1995 in video games

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List of years in video games
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1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest VI , Mega Man 7 , Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island , Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest , and Tekken 2 , along with new titles such as Mario's Picross , Battle Arena Toshinden , Chrono Trigger , Rayman , Twisted Metal , Star Wars: Dark Forces , Destruction Derby , Wipeout and Jumping Flash!

Contents

The year's highest-grossing arcade game in Japan was Virtua Fighter 2 , while the best-selling arcade video games in the United States were Daytona USA (for the second year in a row) and Mortal Kombat 3 . The home video game with the highest known sales in 1995 was Dragon Quest VI, despite only releasing in Japan. The Super Famicom was the best-selling game console in Japan, while the North American Super Nintendo was the best-selling console in North America.

Hardware releases

Sega Saturn Sega-Saturn-Console-Set-Mk1.png
Sega Saturn

Top-rated games

Major awards

Category/Publication Game Players
1995 Awards
(Christmas 1995) [5]
Gamest
9th Gamest Awards
(December 1995) [6]
GameFan
4th Annual 1995 Megawards
(January 1996) [7]
GamePro
1995 Editors' Choice Awards
(February 1996) [8]
Electronic Gaming Monthly
1996 Buyer's Guide Awards
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power Awards
(May 1996) [9]
Game of the Year Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Yoshi's Island (16-bit),
Jumping Flash! (32-bit)
Twisted Metal
Best Arcade Game Alpine Racer Virtua Fighter 2 Tekken 2 Tekken 2
Best PlayStation Game Wipeout Jumping Flash! Doom Twisted Metal
Best Saturn Game Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Panzer Dragoon
Best SNES Game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Yoshi's Island Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Chrono Trigger Chrono Trigger
Best Genesis Game NHL 96 Vectorman Vectorman Vectorman
Best 3DO Game Blade Force D Wolfenstein 3D Gex
Best Jaguar Game Rayman Defender 2000 Cannon Fodder
Best Neo-Geo Game World Heroes Perfect The King of Fighters '95
Best CD-i Game Chaos Control
Best Sega CD Game Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side Earthworm Jim: Special Edition Lunar: Eternal Blue
Best 32X Game Virtua Fighter WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game Virtua Fighter
Best Game Boy Game Arcade Classic series ( Asteroids , Missile Command , Centipede , Millipede , Galaga , Galaxian , Defender , Joust ) Donkey Kong Land Donkey Kong Land Donkey Kong Land Donkey Kong Land
Best Game Gear Game Garfield: Caught in the Act Ristar Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Best Virtual Boy Game Mario's Tennis Red Alarm Mario's Tennis Red Alarm Virtual Boy Wario Land
Best StoryUn­known Chrono Trigger
Best Visuals Virtua Fighter 2 (32-bit),
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (16-bit)
Virtua Fighter 2 Rayman Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Best Music/Sound Twisted Metal Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge (Night Warriors) Skeleton Warriors Chrono Trigger and Rayman (tie) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Best Fighting Game Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Virtua Fighter 2 and Killer Instinct (tie) Battle Arena Toshinden Killer Instinct
Best Sports Game World Series Baseball (Saturn) NFL GameDay NFL GameDay NHL 96
Best Action/Platform Game Jumping Flash! Puyo Puyo 2 Yoshi's Island Yoshi's Island
Best RPG Chrono Trigger EarthBound Chrono Trigger Chrono Trigger Chrono Trigger
Best Shooter Virtua Cop TwinBee Yahho! Panzer Dragoon and Pulstar (tie) Philosoma
Best Driving/Racing Game Wipeout Sega Rally Championship and Wipeout (tie) Ridge Racer
Best Flight Simulator Warhawk Warhawk Air Combat
Best Adventure Game Beyond Oasis D , Mansion of Hidden Souls , Discworld (tie)Un­known Chrono Trigger

Other Awards

AwardsGame of the YearPlatformGenreDeveloperRef
Nintendo Power Chrono Trigger SNES Japanese RPG SquareSoft
Popular Mechanics [10]
TheGamer [11]
GameRant [12]
IGN [13]
WhatCulture [14]
Video Software Dealers Association Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest SNES Platformer Rare [15]
Parent's Choice Awards [16]
Game Informer [17]
IGN Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness PC Strategy Blizzard [18]

