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Bandai Namco Entertainment / Atari / Konami / ONE37pm
By: Elton Jones
Published Apr 14, 2023
Old heads, you're going to love this one! And that's because we've finally taken the time to honor one of the best periods in gaming history. During the 80s, arcades blossomed into a crucial pastime for people of all ages. Grabbing a pizza, sipping on some extra sugary soda, and crowding around an arcade machine to get your chance at getting a high score are the types of activities that dominated the lives of arcade-goers in the 80s. The likes of Atari, Namco, Nintendo, Capcom, and more are responsible for soaking up tons of quarters thanks to their run of iconic releases that are encased within artful arcade cabinets. Join us as we hop into our time machine to present to you the 25 best 80s arcade games ever made.
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Best 80s Arcade Games
Capcom
1. ‘Pac-Man’
We all owe our massive thanks and respect to Toru Iwatani for one and one reason only - he's the genius creator behind the original Pac-Man. When it first hit arcades in 1980, it hit the world like a tidal wave and enveloped everyone in its addictive "Power Pellet" munching, maze exploring, and ghost-avoiding action. The act of trying to eat every pellet on each stage without running into the relentless Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde has maintained its high fun factor to this very day. Getting the power to finally consume all your pursuers will always feel so gratifying.
2. ‘Ms. Pac-Man’
We agree with everyone that gave this follow-up all their laundry money when it first came out - Ms. Pac-Man is indeed miles better than its predecessor. The new sound effects definitely added another level of charm to the overall presentation and a star was born as soon as the Pac-Man character got some lipstick and a bow thrown onto it. Bouncing fruit that you need to chase down relentlessly, the little scenes that tell the story of love between both Pac characters, and additional "warp tunnels" all come together to update the formula that worked so well in the original Pac-Man.
3. ‘Donkey Kong’
Before Nintendo's iconic ape got a platformer of his own, he originally started out terrorizing Mario in the arcade classic known as Donkey Kong. Saving Pauline from her bulgy, hairy, and animalistic captor amazed everyone back when it was first released in 1981. We're sure that most of you reading this right now felt like a god when you earned that hammer power-up and began cleaning house whenever some barrels rolled in your direction. Donkey Kong is proof of Nintendo's dominance during the 80s gaming boom.
4. ‘Star Wars’
Vector graphics were all the rage back in the 80s. And they were used to perfection in one of the best Star Wars video game adaptations ever released to an arcade cabinet. This on-rails flight shooter lets players relive one of the most exciting moments from the series' original trilogy - the epic"Rebel Alliance" assault on the Galatic Empire's "Death Star." If you end up finding the sit-down version of this game, then consider yourself the luckiest person in the world.
5. ‘Galaga’
Aliens want to destroy or take ownership of your spaceship. And the best way to keep both of those unfortunate outcomes from happening is by shooting them right out of the starry skies in outer space. Galaga is themed around that fun premise - rows of buggy extraterrestrials descend upon you and sometimes encircle you, which pushes you to blast them as quickly and efficiently as possible. Watch out for those darn alien tractor beams!
6. ‘Centipede’
What captured the imaginations of everyone who came upon this game's arcade cabinet is its physical trackball and the simple joy that comes with blasting a descending centipede with the "Bug Blaster." Paranoia regularly ensues when that centipede starts breaking into smaller pieces and comes at you at an even faster rate than you'd expect. Shooting apart those dang mushrooms is also another part of the joy that comes from Centipede, which is why it'll always be categorized as one of the best 80s arcade games of all time.
7. ‘Golden Axe’
Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead gave gamers strong Conan the Barbarian vibes due to their beat 'em up behaviors on display in Golden Axe. This Sega arcade classic features an epic score that hypes you up as you bash the heads in of random barbarians and activate fully-powered magic attacks that come in so clutch during boss fights. Flinging your foes into bottomless pits and tail-whipping them with your mythical creature close by are also two more reasons why Golden Axe still holds up.
