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Yahoo Games: 1998 The Best Year of Video Games

MasesJanuary 3rd, 2012 by Mases

2011 had one of the best lineups of video games in this generation of consoles. While the software for Nintendo was rather weak for much of the year, they did finish up strong with prime titles like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, and of course Skyward Sword. The titles on other game consoles were huge as well with big names like Portal 2, Minecraft, Skyrim, Batman, and more. The folks over at Yahoo Games have posted what they feel were the best 5 years in video game history. Coming in at #1 is 1998 and that has much to do with the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Here is what they said.

There are good years, there are great years, and then there are years so astounding we’re still shocked they really happened. For us, that’s 1998, the best year in video game history.

Why? Start with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Considered one of the greatest games of all time, it remains as beloved now as it did the day it turned the N64 into a must-own system.

You can read the full article over at Yahoo Games, but Ocarina of Time was the only Zelda reference. The other Nintendo title that dare I say, might have had just as much of an impact as Ocarina of Time did in 1998… was Pokemon Red and Blue for the Game Boy. Pokemon really changed the handheld market and the series has gone on to become one of the most successful franchises in gaming history. Here at Zelda Dungeon we love Pokemon so much that we recently created Pokemon Dungeon.

So what year stands out to you as being the best? For me personally, I think 2011 might be looked back on as one of the best years ever. Although I think because it has so many sequels and games that are undoubtedly going to have future sequels, the year might not appear as massive in the future as it does now. What do you think, does the 1998 lineup of Ocarina of Time, Pokemon Red/Blue, Half-Life, Unreal, Starcraft, Metal Gear Solid, etc… match up with the 2011 lineup? Let us know in the comments below.

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  • Outset_link

    Ya 1998 was pretty good especially because of ocarina of time but 2011 was better in my opionion because of Rayman origins, ratchet and clank all 4 one, and especially skyward sword

    • Outset link

      Oh also minecraft and little big planet 2(I think)

      • The Ancient Hero

        Little Big Planet 2 and All 4 One? Really?!

        • Outset_link

          Just because it's Sony doesn't mean it sucks Sony first party games like those are actually really good you should play them.LBP Is a great platformer, better than Mario in my opionion and the ratchet and clank games are really good. In some of them you can turn your enemies into pigs that help you in battle

          • The Ancient Hero

            I’ve played both games. They’re both decent, in my opinion. But, definitely not anywhere close to some of the games that came out in 2011. Also, Little Big Planet over Mario?! You were joking, right? Oh, please tell me you were joking!

          • Outset_link

            Well I just like LBP a little better because the power ups are a lot more fun to use like the createanator because you can shot giant sombrero hats at your friends while playing multi player(which to me is better than the majority of Mario titles. Also the art style to me is better

          • justinj42

            If you play mulitiplayer on new super Mario bros. wii, you'll change your opinion. I have both LBP and NSMBW and while LBP is fun slapping people, you have to work together in Mario, but there's still competition. It's glorious chaos. Granted, the single player of little big planet is better, but LBP's multiplayer doesn't hold a candle

          • Outset_link

            That's why I said the majoratiy

          • KogamoSJS

            HAH! 'Majora'ity. You may not have meant to, but that is a first-class Zelda pun! You win in the category of humor today, good sir!

          • Outset_link

            Thanx

          • The Ancient Hero

            Forgot to mention, I was disappointed by All 4 One. It was just so much worse than the othet Ratchet and Clank games, just my opinion though. Lets just agree, its better than CoD and BF.

          • Outset_link

            Okay.

          • KogamoSJS

            You have a point. I don't like "LBP"(*shudders* I don't like abbreviations like that), but that doesn't that it's not good. I have that opinion a lot, actually(e.g. Skyrim is amazing, but I don't like it at all). I think Little Big Planet is actually better than Super Mario, even though I like Mario more. My opinion of like or dislike shouldn't have any part in my thoughts of good and bad(e.g. I think Shantae is a terrible game, but I really like it). Anyway, I think 1998 has to take the win this time. 2011 seems better now but in a few years it won't seem that way. It's all about retrospect. Look at the other games they mention(Half-Life, StarCraft, Metal Gear Solid). I can't honestly claim 2011 as better than 1998. It's my opinion, but it's (obviously) what I believe.

