Bubble Bobble is a 1986 platform arcade game developed and published by Taito. It was distributed in the United States by Romstar, and in Europe by Electrocoin. Players control Bub and Bob, two dragons that set out to save their girlfriends from a world known as the Cave of Monsters. In each level, Bub and Bob must defeat each enemy present by trapping them in bubbles and popping, who turn into bonus items when they hit the ground. There are 100 levels total, each becoming progressively more difficult.
Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Konami. The first game in the Gradius series, it was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1985. The player maneuvers a spacecraft known as the Vic Viper that must defend itself from the various alien enemies. The game uses a power-up system called the "power meter", based upon collecting capsules to purchase additional weapons.
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 turning the Vaus into a laser cannon. Other blocks may be indestructible or require multiple hits to break.
1942 is a vertically scrolling shooter game made by Capcom that was released for arcades in 1984. Designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, it was the first game in the 19XX series, and was followed by 1943: The Battle of Midway.
The Nintendo VS. System is an arcade system developed and produced by Nintendo from 1984 to 1990. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). All of its games are conversions from NES, some heavily altered for the arcade format. The system focuses heavily on two-player cooperative play. It was released in three different configurations: upright VS. UniSystem cabinets, upright VS. DualSystem cabinets, and sit-down VS. DualSystem cabinets. Games are on pluggable circuit boards, allowing for each side to have a different game.
1943: The Battle of Midway, known as 1943: Middouei Kaisen in Japan, is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Capcom. It was the first follow-up to Capcom's earlier 1942. The game's name is a reference to the Battle of Midway, which in actuality happened in June 1942.
Ghosts 'n Goblins, known as Makaimura in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom and released for arcades in 1985. It is the first game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise, and has since been ported to numerous home platforms.
Operation Wolf is a light gun shooter arcade game developed by Taito and released in 1987. It was subsequently ported to various home systems.
Sengoku is a beat 'em up arcade game. It is the first game of the Sengoku series by SNK. It was ported to numerous home consoles including the Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Mega-CD and Super Famicom. The arcade version was part of SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1, released in 2008. The Neo Geo version was re-released on the Japanese Virtual Console in 2011, with the sequels for the North American Virtual Console on November 8, 2012 and June 6, 2013 and for the PAL region on February 7, 2013 and September 5, 2013. In 2009 the series was compiled on a CD titled Sengoku Anthology for PlayStation 2 and Windows.
Green Beret is a run and gun game developed and released by Konami in arcades in 1985. It was ported to home systems, becoming a critical and commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was released as Green Beret internationally, and as Rush'n Attack in the West as a play on "Russian attack" due to its Cold War setting.
Tennis is a sports video game developed by Nintendo in 1983, and released for the Family Computer (Famicom) in 1984. The arcade game version Vs. Tennis was also released for the Nintendo Vs. System in 1984, becoming a hit at Japanese and American arcades that year; it was the sixth top-performing arcade game of 1984 in the United States. Tennis is one of 17 launch games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe. The game was re-released for the Game Boy as a launch game in North America.
Heavy Barrel is a 1987 overhead run and gun arcade game by Data East.
U.N. Squadron is a 1989 side-scrolling shooting game released by Capcom for the CPS arcade hardware and for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game was released in Japan as Area 88, and is based on the manga series of the same name, featuring the same main characters. Here, their mission is to stop a terrorist group known as Project 4. It was followed by a spiritual successor Carrier Air Wing.
Airwolf is a series of shooter video games based on the TV series of the same name. The first game based on the series was released for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum by Elite Systems in 1984. The game also was released on the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and Atari 8-bit family. A sequel, Airwolf II, was released in 1986.
Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.
Side Pocket is a pocket billiards sports video game originally released into arcades by Data East in 1986. The arcade version was eventually ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, while an enhanced remake was later released on the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Sega Game Gear. The game also spawned two sequels, as well as arcade spin-off series titled Pocket Gal.
Palamedes is a puzzle video game released by Taito in 1990.
Field Combat is a 1985 arcade shooter video game in which the player fights as a single commanding officer in a generic futuristic battlefield. The Family Computer (Famicom) version of Field Combat was later released for the Wii's Virtual Console service exclusively in Japan on June 12, 2007. A sequel game, Field Combat DX, was released for Japanese mobile phones in 2004.
Pac-Mania is an isometric maze game that was developed and released by Namco for arcades in 1987. In the game, the player controls Pac-Man as he must eat all of the dots while avoiding the colored ghosts that chase him in the maze. Eating large flashing "Power Pellets" will allow Pac-Man to eat the ghosts for bonus points, which lasts for a short period of time. A new feature to this game allows Pac-Man to jump over the ghosts to evade capture. It is the ninth title in the Pac-Man video game series and was the last one developed for arcades up until the release of Pac-Man Arrangement in 1996. Development was directed by Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani. It was licensed to Atari Games for release in North America.
Metal Gear is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in 1987 by Konami for the MSX2 computer in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered the game to popularize the stealth game genre, it was the first video game to be fully developed by Hideo Kojima, who would go on to direct most of the games in the Metal Gear series. A reworked port of the game was released for the Famicom a few months later, which later saw release in international markets for the NES over the following two years; this version was developed without Kojima's involvement and features drastically altered level designs, among other changes. An emulated Famicom version came with the special edition of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes on GameCube. A more faithful port of the MSX2 version was later included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PlayStation 2, as well as in the HD Edition of the same game released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Vita, with these newer ports featuring a revised translation and additional gameplay features. The MSX version was also released for Wii Virtual Console and PC.
