The Best Retro Games From Every Year (1985-1999)
[List] Picking the best 2 games from every year of classic gaming.
Back in November, I created a year-by-year list of my favourite game and runner up from every year of the new millennium: from every year I’ve been alive.
I had a gut-feeling this would be a popular post and I put a lot of work into articulating my picks as best I could. My hunch was correct. Exceeding even my wildest expectations, this list generated a surge of subscribers and became my most viewed ever on Substack. Now… I love a good sequel. Even back then I planned to make a similar list but for those years when I didn’t yet walk the Earth, so here it is.
This is my list of the greatest retro games from 1985-1999. I imagine there might be some raised eyebrows that I chose the NES as my starting point, this is because I pride myself on authenticity and recreating the original experience; I have no experience playing Atari, Intellivision or anything like that and the thought of setting up an 8-bit home computer intimidates me.
The difference between PAL, NTSC and NTSC-J regional release dates makes lists like this a bit of a pain in the ass for retro games, so for the most part I’m going to be following the Japanese release dates, unless a game was developed and released first in the West. There are times where I will follow Western dates though because I can’t bear to leave certain titles off this list just because they launched at an awkward time on the Famicom.
I hope you enjoy my picks for the very best of classic video games.
1985 Winner: Super Mario Bros.
I’m not expecting much pushback on this one, Super Mario Bros. might be the most important console game ever made. Its popularity in the United States pulled the nation out of its video game crash, it kept the cartridge format alive when Nintendo in Japan was midway through phasing them out with the Famicom disc system and created a pop-culture icon in the Mario Bros. current day discourse even suggests that Nintendo have supplanted Disney as the characters of choice for children.
Above all else? Super Mario Bros. is incredibly fun to this day. I respect the NES and enjoy a lot of its games but the overwhelming majority don’t warrant a revisit, SMB is an exception, its controls might be slippery and its graphics are spartan but the appeal of a simple obstacle course with hidden secrets and tricky enemies is a timeless one.
1985 Runner-Up: Hang-On
![Arcade Longplay [238] Hang-On](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TYu9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8c8dc798-9615-45b1-be68-0961a488ae42_640x480.jpeg "Arcade Longplay [238] Hang-On")
In the early days of gaming, arcade machines were technologically, graphically and enjoyment-ally (I don’t think that’s a word, but it should be) superior to any home console; the appeal of more advanced consoles like the SNES wasn’t better framerates or graphics, it was better games: games closer to the arcade experience. As such, while the Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System and the Atari 7200 only had 8-Bit graphics to work with, arcades were already in the 16-bit era.
Sega was the king of the arcades and their stunning 16-bit portfolio was built off classics like 1985’s Hang-On which was topping the charts.
1986 Winner: The Legend Of Zelda
Once again… I’m not expecting much pushback here. Aside from being one of the NES’ staple titles and largely holding up today so long as you seek out the map from the manual and are willing to take some notes, The Legend Of Zelda kicked off what I and I’m sure many others would consider to be Nintendo’s best IP.
Half the indie industry was built on aping this game and modern Zelda directly takes inspiration from this original game rather than more popular entries like Ocarina Of Time or A Link To The Past… that’s because Zelda on the NES is as classic as it gets.
1986 Runner-Up: Metroid
Metroid has gone down in history maligned, underappreciated and looked over in favour of its highly-casualised and less atmospheric GBA remake but I still stand by this original game and consider it among my favourite NES games. Metroid is moody, cryptic and difficult but so long as you’re willing to meet it halfway: to draw your own map, take notes and persevere, you’re in for a treat.
1987 Winner: Castlevania
Castlevania came out on the Famicom Disc System in 1986 but I’m following the Western release date here because this is my favourite NES game and I cannot bear to leave it off the list. Castlevania is unfair, stiff and quite short: like a teacher with a Napoleon Complex but it also oozes gothic and camp horror charm, has a fantastic soundtrack and is full of great stages and boss fights.
Castlevania is available as part of a bundle on virtually every piece of modern hardware, if you don’t have the Anniversary Collection then you’re missing out.
1987 Runner-Up: Contra (Probotector)
Contra (also known as Probotector here in the UK and in Europe) is one of the jewels in Konami’s lucrative IP hoard crown that it never bothers to use. Contra/Probo draws on the sublime machismo of 80’s action cinema to create a perfect co-op experience where you and a friend or sibling can suffer together through bullet hell. Famously difficult but incredibly addictive, this is an NES must-have.
