Best Classic Action Games

One half of Capcom's Zelda pair for Game Boy Color — Oracle of Seasons focuses on action and the Rod of Seasons, letting Link alter the four seasons to transform Holodrum's landscape and access new areas.

Ancient's Genesis action RPG masterpiece — Prince Ali summons four elemental spirits (water, shadow, fire, plant) with distinct attack patterns in a game that rivals Zelda's combat depth on Sega hardware.

Capcom's 1995 SNES beat-em-up — Captain Commando follows the Capcom mascot and his three allies (Mack the Knife, Sho Ginsei, Ginzu the Ninja, Baby Head) fighting crime in futuristic Metro City. Four-player in the arcade; two-player on SNES. One of the finest beat-em-ups of the 16-bit era and the origin of a beloved Capcom character.

The only mainline Castlevania on Genesis — Bloodlines introduces two playable protagonists (John Morris and Eric Lecarde) and a globe-trotting adventure through six European countries in a darker, more violent Castlevania than its SNES counterparts.

The GBA launch Castlevania that brought the Symphony of the Night formula to handheld — Circle of the Moon introduced the DSS card combo system and proved the Metroidvania formula translated perfectly to portable play.

Often mistaken for a port, Doom 64 is an entirely new game: 32 original levels, new enemy designs, a darker atmosphere, and the exclusive Unmaker weapon. It is widely considered the best DOOM game released between the original 1993 trilogy and DOOM 2016, and it spent over two decades as an N64 exclusive before finally receiving its long-deserved PC/modern release.

Abe is a Mudokon slave working at RuptureFarms who discovers that his kind are the next product on the menu. His attempt to escape and liberate his enslaved people turns a dark industrial satire into one of the most original platformers of the PS1 era — with GameSpeak letting Abe possess enemies and command fellow Mudokons.

The Genesis launch era classic that established the 16-bit action-platformer standard. As ninja Joe Musashi, players fight through eight worlds of enemies to rescue a kidnapped fiancée, using shurikens, magic, and fluid platforming across some of the most memorable stages of the early Genesis library. Revenge of Shinobi remains one of the most important early Genesis games and one of the series' finest entries.

WayForward's half-genie hero arrived in 2002 — a year after the Game Boy Advance had replaced the Game Boy Color — making it one of the most technically accomplished and rarest GBC games. Shantae uses belly-dancing transformation magic across a connected world of villages and dungeons, combining Arabian Nights aesthetics with Metroidvania-style exploration in one of the handheld era's great hidden gems.

Insomniac Games' gem-collecting adventure placed players in the wings of a young purple dragon exploring vast, colorful worlds. Spyro the Dragon's open, exploratory design and warm personality made it an instant PlayStation classic and launched one of gaming's most beloved franchises.

Capcom's 1993 Genesis port of Street Fighter II Turbo and the competing platform answer to the SNES version — Street Fighter II' Special Champion Edition includes all eight original fighters plus four boss characters as playable, eight-button controller support, Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting modes, and blood that the SNES version removed, triggering one of the era's most active console debate campaigns.

Konami's 1993 SNES western run-and-gun — Sunset Riders follows bounty hunters Steve, Billy, Bob, and Cormano across the American frontier hunting wanted outlaws, with run-and-gun shooting, two-player co-op, and a wild west aesthetic that no other SNES action game captured. Arcade-faithful port with some exclusive SNES content.

Bend Studio's 2000 PS1 sequel to Syphon Filter — Syphon Filter 2 expands Gabe Logan's conspiracy-hunting across a two-disc campaign that continues the Syphon Filter virus storyline, adds playable Lian Xing segments, refines the aiming and taser mechanic of the original, and delivers the most content-rich game in the PS1 Syphon Filter trilogy.

The 16-bit evolution of Punch-Out!!. Super Punch-Out!! delivered a fresh roster of colorful opponents with the same pattern-recognition excellence, adding a super combo system and beautiful SNES sprite work.

Konami's NES port of the beloved 1989 TMNT arcade game — controlling Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, or Raphael through eight stages of Foot Soldier combat, boss encounters including Bebop, Rocksteady, and Shredder, and two exclusive NES stages not in the original arcade. The definitive NES Turtles game and one of the best beat-em-ups on the platform.

Core Design's archaeological action-adventure introduced the world to Lara Croft, one of gaming's most iconic characters. Tomb Raider's blend of environmental puzzle-solving, platform navigation, and intense combat in imaginatively designed ancient ruins was genuinely revolutionary for 1996.

Natsume's 1994 SNES gallery shooter combining western and science fiction — Wild Guns is a screen-fixed shooting gallery where players control Clint or Annie shooting enemies on a layered background plane while dodging incoming fire. Two-player simultaneous co-op, a wide array of weapons collected from enemies, and a unique design that doesn't resemble any contemporary SNES game.

Treasure's Genesis technical showpiece — a game with 25 boss encounters and minimal stage segments, designed as a pure boss-rush action game. Alien Soldier's six-weapon system, counter attack mechanics, and screen-filling enemy designs pushed the Genesis hardware beyond anything other developers achieved.

The first game to require the DualShock analog sticks — Ape Escape's 204-monkey catching adventure across 26 stages used every feature of Sony's then-new controller in creative ways.

The NES game that dared to remove the jump button. Bionic Commando replaced conventional platforming with a grappling hook mechanic that created one of the most unique action experiences of the era.

One of the NES's most ambitious action games, blending side-scrolling tank combat with top-down on-foot dungeon exploration. Blaster Master's SOPHIA III tank handles with remarkable precision, and the transition between vehicle and foot sections creates a seamlessly varied experience that was technically impressive for 1988.

Sonic Team's final Saturn game and one of the platform's technical peaks: futuristic firefighters extinguishing fires and rescuing civilians in procedurally different levels. Burning Rangers pushed Saturn 3D to its limits with the team's characteristic polish and Naofumi Hataya's extraordinary soundtrack, making it both a technical achievement and a genuinely excellent action game.

Capcom's 1993 arcade beat-em-up based on the Xenozoic Tales comic and CBS animated series — Cadillacs and Dinosaurs features four playable characters (Mustapha, Jack, Hannah, Mess) fighting through a post-apocalyptic future where humans and dinosaurs coexist, using the CPS-1 hardware that powered Final Fight with the addition of firearms to the melee combat.

The Genesis platformer that proved Sega could do Mickey Mouse better than Disney's other platform partners. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is a polished, charming platform adventure across five magical worlds inside a castle, designed to showcase the Genesis hardware and the studio's platformer expertise. One of the best Mickey Mouse games ever made and a model of early 16-bit design.