Best Classic Action Games

Hudson Soft's bold translation of Bomberman into 3D on the Nintendo 64. Bomberman 64 reinvented the series with a 3D platformer adventure mode featuring five worlds and memorable boss fights, alongside the traditional multiplayer battle mode. The pump mechanic — inflating bombs to increase blast radius — added a new strategic layer that made both modes feel distinct from every other Bomberman entry.

The PS1 demolition derby game that proved the PlayStation's 3D hardware could deliver satisfying vehicular destruction physics. Destruction Derby's real-time damage modeling — cars visibly crumpling from impacts — and frantic arena modes were among the most impressive demonstrations of PS1 technical capability at launch.

Namco's 1982 arcade classic where a gardener digs through underground tunnels, inflates enemy Pookas and Fygar dragons with an air pump until they pop, or crushes them with falling rocks. One of the most charming and cleverly designed arcade games of the golden age.

Capcom's dinosaur-based survival horror — essentially Resident Evil redesigned for faster, smarter predators — features real-time creature AI that makes the Velociraptors genuinely terrifying rather than scripted obstacles. Regina's infiltration mission in Secret Operation Wipeout demonstrated that the studio's survival horror formula could absorb a radically different threat profile without losing any of its tension, and the game stands as the PS1's finest horror experience outside of Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill.

Capcom's sequel to DuckTales — Scrooge McDuck's second pogo adventure introduces five new treasure-hunting stages including Niagara Falls, the Bermuda Triangle, and the Aegean Sea.

Hudson Soft's 1987 action-RPG set in the world of Xanadu — Faxanadu (Famicom Xanadu) is a side-scrolling action-RPG hybrid where a warrior returns to the World Tree to find it under attack by Dwarves and must ascend through towns and dungeons seeking the elven king's wisdom. Platform action, experience-based leveling, magic words for save passwords, and a quest that takes 10+ hours.

Tengen's 1987 NES port of Atari Games' landmark 1985 arcade dungeon game — Gauntlet defines the dungeon hack-and-slash formula with four distinct character classes (Warrior, Valkyrie, Elf, Wizard), health that constantly drains requiring food collection, and hundreds of levels of monster-spawner-clearing combat that created the template for cooperative dungeon games.

Data East's 1992 SNES port of the 1991 arcade prehistoric platformer — Joe & Mac follows two cavemen rescuing kidnapped cavewomen from rival dinosaur-riding cavemen, wielding bone clubs, stone wheels, and fire attacks across colorful prehistoric stages in two-player simultaneous co-op.

Konami's 1993 Game Boy spinoff of the Castlevania franchise — Kid Dracula (Akumajo Special: Boku Dracula-kun in Japan) puts players in control of a chibi young Dracula platforming through eight comedy-horror stages with growing magical powers, a parody aesthetic, and the humor that distinguished the NES Famicom original. A charming, high-quality alternative to straight Castlevania action.

SNK and Eolith's 2001 Neo Geo fighting game and the conclusion of the NESTS Chronicles — The King of Fighters 2001 features the largest roster in the classic series, concludes the K' and NESTS story arc, offers four Strikers per team (from one in KOF '99), and represents the transition year when SNK faced financial crisis, making it both a franchise milestone and a historical document of a company in difficulty.

The bizarre feudal Japan-meets-robots platformer starring Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae blends non-linear overworld exploration, town-based puzzle solving, and giant mech battles against boss fortresses into a package of cheerful, confident absurdism that N64 owners largely overlooked. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is one of the N64's most overlooked gems — a game that trusts the player's tolerance for the ridiculous and rewards that trust with genuine mechanical variety and charm.

Square's survival horror RPG sequel shifted toward Resident Evil's tank controls and survival horror mechanics while retaining the Active Time Battle system from the original. Parasite Eve II's ANMC creature designs, detailed environmental storytelling, and atmospheric MIST facility make it the darker, more action-oriented companion to its predecessor.

