Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflecting a ball towards it without letting the ball leave the bottom edge of the playfield. Some blocks contain power-ups that have various effects, such as increasing the length of the Vaus, creating several additional balls, or equipping the Vaus with cannons. Other blocks may be indestructible or require multiple hits to break.
Final Lap is a 1987 racing simulation video game developed and published by Namco. Atari Games published the game in the United States in 1988. It was the first game to run on Namco's then-new System 2 hardware and is a direct successor to Namco's Pole Position (1982) and Pole Position II (1983). It was ported to the Famicom by Arc System Works, making it Arc System Works’ debut game.
Out Run is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.
Chase H.Q. is a vehicular combat racing game, originally released as an arcade game by Taito in 1988. It is sometimes seen as a spiritual successor to Taito's earlier Full Throttle. The player assumes the role of a police officer named Tony Gibson, member of the "Chase Special Investigation Department". Along with his partner, Raymond Broady, he must stop fleeing criminals in high-speed pursuits in a black Porsche 928.
Darius is a 1987 horizontal-scrolling shooter arcade game developed and published by Taito. Players control a starship named the Silver Hawk in its mission to destroy the Belser empire before they wipe out the planet Darius. Its gameplay involves traversing through a series of scrolling levels while destroying enemies and collecting power-up icons. It is notable for its unique three-screen panoramic display, upbeat soundtrack, and cute anime-influenced graphics.
Cabal is a 1988 arcade shooter video game originally developed by TAD Corporation and published in Japan by Taito, in North America by Fabtek and in Europe by Capcom. In the game, the player controls a commando, viewed from behind, trying to destroy various enemy military bases. The game was innovative for the era, but only a mild success in the arcades, and became better known for its various home conversions.
Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was ported to many home systems.
Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and uses the Super Scaler arcade system board, created with design input from Yu Suzuki, as technology to simulate 3D effects. The deluxe cabinet version also introduced a motion-controlled arcade cabinet, where the player's body movement on a large motorbike-shaped cabinet corresponds with the player character's movements on screen.
Super Hang-On is a motorcycle racing arcade video game released by Sega as the sequel to Hang-On. It uses a simulated motorcycle arcade cabinet, like the original game. An updated version was released in arcades 1991 as Limited Edition Hang-On.
Continental Circus is a racing simulation arcade game, created and manufactured by Taito in 1987. In 1989, ports for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX and ZX Spectrum were published by Virgin Games.
Special Criminal Investigation, also known as S.C.I. for short or as Chase HQ II: Special Criminal Investigation in some home versions, is vehicular combat racing game published by Taito for arcades in 1989. It is the sequel to the 1988 game Chase H.Q.
The Ninja Warriors (ニンジャウォーリアーズ) is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and released by Taito in 1987. The original arcade game situated one display in between projected images of two other displays, creating the appearance of a triple-wide screen. Ports were released for home systems including the Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, PC Engine, and Sega Mega-CD.
Buggy Boy, known as Speed Buggy in North America, is an off-road racing game developed by Tatsumi and released for arcades in 1985. The cockpit version of the arcade cabinet has a panoramic three-screen display, a feature previously employed in TX-1, but with Buggy Boy having a larger cabinet. An upright, single-screen cabinet was released in 1986 under the name Buggy Boy Junior.
Enduro Racer (エンデューロレーサー) is an arcade racing game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with two arcade cabinet versions, a stand-up cabinet with handlebars and a full-sized dirt bike cabinet. It is often seen as a dirt racing version of Hang-On, as it uses a similar engine and PCB. The game was later released for the Master System in 1987, the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1988, and the Amstrad CPC and Atari ST in 1989.
Thunder Blade is a third-person shoot 'em up video game released by Sega for arcades in 1987. Players control a helicopter to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a standard stand-up arcade cabinet with force feedback, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a motion simulator cabinet, like the previous Sega Super Scaler games Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987). The game's plot and setting was inspired by the film Blue Thunder (1983).
WEC Le Mans, known as WEC Le Mans 24 in Japan, is a racing simulation video game released in arcades by Konami in 1986. It was the first racing video game to depict the 24 Hours of Le Mans World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Lap of Le Mans is split up into three sections, during which the time of day changes from day to dusk, dusk to night, and night to dawn.
Winning Run is a first-person arcade racing simulation game developed and published by Namco in late December 1988 in Japan, before releasing internationally the following year. The player pilots a Formula One racer, with the objective being to complete each race in first place, all while avoiding opponents and other obstacles, such as flood-hit tunnels, pits and steep chambers. It was the very first game to run on the Namco System 21 arcade hardware, capable of 3D shaded polygons.
Speed Race is a 1974 arcade racing video game developed and manufactured by Taito and released under the titles Racer and Wheels in North America by distributor Midway Manufacturing in 1975. Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road. The objective is to score points by driving past other cars without colliding with them; more points are awarded for driving faster. Players must do this under a 90-second time limit, which ends the game when it runs out. The gameplay concepts were adapted from two earlier driving electro-mechanical games: Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's Super Road 7 (1970).
Landing is a series of flight simulator video games by Taito. Almost all games were released for arcades, except the Jet de Go! Series released for PlayStation consoles.
Rastan Saga, known as Rastan in North America, is a side-scrolling hack and slash video game released by Taito for arcades in 1987. It was a critical and commercial success and was ported to home platforms.
