Arcade Fire

Inspired by this week's edition of Good Game, I thought I might take the time to talk about some of my favorite arcade games. I played a lot of arcades during my youth and have fond memories of them all - some of which I still play today. So without a further ado....

Mighty Bombjack
Growing up in the eighties I always viewed Arcade Machines with some degree of awestruck reverence. Whereas I was used to playing games on the Commodore 64, Arcade machines were something else: They were technologically superior, they attracted players of all ages and it was games being played in public! I recall seeing them in certain locations and seeing them always sent a rush of excitement through my young mind.
They say you always remember the very first arcade you play and in my case it was the Mighty Bombjack. Of course it wasn't anything special in it's day but, as the saying goes, ya gotta start somewhere...


Aero Fighters  (Sonic Wings)
It was during the early nineties that my interest in arcade machines racked up - most likely to me growing aware of something called consoles. Seeing how gaming was expanding into something beyond what I thought I knew, I made it a point to check out an arcade game the instant I saw it. Now whilst there were several genres available, the one that interested me the most was the horizontally scrolling shooters. For some reason there was appeal of controlling a war machine and going around blowing the shit out of anything dumb enough to stand in the way with spectacular spread shot and homing missiles.
For this reason I do recall Aero Fighters quite fondly. Sure it was a tough game to play but I recall being nine years old and playing this game a lot - not to mention just how exciting it was, playing an arcade game with my own money.
And admittedly, at the time I thought the intro was kinda cool too:



Street Fighter 2
Whilst I gave the shooters more attention than any other arcade genre, there was however the fighters - they were there and they couldn't be ignored. And no roundup of arcade games would be complete with mentioning Street Fighter 2. History has decreed that arcade games were in something of slump before Street Fighter2 came along and breathed new life into them. From the outset I'd heard of Street Fighter 2 and people spoke of it in awe-struck tones, as if they'd just discovered the Holy Grail. I myself only got to see it through my brother playing it and I was quite impressed with what I saw. He used Blanka a lot and I recall seeing how the electric attack inspired a unique skeleton - and through watching him play I picked up a lot. Of course, it would be years before I got to play it myself and it was a damn fun game. Indeed, SF2 was a big deal I remember a lot of excitement when Super/the New Challengers showed up. And I still play SF2 to this day and even now I'm impressed by how many people also played it when they were kids.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Well I loved the cartoon back in the day and seeing an arcade game based on it was sweet as. Of course, part of the appeal was the whole 4 player and that was pretty cool too. Of course I never saw four people playing it at once (although it may have been a bit hard to see the screen when four people are crowded the machine) this is definitely a high point in my arcade game history.

Vendetta
I'll always have a soft spot for this game. Beat-em-ups were definitely popular back in the early nineties and this was one of the stand outs. Yes it was Konami trying to replicate the four-player style that made TMNT a hit but Vendetta was special to me largely through showing a sense of humor rarely seen in a beat-em-up. Aside from the player characters resembling Mike Tyson, Hulk Hogan, Jean Claude Van Damme and Mr.T, there is heaps of character interaction, weapons, and slapstick to make this one of the finest games of it's day. The fact that this hasn't appeared on XBLA is a travesty but you know what? I'll take this over XMen Arcade any day.

Raiden 2
I had a soft spot for shooters and I think this was the best of the lot. Somehow it did everything right with the power-ups, bomb varieties, inventive bosses and detail with graphics. I still enjoy this one my Playstation and I believe I'll still be enjoying it years later.

Darkstalkers
I never played Street Fighter 2 that much during my youth but I do recall playing Darkstalkers quite a bit. It was a fun beat-em-up and I really enjoyed the creativity gone into it with a fighting roster made up of b-grade movie monsters getting stuck into each other. But really I should go ahead and admit it: It was all because of Morrigan Aensland. But then again what guy wasn't sold over?

Alien vs Predator
Forget the lame movies: This game was the shit! Predators? In a beat-em-up? With the Aliens? And shooting sections? And Arnie's character from Predator 1 thrown in for good measure?! HELL YES! So there was a whole lot going for this game and I particularly enjoyed how the shooting sections were integrated into a beat-em-up (which was something unique at the time). The graphics were mind-blowing to behold and it was indeed intense to be continually swamped by hordes of the aliens. Not much else I can say except this was one of the finest arcades I've ever played & someone should get this on the XBLA and NOW.

Daytona USA
Well what can I say? Everyone played this in it's day and no doubt still play it now. It was, and still is, a great game to play against friends and goes to show that if an arcade game is designed well enough it can have incredible lasting power. And you haven't played a game of Daytona USA with seven other people you haven't lived.

Virtua Cop 2
I never thought much of the 'gun' games during my time in the arcades but this was an exception. Not sure why though: Maybe it was the graphics, maybe it was the presentation or maybe it simply damn fun to play.
But whatever the reason, this is another game I still play when I get the chance and shooting the crims never gets old. I've even tried playing it with both guns in each hand! So yeah Virtua Cop 2 is great fun and I liked it a lot.

Metal Slug
Yet another game I still enjoy playing to this day. Just when I thought that games were getting too serious and someone should make something humorous, along comes Metal Slug. Everything about this game is class: The stupidly big guns, the absurd voice announcements and the delightful graphics that are still fun to watch even now. A lot of care and attention to detail went into this game and it shows - it makes even a compelling game years later. And, in a rare case, the sequels took a winning formula and made it even better!

So there you go. Hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Now whilst people may say the arcades may be something of an anachronism I however maintain that if an arcade game is fun, is well designed and can be enjoyed with more than one person then the game will have staying power - which is impressive seeing that video games tend to have a limited lifespan and are often outclassed by technological superior successors. And if I'm still willing to spare the change for the likes of Virtua Cop 2 and Daytona USA then something must've worked better than originally hoped for.
Until next time...