Explore & Discover
Open-ended worlds, hidden secrets, and games built on the joy of wandering without a map.
84 games in this room
▶ Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
The Portopia Serial Murder Case
ポートピア連続殺人事件
In June 1983 Yuji Horii finished a murder mystery written for NEC's PC-6001, and Enix put it on sale. The player is a de…
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▶ Family Computer Disk System
The Legend of Zelda
ゼルダの伝説
The Legend of Zelda (1986) is the game that defined the action-adventure genre. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi …
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Uncommon ▶ Family Computer Disk System
Metroid
メトロイド
Metroid (1986) introduced Samus Aran — an armoured bounty hunter later revealed to be female — to the Famicom Disk Syste…
Read more →Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Takeshi's Challenge
たけしの挑戦状
Takeshi's Challenge is one of the most infamous games in Famicom history — designed by television personality and later …
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Uncommon MSX
Metal Gear
メタルギア
The MSX2 game where Hideo Kojima first worked as a director, and the source of a Famicom version made without him five m…
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Uncommon Family Computer Disk System
Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima
ふぁみこんむかし話 新・鬼ヶ島
On September 4, 1987, Nintendo gave the Famicom a game you played by reading. Four weeks later, on September 30, it gave…
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▶ Family Computer Disk System
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
リンクの冒険
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the 1987 FDS sequel to the original Legend of Zelda, and the most radical departure t…
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Rare Family Computer Disk System
Ai Senshi Nicol
愛戦士ニコル
The menus are in English. A Konami title from 1987, sold only in Japan, with its prompts and item names written so that …
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Uncommon Family Computer Disk System
Arumana no Kiseki
アルマナの奇蹟
Released in 1987 for the Famicom Disk System, Arumana no Kiseki is a Japan-exclusive Konami action-platformer with a str…
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Uncommon Family Computer Disk System
Detective Jinguji Saburo: Shinjuku Chuo Koen Murder Case
探偵 神宮寺三郎 新宿中央公園殺人事件
Detective Jinguji Saburo: Shinjuku Chuo Koen Murder Case is a 1987 detective adventure game developed and published by D…
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Uncommon Family Computer Disk System
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
悪魔城ドラキュラII 呪いの封印
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, released on the Famicom Disk System in August 1987, broke sharply from the original Castl…
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Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Faxanadu
ファクサナドゥ
Released in November 1987, Faxanadu is a side-scrolling action RPG set in the World Tree — a giant tree whose branching …
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Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Getsu Fūma Den
月風魔伝
Released on July 7, 1987 exclusively for the Famicom in Japan, Getsu Fūma Den is an action role-playing game that blends…
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Uncommon Family Computer Disk System
Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir
ファミコン探偵倶楽部 消えた後継者
Nintendo shipped a murder mystery in halves. The first disk went on sale on April 27, 1988. The answer did not arrive un…
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Uncommon Family Computer (Famicom) / NES
Nobunaga's Ambition
信長の野望・全国版
Released for the Famicom on March 18, 1988, Nobunaga's Ambition: Lord of Darkness (全国版) was Koei's first home console ga…
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Rare MSX
Snatcher
スナッチャー
Konami's cyberpunk adventure for the MSX2, written and designed by Hideo Kojima. It came on three floppy disks with a Ko…
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Rare Family Computer Disk System
Famicom Detective Club Part II: The Girl Who Stands Behind
ファミコン探偵倶楽部 PartII うしろに立つ少女
Famicom Detective Club Part II: The Girl Who Stands Behind is a mystery adventure game released in 1989 on the Famicom D…
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PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Neutopia
ニュートピア
Neutopia (1989) is Hudson Soft's earnest attempt to bring a Zelda-style action-adventure to the PC Engine. Widely discus…
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Uncommon ▶ Family Computer Disk System
Famicom Fairytales: Yuyuki
ふぁみこんむかし話 遊遊記
On 14 October 1989, Nintendo put the first half of Yuuyuki on a Disk Card. The second half arrived a month later, on 14 …
