for smartphone games tried to max out
your credit card there were some arcade
games that tried to empty your wallet
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
ten notorious quarter devouring arcade
games here we’ll be looking at the
lengthy history of arcade games in
search of those that were specifically
designed to get as many of your quarters
as possible we’re not focusing on the
quality of these games as a whole as
several art otherwise really good games
rather we’re focusing on the cheap
difficulty ease of messing up the
possibility of needing multiple
playthroughs and other money motivated
design choices
number ten metamorphic force metamorphic
4 it’s the little details that end up
making the difference here as one of
Konami’s last arcade beat-em-ups
metamorphic force definitely stands out
especially with its focus on up to four
warriors battling the forces of the
undead however it sports a bizarre
feature in the u.s. incarnation health
that decreases by 1 point per 10 seconds
regardless of any other damage the
player takes or lack thereof players can
regain these hel points with in-game
items or by spending real-world tokens
it’s a subtle element but no less
fixated on arcade goers money number 9
initial d arcade stage series
race to your heart’s content as long as
you got the quarters initial d arcade
stage released in 2001 mixed the fun of
competitive racing with role-playing
elements
it used a card system to save one’s
progress only needing to be renewed
every 50 place that’s all well and good
except you had to spend a credit race
assuming that a player keeps up with
their racing habits the number of
credits spent really adds up
the number-8 Smash TV while certainly
beloved
this classic run-and-gun game isn’t
without its questionable design set in a
gameshow studio that players must
traverse while shooting hordes of
enemies Smash TV is remembered for its
visually distinct setting and intense
action yet it subtly sets up players to
be overwhelmed and be forced to retry
movement was deliberately designed to be
relatively slow which was at odds with
the fast-paced combat add to that the
endless onslaught of enemies and you
have a game that’s built to claim your
quarters number 7 Mortal Kombat similar
to its counterpart Street Fighter 2 this
fighting game had more than a few cheap
elements in its design
Mortal Kombat known for its one-on-one
tournament-style battles and grooves and
fatalities definitely presented gamers
with a challenge sometimes by limiting
their abilities for example player
controlled characters can’t use a
standing block to resist a sweep kick
but AI controlled characters can similar
design decisions favoring the AI ensured
cheap deaths meaning players had to
spend many quarters to learn the ropes
and beat the game
sub-zero winds
number six rampage
for all the fun of being a kind you
there’s also frustration to be found
such is the case with developer Midway
Games is rampage a 1-2-3 player arcade
game about controlling giant monsters
and well you know going on a rampage the
issue comes with how much resistance the
monsters face countless things in the
game are designed to cause damage from
enemy bullets to dynamite at explosive
shells to even attacks from other
monsters as engaging as it is rampage
doesn’t lack for ways to test ones
patience and endurance number 5 ghosts
and goblins
hang in there Arthur this iconic
platformer starring the noble knight
Arthur on a quest to save princess prin
prin from Satan is finally remembered
for its challenge and overall quality
yet it possesses a gameplay mechanic
that could be seen as questionable a
live system based around a timer
basically for each level that Arthur
traverses a timer counts down if it
reaches zero the player instantly loses
a life as much as we enjoy challenging
games this seems a bit excessive
number four Sinistar in the realm of
twitch games there is something of a
legend with the bit of infamy to boot
Sinistar has a simple enough premise you
are the pilot of a fighter ship
attempting to collect minerals in order
to build bombs in the fight against the
titular skull like creature sinistar
though the game is known for its
difficulty its the climactic appearance
ups in a star that seals it Cinna star
flies in at such an angle that it’s
nearly impossible to dodge resulting in
instant death and the need to spend more
quarters to try again
number three Dragon’s Lair a fantasy
adventure where you become a valiant
knight on a quest to rescue the fair
princess from the clutches of an evil
dragon as one of the first FMV games
naturally this sets a lot of standards
including the nature of the difficulty
dragon’s lair follows Dirk the daring a
knight venturing into a dragon’s castle
to rescue princess Daphne the game
proper had players following on-screen
commands and hitting buttons in a timely
manner to keep Dirk from succumbing to
perilous traps however much of the game
is based around trial and error
requiring repeated playthroughs to
attain victory better keep those
quarters handy kids
number two gauntlet being restricted to
how long you can play a game isn’t fun
so why should that be part of the games
overall design yes the classic dungeon
crawl game gauntlet in which up to four
players venture through increasingly
difficult monster filled mazes as a time
restriction built into the gameplay
players health bar is automatically
drained of their own accord regardless
of any damage caused by folks thus an
artificial limit on one’s play session
exists for those players not able to
keep feeding the game tokens before we
get to our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions
number one Double Dragon 3 the rosetta
stone Double Dragon free
the Rebecca
in the realm of quarter devouring arcade
games this might be the most blatant we
certainly thought so the arcade version
of Double Dragon 3 returns the franchise
to certain conventions such as the punch
and kick combat of the original game
however in the North American release it
also saw quite the fascinating inclusion
an item shop stocked with items like
power-ups and new moves players could
enhance their characters to their
heart’s content for real-world money at
one coin per item this design decision
highlighted a very real and very
questionable interest in taking the
players cash or still because the game’s
difficulty ramps up quickly if you don’t
spend money to upgrade your character
you’re gonna have a bad time do you
agree with our list which arcade game do
you find to be the most quarter
devouring form or quarter free top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com flawless victory
your credit card there were some arcade