Famitsu Platinum Hall of Fame

The following video game releases in 1995 entered Famitsu magazine's "Platinum Hall of Fame" for receiving Famitsu scores of at least 35 out of 40. [19]

TitlePlatformPublisherGenreScore (out of 40)
Virtua Fighter 2 Sega Saturn Sega Fighting 39
Ridge Racer Revolution PlayStation Namco Racing 39
Tekken PlayStationNamcoFighting38
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Furai no Shiren (Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer) Super Famicom Chunsoft Roguelike 38
Sega Rally Championship Sega Saturn Sega Racing36
Virtua Fighter Remix Sega SaturnSegaFighting35
King's Field II PlayStation FromSoftware Role-playing 35
Boxer's Road PlayStationNew Corporation Boxing 35
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Sega Saturn Atlus Role-playing35

Financial performance

Highest-grossing arcade games

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1995, according to the annual Gamest and Game Machine charts.

Rank Gamest [6] Game Machine [20]
TitleManufacturerTitleTypePoints
1 Virtua Fighter 2 Sega Virtua Fighter 2 PCB / DX 7887
2 Street Fighter Zero (Street Fighter Alpha) Capcom Daytona USA 2P / DX 3721
3 Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge (Night Warriors)Capcom Sega Rally Championship 2P / DX3456
4 Tekken Namco Virtua Cop Dedicated 3204
5 The King of Fighters '94 SNK Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move) PCB 3186
6 Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo)Capcom Taisen Puzzle-Dama (Crazy Cross)PCB3111
7 X-Men: Children of the Atom Capcom Puyo Puyo 2 PCB2639
8 Shin Samurai Spirits (Samurai Shodown II)SNK Tetris (Sega) PCB2638
9 Tekken 2 Namco Shanghai III PCB2455
10 Puzzle Bobble (Bust-a-Move) Taito Ace Driver Dedicated2414

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the highest-grossing arcade video games of 1995, according to the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) and Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA).

RankAAMA [21] [22] AMOA [23] [24]
TitleAward Dedicated cabinet Conversion kit
1 Daytona USA ,
Neo Geo MVS,
Mortal Kombat 3
Diamond Cruis'n USA Mortal Kombat 3
2 Daytona USA ,
Killer Instinct ,
Mortal Kombat II ,
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat II ,
Raiden II ,
Tekken ,
X-Men: Children of the Atom
3
4 Sega Rally Championship ,
WWF WrestleMania ,
Area 51
Platinum
5
6
7 2 on 2 Open Ice Challenge ,
Indy 500 ,
Virtua Fighter 2 ,
Virtua Cop
Silver
8
9
10

Best-selling video game consoles

RankManufacturer Game console TypeGenerationSales
Japan USA Worldwide
1 Nintendo Super NES / Super Famicom Home 16-bit 1,780,000 [25] 1,738,000 [26] 3,518,000+
2 Sony PlayStation Home 32-bit 1,700,000 [27] 800,000 [27] 3,100,000 [27]
3 Sega Sega Saturn Home32-bit1,660,000 [25] 400,000 [28] 2,060,000+
4Sega Mega Drive / Genesis Home16-bit30,000 [25] 1,968,000 [26] 1,998,000+
5Nintendo Game Boy Handheld 8-bit 1,000,000 [25] Un­known1,000,000+
6 Panasonic 3DO Home32-bit150,000 [25] 250,000 [29] 400,000+
7Nintendo NES / Famicom Home 8-bit 80,000 [25] 104,000 [26] 184,000+
8Sega Game Gear Handheld8-bit180,000 [25] Un­known180,000+
9 Atari Corp Atari Jaguar Home32-bitUn­known150,000 [29] 150,000+
10 NEC PC-FX Home32-bit120,000 [25] Un­known120,000+

Best-selling home video games

The following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995 in Japan and the United States.

RankTitlePlatformSales
Japan USA [30] [31] [32] Combined
1 Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (Realms of Reverie) Super Famicom 2,482,640 [33] 2,482,640
2 Chrono Trigger Super NES 2,000,000+ [34] Un­known2,000,000+
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island Super NES1,000,000+ [35] 1,000,000+2,000,000+
Mortal Kombat 3 Super NES, Sega Genesis 2,000,000+2,000,000+
5 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Super NES987,295 [33] 1,000,000+1,987,295+
6 Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong)Super NES643,028 [36] 1,000,000+1,643,028+
7 Virtua Fighter 2 Sega Saturn 1,500,000+ [37] Un­known1,500,000+
8 Derby Stallion III Super Famicom1,086,141 [36] 1,086,141
9 Killer Instinct Super NES1,000,000+1,000,000+
10 Tekken PlayStation 942,000 [38] Un­known942,000+

Japan

In Japan, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995.