    • ocarina64

      ik 2011 brought a lot of amazing games examples, ocarina of time 3DS, skyward sword, and skyrim

      • Pesky Octorok

        Ocarina 64 those were like the three games i actually planned to get (and got) for the later half of 2011 XD

    • bob

      POKEMON B AND W

      • Outset_link

        I know I'm just not a big Pokemon fan

      • Wafflulz

        pokemon black and white was…meh i'll stick to the classic red and blue :)

        • Opti

          And I'll stick to the ones without more bugs than Viridian Forest.

    • unbeknownst

      even though mine is from multiple different years, id say jak 1-3, and sly1-3(and the new one looks cool)

      • unbeknownst

        for ps2 that is nintendo for me would be oot, mm, smg, ssbb, ssbm, la,

  • Pizzaman!

    This WOULD be my favorite game, but that spot is reserved for Super Mario Sunshine, because it was the first video game I ever played.

    Now I know what it's like to have the F*rst comment and not be able to brag about it!

    • Outset_link

      Actually I was first but I didn't want to brag

    • Outset_link

      Sorry I didn't scroll down far enough to see your 2nd comment

    • justinj42

      FLUDD> Navi

    • PutNameHere

      Sunshine = Most of my childhood. Great taste in games!

  • Pizzaman!

    Never mind, I'm the second comment.

  • Ninten

    As much as awesome OOT was and still is, it gets way too much credits. 2011 was really amazing.

    • Heriod77777

      I feel the same, OoT was a fine game but not as great as SS.

      • ssfan

        Are you kidding me? Don't get me wrong, I did really love SS (hence the name), but Ocarina was PERFECT! I mean, Skyward Sword had so many awesome points, but it also has some flaws. After twenty some odd playthrus of OoT, I still just can't find ANYTHING wrong with the game, other than Navi, who, despite her annoying "hello," did go away for about three hours if you just talked to her.

    • James

      Ocarina of Time doesn't get too much credit. Look at Skyward Swrod for example, it used loads of ideas that Ocarina of Time WAS THE FIRST TO USE! I'm sorry, how can a game 'get too much credit' when most the of games today copy ideas it introduced? Ocarina of Time may no longer be the best in technical terms, but at the same time it is the best still for what it did. That's why it gets praised to high heaven.

      Some people REALLY don't understand video games…

  • illmatic

    1998 was amazing. Ocarina of Time and Metal Gear Solid both came out within months from each other, and those games are #1 and #2 in my personal all-time list. Not to mention Pokemon, which I didn't even realize also came out in 1998.

    • bob

      I know, It's kind of creepy. and they both (LOz and pokemon) both released big games in 2011

  • http://kuroshouri.com Kikirini

    Admittedly I didn't get OOT in 1998… found the gold cartridge a couple years later, 2001 I believe, at a lawn sale.
    But oh man, I still break out my N64 and OOT and replay it. It'll always be an amazing game.

  • http://www.youtube.com/mrsonydelight MrSonyDelight

    I was born in '98. :P

  • http://www.youtube.com/mrsonydelight MrSonyDelight

    exactly 3 months before OoT came out.

    • The Ancient Hero

      Cool story, bro!

  • A Link to the Past#1

    skyward sword aint got nothing on ocarina of time besides gameplay.

    • The Ancient Hero

      Skyward Sword has everything on Ocarina of Time, retro fag.

      • Majora's wrath

        Your a jerk just because he thinks ocarina of time is better doesnt make him a fag.

        • The Ancient Hero

          I called him a “retro fag”. That means is loves old games and his vison is clouded by nostalgia. Almost every comment he makes is about how the old games are better than the new ones. Ocarina of Time is a great game, but it had been surpassesd several dozen times, in my opinion. People like him/het really bring the industry down.

