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[Bonfires Down]

20 years ago. 1997, '98 and '01 are more commonly said to be top years of that era, but I think 2000 is not far behind. Many of the top games this year are PC exclusives so that somewhat limits the audience.

• Baldur’s Gate II and Deus Ex. Two of the most respected PC games ever.
• Diablo II had a slow start but the expansion fixed any issues and the game was just a phenomenon that continued receiving support for some 10 years.
• The Sims and Counter-Strike are perhaps not the types of games that NeoGAF gravitates towards, but their success cannot be overstated and the franchises are still as popular as ever.
• Thief II is a bit more under the radar but is regarded as one of the best immersive sims ever alongside Deus Ex.
  
  
• While consoles didn’t get the huge names of ’98 like Ocarina or Metal Gear, there are plenty of underdog titles that are almost as well liked: Final Fantasy IX, Shenmue, Majora’s Mask, Vagrant Story, Skies of Arcadia, Perfect Dark.
• Street Fighter III Third Strike and Marvel vs Capcom 2 releasing in the same year.
• The PS2 was released in October but it had clearly not come into its own yet.

The poll isn’t able to fit all the worthy games but it’s something.

Here are what I believe to be the most important releases. The dates are mostly taken from Wikipedia so I’m sure there are some mistakes but it should be roughly correct.

Jan 24 - Crazy Taxi
Jan 31 - Nox
Feb 3 - Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Feb 4 - The Sims
Feb 10 - Vagrant Story
Feb 29 - Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Feb 29 - Dead or Alive 2
Mar 14 - Syphon Filter 2
Mar 21 - Thief II: The Metal Age
Mar 21 - Wario Land 3
Mar 23 - Metal Slug 3
Mar 31 - MDK2
Apr 4 - Star Wars Episode I: Racer
Apr 27 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Apr 30 - Excitebike 64
Apr 30 - The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Apr 30 - Wild Arms 2
May 5 - Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
May 9 - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
May 22 - Perfect Dark
Jun 1 - Ground Control
Jun 4 - Space Channel 5
Jun 6 - Legend of Mana
Jun 13 - Shogun: Total War
Jun 13 - Legend of Dragoon
Jun 26 - Deus Ex
Jun 29 - Diablo II
Jun 29 - Icewind Dale
Jun 29 - Jet Set Radio
Jun 29 - Marvel vs Capcom 2
Jun 30 - Homeworld: Cataclysm
Jul 29 - Strider 2
Aug 4 - Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K. 2
Aug 15 - Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins
Aug 15 - Chrono Cross
Aug 30 - Spider-Man
Sep 12 - Parasite Eve II
Sep 19 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Sep 24 - Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Sep 29 - Dino Crisis 2
Oct 5 - Skies of Arcadia
Oct 5 - Street Fighter III: Third Strike
Oct 22 - Zeus: Master of Olympus
Oct 22 - Quake III Arena
Oct 23 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Oct 23 - TimeSplitters
Oct 23 - Medal of Honor: Underground
Oct 24 - Mega Man Legends 2
Oct 25 - Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Nov 6 - Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
Nov 6 - Shenmue
Nov 9 - The Operative: No One Lives Forever
Nov 9 - Counter-Strike
Nov 13 - Final Fantasy IX
Nov 14 - Driver 2
Nov 17 - Sacrifice
Nov 17 - Tomb Raider Chronicles
Nov 17 - WWF No Mercy
Nov 28 - Breath of Fire IV
Nov 19 - Hitman: Codename 47
Nov 20 - Banjo-Tooie
Nov 22 - Harvest Moon: Back to Nature
Dec 5 - American McGee's Alice
Dec 5 - Colin McRae Rally 2.0
Dec 6 - Grandia II
Dec 7 - Giants: Citizen Kabuto
Dec 22 - Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

 

[LemmingWithaParachute]

What a decade and imo, alongside the PS2/gc/xbx/PC gen, the last real exciting gen.

 

[Saber]

Diablo 2, alongside Majoras Mask mark my life in gaming. Pretty invested and they're still worth playing even now.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Fucking amazing year for Dreamcast from start to finish.

Crazy Taxi
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Sword of the Berserk
Dead or Alive 2
SW Pod Racer
MDK2
Jet Set Radio
Marvel vs Capcom 2
Rainbow Six
4 Wheel Thunder
Space Channel 5
Skies of Arcadia
Shenmue
Capcom vs SNK
Dave Mirra BMX
Grandia 2
NFL and NBA2k1, online sports titles arrive on console in mainstream form

 

[Urprobablyright]

You forgot Ground Control~

You're right, epic year, Diablo 2, Baldur's Gate 2, Deus Ex and The Sims were my picks

 

[MisterBrimstone]

1) Diablo II hands down legendary game.
2) Perfect Dark
3) Deus Ex

Fuck what a year.

