Lists

10 games

New to retro? Start here

Ten games that are easy to pick up, hard to put down, and show what each console did best.

  1. Super Mario Bros.

    1986 · Famicom Disk System

    The first level teaches you everything. So does the second.

  2. Super Mario World

    1990 · SNES · Super Famicom

    Generous, colourful, and full of secrets that reward poking around.

  3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

    1991 · SNES · Super Famicom

    A big adventure that tells you where to go without holding your hand.

  4. Kirby's Adventure

    1993 · NES · Famicom

    Friendly, bright, and hard to lose. Copy abilities keep it fresh.

  5. Tetris

    1989 · NES

    No explanation needed.

  6. Super Mario Kart

    1992 · SNES · Super Famicom

    Hand a friend the second controller.

  7. Donkey Kong Country

    1994 · SNES · Super Famicom

    It looks like nothing else, and plays smoothly from the first barrel.

  8. Mega Man 2

    1988 · NES · Famicom

    Choose Normal difficulty, pick any robot master first, and learn the patterns.

  9. EarthBound

    1994 · SNES · Super Famicom

    An RPG that explains itself with jokes.

  10. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!

    1987 · NES · Famicom

    Each fight is short, and every loss teaches the tell.