Gaming in 1999
As the final page turns on the 20th century, we see the beginnings of change in the world of video games as the Saturn and PS1 are entering their final years on the market. Before we get to them, we look to Nintendo and their still strong Ultra NES. On tap were some more spin-offs off the Mario line,
Mario Party and
Mario Golf, along with Pokemon spin-offs
Pokemon Snap and
Pokemon Stadium 2, which would be joined by
Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition and
Pokemon Gold and Silver on the Game Boy Color as Pokemania continues to sweep the world. Adding onto the list are games such as
WCW Nitro (a port from the Playstation),
Ogre Battle Ultra: Person of Lordly Caliber, Ultra Harvest Moon and
Gauntlet Legends.
The major releases for the UNES are
Ultra Donkey Kong from Rare and HAL Laboratory's crossover fighting game
Super Smash Bros. The game touted a roster of 18 characters from various Nintendo franchises such as Mario, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pokemon, Kirby, Earthbound, Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero and for the first time in the States, Fire Emblem, all fighting on 12 stages representing each franchise. The game was a huge hit and introduced Marth to a country that never got any of their games (meaning the trope keeps its name) with his popularity resulting in a planned remake of Marth's two games in the series,
Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and
Mystery of the Emblem, to be set for release in 2000.
Over with Sega, they had seen fit to throw a few more hits into the final cycle of the Saturn before moving onto the Neptune, with their most notable titles being their fighting games such as
Soul Calibur,
Garou: Mark of the Wolves and
King of Fighters R-2 for their Pluto handheld. Another major release on the Pluto would be a port of
Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Finally, they'd release the spin-off game
House of the Dead: Revenge and the action-adventure game
Shenmue.
The Playstation meanwhile, got
WCW/nWo Thunder,
Need for Speed: High Stakes, Pepsiman, UmJammer Lammy, Ape Escape, Croc 2, Persona 2, Medal of Honor, Crash Team Racing, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and a new major horror release
Silent Hill.
On the multi-platform side, we've got
Dead Or Alive 2 (all consoles),
Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (all consoles),
Final Fantasy VIII (UNES/PS1),
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1/Saturn),
Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring (UNES/PS1),
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (PS1/Saturn),
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (all consoles),
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PS1/Saturn),
Grand Theft Auto 2 (PS1/Saturn),
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (all consoles)
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (Saturn/PS1),
South Park: Chef's Luv Shack and
South Park Rally (all consoles),
Driver (PS1/Saturn)
Pac-Man World (UNES/PS1), and
Tomorrow Never Dies (UNES/PS1)