LoC 90: Top 50 Arcade Games Countdown

[soguru]

Speaking of those Play Choice 10 things... when I was a kid I wanted more than anything to have one of those arcade cabinets that contained a whole bunch of Nes games.

[CJones]

Speaking of those Play Choice 10 things... when I was a kid I wanted more than anything to have one of those arcade cabinets that contained a whole bunch of Nes games.

When I was a kid, there was an arcade within walking distance of my house that had a Playchoice-10 with Super Mario Bros 3 BEFORE it was released in the US. What that movie doesn't make clear is that there's a time limit on how long you can play before putting more money in. I bet I spent at least $25 on the thing just to play that one game over and over.

[soguru]

When I was a kid, there was an arcade within walking distance of my house that had a Playchoice-10 with Super Mario Bros 3 BEFORE it was released in the US. What that movie doesn't make clear is that there's a time limit on how long you can play before putting more money in. I bet I spent at least $25 on the thing just to play that one game over and over.

Oh yeah, the dreaded time limit. I remember that. I remember thinking hah hah, I'm really good at Nintendo so I'll never die... heh, should have known those crafty arcade designers better.

[eegah]

This is the "Environmental" cabinet for Discs of TRON. They're exceedingly rare now because Midway failed to design them with any means to remove the environmental half, so arcade operators began literally cutting them in half to fit in their arcades. Midway even released a kit to do just that. And people were just throwing the back half away. Three speaker surround sound, gone. I've only ever seen one of these, and that was back in the 80s.

I used to play one of those at the local arcade. It was awesome.

[soguru]

And of course when I was a kid I was puzzled why the game Jeff Bridges played in Tron isn't the same as the Arcade game I played in the 80's. I think I was also aware that the Arcade game was somehow way better... if unbelievably difficult after the 2nd round. I mean how in hell are you supposed to avoid that many tanks??? I know people have done it, obviously... but I just don't see it being possible without years and years of dedicated quasi-religious dedication to the arcade.

[Hung william]

And of course when I was a kid I was puzzled why the game Jeff Bridges played in Tron isn't the same as the Arcade game I played in the 80's. I think I was also aware that the Arcade game was somehow way better... if unbelievably difficult after the 2nd round. I mean how in hell are you supposed to avoid that many tanks??? I know people have done it, obviously... but I just don't see it being possible without years and years of dedicated quasi-religious dedication to the arcade.

go halfway into the teleporter in the middle and ricochet your shots

[soguru]

I remember in both Cornado and Winrock mall we used to have thriving arcade places... then over time they just disappeared. It was really kinda sad. There's not a whole lotta places where you can find full blown arcades anymore(Chuck E. Cheese does not count IMHO). I'm sure they exist, it's just that the magic is of a whole different era for me.

[CJones]

Just wanted to give a heads up.

There's a good chance I may have to go to the hospital. Even if I don't, I will almost certainly be out of commission for the next week or so. So if anyone wants to start another list, feel free. I will finish this one when I get my medical issues sorted out, which won't be soon, if ever. Or I can just tell you what the last 5 were. It's easy to guess based on what hasn't been mentioned already. I swear, as soon as I went from age 39 to 40, my body just started falling apart. I used to work with a guy who was always saying "I wish I knew who used up this body before I got it". He died at 52, and now that's how I feel.

[Pak-Man]

Well I have something of a history with video game related lists (I even suggested this topic once upon a time.) I'd be happy to write up the top 5 for you. It's a shame, though. My write-ups won't be nearly as cool.

[Johnny Unusual]

Get well soon man.

And yeah, just send the last 5 to Pak Man if you feel you must.  He'll do you proud.  Anyway, what you got out there was a great, interesting list.  Thanks so much.

[soguru]

I'm so sorry Cjones!  . I hope you get well soon. Thanks for everything you did! 

[CJones]

Okay, I'm back. Thanks for waiting, and thank you Pak-Man for offering to finish for me. I seriously considered it. But there are only five more to do, and I want to get this done.

[CJones]

#5 – TMNT: Turtles in Time

70 Points, 3 Lists, Top Vote: #2 Johnny Unusual

Production Date: 1991
Manufacturer: Konami

Confusingly titled TMNT 4 when ported to the SNES, this is actually the second TMNT arcade game. The first was ported to the NES as TMNT 2, to differentiate it from the side scrolling platformer TMNT on the NES, also made by Konami. And yes, there was a TMNT 3, The Manhattan Project, only on the NES. So the first SNES TMNT game, which is the forth Konami TMNT game, is a port of the second arcade game. So how does this relate to the third movie, also about time travel? It doesn't. That movie came out a year and a half AFTER this game. Like I said, confusing. Which is probably why most people just call it "Turtles in Time".

