Best games
Best games of 1990
The 8 best games released in 1990, ranked from 3,307 critic and player ratings.
The best 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 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: 1990.
- 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 3,307 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 8
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
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
03
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
This version includes two new levels (the first part of Scene 3 and all of Scene 6), which feature new enemy characters, including two new bosses: Tora (a dog-like "blizzard beast") and Shogun (a robotic samurai), both characters created for the game. Most of the original stages from the arcade version were extended as well and the second half of Scene 3, the parking garage stage, replaces the arcade version's end battle with Bebop and Rocksteady with a battle against the mutated fly form of Baxter Stockman.
80
/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
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
03
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game
This version includes two new levels (the first part of Scene 3 and all of Scene 6), which feature new enemy characters, including two new bosses: Tora (a dog-like "blizzard beast") and Shogun (a robotic samurai), both characters created for the game. Most of the original stages from the arcade version were extended as well and the second half of Scene 3, the parking garage stage, replaces the arcade version's end battle with Bebop and Rocksteady with a battle against the mutated fly form of Baxter Stockman.
80
/100
04
Mega Man 3 (1990)
It's robot rebellion, and nobody's safe! Least of all, Mega Man! This time the superpowerful cyborg takes on a horde of metal maniacs who've had it with being obedient! And they use every android-annihilator ever invented to make you believe it! Mega Man goes berserk, blasting through a galaxy of mining stations in search of energy crystals. But it takes more than guts to battle the phenomenal robot masters who control these worlds. It's a wrenching job, the worst - and the best - that Mega Man's faced so far!
79
/100
05
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
06
Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is a falling block tile-matching video game, in which Mario assumes the role of a doctor, dropping two-colored medical capsules into a medicine bottle representing the playing field. This area is populated by viruses of three colors: red, yellow, and blue. In a manner and style considered similar to Tetris, the player manipulates each capsule as it falls, moving it left or right and rotating it such that it is positioned alongside the viruses and any existing capsules. When four or more capsule halves or viruses of matching color are aligned in vertical or horizontal configurations, they are removed from play. The main objective is to complete levels, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck.
72
/100
07
Microsoft Minesweeper
Microsoft Minesweeper (formerly just Minesweeper, and also known as Flower Field) is a minesweeper-type video game created by Curt Johnson, originally for IBM's OS/2, that was ported to Microsoft Windows by Robert Donner, both Microsoft employees at the time.
69
/100
08
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
Savage Empire is Origin's first "Worlds of Ultima" release. It was made using basically the same engine as Ultima VI but with slightly different graphics. The game contains all of the elements of the other Ultimas, as well as some extra features that add to the experience. You are able to interact with the environment in a realistic manner... picking branches from trees, digging clay from a riverbank etc. Savage Empire also has a lot more character interaction than the previous Ultimas. Characters will jump into conversations whenever they feel they have something pertinent to add.
64
/100
Mega Man 3 (1990)
It's robot rebellion, and nobody's safe! Least of all, Mega Man! This time the superpowerful cyborg takes on a horde of metal maniacs who've had it with being obedient! And they use every android-annihilator ever invented to make you believe it! Mega Man goes berserk, blasting through a galaxy of mining stations in search of energy crystals. But it takes more than guts to battle the phenomenal robot masters who control these worlds. It's a wrenching job, the worst - and the best - that Mega Man's faced so far!
79
/100
05
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
06
Dr. Mario
Dr. Mario is a falling block tile-matching video game, in which Mario assumes the role of a doctor, dropping two-colored medical capsules into a medicine bottle representing the playing field. This area is populated by viruses of three colors: red, yellow, and blue. In a manner and style considered similar to Tetris, the player manipulates each capsule as it falls, moving it left or right and rotating it such that it is positioned alongside the viruses and any existing capsules. When four or more capsule halves or viruses of matching color are aligned in vertical or horizontal configurations, they are removed from play. The main objective is to complete levels, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck.
72
/100
07
Microsoft Minesweeper
Microsoft Minesweeper (formerly just Minesweeper, and also known as Flower Field) is a minesweeper-type video game created by Curt Johnson, originally for IBM's OS/2, that was ported to Microsoft Windows by Robert Donner, both Microsoft employees at the time.
69
/100
08
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
Savage Empire is Origin's first "Worlds of Ultima" release. It was made using basically the same engine as Ultima VI but with slightly different graphics. The game contains all of the elements of the other Ultimas, as well as some extra features that add to the experience. You are able to interact with the environment in a realistic manner... picking branches from trees, digging clay from a riverbank etc. Savage Empire also has a lot more character interaction than the previous Ultimas. Characters will jump into conversations whenever they feel they have something pertinent to add.
64
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best 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.