My 5 Favorite Retro Gaming YouTube Channels

Last Updated on October 8, 2023

The first YouTube video changed the internet forever, with the website covering every interest you can think of. Even the retro caming community has benefitted from YouTube. We can watch people talking about the games they love, the games they recommend, walkthroughs, and even speedrunning.

But which is the best retro gaming YouTube channel? It’s hard to tell, so here are five of my favourites, in no particular order.

5. Retro Gamer Boy

Konichiwa! His name is Mike and you are about to step into a wonderful world of his Retro Gaming Channel. Mike had previously worked on many games launching the channel, part of the ‘Retro Refresh’ community.

On Retro Gamer Boy, Mike not only discusses topics about retro gaming such as re-releases, ports to other consoles, etc., but he also gives focus to retro-styled indie games. In some videos, he shows off his collection of games. There’s also Live at the Arcade where he teams up with Sega Head (another Retro Refresh channel) to play arcade and console games and chat.

If you are a retro gaming fan and also have interest in retro-style indie gaming, this channel is for you.

4. Retro Bird

This channel consists of top lists, discussions about certain topics, and in some videos, Retro Bird appears in funny scenarios which really made me laugh. He also gives advice on collection, CRT TVs, and other hardware, and is shown to be a skilled technician as well. His humour and how he deals with certain topics are one of the reasons as to why Retro Bird is one of my favourite retro gaming YouTube channels.

If you are looking for some retro gaming and humour, this gamimg channel is among the best and comes highly recommended.

3. SNES Drunk

SNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNES DRUNK!

SNES Drunk is another retro gaming YouTube channel which has been around for some time.

From the channel name itself, you may think that he only reviews SNES games. While he does that, he also covers other games from other platforms such as Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, etc. He highlights games that we might have missed, as well reviews of well-known titles. He is laid back and just wants viewers to enjoy the showcased game and make their own conclusion about the game. He also has a bunch of music lists that you can enjoy.

Still though, if you are a Super Nintendo and a Super Famicom fan or used to own those consoles, then this channel is for you.

2. Angry Video Game Nerd

He’s the angriest gamer you’ve ever heard
He’s the Angry Nintendo Nerd
He’s the Angry Atari Sega Nerd
He’s the Angry Video Game Nerd

This channel and the user of the channel, James Rolfe, needs no introduction. For those who are retro gamers, you will definitely know who that guy is. For those who are curious, allow me to explain: Angry Video Game Nerd roasts bad retro games in the most sweary way possible.

This channel is one of the earliest and the most popular YouTube retro gaming channels in the world, first appearing in 2006, just a year after YouTube was first launched. It is has served as inspiration to many other well-known YouTube users such as JonTron, Nostalgia Critic, etc.

Angry Video Game Nerd is so popular that he has a movie and three games released under his name. Not only that, he tends to make sure people can watch his older episodes but publishing it into Seasons which are long videos containing several of his previous videos. Several DVDs are released which contains the previous episodes as well.

I had not known about this channel until a few years ago when I watched a video of him roasting Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle series and I couldn’t help but laugh at the duel between The Nerd and Bugs Bunny. Several other retro gaming channels have appeared since then but this channel has achieved its well known legacy and I absolutely recommend this channel for those who want to start somewhere.

This is almost the best gaming channel in my opinion, let down by one thing: AVGN contains a lot of swearing, making it unsuitable to younger viewers.

1. Sega Lord X

Out of all the YouTube retro gaming channels, Sega Lord X is far my favorite for many reasons.

First of all, his channel has a wide variety of contents as he not only covers SEGA-related stuff but also from other consoles such as Arcade, Neo-Geo, etc. Sega Lord X has published three series of videos of particular interest to retro gamers: which are: Arcade Experience at Home Series, Arcade Treasure series (which is one of my favorite series) and, recently, the Best of the Best on Sega consoles.

It is also because of this channel that I have discovered many new arcade and console games that I had never played before. Overall, this channel is absolutely recommended to those Sega fans and even non-Sega fans who want to discover the wonderful Sega games or consoles that they never got to play.

I think these are the best retro gaming channels on YouTube

These are the YouTubers I turn to when I want some retro gaming entertainment. But many other YouTube gaming channels deal with retro games and classic gaming topics.

Which one should I check out next? Let me know in the comments.