System: Atari Lynx Release date: 1989 Blue Lightning on the Atari Lynx is the game that Atari bundled with the handheld to show the world exactly what a colour portable could do – and in 1989, it absolutely delivered the goods. This Blue Lightning title is a behind-the-plane combat flight game in the spirit of…
System: Nintendo Entertainment System Release date: 1989 Faxanadu on the NES is the game that proves the side-scrolling action RPG was capable of genuine ambition long before anyone invented the phrase “Metroidvania.” This Faxanadu title dropped you into a dying World Tree, handed you a sword, a handful of gold, and an increasingly grim quest…
System: 3DO Release date: 1994 Demolition Man on the 3DO is the game that proves even Sylvester Stallone at peak 90s action hero couldn’t guarantee a good video game tie-in – but this one gets considerably closer than most. This Demolition Man title arrived alongside the film in 1994 and took the unusual step of…
System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System Release date: 1990 Pilotwings on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is the game that made an entire generation of kids suddenly very interested in getting their pilot’s licence. This Pilotwings title dropped alongside the SNES and immediately showed every other console on the market exactly what Mode 7 could do.…
System: Sega Mega Drive Release date: 1990 Decap Attack on the Sega Mega Drive is one of those gloriously daft games that could only have come from the early 90s – and we absolutely mean that as a compliment. This Decap Attack title takes a perfectly ordinary platformer and decides the hero should be a…
System: Nintendo 64 Release date: 1996 Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 didn’t just launch a console, it rewrote the rulebook for what 3D gaming could even be. This Super Mario 64 title took everything we loved about 2D Mario and chucked it into a fully explorable 3D world without losing a shred of…
Retro Handheld Gaming 2026 Blog The Brilliant Pocket Revolution Cast your mind back. You’re ten years old, huddled under the duvet with a torch and a Game Boy that’s eating through AA batteries like they’re going out of fashion. The screen’s barely visible, your eyes are going square, and you absolutely do not care because Tetris…
System: 3DO Release date: 1994 Alone in the Dark on the 3DO is a genuinely creepy, brilliantly atmospheric slice of gaming history that quietly invented survival horror before anyone had even thought up the name. This Alone in the Dark on the 3DO title drops you into a haunted Louisiana mansion in the 1920s and…
System: Nintendo 64 Release date: 1998 Banjo-Kazooie on the Nintendo 64 is the game that took Rare’s platforming pedigree, bolted on a genuinely witty script, and produced one of the finest 3D collect-em-ups the genre ever saw. This Banjo-Kazooie N64 title puts you in the fur of a good-natured bear teamed up with Kazooie, a…
System: Nintendo 64 Release date: 1997 Blast Corps on the Nintendo 64 is a gloriously daft masterpiece and still one of the most unique games on the system. This Blast Corps N64 title lets you play as a heavy demolition crew tasked with clearing paths for runaway nuclear missiles by smashing buildings out of the…