Thanks for watching :) have a look at Arcade Decades here. Stretch goals have just been announced, including the AUDIOBOOK version! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tabletop-book/arcade-decades-80s-edition/
@@Kim_Justice I grew up in and around Skegness so in a radius of 20 miles there was easy 40 arcades and then all the pubs with kids rooms with video games in them. But the one thing that can never be repeated now is the feeling you got when you walked into an arcade with the sounds, the smell, the lights and all the people, the ones who were playing and then the ones who were waiting to get on that one game they had been waiting to play since there friend had been telling them about it since Easter and now it was the summer holidays and all the anticipation was right there in the 10p in there hand just waiting to put it in the coin slot and then press the 1 player button and you could see the excitement in there eyes and then see the crushing disappointment when they could not get past the first level. But then you saw them again a few days later and you could see the same excitement in them but not because it was the first time of playing but because the excitement was now because they could actually play the game and get to stage 4 and the excitement was they was hoping to get to the final stage and maybe complete it and so when they go back home they could tell there friend they had played the game and got so far or completed it. Those times in the 80's arcades can never be repeated and you cannot explain it to people who weren't there. For me living in and around Skegness I had a different experience to arcades to many as all my spare time was spent in the arcades from when the campsites opened just before Easter until they closed in late October early November. For me arcades was not a place where I only went on holiday they were a way of life so I didn't need to pick and choose the let's say fashionable games as I could play them anytime I could play the games that were hid away in the back of the arcade or in a corner and quite often they were the better games then the brand new one that everyone wanted to play.
7:12 I always thought the best Pang was Super Pang (The 2nd game), but it appears you are describing it Super Pang here since the original Pang doesn't have the Panic mode.
Backed this within 20 minutes of it going live. I can't wait to add this to my collection of arcade books. There is not enough of these out there. ✨️ stay well, Arcadians!
What an insane amount of memories here. Born in 1973 and these were the titles I played inarcades, at the fairgrounds. It's basically a "shoppinglist" of things I need attempt to find and emulate. Thanks again Kim
Highlight of my year was a seaside holiday or the fair coming to town with loads of games I'd never seen in the flesh. Kids don't appreciate how much better arcades were compared to home systems
@@1000sofusernames Exactly this. I loved the atmosphere. We had a large arcade as a neighbor to our favorite cinema. When the lads were going to a movie, we made sure to get there with plenty of time to spare so we could get in an hour or two prior to the movies. Good times. Such good times.
Sweet lord. Kim justice goes behind enemy lines and takes on another impossible mission to entertain the troops. Another video, stay a while, stay forever!!! Thanks Kim this is greatly appreciated.
The arcades blew my mind so profoundly, I can still feel the feelings i felt 35 years ago ...that feeling of pure excitement and joy 😊 great video kim and I'll be looking to get the book
its incredible how good the best of these still look on a big, high resolution monitor. paperboy could be released as a new game today with the graphics as-is and very little added and i honestly think it'd do extremely well in the casual market. such a pretty and well designed little game.
Hard disagree. Paperboy has no right to be mentioned among the Japanese greats; hell, among the American greats even. I always thought it was trash, and am genuinely surprised to see it's as beloved as it is.
A fantastic Top 50! Great to see some of these again after far too long. I grew up playing Space Harrier, Battlezone, Star Wars, Chase HQ, Spy Hunter, Temple of Doom, 1942, TRON and Kung Fu Master. 40 years later and Space Harrier is still my all-time favourite arcade machine
Space Harrier Rules. Its an intense game, with no way for you to take-a-break, or a second to pause. The novelty of going from stomping ground to blasting thru the air, at a moments notice, has never been lost on me. I loved it on my Atari ST - and now I love it on my MegaDrive ❤
Great list. I’d personally add a few titles but no idea which I’d remove. I’d add R-Type, Rastan Saga, Heavy Barrel, Juno First, Ikari Warriors, The New Zealand Story, Galaxy Force II (hydraulic), Wizard of Wor, Defender, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Smash TV and Midnight Resistance.
Yep, it seems like Defender or Robotron style shooters mattered more. Some other gems I feel deserve an entry here include; Forgotten Worlds, Ikari Warriors, Midnight Resistance, New Zealand Story, Qix, Rampage, Rastan, Solomon's Key.
Great video. Thank you for giving Kung Fu master a shout. I spent many hours playing that game in the early 80's. So many videos I watch of the greatest video games of the 80's don't even give it a mention, which makes me think I had a mis-spent youth. Now I know I spent it wisely.
When we were kids we used to go to this swimming pool, the way home always involved going for chips and this place had a kung fu master machine, that was all it had. And man did that get some playing! The flex at the time was to cross your arms and play joystick with your right hand and buttons with your left. Somehow asserting your superiority by doing so, haha.
These personal favourite lists are often fun. For me I'd have swapped out the likes of Alien Syndrome, Centipede, Flicky, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Elevator Action, Great Swordsman, Fantasy Zone, Trio the Punch, Crystal Castles, Scramble and Berzerk for games such as Defender, After Burner, Gradius, Moon Cresta, GORF, R-Type, Arkanoid, 1942, The NewZealand Story, Rampage, Commando, Operation Wolf, STUN Runner, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Super Sprint and Battlezone.
And once again.... Best timing ever on the type of topic and video i love. This time no depression; just good ole bed time, so nice and snug and perfect to drift off after hot milk and a neogeo session. Chefs kiss Thank you!
