Nintendo Games of the 90s: A Guide Across Four Systems

Nintendo spent the 90s running four platforms at once, in different phases of their lives: the NES winding down, the SNES at its peak, the Game Boy running the whole decade, and the Nintendo 64 pushing into 3D at the very end.

NES and SNES

The NES's North American life ended with Wario's Woods on December 10, 1994, its last official North American release. The SNES had launched in North America in 1991 and carried Nintendo through the middle of the decade with titles like Super Mario World (1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America), Super Metroid (1994), and Donkey Kong Country (1994).

Game Boy

The original Game Boy launched in 1989 and ran through the entire decade, from early hits like Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992) to the phenomenon that revived the platform late in the decade: Pokemon Red and Green in Japan (February 1996), which reached North America as Pokemon Red and Blue in September 1998.

Nintendo 64

The N64 launched in Japan on June 23, 1996, and in North America that September, making the jump to full 3D with its launch title Super Mario 64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (November 1998) closed out the console's 90s output.

Where to begin

• Want 2D platforming at its peak? Start with our SNES games guide.
• Curious about the jump to 3D? Start with our Nintendo 64 games guide.
• Following one franchise? See our Mario, Zelda, and Kirby guides.