In the videogame world there are always many questions like, for example, which are the best video games of the 80s? We tried to answer
When you think about 80s we tend to think that it was the period during which they were published the best video games ever, but unfortunately this is a kind of “distortion“That our brain works together with the well-known”nostalgia effect“. A factor that makes us see gold even where it actually isn’t. In fact, the cases of titles such as the disastrous conversion of ET and Pac – Man, or Custer’s Revenge, for the Atari 2600 which were the pillars of the crisis in the sector in 1983.
Another “mistake” may be to consider only the series such as Super Mario, Zelda or Space Invaders, a double mistake because the latter title dates back to the end of seventies, as the most representative of this period of videogame history. So we decided to do a little more clarity and offer you a nice roundup of titles, maybe there is someone you didn’t know!
Back to the Eighties: un boom di colori e pixel
What was going strong in those years besides the big movies and classic TV series, like Indiana Jones or Miami Vice, to the new sub-genres of heavy metal, to the most glittery pop and to the ubiquitous synthesizers? Surely the nascent electronics and information technology sector with increasingly bright pixels and colors (take a look at the video clip of Money for Nothing by Dire Straits to get an idea) which has translated into arcades and home consoles like Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Master System, Atari 2600, PC Engine, Commodore 64, ColecoVision and so on.
A period that, unlike the seventies, brought the game also in a portable version thanks to machines like the Game Boy and gave rise to many of the series we know and still play today as Wolfenstein. An iconic series today, but what gave its best in the nineties and which therefore we will leave out.
We also add that in this article you will not be faced with one Ranking, therefore there is no first, second or last. It is up to conceive the whole like a big shopping list from which you can draw inspiration, add something or draw a nice line.
But even doing so, the list in question would be really long and endless so, despite the small selection for what are the best 80s video games made in the course of the article, we bring you some honorable mentions such as Frogger, Ice Climber, Prince of Persia, Maniac Mansion, Bubble Bobble, Q*bert, Dragon Quest, Galaga, Tetris or the original trilogy of the text adventure by Zork.
The Super Mario Bros. Trilogy – Best 80’s Video Games
Created by the good Shigeru Miyamoto, the first Super Mario Bros. arrives on the NES in 1985 and was immediately a huge success given the innovative gameplay, the now iconic character and an immediately recognizable soundtrack. The same period would also have seen the alternation of Lost Levels, the second chapter (particular because taken up by Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic) and by third which remains one of the most beautiful ever.
Donkey Dong – Best 80’s video games
When Donkey Kong was one bad ape and our Mario was called Jumpan, a branded story 1981 which laid the foundation for the development of two of Nintendo’s most beloved characters. Things will then go the right way with the Donkey Kong Country series and its sequels.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure – Best 80’s video games
Created by the then LucasfilmGames, in collaboration with the legendary Ron Gilbert among others, the title is a graphic adventure that takes up the events of The Last Crusade and also allows you to modify them. In short, riddles, Nazis and legendary treasures await you dear archaeologists! This title could not be missing from the best 80s video games
The Legend of Zelda – Best 80’s video games
Authentic bomb of 1986 (1987 in the rest of the world) for NES always created by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto. A title that has upset the very existence of role-playing games and which gave birth to the good Link and Princess Zelda. Mechanism that will then be revolutionized again in the many sequels starting from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link of the following year.
Pac – Man – Best 80’s video games
Who has never played, at least once, the yellow ball created by a stroke of genius of Tōru Iwatani while eating a pizza with colleagues? Follow-ups and conversions are not counted, absolute record that it can not miss in any list or ranking.
Ghots N ‘Goblins – Best 80’s video games
You like fantasy, but you also like to beat enemies hard and, maybe, have anice high difficulty bar? So try this dark adventure of Sir Arthur among zombies, skeletons and demons of any origin. Ah, then let’s not forget that after two hits you die. Is it better this way?
Dragon’s Lair – Best 80’s video games
Video game that meets cardboard in one of the most successful experiments of the period (1983) where our hero will have to save the princess kidnapped by the dragon. You will therefore need ready and instant reflexes if you want to get to the happy ending or enjoy one of the many and funny death animations.
1942 – Best 80’s video games
Bullets, bombs, cannon fire and enemy planes in this classic 1984 which will also see some very interesting sequels. Mission, bomb Japan during the battles of the Second World War in the Pacific scenario. Greetings pilots!
Super Mario Land – Best 80’s video games
Could our dear plumber still be missing from the best video games of the 80s? Absolutely not so much so that in the 1989, before the chapters for Nintendo 64 and GameCube, our mustachioed friend appears in his first version for Game Boy going to collect another well deserved success among fans.
Double Dragon – Best 80’s video games
Awesome 1987 horizontal scrolling fighting game where, in a post apocalyptic New York, the two brothers Billy and Jimmy they will have to save their friend kidnapped by a street gang. They will therefore make their way between punches and enemies to no end so much that the following year will arrive entitled Double Dragon II: The Revenge.
Metroid – Best 80’s video games
Space adventure for Samus with 1986 license plate which, together with Castlevania, went on to define the genre of the so-called “metroidvania”. A real gem for the NES, this title also contains a nice twist, for those times, at the end of the game when it turns out that Samus is actually a pretty damsel. For the sequels, however, we will have to wait for the SNES.
Mega Man – Best 80’s video games
Wanting to stay on the futuristic theme, here is another of the best video games of the 80s and another of Nintendo’s “colorful” characters, the good Mega Man it is in fact immediately recognizable thanks to its blue and light blue shades and its fast-paced and challenging gameplay. Carrying column of the type with license plate 1987, on NES, the sequel will arrive immediately the following year.
Final Fantasy – Best 80’s video games
The 1987 and the 1988 they see the alternation of first two adventures of the JRPG par excellence, or Final Fantasy, which immediately established itself as one of the milestones of the genre. A “final fantasy” that continues today between remakes and conversions of classic chapters along with sequels and spin – offs.
Castlevania – Best 80’s video games
Inevitable together with the aforementioned Metroid for the definition of a genre, this 1986 title is characterized by more horror and dark atmospheres and colors. Our mission here will be to defeat Dracula with our trusty Vampire Slayer whip. Then it will be a must Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest of the following year.
DuckTales – The best 80’s video games
Based onhomonymous series of the adventures of the Ducks, this title is one of the most popular for the Disney-licensed NES and will see us impersonate the good Uncle Scrooge in search of lost treasures. A masterpiece of 1989 that will make you scream quack with every jump. And it is with DuckTales that we close our roundup of the best video games of the 80s.
In conclusion
These were therefore some of what we can consider as the best video games of the 80s. A magic made of pixels and 8 bits that, even today, we can see in many other sequels and appearances in other brands such as Super Smash Bros. and various. Their importance was then recognized by the companies of origin who have decided to repay retrogaming enthusiasts bringing the titles again on virtual machines and e-shops. Instead, for anyone who wants to rediscover the emotions of the past, we remind you that you can always recover them miniature console like the NES, the Atari 2600, the Commodore 64 and so on.
Anyway, if you like you too can relive these wonderful adventures of the “times that were” at the right price, perhaps adapted to today’s times, click here, while, to stay always updated on video games of yesterday and today, we are always waiting for you here on TechGameWorld.com!