Best Adventure games of 2002
The 24 best Adventure games released in 2002, ranked from 11,785 critic and player ratings.
The best Adventure game of 2002 is Metroid Prime, with a critic score of 95/100 — updated août 2026.
Metroid Prime
A 3D exploration-focused metroidvania with first-person shooting mechanics and the first 3D entry in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime follows Samus Aran after the events of Metroid (1986) as she boards a Space Pirate frigate, then chases her escaping archrival Ridley into the intricately structured Tallon IV, a planet full of deadly wildlife and former home to the advanced and ancient Chozo race.
95
/100
02
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
In the year 1986, Tommy Vercetti is heavily indebted to his mafia superiors after a drug deal gone awry, but his dreams of taking over Vice City (based on Miami) push him down a different path. Featuring a wide variety of vehicles and weapons, radio stations playing hit songs from the era and an intense atmosphere, GTA: Vice City is an open-world sandbox satire of '80's Miami.
94
/100
03
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
92
/100
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
91
/100
05
A
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the first Zelda game for the Nintendo GameCube and also the first in the series to employ cel-shading, a lighting and texturing technique that results in the game having a cartoon-like appearance. Like its predecessors, The Wind Waker is an action game with puzzle-solving and light role-playing elements. Basic gameplay mechanics are similar to those found in Ocarina of Time, but it differentiates itself with its massive Great Sea which must be explored using a boat named King of Red Lions.
90
/100
06
Super Mario Sunshine
Super Mario Sunshine is a Mario action-adventure 3D platformer. It follows Super Mario 64, and is the second 3D Mario platformer. Gameplay features a combination of action and puzzle solving, with numerous stages and multiple episodes to each stage, and plenty of hidden secrets and surprises. This game introduced many recurring characters and bosses in the Mario series, including Toadsworth, Bowser Jr., Petey Piranha, Gooper Blooper, Piantas, Nokis, Shadow Mario, and F.L.U.D.D. Super Mario Sunshine pays homage to Mario's Italian heritage and upbringing, with many of the locations in the game having Italian names and sometimes referencing Italian culture.
90
/100
07
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
89
/100
08
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic returns for a second outing on the Game Boy Advance. Once again, Sonic is called upon to save the world from the evil Dr. Eggman. On this occasion, Sonic is joined by friends Tails, Knuckles and Cream the Rabbit, the latest addition to the Sonic team. Each comes with a set of unique moves, allowing you to reach certain areas through-out the levels. However, unlike Sonic Advance, you must complete the game as Sonic to unlock the other characters. Chaos Emeralds and Special Rings litter the stages. To collect the emeralds (transforming Sonic into Super Sonic for the final battle with Dr. Eggman), you must find the special rings hidden in each stage to unlock the bonus stage. Complete the bonus stage and the emerald is yours. You'll also get the chance to collect and raise chaos, and trade them over to Sonic Adventure 2: Battle on GameCube, through the use of the GBA/GC link cable.
86
/100
09
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is a stealth-platformer developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, the game follows Sly Cooper, a skilled raccoon thief, as he and his gang attempt to recover the Thievius Raccoonus, a book containing the secrets of his family's thieving legacy. The gameplay combines stealth, platforming, puzzle-solving, and light combat, and is noted for its cel-shaded visuals and humorous narrative. This game is divided into five worlds, each themed around a particular part of the world and the villain headquartered there. Most worlds are structured as a central hub with entrances to numerous individual levels. Each of the levels has a primary goals which earns the player a key. You must collect all the keys in the world to fight the world's boss. Many of the levels have a platformer structure. The objective of these worlds is to reach the location of the key. There are substantial stealth elements here as the player must dodge searchlights and trips lasers which set off alarms and avoid alerting guards. In addition to the main objective, there are clue bottles to find. Finding all the clues in a level allows you to open a safe with a page from the Thievius Raccoonus which grants a new ability of some sort. After getting this, there is also a master thief sprint where the player must get from the start of a level to the exit within a time limit.
82
/100
10
Mega Man Zero
It's your mission to help the exiled scientist Ciel discover the source of a new reploid energy! Play as Mega Man's pal Zero, the reploid from the Mega Man X series turned good by the infectious Sigma Virus and 100 years of sleep. Conquer your adversaries and find the energy source... or risk ultimate defeat. It's up to you to defend good from the destructive powers in the universe.
81
/100
11
A
Kingdom Hearts
80
/100
12
Gothic II
80
/100
13
Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
80
/100
14
Arx Fatalis
78
/100
15
Syberia
77
/100
16
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All
76
/100
17
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
74
/100
18
Enclave
71
/100
19
Metal Slug 4
64
/100
20
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
63
/100
21
Mafia
63
/100
22
Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy
61
/100
23
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
59
/100
24
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
58
/100
What is the best Adventure game of 2002?
Metroid Prime currently tops the ranking with a score of 95/100 across 869 ratings. Ranking updated août 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.