Retro Arena: Early Coin-ops

[Leon Retro]

Defender - Williams - 1981

Galaga - Namco - 1981

Ms. Pac-Man - Midway - 1981

Donkey Kong - Nintendo - 1981

Robotron 2084 - Williams - 1982

Bomb Jack - Tehkan - 1984


Which one do you like the most?

[importaku]

For me it's probably mrs pacman, while a lot doesn't change between levels it's enough to spur you on to keep going. While i do love bombjack for it's graphics & music, it's a cheating unfair coin stealer the enemies move in such unavoidable patterns that it's impossible to get far on a single credit on later levels unless you have godlike reflexes or extreme luck to get the P coin in time which kind of kills the fun. Once put invincibillity on mame to see just how many levels there were, the game cheats like hell on the later levels you have mere seconds before a million enemies make a beeline for you and they are impossible to dodge. Saying that, it's one of the few arcade games in cabinet form i got to play as a kid as it was in the greasy spoon cafe a few doors down in the ghetto known as chapeltown where i used to live, lol proper seedy backroom arcade action.

[Leon Retro]

Saying that, it's one of the few arcade games in cabinet form i got to play as a kid

It's one of the first coin-ops I clearly remember impressing me. The graphics in the 'chateau' level looked magical.

proper seedy backroom arcade action.

Like an arcade in Metro City.

[roachie]

Defender & Robotron are just magical

[DeathAdder]

Easy. Galaga is by the far the most fun of that lot, and the only game of its type which is still fun today. Galaxian and Space Invaders are dull now, but Galaga is timeless.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Donkey Kong takes it for me.

Ms. Pac Man is obviously a continuation of what had been seen with the original Pac Man a year earlier, Defender, Robotron 2084 & Galaga are legendary but, when all is said and done, they're better Space Invaders clones. Bomb Jack is a better game than given credit for but that came slightly later than the others listed.

DK was original for its time and I think that tends to be forgotten by many, and of course it introduced the industry to Jumpman who would later go on to be retooled into arguably the most important videogame character ever, so those factors give DK my vote.

[Leon Retro]

Defender & Robotron are just magical

Yeah, they really are something special.

Easy. Galaga is by the far the most fun of that lot, and the only game of its type which is still fun today.

I really like the PC Engine version. Cosmo Gang The Arcade is a nice alternative.

Ms. Pac Man is obviously a continuation of what had been seen with the original Pac Man a year earlier,

I think the general consensus is that Ms. Pac-Man is quite a bit more enjoyable than the original game. So that's why I chose it.

DK was original for its time and I think that tends to be forgotten by many, and of course it introduced the industry to Jumpman who would later go on to be retooled into arguably the most important videogame character ever, so those factors give DK my vote.

Yeah, it really was a highly significant game for many reasons. A golden classic.

[BigDeadFreak]

I'm not a huge fan of games from this era but Robotron is something else. It's so hard and I've never got good at it but but on the occasions I have played it I've loved it. It's mesmerising and I find I really get in the zone whilst playing it. Unfortunately it's difficult to recreate it without the actual coin op controls, hence my limited play time. Great game though.

[Leon Retro]

It's so hard and I've never got good at it but but on the occasions I have played it I've loved it. It's mesmerising and I find I really get in the zone whilst playing it.

Yeah, it's one of those 'get in the zone' type of experiences. I really like everything about it. I'd love to own a Robotron cab.

[roachie]

Saturn port can be played with 2 sticks

[samanosuke]

Ah, what a list to choose from! I’d argue why no Asteroids or Tempest but other than that, all are truly great games that have stood the test of time. I know a lot of us (myself included) rabbit on about the 16-bit era being the golden generation, but I can totally understand the argument why the 1978 - 1982 era of arcade games should hold that mantle.

For me it’s a tough one to choose, and the top games for me from that list would be Galaga or Donkey Kong. I think I’m going to have to go with Galaga as I have fond memories of playing it at my local youth club (“The Lair”) back when arcades were 10p a go. Nostalgia wins.

Yeah, it's one of those 'get in the zone' type of experiences. I really like everything about it. I'd love to own a Robotron cab.

I totally get this, and I’d say that Defender is also an ‘in the zone’ game, and, just like Robotron, it simply has to be played on original hardware to fully appreciate/utilise the unorthodox control setup.

[samanosuke]

Easy. Galaga is by the far the most fun of that lot, and the only game of its type which is still fun today. Galaxian and Space Invaders are dull now, but Galaga is timeless.

I agree with you to an extent, as Galaga effectively made Galaxian redundant, which itself had made Space Invaders obsolete a few years prior, but to say Galaga is the only game of its type which is still fun today? I can’t agree there as I still enjoy playing Gorf, Phoenix and Gyruss, the latter I must have spent at least an hour playing last time I was up at Arcade Club.

[Brad]

Defender. That noise! Amazing days.
Would love a real cabinet.

[dvdx2]

Defender - Williams - 1981

Galaga - Namco - 1981

Ms. Pac-Man - Midway - 1981

Donkey Kong - Nintendo - 1981

Robotron 2084 - Williams - 1982

Bomb Jack - Tehkan - 1984


Which one do you like the most?

Wot no mr do?

Strimmer wire credit bump up heaven that was!

[BigDeadFreak]

Saturn port can be played with 2 sticks

Damn, I wish I'd known that when I had a Saturn!