HF Retro Game of the Year - 1997 - GoldenEye 007 Wins!

[SniperHF]

So we have game of the year votes from 2011 to 2017 but none from before, so why not do it now?

Slightly different rules since we're talking about old games. Votes can be changed, so if you hear a case or debate it out maybe you'll come out on the other side and you can change it.

Previous years:
2017 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 31%
2016 - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - 20%
2015 - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 35%
2014 - South Park: The Stick of Truth - 15%
2013 - The Last of Us - 29%
2012 - The Walking Dead - 20%
2011 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 48%

Retro Votes:
2010 - Red Dead Redemption - 31.6%
2009 - Assassin's Creed II - 20%
2008 - Fallout 3 - 43.5%
2007 - Mass Effect - 25%
2006 - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 22.8%
2005 - Civilization IV - 22.4%
2004 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 27.4%
2003 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - 46.4%
2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 34.2%
2001 - Grand Theft Auto III - 31.9%
2000 - Diablo II - 20.5%
1999 - Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings - 20%
1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time - 34.5%

Click to read more...

 

[The Crypto Guy]

WOW so many elite games here.

It's between FF7 and Goldeneye, but I don't know how I can not vote Goldeneye for that game changing multiplayer FPS mode and amazing single player mode.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Age of Empires gets my vote.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Mario Kart 64 for me

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

MK64. I sunk days into that game.

I played FFVII years after release (and after FFIX at that) so I never really got the hype for it. It's a decent game on it's own but I don't think it's all that amazing.

 

[McDNicks17]

GoldenEye vs. Mario Kart is too tough.

 

[Blitzkrug]

That's really hard.

Goldeneye kinda passed me by since i was like, maybe 4 when it came but that game's impact on console FPS games cannot really be understated. It was basically the first FPS game on consoles to play "okay-ish" after how much of a butcherjob the console ports of DOOM and Wolfenstein turned out to be. Goldeneye paved the way for actually enjoyable console FPS games like Halo, COD, blahblahblah.

Mario Kart 64 built on the foundation of the original Super Mario Kart, which all things considered was not really that good of a game. Busted AI that makes the modern rubberbanded of MK's Wii, 7 and 8 look like a joke, really wonky drifting mechanics compared to the rest as well to make a household favorite for multiplayer sessions. I also played that game a lot as a kid (admittedly never getting all that good at it because i was too busy trying to find a way into Peach's Castle on Royal Raceway. )

I'll give my vote to MK64.

 

[syz]

The time trial stuff in GoldenEye single player was interesting but otherwise I thought the game was pretty bad, but I'd been playing Quake for a year already by the time it came out.

Quake 2's probably the most important game on the list, but engine aside it was a step down from Quake 1.

Symphony of the Night is probably the only game I'd have any interest in playing today.

 

[S E P H]

That was the hardest poll we've had so far.

 

[Trap Jesus]

MK vs. Star Fox is super tough for me. Replayability vs. one of the best single player campaigns of my youth. Ultimately went with MK.

GoldenEye is/was way overrated.

 

[syz]

GoldenEye is/was way overrated.

Arguably the most ever.

There's a reason FPS on consoles didn't actually start to pick up until dual analog came along. One analog stick was enough to make games like GoldenEye and Turok functional, but they weren't good, and I never got the sense that their DNA really carried forward.

 

[NyQuil]

Goldeneye, Fallout and Mario.

Went Goldeneye.

It wasn’t a very good FPS but it was fun.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

MK64 controls like you're driving a boat. On ice.

 

[Shareefruck]

Goldeneye is terrible and doesn't hold up at all, IMO.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics
2. Vampire Savior
3. Symphony of the Night
4. Saturn Bomberman
5. The King of Fighters 97'

 

[Jovavic]

Castlevania for me. Top 5 OST of all time, one of gamings best secrets, and still plays just as good today, it's a timeless classic

 

[Common Sense]

SOTN. That’s one I replay at least once every year.

 

[Suxnet]

FFT

 

[The Crypto Guy]

LOL at posters saying Goldeneye was overrated. It was probably the most influential console shooter of all time.

Going to guess posters saying that werent even born when it came out..

 

[TheDoldrums]

With the possible exception of Half-Life (also overlooked I see), FF7 is probably the most important and influential game of the 90's. These results are strange.

Goldeneye, a shooter with abysmal controls and no draw distance which takes any precision or skill out of the game?

MK64, still years away from the fine tuning required to make the Mario Kart franchise actually fun?

FF7 was a pioneer in FMV and CGI. It had an insane $40 million marketing budget and the commercials made it seem like an action movie. It tricked people like me into trying it and falling in love with this new form of intelligent gamplay, cinematic storytelling and Japanese eccentricities. 21 years later and I still vastly prefer Japanese made games over Western ones, it all started with FF7. I know that's not an uncommon story either.

Squaresoft leaving Nintendo and developing Final Fantasy for the Playstation was the biggest coup in that generation of console wars. It kicked off a golden age of RPG's on the Playstation and established Sony as the home for interesting Japanese developers, a distinction they still hold 20 years later. FF7 has the most famous plot twist in gaming history. The game is so iconic that the remake announcement is still the biggest moment in E3 history.

If you're having a sleepover at 10 years old, yeah I guess Goldeneye is better. But FF7 was the game of the year and arguably the game of the 90's.

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Went with Mario Kart as it holds up and I still play it with friends to this date.
Goldeneye would be the best option at the time it was released. But yeah, that control scheme and those graphics did not age well.

 

[syz]

Goldeneye is terrible and doesn't hold up at all, IMO.

1. Final Fantasy Tactics
2. Vampire Savior
3. Symphony of the Night
4. Saturn Bomberman
5. The King of Fighters 97'

FFT was 98.

 

[Desdichado93]

Age of Empires gets my vote.

The same here. Definitely one of the most iconic strategy games of all times.

Goldeneye and MK64 are good games but not in the same league as AOE IMO.

 

[Shareefruck]

FFT was 98.

97 in Japan

 

[The Nuge]

Goldeneye might not hold up anymore, but it blew everything away in 97. It’s hands down GOTY

97 in Japan

And we’re using North American release dates...

 

[syz]

Went with Mario Kart as it holds up and I still play it with friends to this date.
Goldeneye would be the best option at the time it was released. But yeah, that control scheme and those graphics did not age well.

Goldeneye wasn't good when it came out, either. Like, Quake 2 is on this list. Quake 1 already existed. Goldeneye's controls were dated as soon as it was released.