Wait a min... is this a personal game of the year list?

It has to be a personal game of the year list. Especially with the 2013 pick. What has been agreed to be the GOTG is not on your list. Neither is uncharted 2 for that matter, or any GTA....so yeah, definitely a personal list.

I don't agree with this list though... a lot of the stuff here i just can not agree with. Take for instance in 1997 FF7 also was released that year. That game is still talked about fervently till this day way more so than golden eye ever was. And the following year, MGS was released. But yh, that could be a toss up between ocarina of time and mgs, so I will give you that one.

1990: Super Mario Bros. 3

1991: Super Mario World

1992: Wolfenstein 3D

1993: Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

1994: Final Fantasy VI

1995: Chrono Trigger

1996: Tomb Raider

1997: Final Fantasy VII (tough year; honourable mentions to Age of Empires, Tekken 3, Tomb Raider 2, Quake 2, Fallout, Goldeneye and MDK)

1998: Half-Life (another tough one; Metal Gear Solid, Starcraft, Baldur's Gate and Fallout 2)

1999: Age of Empires II

2000: Deus Ex

2001: Final Fantasy X

2002: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old republic

2004: Half-Life 2

2005: Shadow of the Colossus

2006: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

2007: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

2008: Metal Gear Solid 4

2009: Dragon Age: Origins (honourable mention to Uncharted 2)

2010: Mass Effect 2

2011: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (honourable mention to Skyrim and Witcher 2)

2012: Mass Effect 3

2013: The Last of Us

2014: Dragon Age: Inquisition

Here's mine, but I'll start with 1994. To be honest, I didn't play a lot of games that released prior to that year, so I can't really know which games should be GOTY for 1990-1991-1992-1993...

1994: Final Fantasy VI (III)

1995: Chrono Trigger

1996: Resident Evil

1997: Final Fantasy VII / Crash Bandicoot 2: CSB (tie)

1998: The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Fallout 2 / Banjo & Kazooie (tie, I just can't pick one between these three)

1999: Age of Empires II

2000: Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Ann

2001: Silent Hill 2

2002: TES III: Morrowind 

2003: SimCity 4

2004: Halo 2

2005: Star Wars: Battlefront 2

2006: Kingdom Hearts II / The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess (tie)

2007: Bioshock / God of War II (tie)

2008: Mass Effect

2009: Uncharted 2

2010: Dragon Age: Origins (yup, liked it more than RDR)

2011: TES V: Skyrim

2012: Dishonored

2013: The Last Of Us

2014: Dragon Age: Inquisition / Super Smash Bros. 4 (tie)

This list is nothing but an opinion. Some might notice GTA is not on this list, but I never really liked GTA that much, to be honest. Same goes for Gears Of War. Great games, obviously, but I just couldn't get into it, sadly.

Making this list was a blast, I stumbled on SO many games I used to play as a child, like Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Medal of Honor: Frontline, Zoo Tycoon, etc...

But of all these games, which do I like the most ?

The Last Of Us and Silent Hill 2. These are my absolute favourite, by far. Even Final Fantasy VI doesn't come close, and I LOVE FF VI.

That you included Tomb Raider makes me so happy. That game has almost completely disappeared from the conversation on great fifth-gen games. 

I just wrote a mini-review in Smeags' top 50 countdown. Check it out.

@bold: I'm glad you had fun making the list. That was the whole point of this thread -- to look back and remember all the great games we've played over the last 25 years  

This is my first post here :)

Here is my list with some honorable mentions:

1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1991 - Super Mario World
1992 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Honorable Mention: Sonic the Hedgehog 2)
1993 - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
1994 - Super Metroid (Honorable Mention: Final Fantasy VI)
1995 - Chrono Trigger
1996 - Super Mario 64 (Honorable Mention: Tomb Raider)
1997 - Final Fantasy VII
1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Honorable Mention: F-Zero X)
1999 - Counter Strike
2000 - Final Fantasy IX
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (Honorable Mention: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
2002 - Metroid Prime (Honorable Mention: Super Mario Sunshine)
2003 - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Honorable Mention: F-Zero GX)
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
2008 - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Honorable Mention: Super Smash Bros Brawl)
2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Honorable Mention: Batman Arkham City)
2012 - Xenoblade Chronicles
2013 - Fire Emblem Awakening (Honorable Mention: Super Mario 3D World)
2014 - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Honorable Mention: Bayonetta 2)

Tomb Raider was a revolution for its time. Nothing else really compared when I first played it. Along with Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid, it's one of those 5th gen games I seem to keep purchasing.

Your review was pretty much spot on. The Lost Valley is still one of my most memorable moments in gaming.

There are no facts when it comes to game of the year, just preferences.

My personal GOTY for each year i've been playing (also reflects the year i played the game, rather than the year it released)

1999: Super Mario 64
2000: Pokemon Gold and Silver
2001: Super Smash Bros Melee
2002: Metroid Prime
2003: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
2004: Metroid Prime 2
2005: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
2006: Zelda: Twilight Princess
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Super Smash Bros Brawl
2009: New Super Mario Bros Wii
2010: Monster Hunter Tri
2011: Zelda: Skyward Sword
2012: Xenoblade Chronicles
2013: Super Mario 3D World
2014: Super Smash Bros 4

"Objective", based on my knowledge of gaming history and significance, for each year that i've been playing.

1999: Soul Calibur (have to agree with OP)
2000: Zelda: Majora's Mask
2001: Final Fantasy X
2002: Metroid Prime
2003: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
2004: Halo 2
2005: God of War
2006: Okami
2007: Super Mario Galaxy
2008: Metal Gear Solid 4
2009: Uncharted 2
2010: Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
2012: Xenoblade Chronicles
2013: Grand Theft Auto V
2014: Bayonetta 2

same can be said about every form of reviewed media. from games to movies and music. hence an anything of the year that is void of bias should be the most generally preferred media. also, no one should make a "gme of the year" list for any particular year unless that person has played all the contenders in the given year