Arcade Games have a long history that dates back roughly half a century ago. From Pong to Pac-Man, the 70s and 80s pioneered the games that would eventually become console classics. Games like Donkey Kong predated the successful juggernaut the series would become on Nintendo consoles only a decade later.
With that being said, the 90s took arcade gaming to a new level. Thanks to the popularity of titles like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, fighting games had a spot alongside the beat ’em ups like Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The 90s heralded not only some new impressive classic games but several featured titles that would become among the best titles of all time.
Updated February 14th, 2021 by Stephen LaGioia: While many would agree the heyday of arcade games has passed, there remains a certain charm to visiting an arcade and grabbing that joystick, wheel, or plastic gun that will always be appealing. There remains a slew of action-laden games to this day – including shooters, fighters, and racing games – which are at least partly influenced by the arcade scene of the 90s. And with so many great card and coin-op games from this renowned gaming era, it seemed fitting to fill out this list with even more thrilling examples the 90s had to offer.
15 Cruis’n World
A distinct charm of arcade games is the sense of immersion experienced by interacting with more tactile, true-to-form control devices. This is the case in this classic racer from the mid-90s, which lets gamers literally take the wheel and put the pedal to the medal. Even beyond this fun setup, however, Cruis’n World decks out and revs things up on the gameplay front, building on the ’94 hit Cruisn’ USA.
As the game’s title indicates, a greater diversity of new, colorful landscapes can be traversed this time, including Australia, Africa, Egypt, Mexico, and Japan. Not only this, but the game fleshes things out with new stunt mechanics that reward players with extra seconds of time. And in this fast, exhilarating racer, every second counts.
Like its predecessor, Cruis’n World proved influential, as racers like Forza Horizon would further roll with this concept of flashy, stunt-focused racing.
14 Gauntlet Legends
Arcade romps are often known for their entertaining co-op gameplay that allows multiple players to huddle up on a single cabinet. This is particularly the case in the 90s, as machines grew more robust and advanced. Gamers often point to Gauntlet Legends as one of the best examples of a cooperative game that’s both rich and enjoyable.
On the one hand, the game adheres to a “pick-up-and-play” style of hack and slash excitement, enticing players to grind away and slay countless baddies. But on the other hand, Legends offers a surprising amount of depth with its RPG-esque gameplay and rewarding progression.
It even implements a unique system of passwords and savable characters. This neat feature encourages prolonged dungeon-crawling rather than regularly starting over.
13 Crazy Taxi
There are few more enticing coin or card-burning arcade games of the 90s than this chaotic racer from Hitmaker and Sega. As an exhilarating blend of speed-racing and score attack madness, Crazy Taxi tasks players with carting as many paying customers from A to B as possible. The bustling streets of hilly San Fransisco make the experience even more intense and thrilling, producing the feel of an extreme sports game more than a racer.
Its expansive scale and relatively sleek visuals give it a feel that’s both retro and modern. Still, Crazy Taxi taps into that fundamentally appealing trait of classic arcades; where players must grind out high scores while racing against the clock.
12 House Of The Dead 2
Locking and loading with a light gun shooter is almost a requirement when visiting 90s-era arcades. While there’s no shortage of games in the genre, Sega’s famed House of the Dead series remains the pinnacle for many. This is especially true with the series’ ’98 sequel, which leans on the appealing traits from its predecessor while refining and fleshing out some areas.
The game ramps up the action, difficulty, and mechanics while polishing the graphics, improving the narrative, and adding nuance to the unique system of branching paths.
This series would serve as the foundation and inspiration that would help spawn various other action-packed zombie romps.
11 NBA Jam
There will always be a market for the more nuanced brand of sims and flashier, grander basketball games. Still, the simpler, arcade-style variants – which include hits like NBA Hangtime and NBA Jam – have an addictive quality and distinct charm that’s rarely matched. Arguably the pinnacle of this subgenre, Midway’s NBA Jam proved this thrilling sport could be enjoyed in brief, chaotic stints of just a few minutes.
The game’s fast pacing, two-on-two gameplay, and exhilarating “on fire” mode ensures tons of action throughout. Fouls, free throws, and the general laws of physics need not apply here.
While the series has carried on in some form since the 90s, this breakout hit from ’93 remains the basketball champ for many arcade players.
10 Soul Edge
Namco’s Soul Edge predated their SoulCalibur series by several years. Known as Soul Blade in America, the game featured the first tale involving the legendary demon blade. Featuring fighters such as Sophitia, Siegfried, Mitsurugi, and Cervantes, it set the stage for one of history’s most beloved fighting games.
The 3D fighting action involved juggling and heavy ring-outs. Prior to its successors, Soul Edge featured small health bars which meant much shorter rounds. Players could even lose their weapons in the heat of battle!
9 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat was one of several games that set off a fighting game boom in the 90s. Unlike Street Fighter‘s competitive balance and tournament approach, Mortal Kombat was more about the style. The martial arts tale grabbed major references from movies such as Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.
