The greatest arcade game of all time, tell your story.

[system11]

I was a kid in the late 70s and through the 80s, and when I went to arcades at the seaside with my parents, it was early enough to catch the period where you could still find Space Invaders and Asteroids on the arcade floor - and even some of those projected mechanical games in smaller arcades. We went often, I raided my dads pockets constantly, and as I've grown up I've never been able to walk past an arcade and check out what's inside.

This has gone on for 30+ years now, and as a result I've ended up in the situation of having played pretty much everything worthwhile that ever existed (and most of rubbish too). There's a bit of the gap on the new racing/shooting games due to a total lack of arcades in the UK and those games not being ones you can just pick the PCBs up of, but that's about it. Speaking of PCBs, I've bought played and sold hundreds of them to see if I still enjoy the games or to fill in the gaps, and used MAME similarly.

And so I've finally taken the time to consider them all and name what I believe is the best arcade game of all time.

It's got to be Star Wars.

Big license, great looking cabinets (especially the cockpit types), ground-breaking visuals that have actually come back into fashion, great sound, and gameplay that just doesn't get old - it's as fast and furious as it ever was diving through the trenches.

So there we go, that's my pick - I'd be interested to hear what other people would pick as their all time greatest and why. The only rule is that it has to be something that was operated for profit in arcades.

[Mortificator]

That game about the house. You know, the one that people got splattered in.

[Wonderbanana]

I was a kid in the late 70s and through the 80s, and when I went to arcades at the seaside with my parents, it was early enough to catch the period where you could still find Space Invaders and Asteroids on the arcade floor - and even some of those projected mechanical games in smaller arcades. We went often, I raided my dads pockets constantly, and as I've grown up I've never been able to walk past an arcade and check out what's inside.

This has gone on for 30+ years now, and as a result I've ended up in the situation of having played pretty much everything worthwhile that ever existed (and most of rubbish too). There's a bit of the gap on the new racing/shooting games due to a total lack of arcades in the UK and those games not being ones you can just pick the PCBs up of, but that's about it. Speaking of PCBs, I've bought played and sold hundreds of them to see if I still enjoy the games or to fill in the gaps, and used MAME similarly.

And so I've finally taken the time to consider them all and name what I believe is the best arcade game of all time.

It's got to be Star Wars.

Big license, great looking cabinets (especially the cockpit types), ground-breaking visuals that have actually come back into fashion, great sound, and gameplay that just doesn't get old - it's as fast and furious as it ever was diving through the trenches.

So there we go, that's my pick - I'd be interested to hear what other people would pick as their all time greatest and why. The only rule is that it has to be something that was operated for profit in arcades.

As a kid from the same era I'm not sure I can disagree with that choice tbh. I never could pass that cab without playing it and its just not the same playing it anywhere else (MAME etc). Not like you can just pick it up on jamma and whack it in a cab either.

Took my kids to a Star Wars show a few years back and they had a refurbished cockpit there. Had to play it. Left sooo disappointed though. They'd clearly 'refurbished' the yoke controls and it just felt wrong in so many ways. Would love to play one today that was exactly as it was back in the day and not fecked.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

OutRun. There was nothing quite like getting into one of those sitdown cabs. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of OutRun 2006, captures that pure nostalgia with a modern flair.

[stryc9]

Nice thread. It's almost an impossible question to answer, though, really difficult to whittle down the true greats let alone pick one.

However, if it had to be just one, then I'm afraid at the risk of sounding unoriginal, it would have to be Street Fighter II. No bones about it, The games genre-defining playability is still felt in the latest fighting games, and the Turbo iteration is still considered by many to be the best-balanced FG of all time.

I don't think I can name any other game that comes close to having the same effect, revitalizing arcades of the time and shaping a golden age where many companies released their own competitors spawning some of the most iconic characters ever. SNK immediately springs to mind.

[emphatic]

Rygar. It's the reason I found out about emulation, wanting to play it again so bad almost 10 years later. This later led to building a MAME cabinet->buying a JAMMA cabinet->buying a Rygar PCB. I feel the same magic I felt back in 1987 when I first played it everytime I play it. Frantic gameplay, hidden bonuses, awesome controls and a pure arcade action game.

