An Ongoing Critical Series

RetroReplay

1001 games from gaming's first four decades, reassessed for the present day. No nostalgia required.

10 Entries Published 991 remaining · 1001 total
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No. 01
Terranigma

The God Who Built the World — A SNES action RPG of staggering philosophical ambition that was never released in North America.

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No. 02
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

The Floor Waxer Who Saved the World — A puzzle-platformer conceived in rage at corporate capitalism, funnier and stranger than anything made since.

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No. 03
Little Samson

The Bell at the End of the World — The rarest NES cartridge most collectors will never afford is also one of the finest action platformers the console produced.

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No. 04
Grim Fandango

Raymond Chandler in the Land of the Dead — The game that perfected the point-and-click adventure, and then accidentally killed it.

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No. 05
Ico

The Hand You Hold and the Castle That Holds You — One of the most formally radical things the medium has produced, and still unlike anything made since.

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No. 06
Ōkami

The God in the Ink — A sun goddess painting the world back to life. Killed by poor sales and resurrected three times. Its creator called it a failure. He was wrong.

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No. 07
OutRun

The Open Road and Nothing Else — Not a racing game. A driving game. The purest expression of freedom ever put into a coin-operated cabinet.

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No. 08
Jet Set Radio

The City Is a Canvas — The first cel-shaded game, the first to treat civil disobedience as a mechanic, and the possessor of one of the greatest soundtracks ever made.

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No. 09
EarthBound

The Copywriter, the Cosmic Horror — Written by a man who had never made a game, marketed with ads that made mailboxes smell. It sold 140,000 copies. Then everything changed.

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