Best Classic Action Games

Sega's shape-shifting Genesis platformer — Casey collects masks to transform into eight characters (Jason, Berzerker, Maniaxe, Iron Knight, Eyeclops, Juggernaut, Red Stealth, Skycutter) with distinct abilities across 103 stages.

Software Creations' 1994 SNES beat-em-up based on the Maximum Carnage comic arc — Spider-Man and Venom team up across 14 stages fighting Carnage's gang. The game is notable for its red SNES cartridge (one of very few), the music by Green Jellÿ and Zoebleed, and two selectable protagonists with different combat capabilities.

The original Mega Man introduced the Blue Bomber, the weapon-copying mechanic, and the non-linear boss selection system that defined one of gaming's most beloved action-platformer series.

Konami's 1987 NES stealth action game and the beginning of one of gaming's most influential franchises — Metal Gear follows Solid Snake infiltrating the Outer Heaven fortress to destroy the walking battle tank Metal Gear, using stealth and radio communications to complete the mission without being detected.

Atari's Cold War anxiety made playable. Missile Command puts players in command of three anti-missile batteries defending six cities from an unrelenting rain of ballistic missiles. Stress escalates until cities fall and the screen reads THE END — a stark reminder that there is no victory, only delay.

A standalone Game Gear ninja action adventure in the Shinobi tradition. The portable Shinobi showcased what the Game Gear's hardware could deliver with responsive shuriken attacks, grappling hooks, and well-designed stealth-and-action stages. A demanding but fair challenge for fans of the arcade originals.

SingleTrac's vehicular combat original launched alongside the PlayStation and defined an entirely new genre — armed vehicles tear through destructible arenas, collecting weapons while chasing the immortal prize offered by the demonic Calypso in his twisted game show. The dark, carnivalesque tone, memorable roster of drivers with unique backstories, and frenetic multiplayer established Twisted Metal as a PlayStation institution and one of Sony's earliest system-selling franchises.

Capcom's underrated Disney NES platformer — Darkwing Duck uses his gas gun with multiple ammunition types, swings on his cape, and battles five of the series' iconic villains across stages based on the cartoon.

Sega AM1's 1996 light gun shooter that launched one of gaming's most iconic horror franchises — The House of the Dead puts agents Rogan and G against zombies, mutants, and the rogue scientist Roy Curien through a Gothic mansion. The Saturn version is the first home port, supporting the Saturn Light Gun with branching stage paths based on optional civilian rescues.

Working Designs' final Saturn localization and one of their most elaborate productions — Magic Knight Rayearth blends action RPG combat with the CLAMP manga's distinctive art style, featuring three playable Magic Knights and Sega's impressive Saturn production values. A Saturn exclusive that became a collector's trophy for Working Designs completionists.

Q*bert is Gottlieb's 1982 isometric arcade classic where an orange creature with a long snout must change the color of all tiles on a pyramid by hopping on them while avoiding enemies. One of the most inventive arcade designs of the golden age, famous for its pseudo-3D perspective and Q*bert's exclamatory speech bubble upon death.

Square's late PS1 action-RPG with two protagonists sharing the same world with different motivations — treasure-hunter Rue seeking resurrection magic, princess Mint seeking world domination. Threads of Fate's dual narrative, real-time combat, and shape-shifting mechanic make it a distinctive Square alternative to Final Fantasy's dominance.

Sega's original console mascot before Sonic arrived. Alex Kidd in Miracle World was built into the Sega Master System's ROM and became millions of players' first SMS experience — its janken boss battles, wide-ranging level designs, and power-up motorcycle made it the flagship showcase for Sega's 8-bit hardware.

Konami's inventive hybrid blends roguelike dungeon-crawling with a town-building simulation, tasking the son of a legendary monster tamer to explore a procedurally generated tower while cultivating relationships and developing the village that surrounds it. Azure Dreams rewards patience and repeated runs with genuine progression in both the combat and social systems, creating a compelling loop that anticipates the structure of many beloved games that followed years later.

Data East's 1982 arcade classic where Chef Peter Pepper must assemble giant hamburgers by walking across ingredients to make them fall while being chased by murderous foods. BurgerTime combines chase game tension with environmental puzzle elements in one of the golden age's most original and charming concepts.

The enhanced version of Castlevania 64 with two new characters — Cornell the werewolf and Henry the Crusader — plus additional stages, improved engine performance, and the complete content of the original game. Legacy of Darkness is the definitive N64 Castlevania experience for players willing to engage with early 3D adventure design.

One of Atari's most successful arcade games and the shooter that made mushroom fields dangerous. Guide your blaster through a garden invaded by a segmented centipede winding down through mushrooms, while spiders and fleas add chaos. A golden-age classic that introduced many players to arcade gaming.

A unique Genesis game — guide a dolphin through an increasingly dark undersea narrative involving aliens, time travel, and extinction-level events, rendered in some of the console's most impressive fluid animation.

The chaotic two-player Genesis strategy game — command a squad of five soldiers across battlefields using individual unit control, deploying commandos, mortarmen, flamethrowers, and riflemen in frantic simultaneous combat against a friend or the CPU.

One of the hardest NES games ever made — Arthur must rescue Princess Guinevere through six brutally difficult levels, and then do it all again on a second, harder loop to reach the true ending.

DMA Design's 1997-1998 top-down action game and the origin of one of gaming's most influential franchises — Grand Theft Auto places a criminal in three cities (Liberty City, San Andreas, Vice City debuting here by name) to complete missions for various crime bosses, with a wanted level system, free-roaming open world, and unprecedented violence-as-mechanics that launched a cultural controversy alongside a beloved franchise.

The Blue Bomber's first portable outing takes bosses from Mega Man 1 and 2 and combines them into a challenging handheld adventure. A faithful if punishing translation of the NES series that holds its own as a standalone Mega Man experience.

The portable Mega Man X experience for Game Boy Color, adapting stages from the first two SNES Mega Man X games. Mega Man Xtreme's compact level selection, Zero as an unlockable playable character, and Challenge mode made it the best Mega Man portable experience available before the GBA era.

Samus travels to SR388 to exterminate the Metroid species — a game-changing narrative that introduced the Baby Metroid and directly set up Super Metroid's story.