[casualcoder]

Street Fighter II.

I remember when it came out there was nothing else like it. Pretty soon it ended up in every corner store, candy shop and family center you could happen upon. It was such a ballsy move to have this complex system that most people came to figure out through rumors and accident. I remember when dragon punches seemed impossible.

And I remember getting my ass kicked the first time I played a human opponent (at that time I thought I was going to wow him because I got to the point where I could spit out fireballs with about 90% success rate). It was no contest and I realized the game was incredibly deep. I always thought I'd give the game a 2nd look and try to get good at it. That didn't happen until about 2008 with the updated HD remix version and then on GGPO. I can see myself playing it and enjoying it for decades.

[xbl0x180]

I don't know about greatest, but I was in love with the look of Strider - and still am to this day



Oddly enough, I've hated every iteration of Strider. I ONLY like the arcade version.

[stryc9]

Why no love for the MD port?

[cj iwakura]

As much time(and fitness) as I've gotten out of the Pump It Up franchise, pound for pound and for sheer arcade-only experience, I say Time Crisis.

The story is just intense enough to keep your interest, yet silly enough to be hilarious, and it remains the only game in the series that pushes you to finish each segment as quickly as possible, since you're on a constant timer; not regenerating set times like the later games.

TC1 pushes it even further by grading you on your time, and I've had many a showdown for the highest scores. I have stage 2 of TC1 down to an absolute science.


I've generated an audience before by playing TC1.

[xbl0x180]

Why no love for the MD port?

It was alright. The PC-Engine Arcade Card version is purportedly to be the best version, but nothing beats the arcade for me. I remember back in 1990 seeing the arcade and was immediately in love with the whole look and style. I think Capcom really missed an opportunity for making more platformers on the level of Strider or using the character effectively. Last time I saw Hiryu, he was on some bloody awful Crapcom fighting game - and a very ugly design to boot.

[Raytrace]

I presume you are speaking of the vector Star Wars game - I'd have to agree - nothing else has quite the same magical appeal as that cab for me.

those vector graphics blew me away and I think they're probably the root of why I love all things vector (in design etc.) I mean, to this day. Those asterisk like explosions - beautiful.

[Hagane]

Super Street Fighter II Turbo. I could play that game forever. The amount of depth, the speed, unforgiving style, the character variety... definitely Capcom's magnum opus.

Funnily enough, I never played the game (not even SF2) back when there were arcades in my country. I only got into it when it was added to GGPO.

[Skykid]

It's not the greatest arcade game, I wouldn't ever pin that down to one anyway, but my greatest arcade experience is Star Wars.

That one cab (stand up or sit down, not fussed) holds more magic and nostalgia for me than anything else. It reminds me of childhood Christmasses watching the Empire Strikes Back a mere 30 minutes from actually being in the arcade playing the Star Wars cab. It was also one of the first games I got really good at, I could manage a good ten minute run when I was around ten years old.

I was lucky enough to basically live in as many arcades as you could imagine and experience everything growing up, but that Star Wars cab, its graphics and those sounds, are the ultimate IMO. If I close my eyes and think back to those sunny days dashing between arcade establishments, it's usually the first thing that springs to mind.

Also, it's an absolutely terrific game generally, and also to play for score - at the first Repl@y in Blackpool I spent ages on the cab until I took the owners no.1 spot!

I will buy a stand-up at some point, I've really been holding off until I have a bit more living space (even the stand-up is hefty). I've considered selling a few Cave kits to fund one many times over.

"I've lost R-2!"

[boagman]

As much time(and fitness) as I've gotten out of the Pump It Up franchise, pound for pound and for sheer arcade-only experience, I say Time Crisis.

The story is just intense enough to keep your interest, yet silly enough to be hilarious, and it remains the only game in the series that pushes you to finish each segment as quickly as possible, since you're on a constant timer; not regenerating set times like the later games.

TC1 pushes it even further by grading you on your time, and I've had many a showdown for the highest scores. I have stage 2 of TC1 down to an absolute science.


