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[CrazyArcadia]

Agreeing with the mentions of Rez, StarFox, MegaMan 2, Outrun 2...

As a fan of Arcade games and classic games, I tend to return to shorter, gameplay-focused experiences all the time.

I'll add Streets of Rage 2 for brawlers, Metal Slug 1,X,3 for jump n' shoot games, the OG Super Mario Bros game, Cave Shmups (especially Deathsmiles and Bug Princess). If fighting game single player modes count to that, Real Bout Fatal Fury Special & 2, Last Blade 1&2 and old Dead or Alive (2,3,4) games all the way! And shorter 8 and 16bit games in general, I return to the classics very often.

Something about just playing a game you know already, like already, still can get better at it and you know you will finish it in one sitting is really reassuring and relaxing, especially since in general games just get bigger and bigger.

 

[Psyren]

As of late:

- Streets of Fury EX
- A couple of arena-style/single screen shmups (If those are considered a valid choice)

If i still had my 360 hooked up to my monitor:

- Score Rush

 

[mdzapeer]

When the gameplay and soul is so sublime, you gotta come back for more....

Same here, the music and gameplay and tracks...sublime. Especially at 4k

 

[XxSlasherMcGirkxX]

The classic Resident Evils, Mega Man 1 - 10 and Streets of Rage Remake are almost always in rotation. Ever since I built my arcade cabinet SoR:R gets played almost every two weeks. Shovel Knight is starting to be played fairly regularly as well.

 

[KatamariOnTheRocks]

Turtles in fucking Time.

I was gonna say this, Golden Axe and The Simpsons Arcade game.

Man, I love beat 'em ups and can't wait until they become the next "indie 2d sidescroller" where everyone starts making them one day out of the blue.

I think it's a matter of the kids that grew up in the 90s entering indie development and making the types of games they enjoyed as kids, which is what happened with indies of today making "2d sidescrollers" since that's what they grew up with. It looks like 3d platformers are the next "big indie thing" which I couldn't be happier about

 

[cireza]

Final Fight CD
Panzer Dragoon Zwei
Rocket Knight Adventure
Outrun 2
After Burner Climax
House of the Dead 2
Sengoku Blade

Love those games.

 

[Gipsy Danger]

Mega Man X. I can beat it in around an hour but I love it and play it whenever I can't think of something to play.

 

[Spicypirateface]

Battleheart by Mikamoble.

An older game, but I love the simple mechanics of it. The art matches the simplicity of it all, and theres not a lot to min/max stats-wise.

Its nothing fancy, but pretty fun.

 

[Voyevoda]

My favourite game of the PS360 generation.

 

[threelights]

Hmmm...

Pac-Man, Mirror's Edge, Jet Set Radio, DMC4, Gunman Clive... And maybe a few others? I think those are the shortest ones.

 

[Bamboo]

Already mentioned:
REZ, Super Hexagon, Wario Ware Twisted

Also:
Wario Ware, Speluky ("short" depends on definition) + Monsters in my Pocket with a friend in coop

 

[Accoun]

Mostly THPS2, my favorite in the series.

 

[PillarEN]

None really. Each year I play Halo CE but I wouldn't call it short.

Oh wait. I have played Flower and Journey about a dozen times since their release so that may as well count though it has been many months since I last played them.

 

[LakeEarth]

For me...hmm...I guess Woah Dave! if that counts. It's an arcade-based score game. It's like a modern Mario Bros. it's also got free Wii U/3DS cross-buy (or maybe Wii U is free if you get 3DS first? something like that).

I really liked Woah Dave. I always thought it was a blend of Joust and Mario Bros, but with more variety. I've seen a lot of negativity towards it on these boards, but I get why people who haven't explored early 80s arcade games would get a bad first impression.

 

[RETROEX]

Mark of the Ninja... you can get 100% of achievements on your first run

...and the ending is amazing

 

[User 479360]

I Made a Game With Zombies In It

 

[Ultimadrago]

Many brawlers and fighting games. Usually arcade games. But I'll pick none of those for this thread.

Short and easy. I love playing it just to relax.

Yep. Kirby's Dreamland is a great answer.

I also used to 100% Kirby Superstar back in the day for fun. Not "super short" I guess, but short enough to complete fairly quickly.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

 

[AtomicShroom]

I just plow through them in less than 30 mins, no cheating.

Contra

Lifeforce

Castlevania

I do it once every few months just to keep my skills fresh. I can usually one-life Contra. I managed to one-life Lifeforce a couple of very rare times (damn end tubes!). No dice for Castlevania. Too easy to fall into a random hole.

 

[Billy Lee]

Golden Axe

Wonder Boy in Monster Land

 

[jeemer]

hotline miami and binding of isaac: rebirth

 

[Fancy Clown]

Classic Resident Evil games and MGS2&3. Both are beatable in a couple hours and they never get old.

 

[tintin1029]

Lone Survivor

Metro 2033 Redux

REmake and RE2

 

[GuyKazama]

Jaws. I come back to it a couple times a year. Takes maybe 15 minutes to kill the shark.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

SFIII 3rd Strike, Dodonpachi, many Sega arcade racing games (Outrunners, Virtua Racing, Top Skater etc.), Tekken 3 and 5, Metal Slug, Aladdin (Genesis version), and a few others.

