Welcome back to EGM and the Launch Games, the show where we look at the history of console launches through the eyes of Electronic Gaming Monthly. When we last left off, the 16-bit console war was just starting to heat up and handheld gaming had become a reality, thanks to the Game Boy, Game Gear and Lynx. But that was just the start of our adventure, as you'll see from part 2 of this four-part series.

In today's episode, we're going to continue our trek through the 1990s by talking about the launch of both the Sega CD and Sega 32X. This will lead into the Atari Jaguar and Virtual Boy, followed by the three biggest consoles of the mid-1990s. I'm of course talking about the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64. We're going to talk about one of the greatest launch games of all time, as well as the most disastrous system debut of the entire series.


This is the second part of a 4-part series covering a wide assortment of launch games. We encourage you to continue the journey with Part 1: 1989-1991, Part 3: 1999-2001 and the series finale, Part 4: 2004-2006. You can also find the full EGM & the Launch Games playlist on YouTube. And now, let's continue our journey with a look at the 32- and 64-bit war as covered by Electronic Gaming Monthly ...


With the Genesis, TurboGrafx and Super NES dominating sales and the handheld market monopolized by the Game Boy, the early 1990s were more about providing great software than selling new hardware. One of the exceptions to that was the Sega CD, a Genesis add-on that offered what at the time felt like limitless space to store games. Best of all, the CD technology allowed Sega's aging 16-bit hardware to pull off many of the 3D tricks only seen on the Super NES. All these things sound great in theory, but as we'll see from the launch games, there was a lot of confusion about what who the Sega CD was supposed to appeal to.

If we just look at the number of games, the system had a surprisingly solid launch. Including the pack-ins, the Sega CD debuted with 9 different games, 10 if you include the compilation disc that included Streets of Rage, Columns, Revenge of Shinobi and Golden Axe. Unfortunately, EGM only reviewed 4 of the Sega CD's launch games, which is either 40% or 44% depending on how you do the math.

We'll get to the games they ignored in a moment, but let's first look at the four launch games they actually reviewed. The good news is that they reviewed the system's most controversial game -- Night Trap. This full-motion video spectacle was intended to sell critics and consumers on a new world of gaming using real people instead of tiny pixels. Unfortunately, it soured the editors on the system right from the start. Sushi-X said that "Night Trap is the type of title that makes me ask WHY?" "After playing for about five minutes, you will quickly lose interest in this one." While most of the editors gave Night Trap low scores, Ed dropped an 8 and concluded that it is "a spectacular use of video!" He liked that it was a little hokey with tougue-in-cheek humor and didn't mind the limited gameplay. His relative high score raises Night Trap's average up to a 6 out of 10.

On the topic of full-motion video, EGM also reviewed Sewer Shark. Martin perfectly summarizes the problem with on-rails shooter: "At first glance, this disc looks like the coolest thing since shoes that pump. After you get over the cool effect of having a full-motion video backdrop of high-speed tunnel racing, the game is rather boring." Sushi-X wasn't that charitable, concluding that his best reaction can be summed up as "wait 'til next year." However, yet again, Ed swoops in with a high score. Giving Sewer Shark a 9, he loved that "the action literally flies by and really keeps a player on his toes." Ed's shockingly high score helps to boost Sewer Shark's average up to a 7 out of 10.

In yet another full-motion video review, EGM took on Cobra Command. Steve explains that "the Sega CD version of this classic coin-op laserdisc game scores some big points for presentation, but the execution is a little thin." Sushi-X argues that "this is the most impressive CD title featuring cinema interaction so far, but it needs more player control." Ed wasn't nearly as impressed with this as he was Night Trap and Sewer Shark, giving a tepid recommendation and saying "the game isn't too bad." With an average of 7.25 out of 10, Cobra Command was the Sega CD's highest-rated launch game.

The good news is that EGM eventually reviewed a Sega CD game that wasn't FMV. The bad news is that the game they reviewed was Black Hole Assault, a pitiful fighting game that couldn't compete with the Street Fighters and Fatal Furies of the world. Sushi-X does a good job not only explaining the problem with this game, but also most fighting games: "The problem with 90% of the games that pop up in this category is that, let's face it, the character interaction is the equivalent of a big nasty. No offense, but without that, the best graphics, the best sounds and the best ideas are for naught." Surprise! Ed liked it more than everybody else, calling it innovative and raving about the fantastic music. Unfortunately, not even Ed's rosy outlook was able to make Black Hole Assault score higher than a 6.5 out of 10.

