Play Anywhere

No region lock, no barrier. These games were built for the world — pick them up wherever you are and press start.

47 games in this room

World 1-1 teaches jumping, enemies, and mushrooms with zero text. Super Mario Bros. (Famicom, 1985) — Miyamoto called that si

Family Computer (Famicom) / NES

Super Mario Bros.

スーパーマリオブラザーズ

Platform · 1985

Super Mario Bros. (1985) is the game that defined the side-scrolling platform genre and remains one of the best-selling …

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Its programmer said it was not good. Castlevania: The Adventure (1989, Game Boy) sold nine million dollars and launched a twe Uncommon

Game Boy

Castlevania: The Adventure

ドラキュラ伝説

Action / Platform · 1989

Castlevania: The Adventure is the first Castlevania game released on a handheld console, launching approximately six mon…

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Yoko Shimomura scored it before Street Fighter II made her famous. Gargoyle's Quest (1990, Game Boy) — Capcom let Ghosts 'n G Uncommon

Game Boy

Gargoyle's Quest

レッドアリーマー 魔界村外伝

Action Platformer · 1990

Released in 1990, Gargoyle's Quest put players in control of Firebrand — the flying demon gargoyle enemy from Ghosts 'n …

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Kenji Ito's first professional credit. He composed Sa·Ga 2 sitting next to Uematsu, who was writing Final Fantasy IV next doo

Game Boy

Final Fantasy Legend II

Sa・Ga2 秘宝伝説

RPG · 1990

Final Fantasy Legend II — known in Japan as Sa·Ga 2: Hihou Densetsu — is the sequel to the game that brought JRPGs to Ni…

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Gunpei Yokoi produced Solar Striker (Game Boy, 1990). 1.2 million sold — saves nothing. Minakuchi Engineering's credited debu

Game Boy

Solar Striker

ソーラーストライカー

Shoot'em Up / Vertical Scrolling · 1990

Released in January 1990, Solar Striker was one of the first Game Boy titles to prove that a small grey screen could car…

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Sunsoft paid 150 million yen for the Batman licence and sent staff to the Tim Burton London film set before development began

Game Boy

Batman: The Video Game

バットマン

Action / Platformer · 1990

Batman: The Video Game is a 1990 Game Boy action platformer developed and published by Sunsoft, arriving in the wave of …

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Balloon Kid (Game Boy, 1990) — the Balloon Fight sequel Japan never received. Director Yoshio Sakamoto, composer Hirokazu Tan

Game Boy

Balloon Kid

バルーンキッド

Action Platformer ·

Balloon Kid takes the beloved Balloon Trip bonus mode from Balloon Fight (Famicom, 1984) and expands it into a full side…

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Development took 58,240 hours by Nintendo's own accounting. A Link to the Past (Super Famicom, 1991) — two worlds, the Master

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

Action-adventure · 1991

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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Every Metroid killed triggers a quake. Game Boy (1991) tracked the countdown. The baby at the end sets up Super Metroid compl

Game Boy

Metroid II: Return of Samus

メトロイドII RETURN OF SAMUS

Action Platformer · 1992

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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Square borrowed the Final Fantasy name just to get it released. Seiken Densetsu (1991, Game Boy) — the game inside launched t Uncommon

Game Boy

Final Fantasy Adventure

聖剣伝説 〜ファイナルファンタジー外伝〜

Action RPG · 1991

Final Fantasy Adventure is the 1991 Game Boy game that launched the entire Mana franchise — though at the time it was ma…

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Christopher Belmont had already beaten Dracula. Belmont's Revenge (1991, Game Boy) brought him back to rescue his own son, wh

Game Boy

Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge

悪魔城ドラキュラ 漆黒たる前奏曲

Action / Platformer · 1991

Released in 1991, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is the second Castlevania game on Game Boy — and a transformation ra…

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Wario's name came first — face and personality followed. Super Mario Land 2 (1992, Game Boy) — where Nintendo accidentally in

Game Boy

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

スーパーマリオランド2 6つの金貨

Action / Platform · 1992

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the 1992 Game Boy sequel that introduced Wario to the world. While Mario was away …

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Possess enemy bodies to survive. Avenging Spirit (Game Boy, 1992, Jaleco) invented the mechanic Super Mario Odyssey would use Uncommon

Game Boy

Avenging Spirit

ファントム

Action / Platformer · 1992

Avenging Spirit is a 1992 Game Boy action platformer developed by C.P. Brain and published by Jaleco, ported from Jaleco…

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Uncommon

Game Boy

For the Frog the Bell Tolls

カエルの為に鐘は鳴る

Action RPG · 1992

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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Galamoth, the villain invented for this GB parody (1993), later appeared as a boss in Symphony of the Night. Konami chibi Cas Uncommon

Game Boy

Kid Dracula

悪魔城すぺしゃる ぼくドラキュラくん

Platform / Action · 1993

Kid Dracula (1993) is a charming chibi spin-off of the Castlevania series for Game Boy, starring a comically small and b…

