51 Retro Games to Play Online Free, With Optional Cheats

Fifty-one classic games from 1981 to 1999 run free in your browser on Yes This Game, from Donkey Kong, Galaga and Super Mario Bros. to Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter Alpha 3, The King of Fighters ’98 and Metal Slug X. 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 fifty-one games at a glance

The games

Galaga (Namco, 1981)

Shoot the alien swarm, let a Boss Galaga capture your fighter and win it back for double fire. Our Galaga tips explain the dual fighter, the challenging stages and the scoring.

Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1981)

The first appearance of Mario, then called Jumpman: jump the barrels, climb the girders and save Pauline from the giant ape.

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 to see why flying fast saves fuel.

Ms. Pac-Man (Midway, 1982)

Four mazes, smarter ghosts and bouncing fruit: the sequel many players prefer. See every difference from Pac-Man.

Excitebike (Nintendo, 1984)

Motocross over jumps and mud, with a turbo that overheats the engine and a Design mode for your own tracks.

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. Our Battle City power-ups guide explains every bonus.

Bomberman (Hudson Soft, 1985)

Blow up the brick walls, catch the enemies in your blasts and find the exit door hidden in each of the 50 stages. Our Bomberman tips include the fuse time we measured: 2.7 seconds.

Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 1985)

The game that made Mario a star: eight worlds, thirty-two levels, mushrooms, fire flowers and Bowser at the end. Our guide to the Super Mario Bros. warp zones shows how to reach World 8 in eight levels.

Castlevania (Konami, 1986)

Simon Belmont whips his way through Dracula’s castle, with daggers, axes and holy water paid for in hearts.

Bubble Bobble (Taito, 1986)

Bub the bubble dragon traps monsters in bubbles and pops them into fruit, through 100 single-screen levels.

Double Dragon (Technos, 1987)

The Lee brothers fight the Black Warriors to rescue Marian, with bats, whips and knives: the game that set the pattern for the beat ’em up.

1943: The Battle of Midway (Capcom, 1987)

A P-38 against a whole fleet, with an energy bar instead of lives and the battleship Yamato at the end.

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.

Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1988)

Beat eight Robot Masters in the order you choose and win their weapons. Our Mega Man 2 boss order lists every weakness.

Tetris (Nintendo, 1989)

The NES version still played at classic Tetris championships. Clear lines, aim for a Tetris and survive the speed-ups. Our NES Tetris speed and scoring guide has the speed of every level, read from the cartridge.

Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo, 1988)

Ryu Hayabusa avenges his father in one of the fastest and hardest NES games, told in cinematic cut scenes.

Final Fight (Capcom, 1989)

Haggar, Cody and Guy punch their way through Metro City to rescue Jessica from the Mad Gear gang. One of the games that defined the arcade beat ’em up.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Konami, 1989)

Pick Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello or Raphael and chase the Foot Clan to the Technodrome to rescue April and Splinter.

DuckTales (Capcom, 1989)

Scrooge McDuck bounces on his cane through the Amazon, Transylvania, the African Mines, the Himalayas and the Moon.

Super Pang (Mitchell, 1990)

Shoot the bouncing bubbles with your harpoon until every last one has popped, in 40 Tour stages around the world or in the endless Panic mode. Also known as Super Buster Bros.

The Simpsons (Konami, 1991)

Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa chase Smithers across Springfield to rescue Maggie, with team attacks for two players.

Super C (Konami, 1990)

Contra’s sequel, with top-down stages and tougher bosses. See what changed from Contra.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Technos, 1990)

The NES sequel, with attacks to the left and right on separate buttons and the spinning cyclone kick.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, 1991)

The original: Green Hill Zone, loops, rings and six Chaos Emeralds in the Special Stages.

Tumble Pop (Data East, 1991)

Suck monsters into a vacuum gun and throw them out as rolling balls, on a tour of cities around the world.

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 has the inputs on a keyboard.

Captain Commando (Capcom, 1991)

A beat ’em up set in Metro City in the year 2026, with mechs to ride. Read what the game imagined for 2026.

Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers (Capcom, 1990)

Two chipmunks throw crates and apples at Fat Cat’s gang, one of the best two-player games on the NES.

Sunset Riders (Konami, 1991)

Four bounty hunters ride into the Wild West to collect the rewards on eight wanted outlaws, with saloons, trains and stampedes on the way.

Knights of the Round (Capcom, 1991)

Arthur, Lancelot and Perceval level up into stronger armour and weapons and ride into battle against King Garibaldi.

