Pinpoint gameplay and a feel that hasn't aged a day: some games are still a joy with a controller in hand, years later. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the most polished gameplay, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each one: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Switching between Link and his wolf form, taming an arsenal of items and tackling dungeons of constant inventiveness: the adventure unspools mechanics of remarkable fluidity. Horseback duels and hidden techniques thicken an already generous combat. More classic than revolutionary, but executed with such care that it stays a pleasure from start to finish."
"Collapsing sets, blazing escapes and outsized set-pieces punctuate an adventure where climbing, shooting and exploration flow seamlessly into one another. The melee gains in variety, the staging in scale. If the gunplay divides a little, this third installment keeps a sense of spectacle and a pacing that have lost none of their sweep."
"Wielding two weapons at once, ripping them from enemies' hands and juggling vehicles refines an already remarkably readable combat sandbox even further. The nervy pacing and a reactive AI keep every skirmish on a knife's edge. The campaign's abrupt ending disappoints, but the sturdiness of the gunplay and the balance of the fights keep the joy of playing wholly intact."
"Combining two of the four weapons to forge new ones opens a rare tactical range, and each stage reinvents its rules: a runaway minecart, a giant board game, aerial duels. This relentless inventiveness, carried by sumptuous animation, makes for a gleeful run-and-gun. The variety and punch of the action have lost none of their shine decades later."
"Behind its remake looks, this title hides a hundred-odd stages that turn platforming into a puzzle: Mario jumps, handstands and hurls objects to reach the key, then the door. The wealth of the moveset and the ingenuity of the levels still hold up perfectly. A benchmark often cited as one of the genre's peaks on the system."
"Gliding, soaring and bouncing wall to wall delivers a flow of movement few metroidvanias reach. The deeper combat varies your approach without breaking that lightness, and the escape chases tighten the nerves like little else. A few technical hiccups linger, but the precision of the jumps and the readable level design keep every traversal a pure pleasure."
"Gathering several Valve gems, this compilation strings together an exceptional narrative FPS, a brilliant portal-based puzzler and an exhilarating multiplayer shooter. Each game offers remarkably well-tuned controls and perfectly calibrated pacing. Varied yet cohesive, it remains one of the most generous and memorable collections of its generation."
"Absorb shots of your own colour, return those of the other: this simple black-and-white switch redefines the shooter as a constant puzzle of placement. Learning each wave is as much puzzle as reflex, and mastery brings immense satisfaction. Short but staggeringly dense, this Treasure masterpiece simply has no equal today."
"This complete edition of the third installment brings together the adventure and its multiplayer content around spectacular staging and supple handling. Climbing, gunfights and grand set-pieces flow without a dull moment. Fuller than ever, it offers the richest version of a blockbuster whose flair remains intact."
"Donning costumes, sniffing out secret exits and stringing together wildly inventive levels confirms the structural genius of this landmark. The razor-sharp handling responds to perfection, and the generosity of the content feels inexhaustible. It's hard to build a more solid 2D platformer, and the fun stays whole decades on."
"Methodically severing the Necromorphs' limbs instead of aiming for the head upends your shooting reflexes and sustains constant tension. Resource management and the diegetic, interface-free HUD heighten the dread. A model of space survival horror, it retains precise, oppressive gameplay that still chills the blood today."
"Costumes with varied powers, a world map, and abundant secrets vastly expand the formula without sacrificing any of Mario's perfect momentum. Flying with the leaf or swimming in the frog suit reinvents every level. The peak of the 8-bit platformer, it retains a richness of game design and a handling that remain an absolute."
"Strike, throw, counter: the triangle at the heart of the fights makes every exchange readable and snappy without ever sacrificing fluidity. Multi-tiered arenas and ring-outs energise the duel and set an exhilarating rhythm. One of the best-animated 3D fighters of its era, still a pleasure for anyone after a spectacular, accessible brawl."
"At these supersonic speeds, everything becomes anticipation: memorising the layouts, triggering the airbrakes at the right instant and placing your shots without easing off. The anti-gravity gliding sensation, married to a cult electro soundtrack, delivers an intact rush. The textures have aged, but the purity of the piloting and the sense of rhythm remain a peak of futuristic racing."
"Faster and more spectacular than its predecessor, this entry keeps the surgical dismemberment while opening the pacing up to exhilarating action set-pieces. Stasis and telekinesis enrich an already clever arsenal. A rare balance of horror and action, it retains precise handling and an intensity that make it an exemplary sequel."
"Everything revolves around a three-day cycle replayed over and over, where you reorganise your actions to the minute while the masks transform Link and his abilities. This bold clockwork delivers a dense adventure where every detour counts. More demanding than most, it rewards ingenuity and remains one of Nintendo's most original game structures."
"Target locking, the millimetre-precise layout of the dungeons and the use of every item laid down a grammar of adventure the whole genre went on to copy. This 3D remake modernises the comfort without betraying the original feel, and exploration keeps a rare clarity. A few puzzles carry a period scent, but the whole is still travelled with undiminished pleasure."
"Moving through shadow, treating light as a genuine tool and choosing between total stealth, takedowns or diversion offers infiltration of remarkable freedom and finesse. Sam Fisher's supple movement and the clarity of the detection system make every approach exhilarating. A peak of the stealth genre, its play of shadow keeps an effectiveness wholly intact."
"Leaping from one spherical planet to the next as gravity flips underfoot: this wild idea pairs with flawless jump precision and a camera that never betrays you. Forty galaxies pour out finds without respite, carried by level design of dizzying inventiveness. Barely a few too many Wiimote shakes: a peak of the 3D platformer, intact."
"Holding all of Skyrim in your hands changes everything: scale a peak on a whim, loot a house, abandon a quest to chase a wolf. Combat is basic and the engine stiff, but the freedom to improvise your own adventure stays rare and intoxicating. People still dive back in because few sandboxes swallow a player so completely."
