Are you looking for some old Newgrounds gems, classic material that made the site proud of its users? Then don’t be afraid to give the past a chance and watch/play some of the oldest children from the site. I have been lurking here since the year 2000, starting from being a 12-year-old kid inspired by everything that was done here, to this old bastard I'm today.
I can still remember those rainy nights, entering the Portal and witnessing greatness premiere before my very own eyes; Combat Instinct, Kong, Hostage Situation 2… And if that wasn’t enough, you could speak with the directors and ask for advice and technical questions. I wanted to make a list in order to celebrate and share some of the most striking works I've seen here over the past twenty years (which I'm sure I'll be leaving out some very important stuff, but hopefully introduce you to some obscure material that really deserves the recognition). There is no real “order” whatsoever, so I’m starting by the year 1999 and squeeze some years through up until today:
1999
- Pico’s school by @TomFulp
- UFA by TomFulp
2000
- Police Bike by TomFulp
- House Hunting by TomFulp
- Pico vs Uberkids by TomFulp
(Me and my friends would take turns to play all of these 5 classics NG games, it was so addictive and we even loved the "plots" behind them)
- Robocop-PD by @MindChamber
- Heroes of Cybertron by MindChamber
(MindChamber really showed insane skills and made Flash 4 look and feel like Hollywood)
- Zombie Killer 2071AD Part 1 by @Paulsemail
- Zombie Killer 2071AD Part 2 by Paulsemail
(I loved this classic shoot'em up... even with those annoying sfx)
- Corporate puppet by @ebailey
- The Final Task by @chefboyrd
- Boy by @thistler
- Combat Instinct by @McFretN
- Combat Instinct 2 by McFretN
(McFretN stuff was and still is mind blowing)
- Down Town by @Stamper
- Street Life by Stamper
(One of my fondest and earliest memories was getting to know the site playing Stamper earlier works)
- Mystic Island series by @GolemCC
- Revenge by @iced-earth
- Cold Revenge 2 by iced-earth
- Cold Revenge 3 by iced-earth
- Goldilocks by @Emkaah
- Creature by @Rendog
(A NG Halloween classic)
2001
- DreamLife by thistler
- Brutality by McFretN
- Big Mistake part 3 by @vastcool
(Vastcool would become our very own John K., eventually bringing us the classic Johnny Rocketfingers)
- Tsunami by @JustinBaldwin
- Karma Ghost by @billyblob
- Hostage Situation 2 by @Beast0
- Goldilocks 2 by Emkaah
- Stick Slayer series by @Ben-Spurgin
(When this came out, LOTR was just hitting the big screen and everyone was mega-hyped with epic battles. Ben Spurgin grabbed the perfect theme for the site: the initial "hate" for stick figures. His use of Flash was very original and I had a blast watching the episodes drop on a regular basis up until his sadly demise. May he rest in peace!)
(To contrast Stick Slayer, here's an action series by Rob-D that really knew how to use stick figures with slick cameras and great film editing)
(Neat tribute to one of the best games ever)
- Kong by Raz
(This short film is the bomb... Raz surely knows his resources!)
- Neo-Bender by @Diegooz
- Neo-Bender SE by Diegooz
- Neo-Bender 2 by Diegooz
- Neo-Bender 2 SE by Diegooz
(I couldn’t believe when fellow Argentinian animator Diego Zuberbühler hit deep on the NG scene with his Neo-Bender series. I used to chat a lot with him and he was super generous giving me great Flash tips, today he is managing partner of studioFREAK and continues to kick ass worldwide).
2002
- Alien Hominid by @DanPaladin
- SuperConsoleWars series by @avantpop
- Pimp’s Quest by Ben Spurgin
- My favorite reviews by @jim-ether
- One Ring to Rule them All series by @LegendaryFrog
- NG is Under Attack! Pt.1 by @Afro-Ninja
2003
(Crazy underrated NG artist that has great animations)
- Combat Instinct 3 by McFretN
- Johnny Rocketfingers series by vastcool
- Flying into the sun by @WQESRST
- Pustota by @Kol-Belov
(A real Wizard of Macromedia Flash)
(Sarkazm is among my favorite independent artists ever)
(Another fantastic NG user, with bittersweet films —some hilarious, others emotional, mostly both— and a huge vault of original music to discover)
- One night in my room by AlantheBOX
- The undead by @noiserover
(I love the eerieness this user always accomplishes)
(Has a long history of greatness with music videos and unique short films & games)
- Perish by HeRetiK
- Freak series by @Evil-Dog
- Love, Wink by @gel
- Asswarp by @FDA
- NG is Under Attack! Pt.2 by Afro-Ninja
- Another Day Four by @The-Super-Flash-Bros
(I love this whole series, but this episode is so warm felt!)
