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Best arcade games on GamesNostalgia

Arcade games are video games commonly installed in cabinets and placed in bars; they were very common in the '80s. Many arcade games were ported to home computers and consoles, even if the conversion sometimes required the removal of some features due to different hardware. However, in this case, we are not really talking about actual arcades but more about the genre. Arcade games are often simple titles based on skills and speed. Initially, they were based on single screens - think about Pac-Man and Space Invaders, for example, but then they started to feature scrolling screens.

In this group, you can find some of the most popular titles in the history of video games, such as Taito's Bubble Bobble or CAPCOM's Ghosts 'N Goblins. Some of the best beat-em-ups have been born as arcades, like Street Fighter or Double Dragon. SEGA's Golden Axe was a fantastic example of a hack-and-slash theme with cooperative action for two players (that could choose between 3 different characters). We should also not forget OutRun, an arcade that revolutionized racing games, and Irem's R-Type, a title that set the standard for horizontal scrolling space shooters. And let's not forget Arkanoid, the successor of Breakout. The list is long, but we cannot end this overview without mentioning one of the cutest platformers ever created, Taito's The New Zealand Story. In the list below, you will also find some games not originally born as coin-ops but only inspired by the classic arcades of the past. If you are interested in this genre, we suggest you also check the group coin-op conversion.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi amiga

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is an arcade game created by Atari in 1984 and despite the title of the third movie, it's the sequel to the first Star Wars game (the third game, The Empire Strikes Back, was released one year later).

Year: 1988 Genre: Shooter

arcade coin-op conversion isometric action-adventure licensed movies science fiction shooter star wars

Midnight Resistance amiga

Midnight Resistance is a popular platformer/shooter created by Data East and released initially as an arcade in 1989. It was later ported to several home computer platforms, includ...

Year: 1990 Genre: Arcade

2 players arcade co-op coin-op conversion cyberpunk platform-shooter run and gun shooter

Volfied amigapc-engine

Volfied is an action-puzzle game developed and published by Taito Corporation in 1989, initially in the arcade and on TurboGrafx-16. The subsequent years after its release, it was ...

Year: 1991 Genre: Arcade

arcade clear-screen arcade clone coin-op conversion science fiction top-down

Bomberman amiganespc-engine

Bomberman, or as it's known in Europe, Dyna Blaster, is one of my all-time favorites games. Originally created in 1983 for the PC Engine, it was later ported to the Atari ST and the Amiga.

Year: 1991 Genre: Arcade

arcade competitive maze chase multiplayer top-down

Double Dragon II: The Revenge amiganes

Double Dragon II: The Revenge is a side-scrolling beat 'em up created originally as an arcade by Technos Japan, as a sequel to Double Dragon. The game was ported to many home com...

Year: 1989 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion progressive beat-em-up

Mortal Kombat II dosgenesisamiga

Mortal Kombat II is the second installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise, developed by Midway games and published by Acclaim Entertainment in 1993. This sequel is just one of the ...

Year: 1994 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler coin-op conversion fighting martial arts motion capture versus violence

Double Dragon amigagame-boy-advancecommodore-64genesis

Double Dragon is a beat them up created by Technos Japan and released in 1987 by Taito. Originally released as an arcade game, versions were also made for home computers and consol...

Year: 1988 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler co-op coin-op conversion progressive beat-em-up

Toki amiga

Toki is a platformer arcade created by TAD Corporation and originally released in 1989. Two years later, it was ported to several home computer platforms. I'm not going to lie. Until recently, I had never played Toki.

Year: 1991 Genre: Arcade

arcade coin-op conversion platform-shooter platformer

Street Fighter II: Champion Edition pc-enginegenesis

Street Fighter II: Champion Edition is a fighting game developed by Capcom and released in 1992 as a coin-op. arcade. The home console ports followed in 1993 for both Sega Genesis and PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16.

Year: 1993 Genre: Brawler

2 players anime arcade brawler coin-op conversion competitive fighting martial arts

Street Fighter II dosamigagenesis

Street Fighter II is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter and was developed and published by Capcom in 1991. Originally made for arcades, it was later released for other platforms, including that Amiga and PC.

Year: 1992 Genre: Brawler

2 players anime arcade brawler competitive fighting

Target Renegade commodore-64

Target Renegade is a side-scrolling beat 'em up developed by Imagine Software and published by Ocean Software in 1988. The game was originally conceived as a follow-up to Technōs ...

Year: 1988 Genre: Brawler

arcade brawler commodore 64 progressive beat-em-up side-scrolling violence

Smash T.V. amigagenesis

Smash T.V. is an arcade game created by Eugene Jarvis and Mark Turmell for Williams Electronics and released in 1990. It was later ported to several platforms, including Genesis, A...

Year: 1991 Genre: Shooter

arcade coin-op conversion dual joysticks flip-screen flip-screen shoot-em-up shooter top-down twin-stick shooter

Bart vs the World nesamigasega-master-system

The Simpsons: Bart vs the World is a 1991 platformer developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim, originally for the NES. It followed the commercial success of Bart vs the ...

Year: 1991 Genre: Platformer

arcade cartoon flip-screen jumper licensed platform-adventure platformer tv series

BurgerTime nescommodore-64

Burger Time is a 1982 arcade game developed by Data East, well known for its quirky concept and addictive gameplay. It was one of the more original arcade experiences of its time, ...

Year: 1984 Genre: Arcade

arcade cartoon coin-op conversion comedy maze chase platformer