Top 10 80s Videogames

The list of 80s games I have played is so short that this is the one decade where I am able to create a Top 10 that I'm satisfied with and doesn't leave out some other big favorites of mine. Hopefully I get to add some other classics in the future.

On second thought, honorable mention: Contra

Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 3
Still one of the best 2D Platformers ever made. Ambitious, creative, rewarding and revolutionary. This is what a perfect sequel looks like.

1

Tetris
Tetris
It's Tetris. It's videogames.

2

Space Harrier
Space Harrier
Yup, the master Yu Suzuki again. Psychadelically weird and always a joyful rush to go through, Space Harrier's illusion of 3D is still a magical feast for the eyes and hands.

3

The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
Playing it nowadays doesn't provide the magical experience that it must have had at release, but it is still a one of kind entry in the series that took 30 years to get a respectable follow up.

4

Super Hang-On
Super Hang-On
Peak Sega arcade experience. The beautiful 3D sprite scalling effect combined with sunset vistas and 16-bit tunes will forever be part of my nostalgia. Racing games used to be so transcendent, man.

5

Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone
Not gonna lie about the beautifully cute aesthetic being the main appeal here. Deceptively so, because it can be brutally punishing while you are distracted taking in the colorful alien backgrounds.

6

Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2
While it definitely isn't as refined as its subsequent sequels, the highs it reaches vastly surpass its lows and are mostly unmatched in the whole franchise. 80% of that being it's rockin' soundtrack.

7

The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi
Meticulously designed and rewarding to master, overcoming the odds to the sound of Yu Kushiro is one of the great pleasures you can have.

8

Gain Ground
Gain Ground
Massively overlooked. The tension that arises from deciding if you take the risk at saving a fallen unit member, with the chance of losing even more, is something that I haven't seen recreated in other similar games this successfully.

9

Castlevania
Castlevania
Forever a classic. If you can get through the Knight and Medusa hallway, and defeat Death without resorting to cheese tactics, you can do anything in life.

10

OutRun
OutRun

11

Strider
Strider

12

Shinobi
Shinobi

13

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.

14

Galaga
Galaga

15

Contra
Contra

16

Ms. Pac-Man
Ms. Pac-Man

17

Golden Axe
Golden Axe

18

Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land

19

Flicky
Flicky

20

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