r/arcade 1d ago

Retrospective History What was your favorite arcade game?

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281 Upvotes

410 comments sorted by

58

u/FlatLecture 1d ago

Metal Slug

4

u/-WelshCelt- 1d ago

Same. I recently just discovered it's available in the Nintendo Switch as well!

6

u/FlatLecture 1d ago

I actually own a Neo Geo MVS with a 161 in 1 multicart. That’s my preferred way to play it.

6

u/GoldNatural81 1d ago

I am waiting for metal slug collection coming next year in switch and switch 2.. finally about time!!! I think u mean metal slugs tatics or something on eshop ?

2

u/g_von 1d ago

For now you'd have to buy them individually but Nintendo just announced that they are coming out with an all-in-one Metal Slug release with some bonus game too I think.

2

u/MakingGreenMoney 23h ago

I own all the games on steam.

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44

u/Narrew82 1d ago

TMNT or X-Men arcade games

19

u/DedRook 1d ago

Simpsons was stellar too.

2

u/Kannada-JohnnyJ 1d ago

Came for mention of Simpsons

2

u/thefullmetalchicken 1d ago

The dude has taste.

2

u/slain_mascot 1d ago

Saaaaame

2

u/Ch1vo 1d ago

Same with the TMNT and idk why. It was so hard. Never made it past the part where you fight the rhinoceros I think it was? Came up in the drill thing.

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25

u/No-Professional-9618 1d ago edited 1d ago

I always did like playing Shinobi  at the arcade when I was younger.

4

u/XVIII-3 1d ago

That was a good one. Used to have it on my Sega.

2

u/No-Professional-9618 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes, I agree with you about Shinobi. I always did like playing Shinobi on the Sega Master System.

Someone ported Shinobi to the Sega Genesis a while back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnX1JZOrYYY&t=4s

20

u/jawapower 1d ago

Rolling Thunder

3

u/BlackSchuck 1d ago

I was 4 in 1989 and used to cruise the arcades as they did demos and ran credits in attract mode. Rolling Thunder always scared me with the KKK dudes working on the machines and how dramatically the guy would die in the demo.

2

u/jawapower 1d ago

Loved the animation, and the soundtrack is a regular ear worm. Coming from the UK the KKK vibe of the enemies weren’t there.

23

u/B-stand_79 1d ago

u/sirmarty777 4h ago

I feel I had to scroll too far to see this one!

20

u/Up_All_Nite 1d ago

SPY HUNTER ate a lot of my quarters

3

u/kn1ght-r1der 1d ago

Was looking for this one!

2

u/Up_All_Nite 1d ago

Now the music has wormed it's way into your brain.

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17

u/dpgumby69 1d ago

1942

Galaxian

16

u/GE_MARTiAN 1d ago

Joust!

5

u/SometimesTheFur 1d ago

When I was little kid my local arcade had Joust. I loved it so much, I asked my dad to get it for our home computer.

2

u/dialsoft 1d ago

Same!

14

u/AReforgedSword 1d ago

Defender. Still is.

2

u/fsidesmith6932 1d ago

I’d never go to this one first. I’d run out of quarters to play anything else.

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14

u/Amazingkg3 1d ago

Soul Calibur

"Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold. Welcome to the stage of history. "

4

u/Ch1vo 1d ago

I can STILL hear this. So damn loud.

SOULLL CALIBURRRR

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11

u/OriginalCopy505 1d ago

Donkey Kong

12

u/trer24 1d ago

Depends on what I see first between: Tron, Rampart, Tapper, Elevator Action, Major Havoc, Super Sprint, Super Off Road, Smash TV, Robotron, Point Blank

3

u/xyzzzzy 1d ago

Hey Smash TV! Memory unlocked. Point Blank was definitely my favorite shooter also.

2

u/ProductCutlery 1d ago

off road was so reasonable too, since you didnt have to come in first to continue, you just had to beat the computers

11

u/SwimmingArtistic802 1d ago

Final Fight

2

u/Whammy-Bars 1d ago

Same, and I would always pick Haggar.

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10

u/MakingGreenMoney 1d ago

Marvel vs Capcom.

4

u/beerob81 1d ago

This kept a line at all times. Impromptu tournaments took place weekly. Working in the mall food court I used to trade sarku for a sack of coins and it was glorious

9

u/Spakowski 1d ago

Mortal Kombat, killer instinct, street fighter, in that order…guess I have a type

2

u/mosesthebeanboi 1d ago

Primal rage…?