RankTitlePlatformPublisherGenreSalesRef
1 Dragon Quest VI: Maboroshi no Daichi (Realms of Reverie) Super Famicom Enix Role-playing game 2,482,640 [33]
2 Chrono Trigger Super Famicom Squaresoft Role-playing game2,000,000+ [34]
3 Virtua Fighter 2 Sega Saturn Sega Fighting 1,500,000+ [37]
4 Derby Stallion III Super Famicom ASCII Corporation Simulation 1,086,141 [36]
5 Super Mario: Yoshi Island (Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island)Super FamicomNintendo Platformer 1,000,000+ [35]
6 Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy (Donkey Kong Country 2)Super Famicom Nintendo Platformer987,295 [33]
7 Tekken PlayStation Namco Fighting942,000 [38]
8 Romancing SaGa 3 Super FamicomSquaresoftRole-playing game786,000
9 Arc the Lad PlayStation Sony Role-playing game697,000
10 Mobile Suit Gundam PlayStation Bandai First-person shooter 668,242 [36]

United States

In the United States, the following titles were the top ten best-selling home video games of 1995. [30] [31] [32]

RankTitlePublisherGenrePlatform(s)Sales
1 Mortal Kombat 3 Williams Entertainment Fighting Super NES, Sega Genesis 2,000,000+
2 Donkey Kong Country Nintendo Platformer Super NES 1,000,000+
3 Killer Instinct NintendoFightingSuper NES1,000,000+
4 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest NintendoPlatformerSuper NES1,000,000+
5 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island NintendoPlatformerSuper NES1,000,000+
6 Madden NFL '96 EA Sports Sports Sega GenesisUn­known
7 NBA Jam: Tournament Edition Acclaim Entertainment SportsSega Genesis
8Super NES
9 Mortal Kombat II Acclaim Entertainment FightingSega Genesis
10 The Lion King Virgin Interactive PlatformerSuper NES

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the following titles were the best-selling home video games of 1995. [39]

Rank CD-ROM Cartridge
1 FIFA Soccer 96
2 Destruction Derby FIFA Soccer 95
3 Command & Conquer The Lion King
4 Discworld Theme Park
5 Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity Mortal Kombat 3
6 Star Wars: Dark Forces Killer Instinct
7 Wipeout Mickey Mania
8 Tekken Brian Lara Cricket
9 Star Wars: Rebel Assault Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96
10 Theme Park Premier Manager

