Sometimes, it’s easy to forget how diverse the original Xbox game library really was. Early in its life, a handful of major Japanese publishers released some absolute bangers. Sega was surprisingly prolific, Tecmo truly came into its own, and Microsoft itself worked with skilled partners to develop a variety of hidden gems. Other third parties from around the world made terrific contributions that ensured there was always something new and compelling to play. Soon, it could be easy to revisit this halcyon era — or at least parts of it.

Xbox games are now 'backward compatible' on PC

Fuzion Frenzy, Blinx, and other select games are now available on PC

Microsoft made the surprise announcement this week that it is bringing original Xbox games to Windows PC. The program kicked off with the release of four favorites, but additional ones are on their way. Updated releases will benefit from a host of new features to make them more enjoyable on newer hardware, with some of them even gaining achievements. As we wait for Microsoft to add additional selections, here are 10 original Xbox games that deserve backwards-compatible support in the near future.

Release date: Nov. 14, 2001

Tecmo came out swinging with the third installment of its popular fighting franchise, which had already been stunning gamers on the Dreamcast. Although some players didn’t love its counters and holds, which paled in comparison to more technical fighters like the Tekken games, Dead or Alive 3 impressed even many of its critics with visuals that allowed it to stand out as the most gorgeous fighter of the era. The franchise is still active today, and Dead or Alive 6 Last Round arrived just last month, with a new character on the way.

Release date: Oct. 28, 2003

Microsoft courted a variety of Japanese developers, but it didn’t make much progress on the all-important RPG front. Western developers produced a slew of great games we still love today, but more traditional experiences were sorely lacking… with the........

© Polygon