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.
"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."
"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."
"Firing in every direction, hopping onto a tank and freeing prisoners flows together with joyous fluidity, carried by extraordinary animation. Every screen bursts with detail and gags, and the generosity of the action never flags. Short but wildly dense, this foundational run-'n'-gun still delivers explosive thrills, especially in co-op."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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 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."
"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."
"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."
"Observing rather than fighting, repurposing a humble tool a thousand ways, guessing what the game refuses to explain: that's the real engine. Exploration with no hand-held map rewards memory and deduction, and every secret hides a trickier one. The refusal to guide will put off those who want clear direction, but for anyone who loves to dig and share, it's an adventure of rare freshness."
"Running, jumping and striking in time, sometimes to the exact beat of the music, anchors a platformer of contagious fluidity and joy. The inventive level design and four-player co-op multiply the fun. The peak of the 2D genre, it keeps controls of absolute precision and a freshness that hasn't lost a thing."
"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."
"Exploring the castle at will, unlocking powers and passages, watching your character grow stronger as in an RPG: the formula founded a whole genre. The precise movement, the wealth of the arsenal and the joy of searching remain exemplary in their fluidity. The sumptuous 2D has barely aged, and the balance between action and progression is still a model."
"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."
"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."
"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."
