The year is 1994 and Simba is learning all about the Circle of Life. It was the year when Friends dominated network TV, Pulp Fiction changed cinema forever and Sabotage made the Beastie Boys a household name. But we're not here to set it straight, this Watergate, I can't stand rocking when I'm in here because your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear, because today we're counting down Electronic Gaming Monthly's top 10 reviewed games of 1994. Listen all of y'all it's a sabotage!
The King of Fighters '94
#10
We kick off the list with one of only seven Neo Geo games reviewed by Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1994. The King of Fighters '94 may not have won the coveted Game of the Month prize in issue 64, but it did manage to win over every critic. "I love almost all of the Neo fighting games, and when one combines my favorites, of course I'm going to go nuts," gushes Ed Semrad. Resident fake ninja Sushi-X said that "this has got to be one of the best fighting games for the Neo." Everybody loved the game, giving it 8s and 9s and averaging an impressive 8.5 out of 10.
It's probably worth mentioning that The King of Fighters '94 actually tied with another SNK fighter, Fatal Fury Special. In order to break the tie, I had to turn to EGM's Best and Worst of 1994 issue, where The Kings of Fighters cleaned up. It not only took home the Neo Geo Game of the Year prize, but also Best Fighting Game of the Year and Mai won Hottest Game Babe of the Year. The only thing Fatal Fury Special won? It was lumped in with a bunch of other games when "Too Many Fighting Games" won the dubious Most Appalling Trend category.
Tempest 2000
#9
Tempest 2000 has the distinction of being one of the only Jaguar games to win Electronic Gaming Monthly's Game of the Month prize. With scores ranging from a 7 all the way up to a 10, the critics were a little split on just how enthusiastic they should be. Ed came in strong, saying that "this is the type of game I want to see on the Jag!" He also added that "this title brings back memories of my arcade hopping days" and that it's a "great game to zone-out to."
On the other side, there's Al Manuel, who gave it a 7 and complained that the camera can hamper the player's view. That said, he did start the review by stating that "this is my favorite game for the Jaguar so far." "Yes! Yes! Yes! This is exactly what the Jaguar needed," explained Danyon Carpenter. All this excitement carried over come awards time, with EGM giving Tempest 2000 the Jaguar Game of the Year prize. Well deserved. This Atari classic averages out to an 8.5 out of 10.
Earthworm Jim
#8
After sharpening his teeth on licensed games like Cool Spot, The Terminator and Aladdin, Dave Perry was eager to give the world the next great 16-bit superhero. His name was Earthworm Jim, and critics immediately fell in love with the little guy. "This game kicks @$$ in every way, shape, and form" exclaims Danyon. "EWJ is simply the coolest character to arrive in a long time."
Perry and his team were known for creating gorgeous looking 16-bit games with stunning animation, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this is what the EGM critics largely focused on. "This game is loaded with more than just great graphics, fantastic sound, and awesome game play, I totally loved the originality put into the game, especially with the cow-launching. Hysterical!!"
Earthworm Jim was so good that it managed to score some key wins in Electronic Gaming Monthly's Best and Worst of 1994 Video Game of the Year awards. It managed to not only snag the Genesis Game of the Year award, but also won Best New Character. "He's funny, he's crazy, and he's a worm (I can relate)!" Earthworm Jim was a big hit and EGM was excited to see more from the unlikely action hero.
Mega Man X
#7
If you've been following these episodes, then you'll probably remember that Electronic Gaming Monthly named Mega Man 2 the third best game of 1989 and Mega Man 3 the fourth best game of 1990. Since then, EGM has not been as kind to the Blue Bomber. Mega Man 4 averaged an 8, Mega Man 5 a 7.75, and Mega Man 6, which just so happened to be released in 1994, only mustered a 6.75. So imagine everybody's surprise when EGM's editors not only liked Mega Man X, but called it "one of the best action games on any system anywhere."
"This is AWESOME!" Al shouts. "It's been a long time since I really enjoyed a good action platform game." Other editors seemed to want to distance X from the core franchise. "Let's start off by saying that this game is no simple 8-bit translation. What we have here is the ultimate in action games." Sushi-X notes that "the theme of Mega Man will never get old especially when it's done this well." He gave it two swords up. With an average of 9 out of 10, this is the first time EGM has been this excited for a Mega Man game since 1990.
NBA Jam
#6
Forget Street Fighter II, because in 1994 the mutliplayer scene was all about NBA Jam. Taking full advantage of the Super NES four-player multitap, this was a faithful arcade port that brought the action home. "This game actually got me out of the arcades," starts Sushi-X. "Even if you don't know how to play the game, you'll be doing all kinds of jams and blocks in no time."
If you were hoping that NBA Jam would give the EGM editors free license to come up with cringe-worthy puns, then you're in luck. Exhibit A: "Excuse the pun, but this game jams." Just no. Everybody loved port, but it was Ed who seemed the most excited. "The spectacular jams and slamdunks make it even more than worthwhile. This is as close to a 10 as it can get for a sports game." Actually, on second thought, that's kind of a passive aggressive jab at sports games.
As I'm sure you already figured out, NBA Jam managed to win the Best Sports Game of 1994 award. Years later, when Electronic Gaming Monthly celebrated their 200th issue, they named NBA Jam the 55th best game of all time. This arcade sports game averaged a stunning 9 out of 10.