 

[teezzy]

You know it's an unbelieveable year when you're allowed four choices, and MvC 2 doesn't make the cut.

Diablo 2, Deus Ex, Final Fantasy 9 and Grandia II all got me straight trippin' boo

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Kinda sad how shit 20 years later looks compared to this.

 

[diffusionx]

One of the best years for vidya imo, you could make another poll with awesome games you left off the first one, like CMR2.0, Strider 2, Nox, Sacrifice, and Icewind Dale. Even something like Excitebike 64 has been totally forgotten yet is a great, great game.

PS2 definitely didn’t come into its own by then, but still had titles like SSX, RRV, Tekken Tag, Kessen, and Armored Core 2.

 

[GriffinCorp]

It was a fine year. Shenmue, Perfect Dark, Resident Evil:CV, Tony Hawk.

 

[BadBurger]

You guys are going to hate me but I didn't play any of them until years after they were released. All I remember was thinking Baldur's Gate 2 was amazing, and building elaborate death traps in The Sims.

I am pretty sure I played some of those other games down the road but I was so young I don't remember much about them.

 

[LittleBusters]

The Longest Journey(1999) just released 6 weeks ahead of the millennium. Was the first adventure game I'd played in a long time back in 2002 that I enjoyed.

 

[Bonfires Down]

You guys are going to hate me but I didn't play any of them until years after they were released. All I remember was thinking Baldur's Gate 2 was amazing, and building elaborate death traps in The Sims.

I am pretty sure I played some of those other games down the road but I was so young I don't remember much about them.

I forgive you, my son. Now go forth and atone for your sins. Start with Diablo

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

PD & Tony Hawk 2, insanity right there, so much replayability and friends over to game with. Solo Diablo II (some multi) and Deus Ex delivered alright.

 

[Kerotan Frog]

Wow what a year! But I can't believe I'm the only one who voted for MegaMan Legends 2!! That is one of my all time faves! Def thought there'd be more love.

 

[teezzy]

Wow what a year! But I can't believe I'm the only one who voted for MegaMan Legends 2!! That is one of my all time faves! Def thought there'd be more love.

My vote for Grandia 2 and I would like to share our condolences.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Diablo 2.

2000 was a shitty console year for me as I was tired of PS1, my system barely worked (upside down trick didn't help much anymore), never got a DC, and I didn't get a PS2 until I think 2002.

I don't think I played a lot of different games at all in 2000-2001 except Heroes of Might & Magic 3 and Diablo 2.

 

[Kerotan Frog]

My vote for Grandia 2 and I would like to share our condolences.

Condolences accepted. Cheers friend!

 

[TwiztidElf]

Out of those picks, Jet Set Radio.
No Phantasy Star Online?
Strictly Asheron's Call was 1999, but it was 2000 here in my country. This would be my number 1 choice.

 

[Bonfires Down]

No Phantasy Star Online?

You scared me there. But I'm listing by release date in the west so PSO was in 2001.

 

[ValiantTraveler]

Holy shit, what a year. So many classic games released back to back. Jet Set Radio and Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the same fucking day. Japanese gaming was at its peak.

Summer 2000 was magical for me, I spent it with my brother playing on the PS1 non-stop. Also I bought my first video game magazine which of course I still own.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

Deus Ex, Skies of Arcadia, Final Fantasy IX, and Grandia II were the games I voted for. Although I played Deus Ex more than a decade after it originally released, it still ended up being one of my favorite games.

I remember in the official Dreamcast magazine they wrote a best upcoming JRPG article with Grandia II going head-to-head with Skies of Arcadia.

 

[Psykodad]

FF IX.
Couldn't care less about all the other games.

 

[jadefire66]

Deus Ex, Baldur's Gate 2, Thief 2.

 

[Hostile_18]

Rose's are red, violets are blue, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.

Seriously though Deus Ex is probably the greatest game of all time until The Witcher 3 came out IMO. It truly was lightning in a bottle that even the creators didnt know how to replicate. Shame the sequels after it were all so poor IMO. But like Final Fantasy 7, the game stands proudly on it's own.


