The 1994 Game of the Year is Super Metroid.
The runner up is Final Fantasy VI.
The master thread for all of these contests can be found here.

Please comment on what you believe to be the Game of the Year for 1994.  You might even want to discuss/argue with other posters first before you vote.  Or maybe you just want to argue with yourself first?  Whatever.  Please vote for Game of the Year for 1994 and post why.  Without further ado, here is the list of games.

Tekken (Arcade)
Tekken was originally Namco’s 3D answer to Sega’s fighting game Virtua Fighter.  However, once these games were ported to home systems.  Tekken (and the series of games that followed) became far more popular than Virtua Fighter.  Tekken was ported to Playstation a year later and became the first Playstation game to sell over 1 million units.

Doom II: Hell on Earth (PC)
Doom puts out a sequel a year after the release of the first game.  Unlike the first game, Doom II could actually be sold in stores.  Doom II would go on to sell over 1.8 million copies.

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (PC)
Blizzard Entertainment decided to make a RTS game on the PC after releasing a couple of SNES games first.  This RTS game would be Warcraft.  Warcraft would begin Blizzard’s path both as a PC development studio and also the #1 developer of RTS games.  This first Warcraft game would go on to sell over 300,000 copies.

X-Com: UFO Defense (Amiga/PC)
Defend against alien invaders in this strategy game from Microprose.  X-Com sold over 600,000 units on the PC alone and was later ported to other computer systems and the Playstation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OdbkcR1ByE

Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sonic and Knuckles (Genesis)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were originally developed as one game, but eventually they decided to separate them into two games.  However, the cartridges were designed so that they could be combined together again.  Michael Jackson is said to have contributed to the OST to this game but was uncredited.  The two games ended up selling over 4 million units combined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhExIWa0R-4

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
The SNES had been losing to the Genesis in North America, because Sega was pumping out Sonic games nearly every year, while the SNES hadn’t had a major platformer since launch.  That all changed with the release of Donkey Kong Country.  Featuring a killer OST and graphics that didn’t seem possible on the SNES, DKC went on to sell over 9.3 million units.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXHDSA35_2k

Earthbound (SNES)
This second entry in the Mother series was in development hell until programmer, Satoru Iwata, came along and recoded the game from scratch.  Earthbound was the only entry in the quirky Mother series to leave Japan, and it wasn’t terribly successful.  In North America, the marketing campaign was confusing, and the oversized box was often placed in a different spot from the other games.  However, the game gained a cult following and gradually people began to realize that Earthbound is actually a fantastic and unique RPG (well unique outside of Japan).  Nintendo has, in more recent years, made Earthbound easily available on platforms such as the SNES classic.  However, an original SNES cartridge remains rare and valuable.  On EBay in the US, for example, the cheapest cartridge of Earthbound currently sells for $290 USD.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYGMbd4h3ao&list=PLJQZtsZNm8a6uZAzvu81-CULPRf3V6JVK

Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
Just a few years earlier, Squaresoft showed us the type of storytelling that was possible on a console RPG with Final Fantasy IV.  But with Final Fantasy VI, they simply bring us one of the finest stories ever told in a video game.  FF6 would also mark the beginning of a several year period where Squaresoft would produce some of the most amazing RPGs ever (and not just Final Fantasy ones either).  FF6 would sell over 3.4 million copies on the SNES and another 750k on the Playstation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGNskqYu2_0

Super Metroid (SNES)
This SNES entry in the Metroid series is most often considered the favorite among 2D Metroid fans.  Super Metroid would sell over 1.4 million copies on the SNES.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBj_CkoK0Nc

Other (please specify)
If you think another game deserves to be "Game of the Year" other than one of the 9 I listed above, then please vote “Other” and say your game in the comments.  If the "Other" category takes at least 2nd place and no other game gets at least 50% of the vote, then I will do a runoff vote including the most mentioned game(s) from the comments.

The winner of this vote will be decided Sunday, Oct 8 at 11:59 EST.

Some other notable games from 1994:

Virtua Fighter 2 (Arcade)
X-Men: Children of the Atom (Arcade)
Datona USA (Arcade)
Virtua Cop (Arcade)
Sega Rally Championship (Arcade)
Panzer General (Home Computers)
Star Wars: TIE Fighter (PC)
Theme Park (PC/Amiga/3DO)
Wing Commander 3: Heart of the Tiger (PC/Mac)
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Gameboy)
Castlevania Bloodlines (Genesis)
World Series Baseball (Genesis)
Contra Hard Corps (Genesis)
Beyond Oasis (Genesis)
Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis)
Lunar Eternal Blue (Sega CD)
Mega Man X2 (SNES)
The Need for Speed (3DO)

(Also I'm not sure why but I had trouble embedding videos in the first post.  Not sure if the problem is on my end or not.)

I'm nice and early for this poll!

