Looks like the Greatest Show on Earth might finally be approaching some semblence of its former self this year after the downsizing debacle of a couple of years ago. Yep, it's almost E3 time again, folks, and in preparation of another week of sleep deprivation and adrenaline overload, we've compiled a whole timeline of old E3 videos from YouTube and our own archives to get you in the mood.

From major announcements to the most spectacular stands on the show floor, a real-life Ulala from Space Channel 5 (with a real life short skirt), or a King of Fighters bout with actual people, there's something weird and wonderful here for everyone. So let's start at the beginning...

 
Back in 1995, if any game was worth making a song and dance about, it was Killer Instinct. These lovely ladies took that thought to its logical conclusion, with some lovely outfits to boot.

Then there was SNK's Neo Geo CD. Amazing to think this was once a viable current gen system (well... kinda). And this lengthy choregraphed 'fight' between three SNK favourites was surprisingly entertaining.  

And although the same can be said for this shorter Mortal Kombat 3 reenactment, there's disappointingly little gore considering its subject matter. That, and the cameraman prefers to watch the men than the girl. 

 
By 1996, the show had really hit its stride, and the fledgling Saturn and PSone were being given a run for their money by the appearance of the N64. This montage shows the show floor chaos in full, wonderful effect. By the way, the '1997' caption at the start is wrong, this is definitely 1996.

And of course this was the year we had that tantalising glimpse of Sonic Xtreme - the 3D Sonic title that never was. If you squint a bit, you can see some of the tear stains from all the Sega fans over the years.

And then there was the small matter of a little game called Metal Gear Solid, which got its first trailer. A CG interpretation and not really indicative of the actual game's feel, but still - very interesting for fans of the series.

A good first few years for E3, but the best was yet to come...