50 most popular 90s toys and games to awaken your nostalgia
The 1990s was a special time, serving as a transitional period between analogue and digital. The best toys that embodied that 90s nostalgia spirit weren't just toys, they were collectables. This article contains the most popular 90s toys and games to awaken your nostalgia.
Source: Getty Images
Over the past decade, toys from the 90s have garnered an enormous fan base. 90s toys became special because of their simplicity combined with innovation. Some of the most loved toys from the era were Beanie Babies, Power Rangers, and Giga Pets. Below is a list of the most popular 90s toys and games that the 90s kids will remember.
Most popular 90s toys and games
What was the best toy of the 90s? From Tamagotchis and Trolls to Beanie Babies, the best toys of the 90s were creative and fun. Whether you are looking to take a trip down memory lane or you are in the market for nostalgia-driven playthings for your child, below is a list of popular 90s toys and games to chose from.
1. Tamagotchi
Source: Getty Images
Tamagotchi is a small handheld device that features a digital screen and buttons for interacting with a virtual pet. It is one of the biggest toys of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. It was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi and Aki Maita and released on 23 November 1996 in Japan.
2. Nintendo 64
Source: Getty Images
The Nintendo 64 is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. It was first released on 23 June 1996 in Japan. The Nintendo 64 was one of the first gaming consoles with four controller ports.
3. Beanie Babies
Source: Getty Images
The Beanie Baby is one of the most iconic 90s toys of all time, created by American businessman H. Ty Warner. The Beanie Babies are a collection of stuffed toys with plastic pellets rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, mostly animals.
4. Betty Spaghetty
Source: Getty Images
Betty Spaghetty was a bendable rubber doll from the Ohio Art Company. She was invented and designed by Elonne Dantzer and portrayed a fun-loving teenager. Her features include rubbery hair that lets children make different hairstyles, and changeable hands, feet and shoes.
5. American Girl dolls
Source: Getty Images
American Girl dolls are one of the best-selling dolls in history. These dolls have been a part of American girls' childhood. They gained significant popularity in the 1990s and have remained popular ever since.
6. Bop It!
Source: Getty Images
Bop It is a line of audio games that was first introduced in the 1990s. The game has four modes: Basic, Advanced, Beat Box, and Pass It. There are six different commands that the player must follow using either their hands or their feet.
7. Polly Pocket
Source: Getty Images
Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983. Polly Pocket sets typically contain small plastic cases that reveal a tiny, detailed dollhouse or play environment.
8. Etch-A-Sketch
Source: Getty Images
Etch-A-Sketch is among the popular 90s toys that allowed you to draw pictures on a screen and then shake it to clear everything. It was first released in 1960 and was used by NASA for teaching purposes.
9. Game Boy Color
Source: Getty Images
The Game Boy Color is a handheld game console manufactured by Nintendo and released in 1998. It was the successor to the Game Boy, and it was the first colour handheld console.
10. Giga Pets
Source: UGC
Giga Pets are digital pet toys that were first released by Tiger Electronics in America in 1997 amid a virtual-pet toy fad. The Giga Pets devices were small, portable, and featured a monochromatic or limited-colour LCD screen. They had a few buttons for navigation and interaction with the virtual pet.
11. Super Soaker
Source: Getty Images
Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water guns that gained immense popularity in the 1990s and continues to be a well-known name in water-based toys. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Johnson.
12. Trolls
Source: Getty Images
Trolls are a popular toy and media franchise that originated in the 1960s but gained significant popularity in the 1990s. Initially, Trolls were small, colourful, perpetually-happy creatures who liked to sing, dance, and hug all day. They were created by Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam.
13. Furby
Source: Getty Images
Furby is an American electronic robotic toy that was initially released in 1998 by Tiger Electronics. It resembles a hamster or owl-like creature and can respond to human emotions and speech.
14. Pokémon Cards
Source: Getty Images
Pokémon cards are collectable trading cards based on the Pokémon franchise, which was created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori in 1996. The Pokémon card game quickly gained popularity in the late 1990s and became a significant cultural phenomenon.
15. Mouse Trap
Source: UGC
Mouse Trap is a two to four-player board game first released by Ideal in 1963. It was one of the first three-dimensional board games to be mass-produced.