The "Class of '81" games are your #2 & #3. Fantastic list. Flicky was a surprise, though. My favorite arcade game of the 80s is Wonderboy in Monsterland.
Ah man Space Harrier, the Mammoth on the title screen used to terrify my when I saw it in blackpool arcades as a young kid. But then it was in Shenmue, and fast became one of my favourite games of all time just for the ambience.
Awesome video 😃 while I may have started playing coin-ops in the ‘70s it wasn’t until ‘79 that we got a mega arcade locally but that led to a glorious 1979-1986 for me in the arcades. So happy you found joy in this glorious period of videogaming.
Very interesting list with some true masterpieces on there. Space Harrier was mind-blowing when it came out. I don't think we really experience stupefying leaps forward in technology like that anymore.
Truly an exceptional list. And I'm extremely tough on top-x game list in general. You have extremely good taste sir. Wouldn't change a thing. Actually I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to arcade games, and gaming in general, but I have to admit I couldn't even come close to creating this perfect list.
Solid list. I never played Shinobi at the arcades, but when I finally got to do so as an adult (thanks to MAME) it made me appreciate how good some of those old C64 ports were. I was already pretty damn good at it thanks to countless hours on the 8 bit version 30+ years ago. Similarly with games like Moon Patrol, Bubble Bobble and Cabal.
No Defender, Stargate, R-Type or Asteroids?! They're iconic -in my view. I think for me it would be 1: Defender, 2: Tempest, 3: Galaga, 4: Mrs Pacman and 5: Donkey Kong. Missile Command would be in my top 10 though. Fun fact: "THE END" text in the explosion in Missile Command was a VERY last minute addition after someone else at Atari mentioned it would be "cool" to have it in there. So Dave added it :)
Exactly. Or Salamander, Phoenix or Moon Cresta. But to miss Defender! is practically a crime! Asteroids although very popular in the 80s was released in 79, so all depends on what you think "of the 1980s" means, but to me it should be in there as it was in arcades in the 80s and was incredibly popular.
Always love the look at so many games that shaped the gaming industry for such a long time along with building up my love of gaming as a child. Many an afternoon spent playing these titles, both at the arcade and the home versions.
Great list. Unfortunately I played the computer ports for most of these, and had pleasure to enjoy very few original arcade versions before I had a computer (Scramble, Gyruss, Time Pilot). But one game I enjoyed the most was Bosconian, which usually doesn't make it to any lists. Even if I ran out of coins I loved watching others play this game.
Yeah, a second for Bosconian. Also in the genre "any direction scrolling shoot-em-up" I would recommend William's Sinistar! Who can forget the classic voice: "I HUNGER!" and "RUN COWARD!"?
Thanks a lot for bringing Valkyrie no Densetsu to my attention. I have a dedicated vertical crt arcade cabinet and didn't know about this game. It's great! I especially like the fact that is has unlimited continues but with checkpoints, meaning that you can't buy your way to victory. It may be the closest thing to an arcade Zelda game.
Thank you for - as always - a solid, very well-produced video. Here are the adjustments I would do in this list: As mentionned by @KeenRetroGames, Pooyan is sorely missed and Pang's ranking is too low: it definitely deserves a spot in the top 10 Other games that I miss in this list: - Technos' Block Out (1989) - Atari's Klax (1989) - Konami's Block Hole (1989) - Atari's S.T.U.N Runner (1989) - Technos' Championship V'Ball (1988) - Atari's Tetris (1988) - Tecmo's Silkworm (1988) - Namco's Pac-Mania (1987) - Konami's Ping Pong (1985) - Sega's Pengo (1982) - Nintendo's Popeye (1982) - Nintendo's Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) - Taito's Phoenix (1980)
30:00 That Star Wars game, led me to have 3 birthdays in a row, at a reserved (for 3 hours) arcade. It was a marvel then and holds endless nostalgia now. I actually thought so high of it, that I still have my Original MIB, childhood version!! It was one of only a hand-full that I did not include, in my trade-in for an NES!!
Very interesting list! It's impossible to make a Top 50 Arcade list without missing something. You can't possible know or have played all Arcade games from that era: Contra Ninja Spirit Pitfall Wonder Boy Pole Position Kiki KaiKai Qix Gradius Parodius R-Type Choplifter Spelunker Ninja Spirit Popeye Pengo The list is never ending. Therefore I am ending it.
Great video!!! There were so many awesome arcade games especially in the early 80s... my all time favorite is Galaxian, but Pac-man, Qbert and Bosconian are at the top of my list. Great job again!!
Great video kim, thank you. One of the things about all these games is i tend to remember where i was when first seeing/playing them. My family were big on the "trades fortnight british caravan parks" holidays, pretty much all the current haven-holidays spots. And my times there were largely spent in the arcades (though im sure we called them the amusements). My gran would come with us and she'd play the 2p OXO pull-handle machines while i played games. I'd be perfectly happy watching other people play once id spent all my money for the day. I tended to avoid the big machines (the big space harrier cabs or wec le mans cars) as they cost 50p and a normal game like side-arms was 20p... I remember watching some older kid play Double Dragon, first time i'd seen it. i was mesmerized. Then he turned and said he had to go and did i want to take over. You bet i did! He even had about 3 credits (must have been some rich kid with his fancy pound coin...) and i played that as if my life depended on it. Some memories make me laugh; the music from bubble bobble just permeating the whole arcade. no matter where you were you could hear that in the background. So many of the games in your video i can remember the holiday camp we were at, how i felt when first seeing it, hearing it. It all adds to the nostalgia and makes a video like this way more than just a series of games. They're way more than that! Thanks again, keep up the good work!
