With how powerful smartphones are these days, memorable game titles from the yesteryear that ran on bulky machines can be easily ported into your pocket. Finding a good one, however, is tougher than clearing Super Mario using only one life. That’s why we dug into the man-child in us to bring you a serving of great and nostalgic console games from the last decade.
With how powerful smartphones are these days, memorable game titles from the yesteryear that ran on bulky machines can be easily ported into your pocket. Finding a good one, however, is tougher than clearing Super Mario using only one life. That’s why we dug into the man-child in us to bring you a serving of great and nostalgic console games from the last decade.
FINAL FANTASY IX
iOS, Android $29.98
This classic RPG from year 2000 holds the highest Metacritic review score out of all existing Final Fantasy games, beating its newfangled successors despite having PlayStation 1 graphics quality and a simple storyline. It’s relatively bug-free, compared to other Square Enix ports that are available in the App Store.
As a game, it’s technically robust and well-balanced; with a plot that blended adventure, friendship, self-discovery, and romance (that’s all we can say without spoiling too much). If you want to re-live a good console port, Final Fantasy IX certainly checks all the boxes.
SECRET OF MANA
iOS,Android$10.98
One of the earliest and uncommon RPG games that uses real-time instead of a turn-based battle system, Secret of Mana was considered innovative and deep for a game of its time. Originally debuted in 1993 on the SNES, it featured a beautiful soundtrack and 16-bit graphics quality ahead of its time. It was released under different names in various regions, but it is now goes by its maiden name in the mobile app stores. As one of the Top 100 games of all time (according to IGN), this is a must-have in your games library.
CRAZY TAXI
iOS$6.98
First seen in video game arcades back in 1999, this mindless racing game was later ported to the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. It was also a novel game concept back in its time – having near misses and driving like a lunatic would score you more points than simply taking passengers to their destination in their shortest time. Of course, an app wouldn’t burn coins like the arcade. The iOS port is based off the Dreamcast port, and phones these days can run the game effortlessly at 60fps. The game itself is fast-paced, easy to learn, yet difficult to master – just like old times.
WORMS 2 ARMAGEDDON
iOS, Android$6.98
Originally a 1999 PC game, this 2D turn-based artillery strategy game was so popular that it received a port to the Xbox – ten years later. It is still as great, since the game strikes a nice balance between humor, strategy, and utterly humiliating your friends. It comes with a clever single player campaign too, and the iOS version gives you cute little hats for your little worms to wear. We recommend this version of Worms over the others because it has one of the best interfaces, with the same gameplay and a fairly recent update to fix all of the last glitches found in the port.
