1996 in video games


1996 has seen many sequels and prequels in video games and several new titles such as Blazing Heroes, Super Mario 64, NiGHTS into Dreams..., Crash Bandicoot, Resident Evil, Dead or Alive, Duke Nukem 3D and Tomb Raider.

Events

ReleaseTitleSystemDeveloper/PublisherNotes
January 25Guardian HeroesSatTreasure/Segaa beat-em-up game developed by Treasure
January 26'SatMicro Cabin/Segaa tactical RPG
January 29Duke Nukem 3DDOS3D Realms/GT Interactivea popular first person shooter
January 31Mega Man X3SNESCapcomthird X installment in popular Mega Man franchise.
February 9Bahamut LagoonSNESSquareSoftTactical RPG spin-off in the Final Fantasy series, before Final Fantasy Tactics.
February 23'SNESSquareSoftSequel to strategy Super Famicom RPG Front Mission.
February 27Pokémon Red and GreenGBNintendolaunched a wildly popular game series
February 29Civilization IIWinMicroProseacclaimed sequel to the highly influential 1991 4X game
February 29Ripper DOSTake Two InteractiveInteractive movie, Point-and-click adventure Single Player game
February 29'Win, Sat, PS1Mirage/Acclaimthe sequel to the fighting game, Rise of the Robots.
February 29'DOSLooking Glass Studioscritically acclaimed FPS
February 29'WinActivision11th game in the Zork series, employing 360-degree views of environment
March 9Super Mario RPGSNESSquareSoft/Nintendobeginning of the long-running series of Mario RPGs
March 21Kirby Super StarSNESHAL Labs/Nintendoconsidered to be one of the best games in the Kirby franchise.
March 22Resident EvilPS1Capcomone of the foundational games in the survival horror genre, for a time it held the record for best-selling PlayStation game
March 22Panzer Dragoon II ZweiSatTeam Andromeda/Segaan acclaimed rail shooter
March 29'SNESTOSE/Bandaithe last Super Famicom game in the Dragon Ball Z franchise.
April 20Barbie Fashion DesignerWinThe game's strong sales sparked a renewed interest in developing games targeting girls.
April 26Jumping Flash! 2PS1Exact/SCEASequel to the first true 3D platformer.
April 26The Legend of OasisSatSega/AncientPrequel to the Genesis Zelda-style action game Beyond Oasis.
April 30Indiana Jones and His Desktop AdventuresWin, MacLucasArtsAdventure game developed by LucasArts in the popular Indiana Jones franchise specifically to run in windowed form.
May 14'SNESIntelligent Systems/Nintendothe fourth game in the popular Fire Emblem series.
May 24Metal SlugNeoSNKthe first in the Metal Slug series that proved popular in the arcades.
May 31Final DoomDOSid SoftwareDespite the name, it would be followed less than a year later by Doom 64.
May 31Kirby's Block BallGBHAL Labs/NintendoBreakout-inspired game in popular Kirby franchise
JuneLast BronxArcadeSegaPorted to the Sega Saturn and Windows
June 22QuakeDOSid Softwareadvanced 3D graphics technology and started a franchise that has sold more than 4 million games
June 23Super Mario 64N64NintendoOne of two Nintendo 64 U.S. launch games. An archetype for nearly every 3D platformer which followed it, from the day of release it was widely hailed as one of the greatest games of all time.
June 27Shining WisdomSatCamelot/SegaAction adventure game in the Shining series
July 5NiGHTS into Dreams...SatSegaThe advertising campaign features the rebirth of the Sega Saturn; August 21
July 19Saturn BombermanSatHudson
July 19Star OceanSNEStri-ace/Enixthe first game in the Star Ocean series.
July 25The King of Fighters '96Neo, NeoCD, SatSNKan entry in the popular King of Fighters series.
July 26'Sat, PS1Taito Corporation/AcclaimThe first home versions of the popular arcade puzzle game.
July 31'DOS, WinSierra On-Linea controversial sequel to the controversial Phantasmagoria.
July 31Virtua Fighter KidsSat, ArcadeSega AM2a spin-off in the Virtua Fighter series
August 25Tekken 2PS1Namcothe second game in the popular fighting game series Tekken
August 31'WinBethesda Softworksan evolution of the sandbox RPG started with '
August 31Die Hard TrilogyWin, PS1, SatProbe Entertainment/Fox Interactive3 original games in 1 disk, each based on a different movie in the series.
August 31Tetris AttackSNES, GBIntelligent Systems/Nintendofirst release of the popular Panel de Pon series in the US.
August 31Madden NFL 97SMD, PS1, Win, SNES, Sat, GBEA Sports/Electronic ArtsThe first Madden game on gen 5 platforms.
August 31Beyond the BeyondPS1Camelot/SCEAThe first traditional Japanese-style RPG for the PlayStation
August 31Jet MotoPS1SingleTrac/SCEAA futuristic motocross style hoverbike racing game.
SeptemberVirtua Fighter 3ArcadeSega AM2A fighting game considered to have the most technically impressive graphics at the time.
