Best year in videogame history, 1997 or 1998?

o1s1n

Something I've been battling with today, which was a better year for games - '97 or '98?

1997 notable entries lifted from Wiki

Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Tomb Raider II, Ultima Online, Virtua Striker 2, Everybody's Golf, I.Q.: Intelligent Qube, PaRappa the Rapper, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Grand Theft Auto and Fallout.

Also worth noting Carmageddon, MDK, Formula 1 97, The Curse of Monkey Island, Einhander.

1998 notable entries lifted from Wiki.

 F-Zero X, Marvel vs. Capcom, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Pocket Monsters: Pikachu, Resident Evil 2, Sonic Adventure, Street Fighter Alpha 3, The House of the Dead 2, and Tomb Raider III, Banjo-Kazooie, Dance Dance Revolution, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Half-Life, MediEvil, Parasite Eve, Radiant Silvergun, Spyro the Dragon, StarCraft and Xenogears. 

I see Panzer Dragoon Saga isn't on that list for 1998, either is Tekken 3, Grim Fandango, StarCraft..

I dunno. 1998 wins by sheer number of great games alone, but then 1997 still has FF VII, SOTN, Starfox. Golden Eye, Gran Turismo, GTA AND Fallout. Ah, I'm back to not knowing again!

Inviere

Edit - Duplicate post, and still no way to self delete posts on this vanilla crap.

Retr0gamer

I've thought about this before and 1998 for me is the best year ever in gaming.

1997 was a good year but it was kind of the year when developers finally got their heads around the PS1,Saturn and N64 and started making good games.

1998 on the other hand was when developers had fully grasped the hardware of these machines and starting pumping out absolute classics. PC was also well within its golden phase and had an amazing year as well.

Although 1998 was followed by 1999 to 2005 were each year was an absolute banger.

KeRbDoG

(corrects glasses on nose) those release years, those be JAP release dates or EUR? :) I think MGS was released on the PS1 in 1999 in Europe.

...I'll get my coat

CiDeRmAn

1997 for me.

Just a mountain of games that defined the scene for me, at least on that cycle, F1'97 and Wipeout 2097, and Gran Turismo just about squeaks it by being released in Japan in late '97 too.

Plus, Starfox, Goldeneye and GTA got hours and hours of play

Dublinandy3

Am I allowed to be the odd one out and say 1992?

Games I am rather fond of are:

Championship Manager, Sonic 2, Super Mario Kart, King's Quest 6, Alone in The Dark, Desert Strike, Street Fighter 2, Zelda - A Link To The Past, Sensible Soccer, Amiga version of Grand Prix.

But disregarding that whatever year Civilization 2 was released, I still play it so therefore that year has to be the best.

Colonel Panic

Impossible for me to choose really. I think I’ve made up my mind then I look at the other list.

I can’t believe there was so much overlap between DC and N64’s golden era. I didn’t get one until 1999 myself though, were there many importers here?

dav09

For me game wise, probably 1997. 1998 started some great franchises like Sypro, Sonic Adventure, DDR, but actually felt the original to some of these when playing back were somewhat meh compared to their more iconic sequels.

I think 1991 was a great year too with Sonic The Hedgehog, Street Fighter 2, The Simpsons Arcade, Sunset Riders, Legend Of Zelda: Link To The Past, Duke Nukem, Streets of Rage

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079209#Comment_119079209

Don't you be complicating matters by adding 1992! :D that was some year indeed. Street Fighter 2, Mario Kart, .. it's absolutely amazing how many core videogame franchises came out of the early to mid 90s.

Re '97/'98, Today I'm erring more towards '97, mainly because Kerbdog kicked MGS a year forward into 1999!

SuperBowserWorld

Whatever year Bomb Jack came out in.

Dublinandy3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119079568#Comment_119079568

Out of the two I'd say 97 shades it

CiDeRmAn

The early 90s were fantastic as well, my times with my MD and Snes and all those great games, so another vote here for '92.

Ultimately, there were a whole series of great years, and the 90's were a fertile ground for great game development.

I mean, in 95 I was also head over heels in love with PC gaming, with Quake and Mechwarrior 2 being a pair of games that I spent a whole heap of time with, as well as countless other titles of such a variety that only the PS2 matched seven years later.

waynescales1

Tomb Raider 3 was a terrible game. Crash Bandicoots 2 & 3 are missing from your lists.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119080925#Comment_119080925

Agree with TR3, its not great but then again TR2 isn't great either. Prefer TR1 a lot more.

