Johto and then Kanto again, day and night; the biggest Pokemon game.
A bear and a bird collect jiggies; Rare's 3D platformer at its most joyful.
Strippers, pigs in cop uniforms and "it's time to kick ass"; the Build engine shooter.
Tails, the spin dash and Chemical Plant; the best of the Genesis Sonics.
The BFG, the imps and the shareware episode that ran on every office PC in 1993.
The raccoon suit, the world map and the airships; the best NES game.
Alucard explores Dracula's castle, then the castle upside down; the other half of Metroidvania.
An island of puzzles and books that are doorways; the best-selling PC game of the 1990s.
Sixty minutes to save the princess, rotoscoped animation and the first cinematic platformer.
The Facility, the watch menu and four-player split-screen; the N64 shooter that changed consoles.
Tesla coils, Tanya and full-motion video generals; Westwood's alternate Cold War.
A worm in a super suit; the strangest and best-animated platformer of the 16-bit era.
Fourteen playable characters, an opera and a villain who wins halfway; the SNES peak of the series.
The 1986 original: a gold cartridge, no map and "it's dangerous to go alone".
Lara Croft in Peru, the T. rex in the valley and a whole new kind of hero.
Three friends in three centuries stop a purple tentacle; LucasArts at its funniest.
120 stars, the castle and the first analogue 3D playground.
Four players, the blue shell and Rainbow Road; the kart racer of every dorm.
Guybrush hunts the treasure of Big Whoop; the sequel with the ending fans still argue about.
Do a barrel roll; Arwings, the Rumble Pak and branching routes.
From a settler to Alpha Centauri, one more turn at a time; Sid Meier's masterpiece of 1996.
Ryu, Chun-Li and the hadouken; the fighting game that filled arcades in 1991.
A drunk squirrel, a singing poo and a Matrix parody; Rare's adult cartoon on the N64.
A physicist teleported to an alien planet; Eric Chahi's wordless cinematic game.
Koholint Island, a Wind Fish and a Game Boy; the dream Zelda.
The atmospheric map, the wall jump and the baby Metroid; the SNES masterpiece.
A boy with a baseball bat in a satirical America; Nintendo's cult RPG.
Four fighters, a Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack and two-player co-op; the best beat-em-up of its era.
Cure Bloaty Head and Slack Tongue while the patients queue; Bullfrog's comedy management sim.
Green Hill Zone at speed; Sega's answer to Mario in 1991.
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