 Presenting... The PPM Player Awards! This past year has been a grand one for games, indeed! Now that 1994 is wrapped up and tucked away, it's time to commemorate those titles which innovated and stylized this unique form of entertainment. Few of these decisions were unanimous, and rest assured we've added runners-up in each category to see who just missed the cut. These are just the opinions of your Review Crew at PPM! Write in or rave about your own picks in the chat box! |
| SNES GAME OF THE YEAR: Final Fantasy III 
For Super NES Developed by Square |
We've chosen to award our SNES Best-Of trophy to the best role-playing game of 1994: Final Fantasy III. This pinnacle of games design and storytelling earned full ranks from our team. It was a tough choice, Kong was a close second!
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| SEGA GENESIS GAME OF THE YEAR: Earthworm Jim 
For SEGA Genesis Developed by Shiny Entertainment |
David Perry's glorious animation and stylized creatures took us to a totally new world in Earthworm Jim. Though there was no lack of excellent titles for Sega this year, EJ's brilliant level design and cartoon-like persona wins, here.
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| SEGA CD GAME OF THE YEAR: Snatcher 
For SEGA CD Developed by Konami |
At last, a games company that knows how to develop for the Sega-CD without resorting to FMV trash. Konami brought forth a cyberpunk adventure with eye-catching graphics and full voicework in Snatcher. It's nice to see mature titles like this, too.
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| PORTABLE GAME OF THE YEAR: Donkey Kong 
For Game Boy Developed by Nintendo |
The grand return of that 80s ape, Donkey Kong heralded an unexpected refresh in the best possible way. This GB cart rejuvenated an old formula with rad, novel puzzle elements and a splash of color with the Super GB cart. An instant classic for us.
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| 3DO GAME OF THE YEAR: Road Rash 
For 3DO Developed by Konami |
Just barely squeaking past SF2, EA's Road Rash won our pick for 3DO Best-Of for its high-octane thrills, satisfying skull-bash combat, and a soundtrack that keeps your blood pumping. Not to mention those killer environments to boot!
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| JAGUAR GAME OF THE YEAR: Tempest 2000 
For Jaguar Developed by Atari |
Despite not having a wide assortment of games available this year, the Jaguar did bring out some heavy hitters. Tempest 2000 is undoubtedly the go-to game to buy alongside the console. Ultra-fun gameplay with awesome vector graphics.
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| BEST GAMING MASCOT: Donkey Kong (DKC) 
For Nintendo Systems Developed by Nintendo/Rare |
1994 will go down as the Year of Donkey Kong for headlining two of the best games we've seen yet on Super NES and Game Boy. Mario and Sonic were forced to make room for an old adversary this time around.
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| MOST CD-WORTHY SOUNDTRACK: Final Fantasy III 
For Super NES Developed by Square |
In a year otherwise filled to the brim with nifty musical scores, FF III simply blows the competition away. Nobuo Uematsu's masterpiece ranges from tear-jerking arias to determined marching to epic, church-like boss music. This was unanimous.
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| BEST ADD-ON DEVICE: Super Game Boy 
For Super NES Developed by Nintendo |
Ever since the launch of the Coleco Adam in 1983, we've seen the steady growth of "add-on" upgrades for home consoles. Sega may have given us some neat options with the Sega-CD and 32X, but only Nintendo's Super Game Boy seeks to improve existing games by adding a highly-requested feature: Color! Finally!
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| MOST CONTROVERSIAL GAME: Doom 
For PC/Consoles Developed by id Software |
Accusations of excessive blood, gore, and violence (all that fun stuff!) have given Doom a sure-fire reputation among parents and congressmen. Now that they have the ESRB ratings board, surely, they'll quit trying to censor games, right? Right?
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| MOST OVER-HYPED GAME: Rise of the Robots 
For PC/Super NES Developed by Mirage |
Mirage is the perfect name for the studio behind Rise of the Robots. From the time of its unveiling at Summer CES '93, this game was hyped to the Moon for its stunning graphics, but upon release we learned of its awful as heck gameplay. Expect more coverage of this one in an upcoming Slime of the Season.
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| CONSOLE OF THE YEAR: Super Nintendo 
Developed by Nintendo |
Once again, it all came down to the dual monarchs of gaming: Sega and Nintendo. The Genesis soared in '94 with a ton of supreme-o picks, but the Super NES was simply the Royale with Cheese to rule them all. The deciding factor is DKC, and Nintendo's refusal to push an unnecessary add-on onto gamers.
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| OVERALL GAME OF THE YEAR: Final Fantasy III 
For Super NES Developed by Square |
The Award for PPM Best Game of 1994 goes to Final Fantasy III. This one was a close call, but our team chose FF III above the competition for presenting a grand and epic story with engaging, innovating gameplay that kept us playing for upwards of 30-hours. A round of applause for this title as well as all of our runners-up! With PS-X and Saturn on the horizon, anything is possible next year!
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