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PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Makai Hakkenden Shada
魔界八犬伝 シャダ
Makai Hakkenden Shada is an action-RPG based on Nansou Satomi Hakkenden, the longest novel in the history of Japanese li…
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Rare MSX
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
メタルギア2 ソリッドスネーク
The true 1990 sequel Kojima made himself for the MSX2. A hit in Japan that took sixteen years to reach the rest of the w…
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▶ Super Famicom / SNES
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース
A Link to the Past returned Zelda to the top-down perspective of the original NES game after Zelda II's controversial si…
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▶ Game Boy
Metroid II: Return of Samus
メトロイドII RETURN OF SAMUS
Released in 1991, Metroid II: Return of Samus was the first Metroid game for a handheld console — and it used the Game B…
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Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
ToeJam & Earl
トージャム＆アール
ToeJam & Earl (1991) is one of the most original games on the Mega Drive — a funk-soaked, jazz-inflected roguelike about…
Read more →PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Neutopia II
ニュートピアII
Released in September 1991 as the sequel to Neutopia, Neutopia II is Hudson Soft's second instalment in their answer to …
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Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Ecco the Dolphin
エコー・ザ・ドルフィン
Released in 1992, Ecco the Dolphin was unlike anything Sega had published: a game in which you played as a dolphin navig…
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Rare PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Snatcher
スナッチャー
Snatcher for PC Engine CD-ROM² — known as the 'CD-ROMantic' edition — is the 1992 cyberpunk adventure game created by Hi…
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Uncommon Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
ランドストーカー 皇帝の財宝
Landstalker is Climax Entertainment's 1992 isometric action RPG for the Mega Drive — a precision platforming adventure i…
Read more →Game Boy
For the Frog the Bell Tolls
カエルの為に鐘は鳴る
Released in September 1992 exclusively in Japan, For the Frog the Bell Tolls is a Game Boy action RPG from Nintendo R&D1…
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Uncommon Game Boy
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島
Released in Japan on June 6, 1993, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is the first Zelda game on a handheld console —…
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Uncommon Super Famicom / SNES
Illusion of Gaia
ガイア幻想紀
Illusion of Gaia — Gaia Gensōki in Japan — is the second entry in Quintet's informal trilogy alongside Soul Blazer (1992…
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Uncommon ▶ Super Famicom / SNES
Super Metroid
スーパーメトロイド
Super Metroid is the third entry in the Metroid series and the game that codified the Metroidvania genre. Directed by Yo…
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Uncommon PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Tokimeki Memorial
ときめきメモリアル
Released on May 27, 1994, Tokimeki Memorial is the game that established the dating simulation genre in Japan and ignite…
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Uncommon PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
Princess Maker 2
プリンセスメーカー2
Released for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² on September 30, 1994, Princess Maker 2 is the definitive version of Gainax's i…
Read more →PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16
The Legend of Xanadu
風の伝説ザナドゥ
The Legend of Xanadu is an action RPG released for PC Engine Super CD-ROM² in February 1994. Developed and published by …
Read more →Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Light Crusader
ライトクルセイダー
Released in May 1995, Light Crusader was the final Mega Drive game from Treasure — the studio that had already delivered…
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Sega Saturn
Shining Wisdom
シャイニング・ウィズダム
Released in August 1995, Shining Wisdom is the eighth entry in Sega's Shining series and the first developed by Camelot …
Read more →3DO
Policenauts
ポリスノーツ
Hideo Kojima's science fiction detective story, written and directed by him, first sold on the PC-9821 in 1994. Its firs…
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Super Famicom / SNES
Harvest Moon
牧場物語
Harvest Moon — Bokujō Monogatari in Japan — was conceived by director Yasuhiro Wada as a deliberate counterpoint to the …
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Nintendo 64
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
スター・ウォーズ 帝国の影
