Before the first home console generation, arcades were the meccas of video games. While they are nearly extinct now, those old enough will think back fondly of the days of dumping endless amounts of quarters into those giant cabinets to play just a few minutes of a game. Arcade games were where many of the most iconic gaming characters and franchises first began, such as Donkey Kong and Street Fighter. While some have fallen into obscurity over the decades, some are still beloved to this day. Whether it be for the impact they had on game design or just because they’re still fun to play even today, these are our picks for the greatest arcade games ever made.
If this list is a bit too old school for you, we also have lists of the best PS5 games, best Xbox Series X games, and best PC games for something more modern.
Recommended Videos
Ms. Pac-Man
80%
Platforms
Commodore VIC-20, Arcade, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128, ZX Spectrum, Sega Game Gear, PC DOS, Apple II, Xbox 360, Sega Master System, Texas Instruments TI-99
Genre
Arcade
Developer
General Computer Corporation (GCC)
Publisher
Bally Midway, Namco Hometek, Atari, Inc., Tengen, Atarisoft
Release
January 13, 1982
The original Pac-Man was a blockbuster at the time and even stands as the highest-grossing arcade game ever made, but its sequel Ms. Pac-Man blows it out of the water in every way. Released just one year later, this version kept the same addicting foundation of running through a maze, gobbling up pellets, and avoiding ghosts but added in new maze layouts and smarter AI ghosts to deal with. It managed to be an improvement on everything the original did without diluting that pure enjoyment factor or adding too much complexity to make it hard for anyone to step up and start playing. Plus, Ms. Pac-Man was one of the first female game characters ever made, which has to count for something.
Galaga
73%
Platforms
Arcade, PC-9800 Series, Sharp X1, FM-7, Xbox 360, MSX
Genre
Shooter, Arcade
Developer
Namco Limited
Publisher
Midway, Namco Limited, Dempa Shimbunsha
Release
September 01, 1981
Space shooters were a dime a dozen (or a quarter a dozen) in arcades so it took something special for one to stand out. Galaga was basically an unofficial sequel to Space Invaders. It had the same concept of moving a ship to fire at incoming aliens but was packed with color and enemies that both shot and swarmed your ship. It was much more challenging, but more engaging because of it. There were also cool secrets like letting one ship get captured so you could rescue it and control two at once. All modern shoot-’em-up games owe a debt to Galaga.
Donkey Kong
71%
Platforms
Arcade
Genre
Platform, Arcade
Developer
Nintendo, Ikegami Tsushinki
Publisher
Nintendo
Release
July 09, 1981
When someone says the world arcade game, odds are Donkey Kong comes to mind first. This is where the legendary rivalry between Mario (known as Jumpman at the time) and Donkey Kong originated. It is a basic platformer by today’s standards but was a marvel at the time. It was one of the first games to include any kind of story in the game, and each stage ramped up the difficulty with tons of new hazards and enemies to deal with. It might be a bit hard to go back to now, but can’t be overlooked in terms of how it changed the entire industry and set the stage for Nintendo to dominate the home console space.
Street Fighter II
83%
Platforms
Arcade
Genre
Fighting, Arcade
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom
Release
February 01, 1991
Since arcades were the hot hangout spots at the time, multiplayer games were huge. Some let you play in co-op, but most focused on head-to-head competition like fighting games. In that domain Street Fighter 2, was the champion. This is where we were introduced to the legendary world warriors who are still featured in the series today, such as Ryu, Cammy, and Blanka. It revolutionized special moves with different stick and button combinations to add a layer of depth to fighting beyond just mashing buttons, plus a combo system that rewarded players who learned their characters. There was always a line for Street Fighter 2 at the arcades and it was worth the wait every time.
Space Invaders
78%
Platforms
Arcade, iOS, Handheld Electronic LCD, Legacy Cellphone
Genre
Shooter, Arcade
Developer
Taito
Publisher
Midway Manufacturing, Taito, Sharp, My Arcade
Release
June 01, 1978
While Galaga was the natural evolution of Space Invaders, that doesn’t mean this game isn’t still worth a spot. For the time it came out especially, it was a pioneer in the shoot-’em-up genre. It was an instantly intuitive game where you shot at advancing aliens but had some interesting depth to it in how you prioritized your targets. If you took out the rows on the edges, it would take longer for the group to hit the side and scroll down. But, as you eliminated more and more aliens, the ships got faster. Getting a high score in Space Invaders was the mark of true skill in the early days of gaming.
The Simpsons Arcade Game
73%
Platforms
Arcade, PlayStation 3, Commodore C64/128, PC DOS, Xbox 360
Genre
Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Arcade
Developer
Konami
Publisher
Konami
Release
March 04, 1991
Beat-’em-ups came a little bit later into the arcades but eventually became some of the most popular machines. Games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage established the formula of picking characters, fighting goons, and moving from left to right through stages. The Simpsons Arcade Game didn’t reinvent the wheel in any major way but polished it up and set it in the mega-popular Simpsons world. The visual style in particular translated into an arcade game perfectly, but it was also just a fun game to play seeing Marge, Homer, Lisa, and Bart do their unique combos, run through iconic locations, and fight bosses. It was also one of the rare cabinets to allow for four players It was almost lost media for a while due to licensing but was made digitally available on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Missile Command
71%
Platforms
Arcade, Atari 2600, Commodore C64/128, Atari ST/STE
Genre
Shooter, Arcade
Developer
Atari
Publisher
Sega, Taito, Atari Corporation, Atari
Release
July 01, 1980
Since arcade games didn’t have to conform to a single control scheme like most modern games do, we got some weird input methods. Missile Command used a trackball to make moving a cursor more precise and hectic all at once. The goal of the game is to protect your settlements from incoming missiles by firing your own ballistics that would detonate wherever your cursor is. By aiming and timing it right, you would blow up the incoming missiles before they could make impact. The trouble was spinning that ball with your palm to move your cursor around fast enough, while also accounting for travel time, to shoot your missiles where they needed to be. It was great fun in a stressful way.
The House of the Dead
67%
Platforms
Arcade, PC (Microsoft Windows), Sega Saturn
Genre
Shooter, Arcade
Developer
WOW Entertainment
Publisher
Sega, Sega
Release
September 13, 1996
Lightgun games came near the end of the arcade era as one last push to draw people to experiences they couldn’t get at home. House of the Dead was a big name among others like Time Crisis, but a bit more appealing thanks to zombies being the main enemy. It featured a delightfully gothic world, gross enemies, dynamic camera movements, and a story so over the top and cheesy that it has become a cult classic.
