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The games that made it memorable: If you're old enough to remember the early '90s, you're old enough to remember war. In fact, unless you were a PC person distracted by the debut of Lemmings or by the beginnings of MMOs with Neverwinter Nights on AOL, you were most likely drafted into battle. No, not Operation Desert Storm – we're referring, of course, to the great 16-bit console wars, which started in the summer of 1991 and split gamers into two fiercely divided camps. In one, those who preferred the speed and attitude of Sonic the Hedgehog – he first appeared on Sega Genesis in June. In the other, those who still swore allegiance to Nintendo, and who were rewarded for their loyalty in August when the Super Nintendo launched alongside Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilotwings. This was the summer you chose your side.
The games that made it memorable: Another summer, another showdown. This time, the combatants weren't consoles, but… actual combatants. Street Fighter II, already the favorite fighter at local arcades, was on its way to living rooms – and to total genre domination – with an SNES version in July. Then came August and the original Mortal Kombat machine, offering players a bloody and (relatively) realistic alternative. Meanwhile, Sega had a major hit with Ecco the Dolphin and LucasArts released an instant classic of point-and-click adventure, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. The summer's most important and influential game, however, was free shareware… id Software unleashed Wolfenstein 3D, and the birth of the first person shooter as we continue to know it today, in May of 1992. Fans did the rest, endlessly copying and distributing the milestone experience for the next three months, and beyond.
Article continues belowThe big summer movie:
The commercial you saw over and over:
The games that made it memorable: For some, only two words are needed in justifying the inclusion of 1995 on this list: Chrono Trigger. And if you're a 16-bit RPG fan, the addition of one additional word – Earthbound – should easily seal the deal. Not enough? Command & Conquer helped revolutionize and popularize the real-time strategy genre, while MechWarrior 2 set a new benchmark for what PC gaming could look like. Killer Instinct arrived on SNES to much fanfare, and designer Roberta Williams' extremely mature follow-up to King's Quest, Phantasmagoria, was about as hyped as an adventure could be… neither lived up to expectations, but the excitement was real. Still not enough? Try hardware. The summer began with the launch of Sega Saturn and ended with the launch of Nintendo's Virtual Boy. Neither was too successful, of course, possibly due to the fact that Sony's industry-shifting PlayStation was just around the corner in very early September.
The big summer movie:
The commercial you saw over and over:
