It’s hard to believe there was a time when video games were nothing more than a series of blinking pixels on a screen. The golden age of video games was a time of experimentation and innovation, so new gaming consoles and video games were released yearly, pushing the limits of what was possible in the industry. Today, we’ve got the benefit of hindsight and know what makes a great game.
We can look fondly back on the good old days when we played classic video games. While we love adventure games and platform games, there’s something about the simplicity of classic video games that we just can’t get enough of.
You probably already have a list of classic video games you love. But let’s take a moment to rediscover and appreciate some of the most popular video games of all time that provided hours upon hours of fun back when things seemed to be a little less complicated. These classic games and franchises shaped our childhoods and still serve as a link to the past.
#1 Super Mario Bros. 3
The best retro games have the power to take us back to a time when we could just kick back and play with our siblings, parents, or friends. And no retro game does that better than Super Mario Bros. 3. The music is iconic. The graphics are timeless. The gameplay is challenging but fair — and there’s a reason why it’s been ranked as one of the most popular games for NES! It’s basically impossible that you’ve never played this classic, but in case you haven’t, you’re in for a treat: it’s still just as fun today as it was back in the 1990s!
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#2 Super Mario Bros. 2
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#3 Pac-Man
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#4 Super Mario World
A gem of the gaming community, Super Mario World’s gameplay is similar to that of the earlier Super Mario games: it follows Mario (or Luigi) through a series of levels in which the goal is to get to the other side by jumping around the platforms. The game introduced us to Yoshi, one of the most beloved Nintendo characters. It sold over twenty million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling SNES game.
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#5 Donkey Kong
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#6 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
The third release in The Legend Of Zelda franchise was one of the best games to see the light in the ’90s, and I would argue that it’s also one of the best games in general. It’s a classic Zelda title with all the elements that make up a great game: engaging gameplay mechanics, an intriguing story, and the memorable characters that made us fall in love with the series in the first place. Its spiritual successor, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, was released in 2013.
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#7 Sonic The Hedgehog
Raise your hand if you also spent your childhood afternoons playing with the most famous hedgehog of all time! This platform game follows a spinning blue hedgehog, with red shoes and white gloves, running across fields full of rings to collect. The game was released in 1991 and has since spawned spin-offs, sequels, cartoons, comics, merchandise, and even live-action movies! It was initially released on the Sega Genesis console and was later ported to modern platforms, Nintendo Switch included.
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#8 Super Mario Kart
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#9 Theme Park
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#10 Duck Hunt
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#11 Donkey Kong Country
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#12 Ms. Pac-Man
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#13 Mario Kart 64
Get some of your favorite snacks and favorite people, and get ready to race in one of the best video games ever! Developed specifically for Nintendo 64, players can choose their preferred character from the Mario franchise and race around a variety of tracks with items that can either get in the way of your rivals or rescue you when you need it the most!
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#14 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
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#15 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
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#16 Super Mario Bros
Choosing just one title from Nintendo’s first console would be hard. After all, it was home to some of gaming’s most iconic characters. But ultimately, we would go with Super Mario Bros., which is still considered one of the best platforming experiences ever created by anyone in any medium. If you too have fond memories of playing this iconic game, it’s time to take them back and introduce your kids and younger siblings to the same blessing of the first Super Mario Bros.!
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#17 Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Released in 1996, the game features Mario’s first 3D adventure as he travels through a large open world to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. It received critical acclaim and is often mentioned among the best video games of all time.
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#18 Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II was a massive success when it launched in 1991 on arcade machines. It was later ported to home consoles, including SNES and Game Boy, which contributed to it becoming one of the most popular video games and grossing more than $17 billion. It’s been credited for popularizing the fighting genre during the 1990s and inspiring other producers to create their own fighting series.
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#19 Mortal Kombat
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#20 Sonic The Hedgehog 3
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#21 EarthBound
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#22 Doom
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#23 Space Invaders
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#24 Frogger
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#25 SimCity 2000
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#26 Unreal Tournament
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#27 Commander Keen
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#28 Goldeneye 007
There’s something about the James Bond franchise that has made it a perennial favorite of audiences worldwide. The movies are certainly an exciting staple in cinema history, but GoldenEye 007 also stands its ground in the video game industry. The expectations for it were poor at first. Still, it became a critical and commercial success and the third best-selling Nintendo 64 game, just behind Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64.
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#29 Super Smash Bros
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#30 Metroid
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#31 StarCraft
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#32 Pong
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#33 Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link
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#34 Lemmings
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#35 Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
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#36 Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!
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#37 Final Fantasy VII
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#38 Pokemon – Red Version
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#39 Duck Tales
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#40 Command & Conquer
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#41 The Simpsons Arcade Game
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#42 Gran Turismo
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#43 Warcraft II: Tides Of Darkness
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#44 Dune
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#45 Monkey Island 2: Lechuck’s Revenge
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#46 The Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild
One of the latest entries in the long-running Zelda series, which debuted in 1986 on the NES, is an open-world adventure with 50 to 200 hours of content, depending on your will to probe every single aspect of the game and get 100% completion. You’ll explore the vast expanses of Hyrule and fight monsters along the way in your quest to defeat Calamity Ganon and restore peace in the kingdom.
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#47 Street Fighter
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#48 The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
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#49 Star Fox 64
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#50 SimCity
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