          • Majoras wrath

            Retro or not you still called him a fag

          • justinj42

            Retro fag means he is "gay" for retro games. Which means he values retro games over all else. Not that he is a fag. Its just a phrase, he might as well have said "retro lover" but that wouldn't be an insult

          • Adam

            its fine dude many people are still obsessed with OOT. I think MM, TWW, TP, and SS have all surpassed oot. I don't understand why your all attack justinj42 he was expressing his own opinion as well…. and hes not wrong most people who prefer OOT are clouded with nostalgia and dont realize when it comes down to gameplay (combat,exploration, puzzles i mean how many times did we get the same puzzles in oot? at least MM fixed that) Music, and storytelling OOT falls short. Dont get me wrong i still love OOT but its not untouchable like many "retro lovers" claim it to be. HECK i even think ALTTP is better than OOT and deserves more credited since it re-invited the legend of zelda story,gameplay concept ocarina of time is just a 3d ALTTP

          • justinj42

            I was just clarifying, man. Link to the past is my favorite of the series. I was making "retro fag" easy to understand in day-to-day terms. I was in no way agreeing with the ancient hero. I thought that would be understood when I put "gay" in quotation marks, but My bad everyone and my bad 'ALinkToThePast#1

          • The Ancient Hero

            Exactly justin. Obviously, majoras wrath is too naive to understand that.

          • remakeocarinawithHD

            i think =he has a right to his opinion, i am a huge zelda fan, im not gunna start explaining how ive countless hours my life playing it over 10 years. but skyward sword has nothing on ocarina of time, ocarina of time reINVENTED EVERYTHING. it has a forever impact on the gaming industry, skyward sword introduced real sword gameplay that is all. ocarina of time is far better in my opinion and i play it on my 3ds. dont hate me or ''a link to the past'' cuz i like one game better, doesnt mean i dont like both.
            a link to the past is an amazing game btw, u should try it before hating for being older than two years ;p

          • justinj42

            Hey, link to the past is my favorite Zelda game. I was just clarifying, I wasn't agreeing with the ancient hero

    • Dracomajora

      Gameplay’s the most important thing. And it also has graphics. And it’s story was more unique and interesting. And it had orchestrated music.

      • The Ancient Hero

        Exactly, Skyward Sword is far a superior game to Ocarina of Time, in my and most Zelda fan’s opinion. A Link to the Past#1, if you like the old games better, thats okay just don’t tell us about in every single comment. Just don’t do it retro fag!

        • Heriod77777

          Lol, I hate how people cant let go of the past. AND Skyward Sword had much more than gameplay! ( How sad, I bet you didn't even get the game….) Art style, content, graphics, controls, storyline. They barely gave signal that there were other things to do besides dungeons in OoT.

      • ootfan

        I actually prefer Ocarina's gameplay, because it wasn't based solely on the motion control idea, which is overrated. OoT was also way more challenging to me. Don't even start on the music, because SS music was nothing compared to OoT's. Ocarina's music was just plain better, despite not being orchestrated. Graphics don't make a game, and I'm not a huge fan of impressionism anyways. The story of SS was basically just another high school drama, which is not exactly unique.

  • Link and Cuccos

    Personally, 2011 is one of the best years for me.

    Skyward Sword + epic 25th Anniversary concert + unveiling of Zelda HD on Wii U + Zelda Collectible 3DS w/OoT 3D= LEGENDARY

  • Brandikins

    I am shocked that they didn't do 1985. Mario came out that year and saved the whole industry, not to mention selling 40 million copies.

    • Luigicheesecake

      40 MILLION COPIES! I thought that zelda was the bestseller.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/Thareous Thareous

    Many great games came out in '98, but I'd say the N64 era was the best overall.

  • http://epic-role-play.webs.com/ Go_Skyward

    1998, 1886, 2011 = best years for gaming forever. :3

    • Mases

      1886 hmmm… :) 1986 I presume.