These games are a big part of what made the 80s my favourite decade. I was always pestering my dad on holiday to take me to the arcade mainly so I could play Gyruss. I later bought it for the Atari 2600 and, well that wasn't the same! You've got most of the bases covered in this video - I played Double Dragon, Out Run and Golden Axe to death - and I would have added 1942, Gradius and R-Type in your top 50. Turbo as well for the cabinet and sound effects. My birthday present is sorted for next year with your book, am asking my missus for the hard-cover!
Ha! I'm old enough to remember a lot of these the first time around. I still play Mr Do! and Bubble Bobble today, both a work of genius if you ask me. Although I have never ever finished Bubble Bobble without cheating. I loved arcades as a kid, they were video game arcades and not full of ticket machines and other gambling type machines.
Ah mr do lol. Was there another game called Mr Do's castle? I'm stretching my memory here lol. My local cafe had Mr Do and another called Bomb Jack, the second replaced Defender as several of us had got to the level where we could clock it.
Long time fan kim, and just wanted to say Congrats on the book! I can't wait to pick one up as it genuinely looks absolutely amazing! This video definitely has got me excited about it. I always thought with your passion and dedication to gaming, that you'd make a perfect author for a book especially on a subject like 80's arcade games and scene. There's honestly really nothing like reading a book or watching a video made by someone who's not only knowledgeable but also truly passionate about the subject they're writing about! (Can't wait to put on my shelf right next to Ashen's and Nostalgia Nerd's books! After many thorough readings, of course!) Maybe for the next book you could maybe "tackle" (sorry for the bad pun!) the subject of 90's Japanese puroesu..? I can only imagine you'd knock it out of the park and there's really not that many books on the subject (at least not to my knowledge, though would love some recommendations if anyone has any!). But knowing how long and how much work you've put into this book, I can totally understand waiting a while (or longer!) until you take on such big project like that! (Just thinking about a great coffee table Puroresu book with good art and writing would be just plain awesome!) Keep up the awesome work! As long you keep making content I'll be happily watching/reading it and be a fan! Hope this books opens up to a whole new audience and more people discover your work,as you really deserve it!
Love your list! I appreciate the commentary on Tapper - spot on! I see why you ranked Missile Command as #1 because you wanted a good ending to your video. ;-) Well played.
I always like to see people's top games as everyones will be different and from one month to another it will be slightly different. And also seeing games I didn't know existed. For me some of my favourite games are not the greatest but I love them. Tecmo World Cup which is great when the trackball is working well. Combat School another great trackball game. Super Sprint which is a great 3 player game. Sky Kids which has one of the best sound tracks of the 80's arcade. Commando which has so much nostalgia for me as my parents had it there pub when I was a kid and I was awesome at it and the young adults in the pub would pay for me to play it and watch me as no one could beat my high score and they never believed it was my score. Quartet which I feel is a very underrated game. Popeye is just a great license and very replayable also Tron which for me is better with an original cabinet. 1942 a great shooter and great sound. Pac-Land is just fun. Ghouls n Ghosts or Ghosts n Goblins just so playable but so difficult. Atari 720 I was absolutely terrible at it but always had fun. But many of the games in your top 50 would have been in mine but my top 5 Kung Fu Master, Crystal Castles, Kick & Run (mainly because I liked the mechanic of the foot pedal to kick the ball and it was a fun 4 player football game), Phoenix & Donkey Kong. Also it would be good if someone did a video on the differences of arcade games in different countries perfect example is Donkey Kong and then different versions that were released with minor bugs fixed in games.
Good list. My order would be a bit different of course. The other thing I would mention is the control method for some of these games made them unique and added a lot to the gameplay.
Mr Kim Justice, I couldn’t agree more when you said “when you play Galaga, you feel like you’re right next to the beating heart of what makes gaming great” What a wonderful compliment to what is the mighty Galaga. Love that game 👍
I appreciated seeing Alien Syndrome on the list, although I'm not sure I would consider it one of the "50 Best Games". Sega had a couple of other multi player games in that period that were amazing: Quartet, a 4 player competitive platform game, and Hot Rod, a 4 player top down racer, with strategic upgrades.
As per usual, an excellent video. I don't agree with all of these choices (nobody's choices for best arcade games are going to _perfectly_ align), but it's a strong, solid list. The book that inspired this video is probably gonna be worth a look, too.
Wow. You’ve put so many of my favorites on this list. Hard to believe that, when considering you disliked Hippodrome so much, and I still love it, lol.
Good list! I ought to show my mom & dad this video when I get the chance! ^^; P.S. my favorite level in the OG Donkey Kong is 50m, cuz it looks like a pie factory to me (I know it's a construction site, but the pans of cement that one shot you looks like pies to me).
My dear KJ, please, do a C64 video - best/worst USGold, arcade conversions etc. you have a style, that is unmatched. I really like your videos, thank you!😊
We need to get KJ an Atari 5200 or 8-bit home computer, stacked with all the Golden Age arcade classics. We already have shared the love for C64 and Speccy, now it’s Atari’s turn, and it’s a perfect place to turn for 1989s arcade goodness.
