Let's Debate the Best Arcade Game Ever!

[sosage]

Street Fighter II all day every day. World Warrior made the initially HUGE impact, but Hyper Fighting is the best of the original CPS-1 era titles.

I'm sorry you old farts, but your score based goals are crusty and old fashioned*.

*=unless we're talking pinball...which never goes outta style...

 

[Laz]

Chalk one vote for Tempest. It had me hooked in 1981 and
I'm still playing it (and getting better at it).

 

[DonGesswin]

robotron
joust
pac-man
asteroids
space invaders
space invaders deluxe
Gorf
popeye
DK
DKJR
DK3
all VS games
Sinistar

zoo keeper

 

[boogiemanspud]

I gotta say Joust. Easy to pick up, hard to master. It has a great theme to it, simple controls, simple sound, but very elegant in everything. And just look at that side art! C'mon, how many games can be this fun with a two-way joystick and one button? Think about that, other than the P1 start, you play the game with 3 leaf switches! They really nailed the physics on it too! By the way, I dare you to not be terrified (or crack a smile...) when you hear that pterodactyl scream! WAAAH OWWWHH!

I love that game (but at the moment hate my cabinet for putting me through all this fix-it stuff lol).

I never did get pac man. I may have just been a generational thing, but I REALLY can't stand it. I like all sorts of older games, just pac man hits a nerve. Maybe I just suck at it but the ghosts seemed to cheat too much for me. I always got cornered and couldn't get away. Also, I just don't have much fun munching dots. Sure it was influential, but nothing compared to what DK (and Mario) spawned.

So... Personal favorite, Joust, Influential DK. But put my vote for Joust, cause I think that Pterodactyl will break my kneecaps if I don't vote how he said to!

 

[saltbreez]

Defender, without a question the best video game of all time and my personal favorite.

Saltbreez

 

[stevenp61]

My #1 would be Robotron--still crazy addictive and gets me completely wired to this day, decades later.

#2 would be Asteroids Deluxe--didn't get hooked until I bought one in the mid-80's, but damn does that game put you in a zen state after lots of practice!


#3 would probably be Ms Pacman--the other pac games are up there, but Miz Pac was the one I remember playing endlessly in bars when in college. I feel a bit of inebriation coming on just thinking about that.

#4 has to be Galaxian--the first video game that really got me hooked. I had played Pong, and Space Invaders, etc., but when a fraternity brother said 'you gotta see this!' and dragged me downtown to the bowling alley to play Galaxian, my video game addiction began right there.

#5 has lots of candidates, including: Lost Tomb, Joust, Space Duel, Black Widow, Phoenix, Pleiades, Gorf....

Strangely (unlike most people here), I was never that into the Donkey Kong games. And I know Defender is a great game, but I've never gotten even slightly good at it (despite having it on my jrok MW cab--Robotron, Joust and Bubbles always seem to take precedent!).

Lots of good choices and memories in this thread....

 

[ceckitti]

Sinistar

Millipede

Warlords