      • http://epic-role-play.webs.com/ Go_Skyward

        Opps… yes I meant 1986! The year when Zelda first came out of course! ^^;;;

    • SlashingHorse

      I think 1886 was the best year for gaming. That's when they invented hopscotch I believe.

      • http://epic-role-play.webs.com/ Go_Skyward

        Yes! That still makes it a great year they made millions off of that *pitiful laugh* I meant 1986… darn laptop >.<

  • The Ancient Hero

    2011 was a fantastic year. With amazing games like, Skyward Sword, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Portal 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Ocarina of Time 3D, and inFamous 2. 2012 shows no signs of slowing down, with games like, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mass Effect 3, BioShock: Infinite, and of course the launch of Wii U!

    • dlawson24

      Quite personally I also like Assassins Creed Revelations, i think that was another good game.

  • The Ancient Hero

    Great year overall, except for CoD.

  • BSAD

    Zelda OoT was and still is LEGEN…..wait for it……DARY

  • Om_Nom

    2011 is defiantly the stand out year. The 3DS ,The Zelda 3DS ,Ocarina of time 3D, Skyward sword and the legend of Zelda 25th anniversary. What a brilliant year for games. I mean THE BEST YEAR FOR GAMES!!! And it was also the first year I started being a massive Zelda fan. Wait what about this year? With the wiiU and it's new capabilities. What will the next Zelda be like?

    • Om_Nom

      Wait i also need to include other game's as well Lets start with Skyrim, Super mario 3D land, portal 2. Batman arkam city (Dont know if that is how you spell arkam but anyway), Mario kart 7, Star fox 64 3D and E3 this year. last year will and always is the year for GAMES!!

      • The Ancient Hero

        Never mind about the comment below.

    • The Ancient Hero

      Although, Zelda is my favorite video game series. I suggest you try and find video games outside of Zelda, sometimes.

  • zander

    my best gaming year was probobly 1998 aswell because the 90's was the best but thats when all the great classic games came out! like Zelda oot !

  • AlmoSSBB

    ya 98 was amazing. 2011 was also amazing with all of these amazing games released. im having trouble catching up since i have all 3 consoles.

  • LinksDestiny

    OoT FTW!

  • Vaati Reborn

    Is it wrong I play OoT on Gamecube? I bet it doesn't feel the same…

    • Raichu

      That's the console I beat OoT on. I don't think it makes much of a difference, personally. :)

      • Vaati Reborn

        Thanks, so did I!

  • Princess Zelda

    who can't love good ol' Ocarina of Time.

  • caleb

    i was born in 1998

  • JuicieJ

    It's tough to say. Kinda like if SS or OoT is better (although I do believe it's SS). If I had to pick, though, 1998.

  • Reggie

    When you add the best 1998 N64 games in with the best 1998 PS1 games, 2011 just wants to cry.

    • Heriod77777

      What? Are you saying 2011 was a bad year?

  • http:///http://www.zeldadungeon.net/ awsomeMrlink

    I wasn't born then so I can't agree….. Oot was a great game! Though I don't know what other games came out then.

    • Heriod77777

      For me, I was born that year and at 13 I got OoT on the virtual console and its a fine game.

  • Robert

    Skyrim! 'nuff said

    • Zeldahero11

      You know, I was laughing at your comment, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

  • pjsmoulder

    i'd just like to say, for what it's worth, that i am not a 'retro fag' – i was sixteen when OOT came out. my first experience of the zelda series was LTTP, and i completely fell in love with the whole world in that game. when OOT first came out i didn't seek it out, somebody bought it for me for my eighteenth birthday and i absolutely love it. i never thought anything could live up to the memories from LTTP, but it changed everything.

    and i actually thing MM is even better – even though you couldn't have one without the other! and i wasn't sceptical like everyone else when WW came out. i played it with an open mind, and i genuinely think it is, at least in some respects, the best zelda game.

    but TP and SS, so far, have left me slightly cold. i am certainly not looking at the classic games through retro-rose-tinted glasses. oh, and btw: goldeneye is still one of the best FPS multiplayers around…

    • Heriod77777

      Thats strange…. my suggestion is nostalgia. I love SS, TP is my third favorite Zelda title.

