Best Classic Action Games

The original, definitive version of Punch-Out!! featuring the real Mike Tyson as the unbeatable final opponent. The most famous licensed sports game on NES and one of the greatest boxing games ever made.

The greatest beat-em-up ever made. Streets of Rage 2 combined technical brawling combat with a roster of distinct fighters, excellent level design, and Yuzo Koshiro's legendary techno soundtrack to produce a masterwork of the genre.

A deeply personal and surprisingly melancholic Zelda adventure that sees Link stranded on the mysterious Koholint Island. Link's Awakening transcends its Game Boy limitations with clever design, a memorable cast, and one of the most emotionally resonant endings in Nintendo history.

A SNES technical masterpiece — Yoshi carries Baby Mario across 48 stages in a hand-drawn art style that pushed the SNES hardware with real-time sprite scaling and rotation that defined the series' visual identity.

The Japan-exclusive TurboGrafx-16 Castlevania that remains the peak of the classic linear formula. Rondo of Blood's dual-protagonist system (Richter Belmont and Maria Renard with entirely different move sets), branching paths leading to alternate endings, and exceptional sprite animation made it the defining classic Castlevania entry. Symphony of the Night is its direct sequel.

Simon Belmont's legendary first mission to slay Dracula. Castlevania is a masterpiece of Gothic horror atmosphere and methodical action-platformer design that defined the genre.

The greatest co-op run-and-gun ever made. Contra put two commandos against an alien invasion and challenged them to survive on one hit — unless you knew the Konami Code.

Delphine Software's 1992 cinematic action-adventure masterpiece — Flashback: The Quest for Identity follows Conrad B. Hart, an agent who wakes with no memory in 2142, using rotoscoped animation and Prince-of-Persia-style fluid platforming to navigate a conspiracy involving shapeshifting aliens infiltrating human society. One of the most cinematic games of the 16-bit era.

AlphaDream's 2003 GBA RPG where Mario and Luigi explore the Beanbean Kingdom to recover Princess Peach's stolen voice — featuring timed-action combat where button presses power up attacks and dodge incoming damage, and a co-op puzzle system where both brothers use their abilities simultaneously. Superstar Saga launched one of Nintendo's finest handheld RPG franchises.

SNK's 1999 enhanced version of Metal Slug 2 and the fan-favorite entry in the Neo Geo run-and-gun series — Metal Slug X rebalances Metal Slug 2's infamous slowdown, adds new weapons (Thunder Shot, Iron Lizard, Enemy Chaser), repositions enemy placements for improved flow, and delivers the definitive version of Metal Slug 2's stage content with performance that the original couldn't achieve.

Samus Aran's most personal and story-driven adventure brought Metroid to the Game Boy Advance with a haunting atmosphere, terrifying SA-X antagonist, and a narrative that finally gave the series' silent protagonist a genuine voice. Metroid Fusion is as close to survival horror as the franchise ever ventured.

Little Mac's journey through the World Video Boxing Association is one of the greatest sports games ever made — a pattern-recognition puzzle game dressed in boxing clothing.

The SNES action RPG masterpiece. Secret of Mana's real-time combat, gorgeous visuals, three-player simultaneous multiplayer, and Hiroki Kikuta's transcendent score created one of the genre's defining classics.

Sega's answer to Mario introduced a blue hedgehog who could run faster than the screen could keep up. Sonic the Hedgehog launched a franchise and gave Sega the mascot they needed to compete with Nintendo.

The definitive Star Fox experience and one of the finest rail shooters ever made. Star Fox 64 delivered exhilarating combat, memorable characters with full voice acting, and a brilliant branching mission structure — and its Rumble Pak integration was the first time console players felt the game through their controllers.

Neversoft's revolutionary skateboarding game didn't just create a genre — it changed how a generation thought about skateboarding, music, and sports games entirely. With accessible combo-building, brilliantly designed levels, and a soundtrack that defined late-1990s alternative culture, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is one of the most influential games ever made.

Nintendo's 2003 GBA game that invented the microgame genre — WarioWare, Inc. presents 9-second challenges at increasing speed, requiring instant comprehension and immediate action. Over 200 microgames across themed stages from Wario and his Diamond City friends, with no time to think and no margin for hesitation. The most original Nintendo game concept since Tetris.

Treasure's debut game and one of the finest action games ever made on the Genesis. Gunstar Heroes combined four weapon elements into sixteen possible combinations, three difficulty levels with distinct enemy sets, and boss fights of legendary creativity — including a board game level that remains one of gaming's most inventive stage concepts.

Kirby's NES masterpiece introduced the Copy Ability system and delivered the most technically stunning game on the hardware. Released in 1993 as the NES was being retired, it was a spectacular farewell to the platform.

The best-received Mega Man X game after the original, X4 is the series' PS1 debut and the first to offer Zero as a fully playable alternative protagonist. With two complete campaigns, anime cutscenes, and the finest level design in the PS1-era X series, Mega Man X4 is the entry point most Mega Man fans recommend.

Inti Creates' 2004 GBA action-platformer and the peak of the Mega Man Zero series — Mega Man Zero 3 refines the Z-Saber combat, introduces Cyber Elf fusion bonuses, expands the boss roster with the Dark Elf storyline, and is widely considered the most mechanically complete Zero series entry before the fourth game's conclusion.

The run-and-gun masterpiece that pushed the Neo-Geo hardware to its absolute limits. Metal Slug's hand-drawn animation — hundreds of frames per character, explosions, and environmental details that no other arcade game matched — combined with cooperative two-player action, weapon variety, and relentless design to create what many consider the greatest run-and-gun game ever made.

The definitive remake of Metroid 1 — Zero Mission retells Samus's original mission with modern Metroidvania level design, then extends the story beyond the original ending in a surprising Space Pirate stealth sequence.

The game that defined atmospheric exploration in video games. Metroid dropped players on a hostile alien planet with no map and no instructions, demanding they discover their own path through environmental storytelling.