# Top 3 arcade games of the 1980s
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [October 6, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812 "2004-10-06T05:31:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/41 "2004-10-06T16:19:13Z")
> [@Dante](#):
>
> Thirded. Loved those shoot 'em up space games. Pleiades (looked that one up when I was a kid. Comes in handy on crosswords.), Galaxian, Galaga, Defender, etc.
>
> [hijack]
> I’ve been trying to find out the name of one game that I used to play in '87 or '88. You were a barbarian fighting hordes of enemies. You would get coins when your enemies died, and could buy upgrades armor and weaponry (particularly fun was the flaming mace with extendable chain). The game was a 2D side-scroller, but you could move and attack up and down within the environment as well. Anybody help?
> [/hijack]
Legend of the Golden Axe?
---
### Author:  [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/42 "2004-10-06T16:24:45Z")
> [@Uvula Donor](#):
>
> Another of my faves was **Berserk** , the maze game with killer robots. The voice synthesis commentary was the best: \*“Kill the intruder”, “Chicken - fight like a robot” \* and more, in a cool electronic voice. My favorite was the teaser screen when you were deciding which game to play. One of the Berserk’s stock phrases for the teaser was _“Coins detected in pocket.”_
Think they had a better version - was it Frenzy? The walls reflected shots - bank shots, etc. And I think it was BerZerk, BTW.
---
### Author:  [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/43 "2004-10-06T16:26:11Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#):
>
> Beware! I live!
Yeeeesssss!!! The only game at which I truly kicked ass. I too nealy soiled myself the first time the Sinistar killed me.
Oh how I yearn for childhood and those endless, carefree hours of flying in circles, trying to avoid the certain death that was the result of a live sinistar and an insufficient supply of crystals.
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### Author:  [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/44 "2004-10-06T16:27:36Z")
Vanguard! was that the one where you flew the spaceship and dropped bombs on fuel tanks to keep going? And then toward the end the caverns were scarcely bigger than your ship? That was a great game! Wish I could play all of these again!
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### Author:  [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/45 "2004-10-06T16:37:08Z")
> [@Ass For A Hat](#):
>
> Yeeeesssss!!! The only game at which I truly kicked ass.
Upon further reflection, there was one other game that I truly dominated. I don’t think it has been mentioned yet…Tapper! Serve beer…collect the mugs…and never, never, no matter how much time you think you have, never pick up the tips.
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### Author:  [@Elvez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvez)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/46 "2004-10-06T16:41:14Z")
I loved Arkanoid, Ninja Gaiden, and Gauntlet.
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### Author:  [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/47 "2004-10-06T16:49:38Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#):
>
> Vanguard! was that the one where you flew the spaceship and dropped bombs on fuel tanks to keep going? And then toward the end the caverns were scarcely bigger than your ship? That was a great game! Wish I could play all of these again!
Damn, I loved me some Vanguard. I once scored almost 5 million on that game, which as far as I know is a world record. Man, the mileage I could get out of one quarter on that game at the skate rink…
Yeah, I was a geek.
---
### Author:  [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/48 "2004-10-06T16:51:14Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#):
>
> Vanguard! was that the one where you flew the spaceship and dropped bombs on fuel tanks to keep going? And then toward the end the caverns were scarcely bigger than your ship? That was a great game! Wish I could play all of these again!
The game you are thinking of is Scramble. There was a follow-up version where you flew a helicopter, but its name escapes me at the moment.
Vanguard was similar in that you flew a ship through tunnels ala side scrolling, but in that one you flew much faster, didn’t need fuel, and you had four fire buttons, one for each direction.
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### Author:  [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/49 "2004-10-06T16:53:22Z")
> [@TommyTutone](#):
>
> The game you are thinking of is Scramble. There was a follow-up version where you flew a helicopter, but its name escapes me at the moment.
The helicopter version you mention sounds a lot like **Super Cobra**.
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### Author:  [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/50 "2004-10-06T16:55:19Z")
Oh, but you’re not actually thinking of Vanguard- you’re thinking of an earlier, better-known game: Scramble. Also a good game, but I could never get ANYWHERE in that one.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/51 "2004-10-06T17:03:17Z")
> [@Dante](#):
>
> [hijack]
> I’ve been trying to find out the name of one game that I used to play in '87 or '88. You were a barbarian fighting hordes of enemies. You would get coins when your enemies died, and could buy upgrades armor and weaponry (particularly fun was the flaming mace with extendable chain). The game was a 2D side-scroller, but you could move and attack up and down within the environment as well. Anybody help?