I've generated an audience before by playing TC1.

Loved this game in its day, but TC2 *completely* spoiled TC1 for me. Don't get me wrong: TC1 was terrific, but I always felt it was wildly unfair as well. TC2 introduced the "burst" which let you know you *had* to duck...TC1 was completely arbitrary as to whether or not you would be hit, with the exception of "DANGER" moments. I never appreciated that at all, especially after TC2 corrected the issue.

The other issue has to do with the clock, yes, but only to one degree: I agree with you, in theory anyway, that the clock in TC1 was much more of a "crisis" than in subsequent games in the series. The problem was that you could be running low on the clock *and* lives, and if you happened to get shot on your last life, and you decided to spend money to continue, your clock wouldn't reset...so you could start with three fresh lives...and eight whole seconds in which to use them! Once eight seconds expired, unless you were able to get some sort of time extension, guess what? Time to spend more money to continue again! This was a major issue with me, as it happened more than once.

But the gameplay? The music? The characters? The storyline? Wild Dog? Loved it all. *Hated* finding a cabinet with a sticky pedal.

[boagman]

I don't know about greatest, but I was in love with the look of Strider - and still am to this day



Oddly enough, I've hated every iteration of Strider. I ONLY like the arcade version.

This is a fine choice, I agree. I'm not as stringent on my version as you are, but I'll certainly spot that there isn't any substitute for the arcade version itself. Others may be "fine", but they're not the original.

[boagman]

Viewpoint by Sammy for SNK's Neo-Geo.

No video game, arcade or otherwise, has ever made me happier or more satisfied. If games are, in fact, art, this is what I'd consider to be Monet's "Water Lilies", Rodan's "The Thinker", or Michelangelo's "David". None other deserves my top spot.

Now, if you're opening the discussion up to things *other than* video games, that answer might be different.

[O. Van Bruce]

I didn't had a lot of arcade games in my childhood but I got pretty adicted to Crazy Taxi when I was 8-12 years old.

[Skykid]

On a secondary note, System11, considering the reputation of movie to videogame licenses, it's quite incredible that Atari's Star Wars has such the (justified) distinction of being one of the finest arcades in history!

Also, out of interest, what's the going rate for a stand up these days. Last I saw it was around £1.5k for a good condition sit down, but the stand-ups I'm unsure about.

[Stormwatch]

Oddly enough, I've hated every iteration of Strider. I ONLY like the arcade version.

The MD version was better than the arcade. While the cutscene voices were removed and some graphics had to be toned down, the collision detection is much better, the soundtrack sounds more in-your-face, and the ending is much cooler. The PCE version is terrible: no background parallax, an arranged soundtrack that just doesn't feel right, and some mediocre cutscenes that add nothing to the game.

[sven666]

i grew up in the 80s and 90s, in the 80s there was an arcade cab in every burger joint in sweden, i remember final fight absolutley blew me away when it came out, still a super-solid title to this day.
I also remember the thunder blade moving seat version felt super cool at its time.

but the greatest arcade game imo didnt come out untill 1997, by now my family had moved to the netherlands and me and a friend snuck into an arcade in rotterdam on regular basis, in the basement they had all the fighting games where we used to play killer instinct, mortal kombat, SFvsxmen and a bunch of others.. but when Street fighter 3 came out it just blew everything else away, everyone was playing that and only that and it took a long time before anyone went back to anything else.

also coupled by the fact that it occationally still shows up on lists of the most grossing games of the month in japanese arcades surely must mean its the greatest arcade game of all time!



not something you'll catch me playing especially often tho (dont even own it myself)

[Marc]

OutRun. There was nothing quite like getting into one of those sitdown cabs. It's one of the reasons I'm so fond of OutRun 2006, captures that pure nostalgia with a modern flair.

Oh yes sir, this. As a kid with an Intellivision and Spectrum, OutRun WAS the arcade for me - it represented everything that my shitty home machines could never hope to touch. I still play it regularly to this day. The four player OutRunners would be a close second. Such beautiful pixels art at a time when everyone else was jumping head first into polys.

