Ranking by era

The best games of the 1980s.

154 games compete in this selection. Tetris tops it with 1,943 points: the ranking comes from player votes alone, and moves with every duel settled.

  1. 1 Tetris 1989 · Puzzle 1,943
  2. 2 The Legend of Zelda 1986 · Action-adventure 1,857
  3. 3 Super Mario Bros. 1985 · Platformer 1,837
  4. 4 Mega Man 2 1989 · Platformer 1,779
  5. 5 Super Mario Bros. 3 1988 · Platformer 1,775
  6. 6 Super Mario Land 1989 · Platformer 1,740
  7. 7 Pac-Man 1980 · Arcade 1,684
  8. 8 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link 1987 · Metroidvania 1,682
  9. 9 Contra 1987 · Platformer 1,676
  10. 10 Metroid 1987 · Metroidvania 1,671
  11. 11 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 1987 · Fighting 1,640
  12. 12 SimCity 1989 · Sandbox 1,635
  13. 13 Tetris 1989 · Puzzle 1,620
  14. 14 Excitebike 1984 · Racing 1,616
  15. 15 Castlevania 1986 · Platformer 1,615
  16. 16 Mega Man 1987 · Platformer 1,608
  17. 17 Final Fantasy 1987 · JRPG 1,603
  18. 18 Donkey Kong 1981 · Platformer 1,598
  19. 19 Metal Gear 1987 · Action-adventure 1,596
  20. 20 Final Fight 1989 · Beat 'em up 1,585
  21. 21 Disney's DuckTales 1989 · Platformer 1,575
  22. 22 Double Dragon II: The Revenge 1988 · Beat 'em up 1,574
  23. 23 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest 1987 · Metroidvania 1,567
  24. 24 Castlevania: The Adventure 1989 · Platformer 1,565
  25. 25 OutRun 1986 · Racing 1,558
  26. 26 Rampage 1986 · Beat 'em up 1,557
  27. 27 Double Dragon 1987 · Beat 'em up 1,553
  28. 28 Street Fighter 1987 · Fighting 1,546
  29. 29 Arkanoid 1986 · Arcade 1,543
  30. 30 Ninja Gaiden 1988 · Beat 'em up 1,542
  31. 31 Prince of Persia 1989 · Platformer 1,540
  32. 32 Ice Hockey 1988 · Sports 1,540
  33. 33 Golden Axe 1989 · Beat 'em up 1,536
  34. 34 Clu Clu Land 1984 · Arcade 1,528
  35. 35 Tennis 1984 · Sports 1,525
  36. 36 Adventures of Lolo 1989 · Puzzle 1,521
  37. 37 U.N. Squadron 1989 · Shoot 'em up 1,517
  38. 38 Gradius 1985 · Shoot 'em up 1,514
  39. 39 Bubble Bobble 1986 · Platformer 1,513
  40. 40 Ghouls 'n Ghosts 1988 · Platformer 1,513
  41. 41 Paperboy 1984 · Arcade 1,511
  42. 42 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? 1985 · Puzzle 1,509
  43. 43 Cabal 1988 · TPS 1,509
  44. 44 1942 1984 · Shoot 'em up 1,508
  45. 45 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure 1989 · Point-and-click 1,507
  46. 46 Karateka 1984 · Fighting 1,507
  47. 47 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels 1986 · Platformer 1,506
  48. 48 Lode Runner 1983 · Platformer 1,505
  49. 49 Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar 1985 · RPG 1,505
  50. 50 Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 1987 · Platformer 1,503
  51. 51 Battle Chess 1988 · Card & Board 1,501
  52. 52 Ms. Pac-Man 1982 · Arcade 1,499
  53. 53 Ghosts 'n Goblins 1985 · Platformer 1,498
  54. 54 Donkey Kong Junior 1982 · Platformer 1,498
  55. 55 Maniac Mansion 1987 · Point-and-click 1,496
  56. 56 Centipede 1981 · Shoot 'em up 1,493
  57. 57 Duck Hunt 1984 · Arcade 1,492
  58. 58 Dragon Warrior 1986 · JRPG 1,491
  59. 59 Winter Games 1985 · Sports 1,490
  60. 60 Alex Kidd in Miracle World 1986 · Platformer 1,487
  61. 61 Galaga 1981 · Shoot 'em up 1,484
  62. 62 Soccer 1985 · Sports 1,482
  63. 63 Ultima 1981 · RPG 1,482
  64. 64 Kid Icarus 1986 · Platformer 1,479
  65. 65 Final Fantasy II 1988 · JRPG 1,478
  66. 66 BurgerTime 1982 · Arcade 1,476
  67. 67 Marble Madness 1984 · Puzzle 1,475
  68. 68 Hogan's Alley 1984 · Arcade 1,472
  69. 69 Spartan X 1984 · Beat 'em up 1,471
  70. 70 Wrecking Crew 1985 · Platformer 1,467
  71. 71 Commando 1985 · Shoot 'em up 1,466
  72. 72 Circus Charlie 1984 · Platformer 1,463
  73. 73 Bomberman 1985 · Arcade 1,462
  74. 74 Defender 1981 · Shoot 'em up 1,460
  75. 75 Mario Bros. 1983 · Platformer 1,459
  76. 76 The Revenge of Shinobi 1989 · Platformer 1,457
  77. 77 Altered Beast 1988 · Beat 'em up 1,455
  78. 78 Gun.Smoke 1985 · Shoot 'em up 1,455
  79. 79 Battle City 1985 · Shoot 'em up 1,452
  80. 80 Pole Position 1982 · Racing 1,452
  81. 81 R.C. Pro-Am 1988 · Racing 1,452
  82. 82 King's Quest III: To Heir is Human 1986 · Point-and-click 1,450
  83. 83 Spy Hunter 1983 · Racing 1,449
  84. 84 Xevious 1982 · Shoot 'em up 1,449
  85. 85 Q*bert 1982 · Platformer 1,446
  86. 86 Archon 1983 · Strategy 1,446
  87. 87 International Karate + 1987 · Fighting 1,445
  88. 88 Gauntlet II 1986 · Beat 'em up 1,445
  89. 89 Salamander 1986 · Shoot 'em up 1,442
  90. 90 Frogger 1981 · Arcade 1,441
  91. 91 Golf 1984 · Sports 1,439
  92. 92 Ghostbusters 1984 · Arcade 1,439
  93. 93 Yie Ar Kung-Fu 1984 · Fighting 1,438
  94. 94 Elevator Action 1983 · Platformer 1,437
  95. 95 Mappy 1983 · Platformer 1,437
  96. 96 Phantasy Star 1987 · JRPG 1,437
  97. 97 Batman 1989 · Platformer 1,429
  98. 98 Antarctic Adventure 1983 · Racing 1,429
  99. 99 Test Drive 1987 · Racing 1,427
  100. 100 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 · Beat 'em up 1,426

