It’s no secret that retro games and game consoles have ruled the gaming world for decades. They’ve taken part in beautifying the childhood of many. But some special games have been particularly popular.
In this guide, we’ll take you through the 8 best retro games of all time. With our first-hand experience in mind, we picked the most successful retro games for you. Our reviews will help you gauge which game you should go with for your next adventure.
Let’s get started with the buyers’ guide, which will help us understand what we should look for before choosing our ideal retro game.
Buying Guide: How To Buying The Best Retro Games?
If you want to explore more retro games to play, consider the following factors before buying to ensure that you end up making the best use of your bucks.
Repay Level
You’re buying a retro game to play with family & friends and have fun with them. But what if it starts feeling boring after a couple of plays? It’s not just the waste of your money but also the game’s inability to attract you towards it over and over again.
Before you purchase a console game, make sure it’s interesting, and you won’t get bored playing it the 2nd or 3rd time. For this purpose, you could get recommendations from your fellow gamer friends or online communities.
Price
Pricing is another crucial aspect. There’s no way around considering it. Although games generally don’t make a hole in your pocket, you might still want to compare and go with the best budget-friendly option available on the market.
Also, you want to make sure no online store or offline shop defrauds you. Do a survey to ensure you have an estimate of pricing through different marketplaces.
Genre
Everyone comes with a different taste for games. Some like adventure games while others prefer shooting. Naturally, before you purchase the best retro game for yourself, take care to consider the genre and ask yourself whether it interests you.
Otherwise, you may soon get bored of the game due to your lack of interest in it.
Offline Purchase or Online
When it comes to buying retro games, there are two common ways: in-person or online. The case of in-person purchase is quite simple. Wade through different gaming shops in your city and find the best retro game for you – while, of course, taking care of the pricing.
On the other hand, we have online marketplaces. There are multiple options you could consider. These include the FaceBook marketplace, Amazon, and other online stores. We, at Retro vGames, also sell retro games at competitive prices.
Best Retro Games You MUST Play At Least Once
The reviews below cover genre information, popularity, and everything in between for these games. One thing in particular that we’ve talked about is the “experience” – retro games are known for their experience.
1. Super Mario All-Stars – Best Retro Game Of All Time
Among the top-selling retro games around the globe is Super Mario All-Stars. It’s one of the best parts of the Super Mario series that has sold an enormous amount of video games worldwide for many decades.
The game is about an incredible adventure that covers a variety of areas such as mountains, grounds, lakes, etc. You have to pass through all these areas by tickling the obstacles on the way. The gameplay, music effects, and mechanics of the game are smooth and amazing – making it one of the best retro games around.
This action-adventure game was developed by Nintendo and a couple of other developers. The game was released in 1993 on Super-Nintendo Entertainment System.
If you’re into action-adventure games to have fun with friends, Super Mario All Stars is your best bet. You can try the 3D version as well that got released recently, but nothing beats the classics.
2. Super Mario Kart – Best Kart-Racing Retro Game
Super Mario Car is a kart-racing video game specialized for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and developed by Nintendo itself. The game was released in 1992 and had rapid growth.
The best part about the game is the availability of numerous tracks to race on, so you won’t get bored soon. On top of that, the multiplayer option will level up your gaming experience by enjoying it with your friends. Though some textural and graphical improvement could’ve been made, the gameplay is the absolute definition of a classic.
This video game is a kart racing game compatible with various game consoles like NES, Wii U, and many more. If you’re into racing video games, you might love Super Mario Kart.
As of today, the company has been able to sell 35.39 million units of this classic game. There’s a reason … aren’t you curious to explore it?
3. Space Invaders – Best Retro Game For Sci-Fi Lovers
A childhood without Space Invaders video game is boring and incomplete. Taito released this classic game first in 1978, where Tomohiro Nishikado designed the game and Nintendo published it.
Space Invaders is a fixed shooter video game where you use multiple powers and lasers to invade the aliens. As long as you keep killing the upcoming aliens, you keep leveling up. With this kind of interesting gameplay, it’s a fun game for parties with friends & family.
With millions of copies sold within the first three years, the retro game became one of the all-time best retro games. If you’re into shooter games, Space Invaders is the best bet for you.
4. Streets of Rage – Best 1-on-1 Fighting Retro Game
Here we’ve got another amazing retro game series, Streets of Rage, original. The developers released its first part in 1991 and right one year after the first release, the game had reached the mark of a hundred thousand sales.
The series is focused on getting a large American city rid of criminals. The players get the roles of ex-police vigilantes and are assigned the mission of killing as many criminals as possible. The gameplay overall is strategic & brings the best out of you.
