Retro Bucket List

Cross the road, cross the river, do not drown; five lanes of 1981 traffic.

Rescue humans from abduction while flying both ways at speed; the hardest game of 1981.

Tiny players, a whole football world and as many seasons of management as you want.

A barbarian, a dwarf and an amazon against Death Adder, riding stolen dragons.

Two planes, a screen of bullets and the Vulcan/laser choice; the vertical shooter to start with.

Four turtles through history, throwing Foot soldiers at the screen.

Three kids into a mad scientist's house; the game that invented the SCUMM point-and-click.

Yoshi carries baby Mario through a crayon world; the SNES platformer at its most inventive.

The first big MMORPG, player-run houses and the murder of Lord British.

Britannia at its most alive, baking bread and solving a murder; the RPG Richard Garriott perfected.

A bear and a bird collect jiggies; Rare's 3D platformer at its most joyful.

A boy with a baseball bat in a satirical America; Nintendo's cult RPG.

The 1986 original: a gold cartridge, no map and "it's dangerous to go alone".

A drunk squirrel, a singing poo and a Matrix parody; Rare's adult cartoon on the N64.

A worm in a super suit; the strangest and best-animated platformer of the 16-bit era.

True 3D, brown corridors, a Nine Inch Nails soundtrack and the birth of deathmatch.

Eight robot masters in any order; the NES difficulty and the Dr Wily theme.

The raccoon suit, the world map and the airships; the best NES game.

Jumpman climbs girders to save Pauline; Mario's first appearance, 1981.

Do a barrel roll; Arwings, the Rumble Pak and branching routes.

Johto and then Kanto again, day and night; the biggest Pokemon game.

120 stars, the castle and the first analogue 3D playground.

Yoshi, the cape and 96 exits on the SNES; the launch title that still plays perfectly.

Three friends in three centuries stop a purple tentacle; LucasArts at its funniest.

Two commandos, spread guns and the Konami code; run-and-gun at its hardest.

Ryu, Chun-Li and the hadouken; the fighting game that filled arcades in 1991.

A hundred and fifty creatures, a Game Boy and a link cable; catch them all.

Green Hill Zone at speed; Sega's answer to Mario in 1991.

Fourteen playable characters, an opera and a villain who wins halfway; the SNES peak of the series.

Four players, the blue shell and Rainbow Road; the kart racer of every dorm.