16:00 Paperboy is great in the Arcades, NES(I had it growing up) and it's on almost every console. It would be interesting to see a comparison video. Does anyone know a quality one? Cheers.
Track and Field ❤. My father was not into videogames. But he gave me 6 finnish marks to but into this back in 1987 I think. I could waggle myself on third stage on my third and final try.
Jungler looks cool. I don't think I've seen it before. :) I love the Williams stuff and would have also added Bubbles to my own list. I made a variant and a sequel that swapped the theme with a space invasion... which I guess sort of misses half of what made Bubbles cool in the first place.
A great list that I overall agree on. There are some titles that I would like to have seen higher, but mostly because of my own personal nostalgia. Not that they are necessarily better games. (Original PacMan and Asteroids for example)
50 missing favs of mine (kind of off the top of my head) in no particular order that would be in contention if I was making a top 50 list (some would make it, obviously not all, likely of a mix of Kim's and these)...Alcon, Life Force, Vulcan Venture & Gradius III, Vanguard, R-Type, U.N. Squadron, Ghouls n Ghosts, Dragon Buster, LED Storm, Sagaia, Mercs, Atari or more likely Sega Tetris, 1942 & 43 Kai, Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh, Super Monaco GP, Galaxy Force II, After Burner II, Fire Shark, Satan's Hollow, Bosconian, Baraduke, Dragon Breed, Rompers, Juno First, Top Gunner, Major Havoc, Frenzy, Pleiades, Q*Bert, Pole Position II, TX-1, Speed Buggy, Super Zaxxon, Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Sinistar, Defender & Stargate, S.T.U.N. Runner, Winning Run Suzuka Grand Prix, Ivan Ironman Stewart’s Super-Off Road, Power Drift, Racing Hero (Sega), Double Dragon II, Ninja Spirit, Shadow Dancer, Liquid Kids, Black Tiger, and Tecmo Knight.
I'm currently having severe financial difficulties, so I can't back your book right now, but I hope I'll be able to afford it when it's released. I'm writing my own book about arcade games myself, but it's a book of short stories where every story involves an arcade or arcade game in one form or another.
Obviosuly everyone is gonna have their fave arcade pics and a lot of that will be to do with what grabbed them when they were young. What matters, as ever, is the passion you put into this ... thoroughly enjoyed watching this, even if that passion should be reserved for the masterpiece that is Donkey Kong (kidding. Maybe). Though Outrun is my favourite game of all time ... and I haven't played nearly as much as you have, obviously!
1:00 As a Kid, my Brother and I traded Skate or Die (NES) to some kid on our street. The Dudes were okay but the game was too easy. Besides that, it was a lot of fun! Cheers.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for watching :) have a look at Arcade Decades here. Stretch goals have just been announced, including the AUDIOBOOK version! www.kickstarter.com/projects/tabletop-book/arcade-decades-80s-edition/
I just backed the project for personalised hardback....and cannot wait for it!
@@Kim_Justice I grew up in and around Skegness so in a radius of 20 miles there was easy 40 arcades and then all the pubs with kids rooms with video games in them. But the one thing that can never be repeated now is the feeling you got when you walked into an arcade with the sounds, the smell, the lights and all the people, the ones who were playing and then the ones who were waiting to get on that one game they had been waiting to play since there friend had been telling them about it since Easter and now it was the summer holidays and all the anticipation was right there in the 10p in there hand just waiting to put it in the coin slot and then press the 1 player button and you could see the excitement in there eyes and then see the crushing disappointment when they could not get past the first level. But then you saw them again a few days later and you could see the same excitement in them but not because it was the first time of playing but because the excitement was now because they could actually play the game and get to stage 4 and the excitement was they was hoping to get to the final stage and maybe complete it and so when they go back home they could tell there friend they had played the game and got so far or completed it.
Those times in the 80's arcades can never be repeated and you cannot explain it to people who weren't there. For me living in and around Skegness I had a different experience to arcades to many as all my spare time was spent in the arcades from when the campsites opened just before Easter until they closed in late October early November. For me arcades was not a place where I only went on holiday they were a way of life so I didn't need to pick and choose the let's say fashionable games as I could play them anytime I could play the games that were hid away in the back of the arcade or in a corner and quite often they were the better games then the brand new one that everyone wanted to play.
will be buying but eeep 52 of your British pounds postage to New Zealand, one of our postal services is making the most! NZ$110!
7:12 I always thought the best Pang was Super Pang (The 2nd game), but it appears you are describing it Super Pang here since the original Pang doesn't have the Panic mode.
Backed this within 20 minutes of it going live. I can't wait to add this to my collection of arcade books. There is not enough of these out there. ✨️ stay well, Arcadians!
What an insane amount of memories here. Born in 1973 and these were the titles I played inarcades, at the fairgrounds. It's basically a "shoppinglist" of things I need attempt to find and emulate.
Thanks again Kim
Highlight of my year was a seaside holiday or the fair coming to town with loads of games I'd never seen in the flesh. Kids don't appreciate how much better arcades were compared to home systems
@@1000sofusernames Exactly this. I loved the atmosphere. We had a large arcade as a neighbor to our favorite cinema. When the lads were going to a movie, we made sure to get there with plenty of time to spare so we could get in an hour or two prior to the movies. Good times. Such good times.
