The best retro games, console by console, start with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64, which holds a Metacritic score of 99, the highest ever recorded for any game on any platform. Behind it, three different consoles peak at 98 and three more at 97, before the handhelds trail off into the low 90s.
This list takes the 10 classic consoles that Metacritic covers in full, from the 1994 PlayStation to the 2006 Wii, and names the single highest-rated game on each. Consoles are ordered by that peak score, with ties broken by the console’s launch year, older first. The table gives each machine’s first release year and lifetime sales alongside its best game.
Best Retro Games: One Peak Title Per Console
| # | Console | Launched | Units sold | Top-rated game | Metascore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nintendo 64 | 1996 | 32.93 million | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | 99 |
| 2 | PlayStation | 1994 | 102.49 million | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 | 98 |
| 3 | Dreamcast | 1998 | 9.13 million | SoulCalibur | 98 |
| 4 | Wii | 2006 | 101.63 million | Super Mario Galaxy 2 | 98 |
| 5 | PlayStation 2 | 2000 | 160 million | Grand Theft Auto III | 97 |
| 6 | Xbox | 2001 | 24 million | Halo: Combat Evolved | 97 |
| 7 | GameCube | 2001 | 21.74 million | Metroid Prime | 97 |
| 8 | Game Boy Advance | 2001 | 81.51 million | A Link to the Past / Four Swords | 95 |
| 9 | Nintendo DS | 2004 | 154.02 million | Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars | 93 |
| 10 | PSP | 2004 | 80 million | God of War: Chains of Olympus | 91 |
Which Consoles Count as Retro Here
Metacritic began collecting game reviews in the late 1990s, so its scores run from the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation generation onward. The NES, Super Nintendo and Genesis predate it and have no scores, which is why they are absent here and why our best SNES games list uses a panel ranking instead.
The cut-off at the other end is the Wii, the last console whose successor has itself been replaced twice. Everything from the PlayStation 3 onward is still sold or still supported by current digital stores, which makes it hard to call retro. That leaves 10 machines: six home consoles and four handhelds.
Where two games tie for a console’s top score, the one with the higher Metacritic user score is named. That is how Grand Theft Auto III represents the PlayStation 2 ahead of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, both on 97, and A Link to the Past / Four Swords represents the Game Boy Advance ahead of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, both on 95.
The Best Retro Games on 10 Consoles, Ranked
Sales figures are lifetime worldwide totals as listed by the manufacturers. Each entry notes how to play the game now.
1. Nintendo 64: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Metascore: 99 · Released: November 1998 · Console launched: 1996 · Units sold: 32.93 million
Ocarina of Time is the only game on Metacritic to score 99. It moved Zelda into 3D with lock-on targeting, context-sensitive buttons and a day-night cycle, and its Hyrule Field was the first open space of its kind that most players had walked through.
The Nintendo 64 sold fewer units than every other home console here except the Dreamcast, GameCube and Xbox, yet it holds the top score. Ocarina of Time is on the Nintendo 64 app for Switch Online, which needs the Expansion Pack tier of the subscription.
2. PlayStation: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Metascore: 98 · Released: September 2000 · Console launched: 1994 · Units sold: 102.49 million
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 added the manual, which let players link tricks across flat ground into combos of any length, and a park editor. It scored 98 on the original PlayStation and 97 on the Dreamcast, and it remains the highest-rated game on either machine from the series.
The PlayStation was the first console to pass 100 million units. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, the 2020 remake for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC, covers every level in the original.
3. Dreamcast: SoulCalibur
Metascore: 98 · Released: September 1999 · Console launched: 1998 · Units sold: 9.13 million
SoulCalibur was a Dreamcast launch title in North America and looked better than the arcade game it was ported from, which had not happened before. Its eight-way movement and weapon-based roster set the pattern for 3D fighting games for a decade.
The Dreamcast sold 9.13 million units, the fewest of any console here, and was discontinued in 2001. SoulCalibur has had Xbox 360 and iOS releases, and its sequels continue on current consoles, but the original is tied to old hardware.
4. Wii: Super Mario Galaxy 2
Metascore: 98 · Released: May 2010 · Console launched: 2006 · Units sold: 101.63 million
Super Mario Galaxy 2 scored one point higher than the first Galaxy, which sits on 97, and it is the newest game on this list. It added Yoshi, a world map in place of the hub and a drill power-up, and it was released late enough in the Wii’s life to be designed around what the first game had learned.
The Wii is the second console here to pass 100 million units, and its library is the subject of our ranking of the best-selling Wii games. Galaxy 2 is playable on Switch 2 through the Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 release of October 2025.
5. PlayStation 2: Grand Theft Auto III
Metascore: 97 · Released: October 2001 · Console launched: 2000 · Units sold: 160 million
Grand Theft Auto III shares the PlayStation 2’s top score with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, a record Guinness World Records verified in 2022, and takes the slot here on its higher user score. Its 3D Liberty City set the template for open-world games on every console since.
