Parappa the Rapper - Erm. It's like Simon! (Sony)
It's a game that just about anyone can play. It looks wonderful. It sounds brilliant. And it has a sense of humour. Parappa the Rapper and, say, Dragon's Lair are not entirely unrelated. Both demand button presses at junctures that inspire largely on-rails results. With Parappa, though, it's not so abstract; your pad-based interaction feels right, even though you're simply copying on-screen prompts. Although its lifespan is limited by the very nature of its design, it's fantastic while it lasts - and we can still sing the soundtrack word-for-word...

Resident Evil - adventure game (Capcom)
With all due respect to Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil brought the horror genre from the big screen to the small, hooked up to a console and with surprising aplomb. This is a title that could, genuinely, make you jump, and force you to leave every light in your house on after a late night session. It was also refreshing to see an adventure game in a more contemporary setting.

Asteroids - shoot-'em-up (Atari)
You know all the fuss about meteors hitting Earth? Rumour has it that the American scientists are currently developing a special craft that, uncannily, looks like a Windows pointer sans tail. Just in case.

Rise of the Robots - beat 'em up (Mirage)
Imagine it. It's post-Street Fighter 2, but pre-32bit. Suddenly, a small UK codeshop begins excitedly releasing shots of their new game - a futuristic beat-'em-up called Rise of the Robots. And - get this! - it has fully rendered robots! And they fight! The resultant hype is massive. After terrible delays, it is released. And it is, no argument, one of the most dismal, ill-designed disasters in gaming history.

NHL series - hockey sim (EA)
There was no real reason for us to like it. And, really, we had no idea about the rules. And, y'know, there were the likes of Sensi, Bomberman and Mario Kart making extreme demands on our multi-player time. But, somehow, NHL on the MegaDrive greedily snatched huge tracts of our waking lives. And you could get the little men to fight, too. Excellent.