Hello to you and how you be... Dan Ryan here, you… there. Thank you so much for checking in and if you like what you see please comment and share. A number of years ago Kris and I decided that one of our podcast segments would be the 10, 20, 30, 40. In said segment, we take a look at games that came out 10, 20, 30, and 40 years ago. (it started just going back 30 years but we’re old now…) It’s one of my favorite segments to do each month and while some months are certainly better than others, it’s been really fun to compare releases across platforms and decades especially now when we are firmly in the grip of the PS2 releasing banger after banger. Another one of my favorite segments is the annual Golden Caveman awards. We just did the 11th annual show highlighting the best of the best from 2025. And it got me thinking… why not have something, a pod/a blog/etc., focused on some awards for the retro games we talked about during the course of the year. This is the Stone Age Gamer afterall so it felt apropos. With the podcast schedule full up, this blog makes the most sense. So, submitted for your approval this is the Retro Caveman Awards for 2015, 2005, and 1995. How this will work, for this year anyway, is each decade will be broken out below. For each section I will highlight my top 5 games from the year along with their Metascores when available and give an overall decades winner. These opinions are mine alone obviously and might not match up with the Metascores but I’d love to hear your thoughts. And hey, it just so happens that we have some really great ways to play these games.

TerraOnion MODE + Installation Bundle + Bracket

$299.99

THIS PRODUCT IS COMPATIBLE WITH ALL VERSIONS OF SATURN. IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH ALL VERSIONS OF DREAMCAST EXCEPT THE VA2 VERSION. DO NOT SEND US A VA2...… read more

2015:

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (PS4) - 93, Bloodborne (PS4) - 92, Undertale (PC) - 92, Super Mario Maker (Wii U) - 88, Fallout 4 (PS4) - 88

That’s one hell of a lineup. PS4 takes the cake here with 3 games but the importance of Undertale cannot be understated and Mario Maker was an absolute breath of fresh air. 

Undertale is one of those games that just needs to be played to be really understood. Outside looking in it’s… fine. There’s nothing one can get from a cursory glance at the game that really speaks to its depth and emotional weight. (I was going to say gravitas but I’m not really the kind of guy who says gravitas) But once you play through, as Kris recently did, you see what’s really there. And it is nothing short of brilliant.

Mario Maker was exactly what the Wii U needed, even if it did nothing to stop the steady decline of the platform. Here was Nintendo firing on all creative cylinders by giving players the ability to be the creative force. The resulting collection of levels featured everything from the sublime to the sublimely stupid. Sure, gaining access to the levels was mired in typical Nintendo being Nintendo nonsense but the joy of both creation and discovery, in an altogether familiar setting, was absolutely brilliant.

Fallout 4 is one of the most enduring games ever made. There are no shortage of players with thousands of hours spent in the wastelands. The ability to mod the ever living hell out of the game has certainly given it legs competitors simply don’t have but honestly, I would argue the hours invested wouldn’t change all that much without them. Add in the popularity of the Amazon show and you’ve got a title players are discovering for the first time now.

Look I’ll be honest, I am garbage at Bloodborne. I really want to be good at it but I just never could quite get into it the way I see friends play. That does nothing to diminish just how damn good the game is. Many would argue that Bloodborne is the fully operational Deathstar of souls-like games and for good reason, it is damn near flawless. It is specific, intentional, singular, and exceptional.

For my money, the best game released 10 years ago is Metal Gear Solid 5. Many hours have been spent on the podcast talking about my love for the series and while 5 may not be my favorite entry, I would still rather play it than most other games. There is just nothing like a Hideo Kojima game, for better or worse. 5 is filled to the brim with all of the Kojima tropes, and in my opinion really shines for it. I’ve spent far too many hours just wandering the world because it is just so fun to be in.

2005:

Resident Evil 4 (GC) - 96, God of War PS2) - 94, Guitar Hero (PS2) - 91, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (NDS) - 89, Psychonauts (XBOX) - 88 

I mean… c’mon, look at that list. Honestly this was the hardest decade to narrow down and one of my choices, Psychonauts, probably wouldn’t make a lot of others lists which speaks to just how insane gaming was in 2005. RE4 completely reinvented the franchise. Dawn of Sorrow continued the trend of IGAvania games being absolute masterpieces, God of War and Guitar Hero birthed franchises, and Psychonauts delivered emotional storytelling never seen before. As the kids say, we were eating good in 2005.

Psychonauts is a deeply personal pick here. It was one of the first games my now wife, then girlfriend, played through together. We had a crappy little studio apartment, hand me down furnishings, and hope for the future. And Psychonauts, a game that made us both question things and see the world a little bit differently. I know it isn’t for everyone but my god was it for me.

Dawn of Sorrow is one of the best IGAvania games ever made. Following the brilliant Aria of Sorrow, Dawn made use of the DS’ touch screen in super fun, creative, and yes sometimes extremely frustrating ways. You’ll find varying opinions on the “Seals” you had to draw but I always thought they were really cool. Dawn of Sorrow is an incredible experience with an amazing soundtrack that needs to be on your list if you somehow haven’t given it a go.