Warriors of Fate (Capcom, 1992)

A Three Kingdoms beat ’em up for up to three players, fought on foot and on horseback.

Prince of Persia (NES, 1992)

Escape the dungeons, avoid the traps, duel the guards and reach the princess within 60 minutes, in the console version of Jordan Mechner’s classic.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega, 1992)

Sonic and Tails race through Emerald Hill, Chemical Plant and more zones to stop Dr. Robotnik. Read how to get Super Sonic, with the ring drain we measured.

Streets of Rage 2 (Sega, 1992)

Axel, Blaze, Max and Skate fight through the city to rescue Adam, to one of the best soundtracks of the 16-bit era. Our comparison of the Streets of Rage 2 characters helps you pick a fighter.

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.

Aladdin (Virgin Games, 1993)

The Mega Drive game drawn by Disney’s own animators: scimitar, apples, the magic carpet and Jafar.

The Punisher (Capcom, 1993)

Frank Castle and Nick Fury take on the Kingpin in Capcom’s first Marvel beat ’em up, with grenades and guns.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Capcom, 1993)

A side-scrolling brawler with four heroes, dinosaurs, guns and a Cadillac to drive. Read our guide to Mustapha, the favourite character of many players.

Streets of Rage 3 (Sega, 1994)

Axel, Blaze, Skate and Dr. Zan against Mr. X’s robots, with running, rolls, weapon moves and four endings.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega, 1994)

Sonic and Tails land on Angel Island, meet Knuckles and collect the new fire, bubble and lightning shields. The first half of the story that Sonic & Knuckles completes.

Sonic & Knuckles (Sega, 1994)

Sonic or Knuckles race through the zones of the final part of the Sonic 3 story. Our Sonic 3 vs Sonic & Knuckles article explains how the two fit together.

Mortal Kombat II (Mega Drive, 1994)

Twelve fighters, fatalities, friendships and babalities in the faithful Mega Drive version. Our Mortal Kombat II moves list has the special moves we tested and the damage they do.

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 cover the weapons and the timer.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (Capcom, 1996)

A beat ’em up with a role-playing game inside: six heroes, spells, items, branching paths and a red dragon.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Mega Drive, 1996)

The fullest version of Mortal Kombat 3, with more than twenty fighters, towers of opponents and the famous finishing moves, played with the six-button pad layout.

The King of Fighters ’97 (SNK, 1997)

The end of the Orochi story, with the Advanced and Extra fighting systems that KOF ’98 kept.

Metal Slug 2 (SNK, 1998)

Eri and Fio join Marco and Tarma, with mummies, aliens and the Camel Slug. See how it differs from Metal Slug X.

The King of Fighters ’98 (SNK, 1998)

The dream match: 38 fighters in teams of three, Advanced and Extra modes, and Omega Rugal at the end. Our KOF ’98 characters guide lists every team.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Capcom, 1998)

The biggest Alpha game, with three fighting styles. Our guide explains X-ism, A-ism and V-ism.

Metal Slug X (SNK, 1999)

The faster, reworked Metal Slug 2 that many players call the best of the series, with four soldiers and six missions.

From 4 KB to 86 MB

The size of the original game data shows how fast games grew in those eighteen years. River Raid’s whole river, enemies and sound fit in 4 KB, and Super Mario Bros. needs only 40 KB for all thirty-two levels. The King of Fighters ’98, with its 38 hand-drawn fighters, needs about 86 MB of chips on its Neo Geo board, more than twenty thousand times as much as River Raid.

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 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 (Excitebike, Battle City, Bomberman, Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, Contra, Mega Man 2, Ninja Gaiden, Tetris, DuckTales, Super C, Chip ‘n Dale, Double Dragon II, Prince of Persia): press Start (Enter) on the title screen.
• Mega Drive (Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Streets of Rage 2, Snow Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic & Knuckles, Aladdin, Streets of Rage 3, Mortal Kombat II, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3): press Start (Enter).
• Arcade and Neo Geo (Galaga, Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, Bubble Bobble, 1943, Tumble Pop, Warriors of Fate, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Double Dragon, Final Fight, TMNT, Super Pang, Street Fighter II, Sunset Riders, The Simpsons, Captain Commando, Knights of the Round, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Punisher, Street Hoop, Metal Slug, The King of Fighters ’97, Metal Slug 2, The King of Fighters ’98, Metal Slug X): insert a coin with V (Coin on a phone), then press Start. Wait a moment 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 explains what each switch changes inside the game.