I was lucky to expierence the golden age of arcades. (the 80’s) There is a silver age with mechanical games, pinball and others.
So here is what we do.
Pick 3 games to put into the arcade of dreams.
If someone seconds one of your choices, then you can add two more.
Of course there will be a snack bar that sells sliders/chili dogs, and beer and pool tables, and, like the dream arcade of my youth, (LeMans Speedway at Crossroads Mall) a bumper car track.
But the first three games will be
The sit down version of Sinistar “I Hunger”
The sit down version of Star Trek
and Tron.
What will you put in?
Any arcade game, not just video, so pinball games, hockey games, etc.
The soundtrack for Asteriods was great. Dunt------Dunt, Dunt—Dunt, Dunt–Dunt, Dunt-Dunt, Dunt dunt dunt dunt and then that tiny saucer comes out and you’re like"oh NOES!"
Red Baron: THE most intense game ever, and it was in b+w vector! (aiming at a dot to see if you can knock it down before it gets behind you is actually closer to air warfare than a lot of what came after!)
Route 16
Black Hole, the pinball machine (one of the only pinball machines to have a second level below the first you, going in the opposite direction, you saw thru a see-thru plastic in the center.)
Fireball - Best mechanical pinball game made - hands down. Plunger skill shot, plenty of lower-field targets, multiball, that wicked spinning disc in the middle, and of course “zipper flippers”. Black Knight - Ushered in the second wave of electronic pinball. Split-level playfield, timed lower targets, multiball, magnetic save on the outlanes, and a bonus ball for best score. Whirlwind, IMO probably the last original pinball game made. Yes, the fan at the top blowing in the player’s face was cheezy, but there were truly some challenging shots in this game (you had to work for full multiball here), and it took quite a bit of skillful play with the “cellar hole” to get the full “all features” bonus.
I wasted quite a bit of my youth in arcades playing these games, and when I take my son to the arcade I still wistfully look around for the pinball machines. They’re getting rarer and rarer–most places don’t have any, and things like the “Sopranos” pinball just seem way too marketed to be genuine fun…
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Ikari Warriors Cyber Sled
Can we stipulate that the well-known games are guaranteed for inclusion so nobody has to waste their picks on obvious ones like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Frogger, Mr. Do! and the like?
So many to choose from. Pinball is especially hard for me since I have so many favorites-- RoGo, Funhouse, Whirlwind, Jack In the Box all come to mind. But the one I’d like to have the chance to play again:
Atlantis had one of the most difficult sequences to finish to light the special, you had to get the ball up on the chute on the right and then it went down a series of lanes, sometimes you’d get 4 numbers in one shot, sometimes none.
Marble Madness was fairly unique but I didn’t think they programmed enough easier levels to give you much of a chance to practice your skills.
Crazy Climber This one actually gave you a workout and dodging the closing windows, the flower pots, and Kong was pretty sweet.
A video game I’d like to nominate but don’t know the name: you flew this spaceship and shot bullets out the front and could throw I think 3 bombs at once, flying over a maze and bombing fuel tanks to refill. Eventually you got to a maze barely bigger than your ship and you had to fly straight up and straight down to complete it before the screen scrolled too far.