GOTY for every year since your birth.

[the_great_cessation]

I don't know how many people will actually be willing to do this, but I think it would be kind of fun for everyone to list their pick for GOTY for every year since their birth year, or at least from the earliest age possible. I feel as if it gives good insight into everyone's own personal history with video games.

For me..

1991 - Super Castlevania IV
1992 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1993 - Zombies Ate My Neighbours!
1994 - Donkey Kong Country
1995 - Earthbound
1996 - Kirby Super Star
1997 - Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
1998 - Banjo Kazooie
1999 - Jet Force Gemini
2000 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2001 - Super Smash Bros Melee
2002 - Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
2003 - Beyond Good and Evil
2004 - Fable
2005 - Shadow of the Colossus
2006 - Okami
2007 - God of War II
2008 - Super Smash Bros Brawl
2009 - Brutal Legend
2010 - Red Dead Redemption
2011 - LA Noire
2012 - Journey
2013 - The Last of Us

1998, 2003, 2005 and 2010 were the hardest for me. Every other year I either had a clear winner in mind already (1998, 2006, 2013) or there wasn't much to pick from (2012 or 1992 for instance). I found 2003 and 2005 the hardest because there were so many quality titles that even if I had a clear winner (SotC) I felt as if I was giving a bunch of other games a great disservice. Likewise, I restricted 3D Zelda games as (with the exception of Skyward Sword)as they all placed at the top of their respective year by default, which made for a boring list to make and to read. Hopefully doing so will give better insight into the breadth of my tastes while awarding GOTY honors to the titles that deserve it.

 

[drisky]

1988: Mega Man 2
1989: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
1990: Super Mario 3
1991: Super Mario World
1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993: Star Fox
1994: Sonic and Knuckles
1995: Super Mario World 2
1996: Super Mario 64
1997: Diddy Kong Racing
1998: Pokémon Red
1999: Super Smash Bros.
2000: WWF No Mercy
2001: Golden Sun
2002: Golden Sun: Lost Age
2003: Soul Caliber 2
2004: Tales of Symphonia
2005: Fire Emblem Sacred Stones
2006: Phoenix Wright: Justice for All
2007: Mass Effect
2008: Fallout 3
2009: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010: Valkaria Chronicles 2
2011: Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
2012: Spec Ops: The Line

I haven't played enough new games in 2013 to make a fair judgement on that one. This list took me an hour an I don't even think its very accurate. I kind of regret starting it but there you go.

 

[Roxas1359]

Sure, I'm game as it can show that I didn't really grow up with Nintendo.

1994: Sonic 3 and Knuckles (both were released in the same you and combine into one game) XD
1995: Clockwork Knight 2
1996: Pokemon Red
1997: Megaman Legends (Megaman 64 if you had an N64)
1998: MediEvil
1999: The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
2000: Megaman Legends 2
2001: Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil
2002: Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
2003: Spongebob Squarepants Battle for Bikini Bottom
2004: Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal
2005: Too close for me to call (Kingdom Hearts 2, Ape Escape 3, and much more were released in this year)
2006: Final Fantasy XII
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: One Piece: Unlimited Cruise
2009: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
2010: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (prefer the Final Mix version)
2011: Sonic Generations
2012: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (winner by default as it was the only 2012 game I purchased that came out last year)
2013: Undecided

-2013 is currently up for grabs by Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon, Pokemon X & Y, Sonic Lost World, Wind Waker U, Ducktales Remastered, and a few others.

This list also reveals that Neronium/Roxas1359 really enjoys cartoony games.

 

[MysticSlayer]

1991: Sonic the Hedgehog
1992: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1993: DOOM
1994: Final Fantasy VI
1995: ...I can't believe it, I have never played a single game released in 1995...
1996: Super Mario 64
1997: Mario Kart 64
1998: Rainbow Six
1999: RollerCoaster Tycoon
2000: Mario Party 2
2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002: Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
2003: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2004: Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 version)
2005: Civilization IV
2006: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
2007: ...crap, this one always changes. Just know that, at any moment in time, this might be Super Mario Galaxy, BioShock, or Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
2008: Fallout 3
2009: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
2010: ...like 2007, this can change. For 2010, though, it is Mass Effect 2 and Civilization V
2011: L.A. Noire
2012: Xenoblade Chronicles
2013: Undecided. Tomb Raider and Fire Emblem: Awakening are still on my "To Do" list. There's also Pokemon X and Y, Super Mario 3D World, and Call of Duty: Ghosts are all upcoming games that have me excited. Something tells me, it is going to be one of the ones on this list that gets it, as Shin Megami Tensei IV just isn't up to standards for what most of my Game of the Year games tend to be.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

So...the game that we would have personally picked for GotY? I can get behind that but only because I don't know the actual GotY's...at all...

