Retro Replay

The God Who Forgot He Was Playing — A SNES action-RPG about the resurrection of the world, released in Japan and Europe but never in North America. Quintet's masterpiece.

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

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 ever produced.

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

The Hand You Hold and the Castle That Holds You — A game that communicates almost entirely without language. You hold the controller button to hold her hand. That's essentially it.

The Sun in Wolf's Clothing — Clover Studio's last game before Capcom shut them down. Still the most beautiful action-adventure ever made, in any medium.

The Holiday You Never Took — Yu Suzuki's masterpiece is not a racing game. It's a feeling. A Ferrari, a coastal road, a woman in the passenger seat. You choose the route.

The City Is a Canvas — Cel-shaded graffiti crews, magnetic skates, and a soundtrack assembled from five continents. Tokyo-to still looks like nowhere else.

The America That Wasn't There — A JRPG set in 1990s suburban America, written by a copywriter with no game development experience. Still the strangest RPG ever made.

The Game Where You Didn't Have to Be Enemies — Treasure's most ambitious brawler, built on the Saturn during a console war the Saturn was losing. Forty-plus endings. Never equalled.

The Camera Never Lies — Michel Ancel's political thriller dressed as a children's adventure. A photographer exposes a conspiracy. The climax is a broadcast, not a battle.

Someone Misheard the Pitch — The game that nearly bankrupted Double Fine before it shipped. Every level is a different game. The premise is not metaphor — it is level design.