      • remakeocarinawithHD

        you CLEARLY ARE a young in your teenage yearsé. i mean seriously, no offense but you werent born yet or you were in your dipers if you think 1998 wasnt the best year for gaming. all these NOSTALGIA comments kids are doing only mean they were too young enough to understand what was happening. the 64 IS the best console in my opinion and to be honest all of the GAMING SITES agree. perhaps theres a bit of nostalgia, but overall the games back then ARE the games that revolutionized gaming. sure games are awesome now a days too, but i and probably the decade older fans of video games then todays youth, will always never forget the incredible FUN days that 64 days gave us. notible mention DONKEY KONG 64 lol oh if theres any star wars fans out there, swthe old republic on pc is blowing my mind!!!!

      • ootfan

        Don't get me started on TP. It… it just sucks… so badly. There are a million reasons besides its forgettable characters, boring plot, severe lack of difficulty, annoying wolf that had the same controls and attacks as Link's sword, unoriginal and plain art direction, poor music (for a Zelda game), and horrible controls (for the Wii, although these controls were the only thing that kept the Wii version from being as outrageously easy as the GC). However, I think the worst part about it was that it tried too hard to be Ocarina. It was just a bad game overall.

  • dlawson24

    umm, i was only 3 in 1998 so I cant say much for it (sorry '98) but I can say this year was a blast. Zelda Skyward sword ( which i still cant play becasue I dont have a wii anymore * epic frown* ), assassins creed (which I did get to play, fun fun), batman assylum, and the nintendo 3DS release of Ocrina of time ( again I can not play :/), and many other games. It has been a great year I think for all types of gamers, I for hope another great year for 2012, and I sit (anxiously) waiting for the Nintendo Wii U, which will probably be exspensive but im hoping will come out holiday season 2012 or over the summer or sometime before mid 2013.

  • Heriod77777

    Hmmmm……. It is a better year for 2011 to me. Skyward Sword seems better to me than OoT, it may of been a more emotional, revolutionary year but that doesn't stop the awesome games we got in 2011!

  • TwilightKing

    I wasn't alive yet but I still love those games.

  • iWZ

    I may be hated forever for saying this, but I think Ocarina of Time is very overrated. It was great for it's time, yes, and years after. But it's time to move on to bigger and better things. And, no. I'm not just saying this because I love Skyward Sword to death. I felt this way once I got ahold of Wind Waker a while back. <3
    I suppose it's weird how I'm not into Ocarina of Time as much as I used to be, considering Wind Waker is in many ways connected to it. It comes after it in the timeline, after all. I guess Ocarina of Time just lost it's magic to me, which is a shame. :l

  • A_LINK_IN_TIME

    1998? Maybe not but Ocarina of Time remains the second most revolutionary game of all time after Super Mario 64.

    • Subzero-Netherlands

      tottaly true but wasn't lylat wars revo too?

      • A_LINK_IN_TIME

        Sure but not as much as the aforementioned two games.

  • Subzero-Netherlands

    1998 the year my parents bought an n64 and i was first introduced to mario64 and after that we went straight to Oot and man never did a game give me that feeling as that walking for the first time in hyrule field.
    That's what most games nowadays miss (except for uncharted man that game is just epic) giving you the feeling that you really in that world..
    oh yeah buck bumble also came out that year i think crazy good game
    1998 best game year ever!

  • remakeocarinawithHD

    no dirspect to 2011 but 1998 owned you 13 years before you happened. (puts on glasses, DEAL WITH IT)

    • remakeocarinawithHD

      *disrespect

  • VanitasXII

    Good ol' 1998. One of the best games of all time if not THE best game of all time was released on my and my brother's birthdays (OoT released in Japan on my birthday, in North America on my older brother's birthday who incidentally is seven years older than myself). We got a lot of great stuff that year. Sonic Adventure (JPN only, other countries got it in 1999), OoT and so on. I'd relive 1998 if I had the choice to, no doubt.