With 1994 we welcome in the golden age of Final Fantasy, so my vote of course goes to FFVI. One of the greatest games of all time. The story and characters are phenomenal with Kefka as a stand-out gaming villain whose 16-bit maniacal laugh will always be iconic. The way that each character in the party is treated as a "main" character and each of their scenarios being individually written by different writers means not only do most of the cast get the development they deserve but we get varied and dynamic storytelling which doesn't get repetitive despite the length of the game. Another outstanding feature of this game is undoubtedly Uematsu's soundtrack. The whole OST is fantastic but the "Opera - Maria and Draco" theme as well as "Dancing Mad" are just full operatic 15-minute, 4 part masterpieces all done on the Super Nintendo!!!! Mindblowing!

Sonic 3 & Knuckles is also fantastic but being split into two games was always a curious and really rather shady decision

I'm sure Earthbound is also fantastic but I haven't yet gottten around to it

And finally, I expect a lot of votes for both Donkey Kong Country and Super Metroid. I'm sure they're both awesome, but they just don't appeal to me

Hey, what you call X-COM is actually an european game called UFO:Enemy Unknown that only in America was called X-COM:UFO Defense. Also the GOTY easily.

You missed out some pretty good games both in your list and your extension list:

Sid Meier's Colonization is a pretty good game, a good refinement of the basic Civilization blueprint with some added ideas. And while Civilization is done and iterated about a lot, I see not a lot like Colonization.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdccnDJy5uY

Then we have one of the best fighting games ever, One Must Fall:2097. From a company Epic Megagames, not some losers only called Epic. It had cool stuff after fight, like a news recap and your mechanic telling you, your robot got too much damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fGM1cvUQv8

We have the open world adventure game Robinson's Requiem, which used Voxel graphics and simulated oh so many systems. For instance you had not simply health points, no you could be sick with all sorts of illnesses and could overheat or be too cool. Some degree of simulation I only ever saw much later again in Project Zomboid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Q1TBTV3ho

Then we have my most liked Doom clone: Heretic. It improved on so many areas. Graphics: now levels looked like real environments. Music: it had some cool tricks like ambience sounds woven in. Gameplay: if I remember right it introduced usable items.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xklmh0dz2I

And I have also to name Wacky Wheels. It is actually not that special, but it was the first Mario Kart clone I played, and Mario Kart like games are always cool. Also it some pretty cool items to hit other players with, like mirroring their image or reversing their controls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vVIiKp6xMs

This is the easiest year for me thus far, with Final Fantasy VI a clear frontrunner for me at least. Super Metroid and Donkey Kong Country are the closest competition, but this wasn't a very difficult decision.

Was looking through the list of games released in 1994 and there a lot of them I spent a lot of my child hood playing.

My Vote went to FF6 since it my all time favorite turn base RPG. I wont argue with people that prefer Chrono Trigger but I personally have FF6 number one.

Warcraft, X-Com and earthbound are other games in the poll I spent plenty of hours playing but I got 3 more games from 1994 that I spent plenty of time playing in my life

ShadowRun for the sega gensis while had some flaws overall I really enjoyed it and it more mature setting

Al-Quadim - I found the real time combat and focus on puzzles different then any SSI Dungeon and dragon game I played before it and through out my life completed multiple play through

Finally Master of Magic which I probably have way more hours logged in then any other 1994 game. While FF6 is my game of the year this defiantly the game that I go back to the most from 1994. I not in general a huge turn base 4x strategy game fan but for some reason this game I just fell in love with since the first time I play it and to this day if I in the mood for a turn base 4x game I will go back too.

See now we're talking. As far as I'm concerned this is a major turning point, there are far between the games I really like before this this point, but I think nearly all years after here have several. My top 3 for the year would be:

1. Super Metroid
2. Earthbound
3. Final Fantasy VI

A lineup of truly revered games. To me they aren't all time favorites or anything, but all still solid titles to this day.

Oh, Master of Magic was that year? I heard a lot about it, it seemingly was an inspiration to many 4X. I have yet to play it, but I intend to give it a try, although it seems very complex.

Oh man. I was sort of dreading this year, only because there are so many stone-cold classics. Two of my top 12 games hail from 1994: Super Metroid and Final Fantasy VI.

But my vote has to go to FFVI. Still my pick for best turn-based RPG ever made. Amazing production design, legendary music, pristine combat, and a cast of characters for the ages.

One game I'd like to highlight as an honorable mention: Darius Gaiden. It ranks among the industry's finest horizontal shoot-'em-ups, and it's arguably Taito's magnum opus.

Super Metroid wins it for me, but man was it hard not to vote for Final Fantasy 6. Love that game. I'd probably say Super Punch Out for third, barely edging out DKC.  I didn't play Earthbound until much later, but wow, what a fantastic year for the SNES.

I also have to mention Daytona; Sega's Model 2 was such a huge leap in the arcades and that game was absurdly fun.