1988 Winner: R-Type
R-Type came to consoles this year and man, what a great shmup this is. The ideal port is the Turbografx-16 version but that console never released in Europe, so I’m familiar with the Master System port. R-Type, at least on the SMS, chugs quite a bit and is full of flickering sprites but the music is killer, the gross, Giger-esque creature and level designs are like nothing else in the genre and it plays brilliantly.
R-Type Dimensions is this game’s remake and can be bought on PS5 and likely elsewhere, I highly recommend it.
1988 Runner-Up: Super Mario Bros. 3
I’m sure reactions to this will only be positive.
Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 never hit the same as the first one for me: SMB2 I actively dislike and this one feels like an awkward middle child: caught between Super Mario World and NES-era Mario. It’s still a really good game and one you need to own though. I know criticising this one would get me stabbed by NES kids but I just don’t enjoy it as much as the original. I wasn’t there when this game set the US gaming scene on fire, I wasn’t born yet and in the UK and Europe, Nintendo haven’t ever held quite such a dominant cultural grip.
1989 Winner: Tetris
1989 Saw the Western launch of both the Gameboy and the Mega Drive (or Genesis, if you are Atlantically inclined.) With Nintendo’s battery swallowing handheld came a spinach-green screen and Tetris: a puzzle game developed in the Soviet Union that made it through red tape and politics to the West and would become one of the best selling games ever made. Tetris is the puzzle game, if you’ve never played it then… I don’t believe you, but if you’re telling the truth, you’ve gotta try it.
The ‘Tetris Theme’ is actually based on a Russian 19th century folk song: Korobeiniki. Give it a listen, it’s a bop. I speak Russian and these subtitles are pretty good.
1989 Runner-Up: Altered Beast
There are two types of people in this world: those who say Altered Beast is a crappy beat ’em up and a lacklustre launch title for the Mega Drive and the rest I have to assume, are good people. Yes, I’m coming out as an Altered Beast enjoyer.
Altered Beast doesn’t play particularly well, has those signature farty Mega Drive sounds found in badly composed games and looks quite dull graphically but come on, this is a classic, everyone who has ever set eyes on a Mega Drive has played Altered Beast and it’s awesome when you transform.
1990 Winner: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is an ultra-expensive Japanese MSX2 title but has thankfully been bundled with various versions of Metal Gear Solid 3 since the 2000’s. While the original Metal Gear (especially the botched NES port) is cryptic and unenjoyable, Metal Gear 2 is brilliant: so brilliant that I may prefer it to the original Metal Gear Solid. This game tells the tale of Solid Snake’s mission to Zanzibar Land, a fictional Central Asian state carved out by Big Boss and his private army on a mission to rescue an important scientist and to slay the aging warlord.
MG2 has one of the best soundtracks ever, tight gameplay and a wonderful, John Carpenter-like presentation along with the usual themes you expect from this series.
1990 Runner-Up: Super Mario World
Super Mario World is an essential SNES title, a fantastic platformer and an incredibly well-aged game that looks, sounds and plays timelessly. If it had more new ideas then I would have put it in the winner’s slot but as with a lot of Nintendo’s first party output on the SNES, it feels like a refinement of what came before and the gap between SMB3 and Super Mario World is smaller than the one between Metroid and Super Metroid for example.
If you’ve never played World then you need to get on that, urgently, this is a classic.
1991 Winner: The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Good lord was this a difficult year to pick for: Super Castlevania IV, Street Fighter II, Metroid II and my runner-up… but my number 1 spot has to go to A Link To The Past. Depending on my mood, either A Link To The Past or Donkey Kong Country is my favourite SNES game, ALttP established the Zelda formula for the next 20 years, has an all time great soundtrack and holds up extraordinarily well; the length and the difficulty are perfect and unlike the original, you can uncover most of Hyrule’s secrets through careful observation.
Half the indie scene is made up of inferior copies of A Link To The Past, do yourself a favour and play the original.
