Games Released in July 1996

86 new games debuted in July 1996, with PlayStation being the most active platform. July 26 was the busiest day, with 23 releases. Nights Into Dreams... was the most popular release of the month.

Which days had the most releases?

July 26 saw the most activity with 23 releases.

23 releases

July 26

18 releases

July 19

12 releases

July 12

10 releases

July 5

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

Mon, Jul 1

8 releases

Tue, Jul 2

1 release

Wed, Jul 3

No releases

Thu, Jul 4

1 release

Fri, Jul 5

10 releases

Sat, Jul 6

3 releases

Sun, Jul 7

1 release

Mon, Jul 8

1 release

Tue, Jul 9

3 releases

Wed, Jul 10

2 releases

Thu, Jul 11

1 release

Fri, Jul 12

12 releases

Sat, Jul 13

No releases

Sun, Jul 14

1 release

Mon, Jul 15

No releases

Tue, Jul 16

No releases

Wed, Jul 17

3 releases

Thu, Jul 18

2 releases

Fri, Jul 19

18 releases

Sat, Jul 20

1 release

Sun, Jul 21

6 releases

Mon, Jul 22

1 release

Tue, Jul 23

No releases

Wed, Jul 24

1 release

Thu, Jul 25

No releases

Fri, Jul 26

23 releases

Sat, Jul 27

1 release

Sun, Jul 28

4 releases

Mon, Jul 29

1 release

Tue, Jul 30

2 releases

Wed, Jul 31

6 releases

How did each week compare?

The fourth week of July was the busiest with 30 releases.

Week 1 (July 1–7)

24 releases

Most popular release in Week 1

Nights Into Dreams...

The story follows the teenagers Elliot Edwards and Claris Sinclair, who enter Nightopia, a dream world where all dreams take place. With the help of Nights, an exiled "Nightmaren", they begin a journey to stop the evil ruler Wizeman from destroying Nightopia and consequently the real world. Players control Nights flying through Elliot and Claris's dreams to gather enough energy to defeat Wizeman and save Nightopia. The game is presented in 3D and imposes time limits on every level, in which the player must accumulate points to proceed.

Week 2 (July 8–14)

20 releases

Most popular release in Week 2

Actua Golf

Actua Golf is a golf simulation with full 3D terrain and characters. It comes with two courses to play at (country and tropical), customizable characters and multi-view shot tracking and action replays. Actua Golf uses similar game controls as older golf titles did. With a swing meter, where you have to time correctly to hit the ball right.

Week 3 (July 15–21)

30 releases

Most popular release in Week 3

Saturn Bomberman

Saturn Bomberman is an action game by Hudson Soft for the Sega Saturn. The twelfth installment in the Bomberman series, it was first released in Japan on July 19, 1996, in Europe in May 1, 1997, and in North America in September 4, 1997. It is best known for its multiplayer functionality for up to ten players using multitaps. It received praise for its gameplay and multiplayer, but criticism for not advancing the Bomberman series enough. Saturn Bomberman can also connect to the Sega Saturn NetLink internet system, allowing two people from opposite ends of the earth to battle it out.

Week 4 (July 22–28)

30 releases

Most popular release in Week 4

Virtua Fighter 3

Virtua Fighter 3 is the third fighting game in the Virtua Fighter series. Two new Japanese characters were added to the roster of fighters: Aoi Umenokoji, a beautiful Japanese woman and a childhood friend of Akira Yuki who used a nimble form of Aiki-jujutsu as her fighting style of choice, and Taka-Arashi, a Sumo wrestler from Japan. Taka Arashi would not make another appearance in the Virtua Fighter series until Virtua Fighter 5 R; the series' current producer, Hiroshi Kataoka explained that the removal of Taka in subsequent installments was due to the technical implications of having a substantially larger character.

Week 5 (July 29–31)

9 releases

Most popular release in Week 5

The King of Fighters '96

The King of Fighters '96 is a 1996 fighting game. It is the third game in The King of Fighters series, following The King of Fighters '95. SNK's flagship series returns for another year. Many of the changes in this year's KOF release come in the form of improved graphics, sound effects, music and totally redone character sprites. The gameplay of the system has been altered with the addition of "Rush" multi-hit combos and new moves for practically every character. The storyline of the series receives heavy focus in this release with the Orochi Saga swinging into high-gear. The King of Fighters '96 has 27 regular characters plus 2 boss characters (who can be unlocked with the use of a code). Newcomers to the tournament include Mr. Big from the Art of Fighting series, the bosses from Fatal Fury (Wolfgang Krauser and Geese Howard), and completely original characters like Leona Heidern, Mature and Vice. Other features carried over from the previous year include the ability to choose between the default "Team Fighting" mode or the traditional "Single Fighter" style of gameplay, plus the "Versus" and "Survival" gameplay modes.

Which platforms saw the most releases?

PlayStation received 29 new titles in July 1996. The runner up was Sega Saturn with 22 new titles.

PlayStation29 releases

Sega Saturn22 releases

PC17 releases

Super Famicom12 releases

DOS7 releases

Mac6 releases

Neo Geo CD5 releases

Arcade4 releases

Game Boy4 releases

PC-9800 Series4 releases

What genres were most popular?

Adventure was the dominant genre in July 1996 with 25 titles. Simulator followed closely with 20.

Adventure25

Simulator20

Sport15

Shooter14

Strategy13

Role-playing12

Arcade10

Fighting10

Visual Novel10

Puzzle9

1996 Review

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