As I mentioned at the top, five of the Sega CD's launch line-up went without review. This includes both INXS and Marky Mark versions of the Make My Video series. They would eventually get around to reviewing the C+C Music Factory incarnation and giving it a 4.75 out of 10, which may indicate where they would have landed for the rest of the Make My Video franchise. Similarly, they ignored the Sega CD version of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective, but gave the TurboGrafx version a 7.5. It's also worth mentioning that the Genesis version of Chuck Rock averaged a 7.75, but that doesn't mean the Sega CD port would have earned the same score. And finally, we'll never know what EGM thought of the Sol series, as they decided against reviewing Sol-Feace on the Sega CD and Sol-Deace on the Genesis.

When we average the scores of Night Trap, Black Hole Assault, Cobra Command and Sewer Shark, the Sega CD is left with a 6.7 out of 10. Believe it or not, this is surprisingly close to the 6.6 average of every Sega CD game they reviewed. A 6.7 may seem low, but it's a whole lot better than the next system launch we're going to talk about.


While Sega was busy releasing add-ons for their aging Genesis, there was another, smaller side story starting to emerge. It involved the release of a number of so-called next-generation consoles that looked to bypass the 16-bit war and truly bring the gaming industry to the next level. This charts back all the way to 1990, when SNK released the Neo Geo, an overpriced powerhouse that the company advertised as being "24-bit." There was also the Philips CD-i, which sold Hollywood blockbuster movies that came on five or six CD-ROMs. And don't forget about the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, which justified its high price point by shoveling edutainment to families with school-age children.

The problem with this side-story is that Electronic Gaming Monthly largely ignored the launch games. The Neo Geo, for example, launched with 17 games, yet the review crew only bothered to review Magician Lord and Ninja Combat. When it came to the 3DO, EGM reviewed the pack-in game, Crash 'n Burn. And worst of all, the magazine didn't even bother to review a CD-i game until three years after the system's launch.

Believe it or not, the one alternative next-generation system the EGM editors actually took notice of was none other than the Atari Jaguar. I suppose it helps that there were only three games that launched with the system, with one of them being a surprisingly controversial pack-in game. But let's not undermine the accomplishment, because this is only the second time in this series where Electronic Gaming Monthly managed to review 100% of the launch games. That deserves special notice.

Similar to the release of the Lynx, there's not a lot to the Jaguar launch that screams "Atari!" The most recognizable name isn't one Atari's beloved franchises, but rather a port of the arcade shoot 'em up Raiden. All of the editors agreed that this three-year-old port was close to the coin-op original, but is lacking as a 64-bit game. The scores ranged from Ed giving it an 8 while calling it "the most intense arcade shooter around" to Al's scathing 4 review, concluding that the only thing he did like about Raiden was "the sound and different level music." With scores all over the board, it's easy to see how Raiden only managed to average a 6 out of 10.

At least that's better than Trevor McFur in Crescent Galaxy, the other shoot 'em up that launched with the Jaguar. This is one of those games that was already handicapped by the awful name and questionable cover art, which may explain why EGM didn't even bother to let their four editors review the game. Given nothing more than a single paragraph, the review crew complains that Trevor McFur is a disappointing game that is too easy with gameplay that is sure to cramp your hands. The five editors (including Mike Weingand) gave the game an average of 4 out of 10.

And then there's the pack-in game Cybermorph, a 3D shoot 'em up designed to show off what the Jaguar was capable of. When Die Hard Game Fan reviewed this game back in December of 1993, they gave it near perfect scores and called it a "masterpiece" that "every development house will be copying for years to come." Electronic Gaming Monthly, on the other hand, was not ready to call it a masterpiece. In fact, they weren't even ready to score it higher than a 6. With scores going down to a 4 from Al, the review crew repeatedly complained that Cybermorph wasn't impressive at all. They hated the lack of music, the annoying voice, the repetitive missions and the confusing level designs. When Game Fan reviewed the game, it averaged an unheard-of score of 98%, but when Electronic Gaming Monthly got to it, Cybermorph only managed to score a 5 out of 10.

No matter what you thought of the pack-in game, these three shoot 'em ups represent a rocky start for the Jaguar. Even when you do the math, this so-called 64-bitter only managed to average a 5 out of 10, far lower than most of the consoles we've talked about in this series. The good news is that the future was slightly brighter for the Jag. By the time EGM stopped reviewing the games in 1996, the system's average had raised all the way up to a 5.9. Hey, that's improvement.


