1. Super Mario World (1990)
You can’t get any more timeless than Nintendo’s super plumber, Mario. Now, while there are nearly hundreds of Mario games, Super Mario World takes the cake among the franchise’s early years. Super Mario World was the first Mario game to be released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and with good reason.
Super Mario World introduced us to Mario’s loyal mount, Yoshi, cementing his legacy in the series forever. Streaming a classic game like World is a callback to the humble platformer beginnings of the video game industry. Super Mario World currently holds a peak viewer count of 197,229 for this year alone!
One streamer going by the name of rezephos streamed a speedrun (trying to finish a game as quickly as possible) of Super Mario World for Games Done Quick, a semiannual charity marathon. The video of his World stream sits currently at a comfortable 180,000+ views.
2. Resident Evil (1996)
The original Resident Evil for the Sony Playstation is a horror survival game designed with harrowing interactions with the undead and tricky puzzles to get through the mansion.
You’ll play as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield working your way through waves of zombies as you uncover the secrets of the Umbrella Corporation. The first zombie encounter in the game that features the zombie slowly turning its head towards you is sure to clinch audiences to follow your story in your playthrough. The game has seen a peak viewership count of 11,945 for 2018. The audience draw for Resident Evil remains its staunch supporters.
3. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Final Fantasy VII is easily one of the most recognizable entries in the franchise due to one certain yellow-haired large sword-wielding introspective ex-SOLDIER. Join Cloud Strife and his friends on their journey to save their dying planet.
FF7 is full of watershed moments that have surely been etched in the minds of many players who have lived the game. The length of the game may prove to be daunting but there are still people eager to catch streams of Final Fantasy VII in order to relive some of their favorite moments. According to a report from twitchstats.net, one FF7 stream peaked at 16,984 viewers this year.
4. StarCraft (1998)
If you’re into Real-Time Strategy games then you can hop on the StarCraft wagon for your early streams. Even if you don’t count the fact that StarCraft still has a massive following online being one of the earliest titles in esports, the campaign remains a treasured memory for people who have tangled with Jim Raynor and his merry band of Raiders.
You’ll get the chance to use all three races in the campaign, and the story that serves as the driving force behind your mineral and vespene gas farming is real and gripping. The demand for SC streams is still strong, with one stream reportedly garnering 36,300 viewers this year.
5. Pokemon Silver/Gold/Crystal (1999)
Like most of the entries on this list, this is a franchise chock-full of options. What makes Pokemon Silver (or Gold, or Crystal) unique is that it features both its new Johto region along with the original Kanto region from the original Pokemon games. The 2nd generation of Pokemon is still the only generation to feature 16 winnable badges. The rest of the generations in this franchise is limited to their own 8-city maps.
Silver, Gold, and Crystal, along with the subsequent reworks of HeartGold and SoulSilver, features a lot of content to play through. Try and be the very best streamer you can be as you take your audience through your journey to become a Pokemon master. Pokemon Gold and Silver currently hold a respectable 35,932 followers on stream, the vast region of Johto is ripe for the taking for any eager Trainer willing to challenge the league.
Selection was restricted to games released pre-2000.