Being a Gen-Xer, I was fortunate to have grown up during what is affectionately known as the "Golden Age of Arcade Games" in the late 1970's and early 1980's. I fondly remember always looking forward to Saturdays, which was usually the day when I'd do the most gaming at the local arcades. It was the most exciting day because I'd join my friends in a bowling league every Saturday morning, and then we'd either walk or be driven to the nearby mall. And the whole afternoon and early evening would consist of hitting the machines (there were two arcades side by side in our mall), eating at Papa Gino's Pizza, and occasionally meandering through stores (in that order). And in more recent days, I've been fortunate to revisit classic arcade games with trips to Robot City Games in Binghamton, NY, a place which has actual token-gobbling cabinets (and a ton of pinball machines too) all lined up standing side by side in an appropriately dark room. And it's these arcade cabinets I'll be discussing here, specifically my favorite games from that Golden Age.
#15 - Dig Dug
The maze game Dig Dug was developed and released by Namco in Japan and Europe in 1982, and released by Atari in the U.S. that same year to huge critical and commercial success. Home versions then followed for numerous platforms throughout the 1980's. In the game you control the title character who tunnels through dirt layers armed with an air pump used to inflate enemy Pookas and fire-breathing Fygars until they explode. Rocks can also be dislodged to fall on these beasties who can float through the dirt and will kill Dig Dug on contact (as does Fygar fire). Bonus items also appear, giving players the chance to rack up big points.
This is a game I put in the "cutesy" category because it features animated characters and is not a shoot 'em up fight or space battle. As maze games go, I always found it to be highly addicting with good game play. It also has fun music and bright, colorful graphics which give the chase an energetic feel. And at heart it's really a fast-paced strategy game where you try to maximize points on each screen while avoiding losing lives. For example, when possible, it's good to try to take out multiple enemies with one falling rock by stunning several of them then strategically letting it fall (but not on you). And trying to get every bonus item helps that cause too. But of course, these things get more difficult as the levels progress and enemies speed up. All in all, Dig Dug is a fun game with high replay value.
#14 - Arkanoid
The block-breaking game Arkanoid was developed by Taito and released in 1986, a few years after the "Golden Age of Arcade Games". Inspired by the 1976 Atari hit Breakout, it expands gameplay by offering an opening Sci-Fi backstory screen, multiple block configurations, indestructible blocks, power-ups, and an eventual "boss" screen (which I've yet to see unfortunately). According to Wikipedia (see link above), it was released for the Commodore 64 (computer), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and mobile phones. And while it was ported for Atari home computers, it was (unfortunately) never released to any of their classic gaming consoles.
I've been playing this game quite a bit in recent years at Robot City Games retro arcade, and just like back in the day, I always kind of scratch my head at the backstory screen postulating that your paddle is a spaceship. It simply doesn't look like one to me. Nevertheless, it's an exciting game where you need to focus acutely (even more so than with its predecessor) on calculating where to angle every bounce in order to clear the intricate screens made up of various block configurations. And the power-ups greatly enhance things because trying to grab them while simultaneously avoiding missing the ball can be quite the challenge. Also, the weird looking enemies which resemble some kind of molecule configurations add to the fun. This one is highly recommended for those who haven't played it before (and for old-school Breakout aficionados).
#13 - Time Pilot
Time Pilot is a 1982 multidirectional shooter game from Konami where you control a fighter plane battling enemy forces in five different time periods. The game starts in 1910 with enemy biplanes, and moves through 1940 WWII propeller planes, 1970 helicopter fighters, 1982 jet fighters, and finally 2001 enemy flying saucers. The view is centered on your craft, which can move and fire through a full 360 degrees of motion. Different enemies fire various weapons, from standard bullets to heat seeking missiles, and each stage ends with a showdown against a boss ship from each time period. After completing the flying saucer stage, the game warps back to the beginning and the action becomes faster and more challenging.
Time Pilot is another game I play frequently these days on my trips to Robot City Games. In fact, I'm betting I've been playing it more today than back in the day, for the simple fact it wasn't as prevalent in our local arcades as many other games on my Best Of list. Simply put, this game is non-stop action from start to finish which will have you dropping in tokens in a quest to top a current high score. Spraying bullets and moving around the playfield in such a way as to avoid the hordes of enemies and falling missiles is a skill that only comes through practice, as I have yet to discover any definitive strategies or patterns. It's simply a matter of getting on a roll or being "in the zone" as I like to put it. With colorful backgrounds, dynamic sound effects and an unrelenting pace, Time Pilot will keep fans of arcade shoot 'em ups coming back for more time and again. For a more in-depth look at this game, as well as the Atari 2600 adaption, read my March 2005 For the Love of Atari blog post.
Watch my future posts where I will continue my "Best Of" arcade games list.
