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.
"It's hard to find smoother 2D platforming: the hand-drawn animation hasn't aged a day and every jump breathes precision. The level design overflows with invention, from the impeccable timing of the musical stages to the frantic chase phases. Unlocking the Teensies feels repetitive, but the generosity and four-player co-op make it a benchmark with no superior equivalent."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Faithfully reprising the asylum's freeflow combat and stealth sections, this edition piles on extra challenges and maps. The same precise countering and the same thrill of being a silent predator are all still here. More complete than ever, it remains the best way into an adventure whose gameplay has held up admirably."
"A return to its roots in hand-painted 2D, it favors a snappy, precise platforming where every jump and every strike answers to a hair's breadth. Four-player co-op quickly tips into joyful chaos. Gorgeous and demanding, this revival keeps a lucid handling and an exuberance that make it a must of the genre."
"Rediscovering Mario's springy jump and the gliding cape reminds you why this classic remains a platforming yardstick. The levels brim with secrets and alternate paths that invite relentless searching. The control precision hasn't aged a day, and the adventure rewards both quick bursts and a full run."
"A polished take on the adventure, this edition rebalances the difficulty and adds weapons and modes that elevate an already masterful combat system. Chaining dodges and strikes against merciless foes delivers a satisfaction of rare intensity. Still ferocious yet fairer than the original, this martial ballet remains an absolute touchstone of high-tempo action."
"Rediscovering Mario's springy jump and the gliding cape reminds you why this classic remains a platforming yardstick. The levels brim with secrets and alternate paths that invite relentless searching. The control precision hasn't aged a day, and the adventure rewards both quick bursts and a full run."
"Exploiting elemental weaknesses to chain extra turns and trigger all-out attacks gives the turn-based battles a jubilant snap. Managing the calendar and social links shapes a captivating rhythm. As stylish as it is deep, this JRPG keeps a lucid, addictive system that makes it irresistible today."
"Linking strikes, counters and gadgets into a single flow turns combat into a ballet of intoxicating fluidity, where reading your enemies is everything. The predator sections, where you pick off guards from the shadows, vary the tempo with real cunning. The benchmark for licensed action-adventure, the asylum retains a handling and a sense of rhythm that haven't aged a day."
"Knocking your rival off the stage instead of draining a health bar: this crystal-clear premise opens fights of unexpected richness. The speed, the precision of movement and the immense technical freedom made it a pillar of competition, still contested today. Teeming and snappy, it stays as gleeful four-player on a couch as in a fierce tournament."
"Swallowing enemies to lay eggs and hurling them with precision reinvents the platformer around a jubilant aiming mechanic. The floaty jump and the need to protect Baby Mario establish a singular rhythm, at once supple and demanding. Carried by a timeless crayon-drawn style, this treasure of inventiveness remains a delight from start to finish."
"Dodging at the last instant, parrying, striking and bouncing straight back: the feel of the weapons borders on obsession and grips you within minutes. The roguelite structure punishes without frustrating, because death always reignites the urge to try another bit of madness. Metroidvania-style detours invite you to comb every corner. Fluid pixel art, total handheld comfort, edge fully intact against recent rivals."
"Seeing every enemy intention in advance turns each turn into a clean chess problem: nudging a mech to shove a bug into its neighbor becomes pure tactical glee. On tiny grids, total information sharpens the tension rather than dulling it, because any slip is entirely your own. Compact yet inexhaustible, it hasn't aged a day."
"Stacking lines while the whole screen pulses, vibrates and sings in time with the game is a flatly hypnotic experience. The Zone, freezing time to pile up rows, adds a strategic layer without weighing down the timeless gesture. Connected mode renews both versus and co-op. In handheld, the meditative effect grows stronger still. Visually timeless, technically flawless."
"The final Fatal Fury, this duel stakes everything on reading: the Just Defend guard and the T.O.P system turn each exchange into a tense tug-of-war where millimetre-perfect evasion pays off. The lavish animation and reinvented roster have lost none of their class. A 2D versus fighter of exemplary precision that purists still rank at the very top of the genre."
"Slipping into the cat suit to scale a wall captures in one move the smarts of its vertical, readable level design. Short, dense stages suit both quick sessions and the joyful chaos of four-player co-op. The added Bowser's Fury proves Mario breathes in open spaces too. The fixed camera betrays its Wii U roots, but the whole package stays flawless."
"Moving Mario is still a delight: momentum, triple jump, dive and wall kick respond with a suppleness that defined the entire 3D platformer. The freedom to explore the toy-box levels keeps a surprising freshness. The camera, pioneering but temperamental, shows its limits; the control of the hero, however, remains a lesson in playability, ever exhilarating to revisit."
