The ‘90s: what a time. It’s hard to ‘get a grip’ on the metamorphic changes and convoluted phases that encompassed the 1990s, a decade defined by both Tupac and Ricky Martin, by The Lion King and Silence of the Lambs. As far as gaming goes, it was a revolutionary time. It was a time when you could grab your BMX and your Big Gulp, ride to Blockbuster and find yourself an adventure.

Like Jean Luc Picard and the Starship Enterprise, we were navigating a new universe of possibilities without the slightest idea of what to expect. Advances in game design created new opportunities for developers to do things they had never thought possible. As the decade progressed, some creations found their legs-others lost them completely.

Those of us who lived through those days remember that sometimes all you needed was a catchy name and a cool-looking cover to win kids over. What did it matter when you could rent video games and even rent the consoles themselves?

Developers kept pumping them out and we kept plugging them in. Sure, legendary titles like GoldenEye and The Legend of Zelda will live on forever, but there are others that have drifted from the collective memory. Maybe they deserved to be forgotten. Maybe they were misunderstood. Well this list is for all those who still remember, for all those who will never forget. Even if they want to.

20 Tell Me Aliens Don't Look Like This

Alien Syndrome had been around as both an arcade and DOS game since the late ‘80s, but when it was released on Game Gear, suddenly everyone was paying attention. Well, maybe not everyone.

The run-and-gun shooter game features two protagonists, Ricky and Mary, as they shoot their way through scrolling levels to rescue comrades being held by hideous aliens. And I mean hideous! There’s gross larva, there’s red squid-like monsters, and then there’s the puke-inducing boss I don’t even want to think about.

The game is well balanced, with levels that are challenging without being altogether too difficult to be enjoyable. The top-down view lends itself well to the style and mechanics of the game, and the two-player element compliments the gameplay rather than hinders it. It's possible the popularity of the arcade version lead to a declining interest in the console version, but nonetheless the Game Gear version is worth checking out.

Drawing inspiration from the Alien films, the game created a chilling atmosphere filled with disturbing sounds and images. Enough to make Fire in the Sky look like a country picnic. Perhaps that’s the reason Alien Syndrome is so often forgotten; it was so gross people wanted to forget.

19 Enough Of That Worm Already!

I think despite ourselves, we all remember Earthworm Jim. At least, we all remember the 2D side-scroller on Genesis and Super NES and maybe the animated television series too. Following their success with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Playmates Toys wanted a video game presence in the age of the first console war. The first Earthworm Jim for Super NES and Sega Genesis was a big hit. It was biting, it was clever, it was funny, and it charmed everyone! But, by the time 1999 had rolled around, there was no need for that worm anymore.

Earthworm Jim 3D for Nintendo 64 was not only an unnecessary extension of a played-out brand, it was also a poorly made video game. The camera is by far the game’s worst feature, but rest assured there is a list as long as that worm’s neck. Add to the litany of flaws an obnoxious plot that is so late '90s it hurts. Everyone's once-favourite worm is hit by a flying cow, sending him into a coma. Within his own subconscious, Earthworm Jim must locate the Golden Utters of Lucidity and regain consciousness before he is trapped in his coma forever.

Clearly the clever, satirical humor of the previous installments just wasn’t there anymore, nor was the effort. Earthworm Jim 3D tarnishes an already worn-out franchise that was once enjoyable, smart, and fun.

18 Someone Call Jerry Bruckheimer

It’s hard to make a name for yourself under the shadow of Wing Commander. After all, the Wing Commander games featured the talents of Mark Hamill and John Rhys-Davies and the motion picture inspired by the game starred Hollywood heavyweights Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matt Lillard. That’s right, they brought out the big guns.

Like the younger brother of a star quarterback, the combat flight simulator Strike Commander lived in the shadows of Wing Commander and was mostly over-looked. However, with a plot straight out of a Jerry Bruckheimer film, Strike Commander is a hidden gem.

In the fictional near-future, namely 2011, a mercenary squad of crack fighter pilots called ‘The Wildcats’ are swept up in a tale of political intrigue, revenge, betrayal, and a little bit of romance to boot-not to mention flying mach 5 with their hair on fire. The flight mechanics in Strike Commander are great, especially for the time, the cut-scenes are awesome and the storyline grabs your attention, pulling you right into the plot. Plus there's nothing like getting a missile lock on an enemy fighter plane and blasting him out of the air after an arduous-yet-enjoyable dogfight!

Good luck landing though. Seriously, it’s really difficult.

17 The Theme Song Though

Most people have long forgotten ReBoot, the animated television series. But the fact that the Canadian CGI-animated show spawned a video game should tell you something. On second thought, it should tell you nothing.