The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console ever made at 160 million units. Our ranking of the best PS2 games covers the full top 10 for the machine, with the three Grand Theft Auto games inside its top six.
6. Xbox: Halo: Combat Evolved
Metascore: 97 · Released: November 2001 · Console launched: 2001 · Units sold: 24 million
Halo launched with the Xbox and made the console. Its two-weapon limit, regenerating shield, vehicles and the Warthog section at the end of the campaign set the design language for console shooters, and its split-screen and LAN modes carried the machine until Xbox Live arrived.
The original Xbox sold 24 million units, a tenth of the PlayStation 2’s total. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is included in Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox and PC.
7. GameCube: Metroid Prime
Metascore: 97 · Released: November 2002 · Console launched: 2001 · Units sold: 21.74 million
Metroid Prime moved the series into first person without turning it into a shooter: the scan visor, the morph ball and the lock-on kept it an exploration game. Retro Studios in Austin, Texas built it under Nintendo’s supervision, and it was the studio’s first released game.
It scored 97, one point ahead of Resident Evil 4 and the two GameCube Zelda games on 96. Metroid Prime Remastered, released for Switch in February 2023, is the current version.
8. Game Boy Advance: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past / Four Swords
Metascore: 95 · Released: December 2002 · Console launched: 2001 · Units sold: 81.51 million
The Game Boy Advance cartridge pairs a port of the 1992 Super Nintendo game with Four Swords, a new four-player cooperative Zelda that needed link cables. It ties Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 on 95 and takes the slot on user score, 8.8 from more than a thousand ratings.
A Link to the Past itself leads our ranking of the best SNES games. The Game Boy Advance app on Switch Online carries a selection of the handheld’s library, and the SNES original is on the Super Nintendo app.
9. Nintendo DS: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Metascore: 93 · Released: March 2009 · Console launched: 2004 · Units sold: 154.02 million
Chinatown Wars is the highest-rated game on the second best-selling console of all time, a top-down Grand Theft Auto with touch-screen minigames and a drug-trading economy. It scored three points higher on DS than on its PSP port.
Rockstar sells it on iOS and Android, which is the only current way to play it. The full DS top 10 is in our ranking of the best DS games.
10. PSP: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Metascore: 91 · Released: March 2008 · Console launched: 2004 · Units sold: 80 million
Chains of Olympus is the only PSP game to reach 91 and the lowest peak on this list, a reflection of how reviewers in the 2000s graded handheld ports against console originals. It is a full God of War prequel built by Ready at Dawn, with the chained blades and set-piece bosses intact.
The PSP sold around 80 million units. The game was remastered for PlayStation 3 in the God of War: Origins Collection in 2011, and that remains its newest release.
Where the Peaks Cluster
Seven of the 10 peak games were released between 1998 and 2002, a five-year window that covers the end of the fifth console generation and the start of the sixth. Only Super Mario Galaxy 2, Chinatown Wars and Chains of Olympus come later, and all three are on the two newest machines and a handheld.
Nintendo made or published four of the 10 peak games and holds the top score outright. Sony’s consoles peak with third-party titles on PlayStation and PlayStation 2, and with its own studio only on the PSP. Microsoft’s one entry is its launch title.
Sales and scores barely correlate. The two best-selling machines, the PlayStation 2 and the DS, peak at 97 and 93, while the Nintendo 64 and the Dreamcast, two of the three lowest sellers, hold 99 and 98. The full sales table is in our list of the best-selling game consoles.
How to Play the Best Retro Games Now
Six of the 10 have a current release without original hardware. Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past are on Switch Online, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and Metroid Prime have remakes or remasters, Halo is in The Master Chief Collection, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is on Switch 2.
Grand Theft Auto III is in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy on current consoles, and Chinatown Wars is on phones. SoulCalibur and Chains of Olympus are the two that still need the hardware they shipped on or a PlayStation 3.
- On a subscription: Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past (Switch Online)
- Remade or remastered: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Metroid Prime, Halo, Super Mario Galaxy 2, GTA III
- Mobile only: Chinatown Wars
- Original or PS3 hardware: SoulCalibur, Chains of Olympus
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest-rated retro game ever?
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with a Metacritic score of 99 on the Nintendo 64. No other game on any platform has reached 99. Three games sit on 98: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, SoulCalibur and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Why are NES and SNES games not on this list?
Metacritic has no scores for them because they were reviewed before the site existed. The console peaks here are limited to machines with complete Metacritic coverage, which starts with the Nintendo 64 and the original PlayStation.
Which retro console has the best games overall?
By peak score the Nintendo 64, by depth the PlayStation 2, whose top 10 all score 94 or above, and by sales the PlayStation 2 again at 160 million units. The best-selling console list is the only one of those where critics and buyers agree.
Is the Wii really a retro console?
It launched in 2006, was discontinued in 2013 and has been succeeded twice, by the Wii U and the Switch. By the same measure the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are not yet retro, because their successors have been replaced only once.
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