Best games
Best Adventure games of 1990
The 12 best Adventure games released in 1990, ranked from 3,168 critic and player ratings.
The best Adventure game of 1990 is Super Mario World, with a critic score of 100/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1990.
- 12 games are listed on this page, carrying 3,168 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 12
01
Super Mario World
A 2D platformer and first entry on the SNES in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario World follows Mario as he attempts to defeat Bowser's underlings and rescue Princess Peach from his clutches. The game features a save system, a less linear world map, an expanded movement arsenal and numerous new items for Mario, alongside new approaches to level design and art direction.
100
/100
02
Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder is an all 3-D, Legend Series computer role-playing adventure based on the popular Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules and on an original story created for this game . The action takes place in the sewers and catacombs beneath the City of Waterdeep located in TSR's Forgotten Realms game world.
82
/100
03
Super C
The alien Red Falcon is back, and planning on taking over the planet Earth.
82
/100
Super Mario World
A 2D platformer and first entry on the SNES in the Super Mario franchise, Super Mario World follows Mario as he attempts to defeat Bowser's underlings and rescue Princess Peach from his clutches. The game features a save system, a less linear world map, an expanded movement arsenal and numerous new items for Mario, alongside new approaches to level design and art direction.
100
/100
02
Eye of the Beholder
Eye of the Beholder is an all 3-D, Legend Series computer role-playing adventure based on the popular Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules and on an original story created for this game . The action takes place in the sewers and catacombs beneath the City of Waterdeep located in TSR's Forgotten Realms game world.
82
/100
03
Super C
The alien Red Falcon is back, and planning on taking over the planet Earth.
82
/100
04
The Secret of Monkey Island
I cursed my luck again as I slid down the monkey's throat. Have my dreams of guzzling grog and plundering galleons been reduced to this? "Three small trials and you're a pirate like us," they said. Fair enough. If only I could stomach the foul brew these scurvy seadogs swilled, the rest would be easy. How could I have known I'd meet a powerful and beautiful woman with a jealous suitor too stupid to realize he'd been dead for years? And how can I crawl through this great stone monkey to find a man who walks three inches above the ground and sets fire to his beard every morning? Do business with quaint and humble shopkeepers. Participate in complex and meaningful dialogues. Visit interesting places and steal stuff. Experience the never-ending nightlife of Melee Island.
80
/100
05
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is an action-adventure stealth video game created and published by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform. Acting as a direct continuation of the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear, it was written and designed by the series' creator, Hideo Kojima. Kojima's inspiration for this game arose as a response to the development of Snake's Revenge, a separate sequel being produced simultaneously for the NES, intended primarily for the North American and European markets.
80
/100
06
Prince of Persia
The DOS port of Prince of Persia. Prince of Persia is a cinematic platform game originally developed and published by Broderbund for the Apple II in 1989. Taking place in medieval Persia, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess. Ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release, it is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer, inspiring many games in this subgenre.
82
/100
07
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers is a platformer video game developed and published by Capcom based on the Disney animated series of the same name. Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan and North America in 1990, it came to Europe the next year, and was ported to the Nintendo PlayChoice-10 arcade system. It sold approximately 1.2 million copies worldwide.
79
/100
08
LOOM
Long after the passing of the Second Shadow, when dragons ruled the twilight sky and the stars were bright and numerous, came the Age of the Great Guilds. Blacksmiths. Shepherds. Clerics. Each dedicated to the absolute control of secret knowledge. Another such Guild was the Weavers. Over the centuries, their craft transcended the limits of physical cloth, until they wove the very fabric of reality itself. Now, a strange power has swept the Weavers into oblivion, leaving behind one Weaver boy to unravel the mystery. Help young Bobbin rescue his Guild...and you just might save the universe from an unspeakable catastrophe.
79
/100
09
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder is an adventure game in the long-running King's Quest series. Players control King Graham as he embarks on a quest to rescue the Royal Family of Daventry, who have mysteriously disappeared. The game takes place in a fantasy world filled with magic and peril, where Graham must overcome obstacles and solve puzzles to progress. As the fifth installment in the series created by Roberta Williams, King's Quest V builds upon the graphical adventure game format that Williams pioneered, combining text and visuals to create an immersive storytelling experience. The game continues the legacy of the King's Quest series, which had become a popular and influential franchise in the computer gaming industry by the time of its release.