games that tried to empty your wallet
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’ll
be counting down our picks for the top
ten notorious quarter devouring arcade
games here we’ll be looking at the
lengthy history of arcade games in
search of those that were specifically
designed to get as many of your quarters
as possible we’re not focusing on the
quality of these games as a whole as
several art otherwise really good games
rather we’re focusing on the cheap
difficulty ease of messing up the
possibility of needing multiple
playthroughs and other money motivated
design choices
number ten metamorphic force metamorphic
4 it’s the little details that end up
making the difference here as one of
Konami’s last arcade beat-em-ups
metamorphic force definitely stands out
especially with its focus on up to four
warriors battling the forces of the
undead however it sports a bizarre
feature in the u.s. incarnation health
that decreases by 1 point per 10 seconds
regardless of any other damage the
player takes or lack thereof players can
regain these hel points with in-game
items or by spending real-world tokens
it’s a subtle element but no less
fixated on arcade goers money number 9
initial d arcade stage series
race to your heart’s content as long as
you got the quarters initial d arcade
stage released in 2001 mixed the fun of
competitive racing with role-playing
elements
it used a card system to save one’s
progress only needing to be renewed
every 50 place that’s all well and good
except you had to spend a credit race
assuming that a player keeps up with
their racing habits the number of
credits spent really adds up
the number-8 Smash TV while certainly
beloved
this classic run-and-gun game isn’t
without its questionable design set in a
gameshow studio that players must
traverse while shooting hordes of
enemies Smash TV is remembered for its
visually distinct setting and intense
action yet it subtly sets up players to
be overwhelmed and be forced to retry
movement was deliberately designed to be
relatively slow which was at odds with
the fast-paced combat add to that the
endless onslaught of enemies and you
have a game that’s built to claim your
quarters number 7 Mortal Kombat similar
to its counterpart Street Fighter 2 this
fighting game had more than a few cheap
elements in its design
Mortal Kombat known for its one-on-one
tournament-style battles and grooves and
fatalities definitely presented gamers
with a challenge sometimes by limiting
their abilities for example player
controlled characters can’t use a
standing block to resist a sweep kick
but AI controlled characters can similar
design decisions favoring the AI ensured
cheap deaths meaning players had to
spend many quarters to learn the ropes
and beat the game
sub-zero winds
number six rampage
for all the fun of being a kind you
there’s also frustration to be found
such is the case with developer Midway
Games is rampage a 1-2-3 player arcade
game about controlling giant monsters
and well you know going on a rampage the
issue comes with how much resistance the
monsters face countless things in the
game are designed to cause damage from
enemy bullets to dynamite at explosive
shells to even attacks from other
monsters as engaging as it is rampage
doesn’t lack for ways to test ones
patience and endurance number 5 ghosts
and goblins
hang in there Arthur this iconic
platformer starring the noble knight
Arthur on a quest to save princess prin
prin from Satan is finally remembered
for its challenge and overall quality
yet it possesses a gameplay mechanic
that could be seen as questionable a
live system based around a timer
basically for each level that Arthur
traverses a timer counts down if it
reaches zero the player instantly loses
a life as much as we enjoy challenging
games this seems a bit excessive
number four Sinistar in the realm of
twitch games there is something of a
legend with the bit of infamy to boot
Sinistar has a simple enough premise you
are the pilot of a fighter ship
attempting to collect minerals in order
to build bombs in the fight against the
titular skull like creature sinistar
though the game is known for its
difficulty its the climactic appearance
ups in a star that seals it Cinna star
flies in at such an angle that it’s
nearly impossible to dodge resulting in
instant death and the need to spend more
quarters to try again
number three Dragon’s Lair a fantasy
adventure where you become a valiant
knight on a quest to rescue the fair
princess from the clutches of an evil
dragon as one of the first FMV games
naturally this sets a lot of standards
including the nature of the difficulty
dragon’s lair follows Dirk the daring a
knight venturing into a dragon’s castle
to rescue princess Daphne the game
proper had players following on-screen
commands and hitting buttons in a timely
manner to keep Dirk from succumbing to
perilous traps however much of the game
is based around trial and error
requiring repeated playthroughs to
attain victory better keep those
quarters handy kids
number two gauntlet being restricted to
how long you can play a game isn’t fun
so why should that be part of the games
overall design yes the classic dungeon
crawl game gauntlet in which up to four
players venture through increasingly
difficult monster filled mazes as a time
restriction built into the gameplay
players health bar is automatically
drained of their own accord regardless
of any damage caused by folks thus an
artificial limit on one’s play session
exists for those players not able to
keep feeding the game tokens before we
get to our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions
number one Double Dragon 3 the rosetta
stone Double Dragon free
the Rebecca
in the realm of quarter devouring arcade
games this might be the most blatant we
certainly thought so the arcade version
of Double Dragon 3 returns the franchise
to certain conventions such as the punch
and kick combat of the original game
however in the North American release it
also saw quite the fascinating inclusion
an item shop stocked with items like
power-ups and new moves players could
enhance their characters to their
heart’s content for real-world money at
one coin per item this design decision
highlighted a very real and very
questionable interest in taking the
players cash or still because the game’s
difficulty ramps up quickly if you don’t
spend money to upgrade your character
you’re gonna have a bad time do you
agree with our list which arcade game do
you find to be the most quarter
devouring form or quarter free top 10s
published every day be sure to subscribe
to watchmojo.com flawless victory
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