The gold/silver games are the best in the Pokémon series. Only the remakes soul silver and heart gold might be better. large world, great Pokémon design, great mysteries to solve, 16 gyms to beat, eggs, breading, roaming legendary dogs, alternate colored shinies, much better balanced battles.
Honorable mention to Pokémon Snap. My favorite spin off Pokémon series game.
Even if Pokémon had a great showing this year, my vote goes to my third best game of all time, Heroes of Might and Magic III. The only game I played for an entire 24 hours without paus. The strategy elements both on a macro scale in the overworld and hands on in combat makes this a highlight among strategy games. Nothing before comes close and nothing after matches. The predecessor Heroes of might and Magic II is also a fine game but did not feel as polished and the graphics does not hold up as well.