1991 Runner-Up: Sonic The Hedgehog
In any other year, Sonic The Hedgehog might have won but my love for A Link To The Past (and the fact that Sonic 2 is better) earned it the second place spot. Sonic The Hedgehog has some wonky level design and stiff controls compared to its sequels but the beautiful visuals, 3-path courses and that soundtrack make it one of my favourites on the Mega Drive. You’ve probably played Sonic already but if not, why are you still here?
Also worth seeking out is the 8-bit version on the Master System, it doesn’t look or sound nearly as good but the platforming is tighter, the challenge is higher and those annoying special stages are replaced with much better ones.
1992 Winner: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sega’s Mega Drive was hitting its peak around the start of the decade and Sonic The Hedgehog 2: my favourite in the trilogy, is emblematic of these heights. Sonic 2 features tighter controls, much better levels, that same Sonic sass and introduces Tails the Fox: Sonic’s yellow buddy who I thought was a girl until I was about 20 years old.
This is one of those games I assume everyone’s played but if not? You need to get on that! Sonic 2 is a near-perfect platformer.
1992 Runner-Up: Mortal Kombat
1992 Saw the birth of Mortal Kombat, part of the trifecta of Triple-A fighting games: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken who lead the genre today. Mortal Kombat drew inspiration from Western pop-culture and cinema, particularly Van Damme films like Bloodsport and Kickboxer giving it its own unique aesthetic; of course, who could forget the gore?
Mortal Kombat is quite a simple game today but it’s immensely fun and has aged very well, even if fighting games aren’t your usual go-to, everyone should play MK once.
1993 Winner: DOOM
This was a very easy pick for me.
I’ve always been a big FPS fan and it doesn’t get more classic than DOOM. DOOM is a simple game with simple graphics, simple gameplay and a simple premise: kill demons, make it to the end of the level and don’t die. That’s all you need for a classic game. DOOM’s fantastic arsenal of guns and roster of enemies, a vibrant speed-running community and fast-paced mobility have allowed it to endure while many later FPS games have rusted in the test of time.
DOOM kicked off what I would consider to be the golden age of PC gaming: an era spanning from the release of DOOM in ‘93 and concluding with the launch of Half-Life 2 in 2004.
1993 Runner-Up: Super Street Fighter II
While Tekken is my fighter of choice, every game in the genre needs to pay homage to the classic SSF2 for paving the way for the rest of them. SSF2 gave us vital innovations for the fighting genre like Cami and Chun Li’s thighs, one of the best soundtracks ever, amazing graphics and decades of tournament play and mainstream popularity to come.
If you manage to find an original cabinet to play on then you owe yourself the chance to pop in a coin and have a go.
1994 Winner: Super Metroid… and Donkey Kong Country
There was absolutely zero chance I was going to be able to choose between DKC and Super Metroid… so I’ve placed them both in the winner’s slot, sue me.
Super Metroid is a near-perfect video game and the granite foundation upon which the rest of the Metroidvania genre has been built. It tells a great story given the limited tech, has a classic soundtrack and preserves the moody feel of the NES original while adding in spoonfuls of improvements such as a map, tighter controls and great boss fights. Once you get the hang of Super’s advanced movement techniques you can complete the game’s objectives in almost any-order and bypass many upgrades entirely. Super Metroid is a masterpiece, if you haven’t played it then I’m not sure we can be friends, sorry, them’s the rules.
Donkey Kong Country is one of the greatest British video games ever made and in my opinion, Kong upstaged Mario on his own console. Donkey Kong Country features stunning faux-3D visuals that made the Sega Mega CD look like a big waste of money, a soundtrack oozing with nostalgia and levels that can be hair-pullingly difficult but never feel particularly unfair.
This was my first SNES game. I have fond memories of playing this late into the night with a carton of milkshake in my grandma’s house in Spain on a cool evening. Play this game, for the love of God.
1994 Runner-Up: Virtua Fighter 2
Sega’s ill-fated Saturn launched in Japan in late-1994 and say what you might about the console, its roster of JRPG’s, Fighters, Racers and Shmups is difficult to beat; I’ve had a rocky relationship with this console but over time, the Saturn has really grown on me. Virtua Fighter 2 launched in arcades this year and would go on to be one of that console’s best-selling titles when it was finally ported.
VF2 is the Super Street Fighter 2 of 3D fighting games: Tekken, Dead Or Alive, Soulcalibur, they all trace their lineage back to this game’s design philosophy and while I find it a bit impenetrable today, we should all be paying homage. It’s not easy to get a hold of VF2 today without emulation but I implore you to stick on the OST, especially if you’re in the gym.