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Japan received an easier version than the West — a rare reversal. Super Metroid (1994, Super Famicom) — the game that named a Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Super Metroid

スーパーメトロイド

Action-adventure · 1994

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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Kefka wins mid-game — destroys the world, story continues in the ruins. Final Fantasy VI (1994, Super Famicom). 14 characters Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Final Fantasy VI

ファイナルファンタジーVI

Role-playing · 1994

Final Fantasy VI is widely considered the finest entry in the Final Fantasy series and one of the greatest RPGs ever mad…

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Game Boy

Donkey Kong

ドンキーコング

Puzzle Platformer · 1994

Released in 1994, the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong began as a faithful recreation of the four-stage arcade game — and…

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Mitsuda composed until he developed a stomach ulcer. Chrono Trigger (1995, Super Famicom) — Sakaguchi, Horii, and Toriyama's Uncommon

Super Famicom / SNES

Chrono Trigger

クロノトリガー

Role-playing · 1995

Chrono Trigger is the Super Famicom RPG most frequently named on "greatest games" lists. Created by a "Dream Team" of Hi…

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700,000 copies in two days. Virtua Fighter 2 (1995, Sega Saturn) pushed the Saturn's market lead over PlayStation from 3:1 to

Sega Saturn

Virtua Fighter 2

バーチャファイター2

Fighting · 1995

Virtua Fighter 2 sold over 700,000 copies in Japan within its first two days of release in November 1995 — a record that…

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Rare programmer Paul Machacek convinced co-founder Tim Stamper to build an original game rather than port Donkey Kong Country

Game Boy

Donkey Kong Land

スーパードンキーコングGB

Platform · 1995

Developed by Rare and released in 1995, Donkey Kong Land brought the world of Donkey Kong Country to the Game Boy — not …

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Gunpei Yokoi — inventor of the Game Boy — produced this just before leaving Nintendo. Kirby's Block Ball (1995, Game Boy): Ki

Game Boy

Kirby's Block Ball

カービィのブロックボール

Action / Puzzle (Breakout) · 1995

Kirby's Block Ball is a 1995 breakout-style action game developed by HAL Laboratory for the Game Boy, in which Kirby him…

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Play as Zero in Mega Man X3 (1995, Super Famicom) — but if he's defeated, he's gone for the rest of your run. The last X game Rare

Super Famicom / SNES

Mega Man X3

ロックマンX3

Action platform · 1995

Mega Man X3 (1995) is the third entry in the Mega Man X series and the last to appear on the Super Famicom / SNES. For t…

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Months of testing an empty room before a single world was built. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) — the BLJ speedrun glitch has its

Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64

スーパーマリオ64

Platform / Action · 1996

Super Mario 64 was the Nintendo 64's Japanese launch title and one of the most consequential games ever made. It invente…

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Blue shell targets only human racers, never CPU. Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1996) sold 9.87 million and defined Saturday-night couch

Nintendo 64

Mario Kart 64

マリオカート64

Racing · 1996

Mario Kart 64 was the second entry in the Mario Kart series and the first to render its tracks in full 3D polygonal envi…

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Capcom coined "survival horror" to market this game. Biohazard / Resident Evil (1996, PlayStation) — Shinji Mikami, ink ribbo

PlayStation

Resident Evil

バイオハザード

Survival horror · 1996

Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan, 1996) is the game that created the survival horror genre — and named it. Directed by …

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Sony sent Crash to taunt Nintendo outside their Kyoto HQ. Crash Bandicoot (1996, PlayStation) — built to rival Mario 64, sold

PlayStation

Crash Bandicoot

クラッシュ・バンディクー

Platform · 1996

Crash Bandicoot (1996) was Sony's answer to a question the company had not yet solved: the PlayStation did not have a ma…

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Choosing silence in Sakura Wars weakened your team in battle. Sega's 1996 Saturn tactical RPG made timed dialogue a combat me Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Sakura Wars

サクラ大戦

Tactical RPG / Visual novel · 1996

Sakura Wars is a 1996 Sega Saturn exclusive that blended tactical RPG combat with visual novel-style relationship mechan…

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Fumito Ueda — later Ico, SotC — drew art here as a junior. Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn, 1996), Team Andromeda's dragon-evolut Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Panzer Dragoon Zwei

パンツァードラグーン ツヴァイ

Rail shooter · 1996

Panzer Dragoon Zwei is a 1996 rail shooter developed by Team Andromeda for the Sega Saturn — the sequel to the original …

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Every copy shipped with a Rumble Pak — home console force feedback, first time ever. Star Fox 64 (N64, 1997) outsold Mario 64

Nintendo 64

Star Fox 64

スターフォックス64

Rail Shooter / Action · 1997

Star Fox 64 was the first home console game to ship bundled with the Rumble Pak — the first force-feedback device for ho…

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Square asked Nintendo to switch to CDs. Nintendo refused. Final Fantasy VII (1997, PlayStation) — the defection that decided