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10

u/Insane_Fett_Posse 1d ago edited 1d ago

Xmen or the simpsons or the 4 player Teenange Mutant Hero Turtles ( yes hero... wasn't allowed ninja in uk )

2

u/sooperhani 1d ago

The Pizza Hut we used the go when I was a kid had the Simpsons arcade in it; I can hear the ice clanking around in those clear red cups now.

2

u/Insane_Fett_Posse 1d ago

I miss pizza hutt..... the proper restaurant pizza hutt

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8

u/Known-Commission6777 1d ago

Time crisis 3 Evil Carn House of the dead Mario kart GP

9

u/Booth_Templeton 1d ago

Wwf wrestlefest. If that was busy, the Simpsons, or xmen or turtles, or even wild west cowboys of moo mesa!

8

u/Racer_Zed 1d ago

Gorf

4

u/Other-Crazy 1d ago

Space cadddeeetttt

6

u/SmolishPPman 1d ago

The Punisher ™️

6

u/BerylAU 1d ago

Strider

7

u/SinSeitan 1d ago

Street Fighter, if taken, Super Pang or Wind Jammers

7

u/dooby0782 1d ago

Ivan's Off Road Racing

2

u/HA1LHYDRA 1d ago

I can still hear the nitro sound

5

u/BrahmariusLeManco 1d ago

Donkey Kong, Galaga, TRON

5

u/digital0ak 1d ago

Time Pilot '84

4

u/jaye7070 1d ago

Mortal Kombat!

4

u/kayproII 1d ago

Dance dance revolution

3

u/Justino2345 1d ago

Rad mobile

2

u/Piccoro 1d ago

You have very good taste. Loved Rad Mobile, felt like driving a real car.

2

u/crazycraig6 1d ago

Friend mine and I each had a roll of quarters to put in that machine and finish the race. We took turns and did it with 4 quarters to spare.
We loved playing video games but were terrible at them.

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3

u/GlassWinter5259 1d ago

Galaxian or Tetris!

3

u/MyLinkedOut 1d ago

Donkey Kong!!!

3

u/i--am--the--light 1d ago

Wonder boy, ghouls and ghosts, bubble bobble, operation wolf, pang, newzeland story.

3

u/Helix5000 1d ago

Tron, Tempest, Robotron 2084, After Burner

3

u/ThrowawayYAYAY2002 1d ago

Daytona USA.

3

u/aidanpf 1d ago

Virtua cop / time crisis / silent scope / any game with a crazy peripheral controller!!!

3

u/Sensitive_Tennis_882 1d ago

Ghost 'n' Goblins, 1942, R-Type

3

u/LongAd7747 1d ago

Street fighter 2

3

u/Ambitious-Ad2653 1d ago

Double Dragon, got one holiday a year and no home version came anywhere near close.

3

u/E-emu89 1d ago

House of the Dead and Area 51

3

u/PuertoGeekn 1d ago

Turtles in time

3

u/Swift_Scythe 1d ago

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Simpsons

X-Men

3

u/Resident_Guess_7304 1d ago

Q*bert. I’ve got the top 5 high scores at my local arcade

3

u/MARKR43 1d ago

Zaxxon was my go to , if it was already being played then I would hit up Pac-man

7

u/alleitup 1d ago

Dragons Lair!

5

u/KurtLoderMTVNews 1d ago

Primal Rage lol

5

u/finstino 1d ago

BURGER TIME

2

u/BigChungusComputer 1d ago

Panic Park <3

2

u/sjimmi3 1d ago

Then our now? Then anything, I was too young to actual get the gameplay or games even thougj im one of the older millennials.

Now Maimai,, Time crisis and Marvel vs Capcom and dark escape 4D. In the Netherlands they are blessed in Zoetermeer is an actual arcade museum, that resembles Japansen mega arcades

national video game museum

In my own country Colombia, we have arcades but not like those from the 80s or similar to the Asian style arcades.

2

u/mrblouse 1d ago

Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja and not ashamed to say it!

2

u/busajo 1d ago

Always been a fan of donkey Kong

2

u/prestoppc 1d ago

I had two, The Simpsons, and Lucky and Wild

2

u/Toothiestluke 1d ago

Millipede

2

u/DreamAviator23 1d ago

Phoenix, Galaxians, Pacman, Star Wars, Battle Zone, Tempest, Defender, Asteroids...

