name='b3b0p']Seriously, how do you put Super Mario Bros. 2 on a game of the year list?

I stopped reading after I saw 2 lists with it. Everyone may have their opinions, but please, think before posting on the world wide interweb next time.[/quote]

Get off your high horse and start respecting other people's opinions.

This isn't what you feel the GOTY was for each year, but the game YOU would choose as your PERSONAL GOTY.

I've always loved SMB2. In fact, I know a large segment of you will scream 'blasphemy!', but I've always enjoyed it more than SMB3. Nostalgia does funny things sometimes.

So, I reiterate, if you're not going to have intelligent and respectful discussion of people's lists, just leave the thread.
 
1983 - Space Panic (Colecovision)
1984 - Kung-Fu Master (Arcade)
1985 - Super Mario Bros.
1986 - Metroid
1987 - Bionic Commando
1988 - Double Dragon
1989 - Mega Man 2
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog
1992 - TIE: Mortal Kombat (Arcade) & Street Fighter II (SNES)
1993 - Secret of Mana
1994 - Final Fantasy III (VI)
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - Suikoden
1997 - TIE: Final Fantasy 7 & Castlevania SOTN
1998 - The King of Fighter 98'
1999 - Shenmue
2000 - Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2)
2001 - SNK vs Capcom 2 (PS2)
2002 - TIE: Shenmue II & Suikoden III
2003 - King of Fighters 02' (DC)
2004 - Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
2005 - Guitar Hero
2006 - Suikoden V
2007 - TIE: Persona 3 & Rockband
2008 - So far it's Devil May Cry 4

Damn, that was hard. I really tried to limit the number of ties, but some just couldn't be helped. Honorable mentions are Marvel vs Capcom 2, Jet Set Radio F, Persona 2, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Metroid, Mega Man X. All very close to make the list.
 
Nice topic. Bookmarked. I will add to this list as I can. Note that some of these are home releases of games that came out earlier. I am targeting console/computer releases.

1984 - Karateka
1985 - Oregon Trail
1986 - Mike Tyson's Punch Out
1987 - Alternate Reality: The Dungeon
1988 - Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt dual pack
1989 - Tetris (Game Boy)
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Lemmings
1992 - Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition
1993 - Star Fox (BIG secondary honors to NBA Jam, which was a phenomenal game, but a bigger arcade impact)
1994 - Earthworm Jim
1995 - Chrono Trigger/Warcraft II (tie)
1996 - Star Control 3
1997 - Fallout
1998 - Starcraft
1999 - Quake III Arena
2000 - The Sims
2001 - Conker's Bad Fur Day / Final Fantasy X (tie)
2002 - Animal Crossing
2003 - Disgaea
2004 - Halo 2
2005 - God of War
2006 - Marvel Ultimate Alliance
2007 - Bioshock
 
It's interesting to see that all the lists are dominated early by Nintendo games and by the late 90's you start to see everyone has Playstation and Xbox games, could this be because in the mid-80's there wasn't much choice other than NES or because Nintendo had better quality control and there franchises were more original back then, or they just can't do 3-D like they did 2-D, not hating but I majored in Sociology so I'm used to analyzing data. Just an interesting observation I thought I would point out.
 
[quote name='007']Get off your high horse and start respecting other people's opinions.

This isn't what you feel the GOTY was for each year, but the game YOU would choose as your PERSONAL GOTY.

I've always loved SMB2. In fact, I know a large segment of you will scream 'blasphemy!', but I've always enjoyed it more than SMB3. Nostalgia does funny things sometimes.

So, I reiterate, if you're not going to have intelligent and respectful discussion of people's lists, just leave the thread.[/QUOTE]

Hiss!

You take things too seriously.
 
[quote name='b3b0p']Hiss!

You take things too seriously.[/quote]

When my opinions are attacked and degraded, I respond.

Sorry if you feel that's 'taking things too seriously'.
 
I'm going to start at 2007 and go backwards from there. I was born in 1979 but there's no way I'm going back that far. I also didn't start really thinking about picking my personal GOTY until 2005 so everything before that is "tainted" by considering the question in 2008.