74
/100
10
Final Fantasy III (1990)
Final Fantasy III is the third FF game for the Famicom. The turn-based battle engine has been improved: if the enemy is defeated, the next character will automatically switch to another enemy, and not hit the air, like in the previous two games. The game itself is, like the previous games, a top-down RPG where your characters travel in the overworld, sometimes entering cities and dungeons to buy equipment, rest and fight random encounters and bosses with turn-based combat. Final Fantasy III also introduces various series staples, such as the Job system and the Moogle species.
70
/100
11
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
64
/100
12
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
60
/100
The Secret of Monkey Island
I cursed my luck again as I slid down the monkey's throat. Have my dreams of guzzling grog and plundering galleons been reduced to this? "Three small trials and you're a pirate like us," they said. Fair enough. If only I could stomach the foul brew these scurvy seadogs swilled, the rest would be easy. How could I have known I'd meet a powerful and beautiful woman with a jealous suitor too stupid to realize he'd been dead for years? And how can I crawl through this great stone monkey to find a man who walks three inches above the ground and sets fire to his beard every morning? Do business with quaint and humble shopkeepers. Participate in complex and meaningful dialogues. Visit interesting places and steal stuff. Experience the never-ending nightlife of Melee Island.
80
/100
05
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake is an action-adventure stealth video game created and published by Konami for the MSX2 computer platform. Acting as a direct continuation of the MSX2 version of the original Metal Gear, it was written and designed by the series' creator, Hideo Kojima. Kojima's inspiration for this game arose as a response to the development of Snake's Revenge, a separate sequel being produced simultaneously for the NES, intended primarily for the North American and European markets.
80
/100
06
Prince of Persia
The DOS port of Prince of Persia. Prince of Persia is a cinematic platform game originally developed and published by Broderbund for the Apple II in 1989. Taking place in medieval Persia, players control an unnamed protagonist who must venture through a series of dungeons to defeat the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar and save an imprisoned princess. Ported to a wide range of platforms after the original Apple II release, it is believed to have been the first cinematic platformer, inspiring many games in this subgenre.
82
/100
07
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers is a platformer video game developed and published by Capcom based on the Disney animated series of the same name. Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan and North America in 1990, it came to Europe the next year, and was ported to the Nintendo PlayChoice-10 arcade system. It sold approximately 1.2 million copies worldwide.
79
/100
08
LOOM
Long after the passing of the Second Shadow, when dragons ruled the twilight sky and the stars were bright and numerous, came the Age of the Great Guilds. Blacksmiths. Shepherds. Clerics. Each dedicated to the absolute control of secret knowledge. Another such Guild was the Weavers. Over the centuries, their craft transcended the limits of physical cloth, until they wove the very fabric of reality itself. Now, a strange power has swept the Weavers into oblivion, leaving behind one Weaver boy to unravel the mystery. Help young Bobbin rescue his Guild...and you just might save the universe from an unspeakable catastrophe.
79
/100
09
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder is an adventure game in the long-running King's Quest series. Players control King Graham as he embarks on a quest to rescue the Royal Family of Daventry, who have mysteriously disappeared. The game takes place in a fantasy world filled with magic and peril, where Graham must overcome obstacles and solve puzzles to progress. As the fifth installment in the series created by Roberta Williams, King's Quest V builds upon the graphical adventure game format that Williams pioneered, combining text and visuals to create an immersive storytelling experience. The game continues the legacy of the King's Quest series, which had become a popular and influential franchise in the computer gaming industry by the time of its release.
74
/100
10
Final Fantasy III (1990)
Final Fantasy III is the third FF game for the Famicom. The turn-based battle engine has been improved: if the enemy is defeated, the next character will automatically switch to another enemy, and not hit the air, like in the previous two games. The game itself is, like the previous games, a top-down RPG where your characters travel in the overworld, sometimes entering cities and dungeons to buy equipment, rest and fight random encounters and bosses with turn-based combat. Final Fantasy III also introduces various series staples, such as the Job system and the Moogle species.
70
/100
11
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
64
/100
12
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Adventure game of 1990?
Super Mario World currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 1,964 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.