I’m not sure the show had much of a following after all and I’m willing to bet most people completely forgot about the PlayStation game, which is understandable since there is literally nothing worthy of remembrance.

The end of the 1990s culminated in a host of advancements in computers and game design. A new generation of devices emerged and expectations were much higher than before. 'Fifth generation' consoles such as the original PlayStation were expected to produce high-caliber games and though the console wars had cooled, competition was still fierce.

In this environment, there was no need for the 1998 PlayStation game ReBoot. Poor controls, low-quality graphics, boring quests, pretty much everything that can go wrong did. Following the general synopsis of the show, a Guardian named Bob must defeat the virus Megabyte in order to save Mainframe, a world that exists inside a computer system. Understandably, a lot of people really didn't care about that.

There's no way this game wasn't cheap to make, but still, it shouldn't have been made. The theme song though, who could forget that? Someone do a remix PLEASE.

16 Spoiler Alert: You Can Play As A Raptor

No one can deny how massive Jurassic Park was when it first came out. From toys to posters, t-shirts to soundtracks, stickers to thermoses, nearly every type of merchandize you could conceive of was sold en masse to countless children obsessed with the film. As Ian Malcolm put it: they patented it, packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox. I probably owned that lunchbox.

But perhaps in the deluge of all things Jurassic Park, some gems were forgotten, gems like Jurassic Park for Sega Genesis. Released in 1993, the game was guaranteed to sell well and it did, but even though the developers could have sold practically anything with the JP logo on it, they still took the time to make a great, albeit very difficult, game.

There's a lot of things to like about Jurassic Park for Sega Genesis, as the graphics are great, the levels are varied and challenging, the music is awesome, but perhaps the best part: not only could you swing through the jungle as Alan Grant, you could stalk the park as a Velociraptor! What 10 year-old wouldn’t think that is awesome? Maybe that brat in Montana who said raptors looked more like 6-foot turkeys.

15 Arguably The Only Thing Good About Phantom Menace

We all want to forget Star War: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, but sometimes the force works in mysterious ways. The film, for its countless flaws, did give us Darth Maul, a double-bladed lightsaber, Coruscant and the epic pod-racing game Star Wars Episode I: Racer for Nintendo 64.

There are so many great Star Wars games (don't get me started), it's easy to see how a stellar one like Episode I: Racer would get lost in the crowd. The 1999 racing game developed by LucasArts is a classic and should be on the list of must-buys alongside Rebel Assault for PC and Rogue Squadron for Super NES. And X-Wing Alliance. And Dark Forces. I'll stop.

With three different single-player modes as well as a multiplayer option to choose from, Star Wars Episode I: Racer is as re-playable as it is enjoyable.

The controls and mechanics are amazing, the graphics are spot-on and there's plenty of levels. For all of us Star Wars nerds, that means it includes eight planets some of which appear for the first time in the game. Diddies like Aquilaris, Oovo IV and Ord Ibanna.

The game was popular at the time and is still well received, but with the unending stream of Star Wars games, many of them high-quality, Episode I: Racer can easily be over-looked, even forgotten, until now...

14 Do I Want To Cheer For This Kid? Does Anyone?

Quintessentially a spin-off of Castlevania, Kid Dracula was released for Game Boy in 1993 as a sequel to the 1990 Famicom title Akumajo Special: Boku Dracula-kun. The game is a traditional platformer with lots of jumping and the occasional flurry of attacking bats, though it is possible to transform into a bat and fly around for bit, which is great fun. Death follows Kid Dracula along his journey, aiding him in his quest to defeat Galamoth by providing tips and heirlooms from Dracula (Kid Dracula's father) which is intriguing, especially for a kid's game.

The controls inherent in the game are well designed, the levels are fun enough without being too difficult and the soundtrack is pretty epic. Truthfully, there’s not a lot to complain about. Perhaps the reason why the game is so often forgotten is the company it keeps as a Game Boy platform game, what with some many legendary titles to compete with. That and the protagonist.

Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about that kid that makes me want to chew garlic. I don’t know if it’s the cape or the hair, but something didn’t feel right. Of course, as a bat he’s downright effervescent.

13 Boldly Go...Somewhere Else

Star Trek: The Next Generation practically defined the 1990s. The television show was massive and henceforth there was no end of merchandize available for purchase. When the NES game came out in 1993, the potential was huge. Explore new worlds, seek out new life and civilizations, all from the comfort of your flower-patterned couch. Sign me up!

To say the game didn’t deliver at the time would be dead wrong. It definitely did.