When I play old arcade games today, I always think back to the first place I ever played it.
born in 72 remember most of these games
u just need to download a non- merged mame set and download retroarch
Sweet lord. Kim justice goes behind enemy lines and takes on another impossible mission to entertain the troops. Another video, stay a while, stay forever!!! Thanks Kim this is greatly appreciated.
The arcades blew my mind so profoundly, I can still feel the feelings i felt 35 years ago ...that feeling of pure excitement and joy 😊 great video kim and I'll be looking to get the book
Well, Bubble Bobble music's going to be stuck in my head all day now, but I really should have seen that coming when I decided to watch this.
Black Tiger was a very underrated 80s game.
its incredible how good the best of these still look on a big, high resolution monitor. paperboy could be released as a new game today with the graphics as-is and very little added and i honestly think it'd do extremely well in the casual market. such a pretty and well designed little game.
Hard disagree. Paperboy has no right to be mentioned among the Japanese greats; hell, among the American greats even. I always thought it was trash, and am genuinely surprised to see it's as beloved as it is.
A fantastic Top 50! Great to see some of these again after far too long.
I grew up playing Space Harrier, Battlezone, Star Wars, Chase HQ, Spy Hunter, Temple of Doom, 1942, TRON and Kung Fu Master.
40 years later and Space Harrier is still my all-time favourite arcade machine
Space Harrier Rules. Its an intense game, with no way for you to take-a-break, or a second to pause.
The novelty of going from stomping ground to blasting thru the air, at a moments notice, has never been lost on me.
I loved it on my Atari ST - and now I love it on my MegaDrive ❤
Great list. I’d personally add a few titles but no idea which I’d remove. I’d add R-Type, Rastan Saga, Heavy Barrel, Juno First, Ikari Warriors, The New Zealand Story, Galaxy Force II (hydraulic), Wizard of Wor, Defender, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Smash TV and Midnight Resistance.
The absence of Moon Patrol and R-Type is shocking. Pooyan is missed.
Yep, it seems like Defender or Robotron style shooters mattered more. Some other gems I feel deserve an entry here include; Forgotten Worlds, Ikari Warriors, Midnight Resistance, New Zealand Story, Qix, Rampage, Rastan, Solomon's Key.
Great video. Thank you for giving Kung Fu master a shout. I spent many hours playing that game in the early 80's. So many videos I watch of the greatest video games of the 80's don't even give it a mention, which makes me think I had a mis-spent youth. Now I know I spent it wisely.
When we were kids we used to go to this swimming pool, the way home always involved going for chips and this place had a kung fu master machine, that was all it had. And man did that get some playing! The flex at the time was to cross your arms and play joystick with your right hand and buttons with your left. Somehow asserting your superiority by doing so, haha.
These personal favourite lists are often fun. For me I'd have swapped out the likes of Alien Syndrome, Centipede, Flicky, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Elevator Action, Great Swordsman, Fantasy Zone, Trio the Punch, Crystal Castles, Scramble and Berzerk for games such as Defender, After Burner, Gradius, Moon Cresta, GORF, R-Type, Arkanoid, 1942, The NewZealand Story, Rampage, Commando, Operation Wolf, STUN Runner, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Super Sprint and Battlezone.
This channel deserves way more viewers.
Good stuff, Kim!
And once again....
Best timing ever on the type of topic and video i love.
This time no depression; just good ole bed time, so nice and snug and perfect to drift off after hot milk and a neogeo session.
Chefs kiss
Thank you!
The "Class of '81" games are your #2 & #3. Fantastic list. Flicky was a surprise, though. My favorite arcade game of the 80s is Wonderboy in Monsterland.
Ah man Space Harrier, the Mammoth on the title screen used to terrify my when I saw it in blackpool arcades as a young kid. But then it was in Shenmue, and fast became one of my favourite games of all time just for the ambience.
Awesome video 😃 while I may have started playing coin-ops in the ‘70s it wasn’t until ‘79 that we got a mega arcade locally but that led to a glorious 1979-1986 for me in the arcades. So happy you found joy in this glorious period of videogaming.
Very interesting list with some true masterpieces on there. Space Harrier was mind-blowing when it came out. I don't think we really experience stupefying leaps forward in technology like that anymore.
Truly an exceptional list. And I'm extremely tough on top-x game list in general. You have extremely good taste sir. Wouldn't change a thing. Actually I consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to arcade games, and gaming in general, but I have to admit I couldn't even come close to creating this perfect list.
Big love Kim! Very excited to read your book.
I can't wait to enjoy Kim's book!
Same here! I've always wanted see her release a book and it's finally here! Can't wait to pick up a copy when I'm able to!
Solid list. I never played Shinobi at the arcades, but when I finally got to do so as an adult (thanks to MAME) it made me appreciate how good some of those old C64 ports were. I was already pretty damn good at it thanks to countless hours on the 8 bit version 30+ years ago. Similarly with games like Moon Patrol, Bubble Bobble and Cabal.
Another great video KJ. Love to see a 90s version, or an early 90s version at least.
No Defender, Stargate, R-Type or Asteroids?! They're iconic -in my view. I think for me it would be 1: Defender, 2: Tempest, 3: Galaga, 4: Mrs Pacman and 5: Donkey Kong. Missile Command would be in my top 10 though. Fun fact: "THE END" text in the explosion in Missile Command was a VERY last minute addition after someone else at Atari mentioned it would be "cool" to have it in there. So Dave added it :)
Oh yeah, R-Type (or even Salamander) is surprising in not getting a shout.