1988 - Mega Man II (Altered Beast is a close second)
1989 - Tengen Tetris (Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest is a close second. Honorable Mention: POWER GLOVE!)
1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Super Mario World & The Super Nintendo
1992 - Wolfenstein 3D
1993 - Star Fox (Link's Awakening is a close second, Doom is a close third)
1994 - Donkey Kong Country (Super Metroid is a close second)
1995 - Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest (Tales of Phantasia is a close second, Earthbound third)
1996 - Duke Nukem 3D (Resident Evil is a close second)
1997 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Final Fantasy VII, Parappa the Rapper, Colony Wars, Goldeneye 007, Star Fox 64, Fallout, Crash Bandicoot 2: Wrath of Cortex, Diddy Kong Racing and, Mega Man Legends)
1998 - Pokemon Red/Blue (Ocarina of Time is a close second)
1999 - Pokemon Gold/Silver (Final Fantasy VIII is a close second)
2000 - Final Fantasy IX
2001 - Super Smash Bros Melee (Final Fantasy X is a close second, Luigi's Mansion 3rd)
2002 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Kingdom Hearts is a close second)
2003 - Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Knights of the Old Republic is a close second, Otogi is 3rd)
2004 - Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door (San Andreas is a close second)
2005 - Final Fantasy IV Advance (Star Wars Battlefront II is a close second)
2006 - Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (on Gamecube: Marvel Ultimate Alliance is a close second)
2007 - Mass Effect (Guitar Hero 2 is a close second)
2008 - Saint's Row 2 (Assassin's Creed is a close second)
2009 - inFamous
2010 - Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver
2011 - Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim(Dead Rising 2 is a close second)
2012 - Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed (Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition is a close second)
2013(so far) - Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Fire Emblem Awakening is a close second, Wind Waker HD is 3rd)

From about 2005 on to this year, I had a some trouble coming up with selections. 1997 was the best year in gaming as far as I can tell. 2012 was probably the hardest year to decide for, 2013 was also difficult considering most of the games I bought this year (and the last few) were retro games.

 

[Weaver]

Picking games I've actually played:

1986: Metroid
1987: 1943: The Battle of Midway
1988: Battle Chess or Skate or Die!
1989: Ducktales
1990: Commander Keen
1991: Duke Nukem
1992: Super Mario Kart
1993: Tie for me. Betrayal at Krondor is a game me and my Dad played a lot and it was a great bonding moment. Spelling Jungle is a game my sister and I would play for hours and was also a great bonding experience.
1994: X-Com: UFO Defense (looking up the releases at this date, holy shit 94 was a good year)
1995: Warcraft II
1996: Duke Nukem 3D
1997: GoldenEye 007
1998: Half-Life
1999: Unreal Tournament
2000: Perfect Dark
2001: Super Monkey Ball
2002: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
2003: Ragnarok Online
2004: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (yes, really)
2005: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
2006: Prey
2007: Portal
2008: Mirror's Edge
2009: Batman: Arkham Asylum
2010: Bayonetta
2011: To the Moon
2012: Katawa Shoujo
2013: N/A

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

This seems like a great way to kill a lot of time looking up release dates on Wikipedia...

