# 9 Retro Games to Play Online Free, With Optional Cheats

> Nine classic games from 1982 to 1996 that run free in your browser: River Raid, Battle City, Contra, Street Fighter II, Metal Slug and more, each with cheats.

- Source: https://yesthisgame.com/blog/best-retro-games-online/
- Published: 2026-10-19, updated: 2026-10-19
- Author: Yes This Game (the team that makes the games on the site)

## Key takeaways

- Nine classics from 1982 to 1996 run free in the browser, from five machines: Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive, arcade and Neo Geo.
- The original game data ranges from 4 KB (River Raid) to about 26 MB (Metal Slug).
- Arcade and Neo Geo games need a coin (V) before Start; the others start with Start (Enter), River Raid with Reset.
- Every game has optional cheats behind the magic wand button, and starts exactly as it was released.

**Nine classic games from 1982 to 1996 run free in your browser on Yes This Game: River Raid, Battle City, Contra, Street Fighter II, Snow Bros, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Sonic & Knuckles, Street Hoop and Metal Slug. Every one of them also has optional cheats, behind the magic wand button next to full screen.** They come from five different machines, and the original game data ranges from 4 KB to about 26 MB. Here is what makes each one worth playing, how to start, and what its cheats do.

## The nine games at a glance

*Retro games on Yes This Game*

| Game | Year | Machine | Type | Cheats |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [River Raid](https://yesthisgame.com/river-raid/) | 1982 | Atari 2600 | Shooter | Unlimited fuel, unlimited lives |
| [Battle City](https://yesthisgame.com/battle-city/) | 1985 | NES (Famicom) | Tank shooter | Unlimited lives, strongest tank, invincible, freeze enemies |
| [Contra](https://yesthisgame.com/contra/) | 1988 | NES | Run and gun | Unlimited lives, super weapon |
| [Street Fighter II](https://yesthisgame.com/street-fighter-2/) | 1991 | Arcade | Fighting | Infinite time, invincible, weak opponent |
| [Snow Bros](https://yesthisgame.com/snow-bros/) | 1993 | Mega Drive | Platformer | Unlimited lives, all powers, invincible |
| [Cadillacs and Dinosaurs](https://yesthisgame.com/cadillacs-and-dinosaurs-arcade/) | 1993 | Arcade | Beat 'em up | Unlimited lives, unlimited energy, invincible |
| [Sonic & Knuckles](https://yesthisgame.com/sonic-and-knuckles/) | 1994 | Mega Drive | Platformer | Unlimited lives, unlimited rings, super form |
| [Street Hoop](https://yesthisgame.com/street-hoop/) | 1994 | Neo Geo | Basketball | Infinite time, super shot always ready, opponent can't score |
| [Metal Slug](https://yesthisgame.com/metal-slug/) | 1996 | Neo Geo | Run and gun | Unlimited lives, unlimited bombs, invincible, infinite time |

## The games

### River Raid (Activision, 1982)

Carol Shaw's river never ends: fly your jet upstream, shoot ships, helicopters, jets and bridges, and fly over fuel depots before the tank runs dry. The whole game fits in 4 KB. Read our [River Raid tips](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/river-raid-tips/) to see why flying fast saves fuel.

### Battle City (Namco, 1985)

Drive a small tank through 35 brick and steel mazes, destroy 20 enemy tanks per stage and protect the eagle at the bottom of the screen. It also has a construction mode for your own maps. Our [Battle City power-ups guide](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/battle-city-power-ups/) explains every bonus.

### Contra (Konami, 1988)

Two commandos run, jump and shoot through eight stages, from the jungle to the alien lair. The spread gun and the Konami Code for 30 lives are part of gaming history. See our [Contra cheats and tips](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/contra-cheats/).

### Street Fighter II (Capcom, 1991)

The fighting game that started the arcade boom of the nineties: eight fighters, special moves and one-on-one rounds. Our [Street Fighter II moves list](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/street-fighter-2-moves/) has the inputs on a keyboard.

### Snow Bros (Toaplan, 1993 home version)

Throw snow at monsters until they freeze, then roll the snowballs to knock out the whole floor. Simple, colourful and great with two players.

### Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Capcom, 1993)

A side-scrolling brawler with four heroes, dinosaurs, guns and a Cadillac to drive. Read [our guide to Mustapha](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/cadillacs-and-dinosaurs-mustapha/), the favourite character of many players.

