# What was your favorite \*arcade\* game? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [December 20, 2023, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902 "2023-12-20T20:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/81 "2023-12-21T19:23:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > **Ghosts 'n Goblins**. Start game, count to three, lose armor, count to three, die. Every. Single. Freaking. Time. Ooh, good one. Yep, that’s a difficult game. I was lucky to get to the woo-oo ghosts and the first key. I got into **Galaga** in the 90s and was able to master it. There’s no ending to the game so the goal is to score the max withOUT letting it roll over when it gets higher than 999990. **Operation WOLF** was also eyepoppingly amazing at the time but really hard and not locally available. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/82 "2023-12-21T19:42:59Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > One arcade near me had [Super Pac Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Pac-Man), which again was the only place I ever saw it in the wild. I didn’t play it much, but I liked watching some of the sequel games that took something familiar and added new wrinkles. Have you ever seen the hybrid pinball/Pac Man game? Baby Pac Man: [![](https://www.joystixgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Baby-Pac-Man-arcade-game-at-Joystix.jpg) ](https://www.joystixgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Baby-Pac-Man-arcade-game-at-Joystix.jpg) That was one odd game. Our local Venture department store used to have it for a short spell. The main games in the arcade area that I remember were Spy Hunter, Pole Position, Karate Champ, Punch Out, and Dragon’s Lair. Oh, there probably was a Ms. Pac Man, as well. The Venture arcade also brought out the low-level criminal in me. Some kid taught me that I could approach older ladies and ask them for a quarter to call my parents. (I would have been about ten at the time.) I believe I did this once or twice before my conscience got a hold of me. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/83 "2023-12-21T19:47:31Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Oh yeah… Spy Hunter was like 3/4 James Bond, 1/4 Knight Rider, and all cool to 11-12 year old me. > > We always loved [Gauntlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_(1985_video_game)) the most, I think. Partially because we were already fantasy/D&D nerds, but also because it was the first co-op multiplayer game we were aware of. _Four_ of us could get on there and play at the same time with each other. > > > [@LoneRhino](#): > > > > When playing Gauntlet I would say “blue wizard needs more quarter power”. > > Me and my buddy from back then _still_ make old school Gauntlet comments while we play! “ needs food… badly” is not uncommon to hear out of us. > > Outside of that, the single player game I think I liked the absolute most was good old [Missile Command.](https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8715) I could have bought a car with the money I’d sunk into **Gauntlet**. “Dad needs food… badly,” is often said around here, to blank stares from my sons. I’d also sunk a fair number of quarters into **Spy Hunter**. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/84 "2023-12-21T19:54:15Z")
One of the reasons I dream of great wealth is being able to afford an in-house video arcade. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/85 "2023-12-21T20:09:21Z")
Well, if you want to relive any of them, there’s always [MAME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAME). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/86 "2023-12-21T20:11:01Z")
I haven’t done anything with that in perhaps _decades_, but the dream involved actual arcade cabinets. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/87 "2023-12-21T20:18:54Z")
Sorry, I only provide links, not carpentry services. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/88 "2023-12-21T20:31:03Z")
Wasn’t there an oversized Superman pinball machine that came out to promote the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/89 "2023-12-21T20:33:57Z")
My local video store had a Time Pilot, I got real good at that one. In college the student union had a Street Fighter 2 and a Pole Position that got a lot of play. ---
**Author:** ![OldManLogan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oldmanlogan/32/5237_2.png) [@OldManLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldManLogan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/90 "2023-12-21T20:52:33Z")
Space Harrier was mentioned above but wanted to give it another shout out. It and X-Men were my favorite. The hydraulics, colorful graphics, and forced perspective were mind blowing to me as a kid at the local arcade. [Space Harrier - Arcade Longplay (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgrb-mjLaM) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/91 "2023-12-21T21:46:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Wasn’t there an oversized Superman pinball machine that came out to promote the movie? All Atari pinball machines were widebodies (and stupid heavy to move); except for Hercules which was actually oversized. The Superman pinball machine came out four months after the first Christopher Reeve film but the artwork was based on the comic book (none of the characters resembled the actors in the 1978 film). I helped a friend work on that machine and it spent a little time in my home. The goal is to spell SUPERMAN and to earn extra balls by knocking down sets of drop targets. A fun game, but like a lot of widebodies, the playfield is too sparsely populated with targets, slings, and bumpers for it’s size, so it seems kinda slow compared to a standard sized pin. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/92 "2023-12-21T22:32:02Z")
The one I am talking about had larger balls and large paddles. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/93 "2023-12-21T23:19:11Z")
Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger. Yes, I’m old. I liked very linear games where you basically just had a joystick to control motion and maybe one button to jump or shoot or whatever. That’s it. The games my son plays where there are like 18 things to push or prod in whatever that device is he holds in his hands make my wiring overload. On the rare occasions I played him in something, my character or car would be running against a wall, with me shouting, “Jesus Christ! What goddam button do I push?!” ---
**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:** [December 21, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/94 "2023-12-21T23:23:35Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Well, if you want to relive any of them, there’s always [MAME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAME) I’ve had MAME for a long time, but have become very frustrated with it because it used to, you know, actually work. Then they “improved” it, thereby rendering most of my ROMs unplayable. WTF could they improve? It’s an emulator - it either works or it doesn’t. When you have a game from 1983 running properly how can you improve it? While making changes to MAME’s user interface and perhaps updating how it interacts with Windows or whatever, why make perfectly useable ROMs into the software equivalent of bricks? It’s the opposite of progress. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/95 "2023-12-21T23:29:58Z")
MAME was the only way I was ever able to win the optional dragon boss fight in the D&D arcade game. That boss was designed specifically to be a quarter-devourer. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/96 "2023-12-22T01:16:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The one I am talking about had larger balls and large paddles. No such thing as far as I ([and the Pinside Pinball Machine Database](https://pinside.com/pinball/machine)) know of. Surprisingly, the 1979 Atari is the only pinball machine with a Superman theme. It is a widebody but it has normal flippers and balls, ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/97 "2023-12-22T01:45:34Z")
I loved Qix. You had to carve the screen up in rectangles, hard to explain. > **[Qix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix)** > > Qix\[a\] (/ˈkɪks/ KIKS\[b\]) is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published in arcades by Taito America. Qix is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division (another is Zoo Keeper). At the start of each level, the playing field is a large, empty rectangle, containing the Qix, an abstract stick-like entity that performs graceful but unpredictable motions within the confines of the rectangle. The objective is to draw lines that cl Qi... ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/98 "2023-12-22T02:29:14Z")
Q_Bert or (second) Crystal Castles. In the early 80s, a buddy had a handheld Q_Bert that was actually pretty good. This was well before anything else handheld; I almost think I imagined it, but no. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/99 "2023-12-22T04:42:59Z")
The two I probably dropped the most quarters into were [Champion Wrestler](https://www.mobygames.com/game/57441/champion-wrestler/) and [WWF Wrestlefest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWF_WrestleFest?wprov=sfti1). Both wrestling games. Both loads of fun to play. Especially with a friend. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2023, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902/100 "2023-12-22T04:47:37Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > The two I probably dropped the most quarters into were [Champion Wrestler](https://www.mobygames.com/game/57441/champion-wrestler/) and [WWF Wrestlefest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWF_WrestleFest?wprov=sfti1). Back in the days when Pizza Hut was primarily a sit-down restaurant, the one near where I lived had Wrestlefest in the game room. I always got a kick out of playing as a tag team of Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter, who had turned face by then but was treated as a heel by the crowd in the game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-favorite-arcade-game/994902.md?page=6)