Mobile Games That Live Up to '80s Video Gaming Standards

Most of us should be aware that mobile games have eclipsed traditional console and PC-based gaming in popularity. But while there are a baffling amount of derivative strategy games like Clash of Clans, the games themselves seem to be more intent on making you pay for in-app purchases rather than actually delivering solid arcade gaming action.

But actually, there are a few mobile games that capture the spirit of retro video games. Let's take a look at some we believe truly live up to the standards of the golden age in the 1980s...

Perhaps the biggest mobile gaming hit in recent memory is Super Mario Run. It was great to see how this iconic 1980s character was successfully brought to the smartphone generation. The simple platform-based gaming fun that is so familiar, showed us that Nintendo doesn’t need to create anything too complicated to have a massive success.

Of course, we can’t mention Nintendo’s Mario without also talking about how Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog has also appeared on our mobile devices as part of the Sega Forever collection. Although Sonic barely grazed the end of the '80s decade and didn't rise in popularity until the early '90s, this cool mobile game is still retro enough to help us all overlook this minor technicality!

But it’s not just platform games that are giving mobile gamers an old-school blast from the past, as some of the biggest smartphone games have more of a strategic element. When Electronic Arts released the Tetris mobile adaptation in 2006, they couldn’t have guessed that this would continue to be the best-selling mobile game of all time a decade after it was released!

Tetris with its retro charms of classic gameplay and lurid graphics have joined other old-school titles like Zen Pinball to show how even games that existed before the 1980s can live on into the 21st century. Those who enjoy these old-school games may also enjoy gambling online at reputable casinos. Many casinos offer slots with exciting mini-games, some which are even skill based.

 

It is also interesting to see how even the pixelated aesthetics of 1980s gaming culture have been a defining characteristic of some of the biggest recent gaming hits. Minecraft’s Pocket Edition is undeniably rooted in its open-world gaming format and would be hard to imagine the gameplay without the blocky graphics that are instantly familiar to anyone who owned a home computer in the '80s.

So although our mobile games seem to be getting evermore complex, it’s nice to know that with retro characters like Mario and Sonic, some things will forever remain a little bit 1980s!

Images via Nerd Stash, Wikimedia, Flickr, Pixabay