### Sonic & Knuckles (Sega, 1994)

Sonic or Knuckles race through the zones of the final part of the Sonic 3 story. Wondering how it relates to Sonic 3? Our [Sonic 3 vs Sonic & Knuckles](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/sonic-3-vs-sonic-and-knuckles/) article explains it.

### Street Hoop (Data East, 1994)

Three-on-three street basketball with fast dunks and super shots, on the Neo Geo arcade board.

### Metal Slug (SNK, 1996)

One soldier against an army: six missions of explosive, hand-drawn action, prisoners to rescue and the little Metal Slug tank to drive. Our [Metal Slug tips](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/metal-slug-tips/) cover the weapons and the timer.

## From 4 KB to 26 MB

The size of the original game data shows how fast games grew in those fourteen years. River Raid's whole river, enemies and sound fit in 4 KB. Metal Slug, with its hand-drawn animation, needs about 26 MB of chips on its arcade board, more than six thousand times as much.

![Bar chart on a log scale of original game data size: River Raid 4 KB, Battle City 24 KB, Contra 128 KB, Snow Bros 1 MB, Sonic & Knuckles 2 MB, Street Fighter II 7.3 MB, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs 7.6 MB, Street Hoop 12.3 MB, Metal Slug 26.3 MB](https://yesthisgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/retro-game-file-size-chart.png)
*Size of the original game data (all chips, unpacked) for each retro game on Yes This Game. Bars on a log scale.*

On top of the game file, your browser downloads the emulator for that machine once. When you play the same game again, almost nothing is downloaded. Our article on [playing arcade games in your browser](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/play-arcade-games-in-browser/) has the measured download sizes.

## How to start each kind of game

- **Atari 2600 (River Raid):** press Reset (Enter), then push the stick or fire to take off.
- **NES (Battle City, Contra):** press Start (Enter) on the title screen.
- **Mega Drive (Snow Bros, Sonic & Knuckles):** press Start (Enter).
- **Arcade and Neo Geo (Street Fighter II, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Street Hoop, Metal Slug):** insert a coin with V (Coin on a phone), then press Start. On the Neo Geo games, wait until the machine has finished starting up.

On a phone, an on-screen pad appears under each game. A USB or Bluetooth gamepad also works.

## The cheats

Every game above starts exactly as it was released. If you want a hand, press the **magic wand** button next to the full screen button: a small panel opens over the game, the game waits, and you switch on what you like. The cheats work for player 1, and reloading the page turns them off. Our article on [how cheat codes work](https://yesthisgame.com/blog/how-cheat-codes-work/) explains what each switch changes inside the game.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I play retro games online for free?

Yes. All nine games on this list run free in your browser on Yes This Game, with no download and no sign-up.

### Which retro games are on Yes This Game?

River Raid, Battle City, Contra, Street Fighter II, Snow Bros, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, Sonic and Knuckles, Street Hoop and Metal Slug.

### Do the retro games work on a phone?

Yes. An on-screen pad appears under each game on phones and tablets, and a USB or Bluetooth gamepad also works.

### How do I insert a coin in the arcade games?

Press V on a keyboard or the Coin button on a phone, then press Start. On the Neo Geo games wait until the machine has finished starting up.

### Do the games have cheats?

Yes, optional ones. Press the magic wand button next to the full screen button and switch on what you want, such as unlimited lives or the strongest weapon. Reloading the page turns them off.

## Games in this guide

- [Metal Slug](https://yesthisgame.com/metal-slug.md): Play Metal Slug online free: run, shoot and drive the SV-001 tank through six missions of the 1996 arcade classic. Cheats for lives and bombs. No download.
- [Contra](https://yesthisgame.com/contra.md): Play Contra online free: run, jump and shoot through eight stages of the 1988 NES classic. Cheats button for unlimited lives and the spread gun. No download.
- [Battle City](https://yesthisgame.com/battle-city.md): Play Battle City online free: drive your tank through 35 stages, destroy every enemy tank and guard your eagle base. Unlimited lives cheat. No download.
- [River Raid](https://yesthisgame.com/river-raid.md): Play River Raid online free: fly your jet up the river, shoot ships, helicopters and bridges and reach the fuel depots in time. Unlimited fuel cheat.
- [Street Fighter II](https://yesthisgame.com/street-fighter-2.md): Play Street Fighter II: The World Warrior online free, the 1991 Capcom arcade original. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile and more, unlimited coins, in your browser.
- [Snow Bros](https://yesthisgame.com/snow-bros.md): Play Snow Bros online free: Nick and Tom freeze monsters in snow and roll them away floor by floor. The Mega Drive classic in your browser, no download.