Unforgettable characters, plot twists and endings that linger long afterwards: some games tell stories worthy of the greatest novels. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the most memorable storylines, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each one: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Following three criminals who could not be more different, the adventure interweaves their fates through spectacular heists and a biting satire of America. The tale juggles cynical humour, tension and family drama with unprecedented scope. This criminal triptych, brilliant and ferocious, became a generational phenomenon."
"Set loose in a neon-soaked 1980s Miami, an ambitious crook builds his empire through betrayals and bold strokes. An unabashed homage to gangster cinema, the tale overflows with colourful characters and cult lines. Its retro flair and biting irony have lost none of their flavour."
"A sunlit city in the clouds, steeped in zealotry, soon reveals the rot beneath its flags. Between racism, worker revolt and parallel worlds, the story climbs toward a dizzying finale whose images keep haunting and questioning you long after the credits."
"Beneath its school-year rhythm hides a biting critique of society and its everyday tyrants. Each Confidant paints a tender portrait, and the fight to reclaim one's heart lingers long after. Writing that balances humor, revolt and melancholy with rare precision."
"Locked inside an open-air prison given over to chaos, Batman unravels a plot where his worst enemies intersect. Vaster and darker, the tale pushes the vigilante to his moral limits, up to a striking finale. Its assumed darkness and carefully drawn characters make it a peak of the superhero game."
"Locked inside an open-air prison given over to chaos, Batman unravels a plot where his worst enemies intersect. Vaster and darker, the tale pushes the vigilante to his moral limits, up to a striking finale. Its assumed darkness and carefully drawn characters make it a peak of the superhero game."
"Brought back from the dead for a mission deemed suicidal, Shepard assembles a crew of outcasts with painful pasts. Darker and more intimate, the tale makes each one's loyalty the true stake, up to a finale where no one is safe. This character writing, of rare finesse, made it a peak of the Western RPG."
"Awakened aboard a mysterious ringworld, a super-soldier and his AI face an alien alliance and a threat far worse still. Blending space opera and archaeological mystery, the tale lays the foundations of an ambitious science-fiction mythology. Its emblematic duo and its universe gave birth to a legendary saga."
"Marked by destiny as the Dragonborn, a traveller faces the return of creatures thought long gone. More than a plot, it is a whole world that opens up, peopled with tales the player writes for themselves through their choices. This near-infinite narrative freedom turned the adventure into a lasting cultural phenomenon."
"Washed up in an underwater city given over to the madness of a libertarian dream, a man discovers the underside of a utopia turned nightmare. The tale questions free will and ideology up to a twist that became legendary. A political critique disguised as an FPS, its writing proved that the genre could think as much as it shoots."
"An immigrant come to chase the American dream in Liberty City, a former soldier collides with violence and the ghosts of his past. Darker and more adult than its forebears, the tale paints disillusion and revenge with unexpected gravity. Carried by a tormented hero, this bitter portrait of a city still fascinates."
"Few games turn a player's expectations inside out like this. Every monster you meet has a voice and a reason, and the simple choice to spare or strike rewrites the whole journey. Tender, funny and suddenly devastating, it folds its very mechanics into an unforgettable moral."
"On the trail of a mythical Himalayan city, Nathan Drake finds himself betrayed and then caught in a race against a warlord. A peak of the video-game blockbuster, the tale strings together set pieces, betrayals and romance with cinematic mastery. Its perfect balance of spectacle and emotion made it a benchmark."
"Under the guise of a new infiltration mission, the tale tips into a postmodern vertigo about information, manipulation and the construction of reality. Bold to the point of provocation, it traps the player as much as its hero. Long misunderstood, this visionary script is today hailed as prophetic."
"Few games offer such narrative freedom: every origin and conversation opens paths you assumed were sealed. Companions carry their own divine tragedies, and the world answers your improvisation with the wit of a gifted tabletop dungeon master."
"Sent to retrieve a young woman in a flying city given over to fanaticism, a fallen detective is caught in a vertigo of parallel worlds. The tale takes on racism, redemption and determinism with striking conceptual boldness. Its overturning finale and unforgettable duo made it an object of passionate debate."
"Forced by the government to hunt his former accomplices, a repentant outlaw tries to win back his family at the twilight of the Wild West. A Western of rare melancholy, the tale meditates on redemption, advancing civilisation and the weight of the past. Its devastating ending made it a peak of the narrative game."
"Under the guise of a new infiltration mission, the tale tips into a postmodern vertigo about information, manipulation and the construction of reality. Bold to the point of provocation, it traps the player as much as its hero. Long misunderstood, this visionary script is today hailed as prophetic."
"A deliberate return to medieval-fantasy roots, the adventure of a big-hearted thief hides a bittersweet meditation on mortality and the meaning of existence. Warm characters and baroque pageantry serve an emotion of rare sincerity. Long underrated, this tender tale is now reclaimed as a high point."
"Forced by the government to hunt his former accomplices, a repentant outlaw tries to win back his family at the twilight of the Wild West. A Western of rare melancholy, the tale meditates on redemption, advancing civilisation and the weight of the past. Its devastating ending made it a peak of the narrative game."