Also best intro ever;

 

[Handel]

Majora's Mask is my favorite game of all time so that really elevates the year, but the rest of that list is nothing to sneeze at. A top 3 best Final Fantasy, some of the most iconic PC games ever, the last strong creative push of a gaming giant, etc.

I was about to ask where Legend of Dragoon was, but I guess it technically released first in Japan in December of '99, even though for NA it was 2000, and EU 2001. Definitely would have voted for it, for all it's flaws it's still a fairly great game that is special to me.

 

[German Hops]

What a great year for gaming. Not as good as 1998, but still pretty damn good.

 

[MightySquirrel]

Ground Control was sick. I spent so much time with that game.

 

[ROMhack]

Chrono Cross for sure. It's still amazing how they took a well-liked but ultimately paint-by-numbers saturday morning anime and turned it into an ethereal journey across time and memory. For me that's the moment you could really see gaming had grown up. So sad we never saw Break

 

[Bonfires Down]

I was about to ask where Legend of Dragoon was, but I guess it technically released first in Japan in December of '99, even though for NA it was 2000, and EU 2001. Definitely would have voted for it, for all it's flaws it's still a fairly great game that is special to me.

Nope, I made a mistake there and LoD should have been included. I’m definitely not trusting wikipedia for complete info on release dates again.

 

[makaveli60]

What a year that was... I would like to highlight Nox. I know that's not a well-known game but I liked it very much, especially the spells in that game. I was a kid then and I used to imitate Nox in real life with my sister when we had to spend summertime at some relatives in the countryside

 

[BlackTron]

I think 1998-2001 were the best years in gaming and 2000 was really the year of Dreamcast.

At the time, the only one I played on the list was Grandia II so it got my vote. Still my favorite RPG battle system.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

I played a good number of these games, none of them feels like a classic to me... Maybe FF IX is the one I prefer, the Grandia II battle system was great, but it has no interactive world map (you pick a place and you get transferred there), it made the game uninteresting.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Gamers were scared of Majora's Mask and it's time limit, it's actually my favorite Zelda.

 

[StormCell]

Kinda sad how shit 20 years later looks compared to this.

I keep saying this anywhere it's relevant to say on here, and I'm continually met with replies by people who actually think gaming is better than ever. As if we're not missing a shit ton of content that used to get updates every few years. No, everything takes half a decade to create and you get one game in each niche genre if even that. Enjoy your snowboarding game, because it's the only one you're getting this decade!

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Deus Ex aka the GoAT

 

[Sub_Level]

What is Vagrant Story doing in that list of fun games? Odd.

 

[Ian Henry]

You forgot about Tekken Tag Tournament and Dead Or Alive 2.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I think 1998-2001 were the best years in gaming and 2000 was really the year of Dreamcast.

At the time, the only one I played on the list was Grandia II so it got my vote. Still my favorite RPG battle system.

Never had a DC, but I did rent it for a few days. NFL 2k, SC and..... Armada were awesome.

 

[BlackTron]

Never had a DC, but I did rent it for a few days. NFL 2k, SC and..... Armada were awesome.

I only got the chance to rent Armada. Good game but I was 15 and it was overshadowed by a deluge of other titles begging to be had. That's 2000 for ya.

 

[deriks]

Shenmue, Tony Hawk 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 2 on Dreamcast
Perfect Dark for the N64

It was a year of changes

 

[Old Retro]

Marvel VS Capcom 2 gave me thousands of matches over maybe 8 years, both coin op and Dremcast. Syphon Filter 2 had some good ass multiplayer too.

 

[HE1NZ]

OP somehow forgot two Raven Software gems. Soldier of Fortune and Star Trek Elite Force. I've probably finished SoF at least 20 times back in the day.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

What an amazing time, man. It's not nostalgia talking -- the output during 2000 was completely insane. You had bona fide classics launching every other week. There's still games I need to go back and finally get around to playing.

 

[Grand Theft Scratchy]

2000 was also a notable year for having Dragon Warrior I & II re-release on a single cartridge for the Game Boy Color which introduced me to the Dragon Quest series.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Rikku-X]

Shenmue the best game of all time.

 

[Kev Kev]

ffix is one of the best ff's and best games of all time. i remember seeing this jewel case advertised at eb games and wanting it so bad. took me a while before i could get it tho.

 

[Mozzarella]

This is my favorite year in gaming and imo the strongest year for games, especially if you are RPG fan. Hard to select only 4, but i will try after some thinking.

 

[Corgi1985]

Glad this thread got updated so i can be reminded how fucking garbage and boring 2013-2021 has been