The 25 Best iOS Versions Of Classic Games

There's no Day of the Tentacle on the App Store, so we suppose this is the next best thing. We kid, It's Monkey Island. What else could you ask for?

How many times can you buy Pac-Man? When it comes to this colorful acid trip of a remake, never enough. Look at the screenshot and tell us you're not intrigued. And we haven't even shown you the several ghosts you can scarf up at one time.

You may not expect a racer to deliver some of the best 3D graphics available on the App Store, even still one from the Need for Speed line, but Shift did an admirable job of compressing fast and furious racing with tilt steering controls to cement itself on hardcore racing fans' to-buy lists.

There's a special place for platforms when it comes to taking games on the go, and this 16-bit darling, what with its zany graphics, awkward hero, and jammin' soundtrack made its debut via Gameloft much to the delight of many Apple customers. We swear we hadn't been waiting with bated breath.

You may not expect such a mammoth strategy franchise to make its way to the iPhone, but this port is surprisingly complete and deep, with 2K offering a full-featured alternative for players without a console or PC to enjoy Sid Meier's legendary series without sacrificing gameplay.

Perhaps the biggest draw of the Call of Duty series these days lies within the terribly addictive Nazi Zombies mode, and this app allows you to partake only in the extermination of the shambling hordes.

An already detailed, gloomy vision of an adventure game, Machinarium delighted PC players and continues to enthrall on mobile devices. It'll confuse you, but only after impressing you.

Forget being afraid, stick around and pick this title up for the story, atmosphere, and female engineer Vandal, all in one attractive package. Solving quick Kinesis puzzles, scavenging for items, and drinking in the environments is clearly Dead Space’s strong suit, and you'll quickly find yourself fully immersed in this fantastic port/brand new adventure.

Pixel for pixel Sonic CD is a fantastic remake of one of the very best games in the series, despite its rough patches and the insidious pinball boss we vow never to voluntarily play through again. This is an incredible port of the game, with new features, perfect controls, and even the original Japanese soundtrack available if you want it. That alone should make this a must-have for diehard fans.

Growing up with Doom was an absolute pleasure, and now that we can look back to the past simply by downloading the app rather than fussing with DOSBox and compatibility, we can get back to slaughtering Cacodemons and finding keycards with the greatest of ease.

Who hasn't fantasized of killing robo-Hitlers while sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office. We're here to say we have, and it's made oh so sweet navigating this classic FPS on the iPad. All you need is two hands and the will to slay some Nazis. Check and check

Playing a revamped version of the classic tale felt great on the DS, but it's even prettier on the iPad if you want to pay about the same price for all touch controls. Vibrant colors, remastered graphics, and a classic tale work together to create one of the must-have Square Enix apps hardcore gamers should at least try out.

Metal Slug has seen its share of ports and remakes over the years, but Metal Slug 3 feels completely at home here on the iPad, making the gorgeous sprites look even more rugged and rough as you blast through the competition. Good thing you're not wasting quarters or anything. You'd be absolutely spent with this game

The SNES favorite is made to look fresh and new with its new life on the iPad and if you're a die-hard role-player the tale of Crono, Marle, and Lucca (and the rest) looks and feels fantastic on this port. Going to fight Lavos? Don't do it just yet. You're not ready, and you need more time to savor this port.

You can have zombies on your lawn, in your pocket, and in your lap while you're sitting on the throne. That's the beauty of Plants vs. Zombies as it's sauntered onto your phone and iPad. Set up round after round of tower defense goodness and keep those pesky zombies out on the go. You might even be able to convince one of those adorable sunflowers to hang out with you on the regular

Not everyone had the chance to give this puzzler a good try, and that's a tragedy. It practically lives and breathes style with a cooler-than-cool set of characters and mind-bending situations that require every inch of your concentration to solve. It's a hidden gem that works smoothly across mobile devices and it's totally worth the entrance price.

The quintessential fighting game for frenetic maniacs (us included) looks and feels great on the iPad despite not even rocking a fight stick or tactile controls. It moves beautifully and it's exceedingly easy to pull off the wacky combos you used to back in the days of the Dreamcast. It's good stuff. We wouldn't steer you wrong.

Lara's most unlikely adventure was a gem across the other platforms it debuted on, and the leap to a mobile port only served to complement it nicely. Snappy isometric dungeon-raiding action with neat puzzles and clever mechanics comprise this supplemental Tomb Raider game and ensure it's one of the best around. The iPad's generous screen and display ensure graphics are kept slick and crisp so aspiring explorers can find their way around and action is preserved accordingly. We're big fans.

The addictive Final Fantasy Tactics was simply too hard to contain on smaller iOS device so it needed to make the move to iPad. Now that everything's a little larger, you can see your grid, your units, and plan moves ahead quite easier across the newly HD-slick environments. For tactical action, you can't do much better here.

The story of the Kid, narrator and all, turned RPG convention on its head back on consoles, so its isometric setup and unconventional narrative and humor made a great fit for touch interfaces, surprisingly enough, and opened up the game to a brand new world of players who may otherwise never have been exposed to its brilliance.

This quirky dual-screen RPG made a name for itself when it debuted on the Nintendo DS with a fantastic soundtrack, impossibly cool storyline, and generally oozing style from every pore. Its migration to iPad allowed for a brand new way to play with touch control on a larger canvas, giving even the original a run for its money. That's impressive.

The classic ultraviolent delinquent simulator received an admirable port to the iPad that managed to bring every savory piece of vehicular manslaughter and debauchery to mobile devices with every shred of awesome intact. We know it was a difficult feat to pull off, and for that we salute it.

Mega Man X was a memorable addition to an already groundbreaking platformer franchise, and the iOS port goes to great lengths to preserve what made the adventure so exciting in the first place. Slick HD graphics and sensitive touch controls feel much more natural than what usually seems to be the standard for the genre, and there's even a mode for less-skilled players to get in on the fun. It even still looks like Mega Man is shooting lemons. How 'bout that?

Max may have changed over the years, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go back to enjoy the hit that started it all. The port of the wildly successful shooter that popularized bullet time feels quite natural even being played without tactile controls like keyboard and mouse, and still manages to look great while doing so. iPad owners wishing to get up to speed before jumping in with Rockstar's third installment would do well to start with this great edition.

This excellent representation of the classic Working Designs RPG made a splash upon its transition to iOS devices, with an admirable job translating what made the game memorable on its own merits to a brand new frontier. The sprawling tale of Alex, fledgling Dragonmaster, and childhood friend Luna settles right in and makes itself at home on mobile devices for an instant nostalgia trip anywhere.