The 1980s were the golden age of the arcade and the birth of the home console: the pixel takes shape, genres are invented, legends begin. This Top 50 gathers the 8-bit and arcade games that laid the medium's foundations. RomWize re-tests and ranks them by its re-evaluated scores, each with its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Kunio-kun in dodgeball on Famicom. Insane sport with brawls and superpowers. Explosive multiplayer, pervasive humor. The saga at its most exhilarating in sport."
"Super Mario Bros. 2 on NES: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach in a dream world with different rules. Uproot vegetables, throw them at enemies. Original and surprising gameplay. A classic in its own right."
"The quintessential Konami crossover on Famicom. Goemon, Simon Belmont, Mikey from the Goonies, King Kong... Epic fan service in a colorful action-platformer. Japanese only but visually irresistible."
"The original Wonder Boy: an enjoyable old-school platform-runner. Run, jump, dodge. Simple as can be but extremely addictive. The foundation of a saga that kept getting better."
"The first Mega Man on NES: revolutionary concept of choosing boss order. Elevated difficulty, colorful visuals, memorable music. Some growing pains, but foundational to an entire saga."
"Kunio-kun dodgeball in its western Super Dodge Ball version on NES. Insane mechanics with spectacular special shots. Fun co-op, humor present. The Nekketsu formula exported perfectly."
"The third Konami TwinBee on Famicom. The kawaii saga enriched with new mechanics and more characters. Just as colorful and addictive. One of the best in the series."
"Konami's foundational horizontal shoot'em up on NES. Vic Viper ship, capsule power-up system, memorable bosses. Still magnificent and essential to understand genre history."
"An absolute masterpiece. Blaster Master blends tank exploration and on-foot dungeon action. Vast, inventive, visually splendid for NES. Essential in every form."
