The Coolest 90s Toys You Couldn’t Live Without

October 2, 2024

The 90s was an era filled with new and inventive electronic toys and gadgets. From Tamagotchi’s to Furby’s there was something for every kid to be obsessed with.

Some of those toys were ground-breaking, while others seem archaic now, but they all hold a special place in the heart of anyone who grew up in the 1990s.

Let’s count down five of the most popular electronic toys and gadgets from the 90s. Which ones did you have?

The Talkboy, released by Tiger Electronics in 1992 actually started off as a movie prop! Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) in Home Alone 2 had a Talk Boy which is a small tape recorder that allows him to disguise his voice to book a room at the Plaza Hotel.

Director John Hughes designed the little device himself and then took it to Tiger Electronics and asked him to bring the idea to life. But the Talkboy that hit toy shelves after the movie came was just a tape recorder. There was no voice modulator.

The problem was fixed the next year when Home Alone 2 was distributed on video and a new Talkboy Deluxe was released and it worked just like Kevin’s.

The colorful furball with big eyes and pointy ears hit stores in October 1998 and within a few months, 1.8 million Furbys were sold. 

Kids either loved it or were terrified by Furby’s ability to learn English. The furry creature started off speaking a form of gibberish called Furbish which could be deciphered with the help of a dictionary that came with the toy. Over time Furby could be trained to start replacing key phrases with English. 

Because Furby was one of the first widely marketed toy robots, it also appealed to the hacking community and Furby hacking became a well-documented hobby.

HitClips first appeared in McDonalds Happy Meals in 1999, and the micro music system became so popular they were soon released in toy stores. 

HitClips were tiny little memory cards that played 60 seconds of a hit pop song on a little player shaped like a boom box or a CD player. A great marketing tool for record companies promoting acts like Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Britney Spears because if you liked the song you had to go out and buy the CD to hear the whole thing. 

Kids didn’t seem to mind though. The clips which sold for about $4 each became highly collectible and the more you had dangling from your backpack the cooler you were.

The little egg-shaped Tamagotchi took North America by storm in May 1997 and before the original fad fizzled out it became one of the most successful toys in history selling over 80 million units worldwide. 

The virtual pet contained in the key chain gadget hatched from an egg and then required owners to take care of the little guy by feeding, disciplining, and playing with it.

The Tamagotchi blooped and bleeped reminding kids of their responsibilities and in the process drove parents and teachers crazy and eventually meant the toys were banned at most schools. 

Nintendo’s Gameboy was actually released in 1989, but it ruled the 1990s and changed the entire concept of portable gaming. 

Created by Japanese video game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the first Gameboy wasn’t super high tech which meant it didn’t have expensive hardware and battery zapping color-displays and that allowed it to be a truly portable gaming system that would last for 30 hours on just four AA batteries. 

The Game Boy launched first in Japan in April 1989 and three months later it hit shelves in North America.

Initially, Nintendo US planned on including Super Mario Land with every Gameboy but at the last minute acquired the rights to Tetris. As a result, the highly addictive puzzle game became one of the most popular video games of all time selling 35 million copies on Gameboy alone. 

Step back into the 90s and relive the fun and nostalgia alongside fellow fans on The 90s Cruise! Don’t miss out—book your cabin today and bring your favorite 90s toys along for the ride!