but the groundwork set in the previous
decade the 1980s saw vast improvements
in technology and gameplay assuring in
the Golden Age of arcade games sorry
I’ve been preparing for this moment my
entire life
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
continuing our series on the top 10
arcade games per decade with our picks
for the top 10 arcade games of the 1980s
those games challenge I hand
coordination mind body coordination fast
reaction time and comprehensive thinking
on a level that modern games don’t for
this list we’re looking at the best
arcade games of the decade in terms of
popularity critical acclaim longevity
and the impact they’ve had on the video
gaming medium we’re focusing on games
that saw popularity primarily in the
arcades so while there was indeed a port
of Super Mario Bros for coin op use you
won’t find it here number 10
rampage for those who wanted to feel
like they were in their very own monster
movie rampage allowed them that pleasure
as the player controls various monsters
as they tear cities apart stop the
National Guard and eat people the game
was fun due to the sheer amount of
adversaries including helicopters tanks
and police cars and for the destructive
cities
it could also support up to three
players at once allowing your friends to
join in on the mayhem and adding to the
fun
number nine bubble bobble bubble bobble
was a game that was so popular at the
time that even with multiple ports
across dozens of systems the arcade game
remains the definitive version in the
game up to two players control baby
dragons bub and Bob as they travel
through stages defeating all the enemies
by bursting them inside bubbles its
success led to many sequels and spawned
a whole series of copycats from Snow
bros to tumble pop it is also notable
for being one of the first games with
different endings depending on if a
second player was present get used to
that music though number 8
Mario Bros while not nearly as
successful as later iterations from the
famous plumber mario bros is known for
giving the hero of Donkey Kong the name
Mario as beforehand he had been known as
jump man in the game both Mario and
Luigi battle creatures in the sewers
but unlike later games where Mario can
famously jump on enemies they can only
be flipped onto their backs and kicked
away while it had the unfortunate timing
of being released during the infamous
video game crash it wasn’t long before
Mario and his friends were taken over
the world
number 7 Dig Dug Dig Dug like many
famous arcade games was a Japanese
creation before being imported overseas
the game has a simple enough concept and
that the player controlling the titular
hero has to eliminate monsters
underground by inflating them to death
or by dropping rocks on them the game
was praised for its fun concept and
unpredictable nature as enemies could
travel through the dirt to ambush the
player not to mention it’s really easy
for the game’s walking tomb to get stuck
in your head
number six
Cubert one of the most beloved videogame
characters in the Golden Age era Qbert
became a popular culture phenomenon in
the early 1980s Oh Qbert is controlled
by the player and the goal is to change
the colors of cubes in a seemingly 3d
pyramid all while avoiding enemies and
obstacles the character became extremely
popular appearing on merchandise like
lunch boxes and even receiving his own
animated television show praised for its
unique gameplay in the stellar
audio-visual production values most of
Cuba’s popularity could be attributed to
his potty mouth Hey number five gauntlet
considered to be one of the first
multiplayer dungeon crawl games gauntlet
appease both fantasy lovers and general
gamers looking for a fun time
the game could hold up to four players
at once who had a choice between four
different fantastical characters each
with their own skills and weaknesses an
obvious influence on the RPG games of
today it’s been praised for its very
compelling level design and exciting
fantasy based gameplay its legacy as a
pioneer for gaming today still lives on
number four Galaga a sequel to the
successful 1979 game Galaxian Galaga
introduced a few new features to the
well-established formula creating a
bigger and even better game new to the
sequel was the ability for players to
become captured by the boss Galaga via
his tractor beam
hot off the heels of space invaders
Galaga success led to many copycats
looking to get into the shoot-’em-up
craze and with its legacy still being
felt today
Galaga earns its spot in gaming history
number three Frogger
if Frogger did one thing right it was
changing its name from highway crossing
frog considered a classic from the
Golden Age of arcade games
Frogger has been played by pretty much
everyone what do you guys do it to fly
it define the player controls the frogs
that makes its way across a road and
river avoiding an array of fatal
obstacles Frogger was a sensation
becoming one of the most popular arcade
games of the 80s and when the game made
a transition to home consoles it sold
twenty million copies
still enjoy today in various ports and
remakes Frogger will always be a video
gaming icon
number two Donkey Kong
created by famous videogame designer
Shigeru Miyamoto Donkey Kong was
Nintendo’s first breakout hit and it
soon became one of the most influential
and popular video games of all time
Donkey Kong introduced both the titular
villain and Mario whom as we mentioned
earlier was known as jump man it was
praised for its challenging and exciting
platforming gameplay
and is known as an early example of the
now-famous genre spawning numerous
sequels spin-offs and even inspiring a
whole documentary movie Donkey Kong was
a major influence in video gaming and a
pop-culture marvel
before we look at our most influential
topic here are a few honorable mentions
number one miss pac-man pac-man maybe
one of the most popular video game
characters of all time but it’s his wife
that not only has the better game but
the best arcade game of the era the goal
of these games is we’re sure you know is
to get the packs to eat dots while
traversing a maze and avoiding the famed
ghosts however what sets the missus
ahead is that her game has multiple
mazes forcing the player to quickly
change in adapt new strategies as they
progress because of these new mazes the
game is still as incredibly fun to play
today as it was more than 30 years ago
making it our easy pick for number one
do you agree with this list
what arcade game from the 80s do you
consider the best more crowd-pleasing
top 10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com ah Jay that
never crossed my mind
you