2007 - Bioshock (360)
2006 - Gears of War (360)
2005 - Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube)
2004 - Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)
2003 - ???
2002 - ???
2001 - ???
2000 - ???
1999 - Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)
1998 - Radiant Silvergun (Saturn)
1997 - X-men vs. Streetfighter (Saturn)
1996 - Firepro Wrestling S - Six Man Scramble (Saturn)
1995 - ???
1994 - Tie Fighter (PC) - Quite possibly my favorite computer game of all time. I'm dying for a good sequel or a remake or any tiny acknowledgment from Lucasarts that the game was/is incredible. Someday I may have to dig up an ancient Pentium just to play through it again.
1993 - ???
 
Was born in 1986 so this will be a small bit harder for me...

1994 - Super Mario All Stars
1995 -
1996 - Kirby Super Star
1997 - Mario Kart 64
1998 - Half-Life
1999 - Super Smash Bros.
2000 - Jet Grind Radio
2001 - The Typing of the Dead (I just absolutely loved this game and it made me a fast typer to boot)
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
2004 - Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (best turn based battle system EVER)
2005 - God of War
2006 - Bully
2007 - Rock Band

I doubt anyone's going to go for Typing of the Dead in any kind of GOTY personally...
 
[quote name='Halo05']I also didn't start really thinking about picking my personal GOTY until 2005 so everything before that is "tainted" by considering the question in 2008.[/quote]

I didn't play a majority of the games on my list the year they came out. I rarely think (before this topic) of what my favorite games of the year are at all. I was just looking at what games were released each year and choosing my favorite. I don't feel that makes the list "tainted".
 
[quote name='metaly']1983 - M.U.L.E.
1984 -
1985 - Super Mario Bros.
1986 - Dragon Quest
1987 - The Legend of Zelda
1988 - Super Mario Bros. 2
1989 - Tetris
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Final Fantasy IV/Super Mario World
1992 - Star Control II
1993 - Secret of Mana
1994 - Final Fantasy VI
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - Super Mario 64
1997 - Final Fantasy VII
1998 - Final Fantasy Tactics
1999 - Suikoden II
2000 - Vagrant Story
2001 - Capcom vs. SNK 2
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3
2005 - Shadow of the Colossus
2006 - Final Fantasy XII
2007 - Mass Effect

Finally done. For the most part, I went with the US release dates/versions I first played. I couldn't come up with anything for 1984. And oh god, I already had to cut so many fantastic games out to get this far. Don't make me decide on just one for 1991.[/quote]

This post is such a great idea and it went silent so quickly, so here's a bump. I'm quoting my list here because I just finished it and darn it, it took so long to put together.

Clearly I was big on RPGs back in the day, but weren't all the cool kids?
 
1991 - Super Mario World
1992 - A Link to the Past
1993 - Doom
1994 - Super Metroid
1995 - Warcraft II
1996 - Mario 64 (Civ II, Super Mario RPG and Diablo would have been #1 in most other years)
1997 - Soul Blade (note I didn't play FFVII)
1998 - Ocarina of Time
1999 - Soul Calibur
2000 - Diablo II
2001 - GTA III / Tony Hawk 3
2002 - Elder Scrolls III / Metroid Prime
2003 - KOTOR
2004 - Katamari Damacy
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - Elder Scrolls IV / Gears of War
2007 - Halo 3
 
I'm also starting with 1985, since I haven't played any games released prior to that year (I was born in '89).

1985: Super Mario Bros.
1986: Metroid
1987: The Legend of Zelda
1988: Mega Man 2
1989: Tetris
1990: Super Mario Bros. 3
1991: Super Mario World
1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993: Goof Troop
1994: Sonic the Hedgehog 3
1995: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
1996: Super Mario 64
1997: Star Fox 64
1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
1999: Donkey Kong 64
2000: Pokémon Gold/Silver
2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002: Metroid Prime
2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
2004: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
2005: Mario Kart DS
2006: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
 
1985- Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986- Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (NES)
1987- The Legend of Zelda (NES)
1988- Mega Man 2 (NES)
1989- Minesweeper (PC)
1990- Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1991- Super Mario World (SNES)
1992- World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (Genesis)
1993- Zombies Ate my Neighbors (SNES)
1994- Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
1995- Descent (PC)
1996- Tie: Crash Bandicoot (PS1)/ Super Mario 64 (N64)
1997- Mario Kart 64 (N64)
1998- Tie: Banjo Kazooie (N64)/ Starcraft (PC)/ Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
1999- Jet Force Gemini (N64)
2000- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC)
2001- Tie: Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)/ Conker's Bad Fur Day (Xbox)/ Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2002- Tie: Kingdom Hearts (PS2)/ Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
2003- Tie: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)/ The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN)
2004- Halo 2 (Xbox)
2005- Tie: God of War (PS2)/ Psychonauts (Xbox)
2006- Tie: Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360)/ Gears of War (Xbox 360)/ Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)
2007- Tie: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)/ The Orange Box (Xbox 360)

It's too damn hard to pick one game for every year. I threw in 10 "gimmies."
 