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (1996) is an early Nintendo 64 action game by LucasArts set between The Empire Strikes …
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Uncommon PlayStation
Alundra
アランドラ
Released in 1997, Alundra is an action RPG following a young Dreamwalker who can enter and traverse the nightmares of ot…
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Uncommon Game Boy
Harvest Moon GB
牧場物語GB
Harvest Moon GB is a farming simulation game developed and published by Victor Interactive Software for the Game Boy in …
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PlayStation
Mega Man Legends
ロックマン DASH 鋼の冒険心
Mega Man Legends — Rockman DASH in Japan — was the first fully 3D game in the Mega Man franchise, representing a radical…
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▶ Nintendo 64
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ
Ocarina of Time is the highest-rated game in recorded review history and the first Legend of Zelda title rendered in thr…
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PlayStation
Metal Gear Solid
メタルギアソリッド
Metal Gear Solid (1998) is the game that defined the stealth genre and demonstrated that video games could carry the nar…
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PlayStation
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
天誅 SHINOBI GAISEN
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins (1998) arrived the same year as Metal Gear Solid and established stealth gameplay on PlayStati…
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Uncommon Nintendo 64
Body Harvest
ボディハーベスト
Body Harvest is the game that laid the groundwork for the open-world action genre — developed by DMA Design, the studio …
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Rare Sega Saturn
Baroque
バロック
Baroque is one of the Saturn library's most singular achievements: a roguelike first-person dungeon crawler set in a pos…
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PlayStation
Spyro the Dragon
スパイロ・ザ・ドラゴン
Released in North America on September 9, 1998, Spyro the Dragon is the PlayStation 3D platformer that established Insom…
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Uncommon PlayStation
Brave Fencer Musashi
ブレイヴフェンサー武蔵伝
Brave Fencer Musashi (1998) is Square's fast-paced 3D action RPG on PlayStation — a comedic adventure starring a miniatu…
Read more →PlayStation
Tail Concerto
テイルコンチェルト
Tail Concerto (1998) is CyberConnect's debut title — a 3D action-adventure set in a floating sky-island world populated …
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Bomberman Quest
ボンバーマンクエスト
Bomberman Quest (1998) is an action RPG spin-off in the Bomberman series for Game Boy Color — a genre departure that see…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島DX
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (1998) is the Game Boy Color enhanced version of the beloved 1993 Game Boy orig…
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Uncommon Dreamcast
Shenmue
シェンムー 一章 横須賀
Shenmue (1999), directed by Yu Suzuki with an estimated budget of $47 million, was the most expensive video game ever ma…
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Nintendo 64
Pokémon Snap
ポケモンスナップ
Released in 1999, Pokémon Snap placed players on a fixed rail through environments teeming with Pokémon, armed with only…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Survival Kids
サバイバルキッズ 孤島の冒険者
Survival Kids is a 1999 Game Boy Color survival game in which a child stranded on a deserted island must gather resource…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Conker's Pocket Tales
コンカーのポケットテイルズ
Conker's Pocket Tales (1999) is the Game Boy Color debut of Rare's mischievous squirrel, and the only entry in the serie…
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Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong 64
ドンキーコング64
Donkey Kong 64 (1999) is the definitive collectathon — the genre's grandest, most expansive expression, and for many its…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Harvest Moon 2 GBC
牧場物語GB2
The first Harvest Moon title developed natively for Game Boy Color, released in Japan in August 1999. Players inherit a …
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Grand Theft Auto
グランド・セフト・オート
Grand Theft Auto for Game Boy Color is a 1999 port developed by Tarantula Studios and published by Rockstar Games, adapt…
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Uncommon Nintendo 64
Castlevania
悪魔城ドラキュラ 黙示録
Castlevania (1999), known as Akumajō Dracula Mokushiroku in Japan, was the Castlevania series' first full leap into 3D —…
Read more →Dreamcast
Maken X
魔剣X
Maken X, released in November 1999, was director Katsura Hashino's debut as a game director at Atlus — the same director…