Final Fantasy III
#5
If you're like me and like to read the early issues of Electronic Gaming Monthly, then you probably already know that the editors had a love/hate relationship with role-playing games. Some of the editors loved them, the rest just tolerated the genre. For the first time ever, Final Fantasy III has united the staff and turned everybody into an RPG lover. Yes, the game is that good.
"Never before have I seen a game with this much depth and detail," starts Ed. "Few RPGs can hope to have the emotional draw this one has." Al notes that "Final Fantasy III is quite possibly the best role-playing game" he had ever played. Danyon's recommendation? "Forget every other RPG out there. Square has produced a killer RPG that few companies will ever be able to match." I think Sushi X summed it up best: "If you don't already get the picture, this is THE RPG to get."
As you might imagine, Final Fantasy III cleaned up come awards time. EGM named it the Best Role-Playing Game of 1994, as well giving it the Best Music (Cartridge) prize. "When the music of a video game is enough to stir emotions as intensely as it does in Square Soft's Final Fantasy III, you know the game deserves the Best Cartridge-Based Music award." I couldn't agree more.
Super Metroid
#4
Fun Fact: When Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked the top 100 games of all time back in 2001, it was Super Metroid that topped the list. Back in 1994, however, Nintendo's classic action game only managed to come in fourth.
"Nintendo pulls out all the stops with quite possibly the greatest action/adventure game ever created!" shouts Al. "Graphics: Impressive! Music and sound: ultra-cool! Gameplay: awesome!" "I was a big time addict to the original," starts Ed, "and this game brought back so many good memories for me." This seemed to be the trend among the reviews. "As a faithful player of the NES version, I have to admit the sequel blows it away." With 9s across the board, this was easily one of the best reviewed games of the year.
Reviewed in June, Super Metroid was all but forgotten by the end of the year. With the exception of winning Best Action Game of 1994, it was completely snubbed in EGM's award issue. What could have possibly beaten it out for Game of the Year? Oh, we're getting to that.
Sonic & Knuckles
#3
Given what they said about the first few games, it shouldn't surprise anybody that Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked Sonic & Knuckles as one of the best games of 1994. You have to admit, it was a cool concept. The game came with an expansion bay that allowed you to add new content to both Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3. It was a killer gimmick that we didn't see enough of in the 16-bit era.
"Sonic & Knuckles is the ultimate Sonic game," explains Ed. "This is the best game of the series and the lock-on technology offers new life to older games." Danyon agreed, telling readers to "sit down and play for a while, and let the differences show themselves." Despite some of the highest scores of the year, it was clear that some of the EGM editors were growing bored of the Sonic formula. "I must admit that I'm getting a bit tired of the same Sonic theme, but I do believe that any Sonic game in and of itself is a top cart." That's not exactly a ringing endorsement. Sonic & Knuckles averaged an incredible 9.25 out of 10.
Donkey Kong Country
#2
Remember when I said that Super Metroid was passed over for another side-scrolling Nintendo classic? Well, that game turns out to be Donkey Kong Country, a collaboration with Silicon Graphics that saw the Super NES pumping out visuals few at the time thought possible. "Donkey Kong Country is simply the best game out there," exclaims Ed. "No other game comes close in terms of graphics, playability, and sound." He was the only EGM editor to give it a perfect 10 out of 10, but not the only one to gush over Nintendo's masterpiece.
"I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I first played DKC! The graphics are so good, you'll think they are actually screens from an SGI computer with animation that blows away most of what has been rotoscoped before." Al wasn't the only one to feel that way, as Danyon asks: "Who needs 32 or even 64-bit with Nintendo can keep pulling marvels out of the 16-bit hat?"
Given that kind of praise, it should come as no surprise that Donkey Kong Country cleaned up at EGM's Best and Worst of 1994 awards. It picked up the top Game of the Year prize, along with the Super NES Game of the Year, Best Animation in 1994 and the Best Game Duo of the Year awards. Seven years later, Donkey Kong Country was completely left off EGM's list of the Top 100 Games of All Time.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
#1
If neither Donkey Kong Country nor Super Metroid could top the list, what could the number 1 game possibly be? It's Sonic the Hedgehog 3, of course. Don't look so surprised, because this was the only game released in 1994 to earn two perfect 10 scores. Ed may have proclaimed that Sonic & Knuckles is the ultimate Sonic game, but when it comes to review scores, Sonic 3 still holds the advantage.
"Sonic 3 completely blows away everything you've ever seen in any action game," starts Danyon. "Can Sega do any better? It doesn't seem possible." Al also compared this to a previous installment, though not the same one. "I actually like this game better than the CD version." Ed called this "simply the perfect Sonic game. It beats all previous Sonics with outstanding graphics, more hidden items and new items like the many types of shields." He gave it a perfect 10 out of 10, bringing the EGM average to a 9.5.
For a game this highly ranked, Sonic 3 was completely shut out come awards time. Sega watched Donkey Kong Country, Earthworm Jim and even Sparkster pick up awards, while neither Sonic 3 nor Sonic & Knuckles were mentioned. It's also worth mentioning that EGM left the game off of both their top 100 and top 200 lists. Make of that what you will.