PlayStation

Final Fantasy VII

ファイナルファンタジーVII

Role-playing game · 1997

Final Fantasy VII (1997) is the game whose development decision defined a console generation. Originally planned for the…

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Yamauchi could not drive when he started. Gran Turismo (1997, PlayStation) — five years, 140 licensed cars, the PS1 best-sell

PlayStation

Gran Turismo

グランツーリスモ

Racing simulation · 1997

Gran Turismo (1997) is the game that invented the modern racing simulation genre for home consoles. Designed by Kazunori…

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Cancel an enemy spell mid-cast by hitting them at the right instant. Grandia (1997, Sega Saturn) — Game Arts RPG whose IP sys Uncommon

Sega Saturn

Grandia

グランディア

Role-playing game · 1997

Grandia is a 1997 role-playing game developed by Game Arts for the Sega Saturn — the studio's follow-up to the Lunar ser…

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Yasuhiro Wada left rural Japan for Tokyo and built the farm he missed. Harvest Moon GB (Game Boy, 1997) — the first portable Uncommon

Game Boy

Harvest Moon GB

牧場物語GB

Simulation / Farming · 1997

Harvest Moon GB is a farming simulation game developed and published by Victor Interactive Software for the Game Boy in …

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Pre-orders so intense that shops stopped accepting them three weeks before launch. Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998) — still the hi

Nintendo 64

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ

Action-Adventure · 1998

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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Hideo Kojima's 1998 masterpiece: the stealth game that asked whether you had to fight, and proved video games could carry the

PlayStation

Metal Gear Solid

メタルギアソリッド

Action-adventure / Stealth · 1998

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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Sakurai built it in secret, in his spare time — Nintendo's own teams called it unmarketable. Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) la Uncommon

Nintendo 64

Super Smash Bros.

大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズ

Fighting / Platform · 1999

Super Smash Bros. is the game that Masahiro Sakurai built in secret. Working without Nintendo's knowledge, Sakurai creat…

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$47 million — the most expensive game ever made in 1999. Shenmue (Dreamcast) gave every NPC a daily schedule and a living Yok Uncommon

Dreamcast

Shenmue

シェンムー 一章 横須賀

Open-world action adventure · 1999

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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Launched 9/9/99 alongside the Dreamcast in North America. Power Stone (Capcom, 1999) ran on the same NAOMI board — a near-per

Dreamcast

Power Stone

パワーストーン

Arena fighting · 1999

Power Stone (1999) by Capcom is a fully 3D arena fighting game that originated on Sega's NAOMI arcade board before its D…

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Real street artists submitted graffiti via contest — their tags appear in-game. Jet Set Radio (2000, Dreamcast) — cel-shading Uncommon

Dreamcast

Jet Set Radio

ジェットセットラジオ

Action / Cel-shaded open world · 2000

Jet Set Radio (2000), developed by Smilebit and directed by Masayoshi Kikuchi, is a cel-shaded open-world action game se…

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Only the Dreamcast version keeps the original Offspring soundtrack — every port replaced it. Crazy Taxi (2000), the home vers

Dreamcast

Crazy Taxi

クレイジータクシー

Arcade racing · 2000

Crazy Taxi (2000), developed by Hitmaker (formerly Sega AM3) and directed by Kenji Kanno, is an arcade racing game that …

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Miyamoto watched garden ants and built a game around them. Pikmin (2001, GameCube) — miss the deadline and Olimar actually di

Nintendo GameCube

Pikmin

ピクミン

Real-time strategy · 2001

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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Wavedashing — the technique that built a 20-year competitive scene — was never intended by the developers. Super Smash Bros.

Nintendo GameCube

Super Smash Bros. Melee

大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズDX

Fighting · 2001

Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) is the second entry in the Smash Bros. series and the best-selling Nintendo GameCube game…

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Designers were 'very conscious to not make it look like a gun.' Super Mario Sunshine (2002, GameCube) — Mario cleans up a cri

Nintendo GameCube

Super Mario Sunshine

スーパーマリオサンシャイン

Platform / Action · 2002

Super Mario Sunshine (2002) is the second 3D Mario platformer and the first mainline Mario title released on the GameCub…

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GameCube Animal Crossing's most complete edition never left Japan. Doubutsu no Mori e+ (2003) added e-Reader cards, new villa Uncommon

Nintendo GameCube

Animal Crossing: Doubutsu no Mori e+

どうぶつの森e+

Life simulation · 2003

Doubutsu no Mori e+ is the final and most complete GameCube entry in the Animal Crossing series, released exclusively in…

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Never shipped a game before — then scored 97 on Metacritic. Retro Studios built Metroid Prime (GameCube, 2002) in two years f Uncommon

Nintendo GameCube

Metroid Prime

メトロイドプライム

First-person adventure · 2003

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

F-Zero GX

F-Zero GX

Racing · 2003

F-Zero GX (2003) is a GameCube racing game co-developed by Sega's Amusement Vision division and published by Nintendo — …

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