16. Power Rangers
Source: Getty Images
Power Rangers is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series based on the Japanese Tokusatsu franchise Super Sentai.
17. Slinky
Source: Getty Images
Slinky is a classic toy that has entertained children and adults for decades. It is a spiral spring toy invented by Richard T. James in the early 1940s. It can perform a number of tricks, including walking down stairs or slopes, seemingly moving on its own.
18. Perfection
Source: UGC
Perfection is a game by the Milton Bradley Company. The object is to put all the pieces into matching holes on the board before the time limit runs out.
19. Stretch Armstrong
Source: Getty Images
In the 1970s, a company called Kenner invented the Stretch Armstrong toy. It was widely popular for the next few decades, inspiring many spin-off versions across the globe. Stretch Armstrong is a toy with rubber muscles that can be stretched many times their original size.
20. Koosh Balls
Source: UGC
The Koosh ball is a toy ball made of rubber strands radiating from a steel-bound core. There are different Koosh-related products, including keyrings, baseball sets, and yo-yos.
21. Hungry Hungry Hippos
Hungry Hungry Hippos is a game released in the 1990s by Hasbro. It is a competitive game made of 2-4 players, where they try to collect as many marbles as they can with their plastic hippo.
22. Mr. Potato Head
Source: Getty Images
Mr. Potato Head was invented and manufactured by George Lerner in 1949 but was first distributed by Hasbro in 1952. It consists of a plastic model of a potato head to which different plastic parts can attach, especially ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, pants and mouth. It saw a resurgence in popularity thanks to the Toy Story franchise.
23. Magic Mitt
Source: UGC
Magic Mitt was a popular toy in the 1990s that provided a unique interactive experience for children. It was essentially a glove-like accessory that incorporated various sensory features and activities.
24. Talkboy
Source: UGC
Talkboy is a handheld voice recorder and sound novelty toy manufactured by Tiger Electronics in the 1990s. The Talkboy cassette recorder's success generated a series of electronic sound novelty toys, including a phone, walkie-talkies, and a radio.
25. Poo-Chi Robot Pets
Source: Getty Images
Poo-Chi is among the first generations of robopet toys. Poo-Chi is a robot dog designed by Samuel James Lloyd and Matt Lucas and manufactured by Sega Toys. It was released in 2000 and discontinued in 2002. While they weren't technically made in the 90s, the children of that generation still enjoyed these robot dogs immensely.
26. Sky Dancers
Source: Getty Images
Sky Dancers is the name of a line of popular toys in the mid-1990s. The toys were made of a pull-string base and a doll with foam wings.
27. Tickle Me Elmo
Source: Getty Images
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's plush toy from Tyco Preschool. The Tickle Me Elmo toy was a plush doll replicating Elmo's appearance. When squeezed, Elmo shakes, vibrates, and recites his trademark giggle.
28. Street Sharks
Street Sharks was a toy line created by Kenner in 1991. The toy line consisted of robotic sharks that were used as vehicles for their human pilots. The toys were marketed as being able to swim in both fresh and salt water.
29. Doodle Bear
Source: UGC
Doodle Bear was a toy that a lot of 90s kids might remember. It was an interactive toy with speech and voice recognition capabilities. Doodle Bear was initially created in 1995 by Ed Kaplan as a combination of soft plush and activity toys.
30. Nerf Blaster
Source: UGC
Nerf Blasters were introduced in the 1990s and have been popular with children ever since. The toy has survived multiple iterations and it still enjoyed by many to this day.
31. Crocodile Dentist
Source: UGC
Crocodile Dentist is a classic children's game published by Milton Bradley in 1990. It is a simple and exciting game that revolves around the suspense of not getting bitten by a plastic crocodile.
32. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures
Source: Getty Images
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were among the first worldwide successes for 90s action figures. The action figures are based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise and have been produced by Playmates Toys since 1988.
33. Gak
Source: UGC
Gak Splat was initially made in 1993 by Kenner Products, which later merged with Hasbro in 1991. It was a liquid-filled egg with a toy inside.
34. Mr. Frosty
Source: UGC
Mr. Frosty is a nostalgic children's toy and activity set that allows kids to create slushies, ice lollies, sundaes and frozen treats. It is made of a plastic snowman-shaped mould with various compartments, a handle to rotate it, and a set of ice-shaving accessories.