Resident Evil 4 is about as close to perfect as you can get, in this era of gaming or any other. The first 3 entries in the series were revolutionary for their time but had grown a bit stale due to their tank controls that just never felt particularly good. 4 took the characters, settings, and stories and meshed them with a unique, for the time, over the shoulder perspective that flipped the experience from a more passive one to something intensely focused on action. The resulting fervor over the game was well deserved and still makes sense all these years later.

Guitar Hero came out of nowhere, seemingly, and took gaming by storm. While the idea may seem quaint now, 20 years ago the idea of rocking out to classic tracks on a little plastic guitar was mind blowing. There may not have been a game that was more fun that year than Guitar Hero. The franchise has obviously seen better days following the craze and subsequent oversaturation of the instrument game market that followed this release. But, for those of us who experienced it organically, Guitar Hero was magic. It added a spoke to the wheel that honestly, is still super fun today.

My favorite release from 2005 though was the original God of War. Now, the first is certainly not the best, but it is the birth of one of the most popular franchises of all time which, well, is not nothing. Play GoW was like nothing that had ever come before. It was so intense, so visceral, so intuitive, so fun. Taking control of Kratos felt like something we maybe shouldn’t have been allowed to do. He was raw, angry, deeply troubled, and completely engaging. GoW pushed gaming forward in a way few games have. It is a sea change moment, there is the time before GoW and the time after.

1995:

Chrono Trigger (SNES), Front Mission (SNES), Panzer Dragoon (SAT), Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES), DKC2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (SNES)

1995 features two all time platformers, two all time RPGs, and an all time rail shooter. Given that only one entry on my list wasn’t from the SNES it speaks to just how dominant Nintendo was back then. SEGA was doing things, other companies were too, but the SNES was on its way to earning its reputation as one of the greatest platforms of all time. Here you’ve got original entries, sequels, and possibly the best JRPG of all time.

Panzer Dragoon is probably my favorite release on the Saturn. It served as exactly the showpiece the Saturn needed to prove just who SEGA was, even though they ultimately never got out of the shadow of Nintendo originally or Sony later. Panzer Dragoon still looks good today, a rarity from the polygonal era of gaming, and plays and sounds as fantastic as ever. If this somehow hasn’t crossed your path, 2026 is the year to rectify that particular oversight.

Front Mission is the one inclusion I waffled over since, despite how amazing it is, it never seemed to really take off in the states. It certainly has its fans, and it has always sold well, but it never really reached that upper echelon of RPGs. Maybe that’s just me though. Regardless, the first Front Mission is ultimately a difficult but rewarding mech-based tactical RPG that hits all the right notes in my book. You can see the foundation being laid for what the series would eventually become right here at the very beginning. And they are oh so wonderful foundations.

Yoshi’s Island is at once one of the most gorgeous platformers ever, Kris would be livid if I did not mention Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy, and also one of the most annoying, looking at you baby Mario. That said, there is no denying the greatness of Yoshi’s Island. In my opinion, this is Nintendo at the height of their powers, giving players something new yet familiar, comfortable yet challenging, expected yet unexpected, all at once. I know there are arguments as to other Mario games being better, you know since this one doesn’t feature that Mario…, but for me, this is the pinnacle.

When the original DKC hit the SNES, none of us thought it could get better. Games just weren’t going to look better than that, in that style at least, ever. And then Diddy’s Kong Quest dropped and oh yes, they could. DKC2 took everything that was great about the original and turned it up a notch. Bigger, better looking, deeper, and ultimately more fun than its predecessor, DKC2 more than earned the GOTY awards it received.

Look, Chrono Trigger is just THAT game. It is, for my money, the standard by which all other JRPGs are judged. And while some have gotten close, none have ever overtaken the king. (Yes I hear you, yes FF6 is great, I said what I said) I don’t think any of us at the time quite knew what we were getting when Chrono Trigger shipped and honestly, that made it so much better. We live in a world now where we know everything about everything. In 1995, we didn’t. We saw previews, got excited, and then experienced things. This title delivered an experience unlike any other. 10/10, no notes.  

Super EverDrive X5 (Classic Gray)

$87.99

This is the Classic Gray version of the Super EverDrive X5 for Japanese, European, and North American systems. This cartridge comes assembled in a gray...… read more

Most Outstanding Decade - 2005

Now to me, this isn’t really all that close. Both 2015 and 1995 have some incredible games. I would even go so far as to say that out of these 15 titles, Chrono Trigger is the best of them all. That said, just look at what we got to play in 2005! Spokes added to the wheel. A complete sea change. A reinvention that is still being copied today. (looking at you God of War reboot) I know some may disagree but the overall quality and impact of the games released in 2005 is simply staggering. It was a good time to be a gamer. And with modern techniques for these classic games, now might be an even better time. But I want to know what you think. Join the Stone Age Gamer discord, or you can find me on Bluesky to let me know your thoughts. In the immortal words of Billy Joel, “Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes; I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again.” See you soon.