Seeing the impending 32-bit system war on the horizon, Sega decided to do the most obvious thing -- release another Genesis add-on? That's right, despite prepping a proper next-generation console that would be released only six months later, Sega decided to release the 32X, an inexpensive accessory that upgraded the five-year-old Genesis in a number of important ways. This may have seemed like a curious move at the time, but Sega CEO Tom Kalinske was convinced that this little add-on would outsell both the PlayStation and Saturn by a healthy margin. He was very, very wrong.

Unlike when the Sega CD debuted with almost too many games, the 32X launched with three targeted releases. You had an ultraviolent computer port, a licensed shooter and a home console version of one of Sega's popular arcade racing games. It already sounds better than the Jaguar launch.

For a lot of people, the big 32X launch title was none other than Doom, a game that had blown up the computer scene just one year earlier. Although it would eventually find its way to every system capable of running it, this early first-person shooter was ported properly on the 32X. Sure, it had a weird border around it and the superior Jaguar version would come out only seven days later, but this 32X version was the first time the game had been ported properly on a home console. While impressed, EGM didn't spend much time reviewing Doom. In fact, they left it for Mike to write a single paragraph, where he calls it the "ultimate stress reliever" and "hours of fun." With an average of 8.4 out of 10, Doom was the best-reviewed 32X launch game.

Speaking of shooters shown from the first-person perspective, another big title was Sega's port of Star Wars Arcade. Although the editors were big fans of the three (yes, three) Star Wars movies, they all found this space shooter to be a massive disappointment. Danyon, for example, said that he was "depressed to see how this one turned out" and found the game too limiting to be fun. Sushi-X agreed, noting that the missions were too repetitive and that there isn't enough to do. Also, he doesn't like flight sims. He is a fake ninja, after all. But even with that caveat, most of the critics ultimately agreed with Sushi's stance, giving Star Wars Arcade a so-so 6.25 out of 10.

Of the games that launched with the 32X, I was most excited about the port of the influential Virtua Racing. Sadly, this was the one game EGM decided to skip right over. They did manage to give the Genesis version an average of 7.75 and the Saturn port a 7.5, so one can guess that the 32X version would probably be in the same range. But without the real numbers, I'm forced to average only two games, giving the 32X launch a final score of 7.3 out of 10. That's a full point higher than the system's final average, which came in at 6.3. Not a bad launch, assuming you were looking for shooting in the first-person.


Up until this point, most system launches have gone as planned. Sure, some had to deal with shortages and others underperformed at retail, but those are the normal stumbling blocks associated with launching a game system. The Sega Saturn's debut, on the other hand, was anything but normal. In fact, I'm going to say that it was at best a misstep and at worst a disaster that Sega's 32-bitter was never able to recover from.

It's important to remember that everybody knew the score going into 1995. It was clear that the Genesis and Super NES didn't have much life left in them and the alternate next-gen systems like the CD-i, 3DO and Jaguar all flopped. Every gamer knew that both Sega and Nintendo had high-powered consoles coming out in 1995, along with a new competitor coming in the form of Sony's PlayStation. The stage was set for an eventful year that was all so boringly predictable. But let me tell you, 1995 was anything but predictable.

First came the news that Nintendo planned on delaying what was known at the time as the Ultra 64. This effectively took one of the pieces off the board, creating a Sega vs. Sony fight during the lucrative holiday season. But then, during their E3 press conference, Sega surprised everybody by launching the Sega Saturn immediately. As is, May 11th, the first day of E3. A whole four months before Sony was to bring their PlayStation to market.

Of course, the four retailers that participated in the early launch were not surprised. Sega ended up shipping 30,000 units to Toys R Us, Babbages, Electronics Boutique and Software Etc., each with an inflated $400 asking price. To make matters worse, competing retailers like Walmart, KB Toys and Kmart were caught off guard and left fuming that they didn't get to take part in the system's launch. This would come back to bite Sega as they tried to launch the system again later in the year, now with a lower price tag and more games. Instead of getting the upper-hand on Sony, Sega ultimately shot themselves in the foot and ceded a lot of ground to the PlayStation.

