Ah, August 1996, back when a second MTV channel was launched, a little-known fantasy novel called “A Game of Thrones” was published by author George R.R. Martin and the 96th US Gold Amateur Championship was won by Mr Tiger Woods.
This was back when gamers only choice of mobile gaming was the GameBoy; the original PlayStation was still the new kid on the block with the Nintendo 64 just around the corner and playing a multiplayer game with friends meant being sat next to each other or for those more tech-savvy, playing over a LAN. It was a different time, but one thing was as true then as it is now – we love our video games.
It was also a month where a few classic games came out for the PC, PS1, Sega Saturn, GameBoy and the SNES. Let’s see what was released in August 1996 that was brand new.
Tetris Attack – SNES and GameBoy
Tetris – an undeniable classic among gaming legends. Who hasn’t spent time trying to get to the dreaded level 10? Where blocks move faster than the speed of sound and the pressure is ramped up to 11. However in Tetris Attack, the classic game as we know it had a twist in that it was set on Yoshi’s Island, where you had to defeat various underlings of Bowser in games similar to Tetris. I mean, there are blocks and there is a stacking but it’s got more in common with Bejeweled or Candy Crush, in that it’s a “link 3” game. The game was incredibly well received, with GameRankings scoring the game at just under 90%. Here is the intro, with thanks to YouTube Channel – King Arthur Pendragon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHshZtfeBns
Madden NFL 97 – PC, PlayStation, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, GameBoy and SNES
Madden NFL 97 was the first Madden game released on 32-bit consoles, and was the first to introduce a salary cap when you could edit your team rosters. Madden NFL 97 was the 11th game in the franchise that is still going strong today. Check out the trailer for it below, thanks to Video Detective YouTube Channel.
Tekken 2 – PlayStation
We’ve all played a beat ’em up game, weather it was Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, and the PlayStation’s answer to these games was the popular Tekken games. Tekken 2 came to the PlayStation 20 years ago and continued where Tekken left off so far as the gameplay and story went, with a few additions such as some characters having attack reversals as well as back-throws and chain-throws as well as varying the damage tackles inflicted depending on how far your character had run. For a nostalgic look back, here’s the intro, courtesy of YouTube Channel Dreamcaster DCF.
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall – PC
Lastly but not leastly, I bring you the second instalment of what is one of the greatest games franchises of all time, The Elder Scrolls, with Daggerfall. Daggerfall is quite simply, staggering in scope, putting games like GTA V and its more modern instalments of Oblivion and Skyrim to shame, boasting a land-mass almost the same size of Great Britain (62,394 sq. miles (GB is 88,745 sq. miles), with over 15,000 towns and cities all able to be explored. For some context Skyrim is only 14.3 sq. miles…a quarter of which is inaccessible. And now you lucky gamers can get Daggerfall completely free by downloading the game through the official Elder Scrolls website. Check out Daggerfall’s intro below, thanks to YouTube Channel – LucanVaro.
RGM Gaming History is a new monthly segment, coming on the last Sunday of every month. What do you think of the games on offer in August 1996? Let us know in the comments or the RGM Forums.
