IWDM's Top 10 Video Games of 1995 - RetroAchievements/RANews GitHub Wiki

This article was sent in as a challenge for the Rack It Up event. For more information, you can check the forum topic here.

So a quick introduction for this list. I set some rules for what games could appear on this list:

  1. They need to have a set on RA. I did this so if anything on this list sounds cool to you, you have a set ready and waiting. Thus, a lot of top tier Arcade and PC games were not included.

  2. I have not beaten every game on this list, but like most game journalists I'm gonna wing it. I have at least played all of them though, so I hope you will bear with me.

With all that said, lets jump into the list!

  1. {% ragamepic 53, 051802, Comix Zone %}

This is one of the best looking Genesis/Mega Drive games I've ever played. It's dripping with style, from the Sega Logo screen with its hand drawn look to each screen of the game being a comic panel that you often interact with. The music perfectly matches the grungy Image comics vibe and works in tandem with the wild animation and visuals to make a really unique feeling game, especially on the Genesis/Mega Drive. The gameplay is were some problems arise. Namely the game is hard. Like really hard. Its not like its impossible to beat, but I know a lot of players may bounce off after some of the more difficult sections of the game. Even if the difficulty is to much for you, I recommend everyone at least give Comix Zone a shot to experience one of the coolest looking games of 1995.

  1. {% ragamepic 11383, 059514, Twisted Metal %}

1995 saw the start of many iconic video game franchises, and one of my favorite franchises that started that year was Twisted Metal! What's not to love about Twisted Metal? You've got crazy characters, insane car destruction, and tons of fun items and abilities to break the competition. All of the maps let you tear your way through cities, neighborhoods, and rooftops in your quest to become number 1 and claim your wish. While this first entry may not be the best Twisted Metal game, its still a lot of fun and lays the ground work for the future of the franchise. It's a shame all of the incredible live actions endings got cut, but I still appreciate all the characters having unique endings. If you like cars and carnage, Twisted Metal is worth your time.

  1. {% ragamepic 11346, 065148, Rayman %}

Looking at another franchise starter, we have Rayman. We not see much of Rayman these days, but he's still a gaming icon and his first game built up a lot of that legacy. In this first game, Rayman must travel through six worlds rescuing the captured Electoons from the evil Mr. Dark. What follows are some beautiful, vibrant platforming levels that are as fun to look at as they are difficult. That's right we have another platformer that has a bit of a steep difficulty curve, but not quite as bad as Comix Zone. Rayman controls well and is satisfying to explore with, but the levels themselves can be very precise with their challenges. But the creativity of the worlds and enemies you encounter outweighs the pain of the difficulty and makes Rayman a great game to check out.

  1. {% ragamepic 624, 038324, Mega Man X3 %}

So I was debating between Mega Man 7 and Mega Man X3 for this list, but in the X3 won out because of the simple cool factor that all of the Mega Man X games have. I love the whole Mega Man X series. I love the designs of the Reploids and Mavericks, the refined and fluid controls, and all of the great power ups and abilities you can get as X. X3 adds on several new elements, like the powerful Golden Armor and a host of new Ride Armors to pilot. But the biggest addition by far was the ability to play as series favorite Zero for the first time. Unfortunately it is very limited when you can use him, and dying as him locks you into a bad ending but this choice to make him playable would shape all future X games going forward. With just the right amount of challenge and a whole lot of fun, I highly recommend Mega Man X3 to anyone who loves the Mega Man series.

  1. {% ragamepic 14504, 054781, Panzer Dragoon %}

Probably the game I was least familiar with before this list, Panzer Dragoon is a boundary pushing rail shooter released for the Sega Saturn. With gameplay similar to Star Fox, you fly around on the back of a dragon blasting a host of interesting enemies out of the sky. The graphics were quite impressive for the time and the art style helps hold the visuals up even today. Atmosphere is definitely the name of the game in Panzer Dragoon as the music and visuals work together to create this world on the brink, a sort of liminality broken up my hordes of machines and monsters attacking you at every turn. This game was definitely a surprise for me and is dearly loved by its fans, so please check out Panzer Dragoon when you can, you wont regret it.

