1990s Action games

26 Action classics first released 1990 to 1999, in release order, and 26 games looking back to them.

Games looking back to them

• Bare Knuckle III DX: The Director's Cut (Streets of Rage 3 ROM hack): Restores the cut Round 6 areas and deleted motorbike stages of Bare Knuckle III, in English; left unfinished.
• Fight'N Rage: Deep arcade beat-em-up made by a single Uruguayan developer.
• Final Vendetta: Side-scrolling beat-em-up in the Final Fight and Streets of Rage mold.
• Paprium: New Mega Drive beat 'em up sold as a physical cartridge only.
• Streets of Rage 2: Final Fight (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Haggar, Cody, Guy and Chun-Li take on Mr. X in Streets of Rage 2, with Akuma guarding the final boss.
• Streets of Rage 2: International Action Heroes (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): A new story seven years on: Mr. X kidnaps Adam and Axel, and Blaze recruits movie-style action heroes to rescue them.
• Streets of Rage 2: Robotnik Wars (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow brawl through a city taken over by Eggman's robots in a Sonic-themed Streets of Rage 2.
• Streets of Rage 2: Syndicate Wars (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Adds survival and CPU-partner co-op modes and 23 playable characters, including the bosses, thugs and Adam Hunter.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Re-Revenge (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Replaces every hero, enemy and boss of Streets of Rage 2 with the Turtles, their allies and the Foot Clan, with a new plot, juggling and six-button support.
• TMNT of Rage: The Final Shell Shock (Streets of Rage 2 ROM hack): Turns Streets of Rage 2 into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brawler against Mr. X's Syndicate, with Rocksteady and Bebop, a new ending from TMNT art and an optional MD+ soundtrack.
• ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove: Kickstarted revival by series creator Greg Johnson.
• OpenFodder: Open engine for Cannon Fodder 1 and 2.
• Operation: Invasion Evasion: Cannon Fodder-style game.
• Noitu Love: Freeware 16-bit-style action game from the author's site.
• Huntdown: 16-bit style co-op run-and-gun with an 80s action movie look.
• Kraut Buster: New Neo Geo AES/MVS run-and-gun cartridge sold direct from the studio's shop.
• Mercenary Kings: Kickstarted run-and-gun in the Metal Slug style.
• Carnage3D: 3D rebuild of GTA 1 playable in the browser.
• OpenGTA: Engine for the first Grand Theft Auto.
• OpenRW: Open reimplementation of the RenderWare-era GTA III.
• Blood West: Stealth immersive sim shooter set in a cursed Old West, with 90s-style sprites.
• Fallen Aces: Comic-noir immersive sim brawler with 2.5D sprites, released in episodes.
• Gloomwood: Victorian stealth game modeled on Thief, in early access.
• Hedon Bloodrite: GZDoom-based fantasy shooter grown from a Doom II mod, with Hexen-style hub levels.
• openDarkEngine: Open reimplementation of the Dark Engine.
• The Dark Mod: Free standalone stealth game recreating Thief's style, distributed from its own site.

The classics

• ActRaiser (1990)
• Battletoads (1991)
• Moonstone (1991)
• Streets of Rage (1991)
• ToeJam & Earl (1991)
• Desert Strike (1992)
• Cannon Fodder (1993)
• Dungeons & Dragons (Capcom arcade) (1993)
• Gunstar Heroes (1993)
• Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)
• Magic Carpet (1994)
• Comix Zone (1995)
• Twisted Metal (1995)
• Guardian Heroes (1996)
• Legacy of Kain (1996)
• Metal Slug (1996)
• NiGHTS into Dreams (1996)
• Armored Core (1997)
• Blast Corps (1997)
• Dynasty Warriors (1997)
• Grand Theft Auto (1997)
• Interstate '76 (1997)
• MediEvil (1998)
• Tenchu (1998)
• Thief (1998)
• Driver (1999)