8. ‘Frogger’
Native New Yorkers know how crazy traffic can be and how much of a sport it can be to dodge cars as you make your way across the street. Frogger turned that everyday activity into a super tough arcade game that tasks you with carefully hopping across a busy road and river that can both wipe you out in one hit. Anyone who did the unthinkable by getting across both obstacles without dying once should consider themselves video game royalty.
9. ‘Final Fight’
Cody, Guy, and Haggar rose to fame as the saviors of "Metro City" when they all debuted in the first Final Fight. Capcom certainly earned its reputation as a regular supplier of quality games for the arcade when it dropped this iconic beat 'em up. The fighting mechanics felt amazing at the time and still resonate just as well with today's collective of retry-stylized beat 'em ups. Slamming goons with Haggar, kicking the hell out of those same bums with Guy's fly Chuck Taylor sneakers on, and landing a crowd-clearing tornado kick with Cody goes so hard.
10. ‘Outrun’
Keeping your lady happy is one of the hardest jobs in the world. But in Outrun, all players have to do to keep her by their side is by going as far as humanly possible in the game's signature Ferrari Testarossa Spider. Sega dropped a racing game banger here that had players compete against themselves instead of other players - zipping across the sunnyside beaches and other locales of Outrun's bright and bubbly world means making it past each stage at a swift and breezy pace to beat your previous completion times.
11. ‘Robotron: 2084’
One of the trippiest picks on our list of the best 80s arcade games is this amazing oddity. Robotron: 2084 may not have been the first game to include a twin joystick control scheme, but it damn sure popularized it. That control method ended up helping this game attract so many curious onlookers to its raging robot-blasting action. Saving the human race from their metal opposers with your blasters in tow is a plotline that was present in a lot of 80s media - Robotron: 2084 is one of the best examples of that retro trend.
12. ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’
"COWABUNGA!" When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were all the rage, kids flocked to their TVs to watch the "turtles in a half shell" take on Master Shredder, the Foot Clan, and an army of anthropomorphic goons created by the dreaded "Ooze." Those same little tykes ran to their local arcade to enjoy the adventures of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo in their very first arcade beat 'em up. The iconic intro stage in that burning building is a hell of a way to begin a game. And from that point forward, bringing the pain to nameless ninjas and getting embroiled in wild boss encounters increases in intensity and fun factor.
13. ‘Q*bert’
Q*bert is such a fun oddity. The main character speaks their own gibberish, looks extra weird, and is given the duty of changing all the cubes on a pyramid to another color altogether. Fulfilling that job means having to dodge snakes and four other strangely named living obstacles that seek to trip you up. As one of the best 80s arcade games to make a massive impact on the culture as a whole, you have to thank Q*bert for popularizing the term "Q*bertese."
14. ‘Dig Dug’
The underground mazes of Dig Dug had everyone on edge as players had to keep a close eye on their encroaching enemies. Eliminating them is where all the fun from this game is derived - 80s babies know exactly where they were when they realized they could use the big boulders to smash those darn dragons in one fell swoop if they lined them up correctly. Dig Dug's rewarding gameplay loop and super catchy music came together so nicely during its heyday.
15. ‘Missile Command’
Those heralded vector graphics are extra prevalent in another one of our selections on this list of the best 80s arcade games. And for this pick, the gameplay revolves around shooting approaching missiles out of the sky and fighting to keep your missile-launching bases vehicles. There wasn't much else to this game and that's why we love it so much - playing defense for six separate cities against a sky full of ballistic missiles still has us sweating bullets and darting our eyes furiously across the screen.
16. ‘Defender’
First-timers that emptied a quarter into an arcade cabinet for Defender were treated to a classic alien blaster. And thanks to its signature side-view, horizontally scrolling shooter approach to gameplay, it rose above many of its similar contemporaries. All there is to focus on here is making sure every alien invader gets blasted out of the sky and securing the well-being of assorted astronauts. It always feels so damn good to put a stop to your outer space enemies by releasing those lethal "smart bombs" for good measure.