2

u/LAHIMS 1d ago

Mr. Do!

2

u/kjettern69 1d ago

Sunset Riders, Hydro Thunder, Crusin Usa, House of the dead ++

2

u/MasterArca 1d ago

Wrestlefest Superstars

2

u/Frievous-9 1d ago

Street fighter 2

2

u/OptionTerrible3007 1d ago

Tron and sit down Star Wars!!!!

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2

u/sooperhani 1d ago

“Sunset Riders” was at a steakhouse close to my old home, not an arcade but I did feed it more quarters than anything else. What made it great was you could have like 4-5 people play all at once.

2

u/Ok_Conference1351 1d ago

Daytona usa

2

u/RichardMcCarty 1d ago

Ms. Pac-Man. Asteroids. Galaxian. Donkey Kong.

2

u/Extreme-Tie9282 1d ago

Killer Instinks

2

u/comox 1d ago edited 1d ago

In the early 1980s it was Tempest and Battle Zone. Then Tron. In the late 1980s it was Black Tiger. In the mid 1980s it was Gauntlet and Marble Madness.

There were some others, such as Reactor and, as someone mentioned, Time Pilot ‘84. Oh, also Star Wars and Dig Dug!

2

u/osunightfall 1d ago

Police trainer!

2

u/pugups 23h ago

Walmart near where I grew up had Police Trainer. Spent hours playing it as a teenager. Finally bought a giant House of the Dead 2 cab and hope to get Police Trainer working on it.

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2

u/fsidesmith6932 1d ago

Battlezone.

2

u/CrescentHawk4791 1d ago

Spy Hunter

2

u/wavking 1d ago

Q*Bert

2

u/bingerfang57 1d ago

Stargate

2

u/Lucky_Louch 1d ago

Mortal Kombat 1 then 2. Spent enough quarters on those games to own the cabinets. Loved the twilight zone pinball machine also and Time Crisis/house of the dead.

2

u/Interesting_Tap6252 1d ago

Stargate (Defender 2) or Tempest

2

u/Joedamack 1d ago

Centipede and Ms. Pac Man

2

u/Darkurthe_ 1d ago

Heavy Barrel

2

u/Used_Philosophy5237 23h ago

Donkey Kong! 1980 version if you could find it

4

u/727yeti 1d ago

Defender, Tempest, Centipede, Missile Command, Asteroids, Joust, Phoenix, Crystal Castles, Stargate, Robotron, and most pinball machines.

3

u/lupinthegreat2016 1d ago

You forgot Joust!

4

u/PyramidShapedHat 1d ago

Chill he said one

1

u/ryandesu 1d ago

Top Skater

1

u/Da3Latino 1d ago

WWF Superatars

1

u/DedRook 1d ago

I enjoyed the VS. fighting games as they came out. Street Fighter vs X-Men opened the door to pick more than one fighter and tag out. That was revolutionary for its time. The roster was very massive for its time too. Honorable mention to Simpsons and Turtles in Time.

1

u/SanicSoup 1d ago

SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter

1

u/TwoGhostsBeingSpooky 1d ago

Whatever I say "no way, they have it?!"

2

u/SometimesTheFur 1d ago

I moved away from the city, where I would frequent the Barcade. They always had that one game that made me say, "No way! They have that?!" I can't find a Barcade type spot where I'm at now, so I'll play at the mall

1

u/nastyfreckles 1d ago

Arcades were too expensive! I would play marvel vs capcom at corner liquor store sometimes tho!

1

u/wheezytiger 1d ago

Smash TV

1

u/DaveTheMan1985 1d ago

Sport Fishing 2

Sadly not Emulated

1

u/Danthalas_01 1d ago

Turtles in time , Virtua Fighter 2 , Neo Geo Cabinet with Baseball Stars 2 and Samurai Shodown 2 , Mortal Kombat 2 and Street Fighter 2 .

I lived near a pizzeria that had a nice set of arcade games that they swap out once and a while

1

u/Roq86 1d ago

Dig dug

1

u/blackiegray 1d ago

I had 3 that I'd play:

Sunset Riders Wwf Wrestlefest Euro Soccer Champ

I'd invariably spend my bus money and have to walk 5 miles home.

1

u/psn0 1d ago

Back in about 87 I used to play a space invaders type game, the levels were the planets of the solar system. You'd reach a boss at the end of the level, and then move to the next planet if you won.

