Arcade Games - Round 2b

 

Arcade Games

If you’re a Gen X kid like me, you spent half your childhood (and more than half your allowance) at the local arcade. Can you still hear the sound of the guy shooting out quarters from the thing he wore on his belt? Do you remember setting that quarter on the machine to say “I got next?” Can you still smell that one kid who was eternally parked in front of Dragon’s Lair?

What are the arcade games that you spent the most money on? What were your favorites?  

We’re voting on the greatest arcade game of them all! Get your joysticks ready! Raid your kid’s piggy bank! We’re not leaving this place until we get the high score!

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Round 1

(1) Ms. Pac-Man v (8) Q*bert

Pac-Man's wife is the star of this sequel, which featured more colors, more tunnels, and semi-random ghosts. For many, this is the definite version of a defining arcade game. 

Q*Bert is a funny, swearing creature who hops on a pyramid of cubes (hence the name) while avoiding a coiled snake. The 3-D effect was clever, and the character became iconic.

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(5) Centipede v (4) Joust

Centipede's trackball turned heads as players aimed for the head of the ever-lengthening menace in its field of mushrooms.

Why are the knights riding flying ostriches and storks? Don't ask, just make sure your lance is higher than your opponent's. Joust innovated with a two-way joystick and flapping mechanism.

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(6) Dragon's Lair v (3) Donkey Kong

Costing stacks of quarters for seconds of play, the appeal of Dragon's Lair was its astonishing LaserDisc animations created by Don Bluth.

This is the game that introduced Mario to the world, jumping barrels and climbing ladders to save Pauline. As a rival to Pac-Man, Donkey Kong established Ninetendo in the US and launched a franchise.

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(10) Mortal Kombat v (2) Space Invaders

Its graphic violence was controversial, but Mortal Kombat spawned a massive franchise of games, series, and films.

Among the most influential games of all time, the success of Space Invaders helped launch an industry. It was the first with saved high scores, and the first with continuous music. 

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