> [/hijack]
[Black Tiger?](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7138) Great game. I sucked at it (and still do when running it on MAME), but kept on playing anyway.
All time favorite was the sit-down version of Star Wars. Nothing else even came close when I was a kid. I’d be in a daze for hours afterwards because of the adrenaline and energy I’d burn playing it, even if I only played one round.
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### Author:  [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/52 "2004-10-06T17:18:37Z")
**Wizard of Wor**
**Dig Dug**
**Sinistar**
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### Author:  [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/53 "2004-10-06T17:19:09Z")
> [@jayjay](#):
>
> Legend of the Golden Axe?
Nope. The character was rendered smaller, and there was no setting per se, just a never ending black background (I think), with various levels that you could climb to, jump to, swing to, etc. Enemies came fast and furious.
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### Author:  [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/54 "2004-10-06T17:34:35Z")
[QUOTE=slortar]
[Black Tiger?](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7138) Great game. I sucked at it (and still do when running it on MAME), but kept on playing anyway.
That’s the one!!! Thanks **slortar**! I must learn more about these emulators thingies you speak of. I remember seeing MAME years ago, but I haven’t really seen them recently. Might be a good idea for my PII-400 laptop.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/55 "2004-10-06T17:41:25Z")
[QUOTE=Dante]
> [@slortar](#):
>
> [Black Tiger?](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7138) Great game. I sucked at it (and still do when running it on MAME), but kept on playing anyway.
>
> That’s the one!!! Thanks **slortar**! I must learn more about these emulators thingies you speak of. I remember seeing MAME years ago, but I haven’t really seen them recently. Might be a good idea for my PII-400 laptop.
MAME’s pretty darn cool. If you need help getting it working, just drop me an email.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Niceguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Niceguy)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/56 "2004-10-06T17:46:40Z")
> [@bordelond](#):
>
> Those of you who liked **Track and Field** … let’s talk shop:
>
> 1. How did you press the buttons to increase to insane footspeeds? Could you just tap the buttons real fast with your index fingers? Could you do that “wave” thing with your hands, hitting the buttons with pinkie-ring-middle-index-pinkie-etc. in perfect rhythm? Or did you ever lay a pencil across the buttons and ratta-tat-tat away?
>
> 2. What was the perfect angle to long jump or to throw the hammer? 43 or 45 degrees?
>
> 3. Weren’t 7-second 100-meter dashes and 9-foot high jumps the coolest?
>
> 🆒
I used my index and middle finger on left hand. This was the key to succes and the challenge in the game. Speed.
I always tried for 45 degrees.
The highjump was the most difficult part for me. The two seperate angle adjustments were tricky.
In the hammer throw did you ever figure out to put your hand over the screen and just listen and count the wooosh wooosh wooosh es ? Insane hammer throws that way and the visual was just an interference.
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### Author:  [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/57 "2004-10-06T17:56:59Z")
> [@Mr.Niceguy](#):
>
> I used my index and middle finger on left hand.
I always used a black comb. Firm, springy and didn’t give you a groove in your middle finger like a pen or pencil would.
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### Author:  [@Phelan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phelan)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/58 "2004-10-06T18:04:01Z")
1. Galaga
2. Double Dragon
3. Ninja Gaiden
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### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/59 "2004-10-06T18:10:53Z")
My favorites were slightly more obscure, but I eventually mastered the “all-day quarter” with them…
Phoenix
Elevator Action
Time Pilot
My faves of the ubiquitous games…
Defender
Dig Dug
Joust
Discs of Tron
Oddly, I mastered Defender to the point where I could draw crowds to watch my godlike skills, but I never could get the hang of Asteroids (it was a challenge to even win a free ship) and it frustrated the hell out of me.
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### Author:  [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-3-arcade-games-of-the-1980s/267812/60 "2004-10-06T18:22:30Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#):
>
> Oddly, I mastered Defender to the point where I could draw crowds to watch my godlike skills, but I never could get the hang of Asteroids (it was a challenge to even win a free ship) and it frustrated the hell out of me.
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I really was in awe of the guys who had mastered Defender. Between Defender and girls, I don’t know which intimidated me more. Defender just had way too many buttons. Girls…I probably shouldn’t say…at least I eventually improved in that area.
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