September 9Crash BandicootPS1Naughty Dog/Universal/SonyCrash was used as the mascot for the PlayStation console.
September 14GunGriffonSatGame Arts/Segacritically acclaimed mech game, first in its series.
September 20'PS1Atlusfirst game in the Persona series, a spin-off series of the Megami Tensei series. Also the first Megami Tensei-related game to release outside Japan
September 26Pilotwings 64N64NintendoOne of two Nintendo 64 U.S. launch games.
September 27Meridian 59Win3DOone of the first MMORPGs.
Wipeout XL/2097PS1Psygnosisa poster child of the PlayStation for pop culture infusions and sleek extreme action
September 30Shattered SteelDOSBioWare/Interplayfirst game developed by BioWare
September 30Street Fighter Alpha 2Arcade, SNES, PS1, SatCapcomsecond game in the Street Fighter Alpha spin-off series
September 30Mr. BonesSatZono/Segaplatformer for the Saturn
September 30Tobal No. 1PS1DreamFactory/SCEAfighting game famous for including a demo for Final Fantasy VII.
September 30Formula 1PS1Bizarre Creations/SCEAfirst racing game developed by Bizarre.
September 30Donkey Kong Land 2GBRare/Nintendosecond Donkey Kong Land game
October 10Mortal Kombat TrilogyN64, PS1, R-Zone, Sat Avalanche, Midway, Point of View
October 15Marathon InfinityMacBungieThe last game in the Marathon trilogy.
October 31'DOSWestwood Studiosthe second major title in the Command & Conquer universe, and one of the most popular
October 31Master of Orion IIDOSSimtex/MicroProse
October 31The NeverhoodWinThe Neverhood Inc./DreamWorksThe game is done almost entirely in claymation and has gained a sequel.
October 31Drowned GodWinEpic Multimedia Group/InscapeAdventure game.
October 31SimCopterWinMaxisFlight simulation game in popular Sim series.
October 31King's Field IIIPS1FromSoftware/ASCII Entertainmentthe last of three games in the King's Field series released for the PlayStation.
October 31DeathDromeWinZipper Interactive/ViacomFirst game developed by Zipper Interactive.
October 31WWF In Your HouseDOS, PS1, SatAcclaimFirst WWF game developed specifically for consoles.
October 31Twisted Metal 2PS1SingleTrac/SCEASecond game in the popular Twisted Metal franchise.
October 31Destruction Derby 2PS1Reflections Interactive/SCEASecond game in the popular Destruction Derby franchise.
October 31NBA Live 97PS1, Sat, SNES, SMDElectronic Arts, EA Sports
October 31Pandemonium!PS1, Sat, Win Electronic Arts, EA Sports
November 1'PS1, WinSilicon Knights/Crystal DynamicsFirst game in the Legacy of Kain series.
November 15Tomb RaiderPS1, Sat, DOSCore Design/EidosAction adventure game which was among the year's most critically acclaimed games and proved highly influential on both 3D games development and cinematic presentation
November 20Sonic 3D BlastSat, SMDSega/Traveller's TalesIsometric platformer in the popular "Sonic the Hedgehog" series.
November 22'SNESRare/Nintendothe third installment to the popular Donkey Kong Country franchise
November 25Killer Instinct GoldN64Rare/Nintendoa home fighting game based on the arcade's Killer Instinct 2.
November 25Bubsy is 3D in "Furbitten Planet"PS1Eidetic/AccoladeNoted for its negative reception. Was the last title in the Bubsy series for 21 years.
November 26Area 51PS1, Win, SatMesa Logic/Atari GamesPorted versions of the classic arcade shooter.
November 26Dead or AliveArcade, Sat, PS1 Team Ninja/TecmoThe first game in the Dead or Alive series of fighting games.
November 30'Sat, PS1Konami/Appaloosa Interactivethe first true 3D entry in the popular Contra series
November 30Dragon ForceSatSega/Working Designsa combination of war simulation and RPG
November 30Fighting VipersSat, ArcadeSega AM2a popular fighting game.
November 30Virtua Cop 2Sat, ArcadeSega AM2a popular light gun game
November 30Sat, ArcadeCRI/Segathe first game in the Virtual On series
November 30Bug Too!Saturn, WinSega/Realtime Associatesa sequel to Bug!
November 30FIFA Soccer 97SMD, PS1, Win, SNES, Sat, GBEA Canada/Electronic Arts
December 3N64LucasArts/Nintendoone of the first Nintendo 64 games, an action game in the popular Star Wars franchise.
December 14 Mario Kart 64N64NintendoThe Mario Kart series first 3D game.
December 17Mega Man 8PS1CapcomThe first Mega Man game to be released on PlayStation.
December 19TerranigmaSNESQuintet/NintendoPopular RPG famous for being released in Europe but not in America, a rarity in the mid-1990s. Also a spiritual successor to Illusion of Gaia.
December 31Death RallyDOSRemedy Entertainment/GT Interactivethe first game developed by Remedy Entertainment.
December 31NBA Hangtime Arcade, SNESMidwayarcade-style basketball game developed by Midway.

