As a child growing up in the 80s and 90s, I was quickly drawn to the allure of video gaming at a young age. The 1980s were the golden age of arcades, with classics like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, and Mortal Kombat. The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Commodore Amiga, Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo (SNES) transformed gaming at home. The PlayStation released in 1994 made gaming even more immersive. Games like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Street Fighter II were groundbreaking in their day.
Here is a list of 50 video games released in the 80s and 90s that I loved to play for countless hours. While some of these don’t hold up today, each one brought something new to the gaming scene. Let me know which other games you’d add to my list or which choices you don’t agree with 🙂
| Title | Year | Platform | My Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Brothers | 1985 | NES | 9.0 |
| The Legend of Zelda | 1986 | NES | N/A |
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | 1988 | NES | 9.0 |
| Mega Man II | 1988 | NES | N/A |
| Street Fighter 2 | 1989 | SNES/SMD | 8.9 |
| Super Mario Kart | SNES | 8.9 | |
| Super Mario World | SNES | 8.8 | |
| Donkey Kong Country | SNES | N/A | |
| Starfox | SNES | N/A | |
| Mortal Kombat | 1989 | SMD | 8.4 |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | SMD | 8.7 | |
| Resident Evil | SMD | 8.5 | |
| Gunstar Heroes | SMD | 8.2 | |
| Streets of Rage II | 1985 | Amiga/Atari ST/PC | 8.1 |
| Lemmings | 1985 | Amiga/Atari ST/PC | 8.9 |
| Pinball Fantasies | Amiga/Atari ST | 8.0 | |
| Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker | Amiga/Atari ST | 8.1 | |
| Another World | Amiga/Atari ST | 7.9 | |
| Road Rash | Amiga/Atari ST | 8.4 | |
| The Secret of Monkey Island 2: Lechuck’s Revenge | Amiga/Atari ST | 8.9 | |
| Earthworm Jim | Amiga/Atari ST | 7.8 | |
| Streets of Rage II | Amiga/Atari ST/PC | ||
| Killer Instinct | Nintendo 64 | 8.3 | |
| Golden Eye 007 | Nintendo 64 | 8.7 | |
| Ridge Racer | PlayStation | 8.3 | |
| Tekken | PlayStation | 8.6 | |
| Final Fantasy VII | PlayStation | 8.5 | |
| Tomb Raider | PlayStation | 8.7 | |
| Gran Turismo | PlayStation | 8.4 | |
| Metal Gear Solid | PlayStation | 8.4 | |
| Doom | PC | 8.8 | |
| Worms | PC | 8.9 | |
| Theme Hospital | PC | 8.5 | |
| Roller Coaster Tycoon | PC | 8.2 | |
| Railroad Tycoon | PC | 8.2 | |
| Sim City | PC | 8.6 | |
| Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings | PC | 8.7 |