Classic Games
The titles that pushed boundaries and defined genres.
After Burner
Arcade combat at Mach 2
Yu Suzuki's 1987 fighter jet spectacular put players in a rotating cockpit for the ultimate arcade power fantasy.
Arkanoid
Breakout evolved
Taito's 1986 update to Breakout added power-ups, enemies, and boss battles, perfecting the paddle-and-ball formula.
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Jeff Minter’s camel-powered shooter
Released in 1983, Attack of the Mutant Camels turned the VIC-20 and C64 into neon arcades with absurd humour and serious bite.
Bubble Bobble
Now it is the beginning of a fantastic story
Taito's 1986 arcade classic turned cooperative bubble-trapping into one of gaming's most joyful experiences.
Castlevania
Gothic horror on the NES
Konami's vampire-slaying platformer combined deliberate combat, horror atmosphere, and memorable music into an NES classic.
Commando
One man army
Capcom's vertical run-and-gun became an arcade staple and spawned one of Rob Hubbard's most beloved C64 soundtracks.
Contra
30 lives to save the world
Konami's run-and-gun classic defined cooperative action and immortalised the Konami Code.
Cybernoid
Pirate plundering perfection
Raffaele Cecco's brutally difficult shooter showcased technical mastery and Jeroen Tel's pounding SID soundtrack.
Defender of the Crown
The Amiga's showcase
Cinemaware's 1986 strategy game demonstrated Amiga graphics that seemed impossible, even if gameplay didn't quite match.
Deluxe Paint
The pixel artist's canvas
Electronic Arts' Deluxe Paint defined digital art on the Amiga, creating the pixel art that filled a generation's games.
Dizzy: The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure
An eggy hero cracks the budget charts
Codemasters and the Oliver Twins built a puzzle-platform franchise around a lovable egg and some fiendish inventory riddles.
Donkey Kong
The game that made Nintendo
Shigeru Miyamoto's 1981 arcade debut introduced Jumpman (later Mario), invented the platformer genre, and saved Nintendo's American division.
Doom
Hell's shareware sensation
Doom didn't invent the first-person shooter, but it perfected and popularised the genre, spreading across office networks and defining PC gaming.
Double Dragon
Beat-em-up perfected
Technos' 1987 arcade brawler codified the belt-scrolling beat-em-up, letting friends punch through gangs together.
Dungeon Master
Real-time revolution
FTL's 1987 RPG abandoned turn-based combat for real-time dungeon crawling, creating the template for action-RPGs.
Elite
The galaxy in your bedroom
David Braben and Ian Bell's 1984 space trading game offered an entire galaxy on a single floppy, inventing the open-world genre.
Final Fantasy
Square's desperate gamble
Final Fantasy was meant to be Square's last game. Instead, it saved the company and launched one of gaming's most enduring franchises.
Frogger
Look both ways
Konami's 1981 arcade hit turned crossing the road into an art form, spawning countless ports and cementing the grid-based action genre.
Gauntlet
Warrior needs food badly
Atari's four-player dungeon crawler ate quarters by design and spawned a genre of cooperative action games.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
This game is hard
Capcom's brutal 1985 platformer sent Arthur through graveyards and dungeons in his underwear, teaching patience through punishment.
Gods
Bitmap Brothers perfection
The Bitmap Brothers' 1991 platformer combined puzzle-solving, combat, and their signature metallic aesthetic.
Gradius
The shooter that defined a genre
Konami's pioneering side-scroller introduced the power-up bar, the Moai heads, and gaming's most famous cheat code.
Head Over Heels
Two heads are better than one
Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond's isometric masterpiece split control between two characters with complementary abilities.
Impossible Mission
Stay a while... stay forever!
Epyx's 1984 platform puzzler combined speech synthesis, smooth animation, and devious puzzles in one unforgettable package.
International Karate+
Three fighters, one screen
System 3's fighting game sequel added a third simultaneous fighter, creating chaotic competitive brilliance.
Jet Set Willy
The mansion that never ends
Matthew Smith's sprawling sequel to Manic Miner let players explore a massive mansion—bugs and all.
Lemmings
Let's go!
DMA Design's 1991 puzzle phenomenon challenged players to save suicidal rodents through clever skill assignment.
Manic Miner
Twenty screens of madness
Matthew Smith's 1983 platformer brought precise jumping and memorable music to the Spectrum, launching a legend.
