What's a retro game you keep coming back to?

[Metroid_Hybrid]

I also come back to the OG Doom every few years. But always on a different platform..
So far, over the decades, I've invested a significant amount of time into it on: the original MS-DOS (Shareware), PS1, SNES, Xbox (via Doom 3), Mac OS X (source port), and most recently on PS3..
I also own (or otherwise...) a few other ports, but those are the ones that I put actual time into..

I look forward to maybe one day playing a Neo Geo port of it...

 

[Bakuma1997]

Crash 2, my confort game, i tend to make a 100% run for fun in chill moments of my life

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

I'm pretty sure I would still playing Pokemon Yellow on my dying bed.

Ive still never played an actual pokemon game... I did try Moemon tho

 

[plaindillo]

Basically any megaman game that doesnt have "battle network", "Star Force", "zero 2" or "ZX Advent" in the title, uhh definitely the mother series forever, first 6 final fantasy games, chrono trigger, genesis sonic games plus the adventure games, i dunno man, a lot

 

[shaggi shaggi]

Super Mario Bros and Contra. I never get enough of them.

 

[John Adams]

Sonic Classic era (1, CD, 2, 3 and Knuckles)
Zelda a Link to the Past
Zelda Minish Cap
Earthbound
Mother 3
Mega Man (1-& Bass)
Mega Man X (1-5)

 

[Kaze01]

Right now I'd say Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories and Pokémon Stadium:

- The first one because it's always fun replaying the campaign while destroying every opponent with an army of Twin Headed Thunder Dragon;

- The second one because Pokémon battle simulators are just cozy enough to hop in, do a couple rounds and jump out, even more if you can use your own critters from the handheld games (which, thankfully, is allowed by Retroarch)

 

[random0nonsense]

I revisit a lot of classic games, but I tend to throw on Grand Theft Auto 2 pretty often just to screw around.

 

[Viviana Santos]

I've replayed these games a surprising amount of times.

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

Haven't played "UN Squadron," but the remainder of that list is excellent.

its fantastic.. there is a English patch that makes it back into Area 88... also Area 88 is awesome... theres a new late 90's early 2000's anime version and its fantastic.. probably not as good as the og from the 80's but still... God I love F8 Crusaders

Post automatically merged: Jun 26, 2026

View attachment 202258View attachment 202259View attachment 202260View attachment 202261View attachment 202262View attachment 202263View attachment 202264View attachment 202265View attachment 202266View attachment 202267View attachment 202272 I've replayed these games a surprising amount of times.

OK.. thats some good stuff and stuff I couldnt care less about... oh well, as long as you have fun

Post automatically merged: Jun 26, 2026

Sims 3
Pikmin 1-2
Gran Turismo 3
Sengoku Rance
really fun and really addicting games.

oh yeah a Rance fan

 

[diet_orange]

-Wipeout XL (just such the perfect dose of intense speed and god that soundtrack!)
-Vectorman 1 (Like I've said before, I pretty much use this as the measuring stick for testing the Sega Genesis emulation on various things. Good soundtrack as well)
-Decap Attack (Just a wonderfully bizarre game that I have incredibly fond memories of while playing with my cousin)
-Kirby Superstar (just a damn fine collection of games)
-Yugioh Worldwide Edition: Stairway To The Destined Duel (taught me to competently play Duel Monsters and how could I not love a game that takes place during the god damned battle city arc?!)

 

[Noon Vitals]

Spectral Force Genesis. It seems super simple on the surface but its mechanics are so interconnected and contained that there’s hundreds of ways to take the one map layout it has.

There’s about 600 story events that trigger by kingdom or characters meeting and has really fascinating characters and writing, like Neu being indoctrinated into thinking she’s Hiro (the Spectral Force flagship protagonist)

And interesting game things just happen on their own like after a few years there’ll be mass desertion in all kingdoms because loyalty naturally falls over time especially in generals of destroyed kingdoms, and there’s Yetis and Frogs and er— I-I’ll stop rambling now…

 

[Dyne]

Childhood favorites, mostly.

