Best games
Best Arcade games of 2003
The 9 best Arcade games released in 2003, ranked from 1,995 critic and player ratings.
The best Arcade game of 2003 is Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, with a critic score of 85/100 — 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: 2003.
- 9 games are listed on this page, carrying 1,995 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 9
01
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Mushroom Kingdom just got a whole lot more hectic as Mario and friends double up for furious kart racing. This time around, each kart holds two racers that can switch places at any time, so choose from a huge cast of favorites and pair them up any way you see fit. The character in front handles the driving duties, while the character in the rear doles out damage with six normal items and eight special items that only specific characters can use. Get ready for some intense multiplayer mayhem with your favorite characters, including Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Bowser, and Koopa.
85
/100
02
Midnight Club 2
Midnight Club II is a racing video game developed and published by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios). It is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Players can race through cities based on Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. The game also features an online multiplayer component. It is the second game in Midnight Club franchise, followed by Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition.
81
/100
03
Zuma
Survive the ancient temples of Zuma, the critically acclaimed action-puzzler from PopCap! Deep in the jungle lie hidden temples bursting with traps and trickery, and it's up to you to uncover their treasures. Fire magical balls from your stone frog idol to make matches of three or more and clear the deadly chain before it reaches the golden skull.
78
/100
Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Mushroom Kingdom just got a whole lot more hectic as Mario and friends double up for furious kart racing. This time around, each kart holds two racers that can switch places at any time, so choose from a huge cast of favorites and pair them up any way you see fit. The character in front handles the driving duties, while the character in the rear doles out damage with six normal items and eight special items that only specific characters can use. Get ready for some intense multiplayer mayhem with your favorite characters, including Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Peach, Bowser, and Koopa.
85
/100
02
Midnight Club 2
Midnight Club II is a racing video game developed and published by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios). It is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Players can race through cities based on Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. The game also features an online multiplayer component. It is the second game in Midnight Club franchise, followed by Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition.
81
/100
03
Zuma
Survive the ancient temples of Zuma, the critically acclaimed action-puzzler from PopCap! Deep in the jungle lie hidden temples bursting with traps and trickery, and it's up to you to uncover their treasures. Fire magical balls from your stone frog idol to make matches of three or more and clear the deadly chain before it reaches the golden skull.
78
/100
04
Alien Shooter
Alien Shooter is an top-down shooter video game from Sigma Team created in 2003. It is the first title in the Alien Shooter series to be followed by Alien Shooter: Vengeance. Alien Shooter has two expansions, Fight for Life and The Experiment. They each contain five new levels, including the conclusion to the alien shooter story.
72
/100
05
Neighbours from Hell: Revenge Is a Sweet Game
69
/100
06
Crimsonland
Top-down arena shooter video game with role-playing elements. It was developed by Finnish studio 10tons Entertainment and published by Reflexive Entertainment in 2003. In 2014 an enhanced re-release followed.
68
/100
07
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is set in the universe of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and features the fictional sport of Quidditch, which is characterized by the use of flying broomsticks.
68
/100
08
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes is an adventure and multiplatform video game in the Sonic The Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team and published by SEGA for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Microsoft Windows PCs. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Chaos Emeralds needed to defeat Doctor Eggman. This game differs from other Sonic games by allowing the player to take control of one of four teams, each with three characters, who each have unique abilities to use. The game received mixed reviews from critics but it performed commercially well, becoming a million-seller and making the best-selling lists for all three of its original platforms. Join Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose and Team Chaotix in a multiplatform adventure! Run, Fly, use your Power, grind, swing through 7 different levels with unique paths, fighting evil and solving puzzles for each team.
67
/100
09
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
An ancient evil lurking within the Master Emerald has been unleashed from its slumber by the devious Dr. Eggman and is on the verge of becoming the ultimate monster using the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Only Sonic and his friends are heroic enough to put a stop to Dr. Eggman and his evil minions.
57
/100
Alien Shooter
Alien Shooter is an top-down shooter video game from Sigma Team created in 2003. It is the first title in the Alien Shooter series to be followed by Alien Shooter: Vengeance. Alien Shooter has two expansions, Fight for Life and The Experiment. They each contain five new levels, including the conclusion to the alien shooter story.
72
/100
05
Neighbours from Hell: Revenge Is a Sweet Game
69
/100
06
Crimsonland
Top-down arena shooter video game with role-playing elements. It was developed by Finnish studio 10tons Entertainment and published by Reflexive Entertainment in 2003. In 2014 an enhanced re-release followed.
68
/100
07
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is set in the universe of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and features the fictional sport of Quidditch, which is characterized by the use of flying broomsticks.
68
/100
08
Sonic Heroes
Sonic Heroes is an adventure and multiplatform video game in the Sonic The Hedgehog series, developed by Sonic Team and published by SEGA for the Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Microsoft Windows PCs. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Chaos Emeralds needed to defeat Doctor Eggman. This game differs from other Sonic games by allowing the player to take control of one of four teams, each with three characters, who each have unique abilities to use. The game received mixed reviews from critics but it performed commercially well, becoming a million-seller and making the best-selling lists for all three of its original platforms. Join Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose and Team Chaotix in a multiplatform adventure! Run, Fly, use your Power, grind, swing through 7 different levels with unique paths, fighting evil and solving puzzles for each team.
67
/100
09
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
An ancient evil lurking within the Master Emerald has been unleashed from its slumber by the devious Dr. Eggman and is on the verge of becoming the ultimate monster using the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Only Sonic and his friends are heroic enough to put a stop to Dr. Eggman and his evil minions.
57
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Arcade game of 2003?
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! currently tops the ranking with a score of 85/100 across 379 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.