What is the greatest arcade video game of all time?

[slj0101]

Poll question: What is the greatest arcade video game of all time?

Poll result (64 votes)
Pac Man	(14 votes, 22%)	Vote
Pong (the one that started it all)	(2 votes, 3%)	Vote
Defender	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
Donkey Kong	(1 votes, 2%)	Vote
Centipede	(8 votes, 13%)	Vote
Asteroids	(6 votes, 9%)	Vote
Galaga	(15 votes, 23%)	Vote
Mortal Kombat	(3 votes, 5%)	Vote
Space Invaders	(4 votes, 6%)	Vote
Other (I'm out of slots)	(10 votes, 16%)	Vote

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. I'm a big Tempest fan. Also loved Crazy Climber and Dungeon.

I'd love to get any of them for home.

[slj0101]

2. Tempest is part of Atari's Arcade Classics CD-ROM.

Got it about 7 years ago for $10.

Crazy Climber was awesome. That was the first game I ever played that had a somewhat human-sounding voice.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Tempest was my favorite game as well. You can buy an original if you search.

Shipping is a bitch!

Other faves: Robotron, Wizard of Wor, Joust, Qbert, Reactor.

We are old.

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. Wizard of Wor - that's that I meant, instead of "Dungeon"!

I loved that game!

Robotron was awesome, but too fucking difficult.

[Fire Walk With Me]

71. Those "all GRUNT" levels are won by first (quicky) locating the weak part of the circle

firing into it and advancing through it, firing side-to-side and around, then moving around in a circle outside the circle, firing behind you as they follow.

I once played on a quarter so long that my friend, eager to leave, unplugged the machine. And it was my highest score ever

"The Pit" levels of Wizard of Wor are a bitch. The game is much easier if two play at once, hiding in a small space, nearly on top of each other, firing in opposite directions. The smaller the space, the better, of course, as the ammunition reloads that much more quickly.

I still have a bit of a callus on the finger I used to hit that Fire button with, as fast as I could, over and over.

Of course, these bits of information (and the time I spent) take up space that could have been filled with Shakespear or something a bit more beneficial.

My little brother found an on-line, exact version of the Atari 2600 game "Adventure". I was able to give him hints that I still remember from when it came out.

Anyone elses' television bear the visible burn-in of Pong?

[Mike Daniels]

17. Crazy Climber was one of my favorites.

I always liked Berzerk / Berzerker (Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!)as well.

[slj0101]

27. Evil Otto.

The evil smilie that wouldn't die.

[Rabrrrrrr]

28. Berserk was awesome!

I also really loved Robotron, but could only play for about a minute. It went from easy to difficult to goddamn outright impossible in three screens.

[HughBeaumont]

26. Tempest. MAN, how much money did I place in that machine?

Probably in the high three digits.

I usually tried to find an older machine, where I knew how to get 40 free credits by manipulating the last two digits of the score (had to be between 165,000 and 180,000, I believe) by spike shooting. The newer machines fixed the glitch.

[EstimatedProphet]

53. TEMPEST!

Man that was like a video game version of speed! I loved that game!

[racaulk]

3. What? No Mrs. Pac Man?

Come on!!!

I voted for Pac Man because I could play that game (and Mrs. Pac Man) for HOURS as a kid! I wish I could have all of those quarters back, I'm sure I spent hundreds of dollars at the arcade!

Frogger was a fun game also!

[lizerdbits]

8. I had a frogger watch in elementary school

That one year I had lots of friends.

[skygazer]

4. Galaga absolutely

I used to get a roll of quarters and play that thing for hours. Good times.

[mikeytherat]

6. Tempest. Without a doubt, forever and ever, amen, Tempest.

mikey_the_rat

[BlooInBloo]

37. Tempest WAS awesome.

[Bassic]

7. Other... Spyhunter

That fucking kicked ass.

[BlooInBloo]

44. Definitely best score ever in a video game.

[DS1]

9. Star Wars

[MrCoffee]

49. the one you sat in with the green line graphics of the death star trench run?

that game was the shiz-nits.

[DS1]

64. The same

most immersive game for that generation

[Hobarticus]

68. Aw yeah...

That's what I'm talkin' about.

[Locrian]

10. Galga was awesome

Didnt if have a cheat where if you killed all but the two guys on the end and let them fly past a few times - then they wouldnt shoot at you (until you crash)?

[pinniped]

65. I read about that but never had the patience to try it.

I think the wait was like 10 minutes.

Galaxian was pretty much the same game.

[jobycom]

11. I was a centipede man, through and through.

Yeah, I was also a wuss. Still am.

[Twillig]

13. If you can admit it, you're quite a man.

But it's still a chicks game.

A game designed by a woman wherein you have to shoot hundreds of obstructing penises mushrooms in order to accomplish the task of defeating the centipede.

[jobycom]

16. Yeah, well, guy stuff bores me.

You left off the part about the great big ball you have to violently twist and slap...

[slj0101]

14. I don't buy into the Centipede=wuss meme.

Yeah, it was a bit easier than most games, but that spider was wicked, man.

[BlooInBloo]

34. self-delete - wrong branch.

[fishwax]

12. anyone remember zaxxon?

The first kinda-sorta three-dimensional game

[slj0101]

15. Yeah, I do now!

I remember it being pretty popular at the arcade, too.

[Mike Daniels]

18. I remember it

The isometric perspective always threw me off when it came to flying through the tighter gaps.

[deucemagnet]

48. The trick was to use your laser to aim your ship through the gap.

I had Zaxxon on my C64. Not on a 5-1/4 inch floppy, mind you, but on a fucking CASSETTE TAPE. Yeah, I'm old.