Contra
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Jackal
Mega Man 2/3/4/X
A Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Final Fantasy 4/5/6
Chrono Trigger
UN Squadron
Final Fantasy Tactics
Breath of Fire 2/3

The jrpg's are usually because there's a romhack I want to play, but sometimes i just want to run through vanilla if its been a few years. The other games are easier to just jump into on a whim since they're shorter

 

[MDGeistsfavMC5song]

Childhood favorites, mostly.

Contra
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Jackal
Mega Man 2/3/4/X
A Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Final Fantasy 4/5/6
Chrono Trigger
UN Squadron
Final Fantasy Tactics
Breath of Fire 2/3

The jrpg's are usually because there's a romhack I want to play, but sometimes i just want to run through vanilla if its been a few years. The other games are easier to just jump into on a whim since they're shorter

yeah chrono trigger and ff tactics are in my favorites... but playing Ogre Battle in my teens was messed up.. I literally bang my head against the wall trying to master it

Post automatically merged: Jun 26, 2026

Childhood favorites, mostly.

Contra
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
Jackal
Mega Man 2/3/4/X
A Link to the Past
Super Metroid
Final Fantasy 4/5/6
Chrono Trigger
UN Squadron
Final Fantasy Tactics
Breath of Fire 2/3

The jrpg's are usually because there's a romhack I want to play, but sometimes i just want to run through vanilla if its been a few years. The other games are easier to just jump into on a whim since they're shorter

man Im still hardcore grinding Breath of Fire 3 before I go to bed stealing the stat boosters like hp, speed, mp etc... Im gonna beat that guy that got to lvl 99 in the reactor in FF7

 

[jiansongwong]

Thanks for all the replies, really cool to see everyone's go-to comfort games — Super Metroid, SOTN, Mega Man X4, those are all timeless picks.
Actually, this thread got me thinking about how many of the games I keep coming back to share that same tight, pixel-perfect feel. It's kinda why I started CRTPlay on the side — a collection of open-source retro/pixel games that run right in the browser. No emulators, no discs, just pick up and play. If you're the type who likes rediscovering that old-school feel without the setup hassle, might be your thing.

 

[tht009]

The Spyro Trilogy. Nowadays I just play Reignited because it's such a good remake, even though the censorship bothers me. Spyro defined my childhood in gaming and I've 100%'d those games more times than I can count. Something about collecting treasure is just really therapeutic.

 

[rugal]

wild arms 1 and 2
mega man 1 to 8
tekken 3

 

[extermist]

Too many considering that retro games are all I actually play..

 

[Mk1988]

Kind of a simple one — is there a retro game you find yourself revisiting every now and then, no matter how many times you've beaten it?
For me it's Celeste Classic on GBA. Something about the tight platforming just clicks every time. I replay it once every few months and it never gets old.
Curious what everyone else's "comfort retro game" is.

Once a year playthrough of Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Zelda: LTTP, It Game From The Desert (PCE) and Camp California (PCE, I'm a beach boys fan and love Yo bro on occasion for the same reason)

 

[Simidjay]

i have to play dragon quest 1 thru 3 at least once a year. they are the definition of comfort games to me : be it the NES, SNES or GBC versions. there’s something about going from the rudimentary gameplay loop of the first entry to the fleshed out world and party system of the third one that’s just plain fun.

i also spend a lot of time on Virtua Fighter 2, Dead or Alive 1/2, Streets of Rage series, Golden Axe series, always try to top my high score on Outrun, and I replayed Sword of Vermillion more times than i can count : I don’t always replay it all the way through though.

if i list out all the games i regularly go back to I think it’ll be like 80% Sega, so ig i’m kind of a fanboy lol

 

[RetroRover]

These are my 'safe place' when anything else fails or I need to recharge.
Wave Race 64
Star Fox 64
Mario Tennis GB
Advance Wars
Mega Man X
Chompsters!
Pacman Arrangement
Prince of Persia