Moving from CS to the Game Room (which didn’t exist when this thread was created).
The Tron arcade game got very difficult very quickly. I’m pretty sure I never got past level 3.
The sequel Discs of Tron, I could play for hours. The trick was to keep moving.
Actually, this bump is timely. Seems like Musk wants us to be able to play Missle Command and Asteroids and stuff at the wheel of a Tesla. Say what you want, the guy is right on the cutting edge in developing 1960s and 70s technology.
Sorry.
Pole Position was the best. My personal fav was Missile Command for it’s soul crushing bleakness. But PacMan next.
Star Wars
Gorf
Robocop
(Robocop probably isn’t the best game objectively, but they had one at a place I worked…)
Oh, and for 80’s pinball:
Pin*Bot
High Speed
Police Force
(Neither Addams Family nor anything named Enterprise was released in the 1980s.)
((Star Trek pinballs were released in 1979 and 1991, missing the 1980s either way))
- That game was so compelling and had a decent mix of skill and unfair arcade coin chomping enemies.
Super Off Road. Love the feel of that game. Really nailed the weight and momentum.
Double Dragon.
Defender
Robotron 2084
Asteroids
Donkey Kong
R-Type
That is all. (sure, it is a list of 5 but things were different in the 80’s)
I loved that game! I liked it because I was just a kid in the 80s and Rampage was a game I could easily understand. Smash everything!
As for answering the OP, I’ll go with Double Dragon, Space Harrier, and Out Run.
My all-time favorite arcade game, Rampart, unfortunately doesn’t qualify as it came out in 1990. It’s widely considered the first true tower defense game, and it was an outstanding, totally unique game for its time.
Shinobi (Sega, 1987) - This, IMO, is the game Rolling Thunder should have been. While that one had some cool stuff (I liked the death animations), the hero was way too clumsy and easy to kill. Jo Musashi was fast, agile, and versatile; playing as him, it really felt like I actually controlled my destiny. Even when I got killed, it felt like the enemy really earned it. I think my personal best was the first or second level in the third mission.
Golden Axe (Sega, 1989) - The regular enemies weren’t that tough but could knock you for a loop if you got sloppy. The animal helpers packed a big punch. Started out easy but really cranked it up near the end. Elite mooks (skeletons and shadow fighters) were just annoying enough to be worthy late-stage enemies without being game-wrecking overpowered monstrosities. A nice variety of attacks; something for every situation, and you had to master the tough stuff if you wanted high scores. Insanely addictive. Sega absolutely nailed this one.
Contra (Konami, 1987) - In many ways the ideal Konami action game: plenty of variety in the weapons, plenty of stuff to blow up, and just the right amount of challenge. I actually regret that I never bothered to get to the end (I was really cheap then).
Heavy Barrel (Data East, 1988) - Kill the enemies, don’t die. Such a basic concept, but I never could get enough of it. Amazing variety in the weapons, and this was one of the few action games where it really paid to memorize the layout and be in the right place in the right time. Flamethrower was the #1 butt-kicker; I got vastly more mileage out of it than that overrated supergun.
Final Fight (Capcom, 1989) - The sidescrolling beat-'em-up. Tons of enemies, plenty of weapons and bonus items, and UNLIKE Double Dragon, all the attacks had a use and there was no irritating slowdown. The first real shovel-tokens-in game for me, and I never regretted it.
Quartet (Sega, 1986) - About as close to perfection as it was possible for an arcade platformer to get. Not much to say; it taught me reflexes, anticipation, and precision, and it encouraged to go just a little further. Watching the boss get brighter and brighter before it blew up was pretty cool too.
Trojan (Capcom, 1986) - Capcom’s early games were a mixed bag; for every Final Fight, there was a Speed Rumbler, for every 1942 there was a Ghosts 'n Goblins. This one, however, just about everyone loved. The best thing about it was that unlike similar games like Kung-Fu Master, it played fair. You could avoid damage, you could get to the next area, you could beat the boss, if you learned what worked and used it. (Learning the “through the screen” trick to beat Goblin was practically a rite of passage.) Never got tired of it.
Alien Syndrome (Sega, 1987) - Contra got all the hype, but this was the real essential alien-blasting game. The controls couldn’t have been any simpler…one joystick, one button…but that’s all it needed. Run around, blast everything that moves, rescue everything that doesn’t move (called “comrades”, charmingly enough), and smash the boss to escape. A big part was learning where the weapons were and which worked in what situation, providing a surprising level of strategy given the game’s premise. If Sega had the foresight to put in continues, this would’ve been the game of 1987; as it was, it was a nice challenge trying to get through 7 levels on one credit.
Narc (Williams, 1988) - Yeah, yeah, in hindsight we should’ve realized it had more cheese than Switzerland and that “drug war” business was just an excuse to release in incredibly violent game and we never, ever should’ve taken it seriously for a nanosecond. Whatever, this was nothing short of a breakthrough for arcade games and should be mentioned alongside Pac-Man, Double Dragon, and Street Fighter 2. The interesting factor was that not only could you take most of the enemies alive, you actually got more points for it (and by extension more extra lives, which were very important). It was a blast.
Aaaaand that should kill this thread nicely. Hey, I had bad hand-eye coordination as a kid, all right? 
I am pleased to see this, 14 years later.
There is a convention in Santa Clara called California Extreme, with all kinds of classic arcade games (I recommend everyone remotely interested in arcade games to check it out). One of the games I look forward to playing every year is Fire Truck. Two players, one steering the front of the truck and the other the rear. It’s challenging and a lot of fun.
HOW COME NOBODY EVER GIVES RASTAN ANY LOVE???
[SIZE=“2”]Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.[/SIZE]
Well now you know how I felt about Mat Mania (which I just scored 626K on last night - gotta love the mindless fun).
I was to young to play arcade games in the heyday of the early 80s. My time popping quarterswas late 80s early 90s.
For me, if strictly talking about 80s releases:
Rampage
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Ms. Pac-Man
Honorable mention for Golden Axe
Just missing the timeframe were my favorites, Street Fighter II, The Simpsons, and Rampart.
Burger Time and Pengo.
Ikari Warriors
Gauntlet
Xevious
(Maybe not the best, but my memorable ones)
Man I lived at the arcades,its so hard to just pick 3,but at least you limited it to the 80s.
Double dragon
Gladiator
Bubble bobble
In my day, quite a few people I knew were convinced they were “this close” to discovering the “pattern” for Ms. Pac-Man. Never mind that the game was designed with a more-or-less random element at the start of each level to make “100% guaranteed” patterns impossible.
Rastan wasn’t too bad (it actually played a little fairer than Trojan because you didn’t have to guess whether an enemy would attack low, throw the disarming orb instead of a knife, etc.), but it was one of those games where it was just way too easy to die, and checkpoints meant that making any kind of progress was frustrating. The limitations of that dinky little sword were all too obvious and became EXTREMELY glaring in the end-of-level castles. The second castle was the farthest I ever remember seeing anyone getting. If powerups were permanent, the hero could take a little more punishment, and there weren’t any of those damn bats (be a man and put in a damn timer!), I think it would’ve been remembered a lot more fondly.
Mat Mania…much like Karate Champ, it was very much an you-got-it-or-you-don’t title. Either you got the hang of the tricky controls and romped all over your opponents or you didn’t and got clobbered. There was very little in-between. Also, if you weren’t a fan of Japanese-style wrestling, which was a very far cry from the WWF, you probably found it pretty weird. (“Why does he have to turn his back to do a jumpkick?”) Okay fighter for its time but was never going to become an icon.