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The best games of the 1990s
The defining games of the 1990s, ranked by rating.
The 1990s remade what games could be. Hardware leaps from the SNES through the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast unlocked 3D worlds and complex stories that earlier consoles could not attempt. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time redefined adventure; Half-Life proved shooters could carry a narrative; Gran Turismo built simulation into a genre of its own. The games here capture the decade's ambition — craft, variety, and the sense that the medium was still discovering what it was capable of.
Best games of the 1990s
Game
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ganondorf tricks Link into opening the Sacred Realm, then seizes the Triforce and corrupts Hyrule.
Game
Soulcalibur
Namco's weapon-based 3D fighter pits warriors against each other, originating in arcades as Soul Edge's sequel.
Soul Edge's sequel, set two to three years later, arrived in arcades then received an exclusive Dreamcast port in 1999.
Game
Half-Life
Gordon Freeman, a silent scientist at Black Mesa, stumbles into catastrophe in this landmark first-person shooter.
Game
Tekken 3
The third Tekken, first released in arcades in 1997, brought the fighting series to PlayStation in 1998.
Game
GoldenEye 007 (1997)
Rare's N64 first-person shooter adapts the 1995 James Bond film, blending a single-player campaign with multiplayer.
Game
Gran Turismo
Kazunori Yamauchi designed this PlayStation sim racer, developed by Polys Entertainment and published by Sony in 1997.
Game
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Link must stop the magician Agahnim from breaking Ganon's imprisoning seal in this 1991 SNES adventure.
Frequently asked
Where should I start with 1990s games if I've never played them?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Half-Life are strong entry points — both are self-contained stories that defined their genres and remain widely regarded as among the most influential games on this list.
What makes 1990s games still worth playing today?
The era's hardware limits pushed designers toward tight, direct mechanics — controls and feedback loops that hold up without the tutorial scaffolding common in later games. Many titles here established genre conventions still in use now.
Which games on this list are known for multiplayer?
GoldenEye 007 includes multiplayer alongside its single-player campaign, and Tekken 3 is a head-to-head fighting game — both were built around competitive play between players.