Mega Man
The Blue Bomber
Capcom's 1987 NES platformer introduced weapon-stealing mechanics and non-linear stage selection, launching one of gaming's longest franchises.
Metroid
Alone in the dark
Nintendo's atmospheric action-adventure introduced Samus Aran, non-linear exploration, and the template for an entire genre.
Monty on the Run
Freedom for Monty
The C64 platformer became legendary for Rob Hubbard's six-minute loading theme—a SID chip masterpiece.
Nebulus
The tower that turned
John Phillips' 1987 tower-climbing game created the illusion of 3D rotation on 8-bit hardware through clever programming.
Out Run
Drive into the sunset
Sega's 1986 arcade racer combined stunning visuals, branching routes, and a Ferrari Testarossa into the definitive driving fantasy.
Pac-Man
Gaming's first icon
Namco's 1980 maze-chase created gaming's first mascot, transcended arcades into mainstream culture, and taught the industry that characters sell.
Paradroid
C64 strategy welded to arcade reflexes
Andrew Braybrook’s 1985 masterpiece blended shooter action with territory control aboard a hijacked robot freighter.
Pitfall!
Swinging into history
David Crane's jungle adventure sold four million copies, proved third-party games could be best-in-class, and defined the platformer before Mario existed.
Pong
The game that started an industry
Two paddles, one ball, endless quarters—Atari's Pong proved video games could be a business and launched an industry.
R-Type
The Force is with you
Irem's 1987 shooter combined beautiful sprite art with the innovative Force pod, creating the definitive side-scrolling shooter.
Rainbow Islands
The story of Bubble Bobble 2
Taito's 1987 sequel transformed Bub and Bob into human form, swapping bubbles for rainbows in vertical platforming perfection.
Reversi
The flip side of strategy
Victorian board game Reversi—later trademarked as Othello—became a computer gaming staple, teaching territory control and forward thinking.
Sensible Soccer
Beautiful simplicity
Sensible Software stripped football to its essence—tiny players, aftertouch, and pure competitive joy.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Speed kills (Nintendo's dominance)
Sega's blue blur gave them a mascot, a marketing weapon, and the game that made Genesis a genuine threat to Nintendo.
Space Invaders
The game that conquered Earth
Taito's 1978 arcade phenomenon created the shooter genre, caused a coin shortage in Japan, and proved games could be cultural events.
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
Ice cream! Ice cream!
The Bitmap Brothers' violent future sport combined pinball physics with tactical team management.
Street Fighter II
The fighting game revolution
Street Fighter II created the competitive fighting game genre, revitalised arcades, and sparked console wars as Sega and Nintendo fought for the best port.
Super Mario Bros.
The game that defined gaming
Bundled with the NES, Super Mario Bros. rescued the American games industry and established the vocabulary of platform game design.
Super Robin Hood
Codemasters’ budget swashbuckler
The Oliver Twins’ Super Robin Hood packed platforming, traps, and treasure into a £1.99 cassette that made them household names.
Tempest 2000
Llamasoft’s neon rebirth of an arcade classic
In 1994 Jeff Minter reimagined Atari’s vector shooter for the Jaguar, delivering a rave-worthy soundtrack and hypnotic visuals.
Tetris
The perfect game
Alexey Pajitnov's falling-block puzzle conquered the world, sold the Game Boy, and proved games could transcend language and culture.
The Last Ninja
Isometric excellence
System 3's martial arts masterpiece combined isometric exploration, combat, and Ben Daglish's legendary SID soundtrack.
The Legend of Zelda
A world to explore
Miyamoto's action-adventure masterpiece gave players an open world, battery-backed saves, and a sense of discovery that defined a genre.
Thrust
Gravity is a harsh mistress
Jeremy Smith's physics-based game brought Gravitar-style gameplay to home computers with brutal precision requirements.
Turrican
German engineering, Amiga power
Manfred Trenz's run-and-gun showcased Amiga capabilities with massive levels, smooth scrolling, and Chris Hülsbeck's thunderous soundtrack.
Uridium
Side-scrolling speed on the C64
Andrew Braybrook’s Uridium pushed the Commodore 64 to deliver blistering horizontal shooters with cinematic flair.
Way of the Exploding Fist
One-on-one combat perfected
Melbourne House's 1985 fighting game brought martial arts to home computers with smooth animation and precise controls.
Wizball
Colour restoration odyssey
Sensible Software's surreal shooter paired innovative gameplay with Martin Galway's dreamy SID soundtrack.