Ranking by era

The best games of the 1990s.

659 games compete in this selection. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past tops it with 1,907 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1991 · Action-adventure 1,907
  2. 2 Super Metroid 1994 · Metroidvania 1,880
  3. 3 Metal Gear Solid 1998 · Action-adventure 1,878
  4. 4 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 1997 · Metroidvania 1,878
  5. 5 Super Mario World 1990 · Platformer 1,871
  6. 6 Pokémon Blue Version 1996 · JRPG 1,867
  7. 7 Pokémon Red Version 1996 · JRPG 1,862
  8. 8 Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game 1997 · RPG 1,860
  9. 9 StarCraft 1998 · Strategy 1,857
  10. 10 Final Fantasy IV 1991 · JRPG 1,857
  11. 11 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998 · Action-adventure 1,853
  12. 12 The Secret of Monkey Island 1990 · Point-and-click 1,853
  13. 13 Street Fighter Alpha 3 1998 · Fighting 1,853
  14. 14 Doom 1993 · FPS 1,851
  15. 15 Final Fantasy VII 1997 · JRPG 1,850
  16. 16 Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings 1999 · Strategy 1,848
  17. 17 Suikoden II 1998 · RPG 1,846
  18. 18 Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition 1998 · JRPG 1,844
  19. 19 Dungeon Keeper 1997 · Strategy 1,844
  20. 20 Doom II: Hell on Earth 1994 · FPS 1,839
  21. 21 Streets of Rage 2 1992 · Beat 'em up 1,839
  22. 22 Fallout 2 1998 · RPG 1,838
  23. 23 Tomb Raider 1996 · Platformer 1,832
  24. 24 Half-Life 1998 · FPS 1,829
  25. 25 Chrono Trigger 1995 · JRPG 1,826
  26. 26 Pokémon Silver Version 1999 · JRPG 1,826
  27. 27 Final Fantasy Tactics 1997 · JRPG 1,826
  28. 28 Final Fantasy III 1994 · JRPG 1,825
  29. 29 GoldenEye 007 1997 · FPS 1,823
  30. 30 Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia 1999 · Strategy 1,820
  31. 31 SoulCalibur 1998 · Fighting 1,811
  32. 32 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 1995 · Platformer 1,809
  33. 33 Mega Man X 1993 · Platformer 1,807
  34. 34 Quake III Arena 1999 · FPS 1,801
  35. 35 Quake II 1997 · FPS 1,800
  36. 36 Banjo-Kazooie 1998 · Platformer 1,796
  37. 37 Resident Evil 2 1998 · Horror 1,792
  38. 38 Homeworld 1999 · Strategy 1,792
  39. 39 Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike 1999 · Fighting 1,788
  40. 40 The Longest Journey 1999 · Point-and-click 1,787
  41. 41 F-Zero X 1998 · Racing 1,785
  42. 42 Super Mario 64 1996 · Action-adventure 1,782
  43. 43 Kirby's Adventure 1993 · Platformer 1,782
  44. 44 Super Castlevania IV 1991 · Platformer 1,778
  45. 45 Thief: The Dark Project 1998 · Action-adventure 1,778
  46. 46 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back 1997 · Platformer 1,773
  47. 47 Age of Empires 1997 · Strategy 1,772
  48. 48 Chrono Cross 1999 · JRPG 1,772
  49. 49 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 1995 · Platformer 1,770
  50. 50 Mario Kart 64 1996 · Racing 1,766
  51. 51 The Curse of Monkey Island 1997 · Point-and-click 1,766
  52. 52 Gran Turismo 1997 · Racing 1,761
  53. 53 Pokémon Gold Version 1999 · JRPG 1,759
  54. 54 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 1993 · Action-adventure 1,757
  55. 55 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 1992 · Point-and-click 1,756
  56. 56 Baldur's Gate 1998 · RPG 1,756
  57. 57 Command & Conquer 1995 · Strategy 1,754
  58. 58 Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge 1991 · Point-and-click 1,752
  59. 59 Diablo 1996 · Action RPG 1,751
  60. 60 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 1992 · Platformer 1,748
  61. 61 Star Fox 64 1997 · TPS 1,748
  62. 62 Unreal Tournament 1999 · FPS 1,746
  63. 63 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX 1998 · Action-adventure 1,746
  64. 64 Theme Hospital 1997 · Strategy 1,745
  65. 65 SimCity 2000 1993 · Simulation 1,743
  66. 66 Rayman 2: The Great Escape 1999 · Platformer 1,742
  67. 67 Crazy Taxi 1999 · Racing 1,741
  68. 68 Star Wars: Episode I - Racer 1999 · Racing 1,739
  69. 69 Half-Life: Opposing Force 1999 · FPS 1,738
  70. 70 EarthBound 1994 · JRPG 1,736
  71. 71 Super Mario Kart 1992 · Racing 1,734
  72. 72 Donkey Kong Country 1994 · Platformer 1,732
  73. 73 Super Smash Bros. 1999 · Fighting 1,731
  74. 74 System Shock 2 1999 · Action RPG 1,725
  75. 75 Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 1996 · JRPG 1,721
  76. 76 Suikoden 1995 · RPG 1,720
  77. 77 Resident Evil 1996 · Horror 1,718
  78. 78 Crash Team Racing 1999 · Racing 1,716
  79. 79 Street Fighter II 1991 · Fighting 1,715
  80. 80 Mortal Kombat II 1994 · Fighting 1,713
  81. 81 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 1994 · Platformer 1,713
  82. 82 Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! 1999 · Platformer 1,711
  83. 83 Silent Hill 1999 · Horror 1,706
  84. 84 Final Fantasy VIII 1999 · JRPG 1,703
  85. 85 Xenogears 1998 · JRPG 1,701
  86. 86 Myst 1993 · Point-and-click 1,700
  87. 87 Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1996 · Strategy 1,697
  88. 88 Shenmue 1999 · Adventure 1,697
  89. 89 Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins 1992 · Platformer 1,694
  90. 90 Sonic the Hedgehog 1991 · Platformer 1,692
  91. 91 Day of the Tentacle 1993 · Point-and-click 1,691
  92. 92 Quake 1996 · FPS 1,687
  93. 93 F-Zero 1990 · Racing 1,683
  94. 94 Tekken 3 1997 · Fighting 1,680
  95. 95 Super Mario Bros. 3 1993 · Platformer 1,679
  96. 96 Grim Fandango 1998 · Point-and-click 1,676
  97. 97 Gunstar Heroes 1993 · Platformer 1,674
  98. 98 Crash Bandicoot 1996 · Platformer 1,673
  99. 99 Mega Man 7 1995 · Platformer 1,672
  100. 100 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis 1999 · Horror 1,670

