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 early years of video games were a time of experimentation and innovation, so new consoles and games were released every year that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the industry. Today we have the benefit of hindsight – we know what makes a great game and we can look back on those days with nostalgia. While I personally love a good open-world game with tons of missions to complete, subplots to discover, and collectibles to find, there’s something about the simplicity of classic video games that I just can’t get enough of.
We know you already have a ton of great titles to choose from, but let’s take a moment to rediscover and appreciate some classic games that provided hours of fun when things seemed a little less complicated. These titles and franchises shaped our childhood and inspired us to be gamers for life!
The best retro games have the power to take us back to a time when we could just sit back and play with our siblings, parents, or friends. And no retro game does it better than Super Mario Bros. 3. The music is legendary. The graphics are timeless. The gameplay is challenging but fair – and there’s a reason it’s rated as one of the most popular games on the NES! It’s pretty much impossible that you haven’t played this classic game before, but if you haven’t, rejoice: it’s just as fun today as it was in the 1990s!
The third release in The Legend Of Zelda franchise was one of the best games to see the light of day in the 90’s 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 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.
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 since then has spawned spin-offs, sequels, cartoons, comics, merchandise and even live-action movies! It was originally released on the Sega Genesis console and later ported to modern platforms including the Nintendo Switch.
A gem of the gaming community, Super Mario World’s gameplay is similar to previous Super Mario games: it follows Mario (or Luigi) through a series of levels where the objective is to get to the other side, by jumping over the platforms. The game introduced us to Yoshi, one of the most popular Nintendo characters. It has sold over twenty million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling SNES game.
Street Fighter II was a huge hit when it was released on arcade machines in 1991. It was later ported to home consoles including the SNES and Game Boy, helping it become one of the most popular video games and grossing more than $17 billion. He has been credited with popularizing the fighting genre in the 1990s and inspiring other producers to create their own fighting series.
Grab some of your favorite snacks and people and get ready to race in one of the greatest video games of all time! Specially designed for Nintendo 64, players can choose their favorite 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 save you when you need it most!
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 journeys through a vast open world to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. It received critical acclaim and is often cited as one of the best video games of all time.
There is something about the James Bond franchise that has made it a perennial favorite of global audiences. The films are certainly an exciting part of cinema history, but GoldenEye 007 is also making its mark in the video game industry. At first, expectations were low. Nonetheless, it became a critical and commercial success and became the third best-selling Nintendo 64 game, right behind Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64.
It would be difficult to pick just one title from Nintendo’s first console. After all, it’s been home to some of gaming’s most iconic characters. But ultimately, we’d go with Super Mario Bros., which still stands as one of the best platforming experiences ever created by anyone in any medium. If you too have fond memories of playing this legendary game, it’s time to take them back and introduce your kids and younger siblings to the same blessings of the first Super Mario Bros.!
One of the newest entries in the long-running Zelda series, which debuted on the NES in 1986, is an open-world adventure with between 50 and 200 hours of content, depending on your will to examine every single aspect of the game and get 100% completion . You’ll explore the vast expanses of Hyrule, fighting monsters along the way to defeat Calamity Ganon and restore peace to the kingdom.