Hardware

1996 saw a major shakeup in the crowded home console market, with the Virtual Boy, Atari Jaguar, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, Sega CD, 32X, and CD-i all being discontinued.

Critically acclaimed titles

and GameRankings are aggregators of video game journalism reviews.
GamePublisherRelease DatePlatformMC scoreGR score
Super Mario 64NintendoSeptember 26, 1996Nintendo 6494/10096.41%
Wipeout XL/2097PsygnosisSeptember 30, 1996PlayStation93/10094.75%
QuakeGT InteractiveJune 22, 1996DOS94/10093.22%
Civilization IIMicroProseFebruary 29, 1996Microsoft Windows94/10091.29%
Tekken 2NamcoAugust 25, 1996PlayStation89/10092.50%
Wave Race 64NintendoNovember 1, 1996Nintendo 6492/10090.67%
Realms of the HauntingInterplayDecember 31, 1996Microsoft Windows91.86%
Tomb RaiderEidos InteractiveOctober 25, 1996PlayStation91/10090.02%
Resident EvilCapcomMarch 30, 1996PlayStation91/10087.23%
VirginNovember 22, 1996DOS90/10090.91%
Dragon ForceSegaNovember 30, 1996Sega Saturn89.64%
Guardian HeroesSegaJanuary 25, 1996Sega Saturn89.20%
Super Mario RPGNintendoMarch 9, 1996SNES89.12%
Duke Nukem 3DGT InteractiveJanuary 29, 1996DOS89/10088.50%
NiGHTS into Dreams...SegaJuly 5, 1996Sega Saturn88.56%
Pilotwings 64NintendoSeptember 26, 1996Nintendo 6480/10087.52%
Panzer Dragoon II ZweiSegaMarch 22, 1996Sega Saturn87.50%