So what's different in this game, vs the first arcade game. Well, there's that cool "throwing enemies at the screen" move. And of course a bunch of new bosses. The turtles play slightly differently. Donatello is nowhere near as good, while Michelangelo is way better. Leonardo is still really good, and nobody uses Raphael. Honestly, he could be awesome and I just don't know it. But he sucked in both the platformer and the first arcade game, so nobody used him in this game. Other than that, not much. A lot of the animation is redrawn, particularly for the turtles themselves.

Plot: Krang steals the Statue of Liberty. Why? I have no idea. The turtles follow them to the sewer, which makes more sense in the SNES version since the Technodrome is down there. Shredder banishes them to a time warp, then sends a bunch of guys after them anyway. Tokka and Rahzar, from the second movie, show up, essentially taking the place of Rocksteady and Bebop. The SNES version also has Super Schredder, which would also tie it into the second movie.

There is a remake of this game, called Turtles in Time: Reshelled, on XBLA and PSN. I've never played it, so I can't comment

Fun Fact: Do you remember that song that plays over the title screen during attract mode? Me neither. But apparently it's "Pizza Power" from the "Coming out of their Shells" tour. A live show where people dressed up as the turtles (a la the movies) pretend to sing and play instruments. And yes, it is as stupid as it sounds. The Angry Video Game Nerd got together with the Nostalgia Critic a while back and did a review of "The Making of: The Coming out of their Shells Tour".

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/z-BxS5jtxuI" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/z-BxS5jtxuI</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/JgHnwRUnT_4" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/JgHnwRUnT_4</a>

Oh, and here's the actual game:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/2HgYk2mUCN4" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/2HgYk2mUCN4</a>

Up next, the mother of all beat em ups.

[soguru]

Oh God... the TMNT coming out of their shells tour, or as I like to call it: the reason I stopped loving the Ninja Turtles in the early 90's.

Do have fond memories of the arcade game though. Hope you're doing okay Cjones.

[CJones]

#4 – Double Dragon

76 Points, 6 Lists, Top Vote: #1 Stethacantus

Production Date: 1987
Developer: Technos
Manufacturer: Taito (Technos in Japan)

It might be more accurate to call this "Daughter of the Mother of all beat em ups", since strictly speaking Renegade came first. But this was the first to have two player simultaneous play, which is what makes beat em ups fun. It also has t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n when playing two players, and even in some parts of one player mode.

So, it's post apocalyptic America... Wait, what? That's right, in Japan the game takes place after a nuclear war. Palette swap brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee (known as Spike and Hammer in the first US release) own a martial arts dojo. Billy's girlfriend Marion is kidnapped by the Black Warriors, led by the terrifying "Willy", the only man in America with a gun. The brothers decide to rescue her. Then the brothers decide to fight over her. Makes sense to me.

The game is surprisingly complicated for its time, with separate punch and kick buttons, and a jump button. Unlike Renegade, you can also pick up and use enemy weapons. If you played, or at least saw, this game a lot in arcades, you probably know about the infamous elbow trick. IIRC, this was done by pressing Punch and Jump together. This attack hits behind you, does massive damage, and is largely invincible. You can beat most of the game just by standing with your back to enemies and using this move. The only really bad part is the total BS traps on the last level.

Fun facts: Double Dragon was followed by two sequels in the arcade: "The Revenge", in which the Black Warriors forgo kidnapping and instead just straight up kill Marion. And "The Rosetta Stone", which is God awful. DD3 actually expected you to pay REAL MONEY to buy power-ups. That's right, micro-transactions in an arcade game from 1990.

You most certainly can score 50K on Double Dragon, both the original arcade game, and the NES port, which is what's being played in The Wizard. It takes a long time though. Way longer than that movie suggests.

The buttons came as a single unit, and if that unit failed, the buttons stopped working. Most currently existing Double Dragon cabinets have had the button unit replaced by individual buttons, making the original units hard to find.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/jo6R6LqpNNY" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/jo6R6LqpNNY</a>

Up next, I'm sensing a trend here.