1995 Winner: Sega Rally Championship
1995 Was a mammoth year in gaming. The PlayStation came to the West, games like Chrono Trigger and franchises like Ace Combat were born… which is why I feel my pick is going to prompt a wave of thrown tomatoes. Look, I can only be honest and list games that fit my tastes; this is my list and my experiences are a hard limit. I’m not a JRPG man and the original PlayStation didn’t really come into its own until later in the decade in my opinion, so my vote goes to Sega Rally Championship.
SRC’s Sega Saturn port arrived at the end of this year (or in early ‘96 for Europe) bringing with it an amazing soundtrack, arcade-like visuals and vehicle handling that feels unbelievably good for a game this old. Rally may only have 2 cars and a handful of tracks but the fun factor is off the charts. This might be my favourite game on the Saturn.
1995 Runner-Up: Command & Conquer
The 1990’s saw an explosion of quality in the PC gaming scene and the birth of Real Time Strategy: one of my absolute favourite genres; Command & Conquer is the DOOM of RTS games: not the first but the vanguard that led the way. While its mechanics are simple by today’s standards, the scrapping over resource points, rapid base-building and unit archetypes in C&C would become the template for the rest of the genre going forward and who can forget the deliciously hammy presentation?
PEACE THROUGH POWER!
1996 Winner: Super Mario 64
1996 Saw the launch of my favourite Nintendo console: the Nintendo 64 in North America and Japan and with it came Pilotwings 64 and the superb Super Mario 64. Super Mario 64’s camera can be a bit treacherous today and some of the hints for certain Power Stars are too vague but it controls great, the overwhelming majority of the levels are classics, has a perfect, upbeat OST and the non-linear nature lets you grab most stars in any order you wish.
SM64 looks best on a real N64 with a CRT, to play N64 games you really need that controller to make it authentic, even if it is dreadful.
1996 Runner-Up: Resident Evil
I’ve made my deep adoration for the Resident Evil franchise known numerous times on this Substack… just look at my profile picture; it all started here, in the Spencer Mansion with ‘96’s original Resident Evil, also known as Biohazard in Japan. While the Gamecube remake is the better game: my 3rd favourite video game ever in-fact, this original RE deserves to be played for its greater focus on puzzles, more liminal atmosphere… and for its Jill Sandwiches.
1997 Winner: Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
I reviewed Symphony Of The Night in great detail earlier this month so I won’t say much more here.
To put it succinctly? This is one of the very best entries in the Castlevania franchise and fits easily into my top 5 games for the PlayStation, SotN isn’t easy to get a hold of today unless you own a PS5/PS4 but I’d consider it a selling point for modern Sony consoles to be honest, it’s a classic, one that more people should play.
1997 Runner-Up: Goldeneye 007
Somehow, somewhere, this Substack always circles back to talk about Goldeneye 007 on the N64. This was the first game I ever reviewed back when I intended to make this a publication about Nintendo 64 FPS games and it’s a title I have a great fondness for, even when the level design and technical aspects don’t hold up too well. Goldeneye 007 is yet another iconic video game to come out of the UK’s Rare during their legendary run on this console, 007 paved the way for console shooters to develop their own identity and ultimately, it laid the groundwork for other story and objective-based FPS games going forward like Halo and Medal Of Honour.
1998 Winner: Everyone
1998 In my mind is without question the greatest year gaming has ever seen, therefore it’s impossible to pick a single winner; a Hall of Fame for 1998 is the format I’ve gone with. There were endless helpings of amazing games this year but these are my picks for the very best:
The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Ocarina Of Time was the first video game I ever played on a home console, it is also my favourite entry in the Zelda franchise to this day, my favourite Nintendo 64 game and my ultimate comfort game. I’ll be reviewing this game in full next month but to cut-it short? Ocarina Of Time takes A Link To The Past and trims the fat, makes the soundtrack even better and makes more innovations in 3D gaming than I can count.
I loved Ocarina Of Time at 5 years old, I still loved it at 15 years old and now, a couple of weeks out from my 26th birthday I know that no Zelda title can ever dethrone my beloved.