Game releases

Video game platforms
Ami Amiga
Arcade Arcade
DOS MS-DOS
GB Game Boy
Neo Neo Geo
NeoCD Neo Geo CD
PS1 PlayStation
Sat Saturn
SMD Mega Drive / Genesis
SCD Sega CD
S32X 32X
SNES Super NES
Win Windows
3DO 3DO Interactive Multiplayer
Lynx Atari Lynx
Jag Atari Jaguar
Mac Mac
Notable releases of the year 1995
ReleaseTitleSystem Developer/Publisher Notes
January 1 Battle Arena Toshinden PS1 Tamsoft/SCEA One of the first fully 3D fighting games
January 13 Bust-a-Move SNES Taito
February 15 Star Wars: Dark Forces DOS LucasArts The first in a successful series of Star Wars -based first-person shooters
February 16 Ristar SMD Sonic Team/Sega a platform game
February 24 Front Mission SNESG-Craft\Squaresoft
March 10 Panzer Dragoon Sat Team Andromeda\Sega
March 11 Chrono Trigger SNES Square
March 14 Mario's Picross GB Jupiter\Nintendo The first installment in a series of Mario-themed Picross titles released in the mid-1990s
March 17 Descent DOS Parallax Software Portal rendering with texture-mapped polygons, polygonal enemies, and six degrees of freedom.
March 17 Discworld DOS, Mac, PS1, Saturn (1996) Psygnosis
March 21 Kirby's Dream Land 2 GB HAL Laboratory\Nintendo An installment in the Kirby series
March 24 Mega Man 7 SNES Capcom
April Jagged Alliance DOSMadlab Software/Sir-Tech The first installment in the Jagged Alliance series
April 15 Mortal Kombat 3 Arcade, SNES, PS1, GB, SMD
April 27 Jumping Flash! PS1Exact/SCEA
April 28 Super Bomberman 3 SNES Hudson Soft First game in the Super Bomberman series to not get an American release; final game in the series released outside Japan on the SNES
April 30 Full Throttle DOS, Mac LucasArts Graphical adventure
May 25 Light Crusader SMD Treasure\Sega
May King Arthur & the Knights of Justice SNES Enix
June 5 Street Fighter Alpha Arcade Capcom
June 7 Flight Unlimited DOS, Win95 Looking Glass Studios
June 21 Tekken 2 Arcade Namco
June 30 Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity DOS, Mac Spectrum HoloByte
July 11 Space Quest 6 DOS, Mac Sierra Online Graphical adventure
July 21 Castlevania: Dracula X SNES Konami Port of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood .
July 24 MechWarrior 2 DOS Activision
July 25 The King of Fighters '95 Arcade SNK Second installment in the King of Fighters series
July 31 Phantasmagoria DOS, Win95, Mac, Sat (1997) Sierra Online A controversial point-and-click adventure game
August 2 Comix Zone SMD Sega A beat 'em up game heavily inspired by comic books
August 5 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island SNES Nintendo A critically acclaimed platformer
August 11 Shining Wisdom Sat Camelot/Sega Action adventure game in the Shining series
August 31 Command & Conquer DOS, Mac Westwood Studios One of the first popular real-time strategy games, it spawned a franchise
August 31 Fade to Black [40] DOS Delphine Software International One of the earliest fully 3D third-person shooters, predating Tomb Raider (1996)
August 31 Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest DOS New World Computing The first game in the popular turn-based strategy game franchise
September Wild Woody SCD Sega [41]
September 9 Rayman PS1, Sat, Jag Ubisoft The first game in the popular series
October 1 Secret of Evermore SNES Square
October 6 Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together SNES Quest Corporation Ported to the Sega Saturn (1996) and the PlayStation (1997)
October 13 Hyper Iria SNES Banpresto Based on Iria: Zeiram the Animation , an animated series.
October 15 Hexen: Beyond Heretic DOS, Mac Raven Software\id Software
October 20 Terranigma SNES Quintet
October 27 Panel de Pon SNES Intelligent Systems\NintendoReleased in America under the name "Tetris Attack", featuring a Yoshi's Island theme
October 31 Destruction Derby PS1 Reflections Interactive\Psygnosis
October 31 I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream DOS, Mac Cyberdreams An adaptation of writer Harlan Ellison's short story, won Computer Gaming World's award for "Best Graphic Adventure Game" of the year
October 31 Star Wars: TIE Fighter (Collector's CD-ROM) Win, Mac LucasArts
November 5 Twisted Metal PS1 SingleTrac/Sony Computer Entertainment Started longest running PlayStation franchise, popular vehicular combat series.
November 11 Romancing SaGa 3 SNES Square
November 20 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest SNES Rareware/Nintendo
November 24 Battle Arena Toshinden 2 PS1, Arcade Tamsoft\Capcom
November 24 Marathon 2: Durandal Mac Bungie
November 30 The Dig DOS, Mac LucasArts Adventure game
December Soul Edge Arcade Namco First game in the Soulcalibur series.
December Worms Ami Team17 An artillery video game and the first game in the Worms series
December Time Crisis Arcade, PS1 (1997) Namco The first game in the popular light-gun series Time Crisis .
December 1 Mega Man X3 SNES Capcom
December 9 Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation SNES Heartbeat\Enix
December 9 Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness DOS, Mac Blizzard Sequel to their initial real-time strategy title, and a far more popular title
December 15 Tales of Phantasia SNES Namco The first in the Tales series
December 15 Suikoden PS1 Konami Debut of the Suikoden series; ported to the Sega Saturn in Japan in 1998
December 15 Brain Dead 13 DOS ReadySoft An "FMV adventure" game
December 22 Final Fight 3 SNES Capcom
December 31 The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery DOS, Win, Mac Sierra On-Line Adventure game; sequel to Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
December 31 King's Field II PS1 From Software First game in the King's Field series to eventually be released outside Japan; renamed simply "King's Field" in NTSC-U/C and PAL regions when released there in 1996

Events

Business

See also

Related Research Articles

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