Besides the brutal, bloody Fatalities, Mortal Kombat contributed several arcade sequels and many memorable characters that appear in numerous sequels including the recent Mortal Kombat 11. Among them include Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Liu Kang, Jax, Kitana, and powerful entities such as Raiden and Shao Kahn. The series also introduced intricate lore and mythos stronger than its contemporaries. To this day, the Mortal Kombat series is hailed for having among the best storytelling of fighting games.
8 Marvel Vs. Capcom
The crossover title that brought the two companies together became a major hit. While Capcom had previously played around with Street Fighter and X-Men crossovers, this was the first time that the companies themselves were at the forefront. Moreover, this also marked Mega Man’s fighting game debut.
Capcom’s title featured stellar music, gorgeous animations, and multiple endings. Taking cues from its Vs. series predecessors, it included character assists and tag-team action. The Dreamcast port even allowed 4-player competition among players. Capcom would later succeed with the prominent and legendary 2000 sequel, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.
7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
Heralded as one of the greatest beat ’em ups of all time, Turtles in Time perfected a formula that began in the 80s. Succeeding The Arcade Game, which came to the NES, Turtles in Time featured a more robust system. Hit detection, controls, and combos felt much more fluid and improved.
Turtles in Time later came to the SNES as an improved port featuring more stages. While Konami stripped the co-op from 4-player to 2-player, the console classic was perhaps the best on the system. Turtles in Time also received a similar version of the game, largely reskinned on Genesis, as The Hyperstone Heist.
6 Street Fighter Alpha 3
What separates Street Fighter Alpha 3 from the rest involves several factors. For one, it’s much more oriented on juggle combos in the air. Players can block in mid-air as well as juggle their enemies who can, in turn, ukemi or recover from combos. Furthermore, the game also allowed different modes for specials including the V-ism custom combos.
Alpha 3 followed the prequel Street Fighter Alpha titles and told the story before Street Fighter II. What made Alpha 3 impressive was not only the popular fighting system or the guard crush mechanic. The console ports later received multiple game modes, two handheld ports (GBA and PSP), and even introduced new characters, like Ingrid.
5 Tekken
The 3D fighting game became one of Namco’s treasured masterpieces. This fighting game consists of fighters from around the world who compete using different martial arts styles. The 3D fighting system included side-stepping mechanics as well as a heavy emphasis on juggling.
Tekken would later be followed by six sequels and two Tag Tournament spin-offs. The roster would expand dramatically over time. Later Tekken sequels even included a bench to go with the arcade cabinet so players could sit down while playing together!
4 X-Men: Children Of The Atom
Capcom’s first Arcade Marvel title introduced the gameplay later seen in the VS. series. This X-Men title featured gorgeous animation, memorable music, and the X-Men taking on Magneto & the Brotherhood.
Children of the Atom introduced the launcher combos, high jumps, and flashy action that would set the tone for the sequels. Several of the X-Men would later appear in various crossover titles until Marvel vs. Capcom 2 brought them together once again. Even so, Children of the Atom maintained a significant legacy as even Sentinel would get his theme remixed, in 2011’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3, from this title.
3 Dance Dance Revolution
Konami’s dance game lived up to its name. This revolutionary rhythm title introduced the dance pad for people to play by standing on the pad and dancing to the corresponding buttons. Featuring pop, anime, and gaming music, DDR featured catchy hits that people would blast while playing till they tired themselves out.
Dance Dance Revolution would later see ports to the PlayStation systems as well as a GameCube edition subtitled Mario Mix. The series was part of Konami’s “Bemani” lineup and accompanied multiple rhythm games. Even today, Dance Dance Revolution receives new iterations and maintains a presence in arcades such as Dave ‘n Buster’s.
2 Super Street Fighter II Turbo
While Street Fighter II was the fighting game that started the genre’s revolution, Super Turbo perfected it. Super Turbo featured all the new characters introduced throughout prior iterations of Street Fighter II. It also included the Turbo speed function which enhanced the game’s pace significantly.
Super Turbo maintained a strong tournament presence for years, included at major events such as EVO and CEO. To this day, Super Turbo maintains a strong presence in the tournament scene. After the Alpha series, Capcom would go on to create more legendary hits including Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Capcom vs. SNK 2.
1 SoulCalibur
Namco’s SoulCalibur refined the 3D fighting engine from Soul Edge with better-balanced mechanics. Introducing more characters to the mold, the game brought a heavy emphasis on aesthetic detail. The gorgeous models and character designs looked ahead of their time while the music transcended most contemporary video game soundtracks thanks to its orchestral arrangements.
The Dreamcast port of SoulCalibur added the single-player Mission Mode as well as a number of extras for players to unlock. These include art pieces, lore, and others. SoulCalibur was not just a successful, revolutionary 3D game that spawned multiple sequels. On its own, it was one of the greatest games of all time.
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