Exactly. Or Salamander, Phoenix or Moon Cresta. But to miss Defender! is practically a crime! Asteroids although very popular in the 80s was released in 79, so all depends on what you think "of the 1980s" means, but to me it should be in there as it was in arcades in the 80s and was incredibly popular.
It's his list. It is what he likes. For me for example Defender is classic, but always was unplayable.
@@hynol Her list.
@@t7plus Ahhh - ok. Sry.
Always love the look at so many games that shaped the gaming industry for such a long time along with building up my love of gaming as a child. Many an afternoon spent playing these titles, both at the arcade and the home versions.
Great list. Unfortunately I played the computer ports for most of these, and had pleasure to enjoy very few original arcade versions before I had a computer (Scramble, Gyruss, Time Pilot). But one game I enjoyed the most was Bosconian, which usually doesn't make it to any lists. Even if I ran out of coins I loved watching others play this game.
Yeah, a second for Bosconian. Also in the genre "any direction scrolling shoot-em-up" I would recommend William's Sinistar! Who can forget the classic voice: "I HUNGER!" and "RUN COWARD!"?
Another Friday, another Kim video. Hurrah!!! ❤
Great video! You are a great ambassador for these games! Congratulations again on your book and looking forward to further editions of books!
Thanks a lot for bringing Valkyrie no Densetsu to my attention. I have a dedicated vertical crt arcade cabinet and didn't know about this game. It's great! I especially like the fact that is has unlimited continues but with checkpoints, meaning that you can't buy your way to victory. It may be the closest thing to an arcade Zelda game.
To this day me and my older brother will randomly blurt out digitized voice stuff from 80s video games. "Bad Dudes!" or "I am the Gorphian ro-bot!"
Thank you for - as always - a solid, very well-produced video.
Here are the adjustments I would do in this list:
As mentionned by @KeenRetroGames, Pooyan is sorely missed and Pang's ranking is too low: it definitely deserves a spot in the top 10
Other games that I miss in this list:
- Technos' Block Out (1989)
- Atari's Klax (1989)
- Konami's Block Hole (1989)
- Atari's S.T.U.N Runner (1989)
- Technos' Championship V'Ball (1988)
- Atari's Tetris (1988)
- Tecmo's Silkworm (1988)
- Namco's Pac-Mania (1987)
- Konami's Ping Pong (1985)
- Sega's Pengo (1982)
- Nintendo's Popeye (1982)
- Nintendo's Donkey Kong Jr. (1982)
- Taito's Phoenix (1980)
30:00
That Star Wars game, led me to have 3 birthdays in a row, at a reserved (for 3 hours) arcade.
It was a marvel then and holds endless nostalgia now. I actually thought so high of it, that I still have my Original MIB, childhood version!!
It was one of only a hand-full that I did not include, in my trade-in for an NES!!
Very interesting list!
It's impossible to make a Top 50 Arcade list without missing something. You can't possible know or have played all Arcade games from that era:
Contra
Ninja Spirit
Pitfall
Wonder Boy
Pole Position
Kiki KaiKai
Qix
Gradius
Parodius
R-Type
Choplifter
Spelunker
Ninja Spirit
Popeye
Pengo
The list is never ending. Therefore I am ending it.
Great video! Love all your stuff Kim :) such great coverage of the games of my childhood!
So much nostalgia watching this from my mispent youth in the arcades, great vid Kim
Another absolutely brilliant I'll
upload Kim! So many many little trips down memory lane for me. Thank you 👌
Great video!!! There were so many awesome arcade games especially in the early 80s... my all time favorite is Galaxian, but Pac-man, Qbert and Bosconian are at the top of my list. Great job again!!
Great video kim, thank you. One of the things about all these games is i tend to remember where i was when first seeing/playing them. My family were big on the "trades fortnight british caravan parks" holidays, pretty much all the current haven-holidays spots. And my times there were largely spent in the arcades (though im sure we called them the amusements). My gran would come with us and she'd play the 2p OXO pull-handle machines while i played games. I'd be perfectly happy watching other people play once id spent all my money for the day. I tended to avoid the big machines (the big space harrier cabs or wec le mans cars) as they cost 50p and a normal game like side-arms was 20p... I remember watching some older kid play Double Dragon, first time i'd seen it. i was mesmerized. Then he turned and said he had to go and did i want to take over. You bet i did! He even had about 3 credits (must have been some rich kid with his fancy pound coin...) and i played that as if my life depended on it.
Some memories make me laugh; the music from bubble bobble just permeating the whole arcade. no matter where you were you could hear that in the background. So many of the games in your video i can remember the holiday camp we were at, how i felt when first seeing it, hearing it. It all adds to the nostalgia and makes a video like this way more than just a series of games. They're way more than that! Thanks again, keep up the good work!
What a treat! I love watching these videos; thanks Kim!
So much to agree here with your list! Even if you missed to include my personal favorite 'Bosconian'.
These games are a big part of what made the 80s my favourite decade. I was always pestering my dad on holiday to take me to the arcade mainly so I could play Gyruss. I later bought it for the Atari 2600 and, well that wasn't the same!
You've got most of the bases covered in this video - I played Double Dragon, Out Run and Golden Axe to death - and I would have added 1942, Gradius and R-Type in your top 50. Turbo as well for the cabinet and sound effects.
