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.
"Drifting in antigravity along a wall, holding your line amid the shell chaos: the handling clicks at once for beginners while leaving real room for experts. The Pass's forty-eight tracks swell an already generous package. Battle mode disappoints and luck frustrates near the top of the pack, but local or online, the party holds up beautifully."
"Dodging at the last instant to trigger Witch Time and punish a frozen foe: the system rewards daring over caution and delivers an intoxicating combo flow. The over-the-top staging chains set pieces without ever muddying the combat's readability. Modest length, a deliberately excessive plot, but a peak of stylish action still as formidable as ever."
"Taking the gravity mechanic and pushing it further, faster, denser: the sequel tightens its focus around pure challenge, chains the trickiest galaxies and adds a Yoshi of jubilant powers. The jump precision and the limpid camera stay exemplary. Less surprising in structure than the first, but of superior generosity and demand."
"A pioneer of the modern military FPS, it imposes a crisp, precise gunplay in service of a campaign whose pacing remains a benchmark of staging. Every firefight reads clearly and rewards skill. Inevitably leaner than its successors, it retains a snap and an intensity that still make it a landmark experience."
"Everything orbits the parry: deflecting an attack with a simple forward tap demands nerves of steel and rewards perfect reading. This mechanic turns the slightest exchange into a summit of mental tension. With sublime animation and chiselled fundamentals, many see it as the pinnacle of 2D fighting, and the experience has lost none of its splendour."
"Strike, throw, counter: the triangle at the heart of the fights makes every exchange readable and snappy without ever sacrificing fluidity. Multi-tiered arenas and ring-outs energise the duel and set an exhilarating rhythm. One of the best-animated 3D fighters of its era, still a pleasure for anyone after a spectacular, accessible brawl."
"Combining two of the four weapons to forge new ones opens a rare tactical range, and each stage reinvents its rules: a runaway minecart, a giant board game, aerial duels. This relentless inventiveness, carried by sumptuous animation, makes for a gleeful run-and-gun. The variety and punch of the action have lost none of their shine decades later."
"Deciphering an unknown tongue through deduction alone: few games turn learning into a pleasure this pure. You study mute symbols, build their meaning, and fill in the glossary yourself with genuine pride. The art direction in flat blocks of color keeps every ounce of its elegance. The stealth segments, a touch stiff, are its only weakness. But the core idea is so true that it simply doesn't age."
"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."
"Behind its remake looks, this title hides a hundred-odd stages that turn platforming into a puzzle: Mario jumps, handstands and hurls objects to reach the key, then the door. The wealth of the moveset and the ingenuity of the levels still hold up perfectly. A benchmark often cited as one of the genre's peaks on the system."
"Approaching each mission as a stealth sandbox, choosing your hour, your angle and your gadgets, offers tactical freedom of unprecedented flexibility. The responsive AI and the day-night system reward improvisation. The pinnacle of open-world stealth, it retains a fluidity of handling that still commands admiration."
"Raising the sail, cutting across a glittering ocean and landing on islands to comb through: the sailing sets its own rhythm, contemplative and free. The swordplay, fluid and readable, punctuates exploration with spectacular parries. The long crossings can wear thin, but the timeless cel-shading and the gentle handling keep it as pleasant as ever."
"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."
"Donning costumes, sniffing out secret exits and stringing together wildly inventive levels confirms the structural genius of this landmark. The razor-sharp handling responds to perfection, and the generosity of the content feels inexhaustible. It's hard to build a more solid 2D platformer, and the fun stays whole decades on."
"Weapon-based combat rests on an eight-direction movement and a guard system of exemplary clarity that rewards positioning as much as reflexes. The fluidity of the bouts and the balance of the roster make for a versus fighter both approachable and deep. A genre benchmark whose immediate accessibility and technical richness still win players over."
"Switching between Link and his wolf form, taming an arsenal of items and tackling dungeons of constant inventiveness: the adventure unspools mechanics of remarkable fluidity. Horseback duels and hidden techniques thicken an already generous combat. More classic than revolutionary, but executed with such care that it stays a pleasure from start to finish."
"Donning costumes, sniffing out secret exits and stringing together wildly inventive levels confirms the structural genius of this landmark. The razor-sharp handling responds to perfection, and the generosity of the content feels inexhaustible. It's hard to build a more solid 2D platformer, and the fun stays whole decades on."
"Costumes with varied powers, a world map, and abundant secrets vastly expand the formula without sacrificing any of Mario's perfect momentum. Flying with the leaf or swimming in the frog suit reinvents every level. The peak of the 8-bit platformer, it retains a richness of game design and a handling that remain an absolute."
"Exploring Rapture and Columbia retains a rare evocative power, and it's that atmosphere, more than the shooting, that carries the trilogy. Mixing weapons with genetic powers still has its kick, and the first game's moral choice still hits. On pure gameplay terms the firefights show their age against today's standards, but the writing and staging more than make up for it. Carrying these three remasters on Switch is a luxury, and for anyone who never visited these fallen utopias, the chance is ideal."
