Archived games truly have a magic of their own. Ever since their inception in the early 1970s, the games dominated the golden era of arcade gaming, and still, today remain popular among gamers who want to revisit the iconic heavy hitters that will always be a special part of the gaming industry.
So, if you are up for getting your hands into some fun, engaging, and cool archived games then this article is just for you. Here we have a list of the top 10 games that defined the video game niche, and made it what it is today!
1. Pac Man (1982)
Designed to be never-ending, Namco’s Pac-Man is a maze game, where the player has to eat every possible dot on the screen. That means every fruit, power pellet, and ghost without losing a life. Thanks to the popularity of the game, even today Pac-Man remains an iconic character and has a strong impact on the pop culture of video games.
2. Space Invaders (1978)
If you haven’t played Space Invaders yet, then you have not witnessed the real power of arcade gaming yet. That’s right, it was this game that transformed the video game industry into a worldwide phenomenon-making game a part of almost every household.
In Space Invaders, the player must control the spaceship and attack aliens who are trying to invade the planet. Soon after the release of this game in 1978, aliens became synonyms to video games.
3. Ghouls N’ Ghosts (1988)
Ghouls N’ Ghosts is an adventure game that follows the life of Knight Arthur who is on a mission to rescue the princess from Lucifer. From freaky monsters, grotesques, and unpredictable bosses, the game does feature it all. During its initial release, the game was highly acclaimed by critics, making it an incredible fast-paced video game for adventure genre lovers.
4. Champion Baseball (1983)
Just as the name suggests, Champion Baseball is a baseball video game with sophisticated graphics of players and field. It’s known for its consistent and smooth gameplay, making it enjoyable for everyone- beginners and seasoned players too! However, like any sport-centered game, every moment on the field is intense, whether you are hitting the ball or throwing the ball to the home plate.
5. Donkey Kong (1981)
Developed by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981, Donkey Kong is a revolutionary arcade video game that brought whole new gameplay to the table. This is the reason why during its first launch many considered it to be a strange game, but with time people got hooked to the brand new concept and it emerged as the ultimate hit.
6. Asteroids (1979)
Inspired by space games, Asteroids was created by Lunar Lander and Atari vector. Thanks to the use of advanced technology, the game ended up being far more sophisticated than other classic space games of the 1970s with an invader format. The gameplay is focused on a defensible position, where the player must deal with threats from every possible corner of the space along with missile filing spaceships.
6. Mappy (1983)
Mappy might seem to be a usual archived game, but in reality, it’s quite addictive. Mappy-the policemen have to recover a stolen treasure from a gang of cats. To conquer his quest, the mappy takes advantage of trampolines placed at the bottom of the mansion to catch the criminal cats.
7. NBA Jam (1993)
NBA Jam made its debut during the second wave of video games. The game was similar to that of Arch Rivals, but this time due to its official licensing, the game featured names of real players and teams, offering a much-needed space of action. NBA Jam had many iconic slam dunks and shots, along with classic catchphrases such as Boomshakalaka and He’s on fire!
8. Street Fighter II (1991)
Street Fighter II from the house of Capcom is an internationally acclaimed video game, regarded as one of the most influential archived games of all time. The game defined the fighting genre with command-based attacks, combo attacks, and more. Till 2013, it was Capcom’s best-selling arcade video game, which was later bagged by Resident Evil.
9. Commando (1985)
Commando is a classic shooting game that allows the player to move in every possible direction for hitting the target. This means gamers get the thrill of shooting at the enemy in eight different directions to move to the next stage. Each stage comes with different obstacles, making the gameplay more challenging at every level.
10. Frogger (1981)
Featuring a frog who wants to make his way across the road, Frogger is an amazing obstacle game that turned out to be a sensation in 1981. When video games made the transition with household consoles, over 20 million copies of Frogger were sold, and the best part is that many still enjoy the different remakes and ports based on Frogger- the lovable character of the game!