*much later*

1982: Dig Dug
1983: Bomberman
1984: Marble Madness
1985: Gradius
1986: Bubble Bobble
1987: The Legend of Zelda (Metroid a close second)
1988: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (beating Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord)
1989: Mega Man II (beating out Tetris and Shadowgate)
1990: Crystalis (beating Final Fantasy, Jackie Chan's Action Kung Fu, and Mega Man III)
1991: Final Fantasy IV (beating Kabuki Quantum Fighter and Act Raiser)
1992: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (beating Soul Blazer)
1993: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (beating Doom)
1994: Final Fantasy VI (beating Super Metroid, Illusion of Gaia, Mega Man X, and Breath of Fire)
1995: Chrono Trigger (beating Earthbound, Mega Man X2, Yoshi's Island, and Breath of Fire II)
1996: Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (beating Super Mario RPG)
1997: Final Fantasy Tactics (beating Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alundra, Doom 64, and Azure Dreams)
1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (beating Parasite Eve, Xenogears, and Tenchu: Stealth Assassins)
1999: Silent Hill (beating Koudelka and The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver)
2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (beating Vagrant Story and Tenchu 2:Birth of the Stealth Assassins)
2001: Silent Hill 2 (beating Shadow Hearts)
2002: Metroid Prime (beating Fatal Frame and Metroid Fusion)
2003: Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (beating Fatal frame 2, and Silent Hill 3)
2004: Metroid Prime 2: Echos (beating Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Siren, R-Type Final, Katamari Damacy, and Tenchu: Fatal Shadows)
2005: Shadow of the Colossus (beating Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, and Fatal Frame III: The Tormented)
2006: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (beating Steambot Chronicles, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, and Okami)
2007: Etrian Odyssey (beating Rogue Galaxy and Assassin's Creed)
2008: Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (beating Mega Man 9, Siren:Blood Curse, and Valkyria Chronicles)
2009: Demon's Souls (beating Borderlands, and Assassin's Creed 2)
2010: Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City (beating Mega Man 10, and 3D Dot Game Heros)
2011: Dark Souls (beating The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Radiant Historia)
2012: Dragon's Dogma (beating Borderlands 2 aka a REALLY slow year -_-
2013: (hopefully) The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (beating Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, Mighty Switch Force! 2, and Steamworld: Dig aka I haven't played many games this year v_v)
2014: Dark Souls 2 (beating every other game I assume)

 

[FourCartridge]

Let me take a crack at it...

1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993: Star Fox
1994: Daytona USA
1995: Command & Conquer
1996: NiGHTS into Dreams...
1997: Gran Turismo
1998: Pokemon Gen I
1999: Sonic Adventure
2000: Jet Set Radio
2001: Sonic Adventure 2
2002: Super Smash Bros. Melee
2003: Sonic Heroes
2004: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
2005: Call of Duty 2
2006: Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2009: Arkham Asylum
2010: Blur
2011: Sonic Generations
2012: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

Don't ya think these things say a lot about us? But then again, this is stuff I already knew.

 

[FPLOON]

This seems like a great way to kill a lot of time looking up release dates on Wikipedia...

I already do that with both movies and TV shows older than me... why not add video games to the mix?

OT:
1992: Ecco the Dolphin
1993: Secret of Mana
1994: Earthworm Jim
1995: EarthBound
1996: Metal Slug
1997: PaRappa the Rapper
1998: Pokémon Yellow
1999: Sonic Adventure
2000: Jet Set Radio
2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002: Kingdom Hearts
2003: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
2004: Half-Life 2
2005: killer7
2006: Sonic the Hedgehog Dead Rising
2007: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
2008: Tales of Vesperia
2009: Batman: Arkham Asylum
2010: 3D Dot Game Heroes
2011: Child of Eden
2012: Skullgirls
2013: Rayman Legends

Well, it was easy (except 1997[footnote]Damn, what a year...[/footnote]...) until after 2001... Plus, I ended up placing restrictions on myself throughout, so certain games I would have chosen did not make the GOTY list... (Most of the games on this list I have played, but I call that just a "pure coincidence", at best[footnote]*shifty eyes*[/footnote]...)

Edit:

Don't ya think these things say a lot about us?

I don't think so... I'm sure everyone in this tread took this as subjective as possible... *eye twitches*

 

[Shadowstar38]

Only a few I can think of off the top of my head.

