Classic Arcade Games

• common available for: Arcade
• schema: Video game

This is a list of video games that were seen in arcade cabinets in public venues such as video arcades, supermarkets, and convenience stores. Unlike "Arcade Games of Note", these were fairly well-known and recognized at the time. Of course, some entries in both lists are disputable on that point.

Scramble

• published by: Konami
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and one button
• date released: 1981
• wikipedia: Scramble (video game)
• entry @ arcade-museum.com
• play online @ archive.org (Emulated on PlayStation in "Konami Arcade Classics" collection)

in which bombing the enemy's fuel tanks somehow results in you having more fuel. This game mechanic would certainly be ridiculed as a "lack of realism" if this game were written today. But the fact is, suspension of disbelief is suspension of disbelief, and it keeps the game moving.

BurgerTime

• published by: Data East
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and one button
• date released: 1982
• wikipedia: BurgerTime
• play online @ archive.org

This one is notable for the remarkably unhygienic method of food preparation showcased in it.

Gorf

• published by: Midway
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and one button
• date released: 1981
• wikipedia: Gorf
• play online @ archive.org

There is a weird video effect (shared by Wizard of Wor, below) that I should try to research or at least describe here someday.

Wizard of Wor

• published by: Midway
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and one button
• date released: 1980
• wikipedia: Wizard of Wor
• play online @ archive.org

There is a weird video effect (shared by Gorf, above) that I should try to research or at least describe here someday.

Cloak & Dagger

• published by: Atari, Inc.
• genre: Shoot-'em-Up
• available for: Arcade
• controls: dual joystick
• date released: 1984
• wikipedia: Cloak & Dagger
• video @ youtube
• play online @ archive.org

There's something that's always attracted me about being able to shoot out bits of wall. The boxes and conveyor belts hold a similar draw. Not sure if I can put my finger on exactly what it is, though.

I remember seeing this at a 7-11 near where my sister was living at the time.

Notable for the fact that there was a tie-in with the movie of the same name, which featured a home console (Atari 5200) version of this game... which was never finished, despite the fact that the movie was a commercial success.

Mr. Do!

• published by: Universal
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and one button
• date released: 1982
• wikipedia: Mr. Do!
• play online @ archive.org

What an voluminous set of rules there is in this game. There are four seperate ways to pass a level, for instance.

Reactor

• published by: Gottlieb
• available for: Arcade
• controls: trackball and two buttons
• date released: 1982
• wikipedia: Reactor_(video_game)
• play online @ archive.org

This is arguably a classic. The first video game to credit the developer (Tim Skelly) on the title screen, apparently.

Bosconian

• published by: Namco
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and 1 button
• date released: 1981
• wikipedia: Bosconian
• entry @ arcade-museum
• video @ youtube

An omnidirectional scroller in space where you get to shoot out the spherical pods of those Benzene-shaped space stations.

The first arcade game to offer a "continue?" option, apparently.

Bomb Jack

• published by: Tecmo
• available for: Arcade
• controls: joystick and 1 button
• date released: 1984
• wikipedia: Bomb Jack

I remember seeing it (at a laundromat, I think) while my family was on vacation in Portugal.

You can jump really, really high! You can also slow down your fall after jumping, and glide horizontally, by pressing the jump button while falling.

As of this writing the Internet Archive does not have a playable version of it online. However, it does have Bomb Jack Twin playable online, which has very similar mechanics (but different, more sophisticated graphics, as well as 2-player simultaneous mode.)