Starting off as an ensign, players are given a series of missions by Captain Picard ranging from transporting ambassadors to full-on combat. Complete the missions successfully and you’re promoted-all the way to Captain! Of course, all of the missions are technically taking place on a Starship simulator in Starfleet academy, so really you're not in space after all, you're in the Enterprise-D simulation program somewhere in San Francisco. I know, big let down but it's not like anyone other than Jean-Luc Picard could captain the real Starship Enterprise, at least not in 1993.

Sure, controlling the 'ship' is difficult and yes the graphics are sub-par (even for the time) but look at the bridge! Listen to the beeping sounds of instruments as you traverse the simulated cosmos with Picard himself! Not sold? That’s fair, a lot of people weren’t.

12 It's Called ClayFighter, Do I Need To Say More?

It’s possible the success of 1993’s claymation film Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers had everything to do with the creation of the fighting game ClayFighter in the same year. It’s also very possible they weren’t connected at all. Regardless, you don’t see a lot of clay-themed movies or video games around these days, and for good reason.

Suffice to say, the concept was to create a silly, family-friendly alternative to the ‘violent’ franchises at the time such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.

But kids weren’t looking for an alternative; they were looking for finishing moves. They were looking for blood and, well, clay doesn’t bleed.

Though the game mechanics were solid, the combos were pretty sweet, and at times it was downright hilarious, ClayFighter didn’t resonate the way parents had hoped. Still, it won the Electronic Gaming Monthly award for Best Street Fighter Wannabee and that counts for something, right? Maybe not. It's almost a shame, after all where else can you see characters like Blue Suede Goo and Ickybod Clay or come across wily puns such as 'goojitsu'? I guess you could hit up ClayFight 63 1/3 for N64, but I mean why on earth would you want to do that?  

11 Blatant Branding? This One's Spot On

For some reason product mascots were a big deal in the 1990s. Beyond Tony the Tiger’s meteoric rise to fame, characters like Chester Cheetah and Fido Dido were fast becoming household names. Enter Cool Spot, aka the red dot in the 7up logo.

The 1993 video game featuring the mascot was certainly visually pleasing, but that’s pretty much where it ends. Hopping around as Cool Spot, rescuing fellow spots from cages while throwing soda bubbles at your enemies is entertaining enough, but when the game is so difficult it’s nearly impossible to get to the next level, you know you’ve got a problem.

I recall renting this game when I was a youth, I can't imagine why, but I nearly destroyed the cartridge out of complete frustration and disappointment. I was more than willing to go along for the adventure, but when I struggled to get past the first level, I knew adventure wasn't awaiting me, anger was. I think I developed an irrational distain for 7up on account of Cool Spot. Suffice to day, the game was bad, real bad.

And yet somehow a sequel Spot Goes To Hollywood was made. I guess advertising 7UP was reason enough to make another game. What’s that saying? Any publicity is good publicity.

10 Spoiler Alert: You Can't Play As A Raptor

His name is Turok and he’s a dinosaur hunter, it’s 1997 and that’s all you need to know. Of course, GoldenEye is also out on N64, so why would you bother playing Turok: Dinosaur Hunter? Maybe you have the foresight to know that old Turok won’t be done his dinosaur hunting anytime soon. Oh no, rest assured he’ll be back for five more instalments.

After all, the time-traveling warrior is charged with guarding the barrier between Earth and the Lost Land. What’s in that Lost Land you ask? Mainly dinosaurs, aliens, an evil overlord and a relic called the Chronoscepter. And who doesn't want a Chronoscepter?

At any rate, in the first chapter in the Turok saga, Tal'Set, assuming the mantle of Turok, must defeat the evil Campaigner set on harnessing the Chronoscepter to destroy the barriers of space and time and hence rule the universe. High stakes. Speaking of high stakes, in 1997, the developer Acclaim relied a great deal on the first N64 title to get their finances back in order. The gamble paid off. Well, at least for while (they went bankrupt in 2004).

Though Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was well received, it’s easy to forget the first-person shooter when the game is so easily eclipsed by GoldenEye. That’s fine though, because time has no meaning in the Lost Land, so how could anything be forgotten?

9 Somersaults Have Never Looked Better

True Lies was a box-office hit in 1994 and, though a lot of us choose to forget that film, the blockbuster was responsible for at least one good thing: the video game. The top-view action shooting game more or less plays out exactly like the movie. That’s right, the bathroom gunfight is a level. So is pretty much every scene in the film.

The game was moderately well received at the time of its release, and gamers really appreciated the hidden areas sprinkled here and there, but, due to its mediocrity, True Lies was easily and quickly forgotten.