1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993: Sonic CD
1994: Sonic 3
1995: Twisted Metal
1996: Crash Bandicoot
1997: Tekken 3
1998: Pokemon Yellow
1999: Ape Escape
2000: Sypro: Year of the dragon
2001: Sonic Adventure 2
2002: Kingdom Hearts
2003: Pokemon Ruby
2004: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
2005: Devil May Cry 3
2006: Kingdom Hearts 2
2007: Assassin's Creed
2008: Saint's Row 2
2009: Infamous
2010: Mass Effect 2
2011: Batman Arkham City
2012: Rayman Origins
2013: Bioshock Infinate

Anyone else feel like the choices got harder as you got closer to present day?

 

[Nonomori]

1991: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1992: Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1993: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
1994: Super Metroid
1995: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
1996: Super Mario 64
1997: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
1999: Pokémon Gold/Silver
2000: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
2001: Ico
2002: Metroid Prime
2003: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2004: Katamari Damacy
2005: Shadow of the Colossus
2006: Ōkami
2007: Portal
2008: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
2009: Demon's Souls
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: Dark Souls
2012: Journey
2013: The Last of Us (so far...)

Ico and Silent Hill 2 were released in the same day! That was a hard choice.

 

[Iori Branford]

From each year what I feel has the best mix of game design quality, influence on me, and played-it-a-shitton. I consider the year of a game to be the year of its first release as far as I can find.

84: Karateka
85: Super Mario Bros
86: Castlevania
87: Flying Shark
88: Ninja Gaiden
89: Herzog Zwei
90: Thunder Force 3
91: Sonic
92: Wolfenstein 3D
93: Betrayal at Krondor
94: Monster World 4
95: Tekken 2
96: Battle Garegga
97: Blades of Exile
98: Thief
99: SWAT 3, with Jagged Alliance 2 close behind
00: Deus Ex
01: Hostile Waters Antaeus Rising
02: Dodonpachi Blissful Death
03: Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield
04: Trails in the Sky
05: Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
06: Bug Princess 2
07: Raiden 4
08: Castlevania Order of Ecclesia
09: Batman Arkham Asylum
10: Akai Katana
11: Dungeons of Dredmor
12: Hotline Miami
13: Gunpoint, but Shadow Warrior is a strong competitor

 

[Fireaxe]

Starting from when I was 5,

1994: SimCity 2000
1995: Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
1996: Diablo (which was almost 1997 but anyway).
1997: Tekken 3
1998: Pokémon (Gen I)
1999: Unreal Tournament
2000: Diablo II
2001: Golden Sun
2002: Warcraft III
2003: Fire Emblem
2004: World of Warcraft (I say this, then duck, but at release I thought it was a damn good game)
2005: Civilization IV
2006: Titan Quest
2007: Team Fortress 2
2008: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2009: As someone who didn't have a 360 or ps3, 2009 was worth sleeping through games wise (2008 wasn't much better).
2010: Starcraft 2
2011: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
2012: Far Cry 3
2013: Eador: Masters of the Broken World

Honourable mentions: Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat for 1995, Starcraft for 1998, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for 2002, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for 2003.


The 5 year period from 2000 to 2004 (inclusive) was probably the best, imo.

 

[feeback06]

okay this will take a second:
1988: Zelda 2
1989: Mega Man 2
1990: Super Mario Brothers 3
1991: Street Fighter 2
1992: Sonic 2
1993: Doom
1994: Final Fantasy VI
1995: Chrono Trigger
1996: Nights into Dreams
1997: Final Fantasy VII
1998: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
1999: Silent Hill
2000: Chrono Cross
2001: Silent Hill 2
2002: Kingdom Hearts
2003: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
2004: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
2005: Resident Evil 4
2006: Kingdom Hearts 2
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
2009: Left 4 Dead 2
2010: Red Dead Redemption
2011: The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
2012: The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings Enhanced Edition
2013: Grand Theft Auto 5 (so far)

 

[lacktheknack]

1992: Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
1993: Myst/Day of the Tentacle
1994: Sonic 3 and Knuckles
1995: I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
1996: Daggerfall/Tomb Raider
1997: Riven
1998: Tomb Raider III

OK, it gets hard here.

