Best Classic Adventure Games

A direct predecessor to the Grand Theft Auto open-world formula from the same studio, Body Harvest drops a time-traveling soldier into sprawling free-roaming environments spanning multiple eras of human history under alien invasion. DMA Design's ambitious scope — hijack any vehicle, explore vast maps, battle massive alien bosses — resulted in a game rougher than its ambitions but historically fascinating as the missing link between top-down GTA and the 3D open-world games that followed.

Konami's divisive attempt to bring Castlevania into 3D. Castlevania 64's gothic atmosphere, memorable boss designs, and dual-protagonist structure offered genuinely compelling moments despite its rough controls and dated visuals — and Reinhardt Schneider's vampire hunting quest captured the series' atmosphere better than the camera system deserved.

Rare's pre-Bad Fur Day Conker in a family-friendly GBC action-adventure. Before Conker became gaming's most famous profane squirrel, he starred in a charming isometric action-RPG on Game Boy Color, rescuing his girlfriend Berri from the Evil Acorn. A solid portable game and an artifact of Conker's original family-friendly design direction.