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TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD: THE MOST POPULAR RETRO VIDEO GAMES FROM THE 1980S AND 1990S
This year it’s Hogwarts Legacy, last year, it was Elden Ring, and before that was The Last of Us Part II, Cyberpunk 2077, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Each year gives us a new selection of Triple-A video games to play through, but it’s never long before we find ourselves digging the Atari out of the attic or blowing the dust off our Nintendo cartridges.
The graphics, storylines, and gameplay are undeniably better now than they were back then, so why are you always drawn back to the games you spent your childhood beating again and again? Nostalgia — and you’re not alone. From The Legend of Zelda to Tomb Raider, Donkey Kong to Doom, millions of people are still searching for these timeless classics today.
We analyzed Google search data for the top computer games from the ‘80s and ‘90s — deemed by many to be the ‘golden age’ of gaming — to identify the retro titles that modern players are most nostalgic for.
The 1980s gave us iconic characters such as Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong. It seems certain that one of Nintendo’s game-changing titles would set the high score for 1980s video game searches. Yet, while most of us still have no idea how to really play it, it’s Minesweeper that tops the leaderboard (and it isn’t even close). In fact, the Microsoft minigame is the only title to receive over a million monthly searches.
Video games from the ‘80s are particularly popular in South Dakota, which ranks as the top state for all of the top three titles (Minesweeper, Pac-Man, and Tetris). However, those in Oregon prefer the Final Fantasy franchise, while Utah gives Donkey Kong a place in the top five.
No doubt boosted by the expected announcement of a new installment in the series this year, it’s a ‘Flawless Victory’ for Mortal Kombat when it comes to popular ‘90s games. In February, the title received close to half a million monthly searches, with nostalgia particularly high in New Mexico, Texas, and Nevada as gamers look to brush up on their skills ahead of the latest release.
Mortal Kombat is joined on the list by a number of other iconic ‘90s video game franchises that continue to inspire the catalog of new games that get published each year — Doom, Fallout, Diablo, and Quake — as modern gamers seemingly struggle to let go of the classics from their childhood.
Methodology: To create this study, ELVTR researchers analyzed the top 50 video games from the 1980s and 1990s, as ranked by leading gaming publications. Using Keyword Tool, they analyzed monthly search volumes in the US for February 2023, trending search volume over the last 12 months, as well as the top five US states where searches were most frequent using Google Trends.
Sources:
- https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/the-best-video-games-of-the-2000s
- https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_video-games-1980s.html
- https://www.buzzfeed.com/joshcorrea/best-90s-pc-games
- https://www.ranker.com/list/best-old-school-computer-games/kyle-townsend
- https://www.gamesradar.com/best-classic-pc-games/
- https://screenrant.com/best-2000s-pc-games-that-still-hold-up-today/#half-life-2
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdNhfId5nPA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZf9jitGY8Q
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1TZDwtmqn8
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ia_fxJ2tmI
Detailed Findings:
Table 1. Most popular games from the 80s.
| Title | Monthly searches | Trend | Top-5 states |
| Minesweeper | 1 220 000 | -19% | South Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, Utah, Washington |
| Pac-Man | 823 000 | -18% | South Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, New Mexico, South Carolina |
| Tetris | 673 000 | -18% | South Dakota, Virginia, New Jersey, Nebrask, Washington |
| Final Fantasy | 201 000 | -33% | Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Utah, Idaho |
| Donkey Kong | 165 000 | 0% | Utah, West Virginia, Alaska, Washington, South Dakota |
| Super Mario Bros.* | 466 000 | +49% | Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Oregon, Nevada |
| The Legend of Zelda | 165 000 | +22% | Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Washington, Oregon |
| DuckTales | 135 000 | -19% | Utah, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California |
| Mega Man | 135 000 | +22% | West Virginia, Washington, Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey |
| Star Wars game | 74 000 | -33% | Utah, Oregon, Idaho, New Hampshire, Washington |
| Castlevania | 14 800 | -18% | Alaska, Washington, West Virginia, Oregon, Utah |
| Duck Hunt | 74 000 | +22% | Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota |
| Metroid | 60 500 | +123% | Utah, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Alaska |
| Contra | 49 500 | -18% | California, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Maryland |
| Double Dragon | 49 500 | -18% | Kentucky, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Indiana |
| Galaga | 49 500 | -18% | New Mexico, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas |
| Metal Gear | 49 500 | -18% | Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Texas, California |
| Frogger | 40 500 | 0% | New Hampshire, Iowa, Indiana, Vermont, Rhode Island |
| Ms. Pac-Man | 40 500 | +22% | Texas, California |
| Ninja Gaiden | 40 500 | 0% | Mississippi, Nevada, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Idaho |
| * combined searches for Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario | |||
Table 2. Most popular games from the 90s.
| Title | Monthly searches | Trend | Top-5 states |
| Mortal Kombat | 450 000 | +22% | New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Arizona |
| Doom | 301 000 | -33% | Oregon, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Missouri |
| Tomb Raider* | 300 000 | -19% | Alaska, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, West Virginia |
| Fallout | 246 000 | 0% | West Virginia, Alaska, Wyoming, Oregon, Maine |
| Diablo | 165 000 | 0% | Washington, Oregon, Delaware, California, Idaho |
| Half-Life | 110 000 | 0% | South Dakota, Indiana, Utah, North Carolina, Arizona |
| Baldur's Gate | 40 500 | +22% | Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah |
| Prince Of Persia | 49 500 | 0% | Utah, Idaho, Alaska, Oklahoma, Oregon |
| Quake | 49 500 | 0% | Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Utah, California |
| Donkey Kong Country | 40 500 | 0% | Utah, Washington, Oregon, Ohio, Wisconsin |
| Full Throttle | 40 500 | -18% | South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire |
| Fallout 2 | 22 200 | -18% | West Virginia, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska |
| Scorched Earth | 22 200 | -18% | Alaska, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, Utah |
| Alone in the Dark | 18 100 | +83% | Kentucky, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Arkansas, Ohio |
| Cannon Fodder | 18 100 | -70% | Hawaii, Washington, California, Utah, Minnesota |
| Unreal Tournament | 18 100 | +22% | Oregon, Washington, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas |
| Blackthorne | 14 800 | -18% | Pennsylvania, New York , Vermont, Indiana, Virginia |
| Grim Fandango | 14 800 | 0% | Oregon, DC, Utah, Washington, New Hampshire |
| Another World | 12 100 | -33% | Alaska,Hawaii,North Dakota, Arizona, Arkansas |
| Eye of the Beholder | 12 100 | 0% | Maryland, Nevada, Idaho, New Jersey, Arizona |
| * combined searches for Tomb Raider and Lara Croft | |||