Top 10 Most Disappointing Video Games of The 1990s

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top ten disappointing video games of the 1990s.

For this list, we’ll be continuing our series of the most disappointing video games and focusing on the major let-downs of the 1990s. These games aren’t necessarily the worst of the decade. Rather, they were the most disappointing due to their pre-release hype and resulting lackluster quality.

Any of these disappoint you? Vent in the comments!

Let’s be serious, (xref) the entire Sega CD console was a massive disappointment, and “Night Trap” proved that it would be so right from the start. “Night Trap” was set to blow the gaming industry wide open, as it was going to blend movies and gaming into a seamless and interactive experience. When the game was released, it was met with mixed reviews, with many praising the interactive element but criticizing the boring gameplay. However, its reception has grown considerably worse over time, and is now regarded as a horribly dated and dull disaster. If it wasn’t for the Senate hearing controversy, this game would have quickly faded into obscurity.

While the first “Twisted Metal” game was certainly no masterpiece, its sequel was a legitimately fantastic game, and it’s often considered to be one of the PlayStation’s greatest titles. Due to its success, hype was through the roof for the series’ third installment. However, a major red flag was thrown when we learned that a new team, 989 Studios, was taking the reigns. We were right to be worried, as the resulting product was a disaster, and its disgustingly bad physics engine made it near-unplayable. But hey, that Rob Zombie soundtrack kicked ass!

“Mortal Kombat” was all the rage in the 1990s, mostly due to its highly controversial violent content. Imagine everyone’s giddy surprise, then, when Midway announced that “Mortal Kombat 4” would be the first “Mortal Kombat” to be released in 3D. We mean, just think of all the glorious violence and gore that 3D graphics can offer! However, when the game was finally released, it was just… good. Nothing great. Just good. While critics praised the 3D, many felt that it was just the same old “Mortal Kombat” with a fresh and fancy new coat of paint. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it definitely wasn’t the major leap forward we were all expecting.

If you weren’t around in the mid-90s, it’s hard to describe just what a big deal “Phantasmagoria” was. It was released at the height of interactive movie-games, and its complex development process was a thing of legend. The script was over 500 pages, it featured more than 1,000 backgrounds, the developers hired professional special effects artists, and the score included a 135-voice choir. In short, it was like a Hollywood production rather than a video game. Despite being a financial success, “Phantasmagoria” was a huge disappointment in the quality department. It was an ambitious game, but it simply fell flat in too many aspects.

The first two “Earthworm Jim” games were charming little platformers released throughout the 1990s. This third installment was set to be the first game in the series to feature three-dimensional graphics, but there was a chink in the armor – it wasn’t being developed by Shiny, but a new company called VIS Entertainment. After a long production, “Earthworm Jim 3D” was released on Halloween 1999, and it… wasn’t good. The 3D gimmick horribly backfired, as the camera was a confusing and frustrating mess, and the gameplay was boring, especially when you compared it to superior 3D platformers like “Super Mario 64.” It’s safe to say that “Earthworm Jim” did not make a flawless transition to 3D.

“Battlecruiser 3000AD” was set to be an expansive space flight simulation game, led by the celebrity-like Derek Smart. Smart became a prominent figure in the gaming community in the early 1990s due to his ambitious ideas, and the game went through an arduous development process, which only served to create more hype and anticipation. However, enough was enough, and the game was released in an incomplete and terribly buggy state, which disappointed many of its followers. On top of that, some claimed that it wasn’t nearly as ambitious and epic as Smart made it sound. Think of it as the “No Man’s Sky” of the 90s.

You’d think players would know what they’re getting into when they buy the ninth installment of a popular franchise. You’d be wrong. “Ultima IX” served as the… well, ninth installment of the popular “Ultima” series, but it was fraught with production difficulties, including constant story rewrites. When the game was released, it was barely recognizable as an “Ultima” title, as the story was nonsensical and largely ignored the events of the preceding games. On top of that, it was full of bugs, which made it borderline unplayable for those who could ignore the story issues. No one bought the game, and its poor reception killed the “Ultima” series forever.

As we’ve previously established, the late 1990s were a time when game companies were transitioning their popular franchises to 3D to capitalize on the emerging technology. As you could probably tell, “Prince of Persia 3D” was the first game in the original series to be released in 3D, and while the graphics and action sequences were interesting, they couldn’t save the otherwise painfully mediocre title. Like “Earthworm Jim 3D,” it seems as if the developers couldn’t quite grasp the new three-dimensional mechanics, as both the camera and controls were atrocious. For a game centered around platforming, this is a very, very bad thing, indeed.

Fighting games were all the rage in the early 90s thanks to “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter.” “Rise of the Robots” looked to not only capitalize on the insanely popular genre, but revolutionize it with artificial intelligence the likes of which no one had ever seen. However, as we should have guessed, the finished product was a complete mess. While the graphics and music were very impressive, everything else about the game, including the slow moves, terrible AI, and simplistic fighting mechanics, ranged from disappointing to straight-up terrible. We’re all still playing “Mortal Kombat” and “Street Fighter,” but everyone has long forgotten about “Rise of the Robots.”

Also known as “Castlevania 64,” this game was the first in the series to utilize 3D technology (surprise surprise), and the idea of a three-dimensional “Castlevania” game excited both audiences and critics alike. Hype was raised even higher after fans got their hands on a playable demo at the Tokyo Game Show, as “Castlevania” looked to be a more-than-worthy addition to the gothic horror series. While it wasn’t awful by any means, it failed to live up to the enormous expectations that fans had set for it. The controls and camera were particularly bad, which seems to be a recurring problem for series’ transitioning to 3D. Turns out that even “Castlevania” isn’t immune.