Plus, the immersive graphics effects are in place to level up the overall gaming experience. If you want to go on an adventure with your friends where you get to kill the enemy force and enjoy a handful of classic graphical and musical effects, bring Streets of Rage home.
5. Super Metroid – Best SNES Retro Game
With immersive gameplay, incredible effects, and outclass advanced options, Super Metroid easily becomes one of the top 8 retro games ever developed. Super Metroid is an action-adventure video game developed by various corporations, including Nintendo and Development 1.
Let’s talk about the gameplay first. You’ll be playing as a bounty hunter who travels across a special planet to retrieve a stolen creature. As the story unfolds, only do you realize how interesting, mysterious, and overall thrilling the experience can be. It revolves around exploration – best for explorers out there!
The compatible platforms for the classic video game include NES, Nintendo Switch, Wii, New Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. With this kind of versatile options: the developers were able to sell over 1.42 million copies worldwide by 2003.
If you’re looking for a retro game where you explore and travel across different planets, go with Super Metroid – honestly.
6. Pac-Man – Best Gameboy Retro Game
Undoubtedly, Pac-Man is one of the all-time coolest arcade adventure games. The game was released back in 1980 and successfully sold over 7 million copies worldwide, yet it is still well-reputed.
Pac-Mac comes with simple yet tense gameplay where you roam around a certain map and collect points while escaping the enemies. If you’re able to escape, you win. But if they catch you before that, you’ve got a couple more chances to retry.
The game series is compatible with various platforms that particularly include Atari 2600, Arcade video game, and even PlayStation 4! If you’re looking for a light adventure game that’s easy to understand and play, our first recommendation is Pac-Man.
7. LoZ: A Link to the Past – Best SNES Adventure
Nintendo specially developed Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES. The game was released in 1991 in Japan and sold over 4.61 million units around the globe.
Despite being decades old, this action-adventure game still offers vibrant and attractive colors. On top of that, the coding and gameplay of the game are really awesome and smooth. Sometimes during the play, it becomes hard to find out where to go next. This is the strategic part we all love.
Aside from that, the game is also compatible with Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Switch, Wii, New Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. So, if you’re into strategic adventure video games, you’ll love this masterpiece from the Legend of Zelda Series.
8. OutRun – Genesis Game
Racing games have always been very impactful on the gaming industry. For retro gaming, the best retro racing games particularly include OutRun. The game was developed and released by Sega in 1986. Within one year, the game was able to generate 18,000 sales worldwide.
The overall gameplay is awesome. You’re spawned as a Ferrari driver and assigned the mission for tackling the obstacles on the way. The objective is to reach the finish line within a limited time and level up to the next stage. Plus, the availability of versatile routes is a detail that makes it even more exciting.
If you’re a driving-games-freak, OutRun by Genesis will be your best friend.
FAQs About Best Retro Games Of All Time
Still have questions? Following are the answers to the most-searched queries about best retro games of all time.
What games are considered retro?
Precisely, the games released before 2000 – over 20-years old – are usually called retro games. Retro generally refers to “old”, and so, the classic old-school games released decades ago will be considered to be “retro” games.
The best retro games include Super Metroid, Pac-Man, and Legend of Zelda. Although these series also released their parts after 2000, they are considered retro game series as they were originally released before.
Can I play retro games online?
Retro games can be played online on the browser but may not work as well as they do on the game consoles. In other words, retro games are not generally compatible with browsers and will not result in a smooth gaming experience on browsers.
So, our recommendation is to invest in a classic game console to enjoy simultaneous retro gaming. Visit our store at Retrolio Games to find the best retro game console for you. However, we recommend the Super Nintendo Console. Besides the stunning price value, it packs with 21-built in games you can enjoy right away.
Where can I find old video games online?
But what is the best game console for you to buy? Consider the Nintendo N64 console. It comes with a budget-friendly price tag, 5789 reviews making a total of 4.9 ratings, and powerful hardware to flawlessly handle a variety of retro games.
Are retro games free?
Retro games are paid. Although you could find some old and worthless retro games for free from some stores, the popular and well-demanded retro games come with a price tag. Their pricing typically falls somewhere between $20-30, depending upon the demand and value.
However, some retro games can even cost $100 if they’re so rare and only a limited number of copies of them are available in the market. You can buy retro games from an online store like us, Retro vGames. Despite the competitive pricing, we offer 24-7 customer assistance and a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Verdict
Over the past decades, retro gaming has been so popular that millions of copies would sell on the release of a popular game. The sale of retro games is again getting into motion due to the pandemic.
In this guide, we listed the all-time best retro games with different genres. These particularly include Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario All-Stars, and Super Mario Kart. We also managed a buyer’s guide to help you make a wise purchase.
We hope this guide helped you in finding the best retro games that suit your taste. Happy retro gaming!