[Bloodreign]

Bubble Bobble - now as a kid I never saw a machine for this anywhere in my area. My first exposure to it was on the NES, I soon found out it was originally an arcade game, when I started emulating it I really fell in love with the arcade version. When the Taito collections came out, this and another, Rainbow Islands, were included. I finally had arcade versions of these 2 games (would actually not play the NES version till I bought it, felt way off) in my home at long last. I'd eventually pick up the Japanese collections had had the arcade sequels (Bubble Symphony and Memories) in my grasp, my exposure to those were through MAME. I'd later pick up the Saturn iteration (prior to the packs, along with Liquid Kids, another great one), and loved having it to play in my home the proper way.

Mappy- I did play this a few times as a kid, I loved this one from Namco, play as the mouse Mappy and try to get back all the items some crazy cats stole. I now have a couple versions to play at home, arcade version on PS2 and PSP, and the Famicom version.

I could go on all day with arcade titles, like Time Pilot, Xevious, Pac-Land, and Pac-Mania (and tons more), but I'll keep it like this, nice and simple.

[SuperPang]

[neorichieb1971]

We had 3 arcades in Bedford. These were the highlights.

Amidar - 1981
Star Wars - 198*
Discs of Tron - 198*
Dragons Lair - 1984
Paperboy - 198*
Outrun - 1986
Gauntlet - 1986 and my favourite of all time.

Those were the crowd pullers.


These were favourites as well. But mostly I liked them because they were loud, jingly and represented everything about the 80's.


Rygar - On loud speakers was phenomenal.
Wonderboy
Shinobi - Again, the music the atmosphere, and for a year a crowd puller
Bubble Bobble - For some reason a lot of people play this, for YEARS! With the cheat on of course.
Track and Field/Hypersports


Then the cinemas and bowling alleys took over and we had Sega Rally, Daytonas.

[DEL]

Very hard to say.

I've spent so much time in the arcades over the last 30 years.

My answer is the Naomi Border Down cab I was playing in the Trocadero arcade.

The Darius 3 screen cab with Zuntata blaring out at you on the asteroid stage.
Salamander. Truxton. Gradius II. R-Type. Nemesis. Hellfire. X-Multiply. Ghouls n'Ghosts. Black Tiger. The Ninja Warriors 3 screen cab (that I know System 11 used to own), again for the amazing Zuntata soundtrack. We had fun with Muchi Muchi Pork when it was in the arcade. Fire Shark, Twin Cobra.
An endless list of games we had fun on, but the most important part of it all was the "we". Playing these games socially in the arcades with your mates.

[Mero]

I'll R-Type and Ghouls'n'Ghosts, I could get to stage 3 on both of them and this was at a time (late 80's/very early 90's) when I was absolutely atrocious at games. I think on most games I tried back then I never made it past the 1st stage.

Also fond memories of playing TMNT arcade game, though I was no good at that either. I remember I used to like it when Rocksteady turned up at the end of the first stage and said "say yer prayers toitles!". I think I used to mostly game over on him

[Acid King]

I'm going to have to go with Samurai Shodown. The arcade I used to frequent was in a small mall adjacent to a grocery store. Every weekend I'd ride with my mom to the store, get a handful of change, and go play games while my mom did the shopping. I spent a lot of time in that arcade, but I didn't really play anything seriously until they installed Samurai Shodown in the Neo Geo. I loved everything about it, the art, the characters, the weapons, the blood, the way heavy hits land in such an oh so nasty fashion... it was just leagues above and beyond Street Fighter in my mind. I played that shit to death, alternating credits between Gen An and Haohmaru, and after awhile I was regularly pulling 1cc's with Gen An. I got so fucking stoked about Samurai Shodown 2, only to see the arcade close and the mall follow shortly after they got it.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

it was just leagues above and beyond Street Fighter in my mind..

Don't ever read this thread or you'll be seriously disappointed.

[Skykid]

it was just leagues above and beyond Street Fighter in my mind..

Don't ever read this thread or you'll be seriously disappointed.

Nah, it's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, good game but certainly not leagues above Street Fighter by any stretch of the imagination.