Official Game Collections That Make Their Libraries Easy to Explore

Walk up to the original PAC-MAN cabinet for a quick refresher, then see how the rules change in PAC-MANIA, where you can jump over ghosts. The collection's 14 games share a virtual arcade, and missions give you reasons to try unfamiliar cabinets. The furniture and machines you earn can go back into your own arcade layout.

Start with Apollo's first defense if you want the story in order. If you already know the cases, the menu lets you jump to a particular episode or chapter across all three games, including two former add-on cases. Optional Story Mode can take over a difficult stretch, and you can switch it off to resume making the deductions yourself.

Story Mode links the four remastered console games with animated scenes, so it can take you from the first Sonic the Hedgehog through Sonic 3 & Knuckles in one run. Pick an individual game to compare the original screen proportions and limited lives of Classic Mode with the widescreen presentation and unlimited lives of Anniversary Mode. Try Tails Adventure when you want to explore the Game Gear side of the package.

Haunted Castle Revisited works as a first stop if you want an arcade-length introduction before committing to a larger castle. For Dawn of Sorrow and the other two Nintendo DS adventures, you can rearrange the original dual-screen layouts and customize the buttons. Quick saves and rewind make it easier to return to a tricky room after a break.

Choose Etrian Odyssey HD for a forest labyrinth or Etrian Odyssey III HD if following rumors of a drowned city is more your speed. Across the three remasters you can choose your difficulty, keep multiple saves, and readily consult the monster compendium and quest log. Use the Switch touchscreen or a mouse on PC to mark a useful shortcut on your map.

Start with either Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers game if you have a partner on the couch. For a shorter session, Boss Rush lets you skip to the big encounters in any of the six NES games. Time Attack offers a different way to revisit the same games, while rewind makes it easier to learn the regular stages in the first place.

Start at Mega Man Zero to see where the four-part series began, or pick Mega Man ZX if you want to start with the later pair. Save-Assist places checkpoints throughout all six games, so you can practice a stubborn section without replaying so much of the stage. Casual Scenario is a separate option that reduces the difficulty.

Start with Tiger-Heli on Super Easy to get a feel for Toaplan's style, then try Twin Cobra. Arcade Challenge breaks stages into stretches you can practice in any order. The on-screen M2 Gadgets can flag hidden items and enemies approaching from blind spots, which makes it easier to understand what happened when a run goes wrong.

Begin with Tower of Doom, then try another character class in Shadow over Mystara. The Character Visualizer keeps track of which classes people in your group use most, and in-game challenges give you a reason to try others. Completing challenges earns points that can unlock optional House Rules, including one that keeps equipment from breaking.

Start with 1943: The Battle of Midway, the game included with the base download, before picking from the optional library. Slowing a game down gives you time to learn its patterns, and rewind lets you try a short stretch again. The original catalog grouped games into three eras, so you can move from early titles like Vulgus to later experiments like Progear.

Start with the PlayStation version of Rayman, then switch to the Jaguar, MS-DOS, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance version to see how different releases handle the adventure. Multiple save slots help you keep your place, and optional infinite lives or instant level unlocks make it easier to explore a version without committing to a full run.