When I first began playing video games in the early 80s, arcade games were the pinnacle of the gaming experience – they had huge cabinets, great graphics, booming sound, and if you were good enough (or had lots of 20 cent coins), gameplay that would keep you coming back.
Being a nostalgist, I was recently reminiscing about arcade games I played at the local darkened arcade parlour, the corner milk bar and also the fish and chips shop near my school. With a smile on my face, I compiled a number of screenshots of arcade games that kept me mesmerised in the 1980s. I hope these bring back great memories for you, as they have for me. Enjoy and remember, “Winners Don’t Use Drugs!”.
My favourite beat’em up of all time. Nothing beats the kneeing to the head and wrapping a baseball bat around a the Black Warriors head!
Save Ronnie and grab some burgers and coke! We are bad dudes fighting the dragon ninja!
Still my go-to vertical shoot’em up! Plenty of 20c coins were spent on Galaga!
The little yellow dot muncher never let me down
The droning sound of this most awesomest of dungeon-maze crawlers is still sublime
Wrestling was huge in the mid 80s, and Wrestle War was a laugh!
Saving the kidnapped Madonna, one kick at a time!
Who could forget this aerial dogfighting classic from Yu Suzuki!
Another Yu Suzuki classic!
The game that ushered in the Golden Age of Arcades
The helicopter cockpit version of Thunder Blade was simply awesome!
The ninja craze was huge in the 80s. Everyone wanted to throw shurikens like Joe!
My beat’em up love began with Kung Fu Master
It was either Salamander or R-Type. I chose Irem’s blaster!
Yu Suzuki’s Out Run will always be associated with coolness!
Ikari Warriors – guerrilla warfare with a mate
Heavy Barrel – just like Ikari Warriors, but with a rotary stick to shoot baddies in 8-directions!
Another Sega classic. This was as close as I got to riding a motocross bike in the 80s
The seminal Nintendo classic will always be on my favourites list
The timeless Taito platform beauty – I love you Bub and Bob
A bomb disposal hero in leotards = perfect!
4P dungeon exploring never got any better than this!
Tempest – the vector splendour!
Going to Flashbacks on Swanston Street was always about Discs of Tron
Special agent action via Elevator Action
I wasn’t much of a skateboarder, but I was pretty good on 720 Degrees!
The ultimate single-screen blaster!
There was something about Moon Patrol that I can’t even explain now!
What would any 80s arcade list be without TMNT. Cowabunga!
Double Dragon started the 2P co-op beat’em up genre, Final Fight took it to another level!
source: various – supplied on request