92 articles
1943: The Battle of Midway
1943: The Battle of Midway, titled 1943: Midway Kaisen in Japan, is a 1987 Capcom arcade vertical shooter and the second game in the 194X series.
Aero Fighters
Aero Fighters (Sonic Wings, エアロ・ファイターズ) is Video System's 1992 vertical-scrolling arcade shooter with eight pilot characters from four countries, seven boss stages, two-player co-op, SNES ports, Neo Geo sequels, and a 2023 Arcade Archives reissue.
Altered Beast
Altered Beast (獣王記, Jūōki) is Sega's 1988 arcade beat 'em up directed by Makoto Uchida on System 16B hardware, where Zeus revives a warrior to save Athena from Neff via Spirit Ball beast transformations; it was the Genesis/Mega Drive launch pack-in.
Arkanoid
Arkanoid (Taito, 1986) is a block breaker arcade game, a reworking of Atari's Breakout with the Vaus paddle, power-ups, 33 rounds, and the boss DOH; it defined the brick-breaker genre and spawned many sequels and ports.
Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior
Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior (Ryuuko no Ken Gaiden) is SNK's 1996 Neo Geo fighting game, the series' final entry, set in Glasshill Valley with only Ryo and Robert returning, motion-captured sprites, parries, and a 2026 remaster adding King and Yuri.
Asteroids (video game)
Asteroids (video game): 1979 Atari vector-graphics arcade game by Ed Logg and Lyle Rains; over 70,000 cabinets, Atari's best-selling arcade game; sequels Asteroids Deluxe, Space Duel, Blasteroids, Recharged.
Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja
Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja (DragonNinja, ドラゴンニンジャ) is Data East's 1988 co-op arcade beat 'em up in which Blade and Striker fight ninjas to rescue President Ronnie; a top-five 1988 US arcade earner with many home ports.
Batsugun (バツグン)
Batsugun (バツグン) is Toaplan's December 1993 vertical arcade shooter, widely credited as the first bullet hell (danmaku) game; its Special Version, Saturn port, and modern re-releases under Tatsujin and City Connection distinguish it from other shmups.
Breakout (video game)
Breakout is Atari's 1976 arcade brick-breaking game, a single-player Pong variant. Prototype by Steve Wozniak in four days (~42 chips); production redesign by Gary Waters; inspired Space Invaders and Arkanoid.
CarnEvil
CarnEvil is Midway's 1998 horror rail shooter arcade game, a two-player light gun game with pump-action shotguns set in a cursed carnival. Never ported to home systems; designed by Jack Haeger.
Centipede (video game)
Centipede (video game): 1981 Atari fixed-shooter arcade game by Ed Logg and Dona Bailey; trackball control, descending 12-segment centipede, mushrooms, spider, flea, scorpion; sequel Millipede (1982); remake Centipede: Recharged (2021).
Computer Space
Computer Space is a space combat arcade game by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, released by Nutting Associates in 1971 and accepted as the first commercially sold coin-operated video game; it led to Atari's founding.
Cruis'n USA
Cruis'n USA is a 1994 Midway arcade racer published by Nintendo, ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1996. Marketed as an Ultra 64 showcase despite running on a 32-bit Williams board; over a million N64 copies sold.
Cruis'n World
Cruis'n World is a 1996 Midway arcade racer, sequel to Cruis'n USA, racing nine rivals across 14 world tracks with wheelie and jump stunts; N64 port by Eurocom in 1998.
Crystal Castles (video game)
Crystal Castles is a 1983 Atari arcade game by Franz Lanzinger starring Bentley Bear, who collects gems in isometric 3D castle mazes using a trackball and jump button; 37 mazes, one of the first arcade endings, 5,380 cabinets.
Dance Dance Revolution World
DanceDanceRevolution WORLD (ダンスダンスレボリューション ワールド) is Konami Amusement's 2024 DDR arcade game, released June 12, 2024 as an update to DDR A3, adding Flare skill, filters, and in-game options.
Daytona USA
Daytona USA (デイトナUSA) is Sega AM2's 1994 Model 2 NASCAR-style arcade racer by Yu Suzuki and Toshihiro Nagoshi; 60 fps texture-mapped 3D, famous soundtrack, Saturn, Dreamcast, and 2011 PSN releases.
Dig Dug
Dig Dug (ディッグ・ダッグ) is Namco's 1982 arcade maze game, released by Atari in the USA, where the player inflates Pookas and Fygars with an air pump or crushes them with falling rocks.
Donkey Kong (1981 video game)
Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング) is Nintendo's 1981 arcade platformer, Shigeru Miyamoto's first game, in which Jumpman (later Mario) rescues Pauline from an ape; it sold over 80,000 US units and launched Nintendo's success.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong Jr. (Donkey Kong Junior) is Nintendo's 1982 arcade platform sequel in which Mario, as villain, guards a caged Donkey Kong while his son climbs vines and chains past Snapjaws, Nitpickers, and Sparks to free him; ported to ColecoVision, NES, Atari 2600, and 7800.
Dragon's Lair (1983 video game)
Dragon's Lair is a 1983 laserdisc arcade game by Cinematronics, the first LaserDisc arcade game released in the United States, conceived by Rick Dyer and animated by Don Bluth.
Dynamite Cop
Dynamite Cop (Dynamite Deka 2) is Sega's 1998 Model 2 arcade beat-'em-up, sequel to Die Hard Arcade, ported to Dreamcast in 1999; three commandos rescue the president's daughter from pirates on a hijacked cruise ship using improvised weapons.
Elevator Action
Elevator Action (エレベーター・アクション) is Taito's 1983 arcade spy platform-shooter starring Agent 17, codename Otto, who collects documents from red doors in a 30-story building, uses elevators as weapons, and spawned the Elevator Action Returns sequel and many ports.
Frogger
Frogger is Konami's 1981 arcade game (ID GX392), distributed by Sega/Gremlin, in which players guide frogs across traffic and a river to five homes; nearly titled Highway Crossing Frog, ported widely, famous via Seinfeld.
Galaga
Galaga (ギャラガ) is Namco's 1981 fixed-screen arcade shooter, successor to Galaxian, designed by Shigeru Yokoyama. Known for the Boss Galaga tractor-beam capture, Dual Fighter mode, and Challenging Stages; sixth top earner in Japan in 1981.
Galaxian
Galaxian (ギャラクシアン) is Namco's 1979 fixed-shooter arcade game, its first space shooter, built to beat Space Invaders with full-color sprites and dive-bombing aliens; Midway licensed it for the US, and Galaga followed in 1981.
Gauntlet (1985 video game)
Gauntlet (1985) is Atari Games' four-player cooperative dungeon-crawl arcade game by Ed Logg, inspired by Dandy, with health-drain mechanics, a TMS5220C narrator voice, 7,848 U.S. cabinets sold, and a franchise through the 2014 reboot.
Golden Axe
Golden Axe (ゴールデンアックス) is Sega's 1989 System 16-B fantasy beat 'em up by Makoto Uchida, starring Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead against Death Adder; ported to Genesis and many systems, with sequels and a 2026 Paramount+ animated series.
Gorf
Gorf is a 1981 Midway arcade shooter designed by Jamie Fenton, with five missions, robotic speech, and rank progression; home ports omitted the Galaxian stage, and no official re-release exists.
Gradius (video game)
Gradius (グラディウス), aka Nemesis, is Konami's 1985 side-scrolling arcade shoot 'em up starring the Vic Viper, known for its power-up gauge, Options, Moai heads, and checkpoint respawns; directed by Hiroyasu Machiguchi.