My birthday present is sorted for next year with your book, am asking my missus for the hard-cover!
Ha! I'm old enough to remember a lot of these the first time around. I still play Mr Do! and Bubble Bobble today, both a work of genius if you ask me. Although I have never ever finished Bubble Bobble without cheating. I loved arcades as a kid, they were video game arcades and not full of ticket machines and other gambling type machines.
Ah mr do lol. Was there another game called Mr Do's castle? I'm stretching my memory here lol. My local cafe had Mr Do and another called Bomb Jack, the second replaced Defender as several of us had got to the level where we could clock it.
OMG Kim, you did it again, thx for the content. We need more!
Long time fan kim, and just wanted to say Congrats on the book! I can't wait to pick one up as it genuinely looks absolutely amazing! This video definitely has got me excited about it. I always thought with your passion and dedication to gaming, that you'd make a perfect author for a book especially on a subject like 80's arcade games and scene. There's honestly really nothing like reading a book or watching a video made by someone who's not only knowledgeable but also truly passionate about the subject they're writing about! (Can't wait to put on my shelf right next to Ashen's and Nostalgia Nerd's books! After many thorough readings, of course!)
Maybe for the next book you could maybe "tackle" (sorry for the bad pun!) the subject of 90's Japanese puroesu..? I can only imagine you'd knock it out of the park and there's really not that many books on the subject (at least not to my knowledge, though would love some recommendations if anyone has any!). But knowing how long and how much work you've put into this book, I can totally understand waiting a while (or longer!) until you take on such big project like that! (Just thinking about a great coffee table Puroresu book with good art and writing would be just plain awesome!)
Keep up the awesome work! As long you keep making content I'll be happily watching/reading it and be a fan! Hope this books opens up to a whole new audience and more people discover your work,as you really deserve it!
Love your list! I appreciate the commentary on Tapper - spot on! I see why you ranked Missile Command as #1 because you wanted a good ending to your video. ;-) Well played.
I’m amazed there were titles like Jungler I’d never seen! Well done, I need to buy the book now!
Wonderful stuff Kim! Marvellous choices!
I always like to see people's top games as everyones will be different and from one month to another it will be slightly different. And also seeing games I didn't know existed.
For me some of my favourite games are not the greatest but I love them. Tecmo World Cup which is great when the trackball is working well. Combat School another great trackball game. Super Sprint which is a great 3 player game. Sky Kids which has one of the best sound tracks of the 80's arcade. Commando which has so much nostalgia for me as my parents had it there pub when I was a kid and I was awesome at it and the young adults in the pub would pay for me to play it and watch me as no one could beat my high score and they never believed it was my score. Quartet which I feel is a very underrated game. Popeye is just a great license and very replayable also Tron which for me is better with an original cabinet. 1942 a great shooter and great sound. Pac-Land is just fun. Ghouls n Ghosts or Ghosts n Goblins just so playable but so difficult. Atari 720 I was absolutely terrible at it but always had fun.
But many of the games in your top 50 would have been in mine but my top 5 Kung Fu Master, Crystal Castles, Kick & Run (mainly because I liked the mechanic of the foot pedal to kick the ball and it was a fun 4 player football game), Phoenix & Donkey Kong.
Also it would be good if someone did a video on the differences of arcade games in different countries perfect example is Donkey Kong and then different versions that were released with minor bugs fixed in games.
Great list. I never heard of Jungler or Great Swordsman, but they both look like cool games.
Good list. My order would be a bit different of course. The other thing I would mention is the control method for some of these games made them unique and added a lot to the gameplay.
Mr Kim Justice, I couldn’t agree more when you said “when you play Galaga, you feel like you’re right next to the beating heart of what makes gaming great” What a wonderful compliment to what is the mighty Galaga. Love that game 👍
21:30
Still the best 2 player (together) NES game from my youth.
If you had a sibling, and an NES...You've played and loved, Bubble Bobble
I appreciated seeing Alien Syndrome on the list, although I'm not sure I would consider it one of the "50 Best Games". Sega had a couple of other multi player games in that period that were amazing: Quartet, a 4 player competitive platform game, and Hot Rod, a 4 player top down racer, with strategic upgrades.
Awesome video !! You are one of the top video game content creators !! When you showed Bad Dudes, why did you speak at super speed ???
As per usual, an excellent video. I don't agree with all of these choices (nobody's choices for best arcade games are going to _perfectly_ align), but it's a strong, solid list. The book that inspired this video is probably gonna be worth a look, too.
My gratitude as always Kim
I knew every game on this list except Trio the Punch. Now I MUST try it!
Just backed you on Kickstarter. Look forward to the final product and keep up the great work.
I adore Missile Command! Great list 😃
Great vid! I didn’t expect it but still sad to see no Bubbles lol. Huge soft spot for that one.
A great list of games. Love these kind of ranking videos. Although I'd shove in Rygar and Pengo somwhere.
20:30
Ah-so. A.T.G. NES, first 30. 'Black Box' classic! I'm sure at least a few NES' were purchased, just to be able to play it at Home!
LOVE IT
You are the best reviewer of games ever !!
My favorite Arcade game’s till today are Defender, R-Type, Galaxian and Robotron.
Wow. You’ve put so many of my favorites on this list.
Hard to believe that, when considering you disliked Hippodrome so much, and I still love it, lol.
