There were a lot of sequels and prequels in 1993 video games, and something must have been in the water back in 1993 because those twelve months produced some of the best video games ever made.
In 1993, arcades were still a major deal. Jurassic Park proved that dinosaurs existed, and some of the most iconic video game brands were established.
With machines like the 3DO, the Atari Jaguar, and the Amiga CD32, console makers raced to bring the arcade experience home, but in the end, it was the experiences that counted most.
It’s a lesson that still plays out today: it’s not about what computer can crank out the most pixels. It’s about how wonderful games are.
Anyways, some of the most incredible 1993 video games are;
1. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challenger
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment, Arcade Video games, Android, Gameboy Advance, PlayStation, Sega Mark iii, Xbox , Wii
Super Street Fighter II is a Capcom competitive fighting game that was first launched as an arcade game in 1993.
Following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, it is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of games.
However, it improves and balances the previous version’s character list while also introducing four new characters.
Furthermore, it is the first game to be released on Capcom’s CP System II hardware, which features improved visuals and audio over earlier versions of Street Fighter II.
2. Doom
Platforms: iBM Pc, PlayStation 4, Android, PC, Super Nintendo Entertainment, Xbox One, PlayStation, Nintendo, Linux, Nintendo Switch.
Doom is one of the best 1993 video games. DOOM is a rollercoaster adventure across Mars stations and horrible hellscapes, replete with blood, gore, demons, and a slew of weaponry and bullets.
Meanwhile, the first-person shooter was introduced to the gaming industry by WOLFENSTEIN 3D, but DOOM cemented it in the public mind. DOOM’s strength is its simplicity and speed.
It’s a simple game to play. I realize it’s become a catchphrase, but the game is incredibly visceral.
Every gun’s chunky feedback is followed by chunky gore exploding from the chunky sprites of odd, terrifying animals, all of which are surrounded by chunky walls and interiors.
3. Mortal Kombat 2
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment, PlayStation, Arcade Video Game, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Amiga, Game Boy.
Mortal Kombat 2 was the fighting game that every youngster wished they could play at home,
While Street Fighter II was the fighting game that every kid wished they could play. Their overbearing parents, on the other hand, took issue with Jimmy tearing off his opponent’s head and waving it aloft in celebration of his triumph.
Furthermore, MK2, as it became known, didn’t come out on a console until 1994, but it was the ultra-violent sequel that had kids lying, cheating, and stealing quarters to play in arcades back in 1993.
4. Sam & Max Hit the Road
Platforms: PC, MS-DOS, Linux, Classic Mac OS.
Sam & Max is one of the best 1993 video games. Humor in video games is difficult to come by.
There are many fantastic adventure games with dark, murder-mystery plot lines to explore, such as the popular Gabriel Knight series (which debuted in 1993).
Even today, a truly humorous game like Sam & Max Hit the Road is unusual. The game’s dog and “rabbit creature” protagonists featured pitch-flawless voice actors.
The jazzy soundtrack still sounds excellent today.
5. The legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Platform: Nintendo Switch.
ZELDA’S LEGEND: LINK’S AWAKENING A LINK TO THE PAST was first ported to the Game Boy.
What has emerged is far more than a smaller copy of one of the greatest games of all time; it is something that can be assessed against the same standards.
However, this is partly because Link’s awakening is a canonical, mainline entry in a series widely regarded as one of the best, but it’s also due to its gameplay being similar but distinct. From a top-down perspective,
I continued to explore an immense planet. I still swung my sword, fought dungeon creatures, solved puzzles, and swapped equipment using menu button inputs.
6. Star Fox/Starwing
Platforms: SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, DS, 3DS, Wii U.
For many of us, Star Fox (or Starwing) was the first polygonal video game we ever played.
This was Nintendo’s first foray outside the world of two-dimensions, and it was essentially little more than a practice run for what was to come.
With that said, it may have been a stroke of luck that this experiment became one of the most popular, if not the most important, Nintendo games ever developed, revitalizing the console at a time when sales were declining. It is also one of the best 1993 video games.
7. Dragon Ball Z: Super Butoden
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Dragon Ball Z: Super Burden,[b] sometimes known as simply Dragon Ball Z in Europe, is a fighting video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Tose and published by Bandai in 1993.
In addition, it was the first fighting game in the Dragon Ball franchise, and it was created by Akira Toriyama.
However, it’s gameplay comprises one-on-one battles with a core six-button setup, special techniques, and three playable modes.
8. Secret of Mana
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Android, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, iOS, PC, Wii, WII U, PlayStation Vita.
It is one of the 1993 video games that was originally released in Japan. Furthermore, The playable characters in Secret of Mana travel the area and battle off enemy animals from a top-down perspective.
Outside of the initial North American and European editions, the game has three such characters: the hero, the girl, and the sprite, who are known as Randi, Primm, and Popoi.
However, The player can control any of the characters at any moment; the other two companions are managed by artificial intelligence while the player is controlling one of them.
Up to three players can play the game at the same time.
9. Super Mario All-Stars
Platforms: SNES, Wii, Nintendo Switch.
Super Mario All-Stars included excellent remakes of the four original Super Mario games for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The 8-bit ugly visuals were replaced by the 16-bit magnificence we had grown accustomed to on the SNES.