The Donald Duck Genesis platformer that surprised players with its polish and non-linear world design. QuackShot: Starring Donald Duck sent players across six global locations in any order, using plungers and super balls to traverse different environments. One of the best Disney licensed games of the 16-bit era.

Konami's 1987 NES military infiltration game — Rush'n Attack (Green Beret in Japan) follows a US Special Forces soldier infiltrating Soviet bases with a combat knife, grabbing enemy weapons on the fly. Two-player alternating co-op, six stages of increasing difficulty, and the defining knife-combat mechanic of the NES action genre.

SNK's 1994 SNES port of the Neo Geo weapons-based fighting classic — Samurai Shodown brings the feudal Japan samurai fighter to SNES with 12 characters including Haohmaru, Nakoruru, and Earthquake, the weapon clash and disarm mechanics, rage mode that powers up attacks when health is low, and the game's characteristic one-hit-kill potential that distinguished it from contemporaries.

Widely considered the best original Game Gear Sonic experience. Triple Trouble's varied level designs, playable Knuckles echidna with unique routes, and polished animation made it the standout title in Sega's portable Sonic lineup. The search for six Chaos Emeralds drives an adventure that holds up decades later.

Namco's TurboGrafx-16 port of their 1988 horror arcade game — Rick Taylor wearing the Terror Mask battles through a mansion of monsters using melee attacks and found weapons. Splatterhouse on TurboGrafx-16 is the most faithful home conversion of the original arcade and one of the first mature-rated console games, known for its graphic horror content and Jason Voorhees-inspired mask.

The landmark SNES multiplayer game that popularized the Bomberman formula for a new generation of console owners — Super Bomberman's multitap support for four-player simultaneous play made it a staple of SNES gaming sessions where the living room became a battlefield of blasts, blocks, and betrayal. Hudson's design translates the arcade Bomberman formula to home hardware without compromise, delivering tight controls and precisely tuned arena sizes that keep matches tense from first bomb to last.

Westone's action-RPG hybrid that evolved Wonder Boy's pure platforming into an adventure with shops, equipment upgrades, and dragon combat — Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the SMS sequel that transformed the franchise's formula, adding RPG elements to platform action and establishing the character-progression template the series would develop through Monster World IV.

The ActRaiser sequel that removed the city-building simulation to focus on pure action. The wing mechanics, divine magic system, and technically polished platforming make it an excellent action game in isolation — though the loss of the original's unique hybrid design disappointed players expecting ActRaiser's complete formula.

Hudson Soft's 1987 NES platformer — Adventure Island follows Master Higgins across tropical island worlds rescuing Princess Tina, with a stamina meter that depletes as you walk (requiring constant fruit collection to survive), skateboard power-ups, and eight worlds of side-scrolling platformer action. The franchise origin that spawned multiple NES and SNES sequels.

A landmark crossover event for early 90s beat-em-up fans, Battletoads & Double Dragon unites Rare's bruising amphibian warriors with Technos' iconic martial arts duo against the shared threat of the Dark Queen and the Shadow Warriors. The game wisely tempers Battletoads' notorious difficulty with Double Dragon's more accessible combat pacing, resulting in a co-op brawler that rewards skilled play without punishing newcomers at every turn.

Square's quirky 1998 action-RPG featuring a miniature legendary swordsman summoned to save a kingdom — Brave Fencer Musashi combines real-time combat, enemy ability absorption, and a day/night time system with Square's production values and sense of humor. A charming alternative to Square's Final Fantasy dominance that built a cult following.

Crystal Dynamics' 1998 PS1 3D platformer — Gex: Enter the Gecko follows the wisecracking gecko into the Media Dimension to defeat Rez across themed television worlds. Gecko wall-crawling and tail whip combat in a pop-culture-reference-heavy adventure that was one of PS1's notable 3D platformers alongside Spyro and Crash.