17. ‘Tempest’
Atari's Color-QuadraScan vector display technology and the opportunity to allow players to choose what stage they wanted to start playing first afforded Tempest two of its most prized features. And thanks to the fast-paced action that's all about shooting different types of geometric shapes across various lanes, greatness truly ensued. Tempest is video game royalty forever and ever - one look at its vector graphics and plenty of warm memories wash over 80s arcade goers that played it to death.
18. ‘1942’
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning aka the "Super Ace" is the freedom-fighting warplane that players used to shoot down the opposition in Capcom's classic shooter, 1942. As the very first game in the series, it laid a fantastic foundation for one of the best SHMUPS (shoot 'em ups) Capcom has ever released quality reiterations and updates. 1942's real-world WWII inspiration goes a long way to giving it an extra air of legitimacy that makes it unforgettable.
19. ‘Mario Bros’
Before Mario and Luigi made it their duty to save Princess Peach from Bowser, they started out life as two humble plumbers. And to clean out New York City's sewers, players had to help them defeat all of the "Shellcreepers" and other assorted baddies that invaded the city's underground pipes. The original Mario Bros. didn't allow you to just hop on enemies to get rid of them - you had to bump them from the bottom of the platforms they inhabit to turn them on their back, then jump on them to eliminate them permanently. Putting the "POW" block to great use always elicits the most fun from this Nintendo arcade gem.
20. ‘Track & Field’
The Summer Olympic Games clearly inspired Konami to produce a video game rendition of the most celebrated sports exhibition in human history. That project led to arcade fanatics furiously tapping the "run" and "action" buttons and spinning the "trackball" to push their athlete to the #1 spot for every lively competition. Track & Field's pixelated presentation of the 100-meter dash, long jump, javelin throw, and more tested the arm and finger dexterity of gamers to the extreme. And that's why we still adore it and decided to give it a nod on our list of the best 80s arcade games.
21. ‘Chase HQ’
Taito is another one of those classic gaming publishers/developers hailing from Japan that dropped several outstanding games in the 80s and 90s. When it delved into the car combat genre, gamers were gifted with a visually appealing game that let them go on a ramming rampage against specific criminal cars. Chase HQ is practically a more rambunctious rendition of Sega's Outrun that focuses on avoiding obstacles while you inch ever so closer to the enemy automobile.
22. ‘Zaxxon’
In the 80s, Sega's arcade output embraced innovation. Zaxxon perfectly embodies that monumental approach as it arrived as the first game to utilize the 3D simulation visual style known as axonometric projection. Thanks to this evolutionary graphical effect, anyone who gave Zaxxon a chance was welcomed to some solid shooting action with their ship as they explored enemy-filled space fortresses. The arcade cabinet for this game features an aircraft-style stick, which plays into the immersion that comes with increasing and decreasing the altitude of your airship.
23. ‘Contra’
Bill and Lance are two of Konami's most recognizable gun runners and gaming icons thanks to their role in the side-scrolling arcade blast Contra. While most fans recognize the NES home console version way more nowadays, the original arcade release captured a ton of attention beforehand. You all know the drill here - push forward to the right, use your base and upgraded guns to clear enemies out of your path, and leap across exploding platforms during Contra's action-fueled stage playthroughs.
24. ‘Joust’
The concept of Joust is still a mind trip to this day - players take on the role of a heroic knight riding atop a flying ostrich who must clear out incoming hordes of evil knights that take flight upon buzzards. Flapping as much as possible to gain the proper momentum and height needed to defeat your foes during midair collisions is still fun as all hell. And don't forget - pick up those darn eggs your fallen foes drop! Joust and its quirky concept pretty much guaranteed it a spot on this list of the best 80s arcade games.
25. ‘Paperboy’
When newspaper boys frequented neighborhoods filled with white picket fences and big houses, they were known to fling that day's paper in quick succession as they made their down to each home on the block. Paperboy took that everyday job and turned it into a surprisingly fun arcade activity that probably inspired a few kids to do it in real life. It's pretty cool how actual bike handlebars are attached to the game's arcade cabinet to really put the whole act of newspaper flinging over the top. Now go out there and find a Paperboy arcade cabinet so you can deliver "The Daily Sun" while you dodge all those darn sidewalk hazards!
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