Best games
Best Adventure games of 1991
The 9 best Adventure games released in 1991, ranked from 3,080 critic and player ratings.
The best Adventure game of 1991 is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, 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 80 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: 1991.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 3,080 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 9
01
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Venture back to Hyrule and an age of magic and heroes. The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom. Only you can prevent his evil plot from shattering the land of Hyrule. In your quest, you'll venture into twisting mazes, dungeons, palaces and shadowy forests. Test your mettle with mighty swords and magical weapons. Or heft a boulder and hurl it at your enemies. If the going gets tough, dive into a river - you can swim to escape! Learn powerful spells, locate magical artifacts and solve the mysteries of the evil magician and the hidden realm of Hyrule.
100
/100
02
Super Castlevania IV
A century of Transylvanian tranquility is about to come to a shocking end. Once again the mortifying screams of helpless villagers shake the ground as they huddle against new nightmarish horrors unleashed by the Duke of Darkness, Count Dracula. And this time he has a tombstone with your name on it, Simon Belmont. You must descend into Castle of the Undead and its gruesome ground, accompanied by the most chilling sound effects to ever tingle your spine. Inside, a freshly dug 11 levels maze features the treacherous Terrace of Terror, the dangerous Rotating Dungeon, the Sunken Ruins of Lost Spirits, torture chambers and creature filled caves. Use your whip like a grappling hook and swing past hundreds of traps and a host of ghost freaks, living corpses and hidden goblins. All while dodging or destroying the unpredictable spitting lizards, carnivorous coffins, and more. Find the concealed weapons needed to defeat everything from eerie phantoms to haunted furniture. Then prepare to find yourself face-to-thing with hideous torments like the Tongue Lasher, the Darkest Knight, the Bone-Afide Horseman and the Granite Crusher. When your nerves get shot, use your password and take a breather. But forge on, Simon Belmont, because if you though Dracula was down for the count, he's only just begun to fright!
100
/100
03
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood, and the now zombie pirate LeChuck, return in what has long been considered one of the greatest LucasArts adventure games of all time. Having seemingly defeated the evil ghost pirate LeChuck in his first adventure, Guybrush Threepwood sets his sights on the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. But wait, LeChuck is now back in zombie form and he's out for revenge. Guybrush will have to use his wits, his humor and his insatiable desire for adventure to defeat his nemesis once and for all and truly prove himself the greatest pirate in the Caribbean. Voodoo dolls, spitting contests and amusement parks are just some of the challenges Guybrush must overcome as he meets old friends, fights new enemies and uses every ounce of his mojo to overcome the wrath of LeChuck's revenge.
88
/100
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Venture back to Hyrule and an age of magic and heroes. The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom. Only you can prevent his evil plot from shattering the land of Hyrule. In your quest, you'll venture into twisting mazes, dungeons, palaces and shadowy forests. Test your mettle with mighty swords and magical weapons. Or heft a boulder and hurl it at your enemies. If the going gets tough, dive into a river - you can swim to escape! Learn powerful spells, locate magical artifacts and solve the mysteries of the evil magician and the hidden realm of Hyrule.
100
/100
02
Super Castlevania IV
A century of Transylvanian tranquility is about to come to a shocking end. Once again the mortifying screams of helpless villagers shake the ground as they huddle against new nightmarish horrors unleashed by the Duke of Darkness, Count Dracula. And this time he has a tombstone with your name on it, Simon Belmont. You must descend into Castle of the Undead and its gruesome ground, accompanied by the most chilling sound effects to ever tingle your spine. Inside, a freshly dug 11 levels maze features the treacherous Terrace of Terror, the dangerous Rotating Dungeon, the Sunken Ruins of Lost Spirits, torture chambers and creature filled caves. Use your whip like a grappling hook and swing past hundreds of traps and a host of ghost freaks, living corpses and hidden goblins. All while dodging or destroying the unpredictable spitting lizards, carnivorous coffins, and more. Find the concealed weapons needed to defeat everything from eerie phantoms to haunted furniture. Then prepare to find yourself face-to-thing with hideous torments like the Tongue Lasher, the Darkest Knight, the Bone-Afide Horseman and the Granite Crusher. When your nerves get shot, use your password and take a breather. But forge on, Simon Belmont, because if you though Dracula was down for the count, he's only just begun to fright!