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PlayStation
Threads of Fate
デュープリズム
Threads of Fate — Dewprism in Japan — is a lighthearted action RPG following two protagonists with opposite personalitie…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
メタルギース ゴーストバベル
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel is a 2000 Game Boy Color original — not a handheld port of the PlayStation hit, but a standalone…
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Uncommon Dreamcast
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
エコー・ザ・ドルフィン ディフェンダー・オブ・ザ・フューチャー
The fifth and final Ecco the Dolphin game, released for Dreamcast in 2000, marked a complete reinvention of the franchis…
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Uncommon Nintendo 64
Banjo-Tooie
バンジョーとカズーイの大冒険2
Released on November 20, 2000, Banjo-Tooie is Rare's magnum opus on the Nintendo 64 — a vast, richly interconnected 3D p…
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Rare Game Boy Color
Warlocked
Warlocked
Warlocked (2000) is the only real-time strategy game ever made for the Game Boy Color — a North America-only release dev…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
Crystalis
クリスタリス
Nintendo's own studio in Redmond spent 2000 rebuilding a game SNK had let disappear; the cartridge reached North America…
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▶ Nintendo GameCube
Pikmin
ピクミン
Pikmin (2001) is a real-time strategy game created by Shigeru Miyamoto, released as a GameCube launch title in Japan. Ca…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 大地の章
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons is one of two interconnected Game Boy Color adventures released simultaneously in…
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Uncommon Game Boy Color
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 時空の章
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001) is a Game Boy Color action-adventure developed by Capcom's Flagship team. Ora…
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▶ Nintendo GameCube
Luigi's Mansion
ルイージマンション
Released in 2001 as a GameCube launch title, Luigi's Mansion finally gave Nintendo's perpetual sidekick his own starring…
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Uncommon Dreamcast
Shenmue II
シェンムー II
Shenmue II (2001) is the direct continuation of Yu Suzuki's open-world epic, following Ryo Hazuki from Yokosuka to Hong …
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▶ Nintendo GameCube
Star Fox Adventures
スターフォックス アドベンチャーズ
Released in 2002, Star Fox Adventures sent Fox McCloud on foot across the primeval world of Dinosaur Planet in a Zelda-s…
Read more →Game Boy Advance
Metroid Fusion
メトロイドフュージョン
Metroid Fusion (2002) is an action-adventure game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo for Game Boy Adva…
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Animal Crossing: Doubutsu no Mori e+
どうぶつの森e+
Doubutsu no Mori e+ is the final and most complete GameCube entry in the Animal Crossing series, released exclusively in…
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Metroid Prime
メトロイドプライム
Metroid Prime (2002) is a first-person adventure developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo. It translated the…
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Uncommon Nintendo GameCube
Beyond Good & Evil
ビヨンド グッド & イービル
Beyond Good & Evil (2003) is an action-adventure by Ubisoft Montpellier, directed by Rayman creator Michel Ancel over mo…
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Pikmin 2
ピクミン2
Released in 2004, Pikmin 2 expanded the original Pikmin formula in nearly every dimension — removing the time limit, add…
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▶ Nintendo GameCube
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
メトロイドプライム2 ダークエコーズ
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) takes the first-person Metroid framework of its predecessor and doubles it — introducing …
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
メタルギアソリッド ザ・ツインスネークス
Released in March 2004, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes is a remake of the original 1998 PlayStation Metal Gear Solid …
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
Chibi-Robo! Plug Into Adventure!
チビロボ！ プラグインベイビー
Chibi-Robo! (2005) is one of the most quietly original GameCube games — an action-adventure where a 10-centimeter tall r…
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Uncommon ▶ Nintendo GameCube
killer7
killer7（キラー7）
Released in 2005, killer7 is one of the most deliberately radical games ever published by a major studio. Directed by Go…
Read more →PlayStation 2
Okami
大神
Okami (2006, PlayStation 2) was director Hideki Kamiya's project at Clover Studio, Capcom's internal unit formed to give…
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