While we love modern gaming, we’re all about the classics. There’s just something about retro gaming that’s simultaneously simpler and much more complex than the direction games have taken today. That’s also true about casino gaming; while online casino platforms have come on in leaps and bounds – just look at the Casimba home page if you don’t believe us – retro gaming just had a handle on casino games that’s hard to deny. If you’re a retro-head like us and you’re looking for a way to experience the best casino-style gaming around, you’ve come to the right place. Here are just some of the retro casino games we wish we could still play today.
Golden Nugget 64 (Nintendo 64, 1998)
This rare little gem was the only casino game available for the otherwise somewhat family-friendly (Conker’s Bad Fur Day excepted) Nintendo 64 console. It offered poker, slots, and various other casino games, and was a startlingly truthful recreation of a real casino environment. Of course, if you were to revisit Golden Nugget 64 now, it perhaps wouldn’t have aged particularly well in the visual department, but it still has a series of robust and well-crafted casino games that will make you feel like you’re right in the thick of a Vegas casino.
High Stakes Gambling (Game Boy, 1992)
Unlike many casino-based games, High Stakes Gambling actually had a pretty involved plot, especially when you consider the time it was released. The game involved taking down a fictional but very powerful Mafia organisation as an undercover FBI agent. Even though it had a narrative focus, High Stakes Gambling still had plenty of great casino action to check out if you wanted some fun casino gaming on the go. Rather unusually, since you were up against the Mob, High Stakes Gambling also allowed you to purchase and utilise a variety of cheats so you could match the unfair play your opponents were engaging in!
Casino Kid (NES, 1989)
This one is actually based on a manga series in Japan called $1,000,000 Kid. The Japanese version takes place in Las Vegas, while the Western version is set in a thinly-veiled parody named Lost Wages (get it?). Casino Kid features blackjack, five-card draw poker, and many more casino games, although the American version sadly omits several games including slots and roulette. There’s also a free play mode that allows you to build, hone, and test out your strategies, so if you are heading to an online casino to play for real money, you could do a lot worse than spending a little time with this overlooked NES classic.
Draw 80 Poker (arcade, 1978)
In the late 1970s, mechanical slot machines were being replaced by their electronic counterparts in casinos and amusement arcades around the world. This time period also saw the advent of amusement-only casino games, with which real gambling wasn’t possible but the essence of the game could still be enjoyed. Draw 80 Poker is one such game, offering a surprisingly detailed and colourful evocation of poker that we’d still love to enjoy today. We wish we could get our hands on the arcade cabinet for this one; there’s something about the tactile joy of an arcade cabinet that’s impossible to replicate with home gaming.
Vegas Stakes (SNES, 1993)
If you owned a Wii or Wii U, then there’s a good chance you might have rediscovered this fascinating little gem. Vegas Stakes boasted incredibly realistic graphics for the time and offered five different casino favourites. You begin the game with a paltry sum (for gambling, anyway) of $1,000, and your goal is to transform that meagre offering into $10 million. In a fun little twist, you can also tell the game what you intend to do with your winnings, and…well, we wouldn’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say money makes the world go round, so maybe you’ll get your wish if you play to the end!
Caesars Palace 2000 (PlayStation, 2000)
While initial reception for Caesars Palace 2000 was mixed, we freely admit to having a deep-seated nostalgic love for this game. The lighting and atmosphere were top-notch, and even if the gameplay itself was a little uneven, Caesars Palace 2000 really feels like it’s bringing you into the atmosphere of its real-life counterpart. There’s also a huge variety and range of games on offer, including more obscure variants like pai gow poker and red dog. Adhering to the real-life Caesars Palace rules and featuring official licensing from the casino giant, this was an experiment that paid off in our eyes.
Hard Rock Casino (PlayStation 2, 2006)
Another PlayStation game based on (and officially licensed by) a huge real-life casino brand, Hard Rock Casino is now officially old enough to qualify as retro, which is terrifying. It featured a whole bunch of classic casino titles to enjoy, as well as a fully fleshed-out single-player rags-to-riches story mode akin to that featured in Vegas Stakes. You could play slots, poker, roulette, Casino War, and plenty more, and if you played on PSP, you could even play multiplayer wirelessly with another player. Those were the days, eh?
These are just a few of our favourite retro casino video games. We’re sure we’ve missed plenty off the list, so if there are any casino games that defined your childhood, be sure to let us know about it!
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