There has never been a better time to go back. Between Nintendo Switch Online, PlayStation Plus Premium and Xbox’s backward compatibility catalogue, a huge chunk of gaming history is available right now for a monthly subscription. And if you’d rather hold the cartridge in your hand, the second-hand market is thriving — you just need to know where to look and what to pay.
This guide covers both. The best retro console games worth your time in 2026, whether you’re going digital or going physical.
Playing It Digital
Subscriptions have quietly become the best retro gaming deal going. Three platforms now give you access to enormous back catalogues — here’s what each one offers.
Nintendo Switch Online
The gold standard for retro gaming subscriptions. The basic tier (around £17.99/year) gives you access to NES and SNES libraries. Upgrade to the Expansion Pack (around £34.99/year) and you unlock N64, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Color titles. The N64 library in particular has improved significantly — GoldenEye 007 is in there, it still holds up better than you’d expect, and the SNES library alone arguably justifies the basic subscription cost.
Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter II Turbo, F-Zero — these aren’t museum pieces. They’re genuinely great games, and you can be playing them in minutes.
PlayStation Plus Premium
The top tier of PS Plus (around £13.49/month or £99.99/year) includes a Classics catalogue covering PS1, PS2, PSP and PS4 titles. The PS1 library is the highlight — Ape Escape, Tekken 2, Wild Arms, Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee. Sony has been steadily expanding it, though the overall catalogue remains thinner than Switch Online’s.
Worth knowing: some PS1 titles stream rather than download, and older games can look rough on a modern TV. That’s not a dealbreaker — it’s just honest. The games themselves are as good as they ever were.
Xbox Backward Compatibility
Xbox’s backward compatibility library is vast and underrated. If you own original Xbox or Xbox 360 discs, a huge number of them simply work in a modern Xbox — no subscription needed. Game Pass adds a rotating catalogue that occasionally includes older titles. If you have old Xbox 360 discs gathering dust in a cupboard somewhere, they’re genuinely worth digging out.
Going Physical — What to Know
There’s something about holding the original cartridge or disc that digital just doesn’t replicate. The physical market is healthy in 2026, but prices have risen sharply on anything considered collectible. Here’s how to approach it.
Where to Buy
CEX uses a clear grading system, tests items before sale, and prices are reasonable for common titles. Good starting point if you want confidence in what you’re buying.
eBay offers the widest selection and the best prices if you’re patient. Always check completed listings (filter by Sold) to see what something actually sold for — not just what sellers hope to get.
Car boot sales and charity shops are increasingly rare for cartridge-era games, but PS2, GameCube, and original Xbox discs still surface regularly. Go early. It’s still possible to find something genuinely valuable for next to nothing.
Retro specialist shops exist in most cities now. Prices are often higher than eBay, but you can handle the item first and the staff knowledge is usually excellent. Worth visiting for the experience if nothing else.
Complete In Box vs Loose
Loose cartridges — no box, no manual — are significantly cheaper than complete-in-box copies. For playing, loose is fine. The game is identical. For collecting, complete-in-box matters and commands a serious premium, especially on rarer titles. Know which you’re buying for before you spend.
Watch Out for Reproductions
Fake cartridges exist, particularly for SNES, NES, and GBA titles. Signs to watch for: label printing that looks slightly off, screws that don’t match the era, boards inside that look too new. For expensive purchases, it’s worth opening the cartridge to check. CEX tests its stock, which is one reason its prices carry a small premium — you’re partly paying for that peace of mind.
Our Picks — The Games Worth Your Time
Across every platform and every era, these are the titles we’d point anyone to first.
Super Mario World — SNES
The launch title that defined the SNES. Tight controls, brilliant level design, and a world map that made exploration feel rewarding rather than obligatory. Available on Switch Online, and loose SNES cartridges are still affordable. If you’re only going to play one SNES game, make it this one.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (SNES library)
Streets of Rage 2 — Mega Drive
Still the benchmark for side-scrolling beat ’em ups. Two-player co-op, a legendary soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, and combat that never gets old. Available via Switch Online’s Mega Drive library and dirt cheap as a loose cartridge. One of those games that reveals itself as genuinely well-designed the more you play it.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (Mega Drive library) / Physical (Mega Drive)
Donkey Kong Country 2 — SNES
Arguably better than the first. More ambitious levels, a darker aesthetic, and a soundtrack that David Wise somehow made sound better than the hardware had any right to produce. The whole trilogy is on Switch Online — start here.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (SNES library)
Tekken 3 — PS1
The one that made Tekken. The roster, the movement, the feel of it — Tekken 3 is still enormously playable in a way that few fighting games from that era manage. PS1 discs are widely available and cheap. PS Plus Premium also has Tekken titles in its classics catalogue.
Available on: Physical (PS1) / Check PS Plus Premium catalogue
GoldenEye 007 — N64
Yes, it controls awkwardly by modern standards. No, that doesn’t matter. GoldenEye is a piece of gaming history and the multiplayer still works as a social experience in a way that most modern shooters don’t. Available on Switch Online’s N64 library — no excuse not to revisit it.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (N64 library) / Physical (N64)
Crash Bandicoot — PS1
The Crash trilogy remaster exists and is excellent, but there’s something to be said for the original. It’s harder, less forgiving, and more satisfying when it clicks. Physical PS1 copies are still readily available and cheap. One of the PS1’s defining exclusives.
Available on: Physical (PS1)
Super Metroid — SNES
The game that effectively created the Metroidvania genre, even though that name wouldn’t exist for another decade. Atmospheric, lonely, and brilliantly designed — it rewards patience and exploration in a way that feels genuinely ahead of its time. On Switch Online and worth every minute.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (SNES library)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 — Mega Drive
The sequel that perfected the formula. Chemical Plant Zone, Casino Night, the introduction of Tails, and a two-player split-screen mode that was genuinely exciting in 1992. Available on Switch Online’s Mega Drive library and widely available as a loose cartridge for next to nothing.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (Mega Drive library) / Physical (Mega Drive)
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past — SNES
Quite possibly the best top-down Zelda ever made. The dual-world mechanic, the dungeon design, the sense of discovery — it’s all still there and still works. If you’ve never played it, Switch Online. If you have played it, Switch Online again.
Available on: Nintendo Switch Online (SNES library)
Ape Escape — PS1
The first game to require the DualShock analogue sticks — and it used them brilliantly. Chasing monkeys across time with an expanding gadget set sounds absurd. It is absurd. It’s also one of the most creative platformers of its generation and criminally underrated. Worth hunting down.
Available on: PlayStation Plus Premium (Classics catalogue) / Physical (PS1)
Where to Check Prices Before You Buy
If you’re buying physical, PriceCharting.com is the best free resource available. It tracks actual sold prices from eBay across thousands of games and consoles, so you know what something is genuinely worth before you hand over any money. Always worth a two-minute check before buying at a market or car boot.
Looking for hardware to play these on? Check out our guides to Best Retro Gaming Controllers 2026 and Best Arcade Sticks 2026. Or if you want to build the full retro setup, our Bartop Arcade Cabinet Build Guide covers everything you need.