Talking to you, in the last few hours, about the twenty-five years since the absolute debut of Ape Escape brought me to mind that there are actually many great names left in the hearts of the players who will celebrate the same milestone this year.\r\nAnd the reason is very simple: 1999 was a year full of releases to remember, some of which marked (and still mark today) our favorite medium.\r\nWhat, then, are the other games (besides Ape Escape, in fact), which in turn celebrate their 25th birthday in 2024, having been released in 1999?\r\nThe pearls of 1999\r\nThe names of the iconic releases of 1999 are actually several, among which:\r\n\r\nSimCity 3000 – PC – February 13, 1999;\r\nMario Party – Nintendo 64 – March 9, 1999;\r\nDriver – PlayStation – June 25, 1999;\r\nApe Escape – PlayStation – July 2, 1999;\r\nSilent Hill – PlayStation – July 16, 1999;\r\nSyphon Filter – PlayStation – July 16, 1999;\r\nLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – PlayStation – September 3, 1999;\r\nWipEout 3 – PlayStation – September 10, 1999;\r\nMario Golf – Nintendo 64 – September 14, 1999;\r\nSystem Shock 2 – PC – September 18, 1999;\r\nHomeworld – PC – September 28, 1999;\r\nTony Hawk’s Pro Skater – PlayStation – October 18, 1999;\r\n nCrash Team Racing – PlayStation – October 20, 1999;\r\nGTA II – PlayStation, PC – October 22, 1999;\r\nFinal Fantasy VIII – PlayStation – October 27, 1999;\r\nRayman 2 – Nintendo 64 – October 29, 1999; \r\nSpyro 2 – PlayStation – November 5, 1999;\r\nSoulcalibur – Dreamcast – November 26, 1999;\r\nUnreal Tournament – PC – December 3, 1999;\r\nTomb Raider: The Last Revelation – PlayStation, PC – 3 December 1999;\r\nDonkey Kong 64 – Nintendo 64 – December 6, 1999;\r\n\r\nNote: All dates quoted refer to the European release, and not to the US or Japan release.\r \nAmong these, there are some games on which we have probably all spent hours: Final Fantasy VIII, for example, much loved today and which for many Italian gamers was the first Final Fantasy, since it was the first to also be translated into our language.\r\nAnd while Nintendo 64 brought out some pretty good pearls – from Mario Party to Donkey Kong 64, which literally arrived at the end of the year – the market was filled with names like Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Crash Team Racing, GTA II.\r\n1999 was also the year of Silent Hill, it was the year of the debut of Driver (and its nightmare tutorial), the year of the return and consecration of the little purple dragon with Spyro 2 and the landing on PC of games like Unreal Tournament and System Shock 2.\r\nIn short, 1999 truly offered a quarter, between September and November, with some very high-level releases, while managing to unleash some unforgettable pearls even in the first half of the year.