1999: Rayman 2: The Great Escape
2000: Spyro: Year of the Dragon
2001: Myst III: Exile
2002: Dark Fall (the mystery/horror game)
2003: Uru: Ages Beyond Myst (which slowly turned into Myst Online, GO PLAY IT RIGHT NOW)
2004: Myst IV: Revelation/Scrapland
2005: Myst V: End of Ages
2006: Titan Quest/Oblivion
2007: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
2008: Mirror's Edge
2009: Tropico 3
2010: Just Cause 2
2011: Minecraft/Saints Row the Third
2012: Katawa Shoujo/Rayman Origins
2013: Could be Tomb Raider or Miasmata, I'm not sure which yet.

If anyone says bad things about Myst, I will CUT you.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I don't know what games came out each year... This is going to take a lot of Wikipedia.

Okay, here we are:
1991: Sonic the Hedgehog
1992: Super Mario Kart
1993: Shining Force
1994: Jazz Jackrabbit
1995: Chrono Trigger
1996: Super Mario 64
1997: GoldenEye 007
1998: Ocarina of Time
1999: Super Smash Bros.
2000: Majora's Mask
2001: Conker's Bad Fur Day
2002: 007 Nightfire
2003: The Wind Waker (my favourite Zelda game)
2004: Halo 2
2005: Battlefield 2
2006: Oblivion
2007: Bioshock
2008: Fallout 3
2009: LoL or Assassin's Creed II
2010: Mass Effect 2
2011: Skyrim
2012: Tie between Borderlands 2 and Dishonored
2013: Haven't decided yet. It's between Bioshock Infinite and Saints Row IV right now.

 

[Evonisia]

Disclaimer: I may miss a year or two, I honestly can't remember the games I played when I was young.

1998: Half-Life, obvious choice but still, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just a shame that I find it hard to get back into and it' sequels were boring.

1999: Rayman 2. It was a really good and occasionally hard platformer which, like all Rayman games has it's charms and was made to be a fun game, and succeeded.

2001: Silent Hill 2. Ok it's admittedly not my favourite game of the series but it was decent in it's own write. It certainly seemed like the benchmark of it's genre until Silent Hill 3 came out.

2003: Silent Hill 3. Better than Silent Hill 2 in nearly every way and I will hear nothing else. Honourable mention to The Simpsons: Hit and Run

2004: FarCry. I give this game too much praise. The stealth and the AI are a bit dodgy, the story gets a little muddy half way through and the difficulty curve is terrifying. Everything else is brilliant. Honourable mention to Halo 2.

2005: World of WarCraft. I'm putting it here because this was it's European release date. Ultimatley WoW's impact has been imprinted in gaming history but I enjoy for what it is. Gameplay's solid, race/class variety is vast, story can't decide whether it's all right or terrible, world building is amazing.

2006: TES IV: Oblivion. Pretty much the same as WoW, bar the variety thing and occasionally the gameplay. Still, nice world and interesting quests. Honourable mention for Dead Rising.

2007: BioShock. Good pacing, atmosphere, difficulty curve, interesting characters and was genuinely fun to play. Honourable mention to Halo 3 which sadly was too short and even for inconsistent in tone than Halo 2. Portal, too, which is one of only two games I can't find anything to complain about.

2008: Saints Row 2. It took GTA's former identity, improved on GTA's identity and it's predecessor's gameplay, world and story to create a bundle of joy. I played the 360 version, hence why I'm saying that it's not broken.

2009: Halo Wars. Bringing RTS to consoles was a bad move but Halo Wars was still quite enjoyable in it's own way and is worthy of my praise.

2010: Dead Rising 2. Improved on Dead Rising just by removing the evil difficulty curve and the AI. It is mindless sandbox fun and amongst most 2010 games like Halo: Reach and Mafia II it wasn't boring.

2011: Tie between Portal 2 and Rayman Origins. Portal 2 may not be perfect but it's still a brilliant puzzle game and it at least tried to outdo it's predecessor. Rayman Origins is the second game I can't really fault and is colourful, immature and beautifully crafted fun.

2012: Spec Ops: The Line. Finally called out Modern Military Shooters for what they are, the rest you already know.

2013: Remember Me (so far). Unique idea, well executed. Has it's faults but has certainly earned a place in my good graces.