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.
"Exploring Rapture and Columbia retains a rare evocative power, and it's that atmosphere, more than the shooting, that carries the trilogy. Mixing weapons with genetic powers still has its kick, and the first game's moral choice still hits. On pure gameplay terms the firefights show their age against today's standards, but the writing and staging more than make up for it. Carrying these three remasters on Switch is a luxury, and for anyone who never visited these fallen utopias, the chance is ideal."
"Moving freely around the arena with the 8-Way Run, juggling weapon reach and sidesteps: the duel breathes space and fluidity. Ported to Dreamcast with a perfection that made history, this armed combat keeps an exemplary readability and elegance. Few fighting games feel this natural in the hands, even today."
"Raising the sail, cutting across a glittering ocean and landing on islands to comb through: the sailing sets its own rhythm, contemplative and free. The swordplay, fluid and readable, punctuates exploration with spectacular parries. The long crossings can wear thin, but the timeless cel-shading and the gentle handling keep it as pleasant as ever."
"Stacking Jokers until the multiplier rockets into absurd territory is the engine of a ferocious addiction. The poker hook is a clean pretext, but the depth comes from synergies each run reinvents. The risk of routine exists, yet the sheer variety of combinations keeps boredom at bay for ages. In handheld mode, putting it down is impossible."
"Everything rests on a clever balance between high-school life sim and dungeon crawling: managing your time, forging bonds and then converting those affinities into combat strength builds a terribly absorbing loop. The turn system built on exploiting weaknesses stays clear and tactical. Enriched and smoothed out on Vita, it has barely aged and remains an ideal gateway into the J-RPG."
"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."
"Deciphering an unknown tongue through deduction alone: few games turn learning into a pleasure this pure. You study mute symbols, build their meaning, and fill in the glossary yourself with genuine pride. The art direction in flat blocks of color keeps every ounce of its elegance. The stealth segments, a touch stiff, are its only weakness. But the core idea is so true that it simply doesn't age."
"Expanding the roster and refining the balance, this version enriches an already solid combat system built on Focus Attacks and Ultras. The precision of spacing and the timing of combos remain at the heart of the fun. More complete, it offers a polished iteration of a 2D versus fighter whose depth has lost none of its appeal."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
