Despite all of the state-of-the-art graphics and life-like game play of arcade games today, there’s something special about the ones that kick started the whole movement. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia attached or maybe it’s just a case of the ‘original being the best’. Whatever it is, I was reminded of some pretty sweet times when writing about our top 10 classic arcade games and hope you are too.
10. Frogger
You’re a frog, stranded on one side of a busy road at the bottom of the screen… I know what you’re thinking, why wasn’t it a chicken instead? Dodging and weaving traffic, you make it to an embankment that overlooks an alligator infested river. On the other side are five froggy homes. Get all five frogs home safely and you win – simple, right? Every level is timed and players must act quickly to finish each level before the time expires. Instant classic!
9. Pac-Man
Marcus Brigstocke once said, “If Pac-Man had affected us as kids, we’d all be running around in dark rooms, munching pills and listening to repetitive electronic music.”
Sound familiar?
Pac-Man burst onto the scenes in 1980 and became an instant hit with gamers. It presented a new challenge – something other than a shoot ‘em up style arcade game that the era was so well renowned for. It’s still a cracking game to this day… especially while trying to kill time at work, but shhh, our boss might be reading this.
8. Space Invaders
Despite launching almost four decades ago, Space Invaders remains one of the most recognisable shooter arcade games around. It even kicked off what is now called the Golden Age of Arcades, a period of history spanning the late 70s to mid-80s. Players controlled a laser shooting spaceship whose job it was to eliminate rows of aliens before they reached the bottom. Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the best. Specialty arcades opened with nothing but Space Invaders cabinets and by the end of ’78, over 100,000 machines had been sold.
7. Street Fighter
Street Fighter launched in 1987 and has gone on to be one of the most successful games of all time. Gamers select from a range of fighters from around the world to fight various competitors in front of a range of backdrops and crowds. Each fighter has his/her own style and range of moves and players can impose killer combos to knock the socks off their opponents. The game has been turned into movies and is still being evolved into new versions of the game to this day.
6. Donkey Kong
One of the earliest platformers, Nintendo’s 1981 classic coin-op was a big hit with gamers thanks to its gameplay being unlike any of the space shooters or maze games of the time. The gameplay focuses on moving Mario across a series of platforms while dodging and jumping over obstacles in an attempt to rescue Pauline from the big bad Donkey Kong.
5. Pong
Pong is one of the earliest and simplest video games ever made. There’s two paddles on either side of the screen and a ball in the middle. The goal is to knock said ball past your opponent ten times. Think air hockey but on a flat black screen and two lines as the paddles. You can either play against another human or against the computer.
4. Tetris
This tile-matching puzzle video game, was originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov, in Russia and was launched on June 6, 1984. The objective of the game is quite simple: The player must manipulate the shapes (Tetriminos), by going left to right or changing the orientation, with the aim of creating a horizontal line of 10 units without gaps. When a line is created, it disappears, as blocks above the deleted line fall. When a certain number of lines are cleared, the game enters a new level. Originally in black and white, Tetris has moved to colour and can still be found played on computers and smart phones all over the globe.
3. Golden Axe
I still remember playing Golden Axe as a 5-year-old with my older brother. It’s one of the earliest gaming memories I have so that’s probably a big reason it’s made this list. Golden Axe is a side-scrolling, beat ’em arcade video game released in 1989. The game is set in the fictional land of Yuria, a high fantasy medieval world. The bad guy is Death Adder and he’s captured the king and his daughter, and holds them captive in their castle. He also finds the Golden Axe, the magical emblem of Yuria, and threatens to destroy both the axe and the royal family unless the people of Yuria accept him as their ruler. We think you can probably work out the objective… good times.
2. Double Dragon
This street brawler is considered to be one of the first successful examples of the beat ‘em up genre, resulting in the creation of two arcade sequels and several spinoffs. The game can be played by one or two gamers and sees martial artist brothers Billy Lee and Jimmy fight their way into the turf of the Black Warriors gang to save Billy’s lover, Marian
1. Daytona USA
Daytona USA is one of the highest grossing arcade games of all time, and, at the time of its release, was considered the most visually detailed 3D racing game. The gamer jumps behind the wheel of a Hornet before taking on one of three tracks. The objective is to outrun the competing cars, and complete the race before time runs out. You can still find Daytona units scattered around arcade halls around the place.
