Ranking What Was REALLY The Best Video Game Every Year 1990-2021

1996 - Super Mario 64

The year we had our collective minds blown, seeing game developers confidently craft worlds in another dimension entirely is impossible to describe now.

I will say though, that comparing Mario 64 to Crash Bandicoot today, Crash got a hell of a lot closer to competing than gaming history likes to admit. If release dates swapped around, Naughty Dog could've arguably turned just as many heads on PS1 - and Crash was still the big "3D gaming moment" for millions anyway - but Mario 64's camera controls, experimentally varied levels and overall tightness of design elevates it for the win.

Also, this was the year of Die Hard Trilogy, something barely talked about at the time that's a bonafide three-games-in-one cult classic looking back.