Games

103 games
Super Mario 64
N64
Platformer1996

The game that invented 3D platforming. 120 stars, a castle full of worlds, and jumps that still feel perfect.

Super Metroid
SNES
Action1994

Samus returns to Zebes in the game that defined a genre. Atmosphere, exploration, and power-up discovery at their peak.

Mega Man X
SNES
Platformer1993

X is faster, darker, and more acrobatic than Classic Mega Man. The wall-jump alone changed action games forever.

Yoshi's Island
SNES
Platformer1995

Baby Mario riding Yoshi through hand-drawn worlds. Nintendo's most creative SNES platformer — no contest.

Banjo-Kazooie
N64
Platformer1998

A bear and a bird collect notes across nine sprawling worlds. Rare's best work — warm, witty, and endlessly inventive.

Mario Kart 64
N64
Racing1996

Four players, sixteen tracks, and the blue shell that broke friendships. The definitive kart racer.

Contra
NES
Action1988

A hard-edged run-and-gun built for reflexes and repeat runs. Grab the Spread Gun and never look back.

Star Fox 64
N64
Shooter1997

Do a barrel roll. Fox McCloud leads his squad through Corneria and Venom in the defining rail shooter.

Pokémon FireRed
GBA
RPG2004

The Kanto remake that brought the original 151 Pokémon to the GBA with updated mechanics and wireless multiplayer.

Pokémon Emerald
GBA
RPG2004

The definitive Hoenn experience — both teams, the Battle Frontier, and Rayquaza waiting at the top of Sky Pillar.

Donkey Kong 64
N64
Platformer1999

Five Kongs, five worlds, thousands of collectibles. Rare's most ambitious N64 platformer — massive and unapologetically maximalist.

Castlevania
NES
Action1986

Simon Belmont hunts Dracula through gothic halls. Demanding, atmospheric, and endlessly replayable.

Mega Man 2
NES
Platformer1988

Eight robot masters, each with a weapon that cracks another. The blueprint every action-platformer follows.

Metroid Fusion
GBA
Action2002

Samus is infected, hunted by her own shadow. A tense, atmospheric Metroid that never lets you breathe.

F-Zero
SNES
Racing1990

Mode 7 at 200 mph. The game that launched a franchise and proved the SNES could feel fast.

Mario Kart DS
NDS
Racing2005

Thirty-two retro and new tracks, mission mode, and the first true online Mario Kart. Still the series high watermark for portable play.

Paper Mario
N64
RPG2000

Mario in a storybook world — turn-based battles with timing mechanics and a surprisingly deep story.

Fire Emblem
GBA
Strategy2003

The West's introduction to Fire Emblem — permadeath, support bonds, and tactical battles that punish carelessness.

Star Fox
SNES
Shooter1993

The Super FX chip brought polygons to the SNES. Fox McCloud's first mission is still exhilarating.

Golden Sun
GBA
RPG2001

A stunning GBA RPG with Djinn-based magic and visuals that shouldn't exist on the hardware.

Super Bomberman
SNES
Arcade1993

The definitive Bomberman formula on SNES — maze puzzles, chain explosions, and chaotic four-player battle mode.

Gunstar Heroes
Sega
Action1993

Treasure's debut — a furious run-and-gun with physics-based combat and bosses that seem impossible until they aren't.

DuckTales
NES
Platformer1989

Scrooge McDuck pogo-sticks across five globetrotting stages in Capcom's most charming NES game.

Streets of Rage
Sega
Beat 'em Up1991

Axel, Blaze, and Adam clean up the city with their fists. The original that set the blueprint for the series.

F-Zero X
N64
Racing1998

Thirty cars, thirty opponents, and speeds that defy physics. The purest racing experience on N64.

Earthworm Jim
Sega
Platformer1994

A worm in a supersuit fights across absurdist levels. Irreverent, gorgeous, and wonderfully strange.

Aladdin
Sega
Platformer1993

Virgin Games' cel-animated Aladdin — smoother, more cinematic, and arguably better than the SNES version.

Super C
NES
Action1990

The worthy Contra sequel — same relentless pace, tighter level design, and new overhead stages.

Contra 4
NDS
Action2007

WayForward's love letter to NES Contra — dual-screen vertical stages and the hardest Contra in decades.

Contra (World)
NES
Action1987

The original Japanese/world release of Contra — same alien-busting chaos, different difficulty curve.

Comix Zone
Sega
Beat 'em Up1995

A comic book artist trapped inside his own creation. Panel-to-panel combat with brilliant visual design.

NHL '94
Sega
Sports1993

The hockey game so good it's played competitively to this day. Wayne Gretzky on the ice.

Bomberman
NES
Action1985

Plant bombs, clear mazes, explode enemies. The original Bomberman stripped to its brilliant core.

ToeJam & Earl
Sega
Adventure1991

Two aliens lost on Earth searching for spaceship parts. Funky, weird, and unlike anything else on the Genesis.

ActRaiser
SNES
Action/Simulation1990

Half action platformer, half city-builder — a God who fights demons and tends to his people.

Terranigma
SNES
Action/RPG1995

A philosophical action RPG that never reached North America. One of the SNES's finest hidden gems.

Doom 64
N64
Shooter1997

An N64-exclusive Doom with an original campaign, darker tone, and music that unnerves.

Quake
N64
Shooter1996

id Software's gothic FPS in 3D — dark corridors, rocket jumping, and relentless demons.

Quake II
N64
Shooter1997

The Strogg invasion on the N64 — cleaner engine, more coherent campaign than its predecessor.

The Tick
SNES
Beat 'em Up1994

The spoon-wielding superhero smashes through The City in this SNES brawler based on the cult cartoon.