# Most difficult/easiest arcade video games (80s era) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685 "2002-07-25T02:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/61 "2002-07-27T00:45:24Z")
May I introduce you all to one of my favorite websites? [Norbert’s Emulators](http://web.utanet.at/nkehrer/jae.html) You can play some of your favorite games for days gone by, and best of all you don’t have to download anything. Enjoy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/62 "2002-07-27T04:51:50Z")
The only game I was ever Great at was **Robotron: 2084** , a game I just _owned_. I’ve scored 25,000,000 points, played 6 hours straight, and won so many extra men that I “rolled them over” when I got that 256th man. I also was better than average at other games that had the Robotron-esque controllers: **Black Widow, Cloak and Dagger, Food Fight,** and **Smash TV**. I was also pretty good at **Galaga** , especially when I discovered the trick to getting the enemies to stop shooting. 'Twas pretty easy after then. 😉 Totally stunk up the arcade at **Defender**. I once scored 40,000 points and had no idea how… my previous high score up to then was 15,000. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/63 "2002-07-27T06:49:15Z")
I pretty much kicked ass in most of the laser disc based games: **Dragon’s Lair** , **Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp** , **Space Ace** (all 3 difficulties: Cadet, Captain, and Ace), **Cobra Command** , and **Crossbow**. Little kids would give me quarters so I would beat Dragon’s Lair and they could watch the scantily clad princess at the end (I would usually do this without losing a life). Anybody looking forward to the [Dragon’s Lair 3D game](http://www.ubi.com/US/Games/dragonslair/) coming out soon? I was pretty good at some top-down scrolling shooters too: **Xevious** , **Raiden II** , and **Twin Cobras**. I also rocked at **Moon Patrol** and **Elevator Action**. There was one game that was so easy (for me) that I simply walked away after a couple of hours of playing: **Mystic Marathon**. I sucked at a lot of games I wanted to be good at though: **Tempest** , **Marble Madness** , **Sinistar** , and **Pac Man**. I could _never_ get the hang of the two joystick (one for shooting the other for moving) setup for **Robotron**. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/64 "2002-07-27T07:45:59Z")
**Dragon’s Lair** and **Space Ace** were both difficult for me. I recently got a CD of the former, and took great pleasure in FINALLY completing the game. **Defender** and **Stargate** were tough. I always thought the controls were laid out awkwardly. I only remember playing **Marble Madness** once or twice in the arcade, but it gives me a bitch of a time now on my MAME Emulator. **Tron** was always hard. Especially that scene where you are firing from your arm at the cone of colors. **Blasteroids** was a great game, but quite challenging. A friend of mine was an expert. I rule at **Arkanoid** to this day. I can still complete the game. It takes me about 30 minutes and I love it. Still challenging after all these years. I want to buy one for myself. ---
**Author:** ![DarkJudicator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@DarkJudicator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkJudicator)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/65 "2002-07-27T07:57:30Z")
Am I the only person who found **Ghouls 'n Ghosts** stupidly difficult, yet strangely addictive? **Midnight Resistance**. Again, a game I always got hammered in, yet still felt this unholy compulsion to keep wasting money on it. Actually, I sucked at most games. And yes, **Discs of Tron** was neat. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/66 "2002-07-27T08:05:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Atreyu \* > \*\* > > Once, and only once, did I ever make it through the entire **Pitfall** course. Took me about twenty-five minutes, as I recall. > > My favorite Atari 2600 game was **River Raid**. Today, my cousin has that cartridge, and he still has the Atari 2600 I once owned stashed away somewhere. \*\* Heh, your recollection is wrong. There was a 20 minute time limit in Pitfall. And someone mentioned a green guy in Robotron you couldn’t kill - that would be the Hulk, the only robot that kills the clones (as opposed to the brains, which turn them into those streaky things). All you could do was push him back by firing at him repeatedly. You did not have to kill him to finish a level. ---
**Author:** ![Norrybaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9a28c/32.png) [@Norrybaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norrybaby)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/67 "2002-07-27T20:34:19Z")
It wasn’t anywhere near the most difficult, but I blew hard at **Space Invaders**. I just could not manage it at all, and not for lack of trying either. On the other hand, I could play **Crazy Climber** like I was born to it. **Ghouls 'n Ghosts** at least deserves a mention for the hardest game featuring a main character in his undies. ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/68 "2002-07-27T20:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > **Heh, your recollection is wrong. There was a 20 minute time limit in Pitfall.** :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/69 "2002-07-28T00:26:28Z")
I remember that Gorf used to mock you while you played. What other games used to do that? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/70 "2002-07-28T00:52:31Z")
Does anyone else remember **Major Havoc**? It was a color vector-graphic game that my brother and I just loved. It seemed to only exist for about 18 months, and then I never saw a machine for it again. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/71 "2002-07-28T04:53:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yllaria \* > \*\*I remember that Gorf used to mock you while you played. What other games used to do that? \*\* **Bezerk** If you ran out of the maze it would say (in a cyborg-type voice): “Chicken. Fight Like a Robot!” ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/72 "2002-07-28T06:36:58Z")
I turned over the arcade version of Punch-Out on one quarter!!! And that’s without using the cheat on Bald Bull or Piston Hurricane, the best fighter. I mix it up with them. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/73 "2002-07-28T14:36:42Z")
**Wizard of Wor** used to mock as well. Now that was a fun 2-player game… though not as fun as **Joust** , where PKing first became an artform. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685/74 "2002-07-28T15:09:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yllaria \* > \*\*I remember that Gorf used to mock you while you played. What other games used to do that? \*\* **Sinistar** did, big-time. The big nasty head would not only say, “Beware, I live!” but also “Run, coward!” and “Run! Run! Run!” whenever you fled from it. In fact, [this page](http://www.sinistar.com/) has .wav files of the Sinistar’s taunts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-easiest-arcade-video-games-80s-era/120685.md?page=3)