2004
- Across The Universe by marciano
- Pico’s Unloaded by MindChamber
- _FLU! series by @pampu
- Salad Fingers ep. 2 by @Doki
(I have a soft spot for this ep., I remember like it was yesterday when Doki appeared and started uploading this series... Every chapter was full of originality and great care for sound design, which I deeply enjoyed and respected)
- Newgrounds Jam #3 by Shawn Hollern
(It's a pitty this user has deleted his account, his work was one of the best I've seen on the site)
- Das Produkt by Kol-Belov
- COH (Solaris) by Kol-Belov
- FEAR by Granfaloon
- Smiley Fairy by Scarydoll
- Smile by Sarkazm
- How it Will end by AlantheBOX
- Leaves (a love story) by AlantheBOX
- The takeover by noiserover
- Madness Apotheosis by @Krinkels
- Lookie Lookie, Fire by HeRetiK
- Banana Phone by @thefriendsociety and @LazyWill
- Tier by @poxpower
- Dad’s Home by @Sakupen
- Incompetent Chivalry by @Skruggs
- Hoy te amo ++ by @O-Ovinnie
- We have to live by @Shadeborn
- The breakfast club by @Luis
- Wink: insatiable appetite by gel
- Decline of Videogaming by The-Super-Flash-Bros
- The Matrix Has You series by LegendaryFrog & more
- Alive by @AloneInTheDark
- Fake metal feelings by AloneInTheDark
- Renaissance by AloneInTheDark
(Back in the day, when Newgrounds was a “niche”, you really bonded with users. There weren’t as many as there are now and you would be really inspired by other’s work who kept leveling the quality bar and pushing Flash’s capabilities further. Some were more technically advanced, others better animated, others were more about the story than the graphics. Sean Montela —a.k.a. AloneInTheDark— is a truly flash cinematographer and his movies prove that. I had the privilege of making Autumn Tree with him and I learned a lot from him. As Internet kept growing and growing, it was easy to lose touch and it leaves a bittersweet feeling of not knowing how your “virtual” friends are. Hopefully Sean is okay somewhere!).
2005
(The Nevermore adventure series is phenomenal, I recommend it 100% to play it all the way through)
- B/W cartoon about berries by Doki
- Roof Tiling by Doki
- Objectionable Apparatus by Kol-Belov
- Sonia’s escape by Scarydoll
- Psycho Bunny by @Maurizio
- Glenn said by AlantheBOX
- Day in the life of Sammy by dookiemoole
- Lord of the pimps by Ben Spurgin
- Corporate Dummy by HeRetiK
- Waiting room by @g-p-ogden
- Deciduos by @Unreconstructed
- Papalote++ by O-Ovinnie
- Tinman by @BlackmarketKraig
- Coffee break by @JeremyLokken
- Cartontown by @Fierras
- Merry Melony by @Duhreetoh
(Simply one of the best short films in NG, can't wait for the new videogame on the works!)
2006
- Pico’s unloaded the game by MindChamber and @PsychoGoldfish
- Nevermore 2 by adamskii
(You can download the .SWF from the author's DeviantArt)
- Squaresville by @ZekeySpaceyLizard
- Le petit jéjeuner by dookiemoole
- A seasons Flash by @Lelio-rising
- Identity by @Peda
- Another Day Seven by The-Super-Flash-Bros
2007
- Objectionable Apparatus 2 by Kol-Belov
- A Christmas Special, or by Sarkazm
- Monkey island Flash Movie by @MajusArts
- Slaughterween by @bartard
- Animals by @AtmosGames
- Eres Veneno++ by O-Ovinnie
- The Visitor by @Zeebarf
- Jinas 1: A new friend by AloneInTheDark
(Got the chance to score this one, it would've been a lovely series. But it does brings a smile to my face the warm reaction this submission got!)
2008
- A Part by HeRetiK
- Art in the playground by @tommylm
(Gorgeous short film, I love it)
(Hilarious... and great film design!)
("Shit just got real")
2009
(I can't believe this work of art; one of a kind game, one of a kind experience. Newgrounds, again, the home of brilliants)
- Nevermore 3 by adamskii
- Gretel and Hansel Part 1 by @makopudding
(Go play it, now! Those backgrounds... They really nailed everything!)
(Another great game!)
(One of the most United Productions of America (UPA)-styled short films I've seen on Newgrounds... Amazing stuff!)
(Definitely a must watch late night on a Halloween, so funny!)
2010
- Gretel and Hansel Part 2 by makopudding
- Coma by AtmosGames
- Inside a dead skyscraper by @molleindustria
- Everyday the same dream by molleindustria
- Smokey the Monkey by @Munglai and @RainbowClub
- When you wish upon a star by @Sh0T-D0wN
2011
- Ajin: the hole by noiserover
(A very Rod Serling tale, I love the Twilight Zone-esque feeling of this series!)
2012
- Lucky Day Forever by Sarkazm
(If you haven't seen this, then you probably should; because if we don't open our eyes this may be a probable outcome)
- Pico’s 420 by coughing-dog
2015
- Ajin: the bodies by noiserover
2018
- Tsioque by Sarkazm
(As if Sarkazm hadn't gave us enough —his short films always seemed to come from a Locomotion TV-blackhole that blended the styles of Peter Chung and the HBO animation department behind Spawn—, he then presents this amazing point&click game with an emotional story that's superbly animated and scored. It's gameplay is innovative and fresh, with puzzles that will surprise the traditional Lucasfilm Games/Sierra adventurers)
2020
- Towyard: the game! By AlantheBOX
2021
(Had to add this work of art, absolute marvelous team work! Another UPA-styled cartoon for NG, instant classic for our rarities list!)
It would be awesome if anyone feels like adding entries in the comment section, so that we can keep the list alive and updated. Hope you enjoy it!
MindChamber
I still get flashbacks from Goldilocks.. great list!!
AndieCiambotti
Goldilocks is unique in its kind...!!!