The one good thing to come from the early launch was that it gave Electronic Gaming Monthly plenty of time to review the six launch games, and that's exactly what they did. Right off the bat, they named Panzer Dragoon the "game of the month." The review crew was transfixed by the stunning 3D graphics, with Ed going as far as to say that the cinemas are the best CG he'd ever seen. "One look at this game and you'll chuck your 32X forever." Ouch. Sushi-X, on the other hand, wasn't as impressed with the game part of the game. Sure, the game is full of eye-candy, but "you fly in a single path that doesn't fully exploit the rotating and changing views." The insane graphics and imaginative world helped Panzer Dragoon average an 8.4, making it the best-reviewed launch game on the Saturn.

Electronic Gaming Monthly wasn't nearly as kind to the system's other original IP -- Clockwork Knight. "Welcome to round one of the Sega Saturn games," yawns Danyon. Al complained that it "tries too hard to impress with all the Sega Saturn's new capabilities," concluding that it's an okay action game with atrocious music. The general consensus was that Clockwork Knight was too easy, too short and too shallow. It was a step backwards from the great side-scrollers on the Genesis. With a score of 7 out of 10, Clockwork Knight ties with Pebble Beach Golf Links as the Saturn's worst-reviewed launch game.

You would think that packing in a free copy of Virtua Fighter would be a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, but that wasn't the case in 1995. By the time the Saturn launched, Virtua Fighter was old hat. Not only had the sequel already debuted in arcades, but Sega had already showed off a Virtua Fighter port running on the 32X. You can see the disappointment in EGM's slightly lower review scores, which included Sushi-X complaining that Virtua Fighter feels dated when compared to Tekken and Battle Arena Toshinden. Ed liked the game more than the resident fake ninja, but noted that the graphics don't compare to the arcade version and the controls are sluggish. "Virtua Fighter is okay, but it's certainly not the best." That perfectly explains why this Saturn pack-in game only averaged a 7.9 out of 10.

When it comes to the Saturn's three sports games, they were covered in a standalone feature called Team EGM. This was separate from the review crew and only featured two critics. For their part, Video Cowboy and The Iceman gave Daytona USA a 7.8, noting that it's better than the Japanese version, but still a somewhat disappointing port of the arcade hit. They felt that it needed a little more tweaking. The same could be said about Pebble Beach Golf Links, which scored a 7 out of 10 from both critics. They called it a good start, but felt that it was very limited. Their favorite sports game at the Saturn's launch was none other than Worldwide Soccer, which scored an 8.4. They thought it innovated on the usual soccer sim and praised the zoom effects and seamless rotation.

All in all, the Saturn's launch line-up was better than the actual launch. It may have lacked Sonic the Hedgehog, but it offered a showpiece game, a couple big arcade ports and a lot of sports options. It's a diverse selection that doesn't stray too far from what we were seeing on the Genesis and Sega CD. The six launch games ultimately averaged out to a solid 7.7 out of 10, which is just a little higher than the 7.2 overall system average. The launch may have been a disaster for Sega, but at least the games were good.


Nintendo fans may have entered 1995 expecting to own the Ultra 64, but all they got was the Virtual Boy. It may sound like a joke, but that's how a lot of Nintendo fans felt as they patiently waited for the 64-bit powerhouse to arrive. To say that the Virtual Boy was a poor replacement is the very definition of an understatement, with both critics and consumers baffled by a portable virtual reality headset that was neither portable nor virtual reality. Who was this system for?

As it turns out, this system was for almost nobody. It sold poorly at launch and failed to find its footing in an incredibly competitive year. Part of the reason for that is because magazines, by and large, chose not to cover the system. Sure, Electronic Gaming Monthly previewed it before launch, but the coverage quickly disappeared as the Saturn and PlayStation started to dominate the pages. It didn't help that it was incredibly tough to capture images from the system and describe how much of a difference the 3D makes. As a result, EGM only managed to review four of the 22 games released on the short-lived system. That's not a good track record.

The good news for us is that two of the Virtual Boy games they reviewed were launch titles. The bad news is that with four games debuting with the system, they still only managed to cover 50%. The even worse news is that neither of the launch games you might want to know about were reviewed, so we can just skip right over talking about the pack-in game Mario's Tennis, as well as Teleroboxer, a futuristic boxing game starring a bunch of weird looking robots.

