Best Classic Action Games

The GBA port of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island with six new bonus stages — Super Mario Advance 3 delivers the SNES classic's egg-throwing physics, baby Mario transport mechanics, and crayon-illustration art style in portable form, with additional content including extra stages created specifically for the GBA version.

Neversoft's 2001 PS1 skateboarding game and the peak of the Pro Skater formula — Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 adds the revert mechanic that turns landings into combo continuations, introduces online play on PS2, and delivers the most mechanically refined THPS entry with a roster of 13 skaters across 10 levels.

Square's most mechanically complex PS1 game — Vagrant Story's weapon crafting, risk system, affinity chains, and the City of Leá Monde combine into one of the deepest action RPGs ever made, directed by Yasumi Matsuno.

The most mechanically inventive Wario Land — Wario is completely invulnerable, and enemies transform him into states (zombie, invisible, tiny, flaming) that unlock new paths across the fully revisitable world.

ActRaiser is one of the SNES's most original games — alternating between side-scrolling action stages and top-down city-simulation, with a god-like protagonist restoring civilization against demons.

The Genesis Aladdin — animated by the actual Disney animators who worked on the film, featuring fluid hand-drawn sprites, a throwing mechanic, and the Disney quality that made it the definitive console version over the SNES edition.

The ambitious Banjo-Kazooie sequel with nine interconnected worlds, a massively expanded moveset, multiplayer modes, and first-person shooter sections — bigger in every way than its predecessor.

Sunsoft's 1990 NES action-platformer based on the Tim Burton film — Batman follows Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight through Gotham fighting Joker's gang with punches, kicks, Batarangs, and Batdiscs across five stages with tight platformer controls and Sunsoft's remarkable NES music. One of the finest licensed NES games.

Capcom's 1997 arcade beat-em-up and the final entry in their classic beat-em-up era — Battle Circuit features five eclectic bounty hunters (including a plant person, a cyborg, and a yellow alien with sawblade arms) fighting through a cyberpunk setting to capture the hacker Dr. Saturn, with the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle's only new addition being this overlooked gem.

The SNES Contra masterpiece. Contra III: The Alien Wars brought the series into the 16-bit era with spectacular Mode 7 boss battles, dual weapon wielding, and relentless action that matched the hardware's capabilities.

Naughty Dog's refinement of the Crash Bandicoot formula — adding the slide, body slam, and super-powered spin makes Crash more capable, and 27 stages with expanded variety mark it as the series' most balanced entry.

Taito's 1994 arcade sequel faithfully ported to Saturn — Darius Gaiden continues the series' multi-screen branching route structure with sea creature-themed bosses, adds the Black Hole Bomb screen-clearing weapon, and delivers one of the finest horizontal shooters of the 16-bit-to-32-bit transition era with its trademark fish and whale bosses.

Capcom's overlooked SNES masterpiece and one of the platform's most sophisticated action games. Demon's Crest gave players control of Firebrand — the gargoyle villain from Ghosts 'n Goblins — across a non-linear world with seven Crests that transform him into different elemental forms. Its dark aesthetic, exploration-based structure, and excellent soundtrack make it one of the SNES's most underrated games.

Compile's TurboGrafx-16 pinball hybrid where a medieval gothic table features breakable enemies, secret bonus stages, multi-floor progression, and boss battles — all within a pinball framework. Devil's Crush is one of gaming's greatest pinball games and a defining title for the TurboGrafx-16 platform.

The animated platformer that took the 16-bit era by storm — Earthworm Jim's fluid hand-drawn animation, creative stage design, and irreverent humor made it the independent platformer sensation of 1994.

The cel-shaded graffiti skating game that invented an entire visual aesthetic — Jet Grind Radio's Tokyo-To setting, its eclectic hip-hop and breakbeat soundtrack, and its tag-based gameplay were so original that nothing before or since has quite replicated the experience. Smilebit's landmark Dreamcast title demonstrated that games could be genuinely, defiantly stylish rather than merely technically impressive, influencing a generation of art directors who cited it as a primary reference.

Crystal Dynamics' dark masterpiece — Raziel, a vampire destroyed by his master Kain, returns as a wraith who shifts between material and spectral realms to devour souls and hunt his former vampire brethren across a gothic decaying world.

Red Company's TurboGrafx-CD action shooter where a warrior in elemental armor battles across six kingdoms — Lords of Thunder is famous for its legendary heavy metal soundtrack and the combination of ground-based combat with shooter mechanics. One of the most celebrated games on the TurboGrafx-CD and a defining example of the platform's audio capabilities.

Mega Man 3 introduced Rush the Robot Dog and the Slide move while delivering a massive adventure with 24 stages. A strong entry that many fans consider the series' most ambitious NES installment.

Capcom's 1994 Game Boy exclusive — Mega Man V is the only original Game Boy Mega Man game not adapting NES or SNES content, featuring eight entirely new Stardroid bosses (aliens themed on planets), the Mega Arm attachment replacing the Mega Buster, and new mechanics including the Rush Space Item allowing space traversal. The most complete and polished of the Game Boy Mega Man series.

The worthy successor to Mega Man X that refined every element of the original. Mega Man X2 uses the Super FX chip to add smooth 3D cutscenes, introduces the X-Hunter storyline, and delivers eight memorable Maverick bosses. Collecting Zero's parts for the secret ending is one of the era's best hidden objectives.

Inti Creates' 2005 GBA action-platformer and the final chapter of Zero's story — Mega Man Zero 4 concludes Zero's four-game narrative arc with Dr. Weil's satellite cannon threatening Area Zero, introduces the EX Skill weather system where environmental conditions affect which abilities are available, and delivers a bittersweet ending that resolved the Zero series' long-running human-Reploid conflict.

Konami's 2000 GBC stealth action game — not a port of the PS1 Metal Gear Solid but an entirely original game with a new story set in Gindra, Africa, where Solid Snake must infiltrate the nation's defenses to stop Metal Gear GANDER. Ghost Babel adapts the full MGS stealth system to top-down GBC hardware with radar, codec communications, boss battles, and 7 missions of legitimate stealth depth.

The rarest and most beloved GBA action game, Ninja Five-O is a supremely polished ninja platformer where Joe Osugi uses grappling hooks, shurikens, and sword attacks to save hostages from terrorists. Limited production run made it one of the most valuable GBA cartridges; the gameplay earns every cent of its collector price.