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Cover art for Best of 1990

Best of 1990

March 20, 2026 · 1 hr 34 min

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Show notes

Show notes

  • Introductions
  • 250 episodes
  • Started Jan 29 2021
  • Year in Review
  • 96 Games
  • 10 Essential
  • 20 Sports Games
  • 1 Nintendo Game - Tetris
  • Published 7
    • Dance Aerobics
    • Cobra Triangle
    • Dragon Warrior
    • Faxanadu
    • Tetris
    • To the Earth
    • Short Order / Eggsplode!
  • BEST OF 1989
  • This year we won’t be listing our picks. The math has already been calculated and so we will go right into the TOP 10 games of 1989
  • ESSENTIAL GAMES LIST VOTING
  • First, the games on the list - Shout if you have any objections
  • KID ICARUS
  • BIONIC COMMANDO
  • OPERATION WOLF
  • BASEBALL STARS
    • Duck Hunt
    • Super Mario Bros.
    • Balloon Fight
    • Gradius
    • Castlevania
    • Kid Icarus
    • Metroid
    • The Legend of Zelda
    • Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
    • Mega Man
    • Contra
    • Double Dragon
    • Life Force
    • Spy vs. Spy
    • Super Mario Bros. 2
    • Blaster Master
    • Bionic Commando
    • Tecmo Bowl
    • Ninja Gaiden
    • Adventures of Lolo
    • The Guardian Legend
    • Operation Wolf
    • Mega Man 2
    • Baseball Stars
    • Faxanadu
    • Archon
    • Shadowgate
  • Next, the Patreon Fans Games
  • Zelda 2
  • DuckTales
  • Goonies 2
  • Tetris
  • Gyruss
  • Excitebike
  • The Games we wanna add
  • Rygar
  • Gun.Smoke
  • RBI Baseball
  • To the earth
  • 1990
  • Events of 1990
  • A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
  • Double Dragon II: The Revenge
  • The Miracle Piano Teaching System
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Adventures of Lolo 2
  • Snake's Revenge
  • Final Fantasy
  • Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
  • Wall Street Kid
  • Crystalis
  • Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
  • Dragon Warrior II
  • Maniac Mansion
  • Dr. Mario
  • Mega Man 3
  • Dragon's Lair
  • StarTropics
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
  • Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
  • THE GAME BOY EPISODE TEASE

Show notes

  • 1990 by the numbers
  • 170 games
  • 11 Nintendo Published Games
    • Super Spike V'Ball
    • Super Mario Bros. 3
    • Pin*Bot
    • Final Fantasy
    • Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
    • Barker Bill's Trick Shooting
    • Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream
    • NES Play Action Football
    • Dr. Mario
    • Nintendo World Cup
    • StarTropics
  • 15 Essential Games
    • Double Dragon II: The Revenge
    • River City Ransom
    • Super Mario Bros. 3
    • Terra Cresta
    • Super C
    • Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
    • Dragon Spirit: The New Legend
    • Crystalis
    • Final Fantasy
    • Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
    • Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
    • Kickle Cubicle
    • Mega Man 3
    • Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
    • StarTropics
  • TOP 10 GAMES OF 1990
  • MIKE:
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Final Fantasy
  • Mega Man 3
  • Startropics
  • Castlevania 3
  • Crystalis
  • River City Ransom
  • Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
  • Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
  • Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
  • SEAN:
  • Super Mario Bros 3
  • Crystalis
  • Castlevania III
  • Startropics
  • River City Ransom
  • Super C
  • Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu
  • Kickle Cubicle
  • Snake Rattle and Roll
  • Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
  • JOE:
  • SMB3
  • FF
  • Maniac Mansion
  • Mega Man 3
  • Castlevania III
  • Crystalis
  • Supert C
  • River City Ransom
  • Star tropics
  • Chip n Dale
  • AWARDS
  • The “Atari Crash” Award (Most Chaotic Design Decision)
  • Nominees
  • Silver Surfer — one-hit deaths in a crowded shmup lane
  • Dragon Warrior II — encounter spikes + late-game gauntlet
  • Ninja Gaiden II — wind physics + bird RNG
  • The Punisher — on-rail shooter, no zapper
  • Werewolf: The Last Warrior — backflip invincibilities
  • The “World 1-1” Award (Best Tutorial Without a Tutorial)
  • Nominees
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 — 1-1 teach everything again?
  • Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers — Stage 1
  • TMNT II: The Arcade Game — first street teaches spacing/throws
  • The “Manual Was The Game” Award (Best Packaging)
  • Nominees
  • StarTropics — the letter you had to dip in water
  • Final Fantasy — the manual that’s basically a strategy guide
  • Dragon Warrior II — maps/charts that save your sanity
  • Ultima IV — 64 Page Full Color Guide complete with history of Ultima so far
  • The “Italian Plumber on Mushrooms” Award (Best Playable Character)
  • Nominees
  • Mega Man (Mega Man 3) — slide + usual weapon rotation
  • Trevor Belmont (Castlevania III) — swap-able buddies, more flexible kit
  • Mike Jones (StarTropics) — yo-yo hero
  • Jackie Chan — tight responsive kung fu action
  • ESSENTIAL GAMES LIST CHANGES
  • MIKE
  • IN:
    • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
    • Gyruss
    • Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
  • OUT:
    • Shadowgate (Same reason Maniac Mansion isn’t on the list)
    • Terra Cresta
    • Dragon Spirit: The New Legend
    • Snake Rattle 'n' Roll
    • Kickle Cubicle
  • JOE
  • IN:
    • Zelda II
    • Maniac Mansion
    • To The Earth
  • OUT:
  • SEAN
  • IN:
    • Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
  • OUT:
    • Terra Cresta
    • Dragon Spirit
  • Games to look forward to in 1991
  • Less games!
  • Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones
  • Metal Storm
  • Battletoads
  • Uninvited
  • Where's Waldo?
  • Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
  • NES Open Tournament Golf
  • Pirates!
  • Tecmo Super Bowl
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