Stills from the movie are played before each level, after which it’s up to Harry Tasker to complete his mission while blasting enemies with uzis, shotguns or flamethrowers and evading bullets by somersaulting in one of the best animations the system had to offer. That's really where the game shines.

Maybe it’s just me, but somersaults in that game look amazing. And they happen often. Something about the animation scratches me right where I didn't even know I itched. Everything else about the game is mediocre, as the graphics aren’t anything to write home about, the music should probably be turned off, and the levels themselves are frustrating to navigate. Still, those somersaults…

8 Not All Sims Are The Same

No one will ever forget SimCity, especially since they’ll be making sequels until the end of time. But in the heyday of the early Sim franchise, there were a number of Sim titles that ended up in the bottom of the bulk bin at Radio Shack. Some of them, like SimAnt for example, deserved to be there. SimTower, however, didn’t.

The 1994 construction and management simulation PC game uses the same basic principles as SimCity, only confined to a single skyscraper.

Instead of roads you build escalators or elevators, instead of subways you build parking garages; I think you get the idea. Anyone who has played any of the SimCity games will more-or-less find themselves right at home, though the learning curve for someone who's never played a SimCity game might be a lot to handle.

While random events like bomb plots or the discovery of gold treasure are there to shake things up, the game centers on solid planning and management. Just like any of the SimCity games it can be very enjoyable, and just like any other SimCity game the temptation to use cheat codes is practically irresistible. The greatest flaw of SimTower was the in-game speed, as no one likes waiting for cash just so you can build an elevator.

7 Battletoads AND Double Dragon? Sounds Too Good Right?

A lot of people didn’t care about Battletoads. A lot of people didn’t care about Double Dragon. So naturally, Rare brought them together for an epic adventure no one was asking for. The 1993 beat ‘em up game revolves around the evil Dark Queen from Battletoads and her plot to dominate the galaxy via a giant spaceship called Colossus. Safe to say, the Queen allied herself with the Shadow Warriors of the Double Dragon series and thus the toads team up with Billy and Jimmy Lee to save the world.

Like both Double Dragon and Battletoads, this epic adventure involves little more than punching, kicking, jumping and the occasional jump-attack.

Sure, there's a time and place for those kinds of games, but that time and place might have been the 1990s and given the lack of frosted tips and sweater vests out there, I'd say the '90s are over.

Still, for its time, Battletoads & Double Dragon was a big deal, especially when fictional cross-overs were few and far between. Although the game faded into obscurity over the decade, at its release it was one of the best-rated games out there. Back when punching, kicking and jumping through side-scrolling levels was all you needed. Oh, the good old days.

6 Maybe The Quest Was Over

The Quest for Glory series of games from Sierra Entertainment were some of the best PC adventure games of their time. That is, the first three. Maybe four.

By the time the series got to the fifth instalment, Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, it was lot like a great band’s fifth album; running on fumes. Still, those first three albums were amazing. Likewise, Quest for Glory 1 -3 are incredible games. The fifth one? Not so much.

In all the Quest for Glory games you can choose to be a Fighter, a Wizard or a Thief and you could even load your customized characters from previous instalments. Attributes like Strength, Agility, and Lock-picking can be upgraded throughout the game by simply performing those tasks. For nerds like me, that meant spending absurd amounts of time repeatedly throwing stones into the sand in order to increase the character's throwing ability.

Regardless, the RPG aspect of the Quest for Glory series, combined with the rich graphics and compelling storylines, make the first three instalments some of the best games of the era. Truly, these games were ahead of their time. Unfortunately, as gaming changed, a series best suited for point-and-click and DOS just couldn’t transfer well into the new age of CD games. Still, superfans of Quest for Glory like myself will remember all of them, even if the 5-part series should have been a trilogy.

5 A Whole New World

For a kid in the ‘90s, it was hard enough admitting you liked the movie Aladdin, let alone the video game, especially when Mortal Kombat had hit the shelves. It was tough avoiding swirlies without everyone knowing you were into a Disney cartoon, at least where I grew up unfortunately; shout out to Sherwood Park, Alberta! But truth be told, Disney's Aladdin released in 1993 for Sega Genesis is a classic.

The side-scroller features Aladdin jumping and slashing through the rooftops of Agrabah, the Cave of Wonders, the Sultan's dungeon, Jafar’s palace, and a whole host of other colourful levels presented with sweet graphics that hold their own even today. You can use your sword to deflect daggers, you can throw apples at your enemies and bonus rounds hosted by everyone’s favourite Genie pop up in between levels if you’ve found the right icon, letting you play as Abu if you’ve earned it.

