Editorial: Top 5 Games of 1995

Published December 1, 2015

This entry is part 7 of 26 in the series Top 5 Games of the 25 Years The views contained in this article are that of the author and should not be taken as the opinion of Geek Node as a publication.

I’ve been a gamer for most of my life, having lived through the third generation of gaming (NES) upwards. Over 25 weeks, I will list my top 5 games from 1990 – 2015. To ensure consistency, here are the rules I will be following:

I will only write about games I’ve played (so no Chrono Trigger for this year)

Even though I played most of these games a few years after they released, I will stick with the year they were released (otherwise this list will be all over the place)

Some games may have been released at different times for different regions. When this happens, I will use the year related to the version I’ve played

Due to the second rule, it does mean I won’t be able to list gems like Super Mario Brothers and Circus Charlie

This week I will highlight 1995

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Mega Drive)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is basically the Game of the Year Edition of Mortal Kombat 3 (also released in 1995) and added more characters and brutalities to the mix. MK3 differed from MK2 by adding combos and a run button (along with really sweet animalities including my personal favourite, Cyrax’s shark animality). One of the better features of the game was that it introduced Kombo codes that could be inputted during loading screens, adding modifiers to matches and also allowing you to play a secret version of pong! I still can’t believe that a mate and I used to forgo beating each other up to play pong for a few hours. Say A-C-U-B-U-B-A-D to anyone my age who played this game and see their face break into a smile.

Earthworm Jim 2 (Mega Drive)

Still keeping it very much Mega Drive (My favourite Playstation game of 1995, WipeOut, didn’t make the cut), Earthworm Jim 2 provided a deeper, richer and crazier experience for fans of one of the nineties weirdest mascots. From inflating your head to balloon-like proportions to saving puppies with a giant marshmallow, EWJ2 served a fresh helping of ‘strange’ that might not be for everyone. It is for this reason that I don’t recommend playing it before trying the first. It’s definitely not everyone’s can of worms.

The Jungle Book (Mega Drive)

This list makes me reflect on Disney’s penchant for platformers. Every Disney game I’ve listed so far, including the one below this is a platformer. There is research to suggest that platformers were the most popular genre of games in this period so there was an element of investor safety in it (other genres are riskier as they are less common). The other things about platformers is that it didn’t take much to imbibe franchise specific IP into the formula and churn out a game (Disney were prolific in churning out titles). For every winner that I profile, there is a Pocahontas (tried playing it a few years ago – not a good game). Jungle Book was a cool platformer that introduced the world to ‘parachute briefs’.

Toy Story (Mega Drive)

I end my 1995 list with the video game version of one of the most influential animated movies of all time. I’m still getting over the fact that Toy Story is 20 years old. Toy Story mixed up the platforming formula by adding…a first person shooter level. Visually, it was the most impressive-looking game I’ve seen on the Mega Drive (Donkey Kong Country edged it out for best visuals for a 16-bit title). I remember Woody being quite big (I apologise for your dirty mind), taking up more screen space than other videogame sprites at the time.

WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (Mega Drive)

This game combines my two loves, WWE and videogames. Inspired by Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, this was the first WWE game that I actually liked, and remains to this day, one of my favourite. It had 8 wrestlers (compared to this year’s WWE 2k16 which clocks in at 120). What made it so different to other wrestling games at the time was that it was actually fun, and completely OTT (hat-tip to our younger readers). Doink’s strikes were mallets and Undertaker with clobber you over the head with a tombstone. I don’t think this has aged too poorly and will be fun for any fan of the pre-Attitude mid-nineties era (think time before Stone Cold, Rock and Mankind).

Interesting MJ fact – I have played over 20 WWE games and I always choose the Undertaker for my first match. I’ve been doing this for over two decades.

So these are my top five games that were released in 1995. Join me next Tuesday as I go through my favourite games from 1996. Leave a comment and let me know which were your favourite games from the nineties.

This entry is part of 26 in the series Top 5 Games of the 25 Years << Editorial: Top 5 Games of 1994 Editorial: Top 5 Games of 1996 >>

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MJ Khan

Gaming / Entertainment Author at Geek Node

A veteran gamer and award-winning strategist, MJ enjoys eating chocolate eclairs and watching WWE. He completed his Masters coursework on videogame theory and enjoys writing about representation in games.