Williams is my favorite golden age company. Mainly because they had the best arcade compilations on the swag genesis and PlayStation.
Love your videos. Thanks for all the content, bravo ! x
This Video brings back wonderful memories arcade graphics was King back in those days 👍🏽
Hard to argue with this list. Afterburner is only one I would put in as it represents so much of the flavour of the 80’s.
Lovely trip down memory lane, thank you Kim. Just wish I could buy the original Gauntlet for a PS!
I love all these games as much as I love the tone of your voice.
A top 50 of 80s arcade games is always going to be controversial, simply because there's way more than 50 that are basically essential.
Good list! I ought to show my mom & dad this video when I get the chance! ^^;
P.S. my favorite level in the OG Donkey Kong is 50m, cuz it looks like a pie factory to me (I know it's a construction site, but the pans of cement that one shot you looks like pies to me).
Saint dragon...together with Pang! the reason why the amiga ruled 16 bit arcade conversions at a time.
My dear KJ, please, do a C64 video - best/worst USGold, arcade conversions etc. you have a style, that is unmatched. I really like your videos, thank you!😊
So cool!!!! Finishing video with Saint Dragon TUNE!!!! 🙌
We need to get KJ an Atari 5200 or 8-bit home computer, stacked with all the Golden Age arcade classics. We already have shared the love for C64 and Speccy, now it’s Atari’s turn, and it’s a perfect place to turn for 1989s arcade goodness.
music at 8:58 lives rent free in my mind forever. Excellent vid as always Kim!
16:00
Paperboy is great in the Arcades, NES(I had it growing up) and it's on almost every console.
It would be interesting to see a comparison video. Does anyone know a quality one?
Cheers.
you could do a video on pre video arcade games..all the mechanical arcade games from the 1950s-1970s ?
Track and Field ❤. My father was not into videogames. But he gave me 6 finnish marks to but into this back in 1987 I think. I could waggle myself on third stage on my third and final try.
Awesome list.
Nice One, Kim!
(Honourable mention to D. Ledbury).
😊
Good list. I'd have GnG and Green Beret in and Alien Syndrome in the top spot. Nice job Kim.
Jungler looks cool. I don't think I've seen it before. :)
I love the Williams stuff and would have also added Bubbles to my own list. I made a variant and a sequel that swapped the theme with a space invasion... which I guess sort of misses half of what made Bubbles cool in the first place.
surprised by some omissions but another great video. Will contribute to the kickstarter on pay day
The music on those Atari games was so weird, and yet so memorable
Great video. A few I've not played or heard of.
But will there be a Top 50 of 1990s arcade games?
A great list that I overall agree on. There are some titles that I would like to have seen higher, but mostly because of my own personal nostalgia. Not that they are necessarily better games. (Original PacMan and Asteroids for example)
A list like this is pretty much impossible. So many great titles left off.
50 missing favs of mine (kind of off the top of my head) in no particular order that would be in contention if I was making a top 50 list (some would make it, obviously not all, likely of a mix of Kim's and these)...Alcon, Life Force, Vulcan Venture & Gradius III, Vanguard, R-Type, U.N. Squadron, Ghouls n Ghosts, Dragon Buster, LED Storm, Sagaia, Mercs, Atari or more likely Sega Tetris, 1942 & 43 Kai, Arkanoid: Revenge of Doh, Super Monaco GP, Galaxy Force II, After Burner II, Fire Shark, Satan's Hollow, Bosconian, Baraduke, Dragon Breed, Rompers, Juno First, Top Gunner, Major Havoc, Frenzy, Pleiades, Q*Bert, Pole Position II, TX-1, Speed Buggy, Super Zaxxon, Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom, Sinistar, Defender & Stargate, S.T.U.N. Runner, Winning Run Suzuka Grand Prix, Ivan Ironman Stewart’s Super-Off Road, Power Drift, Racing Hero (Sega), Double Dragon II, Ninja Spirit, Shadow Dancer, Liquid Kids, Black Tiger, and Tecmo Knight.
36:00 It's jye-rus, like gyro (everything is spinning). Not jerrus.
Yep. Gyruss like gyroscope.
I'm currently having severe financial difficulties, so I can't back your book right now, but I hope I'll be able to afford it when it's released. I'm writing my own book about arcade games myself, but it's a book of short stories where every story involves an arcade or arcade game in one form or another.
Great work again Kim thx
This was the strangest list of top 50 80s arcade games I've ever seen.
I barely know where to start...
Obviosuly everyone is gonna have their fave arcade pics and a lot of that will be to do with what grabbed them when they were young. What matters, as ever, is the passion you put into this ... thoroughly enjoyed watching this, even if that passion should be reserved for the masterpiece that is Donkey Kong (kidding. Maybe). Though Outrun is my favourite game of all time ... and I haven't played nearly as much as you have, obviously!
Awesome documentary!
Looking forward to your book Kim awesome news.
Rolling Thunder came out after Ghosts and Goblins, a game that ought to be in this list.
Rolling Thunder is so iconic that it even got a mention in the early chapters of Louis Theroux’s memoir!
@@True-Faux I absolutely loathe that guy. In any event, Ghosts and Goblins is likely the first in that genre, not Rolling Thunder.
Awesome video
1:00
As a Kid, my Brother and I traded Skate or Die (NES) to some kid on our street.
The Dudes were okay but the game was too easy.
Besides that, it was a lot of fun!
Cheers.