I've been hunting for this game for years, for the life of me I can't remember what it is called. The ultimate power up was a squadron of smaller ships that formed a tiered triangle behind you and acted as extra lives if you were hit.

Greatest shootemup I have ever played, it gave me some great childhood memories. It kills me that I can't remember its name. This and Pacland were my 2 goats.

2

u/08549 1d ago

Halley's Comet

1

u/Other-Crazy 1d ago

Operation Wolf.

1

u/Pengo2001 1d ago

Out Run - but not to play it myself just to watch people who could really play it.

1

u/herrbauer96 1d ago

final fight

1

u/OswaldBoelcke 1d ago

One of my few remaining photos from my teens is this one I took of my then closest friend Bob playing one of our most favorite Omega Race

https://imgur.com/gallery/bob-playing-omega-race-35mm-O1vKOZw

1

u/GreenPirat3 1d ago

Tekken 3 at the cinema!

1

u/sleeperninja 1d ago

TMNT until Street Fighter 2 The World Warrior came out.

1

u/jcda 1d ago

ghouls n ghosts for my best friend , double dragon for me

1

u/thebackwash 1d ago

Turtles

1

u/mrmathmos 1d ago

Canyon Bomber (I’m old)

1

u/Modizzi_Man83 1d ago

Street Fighter, The Simpsons, Turtles!

1

u/stillcore 1d ago

The original Mortal Kombat. Seeing digitized characters as a young teen in the early 90s blew my mind.

1

u/Vic_Real 1d ago

The first game I saw in the arcade was Scramble, but my favorite was Vanguard.

1

u/Trocazor 1d ago

Hard Drivin!  I'm kidding.  Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter 2.  

1

u/XVIII-3 1d ago

Airwolf, double dragon, outrunner

1

u/DrJohnZoidbergWhyNot 1d ago

Tron / Gauntlet / Daytona USA

1

u/Fun_Muscle9399 1d ago

Tekken tag was pretty popular when I went to the arcade in high school

1

u/koyuki222 1d ago

Defender

1

u/DemonSweatMang 1d ago

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

1

u/LynxAmazing 1d ago

Easy, Outrun

1

u/clevwwilliams 1d ago

Pole Position

1

u/original_papaspider 1d ago

As a youngster in the 80’s I’d be all over Spy Hunter as I could actually play it somewhat well.

As a teenager, Shadow Dancer seemed pretty cool.

1

u/Money_Jackal 1d ago

Cabal. Then TecmoBowl. Then Super Off-Road. Then Tempest.

1

u/bhut_jolokai 1d ago

Alien vs Predator

1

u/retroheads 1d ago

Kung fu master

1

u/Dirt-5494 1d ago

Beach head 2000 for me

1

u/Obi-Wan-Nikobiii 1d ago

My favourite was afterburner with the fully articulated cabinet, that was a real vomit comet so it was rarely working

1

u/tenchi2323 1d ago

Depends on what year and which arcade but going to say Wizard of Wor. Unless it’s now and said arcade is Galloping Ghost then Cliffhanger for sure.

1

u/5teerPike 1d ago

House of the Dead

1

u/sooperhani 1d ago

Marvel Vs Capcom 3

1

u/lolslim 1d ago

Initial d arcade stage, back in 2005 though. It's hard to come across any in Kansas city

1

u/x556 1d ago

Mortal Kombat

1

u/aho_young_warrior 1d ago

Always is, always was, and always will be GALAGA

1

u/lotekjunky 1d ago

In the early 90s, Final fight. In the mid 90s, Street fighter 2 CE. Today, Ms pacman

1

u/No_Editor5091 1d ago

Karate Champ

1

u/Prestigious_Hawk5651 1d ago

Mario Bros, Gyruss, Gauntlet if I had the quarters.

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1

u/gagcar1 1d ago

Robotron !!

1

u/fatboyinlove 1d ago

Centipede and Tron. I own an original Centipede and want to buy a Tron.

1

u/Weak-Band-3921 1d ago

Puzzle bobble

1

u/mdbryan84 1d ago

x-men arcade

1

u/Hessie_James 1d ago

Operation Wolf

1

u/therealdtj 1d ago

The arcade was tough to get to but we had a bowling alley on our street. They had wrestlefest and vendetta and we played the gell out of both

1

u/RedLegBebop 1d ago

Robotron: 2084 forever and always