Top 10 Popular & Classic Arcade Games

PAC-MAN Championship Edition 2

Let’s start with the famous game, where we can play as a likable being that looks like a piece of partially eaten pizza.

Image credit: Bandai Namco Studios

Pac-Man games are usually arcade games at their finest. You’re thrown into a maze and your goal is to survive as long as possible while collecting points and avoiding deadly enemies that will kill you on contact.

Sometimes it’s not possible to outmaneuver the ghosts, thus developers introduced a few special power-ups that can also be collected during play – these will give you not only a short period of invincibility, but will also turn you from prey to hunter, so for a few seconds it will be you who chases the ghosts, not the other way around.

PAC-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2

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PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX

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Street Fighter V

You don’t have to be a huge fan of fighting games to recognize this series – it started back in 1987 and is still going strong.

Image credit: CAPCOM

Street Fighter V is surprisingly similar to its predecessors and surely brings back memories, but at the same time, it’s full of things that make it a new and fresh experience – especially if you didn’t play the last few Street Fighter games. The most impactful change here is the introduction of the V-Gauge that, when charged, allows each character to perform certain special moves that are unique to each character. And speaking of characters, you can expect to meet some of the original ones, like Ryu and Cammy, as well as entirely new ones, like the fierce Aztec warrior, Necalli.

Street Fighter V

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Gauntlet Slayer

Dungeon crawlers are challenging games that put emphasis on short adventures and permanent death – Gauntlet slightly altered this simple gameplay formula, and the final result is incredibly fun.

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Gauntlet is a dungeon crawler – a type of game, where you’ll have to explore dark undergrounds full of treasures and dangerous monsters. Usually, dungeon crawlers are turn-based and focus on short game sessions with permanent death and unlockable features that can make each subsequent run a bit easier. Gauntlet, which started originally as an arcade game in 1985, is slightly different, mainly because it’s more of a hack & slash and it’s played in real time. Its modern version, Slayer Edition, also comes with online multiplayer that allows teams of up to 4 players to conquer the depths together.

Gauntlet Slayer

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Space Invaders Extreme

Space Invaders is another example of a great and addictive classic arcade game that turned out to be so good that it still lives in memories of a particular generation of players.

Image credit: Guilti

Space Invaders, like most arcade games, is super simple to learn but challenging to master, due to the fact that it relies almost entirely on the player’s reflexes and his ability to make fast and precise moves. The game allows you to pilot a spaceship that needs to take care of the alien invasion. Aliens are not very smart and they usually move in a predictable pattern, which makes them easy targets – or at least that was the case in the original game because the Extreme version adds a lot of variety to the gameplay and introduces some special stages and even boss levels to spice things up a bit.

Space Invaders Extreme

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Double Dragon IV

If you didn’t have the opportunity to play Double Dragon yet, you don’t know what you’re missing – but it’s not too late to fix it and give the game a go right now.

Image credit: Arc System Works

Double Dragon is a side-scrolling fighting game, where you’ll have to explore a number of different locations in order to achieve your ultimate goal, which is to save kidnapped Marian and to face a new challenge in form of the Renegade gang. Like most of such fighting games, Double Dragon IV is played best with a friend in co-op, where you can team up and kick enemy butts together. If you’re in for some nostalgia vibes, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Double Dragon IV

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Double Dragon Trilogy

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Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat is undoubtedly one of the most popular fighting game series ever made, and with the newest releases, it’s even better and approachable, especially for new players.

Image credit: NetherRealm Studios

Sometimes it’s hard to capture the spirit of the original, but Mortal Kombat does an excellent job at keeping the series alive and fresh while retaining the fun factor of older games. With each new version being polished to even higher levels, you can expect to get an enormous amount of excitement from one of the series’ latest installments. MK 11 introduces some gameplay changes, making the game a challenge even to the series’ veterans who may have already a few decades of experience under their belts. We’re talking specifically about Fatal Blows and Flawless Blocks – two new techniques that, if used correctly, can easily turn the tides of the duel.

Mortal Kombat 11

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Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

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Contra Anniversary Collection

Even though the original game is over 30 years old, probably it would be difficult to find someone who didn’t play or at least didn’t hear about Contra ever before.

Image credit: Konami Digital Entertainment

Contra is a run and gun game and the genre’s name describes the game itself pretty well already, as you’ll have to run through a number of different locations while constantly shooting at hostile targets who may occasionally drop some power-ups to make your character stronger. Anniversary Collection is a convenient package of the best Contra games in the series, including, but not limited to, Contra (Arcade), Super Contra, Super C, Contra III: The Alien Wars (also known as Super Probotector: Alien Rebels which is available as a different game in the Anniversary Edition), and Contra: Hard Corps.

Contra Anniversary Collection

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Metal Slug

One can’t forget about Metal Slug – a game that is somehow similar yet entirely different from Contra that we just mentioned above.

Image credit: Nazca Corporation

Metal Slug was a widely popular arcade game and despite the fact that it’s been released back in 1996, it still takes a special place in the hearts of some players. Now it’s a better time than ever to return to this old classic, thanks to the existence of a multitude of ports that allow us to play the original game on modern computers and consoles. If a side-scrolling game where you’ll be able to control an advanced tank unit is what you’re looking for, then Metal Slug is something made just for you. And if that sounds good, then you may also be interested in checking out Metal Slug Bundle that contains Metal Slug, Metal Slug 3, and Metal Slug X in a convenient package at a discounted price.

METAL SLUG Bundle

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Sonic Mania

Adventures of a lightning-fast hedgehog were wildly popular back in the old days – so popular that they’ve gained a cult following that keeps this iconic character alive even today.

Image credit: PagodaWest Games

Sonic Mania allows players to relive the past and once again join Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends during their adventures. Sonic can run at extremely high speeds which means that you can expect a dynamic and fast-paced action that requires good reflexes and precision. What makes the game unique is the fact that although it’s mainly a 2D platform game that plays just like the original, there are certain bonus stages that are played in a slightly different way – they will temporarily transform the game into a 3D challenge, where players have to chase the UFO and steal its Chaos Emerald, as well as collect the rings along the way.

Sonic Mania

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TEKKEN 7

For the final title we’ve got another fighting game, which probably was – and still is – Street Fighter’s and Mortal Kombat’s fiercest rival.

Image credit: Bandai Namco Studios

Tekken takes its own approach to the dueling genre. It’s not as bloody as Mortal Kombat and not as demanding when it comes to perfectly timing countless combo attacks to defeat opponents. It puts more emphasis on defense and countering whatever enemy throws at you, which favors patience and waiting for the best opportunity to strike. Nonetheless, it’s still fast-paced action and requires good reflexes to stay competitive, but at least the single-player mode is much more forgiving, especially for newcomers.

TEKKEN 7

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