Instead of reviewing the newest Mario game, EGM chose to review ... Galactic Pinball? Yeah, like I said, the editors weren't exactly working overtime to review the Virtual Boy's hottest games. The critics were split on this futuristic pinball game. Half gave it 7s and praised the addictive levels, while the other half gave it 5s and complained that it's the ultimate "first generation" game, and not in a good way. They all agreed that the pinball action wears thin quickly, which is probably why it only averaged a disappointing 6.25 out of 10.

Unfortunately, the other Virtual Boy launch game didn't fare much better. Red Alarm was pitched as a new take on StarFox, but the execution didn't live up to the hype. Earning 6s and 7s, the critics were impressed that it ran as smoothly as it did and saw potential in the game, even if the finished result made their eyes bleed. Al explains that the graphics are baffling. "Is that a wall, a ship or an icon you are approaching? If you are not careful, you could find yourself lost in a land of wire frames." Instead of showing off what the system could do, the Virtual Boy launch games on highlighted the console's many, MANY limitations. Red Alarm tried its hardest, but only managed to average a 6.75 out of 10.

And that's how EGM covered the Virtual Boy. They would eventually get around to reviewing Mario Clash and Vertical Force, but then went right back to ignoring the system. The two launch games only averaged a 6.5 out of 10, which is down slightly from the 6.7 score we get when averaging the entire library. The 18% they bothered to show up for, that is. I think we've talked enough about the Virtual Boy.


Having seen the Saturn's disastrous launch and the baffling reaction to the Virtual Boy, all Sony had to do was not screw up at the last second. They tried with cryptic advertisements that warned you that (e)NOS Lives, but that wasn't enough to derail a pretty solid launch line-up that perfectly complimented the attractive hardware. In other words, the PlayStation didn't screw up, and therefore it's a little boring.

The PlayStation debuted with 12 games from a variety of companies, making it the biggest and most diverse launch line-up yet. Unlike Nintendo and Sega, Sony didn't have any existing franchises to lean on and was starting from scratch, which makes these twelve launch games feel a bit unfocused. But is that a bad thing? Let's look at how the games break down.

Believe it or not, the most hyped game at the PlayStation's launch was none other than Ridge Racer, which was locked in a wheel-to-wheel fight with Daytona USA on the Saturn. Team EGM called Ridge Racer one of the most addictive games of all time. "This game is incredible, and after the game has loaded, you can take the CD out and replace it with one of your favorite music CDs." The Iceman didn't mind the lack of content, saying that "from every S-turn to the final straightaway, the intense racing never ends. This could be the best racer of the year." With an average of 8.75 out of 10, this Namco classic definitely won the race against Daytona USA.

The other big title on day one was Battle Arena Toshinden, a console-exclusive fighting game designed to be the Virtua Fighter killer. Sony had high hopes for this little game, even using the dominatrix character Sofia to sell systems in the point of purchase advertising. This sparked a bit of controversy, but EGM didn't care. Resident fighting expert Sushi-X said that he was "really blown away by the incredible look of this game" and concluded that it's a "must-try" for PlayStation owners. Danyon echoed those thoughts and even added that "the controls are perfect, so you won't have to worry about tossing the controller through the TV." Anger issues aside, Battle Arena Toshinden averaged an impressive 8.1, making it one of the best-reviewed fighting games of 1995.

EGM was a lot less kind to the PlayStation's other big fighting game at launch -- Zero Divide. In fact, they didn't even get around to reviewing it until six months after the game's initial release. Sushi-X tried to be diplomatic by saying that it isn't a great game, but at least it's new. Mark wondered if people would even be interested in another fighting game, what with Mortal Kombat 3 and Tekken already on the PlayStation. It's once again worth mentioning that Zero Divide came out a month before those other fighters, so I'm not sure that criticism holds a lot of water. Either way, Zero Divide averaged a 7.25 out of 10.

If you were concerned that the PlayStation launched without a colorful platformer with a mascot character, then look no further than Rayman. This delightful surprise proved once and for all that the PlayStation could do 2D side-scrollers, debunking a rumor that had been circulating before release. Andrew exclaims that "this is one of the coolest action games I've seen in a long time. The PlayStation not only looks great, but it also plays really well." Danyon concluded that when he runs out to buy the PlayStation, Rayman will definitely be one of the games he brings home. Winning the game of the month prize, Rayman earned an average score of 8.75 out of 10.