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Best games of 1990 Top games of 1991 Ranking of 1992 games The best games of 1993 Ranking of 1994 games Top games of 1995 Greatest games of 1996 The best games of 1997 The best games of 1998 The best games of 1999 Top games of the 2020s Top games of the 2010s Greatest games of the 2000s Best games of the 1980s

In detail

The best games of the 1990s, what this ranking says

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past leads this selection with 1,907 ELO points, ahead of Super Metroid and Metal Gear Solid. The 659 games competing in it have played 81,333 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 659
Duels played by those games 81,333
Game in the lead The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,907
Point gap between 1st and 10th 50
Best represented genre Platformer
Last reading September 18, 2026

The best game of every genre in the 1990s

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best game of every genre in the 1990s
Genre Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
Action-adventure 22 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 1,907 590
Platformer 161 Super Mario World 1,871 2,470
JRPG 38 Pokémon Blue Version 1,867 328
RPG 9 Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game 1,860 253
Strategy 52 StarCraft 1,857 426
Point-and-click 41 The Secret of Monkey Island 1,853 294
Fighting 70 Street Fighter Alpha 3 1,853 83
FPS 49 Doom 1,851 447
Beat 'em up 27 Streets of Rage 2 1,839 136
Horror 12 Resident Evil 2 1,792 360
Racing 51 F-Zero X 1,785 109
Action RPG 28 Diablo 1,751 454
TPS 16 Star Fox 64 1,748 179
Simulation 15 SimCity 2000 1,743 166
Puzzle 14 Mario's Super Picross 1,608 47
Card & Board 6 Mario Party 2 1,602 116
Sports 18 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1,585 133
Shoot 'em up 11 Zombies Ate My Neighbors 1,547 71
Arcade 9 Pokémon Pinball 1,509 62

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 100 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Pokémon Red Version +68 1,862
Mortal Kombat II +57 1,713
The Longest Journey +52 1,787

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
Super Mario World Super Mario 64 73 51%
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Half-Life 46 61%
Super Mario World Half-Life 43 56%
Half-Life Super Mario 64 35 54%
Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy VII 33 52%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best game of the 1990s?

According to community votes, the best game of the 1990s is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, with 1,907 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of Super Metroid and Metal Gear Solid, and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of the 1990s are ranked?

659 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 81,333 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which game of the 1990s is climbing right now?

Pokémon Red Version is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 68 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 100 games in the selection moved.

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