The ‘90s was a great time to be a kid. New animated shows like Pokemon, Rugrats, and Hey Arnold! debuted alongside movies like The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Tarzan. Video games like Super Mario World, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon all came out around this time as well. And perhaps most importantly of all, some of the best toys ever were released in the 1990s.
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If you’re old enough to remember any of these toys from your childhood or maybe even recent adult life as a toy collector, then you’ll definitely want to check out this article. Here are 5 toys from the 1990s that you forgot about!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Wrestling Action Figures
Ah, the classic showdown between good and evil, man and mutant, Turtle and Turtle. These TMNT wrestling figures are as awesome as they are ridiculous. There are five different figures in a set and each comes with their own wrestling ring, two belts, and two turtles dressed in referee outfits. The figures stand about 13 inches tall, so that’s pretty big for a wrestling figure, but that’s what you get when you mix two different turtles into one.
The figures come in different colors but all have the same heads, so you can’t mix and match the heads with other figures if you want to create your own dream match. You also get a button on the back of each figure that you push to make them “explode” which is definitely something you have to see in person to fully appreciate. These are definitely a product of their time; if you were a kid in the late ‘90s, these are definitely something you had.
Pogs
Pogs were a hugely popular toy in the ‘90s and they were basically just cardboard discs that kids used to play a game of chance. You would put all of your pogs into a cardboard machine, slam down a wooden or metal bar, and then see who had the most pogs left standing at the end.
Pogs were a little like a game of cards, except that you were playing with discs instead of cards. And, instead of winning money or points, you were collecting pogs as souvenirs. But the most important thing about pogs was that they were really, really fun to play with your friends. There are a lot of different theories about how pogs became so popular. Some people think that pogs were popular because of their designs. Others think that pogs were popular because of the media attention that they received. Which of these theories is correct might be hard to know for sure.
Tamagotchi Virtual Pets
We all know Pokémon as the franchise that took the world by storm in the ‘90s, but before that, the other must-have toy was the Tamagotchi virtual pet. It’s basically just a keychain that kids could play with to raise a virtual pet. It’s very simple, but it completely captured the imagination of kids everywhere.
The way the game works is that you have to feed your pet, clean up after it, and keep it entertained on a daily basis. If you forget to do any of these things, your pet will die. This may sound harsh, but it really makes you pay attention to your responsibilities as a parent. It’s also a great toy for teaching kids how to care for animals, so even if your pet does die from neglect, it was still a beneficial toy.
Card Games Like Pokémon and Magic The Gathering
Card games were a staple of the ‘90s, but the most popular of all was Magic the Gathering. This card game allows you to build a deck that could defeat any other deck. You could even play against yourself by creating two decks and having them battle each other in a simulated tournament. Kids also loved Pokémon cards, Yu-Gi-Oh, and even the lesser-known card games like Digimon and Beyblades.
The great thing about card games is that they’re easy to learn and fun for kids and adults alike. Plus, you don’t have to spend a lot of money getting started with one of these card games; a starter deck is usually only a few dollars.
Micro Machines Playsets and Figurines
Micro Machines were tiny cars and playsets that were like a smaller, cheaper version of Hot Wheels. While Hot Wheels were usually one car per set, Micro Machines were usually one car and a few miniature playsets such as a kitchen or a garage. You could also collect the miniature figurines that were included with certain sets. Some of these figurines were characters from the ‘90s cartoons like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or they were characters from classic literature and fairy tales. These figurines were also made into a card game that was sort of similar to Pokémon cards; you could collect them, battle them against each other, and put them in a binder.
Conclusion
Overall, the ‘90s was a great decade for toys and games. If you were a kid during this time, you were definitely spoiled for choice. Many of these toys are still being produced today, but they’ve undergone some changes over the years. Kids these days hardly know what it’s like to have to walk to the store and buy a toy, bring it home, and then play with it right away. Some of these toys from the ‘90s required batteries and couldn’t be played with right away. However, these are still fantastic toys that kids today would love to have. And if you were a kid in the ‘90s, you definitely remember at least a few of these toys.
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