The final decade before the new millennium, the 1990s certainly went out with a bang. The Cold War finally ended and the internet became a thing with the launch of the world wide web. It was also a big decade for gaming since it saw the switch from 2D to 3D and the console wars really started to heat up.
The 90s were a wild time and it is easy to see why gaming developers would want to revisit this decade in some capacity. Here are the 10 best games set in the 90s that were released either before, during, or after this decade.
10 House Of The Dead: Overkill
One of the lesser-known Wii titles out there, the game serves as a prequel to the first House of The Dead that was released in arcades. Players follow rookie agent G and foul-mouthed cop Issac Washington as they take on crime lord Papa Caesar as he tries to raise an army of undead in Louisiana.
It has the first-person on-rail shooter mechanics of its predecessors combined with a wild plot that does not take itself too seriously but it makes the game better. It might be one of the simpler games featured but makes for a great experience, especially when someone plays with a buddy.
9 Final Fight
Side-scrolling beat em' ups were at their apex during the 90s and one of the best titles in this category was Final Fight. Set in the 1990s, players take control as one of three characters in order to rescue the mayor of the fictional Metro City's daughter from the Mad Gear Gang.
The three characters each have their own unique move set to differentiate them from each other. One character is a wrestler while another has prowess in martial arts. Combine that with fun multiplayer and nostalgic 16-bit graphics and it makes for one of the best games of its generation.
8 Persona 2 Duology
The second game in the Persona series was split into two parts with Innocent Sin serving as part one and Eternal Punishment serving as part two. Both games have the same gameplay, focusing on a group of Japanese high school students, led by Tatsuya Suou in Innocent Sin and then by Mayo Amano in Eternal Punishment, as they deal with the villainous Joker (not the Batman one or the Persona 5 one) as he wreaks havoc across Sumaru City.
The plot is a bit crazy for its own good but features the usual unique cast of characters featured throughout the series. It is worth playing just to see how far the series has come since the 90s.
7 Tomb Raider 2
Improving upon its already great predecessor, the game continues the story of treasure hunter Lara Croft as she searches for the fabled dagger of Xian that is said to turn its user into a dragon should they stab themselves in the heart.
Taking place all over Asia, players now have new moves and weapons added to Lara's arsenal and the ability to pilot vehicles. Though not too different from the first game, Tomb Raider 2 makes just enough changes to make it a possibly more superior game.
6 X-COM: Enemy Unknown (Original)
The very first X-COM gave players an alternate look at 1998 in which Earth is invaded by aliens. In response, the world's nations form XCOM, short for extraterrestrial combat unit, to repel them back.
A strategy game that was unique at the time, players start out with Earth level technology and weapons but progressively start adapting the alien's own devices against them. The narrative is unique in the sense that the player's performance affects whether or not humanity wins the war against the aliens.
5 Goldeneye 007
Based on the Goldeneye movie in the James Bond universe, the game is so good that it manages to make both the movie and game better. Developed by Rare exclusively for the Nintendo 64, the game was definitely one of the greatest first-person shooters on consoles and one of the best Nintendo games of the 90s.
The gunplay was great as well as the vast environments the level featured. It features a stellar campaign for solo players and great multiplayer, so long as someone does not pick Oddjob, and the game will keep players busy for hours on end.
4 Earthbound
A well-loved and quirky RPG for the SNES, Earthbound was set in the world of Eagleland in the most 90s year ever, 199x. Players control Ness as he journeys across Eagleland on his quest to stop the rise of the evil Giygas who conquers the world in the future.
From the small town of Onett to the city of Fourside, players are in for intense turn-based combat and an engaging story. Earthbound was and still is a unique game that many still remember fondly to this day.
3 GTA: San Andreas
Perhaps the best of the PS2 GTA games, San Andreas had a huge open world to explore spanning three cities, the countryside, and a desert. Set in 1992, players control Carl "CJ" Johnson as he returns home to Los Santos, only to get caught in a journey of doing a dirty cop's cleanup, learning the true value of family, and remembering his roots.
The game has a great soundtrack ranging from classic gangster rap hits to early 90s grunge hits that perfectly capture the game's 1992 setting. Gamers will be stuck playing this game for hours with its varied missions, side activities and just causing havoc in the many different vehicles available in the game.
2 Resident Evil 2
Another game set in 1998, both the original and remake of Resident Evil 2 continue to scare the crud out of gamers to this day. The sequel follows Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they end up trapped in Raccoon City as it is ravaged with undead zombies infected with the T-virus.
The sequel improved upon its predecessor with major improvements to the writing and voice acting along with new ways to scare players. Whether it be the intense and creepy atmosphere or the monster G unexpectedly showing up, Resident Evil 2 showed why the series is the king of survival horror games.
1 Street Fighter 2
The sequel that practically wiped the first game nonexistent, hardly anyone remembers the first Street Fighter but everyone remembers Street Fighter 2 and its numerous rereleases. Players control one of a wide array of memorable characters ranging from the stoic and iconic Ryu to the patriotic and hair-defining soldier Guile to become the top martial artist in the world.
The game has addictive gameplay as players try to master their character's move sets in order to defeat their opponent made the game perhaps the most influential fighting game of all time. The will to win as well as becoming the best player would lead to the competitiveness of this genre's player base and it all started with Street Fighter 2.