Arcade games are a significant part of the video game legacy. Back in the day, some titles made young gamers line up to trade their coins for a chance to travel to pixel worlds. Some of those releases are still available on modern platforms, so I preferred the list of the best arcade games you can still play.
Space Invaders
Taito’s Space Invaders was a monumental success, credited with ushering in the golden age of arcade video games. It set foundational gameplay mechanics that are still celebrated in many modern games. Its influence extends beyond gaming; it became a cultural icon, inspiring various forms of media and even contributing to popularizing video games as a global entertainment medium. The beauty of Space Invaders lies in its simplicity and escalating difficulty. As players progress, the aliens’ descent speeds up, making each level more challenging than the last. The game also introduced players to the concept of strategic sheltering behind barriers that would gradually disintegrate under enemy fire.
The original version hasn’t been released on modern gaming platforms, but Taito celebrated their hit’s 30th anniversary by releasing Space Invaders Extreme. It’s the game’s overhauled version, which stays very close to the original and is easily available.
Galaga
Galaga, an iconic arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in the United States by Midway, is a sequel to the 1979 game Galaxian. It built upon its predecessor’s space shooter format by adding new features and refining the gameplay to offer a more engaging experience. Players control a spaceship at the bottom of the screen, tasked with destroying waves of alien enemies that swoop down in intricate patterns. One of Galaga’s hallmark features is the challenging stage, a bonus level where players can shoot as many aliens as possible to rack up high scores without the risk of being attacked.
Galaga has been celebrated for its simple yet addictive gameplay, elegant design, and memorable music and sound effects. Its influence extends beyond arcades; it has been ported to multiple platforms over the years, included in various Namco compilations, and even featured in pop culture references such as movies and television shows.
Pac-Man
It’s an iconic game designed by Toru Iwatani. The first arcade machines with Pac-Man invaded Japan in July 1980 and later went overseas to free gamers from their heavy coins. Its simple yet addictive game involves navigating a yellow, circular character, the titular Pac-Man, through a maze filled with dots and occasional fruits to score points. The primary goal is to consume all the dots in the maze while avoiding four colorful ghosts named Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde, who roam the maze attempting to catch Pac-Man. Each corner of the maze contains a flashing dot known as a power pellet that grants Pac-Man the temporary ability to eat the pursuing ghosts, turning them into vulnerable blue versions.
Pac-Man has received tons of sequels, including the famous Ms. Pac-Man. You can still play the game that started it all, thanks to the Pac-Man Museum+ compilation. By the way, have you known that the title Pac-Man derives from a Japanese word that means “to eat”?
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong is a game by the legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto. It was released by Nintendo in 1981, becoming a commercial success. The game features a series of fixed stages where the player takes on the role of a character, whose initial goal is to rescue a damsel in distress from the giant ape Donkey Kong. The gameplay involves maneuvering across platforms while avoiding obstacles such as barrels, fireballs, and other hazards that Donkey Kong hurls at him. The protagonist can jump over these obstacles or use hammers that temporarily allow him to destroy them. Back then, the protagonist was known as Jumpman or Mr. Video, but its name would later be changed to Mario. Yes, that Mario, one of the most iconic video game characters.
Currently, Donkey Kong doesn’t have official distribution on PC, Xbox, or PlayStation consoles. However, you can play it on the Nintendo Switch because this pre-Mario era hit is available for Nintendo Switch Online members.
Dragon’s Lair
Dragon’s Lair is a pioneering 1983 video game created by Rick Dyer and Don Bluth, a former Disney animator. It’s renowned for being one of the first games to use full-motion video (FMV) with animation drawn by Bluth’s team, leveraging LaserDisc technology. This was a significant departure from sprite-based or vector graphics to cartoon visuals looking like a Disney movie.
The gameplay was minimalistic. Players only had to press the right button at the right moment. Hence, it was like modern QTE sequences. However, the gap for reaction was incredibly narrow, so there was no room for error. Therefore, finishing the game and rescuing the kidnapped princess was extremely hard. Fortunately, the graphics and animations were so mesmerizing that players kept throwing in coins instead of quitting. The modern version offers much lower difficulty, so it’s surely worth a try. All the more so because Dragon’s Lair still looks great, even 40 years after its original release.
Street Fighter II
Today, Street Fighter is one of the most renowned fighting franchises. However, the first installment, which came out in 1987, wasn’t particularly good. As a result, Capcom decided to overhaul virtually everything and gave players something they desired but didn’t know. The sequel, called Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, offered a polished fighting system to master, memorable characters with unique moves, and colorful levels. The results were spectacular. All amusement arcades craved Street Fighter II machines because players eagerly left millions of dollars to play as Ryu, Chun Li, Blanka, and other warriors that became iconic on the spot. Later, the game got updated versions with gameplay improvements and new characters. As a result, there were five different Street Fighter II incidents:
- Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
- Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
- Street Fighter II Turbo
- Super Street Fighter II
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo
SF2 set new standards, whereas its updated versions and sequels cemented Capcom’s fighting franchise among the most-recognized video game series. There was even a terrible movie with a brilliant Raul Julia performance as Bison. If you would like to buy and play Street Fighter II today, I would suggest choosing Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. It features Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter III, and all their incarnations.
Mortal Kombat
Many companies tried to replicate Street Fighter II’s success, but no one did as well as Midway. John Tobias and Ed Boon decided to make their fighting game much more brutal and realistic. Digitized sprites today may look funny, but in 1992, it was almost life-like graphics. Interesting lore with seven playable unique characters and multiple secrets made players love Mortal Kombat. The game introduced a new mechanic, Fatalities, which allowed players to finish off their opponents in a gruesome fashion. This shocked and intrigued many players, making Mortal Kombat an instant hit and the worst enemy of morality guardians. However, the game faced backlash for its violence and was heavily censored in many countries. Its success also led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in response to parental concerns about violent video games.
The first Mortal Kombat game is still available if you want to learn about the roots of the series. Playing it may still be fun and shows how far the series has come since its beginnings 30 years ago.
Virtua Fighter 2
Today, Tekken is the symbol of 3D fighting games. However, it’s worth remembering that Virtua Fighter’s release in 1993 heralded the revolution. Its sequel came out in 1994, about a month after the first installment in the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. History showed that the Tekken series won this competition, but at the time, both games had solid fanbases and boasted sky-high reviews.
Virtua Fighter 2 represented a significant leap forward for the fighting game genre. Building on the success of its predecessor, it offered improved graphics and a smoother gameplay experience, thanks to its utilization of Sega’s Model 2 arcade hardware. The game was one of the first to offer fully 3D environments and character models, setting a new standard for realism. What set Virtua Fighter 2 apart from other fighters of its era was its deep emphasis on realism and strategy. Each character practiced different forms of martial arts, ranging from wrestling to Jeet Kune Do, offering players a diverse roster to master. This intricacy made Virtua Fighter 2 not just a test of reflexes but also of tactical skill, requiring players to consider their movements and attacks with great care. Since 2010, Virtua Fighter 2 has been available on Steam; hence, you can still get this Sega’s masterpiece.
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