    • REMAKEOCARINAINHD

      hes seven years older than you, then you were young link and he adult link!! haha that is awesome, and both your birthdays, i mean common that is just too much lol

  • James

    I'm sorry, all those who think 2011 was the best year ever are misguided. 1998 is the best by far. Want some reasons why? Here's a list of games released in 1998:

    Resident Evil 2
    Panzer Dragoon Saga
    Xenogears
    Parasite Eve
    StarCraft
    Unreal
    Banjo-Kazooie
    Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
    Metal Gear Solid
    Spyro the Dragon
    Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
    Fallout 2
    Grim Fandango
    Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
    Half-Life
    The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
    Thief: The Dark Project
    Baldur's Gate
    Star Wars Rogue Squadron
    Suikoden II

    There's LOADS of reasons why 1998 is the best. I'm sorry, 2011 simply doesn't compare. Maybe you had to live through 1998 to really appreciate it for what it was.

    • James

      Oh yeah, and add Pokemon Red and Blue to this list too.

      • James

        And Tekken 3.

    • REMAKEOCARINAINHD

      oh man i remember rogue squadron, such a good game lol

  • Dark Link

    Everyone who thinks Skyward Sword is either better than Ocarina of Time or the best Zelda game are simply blinded by the hype train. I'm sorry, it just isn't. Open your eyes and step in to the real world. The motion controls werea step forward, I'll agree, but aside from that it was far behind other Zelda games in other areas. I don't care if you disagree, play the game again in a few years time, when the hype has died down, and you will see. I mean Ocarina of Time is that good that even Skyward Sword couldn't move away from its ideas. It wasn't as different as Nintendo said it would be.

    • Drake

      I agree.

  • Ryan

    Why is it that whenever somebody says Ocarina of Time is the best are they 'blinded by nostalgia', but you can get away with calling Skyward Sword the best without getting branded as somebody who is 'blinded by the hype train'?

    I'm sorry, just because Skyward Sword is the newest Zelda game that doesn't make it instantly the best. The motion controls are fantastic, but aside from that it doesn't necessarily do anything new or anything better than past 3D Zelda titles. Oh yeah, and the dungeon designs aren't as good as past titles either.

  • HeroOfChurros

    ive always felt like the 3D Zelda games have gotten better after every entry, i feel like MM is better than OoT, WW is better than MM, TP is better than WW, and SS is better than TP. For the most part at least, every Zelda has certain aspects which make them all unique in their own way.

  • TriforceHero

    Ahh the two years everyone thinks are the best just so happen to have Ocarina of Time released, the original in 98 and the 3DS one 2011

  • Pongopeter826

    what happened to the old commenting thing?

  • Walter Bomba

    Well in order for me to come up with this I would have to get all my favorite games from my 16 different consoles and match up the dates lol, I’ll just say the 90′s in general was a million times better then the 2000′s.

  • Anonymous

    The late 90′s and the 64 era in general was amazing. It was a good time to be a Nintendo gamer indeed:
    Ocarina of Time, Mario 64 and Kart, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Smash bros, Diddy Kong Racing, Goldeneye, Harvest Moon 64, Yoshi’s Story, Mario Party, Kirby 64, Star Fox 64, Pokemon Red and Blue (Yellow, Stadium, Snap, etc etc)  And if you want to stretch it out a bit further we can add Majora’s Mask, the two Oracles games, Pokemon Gold/Silver, and Paper Mario to that list. 

    At the time I was completely ignorant to the fact that the best era of video games so happened to land right smack in the middle of my childhood. D:

  • pjsmoulder

    wow. i wouldn’t go that far…

  • pjsmoulder

    i fell for the hype train with twilight princess – partly off of the back of the brilliance of WW. never again.

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