100
/100
03
Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
Wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood, and the now zombie pirate LeChuck, return in what has long been considered one of the greatest LucasArts adventure games of all time. Having seemingly defeated the evil ghost pirate LeChuck in his first adventure, Guybrush Threepwood sets his sights on the legendary treasure of Big Whoop. But wait, LeChuck is now back in zombie form and he's out for revenge. Guybrush will have to use his wits, his humor and his insatiable desire for adventure to defeat his nemesis once and for all and truly prove himself the greatest pirate in the Caribbean. Voodoo dolls, spitting contests and amusement parks are just some of the challenges Guybrush must overcome as he meets old friends, fights new enemies and uses every ounce of his mojo to overcome the wrath of LeChuck's revenge.
88
/100
04
Out of This World
Out of This World (Another World in Europe) is a cinematic platformer that uses vector-based graphics and rotoscoped animations to deliver a minimalistic yet expressive visual style. It features a combination of action, platforming, and puzzle-solving mechanics, with a deliberate lack of HUD and textual guidance. Gameplay emphasizes trial-and-error, timing, and exploration, with a limited checkpoint system. In 2005, a homebrew port of the Atari ST version was released for the Game Boy Advance, officially allowed by Éric Chahi to be published with the original assets.
84
/100
05
Final Fantasy IV (1991)
FINAL FANTASY IV is the fourth main installment in the FINAL FANTASY series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It was released in July 1991 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan, and released as FINAL FANTASY II in North America in October 1991 with alterations made due to Nintendo of America's guidelines at the time.
80
/100
06
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up. The game features play mechanics similar to the previous game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, but it is an original title for the NES without any preceding arcade version.
79
/100
07
Final Fantasy II
The fourth entry in the Final Fantasy series was released as Final Fantasy II in the West, because the second and the third games were not released there at the time. The game is a Japanese-style RPG with top-down world map navigation, automatic leveling up, and random enemy encounters.
70
/100
08
Metroid II: Return of Samus
A Sinister Planet Threatens the Galaxy! Battle through a sprawling underworld, seeking out every last Metroid, and build up your arsenal by discovering mysterious artefacts. Enjoy new abilities like the Spider Ball, and powerful new weapons like the Plasma Beam, as you attempt to eradicate the Metroids once and for all.
60
/100
09
Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
I write these words aboard a colossal bullet rocketing from the Earth to Mars. Wondrous as this is (and it is, I assure you, quite wondrous), I am even more amazed by the fact that it is the year 1895! Tesla - yes, the noted scientist of years past, Nikola Tesla! -- is unsure how long the voyage will take so I have decided to pass the time recording what mankind (circa 1895) knows of our destination - Mars. How I came by this information is a story in itself.
55
/100
Out of This World
Out of This World (Another World in Europe) is a cinematic platformer that uses vector-based graphics and rotoscoped animations to deliver a minimalistic yet expressive visual style. It features a combination of action, platforming, and puzzle-solving mechanics, with a deliberate lack of HUD and textual guidance. Gameplay emphasizes trial-and-error, timing, and exploration, with a limited checkpoint system. In 2005, a homebrew port of the Atari ST version was released for the Game Boy Advance, officially allowed by Éric Chahi to be published with the original assets.
84
/100
05
Final Fantasy IV (1991)
FINAL FANTASY IV is the fourth main installment in the FINAL FANTASY series, developed and published by Squaresoft. It was released in July 1991 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in Japan, and released as FINAL FANTASY II in North America in October 1991 with alterations made due to Nintendo of America's guidelines at the time.
80
/100
06
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up. The game features play mechanics similar to the previous game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game, but it is an original title for the NES without any preceding arcade version.
79
/100
07
Final Fantasy II
The fourth entry in the Final Fantasy series was released as Final Fantasy II in the West, because the second and the third games were not released there at the time. The game is a Japanese-style RPG with top-down world map navigation, automatic leveling up, and random enemy encounters.
70
/100
08
Metroid II: Return of Samus
A Sinister Planet Threatens the Galaxy! Battle through a sprawling underworld, seeking out every last Metroid, and build up your arsenal by discovering mysterious artefacts. Enjoy new abilities like the Spider Ball, and powerful new weapons like the Plasma Beam, as you attempt to eradicate the Metroids once and for all.
60
/100
09
Ultima Worlds of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams
I write these words aboard a colossal bullet rocketing from the Earth to Mars. Wondrous as this is (and it is, I assure you, quite wondrous), I am even more amazed by the fact that it is the year 1895! Tesla - yes, the noted scientist of years past, Nikola Tesla! -- is unsure how long the voyage will take so I have decided to pass the time recording what mankind (circa 1895) knows of our destination - Mars. How I came by this information is a story in itself.
55
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Adventure game of 1991?
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 1,667 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.