Almost every genre you play today has roots in a 90s game. The decade moved games from 2D to 3D, from cartridges to CDs and from couch multiplayer to the internet. These 20 games did more than sell well; they changed what everyone else made next.
Quick answer
The 90s video games that changed gaming include Street Fighter II (fighting games), Doom (first-person shooters), Super Mario 64 (3D movement), Resident Evil (survival horror), Final Fantasy VII (cinematic RPGs), GoldenEye 007 (console shooters), Ocarina of Time (3D combat targeting), Pokémon Red and Blue (collecting and trading), StarCraft (competitive online play) and Half-Life (story-driven shooters).
Key takeaways
- The 90s moved gaming from 2D to 3D.
- CDs enabled cinematic stories and voice acting.
- The internet created online multiplayer and modding communities.
20 90s games that changed gaming
| # | Game | Year (NA) | What it changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Fighter II | 1991 | Made competitive fighting games an arcade phenomenon |
| 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog | 1991 | Proved speed and attitude could sell a console |
| 3 | Mortal Kombat | 1992 | Its violence helped lead to the ESRB in 1994 |
| 4 | Doom | 1993 | Defined the first-person shooter and launched modding |
| 5 | Myst | 1993 | Helped sell CD-ROM drives with atmospheric puzzles |
| 6 | Donkey Kong Country | 1994 | Pre-rendered 3D graphics on a 16-bit console |
| 7 | Super Mario 64 | 1996 | Defined analog 3D movement and cameras |
| 8 | Resident Evil | 1996 | Popularized survival horror |
| 9 | Tomb Raider | 1996 | A 3D action-adventure star and exploration |
| 10 | Final Fantasy VII | 1997 | Cinematic storytelling brought RPGs to the mainstream |
| 11 | GoldenEye 007 | 1997 | Proved shooters and split-screen worked on consoles |
| 12 | Ultima Online | 1997 | An early massive online world |
| 13 | Gran Turismo | 1998 | Realistic driving simulation on console |
| 14 | Pokémon Red and Blue | 1998 | Collecting, trading and link-cable battles |
| 15 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | 1998 | Z-targeting for 3D combat |
| 16 | Metal Gear Solid | 1998 | Stealth and movie-like direction |
| 17 | StarCraft | 1998 | Competitive online strategy and esports |
| 18 | Half-Life | 1998 | Storytelling without cutscenes in a shooter |
| 19 | EverQuest | 1999 | Helped define the MMORPG |
| 20 | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | 1999 | Combo-based sports games and a legendary soundtrack |
- Fighting gamesStreet Fighter II, 1991
- First-person shootersDoom, 1993
- 3D platformersSuper Mario 64, 1996
- Survival horrorResident Evil, 1996
- Cinematic RPGsFinal Fantasy VII, 1997
- Online worldsUltima Online, 1997
The arcade and fighting game boom
Street Fighter II turned arcades into tournament halls in 1991. Players learned special moves, studied matchups and gathered around cabinets to watch. Mortal Kombat followed in 1992 with digitized graphics and fatalities, and the debate over its violence helped create the ESRB rating system in 1994. Relive the arcade era with 90s arcade games.
The PC revolution
Doom (1993) was fast, scary and playable over a network, and its open file format let fans build their own levels. Myst took the opposite approach with quiet exploration and became a reason families bought CD-ROM drives. Late in the decade, StarCraft and Half-Life (both 1998) shaped competitive online play and story-driven shooters. See more in 90s PC games.
Fun fact: Doom was shared as shareware: the first episode was free to copy and pass around, which spread the game to millions of computers.
The jump to 3D
When Super Mario 64 launched with the Nintendo 64 in 1996, it solved problems everyone else was struggling with: how a character should move with an analog stick, and how a camera should follow. Tomb Raider showed 3D exploration on PlayStation the same year, and Ocarina of Time (1998) introduced lock-on targeting that 3D action games still use. Read the full story in Nintendo in the 90s.
CDs and cinematic games
CD-ROMs held far more data than cartridges, which meant music, voice acting and full-motion video. Final Fantasy VII (1997) used that space for a sweeping story that introduced role-playing games to millions. Metal Gear Solid (1998) brought movie-style direction to stealth action. Find the essentials in the best PS1 games.
Collecting, trading and going online
Pokémon Red and Blue built a game around friendship: you needed a friend and a link cable to trade and complete your collection. Online, Ultima Online and EverQuest created persistent worlds that thousands could share at once, laying the groundwork for every online game since.
Try this: See every big game and console launch by year in the gaming tab of the 90s Year Explorer.
Conclusion
The 90s gave gaming its modern shape. Explore the hardware behind these games in 90s video game consoles, or start with the console that defined 3D in the best N64 games.
Frequently asked questions
What was the most influential video game of the 90s?
Super Mario 64 (1996) is often named the most influential because it defined how 3D games control. Doom (1993) and Street Fighter II (1991) are equally important for shooters and fighting games.
What 90s game invented survival horror?
Resident Evil (1996) popularized the term "survival horror", building on earlier games like Alone in the Dark (1992).
What 90s game made first-person shooters popular?
Doom (1993) made first-person shooters a phenomenon on PC, and GoldenEye 007 (1997) proved they could work on consoles.
What 90s games started online gaming?
Ultima Online (1997) and EverQuest (1999) helped create the massively multiplayer online genre, and StarCraft (1998) became a huge competitive online game.
Which 90s RPG changed the genre?
Final Fantasy VII (1997 in North America) brought cinematic storytelling and 3D graphics to role-playing games and introduced the genre to millions of PlayStation owners.