decade the 1980s saw vast improvements
in technology and gameplay assuring in
the Golden Age of arcade games sorry
I’ve been preparing for this moment my
entire life
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
continuing our series on the top 10
arcade games per decade with our picks
for the top 10 arcade games of the 1980s
those games challenge I hand
coordination mind body coordination fast
reaction time and comprehensive thinking
on a level that modern games don’t for
this list we’re looking at the best
arcade games of the decade in terms of
popularity critical acclaim longevity
and the impact they’ve had on the video
gaming medium we’re focusing on games
that saw popularity primarily in the
arcades so while there was indeed a port
of Super Mario Bros for coin op use you
won’t find it here number 10
rampage for those who wanted to feel
like they were in their very own monster
movie rampage allowed them that pleasure
as the player controls various monsters
as they tear cities apart stop the
National Guard and eat people the game
was fun due to the sheer amount of
adversaries including helicopters tanks
and police cars and for the destructive
cities
it could also support up to three
players at once allowing your friends to
join in on the mayhem and adding to the
fun
number nine bubble bobble bubble bobble
was a game that was so popular at the
time that even with multiple ports
across dozens of systems the arcade game
remains the definitive version in the
game up to two players control baby
dragons bub and Bob as they travel
through stages defeating all the enemies
by bursting them inside bubbles its
success led to many sequels and spawned
a whole series of copycats from Snow
bros to tumble pop it is also notable
for being one of the first games with
different endings depending on if a
second player was present get used to
that music though number 8
Mario Bros while not nearly as
successful as later iterations from the
famous plumber mario bros is known for
giving the hero of Donkey Kong the name
Mario as beforehand he had been known as
jump man in the game both Mario and
Luigi battle creatures in the sewers
but unlike later games where Mario can
famously jump on enemies they can only
be flipped onto their backs and kicked
away while it had the unfortunate timing
of being released during the infamous
video game crash it wasn’t long before
Mario and his friends were taken over
the world
number 7 Dig Dug Dig Dug like many
famous arcade games was a Japanese
creation before being imported overseas
the game has a simple enough concept and
that the player controlling the titular
hero has to eliminate monsters
underground by inflating them to death
or by dropping rocks on them the game
was praised for its fun concept and
unpredictable nature as enemies could
travel through the dirt to ambush the
player not to mention it’s really easy
for the game’s walking tomb to get stuck
in your head
number six
Cubert one of the most beloved videogame
characters in the Golden Age era Qbert
became a popular culture phenomenon in
the early 1980s Oh Qbert is controlled
by the player and the goal is to change
the colors of cubes in a seemingly 3d
pyramid all while avoiding enemies and
obstacles the character became extremely
popular appearing on merchandise like
lunch boxes and even receiving his own
animated television show praised for its
unique gameplay in the stellar
audio-visual production values most of
Cuba’s popularity could be attributed to
his potty mouth Hey number five gauntlet
considered to be one of the first
multiplayer dungeon crawl games gauntlet
appease both fantasy lovers and general
gamers looking for a fun time
the game could hold up to four players
at once who had a choice between four
different fantastical characters each
with their own skills and weaknesses an
obvious influence on the RPG games of
today it’s been praised for its very
compelling level design and exciting
fantasy based gameplay its legacy as a
pioneer for gaming today still lives on
number four Galaga a sequel to the
successful 1979 game Galaxian Galaga
introduced a few new features to the
well-established formula creating a
bigger and even better game new to the
sequel was the ability for players to
become captured by the boss Galaga via
his tractor beam
hot off the heels of space invaders
Galaga success led to many copycats
looking to get into the shoot-’em-up
craze and with its legacy still being
felt today
Galaga earns its spot in gaming history
number three Frogger
if Frogger did one thing right it was
changing its name from highway crossing
frog considered a classic from the
Golden Age of arcade games
Frogger has been played by pretty much
everyone what do you guys do it to fly
it define the player controls the frogs
that makes its way across a road and
river avoiding an array of fatal
obstacles Frogger was a sensation
becoming one of the most popular arcade
games of the 80s and when the game made
a transition to home consoles it sold
twenty million copies
still enjoy today in various ports and
remakes Frogger will always be a video
gaming icon
number two Donkey Kong
created by famous videogame designer
Shigeru Miyamoto Donkey Kong was
Nintendo’s first breakout hit and it
soon became one of the most influential
and popular video games of all time
Donkey Kong introduced both the titular
villain and Mario whom as we mentioned
earlier was known as jump man it was
praised for its challenging and exciting
platforming gameplay
and is known as an early example of the
now-famous genre spawning numerous
sequels spin-offs and even inspiring a
whole documentary movie Donkey Kong was
a major influence in video gaming and a
pop-culture marvel
before we look at our most influential
topic here are a few honorable mentions
number one miss pac-man pac-man maybe
one of the most popular video game
characters of all time but it’s his wife
that not only has the better game but
the best arcade game of the era the goal
of these games is we’re sure you know is
to get the packs to eat dots while
traversing a maze and avoiding the famed
ghosts however what sets the missus
ahead is that her game has multiple
mazes forcing the player to quickly
change in adapt new strategies as they
progress because of these new mazes the
game is still as incredibly fun to play
today as it was more than 30 years ago
making it our easy pick for number one
do you agree with this list
what arcade game from the 80s do you
consider the best more crowd-pleasing
top 10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com ah Jay that
never crossed my mind
you
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