Top 10 Arcade Games of All Time

An Arcade Game is a coin operated gaming machine. These machines are usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, public houses, and video game parlours. Virtually all modern arcade games make extensive use of solid state electronics and integrated circuits. In the past coin-operated arcade video games generally used custom per-game hardware often with multiple CPUs, highly specialized sound and graphics chips, and the latest in computer graphics display technology. In recent days most of the online games on the internet are of the arcade genre. These games are usually designed with Flash/Java/DHTML and run directly in web-browsers. With the increasing popularity of higher and gaming arcade games has faded away a little bit, but still remains a gamer’s delight. Here is a list of the top ten Arcade Games of all times.

1. Pac Man

Pac Man was one of the most popular Arcade Games of all times. It was developed in 1980’s by Namco and was licensed for distribution by Midway Manufacturing Company. Pac-Man is often credited with being a landmark in video game history, and is among the most famous arcade games of all time. It falls under the genre Labyrinth/Maze. The player controls Pac-Man through a maze, eating dots. When all dots are eaten, Pac-Man is taken to the next stage. Four enemies (Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde) roam the maze, trying to catch Pac-Man. If an enemy touches Pac-Man, a life is lost. When all lives have been lost, the game ends.

2. Galaga

Galaga is a fixed shooter Arcade Game developed in the year 1981 by Namco. It was distributed in Japan by Namco and in North America by Midway Manufacturing Company. The game play of Galaga puts the player in control of a space ship which is located on the bottom of the screen. At the beginning of each stage, the area is empty, but over time, enemy aliens fly in formation, and once all of the enemies arrive on screen, they will come down at the player’s ship in formations. The objective of Galaga is to score as many points as possible by destroying insect-like enemies.

3. Star Wars

Star Wars is one of the post popular Arcade Games, produced by Atari Inc. It was released in the year 1983. It is a rail shooter genre game and has a single player mode. In this game, the player does not have to destroy every enemy in order to advance through the game; he must simply avoid or destroy the shots that enemy’s fire. Each hit on his craft takes away one shield (of the six he started out with), and if he runs out of shields and takes another hit, the game ends. The player’s ultimate goal is to destroy the Death Star through three attack phases.

4. Ms. Pac Man

Ms. Pac Man is a sequel to Pac Man and was launched in the year 1981. This was also manufactured by Midway Manufacturing Company. Ms. Pac Man is very similar to the original Pac Man. This game introduces a female protagonist, new maze designs and several minor game play changes over the original game. The game became one of the most popular video games of all time.

5. Street Fighter II

The Street Fighter II was launched in the year 1991 as a sequel to the original Street Fighter which was launched in 1987. This was developed and marketed by Capcom and was a very popular game among the masses. In this game the player engages opponents in one-on-one close quarter combat in a series of best-two-out-of-three matches. The objective of each round is to deplete the opponent’s vitality before the timer runs out.

6. Galaxian

Galaxian is a fixed shooter arcade game developed by Namco in the year 1979. This game was marketed by Midway Manufacturing Company and was the most popular games of those times. This is a prequel to Galaga and was the first of its kind shooter arcade game. The game play was relatively simple. Groups of alien armies attacked the player’s ship that moved left and right at the bottom of the wraparound screen. The ship could only have one shot on screen at a time. The objective is to not get destroyed by the aliens attack.

7. Asteroids

Asteroids was released in 1979 by Atari Inc. It was one of the most popular and influential games of the Golden Age of Arcade Games. Asteroids use a vector display and a two-dimensional view. The objective of Asteroids is to score as many points as possible by destroying asteroids and flying saucers. The player controls a triangular-shaped ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. It’s a simple shooting game and was one of the best of all times.

8. Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is 1992 a fighting video game developed and published by Midway Manufacturing Company. In 1993, home versions were released by Acclaim Entertainment. It is the first title in the Mortal Kombat series. Mortal Kombat became one of the most popular arcade games of all time upon its release. Mortal Kombat is a story of a monk who sets out to save the earth from all evils. There are a series of fights and the monk has to win all the fights to move forward. This was a very popular arcade game of all time.

9. Defender

Defender is an arcade video game developed released by Williams Electronics in 1980. It was a shooting game featuring two-dimensional graphics. The game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. It was a simple but a very popular games of the early eighty’s. The player controls a space ship flying either to the left or right. The objective is to destroy alien invaders, while protecting astronauts on the landscape from abduction.

10. Space Invaders

Space Invaders is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan. It was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway Manufacturing Co. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to defeat waves of aliens with laser cannon to earn as many points as possible. It was the most popular game in the starting days of arcade gaming.