The best games of the 1980s
We ranked 480 1980s games that have at least 10 player ratings on IGDB. Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) comes out on top with an average of 89/100 from 1,739 players. Hidden gem: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar makes #19 with only 39 ratings. The list covers releases from 1980 to 1989.
Make your “My 9 games from the 1980s” grid →- 1
Super Mario Bros. 31988 · Arcade, 3DS, Wii891,739 ratings - 2
Tetris1989 · NES86942 ratings - 3
Super Mario Bros.1985 · fds, Arcade, 3DS841,326 ratings - 4
Mega Man 21989 · 3DS, Wii, WiiU85390 ratings - 5
Maniac Mansion1987 · C64, Atari-ST, PC87138 ratings - 6
The Legend of Zelda1986 · fds, 3DS, Wii81737 ratings - 7
Disney's DuckTales1989 · Wii, famicom, NES84176 ratings - 8
Prince of Persia1989 · Apple][81268 ratings - 9
Tetris1989 · 3DS, Game Boy84141 ratings - 10
Castlevania1986 · fds, Arcade, 3DS79347 ratings - 11
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!1987 · Arcade, famicom, NES83114 ratings - 12
Pac-Man1980 · Arcade79267 ratings - 13
Ghosts 'n Goblins1985 · Arcade, C64, ZXS82107 ratings - 14
Ms. Pac-Man1982 · vic-20, Arcade, Atari8bit8295 ratings - 15
Final Fight1989 · Arcade, C64, ZXS79150 ratings - 16
Arkanoid1986 · Arcade80112 ratings - 17
Bubble Bobble1986 · Arcade79133 ratings - 18
Ninja Gaiden1988 · Arcade, Wii79129 ratings - 19
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar1985 · Apple][8839 ratings - 20
Mega Man1987 · 3DS, Wii, famicom76295 ratings - 21
Ghouls 'n Ghosts1988 · Arcade, Atari-ST, Amiga8175 ratings - 22
Phantasy Star1987 · Wii, SMS8642 ratings - 23
International Karate +1987 · Amiga CD32, C64, ZXS8737 ratings - 24
Battle City1985 · Arcade, x1, 3DS78105 ratings - 25
Test Drive1987 · C64, Atari-ST, DOS8732 ratings - 26
Super Mario Land1989 · 3DS, Game Boy74314 ratings - 27
Double Dragon II: The Revenge1988 · Arcade7879 ratings - 28
River Raid1982 · colecovision, Atari2600, Atari8bit8242 ratings - 29
Dungeon Master1987 · SNES, Atari-ST, DOS8626 ratings - 30
Blaster Master1988 · 3DS, Wii, famicom8237 ratings - 31
Lode Runner1983 · vic-20, Arcade, sg10007859 ratings - 32
Batman1989 · C64, ZXS, Atari-ST8044 ratings - 33
Bruce Lee1984 · bbcmicro, Atari8bit, C648527 ratings - 34
Impossible Mission1984 · bbcmicro, Atari7800, C648528 ratings - 35
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure1989 · Linux, Atari-ST, PC7776 ratings - 36
The Duel: Test Drive II1989 · C64, ZXS, SNES8821 ratings - 37
1943: The Battle of Midway1987 · Arcade, C64, ZXS7947 ratings - 38
Shadowgate1987 · Atari-ST, PC, Mac8330 ratings - 39
The Great Giana Sisters1987 · C64, Atari-ST, Amiga8230 ratings - 40
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels1986 · fds, 3DS, Wii74130 ratings - 41
Tapper1983 · Arcade8720 ratings - 42
Blades of Steel1987 · Arcade8231 ratings - 43
Final Fantasy1987 · 3DS, Wii, famicom73265 ratings - 44
Adventures of Lolo1989 · 3DS, Wii, WiiU7843 ratings - 45
Faxanadu1987 · Wii, famicom, NES8033 ratings - 46
Elite1984 · Acorn Archimedes, bbcmicro, C647938 ratings - 47
Metal Gear1987 · Wii, MSX273149 ratings - 48
Buster Bros.1989 · Arcade, C64, ZXS7748 ratings - 49
Commando1985 · Arcade, bbcmicro, Atari78007660 ratings - 50
Jetpac1983 · vic-20, bbcmicro, ZXS8518 ratings
How this list is ranked: IGDB player ratings, weighted by how many people rated each game (a Bayesian average with a prior of 100 ratings), so a game with a handful of perfect scores doesn't outrank a classic rated by thousands. Only games with at least 10 ratings; editions and re-releases are folded into the original. Numbers shown are the raw average rating (0–100) and the rating count.