Retro Bucket List

Avalar, a talking guidebook and orbs earned from side quests; the sequel that added a reason to explore.

A war of succession in Ivalice fought on isometric grids, with job classes and a script about class.

A qualifying campaign for every nation on the way to France, and Blur playing Song 2 over the menu.

GDI against the Brotherhood of Nod over tiberium, briefed by actors on video; Westwood, 1995.

RECS builds a fresh course out of a typed-in code, so the trilogy closes with a track generator.

The 1995 original: four towns, a hero who carries an army between them and a week that ends when everyone has moved.

The 1989 original: lay down three kinds of zone, watch the traffic, then send a monster through it.

Rumours spread in Sumaru City start coming true; the half of Persona 2 the West did not get until 2011.

A run button, dial-a-combo chains and no ninjas, which Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 put back the same year.

A lombax, a robot on his back and a catalogue of weapons to buy; Insomniac start the run in 2002.

Road & Track supplied the car data and the police arrive out of oncoming traffic; the 1994 original, on 3DO first.

An arcade mode that finally puts a rival on the stage beside you, over the championship the first game shipped with.

The 1994 original: two campaigns in Azeroth, mouse-driven, before anybody had heard of the setting.

Sega polygons in 1992, with a button to switch camera mid-race; the board that led to Daytona.

Square and Nintendo together in 1996, with Geno and a timed-hit system.

The kart racer with a drift boost people still practise.

Toy cars around a breakfast table and a pool table, with eight players sharing two pads and the cartridge.

A full championship and a stage editor on the first PlayStation, a year before Colin McRae.

Jet skis on water that swells and settles; the N64 physics people still boot the console up for.

Points for pedestrians and a timer only a crash extends; the racer several countries banned outright.

An Italian answer to Sega Rally on a 486, running in software before anyone had a 3D card.

Exotic cars chased by police who call in roadblocks and a helicopter; the 1998 entry that named the mode.

Getaway jobs in a 1970s San Francisco, behind a car-park tutorial that stopped thousands of people playing.

A co-driver reading pace notes ahead of the corner, and an Impreza sideways through a Corsican forest.

The two halves that lock together into one long game; the peak of Genesis Sonic.

Cars with wheels taller than the body, so they keep going upside down; Psygnosis at the end of the PlayStation.

Geoff Crammond simulates the 1994 Formula One season down to the setup sheet and the tyre wear.

Shao Kahn, better fatalities and the arcade cabinet everyone crowded.

Jumps that clear a city block and shortcuts hidden off every corner; Atari Games in the arcade and on the N64.

Qualify for a grid slot, then race the clock at Fuji; the 1982 cabinet that put the road behind the car.