The game’s stellar animation was recognized by Electronic Gaming Monthly, who gave it the Best Animation award as well as the Best Genesis Game of 1993 award. In fact, Aladdin for Sega Genesis is one of the best-selling Sega Genesis games of all-time. Maybe everyone is still pretending they don’t know it.

4 There's Nothing Incredible About This

The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga, released by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation in 1996 is widely considered to be one of the worst video games of all time-and for good reason. With overly easy levels, bad graphics and spotty animation, it’s the Troll 2 of PlayStation games. Loosely based on the comic book series of the same name, Pantheon Saga follows The Hulk as he is kidnapped by a team of superheroes (named 'The Pantheon) then decides he’s going to lead the very team that held him captive, doing battle against villains like Piecemeal and the Maestro. Talk about bringing out the big guns.

The Hulk can punch, he can kick, he can throw objects and jump a bit, and he's got a few unimpressive special moves too.

Other than that, he spends most of the game aimlessly wandering around terribly shaded environments searching for switches to doors. If you're scratching your head on that, you're not the only one. Why would Hulk need to find a switch? Why wouldn’t he just smash through the door and jump up the elevator shaft? Why is he helping the Pantheon and most importantly: why would anyone play this terrible game? There's really no reason at all.

3 Want To Know The Story Behind Yoshi? Thought So.

Have you ever considered where Yoshi came from? Me neither. Well, apparently Nintendo thought that they not only had to make Yoshi’s Island for Super NES in 1995, they also had to make the N64 sequel Yoshi’s Story in 1997. Suffice to say, the storyline is no Westworld.

The Yoshis’ harmonious state of perpetual joy is ruined when one Baby Bowser steals the Super Happy Tree and transforms Yoshi Island into a pop-up book.

A band of six Yoshis must therefore travel through the six pages of the pop-up book and defeat Baby Bowser in order to restore the Super Happy tree. If you are able to complete all the levels, and I don't know how you couldn't, you are rewarded with a narration of the whole story you literally just went through. Unsurprisingly, the game wasn’t a huge success.

Clearly designed for the youngest of gamers, Yoshi’s Story is far too easy to be remotely entertaining. The pop-up book theme comes across very strange when used with the graphics of the Nintendo 64 system and some of the music is full-on annoying. One of the songs is literally made using the Yoshi's various vocal expressions for notes. Anyone who remembers Mario Golf can understand how bad that sounds.

If you’re a four year old, you might like Yoshi’s Story.

2 Just When You Thought Desert Strike Was Impossible

Few gamers can forget Desert Strike, the 1992 Sega Genesis game inspired by the Gulf War and designed by Mike Posehn, who had no previous video game experience before developing the game. Desert Strike was epic and original, with intense Top Gun-like cutscenes, innovation controls and state-of-the-art 3D modeling. Only downside? It was incredibly hard. If there’s someone out there who has beaten the game, I am in awe. Truly.

Given that Desert Strike was so unreasonably hard, you would think the developers of the sequel Jungle Strike would cut you some slack. Well, think again. It's just as difficult as the original, if not harder.

While Desert Strike took place in a fictional unnamed Middle Eastern country, the 1993 sequel takes place in both Washington D.C. and some unknown jungle. This time, instead of eliminating insane dictator General Kilbaba, you're chasing down his son Ibn and the druglord Carlos Ortega after they launch a series of attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

The sequel maintained not only the original title’s isometric perspective and smooth playability, it also remained unreasonably difficult. Maybe that’s why everyone forgot about it; they wanted to forget their failure. But really, how much do you ask of us Jungle Strike?

1 All Thanks To Deluxe Paint

It all started when developer Mike Dailly, like so many in the ‘90s, was messing around in Deluxe Paint. A simple animation became the inspiration for one of the best-received PC games of the early ‘90s, Lemmings. The puzzle-platformer comprised of several levels wherein a line of lemmings closely following each other had to complete stages without losing too many of their kin. Of course, the lemmings were more than willing to sacrifice themselves if necessary.

In order to complete the levels, players must assign some of the lemmings special skills like 'Blocker' or 'Bomber' to help them get a designated percentage of lemmings to the exit within the time alotted. The other lemmings are completely expendable.

At first, it’s real handy some of them are willing to blow themselves up for the benefit of the group, but after a while it just seems like “what’s the point?” Also, the lines of lemmings can get pretty long, pretty gross and most of them just keep walking aimlessly unless you either block them or blow them up, which can get on your nerves in a hurry. Still, for its time, Lemmings was as good as it got, even if the levels themselves were designed on Deluxe Paint.