  1. {% ragamepic 14565, 045216, Virtua Fighter 2 %}

Coming in at number 5 is more or less the reason you can play Tekken 8 today. That's right its Virtua Fighter 2, the grand daddy of the 3D fighter genre and a huge influence on present landscape of fighting games. The game features 11 diverse fighters, each with their own unique fighting style and design. Many of the new gameplay features highlight the new 3D gameplay and push the Saturn to its limits. The game introduced fluid, motion-captured movements for each fighter, creating a level of realism previously unseen in the genre. In my time playing it, I could feel how it lent to so many modern fighters like the Tekken series and Soul Caliber. The lack of in-game story is a bit disappointing especially for single players but if you enjoy fighting games at all, you owe it to yourself to give Virtua Fighter 2 a shot.

  1. {% ragamepic 466, 020222, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest %}

With these top 4 spots, we start to get to games that need no introduction. When Rare released the classic that is Donkey Kong Country, I imagine they had to ask themselves how they could improve on such a great game. Apparently their answer was in every single way. Because while Donkey Kong Country is a classic , Diddy's Kong Quest improves the visuals, the music, the gameplay, the level design, the bosses. You name it, Diddy's Kong Quest made it bigger, better and more fun. With the addition of a secret world, tons of collectables and new animal buddies, the game feels fresher then ever. If you have never played a DKC game, play Donkey Kong Country first. But after that, you have to play Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Otherwise you are missing out on a pinnacle SNES platformer.

  1. {% ragamepic 264, 079396, EarthBound %}

Hey. Do you like Undertale? What about Lisa the Painful? Yume Nikki? Omori? Basically the indie RPG genre as a whole? Yeah that's thanks to Earthbound. This game is one of the most creative games ever released by a major publisher, and it is crazy to me that Nintendo of all people were the ones to do it. This game is bizarre, unsettling, charming, funny, disturbing, vibrant and emotionally resonant all at the same time. The gameplay is interesting and engaging and the world it presents is fascinating. And if you take into consideration this is a sequel, this is an immense improvement over Mother 1. This game is finally getting the recognition it deserves in the modern era, and Ness is a household name thanks to Smash Bros. But I know many, myself included have put this game on their backlog to collect dust forever more. I say its time you take Earthbound out of the backlog and I guarantee it will be worth your time.

  1. {% ragamepic 558, 061087, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island %}

Have you ever played a game that perfectly sums up the concept of fun? For me, that game is hands down Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Everything about this game is just fun. This is some of the best platforming you will find this decade, let alone in 1995. Yoshi's Island learned a lot from Super Mario World, which was itself one of the best platformers of all time. The sprawling levels full of secrets just beg for multiple run throughs, and feature some of the most fun ideas I've seen in a platformer. Levels like Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy; Marching Milde's Fort; Icy Conditions and many more offer tons of variety in how you play. The egg throwing, transformations and baby Mario mechanics really help this game stand out from its mainline Mario brothers. The visuals and music are peak Nintendo and really set the tone for whatever challenges you might face. The music for the final boss is some of the best music on the SNES hands down. The baby crying noise is the only thing that I don't love about this game, and I think that means it did its job. This game is easily my favorite platformer of 1995, and is one of my favorite Mario games of all time.

  1. {% ragamepic 319, 063507, Chrono Trigger %}

Speaking of monumentally important RPGs. I could not recommend Earthbound highly enough but even I would be silly to say that it holds the respect and admirations of millions like the Final Fantasy games do. Especially around this time with Final Fantasy 6 in 1994 and just two years after this the behemoth that is Final Fantasy 7. But if there were one RPG to go toe to toe with the legacy that is Final Fantasy, it would have to be Chrono Trigger. To say Chrono Trigger was influential is a supreme understatement. Akira Toriyama arguably at his peak with his designs for Chrono Trigger, the beautiful music by Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu, the epic storyline that spans time and space yet has powerful quite moments that hit hard. Chrono Trigger has gameplay formula that not only refreshed RPG combat but made it more accessible then ever and a ton of non-combat gameplay variety to spice things up. If you play one game on this list today, first of all shame on you, but second of all make it Chrono Trigger. Chrono Trigger is full of some of the best video games have to offer and as such is in my opinion the best game of 1995.