These games are pixelated and clunky, yet undeniably iconic

Walk into my bedroom and it’s obvious: I’m a gamer, through and through. At the center of my desk sits a huge, curved monitor connected to my RGB-overloaded desktop. My Steam Deck and Vita rest next to my two keyboards, ready to go. 

To the left, a 50-inch television is wired to a PS5 Slim and Xbox Series X. My Switch Lite and various mini arcade games live in the cubes of my TV stand.

Even with every modern game within arm’s reach, retro games have a hold on me that most new titles can’t match. In one of my last posts, I spoke about the power of retro gaming transporting me to a simpler time. Turns out that time was stacked with bangers.

1. Super Mario Bros.

Let’s start with the obvious.

Super Mario Bros. is a staple in every retro gamer’s lineup, and I’m no exception. It’s one of the first games I owned, and it’s one I’ll never part with. Super Mario Bros. is so intertwined with who I am that I instantly transport myself to lying on the floor playing this game in front of an old CRT, being told to scoot back so I don’t hurt my eyes.

Whether I’m finding hidden warp zones to fly through the game, or taking it stage by stage, world by world, I find it infinitely satisfying to replay.

Whether I’m playing on NES, Switch Online or one of my Anbernic handhelds, years and years of this game are probably why I wear such thick glasses.

2. Pokémon Silver

My Game Boy Color was a revolution in gaming. I was born in 1990, and I grew up on a hand-me-down NES and Sega Genesis. Most of the games were casual, and I was a bit young to care about overarching storylines. I just wanted to waste time swapping cartridges and jumping between games.

Pokémon Red and Pokémon Yellow changed all of that, and when the second-gen game released, it was a lifeline. Not being well-off meant I didn’t get a lot of new games in those days. Pokémon Silver was like being handed two games in one. The expanded Pokédex was incredible—so many new monsters were added from the anime. I didn’t expect to beat the Elite Four and the game to continue into the Kanto region.

Pokémon Crystal became the second-gen game I’d restart to try different styles, but Silver was the one that became my comfort. Endless hours were spent walking the paths and filling out my Pokédex. I’d beat the Elite Four with new lineups after catching and training new Pokémon.

My heart broke when the internal battery finally died and I lost my original save.

3. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

This is a game that was huge for my whole family. I’m not sure how the craze took over the world so effortlessly, but suddenly my cousins and I were skating around in the game—and attempting to skate with little success in real life.  Even my aunt would button mash her way through tricks, not really sure what she was doing but loving it regardless.

Beyond just the game, the soundtrack is one of the most nostalgic and life-altering parts. I was raised primarily on rap and R&B music, and between WWE themes and THPS, the scope of my music widened. I’m not even a ska fan, but “Superman” by Goldfinger still gets me hyped to this day.

I’ve since bought the remastered version for my Series X, but I have a soft spot for the original that I can’t get past. It’s not uncommon for me to pick up one of my handhelds just to play through a few runs on Warehouse. 

4. Street Fighter II

This is another obvious choice with a less obvious personal ranking. 

I played more Tekken as a kid, specifically 2 and 3. I prefer how smooth modern fighters are. The character selection in the new games is bigger. And honestly, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is a better game.

Yet when someone talks about Street Fighter, SF2 is the one that comes to mind. I own multiple copies of the game from Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis to digital versions on PC. Ryu and Chun-Li are my obvious, easy-to-play go-to fighters. The gameplay isn’t as smooth, the graphics are decent but not incredible, and there are only eight characters. 

But that means it’s quicker to run through the arcade mode and feel accomplished.

5. Pokémon Trading Card Game

Pokémon was the first big thing I started to collect. I had binders organized by set and all the decks they were releasing. I even had the first edition Base Set Charizard before it was stolen. I loved to trade cards with my cousins, neighbors and friends at school.

The one thing almost no one knew how to do was actually play the card game. The Pokémon Trading Card Game made learning the game easy and fun. Making it a lite RPG and a simulation game was a nice touch. I loved making decks and opening new packs in the game. 

It’s a game I still play from time to time, mostly to see some of the classic art and cards from the era. It was a simple game with a nostalgic art style that aged very well.

6. Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal Duelist Soul

Another simulation game, but this one was much more in-depth. Without the RPG elements, this game was meant purely for one thing: dueling. With stages of duelists to compete against and the ability to link to my cousin’s Game Boy Advance, it brought me literal years of enjoyment.

I’m now what’s known as a Yugiboomer. I love the older style of gameplay and the original card sets. I played very regularly until around the time of synchro monsters being introduced.

While I did play in tournaments a couple of years ago, the game is a lot harder to keep up with than when I was younger. It cost me nearly $600 to build my Toon deck and take a lot of losses in local competition, while I can still load up Eternal Duelist Soul any time and create different deck types from the style of gameplay I still know like the back of my hand.

7. Pokémon Snap

I completely missed this game as a kid. I didn’t have an N64 growing up, and I never even tried it on a demo kiosk that I can remember. When I did get an N64 later in my teenage years, this was one of the games that came with it. 

Even before I became a real-life photographer, I loved capturing pictures of the Pokémon around the levels. As a fairly short game, it wasn’t unusual to turn on my N64 just to play through the entirety of the game in one sitting.

Even with the release of the newer version on Switch, something about the simpler style of the original always pulls me back in at least once a year.

8. Crash Team Racing

I was never a Mario Kart kid. I never owned a copy, nor did I have any friends inviting me over to play it. When I got a PlayStation for Christmas with my cousin, one of the earliest games I can remember playing was Crash Team Racing.

Whether it was racing with each other or playing through its story mode, I loved the fast-paced game. The TNT and Nitro blocks would either be my best friends or make me want to throw my controller down.

I’ve since played many of the iterations of Mario Kart, but CTR still clears all of them. I can still remember every track whenever I start the game, and as a kid Crash Bandicoot was my Mario. I had an NES and a Game Boy, but I didn’t own another Nintendo system until the GameCube was released. 

Crash was my PlayStation mascot and CTR was my kart racer that can’t be topped.

9. Paperboy

This is a frustrating game, and that’s what keeps me coming back. It should be simple, but being good at this game escapes me. You’d think owning this game for 30 years would have helped me master it, but it really hasn’t.

Every now and then, I pick the game up, convinced it’s so simple that it will be a walk in the park. Three in-game days later, I realize it’s a bike ride through a neighborhood in hell. The frustration probably makes me play worse, but my determination keeps me going back. 

I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever finished the game successfully, and I don’t know if I ever will. But I will never give up on you, Paperboy.

10. Tiny Wings

This isn’t the kind of retro that aged as long as the rest of the list, but Tiny Wings was released in 2011. It was one of the first iOS games I ever downloaded, and it’s one that’s on my phone more often than not.

The simplicity of helping the bird jump and fly using the slopes of the hills is calming, and the music keeps me in a good mood.

The repetitive nature of the game, combined with the changing backgrounds and scenery, keeps my brain hooked and focused on the screen. Whether I need to waste a bit of time or I’m genuinely using it to quiet my brain, Tiny Wings was absolutely worth the couple bucks I paid over a decade ago.