This is rather late, but someone reminded me in the comments that I never did one for 1994.
1994 had 11 games:
I don’t think there are any major new developments in the systems, although Hioden is a real time strategy RPG which is a rare thing.
Game of the Year has to go to Langrisser 2 — in general I would like to avoid naming the same franchise to two different GotYs but in this case I feel the only other candidate would be FE3, and Langrisser 2 definitely beats it out.
Other games worth playing are FE3, Hioden, and Shining Force CD. Majin Tensei is long and slow moving but I had fun with it. Galaxy Robo is interesting with its large maps, although it doesn’t quite reach the level of the other games I listed. Power of the Hired is simplistic and short but not bad. I did not play Feda for the SNES, but the Saturn remake was OK — too long and repetitive but the system had some interesting points.
The other games (Lodoss War, Albert Odyssey 2, and SRW EX) are not recommended.
I’m almost done with 1995 so I won’t bother with a preview of that year.
Games of the year:
- 1990: Fire Emblem
- 1991: Langrisser
- 1992: Just Breed
- 1993: Super Robot Taisen 3
- 1994: Langrisser II
(The “game of the year” is not necessarily the best game or the game I liked the most — I intend it to be a combination of quality, how much I enjoyed it, historical significance, and other things like that.)
Oh wow that was fast.
Yeah, i think I would also go with LII, though I haven't really played FE3 much. The later SFC FEs are a huge improvement. Shame that Langrisser seems to go downhill from here though.
And I wouldn't worry about repeating games from the same series. The big name games in this genre tend to be the best ones. FE would win most years for me just for usability alone, a lot of other SRPGs tend to be clunky.
Langrisser 2 is one of the best SRPGs ever made; good choice for 1994 GOTY. Maybe we'll see another Langrisser for GOTY in 1997… but then again, L4 would face stiff competition from Shining Force 3's first disc. Or Dragon Knight 4 :p
As for SNES Feda, it really isn't much different from what you described about the Saturn one. It's just way too long for its own good, even if it's decently enjoyable. Not a bad game by any means–just too long and repetitive.
Why no Hybrid Front?
Thanks for letting me know about that — it looks like it might qualify as SRPG for me so I'll check it out after Bahamut Lagoon.