What better than to travel through time to discover the pearls of the past?

Pearls that will have marked several generations of players and which also have the particularity of not having aged a single wrinkle, despite the years passing and the technology which evolves. So let’s put aside the 4k / 60fps combo and set off to conquer retro games for a short article.

DOOM (1993)

Let’s dive right into the deep end of retro games with DOOM first of the name. Released for the first time in 1993, the production of veterans John and Adrian Carmack and John Romero has neither more nor less shaken up the video game landscape by contributing in particular, alongside the Mortal Kombat saga, to bringing video games to a more mature audience. , but that’s not all.

The title also popularized a genre that today floods our favorite medium, the FPS. Of course, in addition to having contributed a lot, DOOM also has countless qualities. It offers players the role of an overpowered hero, the Doomguy, to face the underworld rising up on the planet Mars in three-dimensional settings, a feat for the time. Note that the title still so enjoyable and dynamic despite the years that pass, is currently available on most gaming platforms in a remastered version. The latter notably offers a competitive and cooperative multiplayer mode locally. To discover urgently!

Aladdin

Let’s completely change the register and go to a much more colorful production for all audiences! Yes, the 90s were not only the rise of violence in video game productions, it was also the golden age of adaptations of Walt Disney films to video games.

We could have cited many productions of the house with big ears, starting with the game The Lion King despite its exuberant difficulty, but we preferred to focus on David Perry’s Aladdin, who on MegaDrive, achieves a flawless.

The platform game offers you to play as the famous usurper of Agrabah to experience a colorful adventure highlighted by neat animations that do not have to be ashamed of the animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker.

Mickey mania

Let’s continue with another creation from the Disney house to stop this time on a title featuring the famous mascot of the American firm, we named the timeless Myckey Mouse.

With the too little-known Mickey Mania, Traveller’s Tales offers a magnificent love letter to the various cinematographic adventures of the mouse with the big ears. Animated with the greatest care, the production, in black and white then in color, offers you to relive the most popular episodes of the hero, starting with the iconic Steamboat Willie from 1928.

Note also that the title offers a 3D chase, which was unthinkable for a MegaDrive game. A work to do and to redo!

Earthworm Jim

The genius David Perry is once again in this list thanks to the zany production Earthworm Jim that he undertook alongside Doug TenNapel, the creator of this surprising particularly overarmed character.

Released in 1994 on MegaDrive and Super Nintendo, the game Earthworm Jim stood out (and still stands out today) by its detailed animations taking the codes of traditional animation to the letter. Jim, the hero of the adventure, likes to move in all possible positions, shoot his devastating pistol in any direction, hang from ropes or even cling to fences.

To top it off, the creation even offers particularly dynamic chases. Note that an HD version of the game adding three new levels was also released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. Groovy!

Comix Zone

One year after the launch of the brilliant Earthworm Jim released Comix Zone on MegaDrive. It’s 1995, which means the fourth generation of consoles is coming to an end and developers now know how to use the full potential of SEGA’s machine architecture.

Comix Zone is proof of this. In addition to offering a charismatic hero capable of striking his opponents, in all possible positions, the creation of Peter Morawiec also has the intelligence to propose unique mechanics. It offers players to evolve in a nicely illustrated comic strip and therefore to move from box to box while destroying many enemies.

Note all the same that it is necessary to have a six-button controller to be able to take advantage of all the gestures of the hero and that the title has emerged on the seventh generation consoles.

GTA 2

If you want to experience thrills, we advise you to turn to the second opus of a saga which today is exploding all records. We are obviously referring to the Grand Theft Auto series. It was also in 1999 with GTA 2 that Rockstar Games truly established the foundations of its fetish series by already offering three cities to visit, Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas.

In these three cities, the player will be able to let his creativity speak for example by stealing vehicles, by making pacts with gangs, by massacring tourists in the streets or even by reinventing himself as a taxi driver. Admittedly, the formula is not new since it had already proved its worth in the first opus, but here, it is finally mastered.

GTA 2 succeeds where the first episode fails. Driving in a top view is finally playable, the weapons are varied and the camera offers maximum readability, drastically improving chases with the police.

MicroMachines 2 : Turbo Tournament

If you want to have fun with seven of your friends in a retro game, MicroMachines 2: Turbo Tournament is for you! This episode available on MegaDrive and SNES brings together all the qualities of the MicroMachines saga and at the same time offers content worthy of the name.

In total, players will be able to compete on 27 different circuits each offering a little surprise (for example, it will be necessary to avoid drills or survive a moving sponge), test several categories of vehicles with unique characteristics and participate in events bringing together up to 8 players simultaneously on the same console, at least, if you want to share your controller with another player.

Heart of Darkness

After offering players the timeless science fiction piece Another World in 1991, Eric Chahi, on the strength of his success, returned in 1998 with Heart of Darkness on PC and PlayStation.

In addition to erasing the many level-design errors of Another World, the game must be on two CDs, also offers many particularly enjoyable cutscenes to effectively punctuate Andy’s perilous adventures. Indeed, our young hero, barely higher than three apples, is ready to do anything to save his dog captured by voracious shadows.

But Andy, well aware of the danger, did not leave empty-handed. The latter ventures into these dark lands equipped with a plasma rifle, ideal for defending himself from the Darkness which never ceases to put sticks in his wheels.

Windjammers

Let’s take advantage of the highlighting of Windjammers 2 by Dotemu to remember the battles that we lived with the very first opus in the series.

Released for the first time in 1994 on NEO GEO, then sold later in an HD version on PlayStation 4, PS Vita and Nintendo Switch, Windjammers offers two players the opportunity to compete in a Frisbee match located in a very small arena.

To ensure maximum replayability, the gameplay title as nervous as it is excellent also offers a roster composed of six characters with unique characteristics.

Super Mario Bros. 3

Obviously, it was impossible to close this list without focusing on the various Nintendo productions. Yes, the Japanese firm has a knack for offering players video game productions that don’t get old, despite the years passing by.

We could therefore have cited the Metroid saga which subsequently brought a new genre to the world of video games, the unforgettable Donkey Kong series, the very first Super Mario Kart, an ever-excellent production, or even The Legend of Zelda.

With Super Mario Bros. 3 on NES, the mustached plumber once again asserts himself as the greatest hero of platformers. Extremely playful, the title offering rules understandable at a glance, remains today one of the best examples of successful level-design. Super Mario Bros. 3 is therefore a gem for players and budding developers alike!

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