Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called "Power Pellets" causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Pole Position is a racing arcade video game released by Namco in 1982. It was licensed to Atari, Inc. for US manufacture and distribution. Pole Position is considered one of the most important titles from the golden age of arcade video games. It was an evolution of Namco's earlier arcade racing electro-mechanical games, notably F-1 (1976), whose designer Sho Osugi worked on Pole Position.
Wrecking Crew is an action game developed and published by Nintendo. Designed by Yoshio Sakamoto, it was first released as an arcade video game for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew with a simultaneous two-player mode. It was released as a single-player game for the Family Computer (Famicom) console in 1985, and as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later that year. A sequel, Wrecking Crew '98, was released in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom.
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.
BurgerTime, originally released as Hamburger in Japan, is a 1982 arcade video game from Data East released initially for its DECO Cassette System. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients in a maze of platforms and ladders while avoiding anthropomorphic hot dogs, fried eggs, and pickles which are in pursuit.
Make Trax, originally released in Japan as Crush Roller, is a 1981 maze game developed by Alpha Denshi and published as an arcade video game by Kural Samno Electric in Japan. It was licensed in Europe to Exidy, which released it under its original title Crush Roller, and in North America to Williams Electronics, who released it as Make Trax.
Galaxian is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who dive down towards the player in an attempt to hit them.
Elevator Action is a platform shooter game released in arcades by Taito in 1983. The player assumes the role of Agent 17, a spy infiltrating a 30-story building filled with elevators and enemy agents who emerge from closed doors. The goal is to collect secret documents from specially marked rooms, then escape the building. It runs on the Taito SJ System arcade system.
The Nintendo VS. System is an arcade system that was developed and produced by Nintendo. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Family Computer (Famicom), later released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). As Nintendo was planning to release the NES in North America, they were aware of the video game crash of 1983 and its effects on the home console market. By March 1984 the arcade industry recovered enough for a plan to introduce NES titles there, with the VS. System later being a presentation to players who did not yet own the console. It became the first version of the Famicom hardware to debut in North America.
Time Pilot is a multidirectional shooter arcade video game designed by Yoshiki Okamoto and released by Konami in 1982. It was distributed in the United States by Centuri, and by Atari Ireland in Europe and the Middle East. While engaging in aerial combat, the player-controlled jet flies across open airspace that scrolls indefinitely in all directions. Each level is themed to a different time period. Home ports for the Atari 2600, MSX, and ColecoVision were released in 1983.
Wild Gunman is a light gun shooter game developed and published by Nintendo. Originally created as an electro-mechanical arcade game in 1974 by Gunpei Yokoi, it was adapted to a video game format for the Famicom console in 1984. It was released in 1985 as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) with the Zapper light gun.
Keith Courage in Alpha Zones is a 1989 science fantasy platform game released by NEC for the TurboGrafx-16. It was the pack-in game for the console in North America. It was originally released in Japan by Hudson Soft on August 30, 1988 for the PC Engine, under the title Mashin Hero Wataru which is adapted from the anime television series of the same name. Hudson later released in 1990 another game for the Famicom based on the franchise titled Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden Famicom, which is a role-playing video game.
Sun Corporation, is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are best known for releasing video games under the brand name Sunsoft.
Sky Kid is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Namco in 1985. It runs on Namco Pac-Land hardware but with a video system like that used in Dragon Buster. It is also the first game from Namco to allow two players to play simultaneously. The game was later released on the Famicom, and both this version for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U and the original arcade version for the Wii were later released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service, and for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of Hamster's Arcade Archives line of digital releases. The NES version was also ported to arcades for the Nintendo VS. System as VS. Super Sky Kid, but promotional materials and the cabinet for this version just use the name VS. Sky Kid.
Arabian (アラビアン) is a 1983 arcade platform game developed and published by Sun Electronics (Sunsoft) in Japan, and Atari, Inc. in North America. A Famicom version was developed and released by Sunsoft only in Japan as Super Arabian (スーパーアラビアン). A distinct port for home computers developed by Interceptor Software was released as Tales of the Arabian Nights.
Ikki, known outside Japan as Boomerang and Farmers Rebellion, is a 1985 arcade game made by Sunsoft, and later ported to Family Computer. It is a multi-directional scrolling action game which contains some elements of a top-down shooter.
Cyber Sled is a vehicular combat video game developed and published by Namco. It was originally released for arcades in 1993. The game's perspective is third-person by default, but can be switched to a first-person perspective. The game was nominated for Most Innovative New Technology at the 1994 AMOA Awards. It later received a sequel in 1994, Cyber Commando.
Fitter, known as Round-Up in the Americas, is a maze-strategy arcade video game released by Taito in 1981. The game was released as Fitter, in Japan in October 1981 and in Europe the same year. Another Japanese company, Hiraoka, licensed a version called Round-Up to Centuri for release in the Americas in December 1981.
Turbo is a racing game released in arcades in 1981 by Sega. Designed and coded by Steve Hanawa, the game received positive reviews upon release, with praise for its challenging and realistic gameplay, 2.5D color graphics with changing scenery, and cockpit sit-down arcade cabinet. It topped the monthly Play Meter arcade charts in North America and ranking highly on the Game Machine arcade charts in Japan.
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games or merchandisers.