The review crew wasn't as kind to Kileak: The DNA Imperative, an original first-person action game that failed to wow the EGM editors. Al complained that he was expecting another Doom rip-off, "but got even less." "Sure, everyone likes the rotating environments and the big, zippy explosive weapons, but what good are these things without an effective means to control?" Andrew liked it more, but still concluded that you shouldn't expect Doom: "It's not that type of game." With an average score of 6.9 out of 10, Kileak was the PlayStation's second worst-reviewed launch game.

While most of the launch line-up consisted of original IPs, there were still a number of familiar faces. For example, Raiden Project marks the second time the shoot 'em up franchise has shown up as a launch title. EGM's review crew liked it a lot more than the Jaguar version, giving it an average of 8.4 out of 10 and raving that you get two incredible shooters on one disc. What a deal. Similarly, we also saw the newest in a long string of NBA Jam: Tournament Edition ports receive high scores, with EGM giving it an 8.25 and concluding that it's the most authentic port yet. The editors weren't as kind to Total Eclipse Turbo, which was one of those weird hold-overs from the 3DO. They said it felt dated and gave it a 5.5 out of 10.

It's worth mentioning that there were four PlayStation launch games that Electronic Gaming Monthly failed to review. It's easy to understand them passing over the mediocre ESPN Extreme Games and underwhelming Power Serve 3D Tennis, but it's a shame they never reviewed the original Air Combat. They also missed out on reviewing the oddity that was Street Fighter: The Movie. Thankfully, they reviewed the Sega Saturn version that came out around the same time and gave it a 6.6 out of 10. I have to imagine the game would have found a similar fate on the PlayStation.

Ignoring the four games they didn't review, the PlayStation managed to average a score of 7.7 out of 10, the same score as the Saturn. What's even more impressive is that the PlayStation managed to do this with more games and fewer known franchises. That said, the 7.7 launch game average is much higher than the 6.6 average when we look at all 880 PlayStation reviews found in the pages of EGM. That's a whole lot of games.


It may have taken a couple delays and a last-minute name change, but the Nintendo 64 (which was formerly known as the Ultra 64) was finally released on September 29, 1996. With an extra year of preparation, many Nintendo fans assumed the 64-bitter's launch would be bigger and more dramatic than anything they had seen before. But instead of going bigger, Nintendo went the opposite direction and launched the system with only two games. That's right, two. Just try to wrap your head around Sony or Microsoft releasing the next-generation consoles with only two games, yet that's exactly what happened in 1996. That's the kind of confident move you can pull when one of your launch games is none other than Super Mario 64.

But before we talk about the game one EGM competitor called "the greatest video game of all time," let's first talk about the also-ran -- Pilotwings 64. Now, to be fair to the review crew, they actually did like Pilotwings 64. Crispin said that he loved the game "95 percent of the time," calling it "every bit as fun as the Super NES original, only with graphics that are above and beyond anything the other next-generation consoles can pump out." Dan Hsu, on the other hand, complained that this sequel "didn't have the same magic" of the Super NES game. They all agreed that it was another showpiece game that was ultimately a bit shallow, which is what we've come to expect from this series. Even with a great average of 8.4 out of 10, Pilotwings 64 still has a hard time breaking free of Super Mario 64's massive shadow.

Speaking of which, the review crew loved Super Mario 64. Obviously. It was 1996 and nobody had ever seen a 3D platformer like it before. This is, without question, one of the very best and most influential launch games of all time, to the point where magazines of the era were calling it the best game ever made. Electronic Gaming Monthly was equally impressed, with all four editors giving it a 9.5 out of 10. Crispin sums it up perfectly: "The world of video games is seeing a revolution, and Super Mario 64 is leading it." Everybody was impressed by the imaginative worlds, the stunning graphics and the amount of control we have over Mario. Sushi-X explains that "if the rest of the N64 titles are half as good as this release, the control of the video game market may once again return to the folks at Nintendo." Spoiler alert: That didn't happen.

I know I should be happy that EGM managed to review 100% of the Nintendo 64 launch games, but it feels like a hollow victory when there are only two of them. This would normally be a major liability for a new console, however, when your killer app is as good as Super Mario 64, a lot of people are ready to make exceptions. The Nintendo 64 launched with a stellar average of 8.9, inflated mostly by Super Mario. This would prove to be the highest score for the system, as the average eventually dropped to 6.6 out of 10. That's a staggering 2.3 point difference, making it the biggest drop of any system we're going to talk about in this series. Make of that what you will.

PART 1: 1989-1991

PART 3: 1999-2001

PART 4: 2004-2006