35. Buzz Lightyear
Source: Getty Images
Buzz Lightyear is a toy that was made famous by Pixar Animation Studios. He first appeared in the 1995 movie Toy Story, where Tim Allen voiced him.
36. Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
Source: Getty Images
Marvin Glass and Associates designed Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, a two-player action toy and game. It was created by the Marx toy company in 1964 and was one of the most popular toys for both children and adults in the 90s.
37. Dream Phone
Dream Phone was released by Milton Bradley in 1991, and it quickly became an iconic staple in homes across the globe. The game's object was to find out who your secret admirer was by using your phone and calling different people.
38. Mr. Bucket
Source: UGC
Mr. Bucket is a tabletop game and toy published by Milton Bradley and initially released in 1990. The game includes a plastic, motorized bucket that expels numerous coloured balls from its mouth. The participants scoop up the balls with plastic shovels and place them back into Mr. Bucket.
39. Spice Girl Dolls
Source: Getty Images
The Spice Girls dolls are celebrity dolls based on the Spice Girls, a prominent girl group. Galoob Toys launched them between 1997 and 1999. They are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time.
40. G.I. Joe Action Figures
Source: Getty Images
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures that have been popular since its introduction in the 1960s. The figures are based on military characters and have become iconic in the world of action figures and toys.
41. Easy-Bake Oven
Source: Getty Images
The Easy-Bake Oven is a working toy oven introduced in 1963 by Kenner and currently manufactured by Hasbro. It allows children to bake small, edible treats with the help of a simple heating mechanism.
42. Vortex Football
Source: UGC
The Vortex Football, also known as the Nerf Vortex Aero Howler, is a unique football designed for long-distance throws and impressive aerial performances. It is part of the Nerf Sports line of toys produced by Hasbro.
43. Yo-Yo
Source: Getty Images
A yo-yo is a toy with an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. In the 90s, it was all the rage.
44. Mighty Max
Source: UGC
Mighty Max was a series of toys that were manufactured by Bluebird Toys PLC in the UK in 1992. The toy line was based on the 1987 animated television series Mighty Max. The toys were marketed as action figures with brains.
45. Foxtail
Source: UGC
Foxtail is a toy from the 1990s that was made to resemble a fox's tail. It was initially created and manufactured by Mattel but later discontinued in 2000. Foxtail is a great throw-and-catch game for kids and adults.
46. Atari Jaguar
Source: Getty Images
The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console developed by Atari Corporation and released in North America in November 1993. It was a CD-ROM-based system that could play games in 3D.
47. Pogs
Pogs, also known as Milk caps, is a children's game in which flat circular cardboard milk caps are used as the playing pieces. Players build a stack of these caps and take turns dumping a heavier object onto it, disrupting the caps.
48. Puppy Surprise
Source: UGC
Puppy Surprise is a toy line that was first introduced in the 1990s and has continued to be popular over the years. It is known for its element of surprise and its focus on nurturing and caring for plush puppies.
49. Moon Shoes
Source: UGC
Moon Shoes are mini-sized trampolines for children that aid in the development of balance and coordination. They were part of a merchandising effort by Nickelodeon.
50. Crazy Bones
Source: UGC
Gogo's Crazy Bones, also known as Crazy Bones or Gogo's, are colourful plastic figurines, each with its own unique design and shape, that can be used to play many different games, similar to marbles and jacks.
What were the popular toys in the 1990s?
Some of the most popular toys from the 1990s are Tamagotchi, Beanie Babies, Power Rangers, Giga Pets, Nintendo 64 and Furby.
Toys are more than just objects to keep kids occupied. Like music, movies, and fashion, toys can steer pop culture and define entire decades. Whether you are a dedicated collector or just feeling sentimental, bring back a slice of the good old days with the above popular 90s toys and games.
Legit.ng recently published an article about iconic video game characters. Numerous iconic characters have emerged throughout gaming history, becoming beloved and enduring symbols of the medium. These characters have left an indelible mark on popular culture and have become household names, recognized by gamers and non-gamers alike.
Video games have been a great source of entertainment, as they captivate your imagination and take you on thrilling adventures. There are countless successful games with numerous beloved characters of all time. Find out some of the best iconic video game characters that even non-gamers will recognize.
Source: Legit.ng