 

[Intel_89]

Mega Man 2, Streets of Rage 2, Kirby's Adventure.

 

[EmilioLargo]

Journey. I completed Bloodborne only once but maybe in a few years I will add that to the list .

 

[Playsage]

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Crash Team Racing and Tekken 3.

"On Sony Playstation born and raised..."

The first is basically the game that got me in to the medium when I was child (and once you remember the levels and gimmicks it's easily beatable in under 3 hours). IMHO CTR is one of the best kart game of all time (played Sonic ASR: Transformed on PS3 and I still prefer this, haven't played MK8). Tekken is Tekken, and 3 is the best title of the series (obviously when it comes to gameplay 5/DR is the superior one)

 

[hans_castorp]

Superhexagon. It's like drug.

 

[PseudoViper]

Gauntlet (PS4)

The only most recent thing I can think of.

 

[MichaelFassbender]

Gunpoint. Gunpoint! GUNPOINT!

 

[Tom Nook]

This one:

Get the typewriter gun and enjoy the cheese over and over again. Loved it.

 

[Daknight]

Punch-out, Super Metroid and Street Fighter alpha 3 (my favorite for some reason...loved the GBA version even with its limitations!)

 

[xir]

So short, so sweet. It's such a perfectly crafted experience that I'm almost a little nervous about how the new area in Infinite will affect that (I still want to play it, of course!).

Rez. Second post nails it. The #1 game I've replayed in my adult life

 

[Vyse24]

Risk of Rain.

 

[Officer.Sanchez]

Journey, 1 hour long and I always enjoy it like the first time. It's like a coffee break.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Kirby games are like this for me. I ran through Nightmare in Dreamland on GBA literally dozens of times years ago.

 

[Concrete Charlie]

Journey

 

[Lunar15]

Platinum is really good at this. Most of their games are just short enough with enough incentive to replay them that I'm constantly going back in. They're probably the only games I replay a lot.

A Link to the Past is really the only other one. Putting that thing on the GBA was like instant crack.

 

[Violence Jack]

 

[World SkiFree]

Great topic! I love short replayable games too. I play a lot of short PC indies and NES games. NES Trojan is one of my favs but also agree with NES Punchout, Castlevania and Contra.

TMNT Hyperstone Heist and SoR2 also fit the bill for the Genesis. Completely agree that shooters and brawlers are tailor-made for quick, single player or co-op fun.

Btw, love Ikachan. Played the freeware on PC years ago. I played it more than Cave Story, just preferred the smaller scale. Recently purchased Kero Blaster, can see this one being another fun and quickie to add to the list.

 

[Pinky]

Metroid
Super Metroid
Dr. Mario
Zelda II (With no interruptions, I can clear in about 4 hours or so.)

 

[Shifty1897]

Metal Gear Rising and Vanquish

 

[PantsuJo]

I have a lot of arcade games in my Steam library, so "short and fun" is my favorite way to play, shmups, racing, fighting'.
But I also appreciate some short but intense RPGs as the Ys games or little gem like Crimson Shroud.

 

[PantsuJo]

When the gameplay and soul is so sublime, you gotta come back for more....

Absolute perfection, best arcade ever 11/10 supreme racing etc etc

 

[LegendofLex]

The original Legend of Zelda for NES. Lots of dungeons, but a pretty small game that can be completed in a couple hours.

Ocarina of Time is easily the shortest 3D Zelda game (I can beat it in less than 5 hours without really trying that hard), but it's the one I come back to the most.

I also really enjoy replaying Metroid: Zero Mission (thanks Virtual Console!), Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Journey.

 

[Dan]

Resogun!

I can't stop going back to that one. Whether running through the campaign or going for high scores. I've slowly mastered Demolition mode, just recently hit 134m points to rank 66 on the boards, which is pretty insane.

 

[Mondrian]

Any Metal Slug game, on free play of course. The pixel art quality in those games are completely unmatched even to this day.

 

[Silvawuff]

I like to revisit Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD.

 

[Justinh]

Full Throttle, although I haven't played it in a while because I lost the disc. I could beat it in 15 minutes, and would run through it often.

Ultimate Doom. I can run through the first episode in less than an hour, and I'll do it often still on the Xbox version or with Brutal Doom through Zandronum.

I don't know if it's exactly short, but I'll run through Hero's Quest/Quest for Glory every now and then and it doesn't seem to take too long. I will grind out a little bit in it for a while, though.

Machinarium. I love this game. There are two puzzles that will still get me fiddling with it even though I know what I'm supposed to do, but I'll play it occasionally still. It'll take me about an hour start to finish.

The Inner World. Last Point 'n Click. I love this game. I don't know how long it takes me to finish, but I think it's less than an hour. I'll play through it every now and then. I just love the art and the style of the game.

edit: oh yeah, I'll play through Super C every once in a while on my Wii. I still freaking love this game, as I did when I was a kid. Takes like... half-an-hour.