Article
Donkey Kong Country Turns 25: Gaming's Biggest Bluff
Twenty-five years ago, Nintendo faced the threat of obsolescence with sheer bravado—and won.
dailyclassic
Article
Daily Classic: 7 Reasons Super Metroid was an SNES Masterpiece
Happy 25th birthday, Super NES! Look back at the fundamental brilliance of one of the console's all-time greatest creations with this piece from the USgamer archives.
Article
Final Fantasy VI, the Essence of a Franchise Distilled for SNES
Though perhaps not the best of the series, FFVI was definitely the most Final Fantasy-ish of the lot.
Article
In PlayStation's Misadventures of Tron Bonne, an Echo of Better Days
Back when Mega Man spinoffs had their own spinoffs (and we had Mega Man games, period).
Article
Revisiting Descent, the Most Literal Interpretation of "3D Shooter"
With Descent back on Kickstarter, we revisit the game that embraced the concept of 3D gaming when everyone else was merely faking it.
Article
USgamer's Daily Classics
Your daily look into the storied history of video games. Fun for the whole family!
Article
Daily Classic: An NES Hit Honed to Excellence in Castlevania III
The original Castlevania trilogy ended on a nearly perfect note.
Article
Daily Classic: Marathon, The Other Thinking Man's Shooter
System Shock wasn't the only early FPS to put a cyberpunk twist on run-and-gun action.
Article
Daily Classic: Doom II Proved the Value of More of the Same
If Doom established the FPS concept, its sequel revealed the genre's true potential.
Article
Daily Classic: How Chrono Cross Triumphed Over Destiny
As a sequel to upbeat Chrono Trigger, this gloomy RPG should have been a wreck... yet somehow, it wasn't.
Article
Daily Classic: Bionic Commando Elite Forces and the Cycle of Rebirth
A mostly-forgotten Game Boy Color adventure that felt like a foretaste of the modern age.
Article
Daily Classic: Elevator Action II, An Arcade Oddity Too Beautiful for This Miserable World
What if they held a sequel and no one came?
Article
Daily Classic: Donkey Kong's Unlikely Game Boy Reinvention
It was no Donkey Kong Country... but maybe that was the point of this portable classic.
Article
Daily Classic: Strider 2, an Arcade Game Born into the Wrong Era
A faithful sequel that fell flat through no fault of its own.
Article
Daily Classic: When Cinematic Games Put Gaming First, Arcades Gave Us Strider
Like a game and a movie (but more of a game).
Article
Daily Classic: Valis II, a Generic TurboGrafx Game Built on Generic Anime
How can a game be both exotic and run-of-the-mill all at once?
Article
Daily Classic: With Cotton, TG-16 Shooters Got Adorable
Success' whimsical arcade shooter was like the meet cute of shooters and anime.
Article
With Pitfall II, Atari Platformers Became More Than Just Running and Jumping
David Crane's adventurous sequel pushed creative and technical boundaries.
Article
H.E.R.O., a Run 'n Jump Atari Game (Minus Running 'n Jumping)
Is a platformer really a platformer without platforms?
Article
Jet Set Willy, Trading Classiness for Freedom on Spectrum
The sequel to Manic Miner was quite a sophisticated game, but only in terms of its structure.
Article
With Pac-Land, Arcade Platformers Raced Into the Future
While other heroes experimented with design, Pac-Man blazed a trail straight ahead.
Article
Daily Classic: How Clash at Demonhead's NES Comedy Defied Whitewashing
A stony-faced Trojan Horse of a game unleashed subversive goofiness upon unsuspecting players.
Article
Daily Classic: U.N. Squadron's SNES Identity Change
A solid shoot-em-up that was inflicted with a baffling identity crisis.
Article
Capitalizing on a Lucky Break With Pokémon Snap
Nintendo's RPG-turned-global-phenomenon helped keep things looking rosy in tough times.
Article
Duck Hunt, the Template for Wii's Success
30 years ago, Nintendo's iconic sports shooter predicted the future.
Article
Punch-Out!!, the Swan Song of an Arcade Legend
30 years ago, Nintendo dropped the mike on its arcade roots with a stunning boxing sim.
Article
35 Years Ago, Nintendo's First Brush With Video Disaster
In 1979, a single game nearly sank the company's game business before it even launched.