The term “Tamagotchi” derives from the Japanese words for egg and friend. The best toys of the 90’s will make you squeal with nostalgia.
The 90’s were a prosperous time. For instance, Macaulay Culkin was the first child actor to get paid $1 million for his role in My Girl. The 90’s economy was good, which meant more money for toys.
Reading about these toys will give you a blast from the past. Some of these toys are even worth big money now.
Here are some toys from the 90’s that drove kids wild:
Best Toys Of The 90’s: Tamagotchi
Tamagotchi was the most popular digital pet brand during the 90’s. More than 82 million Tamagotchi digital pets have been sold worldwide.
Tamagotchis were egg-shaped digital devices. Your pet tamagotchi, an alien from Planet Tama, was on a screen. It was your job to feed, clean, and care for the tamagotchi.
Your tamagotchi’s life depended on you. If you didn’t take care of it, it could die in less than a day. After its “death”, you’d reset the toy and play again with a new tamagotchi.
Teachers in the 90’s were familiar with taking these toys away from students. Parents loved the incessant beeping noises. Some schools even banned Tamagotchi from their premises.
Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies are some of the greatest 90’s toys in existence. Unlike other stuffed animals, Beanie Babies were stuffed with beans. Each Beanie Baby came with a Ty tag, a name, and a short poem.
When Beanie Babies were popular, they were worth around 50% less if they didn’t have their tags in tact. That’s why many collectors encased the tags in plastic protective shields.
Ty began selling Beanie Babies in 1993. Ty was the first plush toy company to ever been worth over a billion dollars.
People anticipated Beanie Babies being worth money later down the line. Kids often put Beanie Babies in plastic boxes to preserve/protect them. The most valuable Beanie Babies could be tucked away in your residence somewhere.
First edition purple Princess Diana bears are known for being worth money. By selling the Princess Diana Beanie Baby, TY was able to raise over $15 million for the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.
Game Boy
Game Boy was the gaming console of the 90’s. This hand-held gaming device is one of the most popular 90’s toys there are. Nintendo has sold over 118 million units since Game Boy’s release.
Unlike other retro video games, Game Boy was successful in becoming a household name.
There were two types of Game Boys in the 90’s: the original Game Boy, also known as “Gameboy Thicc” by the internet. There was also Game Boy Color, a colorized version of Game Boy that was less clunky than the original.
Despite the word “boy” being in this toy’s name, Nintendo claimed around 46% of Game Boy players were girls in 1995.
Classic Game Boy games include Pokémon, Kirby’s Dream Land, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Zelda, Tetris, and more.
There was also a Tamagotchi game for Game Boy. Not only was the game a best seller, but it had the “off” button parents had been dreaming about.
Your Game Boy might be worth cash. If you have an original Game Boy and Tetris game in tact, you could make $900.
Pokémon Cards
Pokémon Trading Cards are some of the most iconic 90’s toys and games ever. All 90’s kids remember trading them. Getting a holographic card was the best feeling ever.
Pokémon released cards in 1996.
There’s an official game that goes with playing Pokémon cards. At one point, entire Pokémon trading card leagues often met at local stores to play this game. However, a lot of kids didn’t bother with the game and only collected the cards.
If you managed to get a holographic Charizard, you were officially the Pokémon master of your friend circle. The rarest card in the Pokémon TCG is a first edition Charizard.
Although Pokémon cards aren’t tarot cards, religious people still accused Nintendo of using the cards to promote the occult to children.
Furby
Furby didn’t come around until 1998. During the Furby frenzy, Tiger Electronics sold more than 40 million Furby toys. Around 1.8 million Furbies sold in 1998 alone.
Furbies spoke a language called “Furbish.” It was up to you to learn their language with a booklet the toy came with.
Each Furby knew 800 phrases. You could also teach the Furby to say new words. Kids took advantage of this opportunity to “teach” curse words to their Furbies.
Kids in the 90’s thought Furbies were the best toys, but parents thought these toys were possessed. You couldn’t help but get spooked when your Furby started talking in the middle of the night.
Plus, Furby was one of those toys parents fought over in toy aisles during the holidays. So while you might remember Furby fondly, 90’s parents didn’t feel the same way.
Creepy Crawlers
Creepy Crawlers gave you a taste of Halloween all year ’round. Toymax sold over 5 million units of Creepy Crawlers during the 90’s. That includes over 60 million bottles of Plastigoop, the substance used to create Creepy Crawlers creatures.
The toy came with metal moulds shaped like various bugs and other creepy creatures. You’d then pour different colors of Plastigoop into the mould. Afterwards, you’d insert the metal mould into the electric hot plate oven Creepy Crawlers came with.
All it took was some waiting, then voila! You had creepy creations of your own to enjoy.
Play With The 90’s Again
During the 90’s, 61 million people used pagers. Like pagers, the best toys of the 90’s have gone out of style, but they’ll always have a place in our hearts.
Only 3% of Americans remember what a dial-up modem sounds like. Fortunately, 90’s kids had these toys to entertain them while waiting to connect to AOL.
Expand your mind and learn more interesting facts. Your brain will thank you for it.