Metal Gear Solid
Ocarina Of Time is the Nintendo 64’s magnum opus and Metal Gear Solid is the PlayStation’s. Metal Gear Solid leveraged the PlayStation’s disc-based format, 3D graphics and Sony’s deep pockets to tell a story that no other video game had on the only console that could; MGS1 is a masterpiece. The voice acting, cold atmosphere and chilling plot are still poignant today even if the stealth was much improved in the sequels, particularly MGS3 which is my favourite video game full stop. This is probably the best game on the PlayStation 1 from a technical and historical perspective.
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 is twice the game Resident Evil 1 is: twice the length, twice the fun, twice the looks and twice the influence; this game along with Silent Hill in ‘99 propelled the survival-horror genre into a golden-age in the late-90’s and early-2000’s. Resident Evil 2 makes a strong argument for being the greatest game in the franchise even now, if you aren’t a baby and can get over the tank controls then what you have here is one of the greatest games ever made.
Half-Life
Half-Life, in my opinion, is much better than its sequel and well-deserving of its reputation as one of the greatest FPS games ever made. Half-Life directly led to the growth of Valve and the development of Steam which likely saved PC gaming from extinction. As a game? It gets seriously wonky towards the end (you know the levels I’m talking about) but Half-Life’s atmosphere is sublime, it tells a relatively simple story in a great way and the gunplay is highly entertaining featuring a wide roster of interesting foes.
Spyro The Dragon
The PlayStation was packed full of great platformers and Spyro was just one of them. With its bright colour palette and a mascot that was a bit more interesting to play as than a jumping plumber or that orange mutant Crash, Spyro one over millions and would go on to spawn a number of sequels that were arguably even better. It’s not the hardest platformer ever made but Spyro just puts a smile on your face.
Tekken 3
While Tekken and Tekken 2 were largely built to be cheaper, simpler competitors to Virtua Fighter in arcades and to give the PlayStation its own signature fighter, Tekken 3 was really where the franchise came into its own and became the top 3D fighter for the rest of gaming history. Tekken 3 has a lighter atmosphere than its predecessors and introduces a new cast of fighters, many of which would become favourites going forward like Jin and that fucker Eddy Gordo. It plays great, sounds great and saw unprecedented success.
I could go on and on: Fallout 2, Soulcalibur, StarCraft, Gen 1 Pokémon in the West… 1998 was the best year ever for this medium and only 2007, 1994 and a few others come anywhere near it.
1999 Winner: Shenmue
Shenmue launched in late-December 1999 in Japan for the Dreamcast as the most expensive game ever-developed at the time. Truthfully? This is a love it or hate it sort of game… and you can guess which side I fall on. Shenmue is an immersive, narrative-driven adventure based in 180’s Yokosuka Japan where you control Hazuki Ryo on a quest to avenge his father’s death. Beautiful soundtrack charming characters, Virtua Fighter-style combat and forklift racing, if that doesn’t sell you, I don’t know what will.
1999 Runner-Up: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was a cultural phenomenon: a game which everyone on both sides of the Atlantic of a certain age seems to have owned and played for an unholy number of hours. THPS isn’t quite as good as its sequel and some levels are a bit fetid but when played on the Dreamcast especially, this turn of the century classic is just as addictive, easy to learn and hard to master as it was back then.
And there we have it, my ultimate list of the best games from every year since the NES’ heyday. Every year saw classics of every genre and I certainly haven’t played every critically acclaimed game ever made so undoubtedly your favourite has been left off, feel free to make your own amendments in the comments below.
I hope you enjoyed the list and I’m looking forward to finding suspicious white powder in my mail for leaving off Final Fantasy 7 and Chrono Trigger.
Thank you very much for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed today’s post, as always I’ll be happy to chat in the comments below and please like and subscribe to the Journal for more.
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Have you played Chrono Trigger though? It has an amazing soundtrack
It's been a long time since I have played DKC, so hard for me to make a direct comparison. I remember thinking that the pre-rendered 3D sprites were pretty cool at the time, but the Mario gameplay had smoother movement. But can't trust memory without a replay I guess.
Re:smb3, I know the true Mario afficianados may disagree, but the 16-bit graphics (including animation detail)and sound/music just add a level of polish and feel to the game that feels like more than the sum of its parts.
Plus I'm a sucker for Yoshi and the Star road :)