It may be easy to forget nowadays, but the 1990s were a true golden age for Japanese developer, Konami.This company is responsible for some of the best video games of all time, covering all sorts of different genres, like beat ‘em ups, RPGs, shooters, survival horror and much more.
From 1990 to 1999, Konami would constantly release games that would end up becoming some of the most important in the industry. From the Arcades, to the SNES & Genesis and even the brand-new PlayStation, every console of the time was graced with at least one of their excellent titles. And these are the best releases from each individual year in this decade.
Konami was off to a good start, with many solid titles releasing during its first year of the decade. But the most impressive one was the sequel toHideo Kojima’s magnum opus,Metal Gear.Metal Gear 2: Solid Snakewas definitely ahead of its time.
This sequel not only improved on everything from its predecessor - like graphics, controls and mechanics – but it also featured a gripping narrative that was told without voice acting, creative boss battles and crazy moments that could only come from the mind of Hideo Kojima himself.Metal Gear 2: Solid Snakeshaped the entireMetal Gear Solidfranchise, so it’s a game that hardcore fans won’t want to miss.
Konami kept releasing great games of many different genres in 1991, but one area in which they really stood out were the arcades. Specifically, their beat ‘em ups were some of the most popular in the market. And whileThe Simpsonswas a major hit, nothing could hold a candle to the masterpiece that wasTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time.
This was one of those arcade classics where kids spent all of their tokens,especially considering that this was an excellent multiplayer experience. Konami really knew how to use the popular TMNT IP, and crafted a colorful game, with lots of attitude, catchy music and a dynamic & entertaining combat system.
8Contra 3: The Alien Wars (1992)
GameFAQs Rating: 4/5 Stars
Konami dominated the NES with a slew of successful franchises, andContrawas one of them. So, when the time to bring this series to the new 16-bit generation arrived, they managed to create something great. The result wasContra 3: The Alien Wars, one of the best run and gun shooters on the Super Nintendo.
Taking full advantage of the technology of this new console,this game felt bigger and better than its predecessors. The action was more dynamic, the guns were more precise & destructive, and the enemies were represented with huge & detailed sprites. It even made clever use of the SNES’ iconic Mode 7 rendering mode in some creative levels.
While Konami was doing amazing things on the SNES, they didn’t leave the Sega Genesis behind, and developed some truly great exclusives on the rival console. One of them wasRocket Knight Adventures, a unique platformer that would spawn one of the companies’ most beloved mascots.
Since it presented a colorful world with anthropomorphic animal knights wearing rocket packs, this was a game like no other platformer of its time. Sparkster’s journey to defeat the Devotindos Empire was bursting with solid level design, a great soundtrack and some truly epic bosses for a 16-bit console. This is a charming platforming mascot thatshould’ve had a bigger presence in the industry.
6Policenauts (1994)
While Hideo Kojima was well known for theMetal Gearseries at the time, he was also behind some fascinating graphic adventures.And one of his best titleswasPolicenauts, a science fiction story that follows Jonathan Ingram while he’s trying to uncover the mystery of the tragic accident at his space colony.
Policenautswas praised for its solid storytelling and cinematic presentation. It really felt like playing through an interactive movie, which may sound par for the course today, but this was truly revolutionary for its time. Many elements from this game would ultimately influence some of Kojima’s future projects.
5Suikoden (1995)
Konami tackled many genres during the ’90s, like beat ‘em ups or platformers, but they were not known for their role-playing games. That was, until 1995, when they releasedSuikoden. This RPG was so excellent that it instantly became one of the best examples of this genre, and something that could go toe to toe againstFinal FantasyorDragon Quest.
Suikodenfeatured detailed pixel art that looked amazing on the PlayStation, it told a grand story with many different & memorable characters, and it had some of the best role-playing mechanics of its time. This game would mark the beginning of Konami’s most popular RPG franchise.
4Ganbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu (1996)
1996 was more of a relaxed year for Konami, as they mostly released forgettable sports and licensed video games. Out of their entire 1996 catalog, the most interesting release was undoubtedly the Japan-exclusiveGanbare Goemon: Uchū Kaizoku Akogingu.
This was the newest entry in the belovedGanbare Goemonseries, and the first one developed for the PlayStation. Because of this, it had better and more elaborate sprites and smoother action. While it’s not the best game in the franchise, it still delivers onits classic comedic gameplaythat is filled to the brim with references to Japanese culture and mythology.
Castlevaniawas Konami’s most well-known franchise, with several amazing games released during the ’80s and ’90s. But everything changed when they released the legendaryCastlevania: Symphony of the Night,a video game so influential that it’s partially responsiblefor the birth of the Metroidvaniagenre.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Nightbrought back the classic gothic horror elements of this franchise, but it changed things by adding RPG elements to its action platforming gameplay. This resulted in a truly immersive experience that was set on an enormous map full of secrets & mysteries. In a time when everybody was obsessed with 3D graphics,Symphony of the Night provedthat beautiful 2D sprites still had a place in the industry.
As previously mentioned, Hideo Kojima was Konami’s most trustworthy developer of that time. And, after years of making some truly special games, he would close off the decade with his masterpiece, known asMetal Gear Solid. This would end up becoming one of the best video games, not only of the ’90s, but of all time.
Kojima and his team gathered everything they learned from previous installments and took it to a new level, with the help of the revolutionary 3D graphics of the PlayStation. Solid Snake’s mission in Shadow Moses was incredibly cinematic, but still had enough mind-blowing gameplay mechanics to create the perfect combination of movie and video game that Kojima always dreamed of. Not to mention all the numerous mind-blowing moments inthis game,like Psycho Mantis or the search for Meryl’s frequency.
As if creating so many amazing video games wasn’t enough, Konami decided to finish the decade with what would become one of their most prestigious franchises. After the success of Capcom’sResident Evilseries, Konami also tackled the survival horror genre, which led to the creation ofSilent Hill.
But unlike its contemporaries,Silent Hilldidn’t revolve around zombies or monsters, as it was a masterpiece of psychological horror. This is a dark game that explores the minds of its characters, especially the protagonist’s, Harry Mason. And the titular town of Silent Hill had an immersive atmosphere that managed to disturb playersin a way that no other game before had managed to do so. At the end of the day, Konami were responsible for 3 of the best video games ever made in the final 3 years of the ’90s.
