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.
"A precise strike, a well-timed dodge, a boss finally felled after dozens of tries: the demanding, readable combat is the beating heart of the adventure. The interconnected map unfolds in layers with a bewitching sense of mystery, and charms open real customization. The lack of guidance can put players off, but the scale of the content, free expansions included, commands respect."
"Rediscovering Hyrule and its tangle of dungeons reminds you why this 16-bit adventure is a touchstone: exploration, ingenious items and puzzles mesh to perfection. The handling stays exemplary in its precision, and the co-op addition of Four Swords extends the fun. Few classics cross the decades with this much ease."
"Mowing down hordes with the chaos blades, swinging between spectacular executions and breakneck puzzles, the action keeps a rhythm and clarity that remain exemplary. The sense of raw power, underscored by constant cinematic flair, stays fully intact with the controller in hand. The combat system is simpler than its sequels', but its brutal efficiency hasn't aged a day."
"The arrival of the revert connects ramps to manuals and throws open the door to near-infinite combos that multiply the joy of arcade skating. The compact, frenetic levels invite you to trace ever wilder lines. The controls respond on a dime, and this quest for the perfect combo, immediate and addictive, holds an effectiveness that time has not dulled."
"Faster and more spectacular than its predecessor, this entry keeps the surgical dismemberment while opening the pacing up to exhilarating action set-pieces. Stasis and telekinesis enrich an already clever arsenal. A rare balance of horror and action, it retains precise handling and an intensity that make it an exemplary sequel."
"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."
"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."
"Building squads, programming their behaviors then watching the ballet play out in real time blends planning and action with rare elegance. The depth of the classes amply rewards the patience to optimize, and exploring the world map paces it all without diluting it. Vanillaware's hand-drawn animation is timeless. The learning curve asks for commitment, but what richness it yields."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Soaring with the cape, riding Yoshi and digging out secret exits open up an inexhaustibly rich, labyrinthine world map. Mario's perfectly tuned momentum makes every jump intuitive and precise. A model of balance between exploration and dexterity, this platformer remains an absolute benchmark whose joy stays utterly intact."
"Every card you pick reshuffles the run to come, and that's where the dizziness starts: your deck, your relics and your read on risk keep reconfiguring. The four characters impose radically different logics, and the replay ceiling stays out of sight. Controller or touch, the handheld feel is flawless. The minimalist art has aged; the balance has not."
"Slowing, speeding up or zooming the action at will to amplify your blows and solve traps: these VFX powers reinvent the beat-em-up as a mischievous game of timing. The comic-book cel-shaded style hasn't aged a day, and the muscular difficulty rewards mastery. Demanding and inventive, this concentrate of ideas stays a breath of originality in the hands."
"Slipping through the shadows, reading sight lines and improvising when the alarm sounds: stealth finds here a readability and a tension that have lost nothing. The level design, tailored for cunning, and the inventive staging carry a playstyle of constant intelligence. The fixed camera surprises today, but the joy of outwitting the guards stays as keen as on day one."
"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."
"Diving by day to fish, running a frantic sushi joint by night: from this oddball idea springs a loop far richer than expected. The alternation between ever-shifting underwater exploration and service under pressure sets a strangely addictive rhythm. Digressions abound, sometimes risking sprawl, but the comic energy carries it all. Expressive pixel art, solid design, aging guaranteed to be graceful."
"This expanded edition grafts onto the stealth adventure a mountain of VR missions that isolate and push each mechanic to its limit: shooting, close combat, scouting. You return to polish your technique as much as for the story. The already brilliant game skeleton thus gains in replay value, and the precision of the manoeuvres remains a benchmark of the genre."
