11 Most Popular Retro Video Games

What are the most popular retro video games?

Thanks to the technological advancements in the last 10 years, the video games we play are looking better and better every year and are selling in large quantities. If you are curious what are the most selling games of all time, check out our  The 10 Best Selling Video Games of All Time article. The gamers around the world are on the tip of their toes, waiting for the new releases, and the boundaries to be breached. Ok, not all of them. There are some folks that don’t like this hi-tech hype, and rather stick to the old school gaming. They are called “retrogamers” and are the reason why we are counting down the 11 most popular retro video games.

In case you didn’t know, retro-gaming is playing old computer, console and arcade games. They are usually played in three ways. On original hardware, using emulators on a modern hardware or using ports on a modern hardware.

When we say older games, we are not referring to the games 5 or 10 years ago. We go way back into the past. Old school games or retro games are the ones from 1980s or 1990s. Modern game developers saw this trend emerging and decided to jump on the bandwagon. A thing called modern retro games appeared. Games are designed with the bad graphic quality so they would imitate the crappy hardware from 20 years ago. If you ask us, that is complete nonsense. The reason why these retro games are so popular today isn’t because people like to see pixels and cubes instead of characters on their screen. It is because they all had great stories, and they bring joy. That is something that most of today’s games lack.

So prepare for nostalgia and frenetic search for your old Nintendo SNES, because we are starting with the 11 Most Popular Retro Video Games right now. To create the list, we browsed through the web pages and forums dedicated to retro gaming and watched which games are mentioned and talked about the most.

11. Sonic The Hedgehog

Of course we are talking about the first Sonic, that was published in 1991 for Sega Genesis. This was the first of many Sonic fights, and is still played on its original hardware.

10. Street Fighter 2

Originally this game was developed and published for arcades. After it gain major popularity, Street Fighter 2 was ported on SNES, and for a long time it was console’s best-selling title. Many credit Street Fighter 2 for starting a revolution in fighting video games.

9. Mortal Kombat

Also originally an arcade game, since its release, it was ported to almost every gaming hardware. The fun fact about Mortal Combat is that originally this game should have been about Jean Claude Van Damme. Luckily, the developers went in another direction, and now we have the legendary: “Finish him!!!”

8. Donkey Kong

Although released in the early 1980s, Donkey Kong still entertains the players around the world. Many sequels have come out since, but neither one of them was able to reach the popularity of the original one.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Definitely the most popular The Legend of Zelda game out there. It was released in 1998 for Nintendo 64 console and was the first game from the series to poses 3D graphic. Although it was ported to few other consoles, retrogamers love to play in on their original Nintendo 64.

6. Final Fantasy VII

The most talked about Final Fantasy game surely deserves to be in our 11 Most Popular Retro Video Games. Retrogamers say that the beauty of this game is that it can be played multiple times and it never gets bored, since you always find out something new.

5. Super Mario Kart

One of the most praised Nintendo games off all times. It was released for SNES in 1992 and became everyone’s favorite. Although 7 more games in the series were released since then, retrogamers still cherish and play this the most.

4. Space Invaders

One of the first shooting games ever, Space Invaders has been and stayed popular since its release in 1978. It has been reincarnated for almost every video game system, so it isn’t strange that it has such popularity still today.

3. Tetris

If you didn’t play Tetris in some of its many forms, the probability is that you live under the rock. Tetris has been featured not only on computers or video game systems, but even on calculators.

2. Pac Man

Since its release, Pac Man game became something like a synonym for video games and pop culture icon. One study even showed that Pac Man is recognized by 94% Americans.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3

Definitely the most popular retro game of them all. Every forum and retro game site we encountered, describe this game as an ultimate gaming experience. Most retro gamers play it “just one more time” and this game is being discovered and played by every new generation. Mario is the king of 11 Most Popular Retro Video Games.