IT’S A SATURDAY MORNING which generally isn’t the most exciting of times, but if you’re stuck for something to do, there is a vast collection of games that you can play on your browser.
The Internet Archive has become the place for a large collection of retro games from systems like the PC, Mega Drive, Master System, and the Atari 2600. It recently updated its collection by uploading classic Amiga games like Bubble Bobble, R-Type, Wizball and Batman.
As the name might suggest, the Internet Archive is designed to record and preserve online content rather than a way to offer you a method of killing time. But when it involves games, you can be forgiven for ignoring this.
A word of warning though. Not all games will run smoothly. Emulation is a resource-intensive process and while the software running it has improved immensely over the years, running the same software through a browser is a trickier prospect.
Also, you might have better luck running it on one browser than another. To give a quick example, we had a smoother experience playing Outrun on Firefox than Chrome, but that can differ
Still, you have more than enough here to keep you entertained for the weekend should you have a few minutes to kill.
Here are a quick pick of our favourites, but if you want to explore the list of games yourself, you can start here (click the floppy disk icon to bring up more).
Prince of Persia (MS-DOS)
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With only 60 minutes to complete the game, and some solid platforming and sword fights, Prince of Persia helped influence many modern games today thanks to its (then) realistic character movement and puzzles.
Streets of Rage 2 (Mega Drive)
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One of the best in the series and the beat-em-up genre as a whole, SoR2 improved upon the original in many ways. Unfortunately, you have to settle for the original version instead of this (unquestionably better) version.
Outrun (Arcade)
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The classic arcade racing game from Sega still has the same colourful and vibrant charm
it had back 30 years ago (yes, it was released in 1986).
Ristar (Mega Drive)
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A oft-forgotten Sega platformer as it was released near the end of the Mega Drive’s life, Ristar included a number of original elements including the main character’s stretchable arms which could be used for combat and navigating levels.
Tiny Toons Adventure (Mega Drive)
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Normally cartoon tie-ins aren’t worth paying attention to but when you have Konami behind the reins, then it’s worth taking notice of. Tiny Toons isn’t an original game by any stretch, but it’s knows what makes a platformer good.
Jazz Jackrabbit (MS-DOS)
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A rather manic platformer inspired by the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Zool, Jazz Jackrabbit is a fast-paced game that’s easy to dip into.
Paperboy (Arcade)
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Paperboy had a simple premise, deliver papers to all the subscribed customers, and avoid crashing into any strange obstacles or vandalising homes of non-subscribers. It’s probably the only paper route that finishes with a cheering crowd waiting for you at the end.
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