The game also includes a unique Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, dubbed Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, which could only be obtained by purchasing a Super Nintendo and providing evidence of purchase to Nintendo.
It was so popular that over a million copies were sold in the first ten months, and it’s still worth a few dollars on eBay today.
10. Syndicate (Bullfrog/Ocean)
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Syndicate Is one of the 1993 video games. Players commanded a team of four cyborg agents intent on taking down competing organizations in the original Syndicate.
Which was a cross between the Judge Dredd comic book series and Blade Runner.
Meanwhile, the game’s fixed-view, isometric format made it appear and feel considerably more important than it was.
However, this cyberpunk shooter was the real deal for a generation of kids who grew up playing Super Mario Bros.
11. NBA Jam
Platforms: Super Nintendo Entertainment, Arcade Game, Sega CD, Arcade Video Games, Gameboy, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturm.
NBA Jam is a two-on-two basketball arcade game that was one of the first to incorporate NBA-licensed teams and players, as well as their true digital likenesses.
Furthermore, the exaggerated style of the action in NBA Jam is a crucial aspect — players can jump exceedingly high and make slam dunks that defy both human powers and physics.
However, except for goaltending and 24-second violations, there are no fouls, free throws, or violations.
Additionally, this indicates that the athlete is allowed to shove or elbow opponents out of the way.
12. Zombie Ate My Neighbor (LUCASARTS)
Platforms: SNES, PC
Zombie Eats My Neighbor is one of the best 1993 video games. Imagine if your neighbors were having a good time, grilling hot dogs, drinking beer, and ignoring their parental obligations.
While you and your best friend were saving their asses from zombies, aliens, and chainsaw-wielding madmen.
That’s the idea behind Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and we’re still baffled as to why this fantastic run-and-gun has never been remade in the present era.
13. FIFA International Soccer
Platforms: PC, Game Boy, Sega Genesis, Game Gear, DOS, AmigaOS.
FIFA International Soccer is a sport that is modeled after association football. The game is based on international matches in particular.
Unlike other football games of the time, such as Tehkan World Cup or Sensible Soccer, which used a bird’s-eye view, or Kick Off, which used a top-down view, the game uses an isometric viewpoint.
Besides, the player takes control of one of their team’s eleven footballers at a time, with the ability to transfer players on the fly.
Up to four human players can play the game at the same time, each controlling a different footballer. However, players can control a footballer from either their own side or an enemy team.
The computer is in charge of the remaining footballers.
14. MEGA MAN X
Platforms: SNES, Sega Saturn, PC, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4.
Mega Man X is also one of the best 1993 video games. The earliest Mega Man games for the NES were primarily 2D platformers with a concentration on run-and-gun gameplay.
Furthermore, Mega Man X follows the same core ideas as its predecessors, but with a plethora of new features.
After completing an introduction stage, the player controls protagonist X and is provided with a stage selection screen depicting eight boss characters.
Additionally, each stage contains a variety of adversaries and hazards, and each stage concludes with a boss encounter against the Maverick in question.
When X defeats a Maverick, he can use the Maverick’s signature weapon. However, these eight levels can be completed in any sequence, with weapons earned in one level being used to solve obstacles in the others.
15. Samurai Shodown
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch 4, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.
The game takes place in the late 1800s, and all of the characters are armed. Additionally, the game has music from the era, as well as noises from traditional Japanese instruments like the shakuhachi and shamisen.
In Samurai Shodown, a refined version of the camera zoom initially seen in Art of Fighting is used. The game contains depictions of blood.
In addition, the game gained a reputation for its frantic pace. Slow-motion was included to increase the damage delivered by heavy hits, as the game focuses more on short, powerful punches than combos.
16. Jungle Strike (EA)
Platforms: Amiga, SNES, Gameboy, PC.
Jungle Strike is a helicopter-based shooter that combines strategy and action. It is also one of the best 1993 video games.
In addition, the player’s primary weapon is a Comanche attack helicopter, which is based on a fictionalized version.
A motorcycle, hovercraft, and F-117 are among the many vehicles that can be commandeered.
The latter, in an example, has a configurable height and unlimited ammunition, but it is more prone to crashes. “With a small 3D twist,” the game has an “overhead” perspective.
The visuals use a 2.5D perspective to give the impression of being three-dimensional. However, the demolition of hostile weaponry and installations.
As well as the rescue of hostages or prisoners of war, and the capture of enemy soldiers, are all part of the missions at each level.
17. Virtua Fighter
Platforms: 32X, Sega Saturn, PC, Arcade Video Game, Arcade Game, R-Zone.
The virtual label implies that the action on the screen is in three dimensions. Wireframes and flat-shaded quad polygons were used to generate the graphics.
Furthermore, Beyond 3D, kept the tradition of having several characters, each with their own unique moves.
Additionally, in single-player mode, the player is pitted against all eight characters. (including a duplicate of the chosen character) in a predetermined order, followed by a battle with Dural, the game’s boss.
Furthermore, each fight is a best-of-three contest, with the player having three options for victory. Knocking out the opponent, forcing him out of the ring, or having more health when time runs out.