Filter, combine and travel back in time in the full ranking

Other rankings

Ranking of 1984 games Top games of 1985 Ranking of 1986 games Top games of 1987 The best games of 1988 Best games of 1989 Top games of the 2020s Top games of the 2010s Greatest games of the 2000s The best 1990s games

In detail

The best games of the 1980s, what this ranking says

Tetris leads this selection with 1,943 ELO points, ahead of The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros.. The 154 games competing in it have played 17,869 duels.

This selection in figures
Games competing in this selection 154
Duels played by those games 17,869
Game in the lead Tetris (1989)
Score of the leading game, in ELO points 1,943
Point gap between 1st and 10th 272
Best represented genre Platformer
Last reading November 3, 2026

The best game of every genre in the 1980s

A selection is not read in one block: here is what leads each of its brackets.

The best game of every genre in the 1980s
Genre Games competing In the lead ELO score Duels played
Puzzle 6 Tetris 1,943 352
Platformer 42 Super Mario Bros. 1,837 616
Arcade 17 Pac-Man 1,684 169
Metroidvania 5 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link 1,682 355
Fighting 5 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! 1,640 143
Racing 9 Excitebike 1,616 200
Beat 'em up 12 Final Fight 1,585 115
Sports 7 Ice Hockey 1,540 73
Shoot 'em up 19 U.N. Squadron 1,517 50
Point-and-click 8 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure 1,507 97
Strategy 6 Archon 1,446 75

What moved this week

The ranking changes with every duel settled. Over the past seven days, the score of 96 games in this selection moved.

What moved this week
Game Points gained in 7 days ELO score
Metal Gear +108 1,596
Castlevania: The Adventure +84 1,565
Ghosts 'n Goblins +78 1,498

The most contested match-ups

These pairs of games have faced each other more than any others in this selection.

The most contested match-ups
Wins Against Duels played Win rate
Super Mario Bros. 3 Mega Man 4 100%
Super Mario Bros. 3 Disney's DuckTales 3 67%
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Prince of Persia 3 100%
Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros. 3 3 100%

How this ranking is established

No jury, no press score, no sales figures: two games face off, players vote, and every vote updates an ELO score. This page is a view of the world ranking, never a standing kept apart.

Understand the method in detail →

FAQ

What players ask

What is the best game of the 1980s?

According to community votes, the best game of the 1980s is Tetris, with 1,943 ELO points in the world ranking. It stands ahead of The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros., and its place is replayed with every duel.

How many games of the 1980s are ranked?

154 games of this selection take part in the duels, and they have played 17,869 of them so far. The full site catalogue is much wider: only games kept for their fame enter the running.

Which game of the 1980s is climbing right now?

Metal Gear is the strongest climb in this selection over the past seven days, with 108 ELO points gained. Over the same period, the score of 96 games in the selection moved.

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