[pinniped]

66. We used to play 'Bruce Lee' on my cousin's Atara 800XX puter.

Load the cassette, make lunch, eat lunch, then it's ready.

[HughBeaumont]

24. Cedar Point has an upright game of that in their arcade.

Also, they have Frogger, Space Invaders, both major PacMans and even the Hercules pinball machine!

I have just about every relevant retro game there ever was on PS2 and PC. If only I had time to PLAY them all . . .

[pinniped]

36. I bought a PS2 just to play Gauntlet II. It is just like the original except,....

I think there are more lobbers and acid puddles.

Years ago, I had a full size 4-player Gauntlet II machine.

[slj0101]

46. "Blue Elf shot the food!"

The announcer guy used to crack me up.

[fishwax]

57. oh yeah, that was great

Gauntlet rocked!

[pinniped]

61. I always used to play Elf.

Back then, my crazy cousin used to accidentally shoot the jug of food if he couldn't get to it.

Someone would call for it because their health was low, but this dude would either shoot it, claiming an accidental discharge, or run into it by accident.

This dude would also push you into the black 'death' knight, or shoot you by accident on levels where the shots stun or hurt other players.

Oh ya, he would also accidentally get the extra magic power potion when playing the Wizard. It's not like the Wizard needed any extra magic power.

[pinniped]

62. In a more ominous voice, "Elf is about to die."

"Elf needs food badly"

translation:

"Elf needs to insert another quarter"

[pinniped]

32. Super Zaxxon was also a cool game.

So was:

- Gauntlet II
- Joust
- Spy Hunter
- Street Fighter II/Champion Edition
- Vanguard
- Paperboy

[pinniped]

63. I knew the precise location to line up while waiting for the killer robot....

with the missile.

[Zavulon]

19. Missile Command was my game of choice. (NT)

[jpgray]

20. Ghosts 'n' Goblins

[Omphaloskepsis]

21. Double Dragon or Tron.

[Deja Q]

23. Good call on Tron

[ghostsofgiants]

54. I loved Double Dragon.

[Deja Q]

22. Ms pac-Man, followed by Star Wars

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

25. Mrs. Pac-man. Table-top version.

[billyskank]

30. Marble Madness.

[Magrittes Pipe]

31. Sinistar.

Everything else sucks.

[Hobarticus]

69. I hunger....eom

[Downtown Hound]

75. RUN COWARD!

A truly classic line and a great game.

[BlooInBloo]

33. X/O football, Marble Madness, Smash TV... There's just too many.

[BlooInBloo]

35. Burger Master ruled too.

[Aristus]

38. No one has spoken up for Defender, Star Gate or Chopper Command yet.

I loved those games. Star Gate was a bitch to play, though. Had to be able to do ten things at once.

[BlooInBloo]

40. StarGate would be the one to go for outta that bunch - possibly the best side-scroller ever.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

42. Defender? That unplayable thing made for 48-fingered aliens?

Bleh.

[BlooInBloo]

39. AH! Got it! Bubble Bobble! Best. Arcade. Game. EVER!

[ET Awful]

41. Other - It's a tie between the original TRON and the original arcade Star Wars

"I lost Artoo"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

43. DUM......... dum......... DUM.... dum.... DUM.... dum... DUM... dum.. DUMdumDUMdumDUMdumDUMdum

Guess how I voted.

[cloudbase]

45. I'm a video game Luddite.

Bring on the Pinball!

[BlooInBloo]

47. Attack From Mars is my fav - easy.

[YankeyMCC]

50. Tron of course nt

[Xipe Totec]

52. Bingo!

I mean TRON. Bingo is just a figure of speech.

[idgiehkt]

51. Either Space Invaders or Asteroids.

Though I probably spent more time on Pac-man.

[SoxFan]

55. Tempest!

[Burma Jones]

56. TEMPEST

So Different.........

[SoxFan]

58. Ooh, I forgot about BATTLEZONE!

Another great one...I loved how the enemy tanks blew apart into angular shards!

[BlooInBloo]

59. The first fps - a definite goody.

[Hobarticus]

70. Don't forget Red Baron...

Not as strong, but still pretty fun.

[stuntcat]

60. Mrs Pac Man's my fave

I picked Galaga though!

[redqueen]

67. Tempest & Tron n/t

[TransitJohn]

72. Battlezone or......

JOUST!






Edit to add honorable mention: Tapper

[slutticus]

73. Missile Command

Or Tempest.

[Downtown Hound]

74. On your list I chose Pac Man

because it's a timeless classic that is still fun after all these years. I still play it every now and again on my Namco Museum disk for the Play Station 2.

But I'd have to vote for RAMPAGE! I have fond memories of my friends and I playing that thing three at a time, munching soldiers, damsels in distress, old men, demolishing buildings, tanks, choppers. Ah, now that was some quality entertainment!

[MrSlayer]

76. Stargate!

I could play for hours on one quarter. And you could leave a long message when you put your name up for the high score instead of the standard three characters.

[Joe Fields]

77. Here's my favorite...

[rug]

78. Pong, when it first appeared, was like entering the second dimension.

[Aptastik]

79. Marvel Vs. Capcom

I don't wanna think about how many quarters I pumped into that machine at the local arcade...

[Mutley]

80. No question

It's Galaga. Man, to think of all the money I spent on that game...

[aaronbees]

81. Hell yeah it's Galaga

When I lived in Seattle for six months much of my time was misspent at a bar where I could get Coney Island hot dogs, good cheap beer, and great classic video games to my heart's content. Galaga and Rainiers/Oly stubbies ... ah, those were the days.

[pokerfan]

82. JOUST!

Best game ever!

[MrScorpio]

83. I owed Asteroids

One quarter meant hours of fun