[quote name='Greetard']
1989- Minesweeper (PC)[/quote]

Respek.

That was seriously one of my nominees but then I noticed Tetris for Gameboy was '89. No contest.
 
1985- Super Mario Bros. (NES)
1986- Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! (NES)
1987- The Legend of Zelda (NES)
1988- Mega Man 2 (NES)
1989- Rivercity Ransom (NES)
1990- Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
1991- Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis)
1992- Dragon Warrior IV (NES)
1993- Sonic CD (Sega CD)
1994- Shaq-Fu (Multi Platform)
1995- Warcraft II: Tide of Darkness (PC)
1996- Suikoden 1 (PS1)
1997- Castlevania: SOTN (PS1)
1998- Starcraft (PC)
1999- Suikoden 2 (PS1)
2000- Diablo 2 (PC)
2001- Halo: Combat Evolved (XBox)
2002- Megaman Zero (GBA)
2003- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox and PC)
2004- Halo 2 (Xbox)
2005- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
2006- Gears of War (XBox 360)
2007- Bioshock (XBox 360 and PC)

I guess everyone has odd choices. Mine would be RCR over Tetris, but what can I say? RCR is one of my favorite games of all time and I throughly enjoyed it, and played it more then I did Tetris.
Dragon Warrior IV was in the "dying period" of the NES but looked close to a SNES game (watch the intro) and was the pinnacle of the Dragon Warrior/Quest series IMHO.
Castlevania SOTN was the greatest Castlevania game of all time, and for that very reason deserves to topple FF7.
Megaman Zero might seem like a odd choice to most, but imho was my second favorite MM game behind MM2 for the NES, and brought back the MM series back to It's roots and continues onto the GBA and DS to this day you see.
Phoenix Wright is reason enough to have EVERYONE buy a DS. The game is pure genius and to everyone who doesn't think so I OBJECT!
 
I agree with Dragon Warrior IV being the best DQ game. I wanted to include it on my list and almost did.
 
Great topic OP.

I have been thinking about my list for a few days now and I still don't have it completely worked out. As everyone else said, this can be extremely difficult to do. Case in point, the year 1993 was a great year for gaming and as such it contained three of my all time favorite games:

Mega Man X/Kirby's Adventure/Secret of Mana

There are also 2 Sega Genesis classics that came out that year - Rocket Knight Adventures and Gunstar Heroes. Such a tough to choice to make. Right now, I'm stuck because a few years in my list are presenting logjams like this. Timett, what criteria did you use to narrow it down to one game each year?
 
[quote name='neschamp']Great topic OP.

Timett, what criteria did you use to narrow it down to one game each year?[/quote]

Didn't really have any real criteria... just had to man up and make the decision sometimes.
 
This might take some thought, but here I go:

1985 - Super Mario Bros
1986 -
1987 - Legend of Zelda
1988 - Zelda II: The Adventure's of Link
1989 - Super Mario Land
1990 - Super Mario Bros 3
1991 - Final Fantasy II
1992 - Super Mario Kart
1993 - Secret of Mana
1994 - Final Fantasy VI (III U.S)
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - NiGHTs into Dreams (Hard to decide between this and Mario 64)
1997 - Final Fantasy VII
1998 - Xenogears
1999 - Lunar: Silver Star Story Compete (very tough decision since part of me wants to say Grandia or FFVIII)
2000 - Final Fantasy IX
2001 - Final Fantasy X
2002 - Kingdom Hearts
2003 - Xenosaga Episode I
2004 - Star Ocean: Till The End of Time
2005 - Xenosaga Episode II (Very hard decision, but it was memorable despite faults)
2006 - Xenosaga Episode III
2007 - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
 
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