Crash 2 and 3 are only OK. Klonoa and Tomba are far better games than those. Both released in 1997 and should be on the list.

Thief, Battlezone, Baldur's Gate are missing from 1998.

geotrig

If was asked this without pre-empt suggestion of 97-98 I would never have come closeto those 2 years would have said early 90's or some odd years in the 80's, even the mid 2000!! and while 97-98 looks ok seeing that list I still think earlier years were better.

waynescales1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119081172#Comment_119081172

I had a TR1 v TR2 conversation on Boards recently enough, was it with you? Haha!

TR2 was a great game, I stand by that!

Montage of Feck

I still remember playing MGS for the first time, the pyscho mantis sequence was a revelation to me that really brought gaming to new level. So for me it has to be '98 if only for MGS alone.

Gameplay wise it still holds up today, most of the early 3D action games have controls and camera views that now feel very janky. The story was nice and tight while remaining involving, in the subsequent games the story became a bit overblown.

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119081172#Comment_119081172

Thanks for mentioning Battlezone.

That was an incredible game on the PC, running on the same Mechwarrior engine as Interstate 76, another great game!

I still have the instruction manual for Battlezone somewhere, a wonderful bit of alternative history writing, printed on enough paper to make a Green Party TD weep!

CiDeRmAn

Also, 1998 contained F1'98, one of the worst sequels I have ever played, so disappointing it was.

I remember the Sony rep trying to convince us of how good it was, but everyone knew it was complete tripe.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119083245#Comment_119083245

Probably was. I played through them recently and TR1 really holds up far better than I expected. TR2's focus on combat was a very poor decision, the puzzles were not as good as the original game and neither are the environments. There's some good levels like the sunken ship but most are really poor and boring. Nobody is excited about exploring an oil tanker.

TR2 was way more hyped at the time and was a lot of people's first TR game but going back to it while it's bigger, badder and more violent, the first game is just a more tightly designed game. TR2 definitely isn't bad but it's no where near the classic I consider the original being.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119083974#Comment_119083974

I remember the PS1 F1 games being a big deal. Did they change developer for 98?

1997

Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix II One of the best DOS games could be played in Windows too, although it preferred DOS

X Wing Vs TIE Fighter Lucas Arts.

Flight Simulator 98: Yes, this was on sale in late 1997 in Virgin Megastore on Burgh Quay.

Dante

1998 purely because of Starcraft!

TheIrishGrover

I'd have to go '98 purely for Ocarina

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084077#Comment_119084077

Formula 1 '97 was bloody brilliant. I couldn't get over the Murray Walker commentating throughout the races when I was a kid, made the game feel so real.

It did indeed change developer when 98 came out - to 'Visual Science' whoever they were!

JPup

What year were you guys born? I'm guessing early 80s?

Everyone thinks music peaked in their teens and has been going downhill since. Same with computer games I would imagine.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084300#Comment_119084300

Nobody said videogames have been going down hill since, just that there was a definite peak around the 97/98 era purely based on the vast quantity of amazing titles released - many of which have had countless sequels released since. It's actually quite staggering to look back on when compared to big name new IPs and titles released at the moment.

Or maybe you're right and I'm just a rose tinted glasses old fart :D

Vicxas

1998 for me, but surely 2000 should be in the conversation too. I mean Deus Ex, Sims, Diablo 2, FFIX, Legend of Zelda, Majoras Mask.

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084077#Comment_119084077

Yep, Bizarre Creations did the first two, then some awful shower called Visual Science made '98 which was panned, Psygnosis, the publisher, then handed it off to Studio 33 who were formed from Psygnosis devs, and they carried the franchise forward for the next number of entries.

The first two though, they are still fantastic fun.

CiDeRmAn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084300#Comment_119084300

No, I can't agree with you there.

Appreciating videogames isn't the same as music. While I might have fond memories of the games I played as a teenager, on the Spectrum, C64 and in the arcades, it doesn't eclipse the stuff I played in the 90's, 00's and up to the present day, just a different version of me each time, a different context to what I am playing, what I am playing it on and how much time I can devote to the past-time.

TLDR:

I love Galaga, Pacman and Robotron, but I also love Quake and Mechwarrior, Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, Deus Ex, Ico, The Last of Us and Halo, and now Halo Infinite, Superhot, Super Mario Odyssey, Everyone's Gone to the Rapture and The Stanley Parable.

There is no ever decreasing circle of quality or good times here, it is just changing as the tech changes and I change with it.

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084300#Comment_119084300

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084319#Comment_119084319

Plus..... Y'know... Retro in the forum