Retro games are all the rage nowadays, with gamers who have been playing for 25+ years now fondly remembering the games of their childhood. Playing these games could be for a number of reasons: just remembering the good old days, enjoying the games you just don’t get sick of, or maybe introducing your child to the games you used to play and love. Regardless of the reason it’s sometimes just plain fun to go back to your favorites and give them another shot. So without further ado here’s our latest 10 favorite retro games. Remember that choosing a category as broad and varied as retro is sure to have us butting heads with plenty of games out there that we didn’t mention, so of course let us know what your favorites are and maybe we’ll run another one with a slightly different category!
Ping Pong Holo
What’s better than a classic game of Pong with a new style? Pong is the ultimate hallmark of classic games, and this version is about as pixel perfect as you can hope for, and even features full Google Play Games integration with high scores and leaderboards. Challenge your friends to a high score match remotely, or pull a classic 1-on-1 versus battle locally via Bluetooth or WiFi connection. If you don’t care for the Holo colors then you can enable the classic black and white design too. Plus Ping Pong Holo is free, and what’s better than that?
Space Invaders Infinity Gene
While Space Invaders Infinity Gene has been around since 2011, it’s still one of the best old-school arcade shooters on the market. The basic premise takes the Space Invaders style and formula and evolves the idea as you play. You’ll start out in the classic Space Invaders style complete with pixel perfect animations and designs, and as you progress through the levels the game gets trippier and trippier, eventually turning into a full 3D shooter with enhanced mechanics and a killer soundtrack. The game is still $4.99 and hasn’t been updated in a long time though, so your mileage may vary depending on what device you own and how well it still works with newer phones and tablets.
PAC-MAN + Tournaments
What’s better than a PAC-MAN game with daily tournaments and constantly updated levels and maze designs? There can’t be much, and that’s why PAC-MAN + Tournaments is on our list of best retro games for Android. Compete in tournaments daily and try your hand at winning real prizes like stuffed ghosts and other plushies from the PAC-MAN universe. Be advised here though that this is a free-to-play game, which means you’ll get a certain number of tries daily, and if you don’t do well enough you’ll need to pay to play some more.
Solar System Lander
Solar System Lander takes the formula of the classic moon lander type games and brings it up to the next level by providing harder challenges and updated graphics. Some levels are simple and just make you land without any hazards, while other levels make you move the ship at awkward angles, and even provide some enemies and land mines that will blow your ship off course or even destroy it. Points are assessed on landing quality, just like the retro version, and you are rewarded for patience. There is a free demo and the full version of the game is only 99 cents.
Atari’s Greatest Hits with Missile Command for free
Atari went ahead and decided to release a huge collection of classics from its former home consoles in one nice little package, and it includes Missile Command completely free. Most games are 99 cents, which is a pretty small price to pay considering these were once much more expensive than that. Many games are pixel perfect translations of the originals with on-screen buttons tailored for each game. While we could use with some serious updates to some of these games like updated touchscreen support for pinpoint accuracy, you can’t always ask for such conversions when talking about games that are over three decades old sometimes. Regardless of virtually no enhancements though this is likely the largest collection of classic Atari titles you’re going to find anywhere.
Worms 2: Armageddon
What more is there to say about Worms that hasn’t already been said? The classic strategy game from the mid 90’s and beyond has returned on Android with a vengeance, and Worms 2 feels every bit as good as the day it came out. If you’ve never heard of or played a Worms game, know that it’s classic turn-based strategy at its finest, pitting team against team in a fight to the death battle of wits and crazy weaponry. Lots of humor, corny lines and great physics bring this classic enhancement of tank battle games to a whole new level. $4.99 seems like a steep entry for a mobile game, but once you start playing it you’ll forget you spent five of your hard-earned dollars on this classic.
Modern Snake
Modern Snake is a similar translation of the old Nokia classic as Ping Pong Holo is to the Atari classic. Using an updated visual language but retaining the same feel and style of the original, Modern Snake fills the screen of your phone instead of trying to emulate the look of the old Nokia classic like many other versions of Snake on the Play Store do. What’s more is that it features 2-player mode on the same screen, and gives you the option of swiping to move or using a virtual joystick. 7 levels are free and another 8 can be unlocked by paying 99 cents. Online leaderboards are present and a slick Holo style user interface accompanies the action. Plenty of options for such a simple classic game include not just visual changes but also gameplay ones like adding walls for added challenge.
Double Dragon Trilogy
Who doesn’t love a good beat-em-up game, especially the one that arguably started them all? Double Dragon Trilogy gives you command of all 3 amazing original games with fantastic on-screen controls and even better bluetooth controller support. Google Play Games integration adds leaderboards and achievements, as well as bluetooth co-op multiplayer locally and varying difficulty levels depending on what sort of control method you are using and your difficulty tolerance levels. Full support for MOGA, Nvidia Shield and others really help the action unfold like the classic arcade version used to, and at $2.99 you can hardly beat the value here!
R-TYPE II
We mentioned R-Type as one of the best retro games around in our previous top 10 list, and the sequel makes its appearance on this list now as well. Brought to you by DotEmu, one of the finest port developers on the Play Store, R-Type II is every bit as good as the original with added features too. All the original levels and bosses can be found here, original graphics and filters to enhance your experience if you so choose, and even Bluetooth controller support as well as MOJO, Nvidia Shield and Moga support help bring the arcade original to your pocket in a very real way. Google Play Games integration provides leaderboards and achievements, and customizable controls even make this playable on a touch screen! $1.99 is a small asking price for such an excellent port.
Sonic CD
Ah Sonic CD, arguably the best of all the classic Sonic games, made its appearance on mobile platforms some time ago and remains a fantastic port of the classic 2D platformer. Featuring all the speed, time warping and multi-tiered levels as the original, Sonic CD is playable both via on-screen controls and via MOGA controller as well as the original US and Japanese soundtracks. The visuals have been tweaked too and feature a pixel-perfect presentation in 16:9 format that fits ideally on your smartphone or tablet. $2.99 is the asking price here, and it’s one that’ll give you hours of enjoyment at one of the finest examples of 2D platforming around.