GamesNostalgia

Retro games, abandonware, freeware and classic games for PC and Mac

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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.

The House of the Dead windows

The House of the Dead is a shooter arcade game with an action-horror thematic created by Sega and released in 1996. The title was ported to Sega Saturn and Windows in 1998. These l...

Year: 1998 Genre: Shooter

3d arcade coin-op conversion first-person horror rail shooter

DX-Ball windows

DX-Ball is a 'breakout' clone, based on the popular Amiga game Megaball, developed for Windows in 1996 by Michael P. Welch..

Year: 1996 Genre: Arcade

arcade breakout clone freeware paddle pong

Bomberman '93 pc-engine

Bomberman '93 is an edition of the famous Bomberman game released by Hudson in 1993 for the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 console. The Hudson Soft series began with Bomberman in 1985, a game released for NES and MSX.

Year: 1992 Genre: Arcade

arcade competitive multiplayer pc engine top-down turbografx-16 versus

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 genesis

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed and published by Midway Games in 1995. It is an improved and slightly different version of Mortal Kombat 3. The original thi...

Year: 1996 Genre: Brawler

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

Super Street Fighter II Turbo dosamiga

Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a competitive fighting game created by Capcom and released initially as an arcade in 1994. It is the fifth game in the Street Fighter 2 series, ...

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players 3do aga arcade brawler competitive fighting versus

Super Street Fighter II DX amiga

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is the fourth chapter of the popular beat-em-up series based on the arcade Street Fighter II. This edition, known as Super Street Fighter 2, is the first to use "Super" in the title.

Year: 1995 Genre: Brawler

2 players aga arcade brawler competitive fighting martial arts versus

Ghosts 'N Goblins Remake windows

Ghosts 'n Goblins Remake is a freeware clone of the 1985 popular side-scrolling platforming game developed by Capcom for arcades..

Year: 2004 Genre: Arcade

arcade clone dark fantasy enhanced remakes freeware horror platformer side-scrolling sword and sorcery

Ghosts 'N Goblins amiganescommodore-64game-boy-color

Ghosts 'N Goblins is a popular arcade released by Capcom in 1985 and later ported to many home platforms. The Amiga version was published by Elite in 1990, several years after the original Capcom coin-op.

Year: 1990 Genre: Arcade

arcade coin-op conversion dark fantasy horror side-scrolling sword and sorcery

Pinball Fantasies amiga

Pinball Fantasies, the sequel to Pinball Dreams, is a pinball game initially developed for the Amiga by Digital Illusions in 1992 and later ported to DOS, Playstation and many other platforms.

Year: 1992 Genre: Arcade

aga amiga cd32 amiga original game arcade bat and ball hotseat multiplayer pinball

Deluxe PacMan amiga

Deluxe PacMan is a Pac-Man clone/variant developed by Edgar M. Vigdal for Amiga and released in 1992. The file you can download from GamesNostalgia is the AGA version, emulator included.

Year: 1992 Genre: Arcade

aga amiga original game arcade clone freeware remake

Golden Axe genesisamiga

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack and slash fantasy game created by Sega and released for arcade machines in 1989. The game was ported the same year to the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesi...

Year: 1990 Genre: Brawler

2 players arcade brawler co-op coin-op conversion fantasy hack and slash progressive beat-em-up sword and sorcery

Deluxe Galaga amiga

Deluxe Galaga is a shareware remake of the famous arcade Galaga for the Amiga. It was created in 1993 by Edgar M. Vigdal (also the author of Deluxe PacMan). The game is an enhan...

Year: 1994 Genre: Arcade

2 players aga amiga original game arcade enhanced remakes shareware shooter top-down

Bubble Bobble amiga

Bubble Bobble is one of the most famous arcades ever created and a personal favorite of GamesNostalgia. This 2D cartoon action platformer designed by Fukio Mitsuji (aka MTJ) was released by Taito initially in 1986.

Year: 1987 Genre: Platformer

2 players arcade clear screen co-op coin-op conversion platformer

Dyna Blaster amiganes

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 multiplayer top-down