Top 10 Classic Video Games

Who doesn't love playing old school video games? Sure I love all the new titles and new systems but I still like the old school stuff. From the quarter eaters of the arcade to Nintendo, Turbografix, Sega and more. These old games always were and will always be my favorites. So let's flashback to a glorious time of classic video games and check out, in my opinion the Top 10 Classic Video Games of yesteryear because 5 is not enough

10) Crime Fighters: This game ate up do many of my quarters it was insane. And to my knowledge it never got a proper home port. Crime Fighters is a 1989 side-scrolling beat-em-up released by Konami for the arcades. The players takes control of a duo of undercover police officers who are assigned to rescue a group of kidnapped damsels from a crime boss and his army of punks. Think of Final Fight with bosses that look like Freddy and Jason. Fighting the Mike Tyson patterned boss must have sucked up $10.00 of my dollars alone.

9) Robocop vs Terminator: I used to play this on my Sega all the time. Luckily I still have it and played it again the other day. Set a few years after RoboCop's invention, the story involves SAC-NORAD contracting Cyberdyne Systems on building Skynet. Cyberdyne used RoboCop's technology in creating Skynet. When activated, Skynet becomes self-aware and launches a war against mankind. In the future, Skynet sends several Terminators back to the past to cripple the Resistance. After destroying one of the Terminators, RoboCop proceeds to Delta City, where he confronts RoboCain. After RoboCain was destroyed, RoboCop battles his way to the OCP building, where he defeats all the Terminators. After defeating an ED-209 unit reprogrammed by the Terminators, RoboCop plugs himself into a console. Unbeknownst to him, RoboCop gave Skynet information it can use. This ends up with RoboCop falling into a trap. In the future, RoboCop assembles himself, where he battled in the Terminator-infested future and destroyed Skynet

8) Dragons Lair: I remember the first time I played this. I had to pop in fifty cents as opposed to the regular quarter. I died within 1min as I had no idea what to do. I immediately put in more money, and more, in fact I think I spent about $5.00 before I figured out it was a simple pattern game. Once I did that I began memorizing everything and after about a hundred dollars I was able to beat it. It’s a beautiful game that every generation should play. Dragon’s Lair is a fully animated classic arcade game from legendary animator Don Bluth. You’ll make your way through the castle and caverns below and wield your sword in your quest to save Princess Daphnie from the clutches of an evil dragon.

7) Ikari Warriors. A, B, B, A that the combination you would punch in when you dies so you could continue this game on the old Nintendo. And let me tell you it didn’t matter how good you were, you used this code all the time. This was a massive game. In fact the average life span of a payer (using all three of his men) is about 5min. So this code was the only way to win. It takes close to two hours to play through it. You play as one of two commando-type warriors, garbed in red (Ralf) or blue (Clark) (depending on whether they are player one or two). They must proceed from the bottom of the screen upwards, towards the village of Ikari. Trying to prevent them from reaching the village are enemy soldiers and other units with a frightening arsenal of firepower. Along the way, players may commandeer enemy tanks to help fight their way through the enemy personnel. The tanks are immune to enemy bullets, but have a limited supply of fuel and will sustain damage when it runs out or the tank is caught in an explosion, taking the player with it unless he can exit the tank and get clear before it blows up. Ikari Warriors was the first 'Commando' style game to give the player a limited amount of ammunition (99 bullets and 99 grenades, not actually a great handicap) as well as power-up and bonus icons to improve your firepower, dropped by red soldiers

6) The Simpsons: Not the any of the horrible ports from the 90’s or even the fantastic Hit and Run game from 2003. No I am talking about the 4 player arcade beat em up. I loved this game. I usually used Homer while my friend was Bart. You could be Lisa or Marge as well. Its an amazing Final Fight Style game that looks and feels like a long episode of the Simpsons. Sadly this is another classic that was never given a proper port. While walking through downtown Springfield, the Simpsons collide with Smithers, who has just stolen a large diamond from a jewelry shop for Mr. Burns. The diamond goes flying and lands in Maggie's mouth, and she begins sucking on it like a pacifier as Smithers kidnaps her. The rest of the Simpsons give chase across the city, fighting off hordes of enemies hired by Mr. Burns in order to reach the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. The pursuit covers eight stages, each of which ends with a fight against a strong boss character. In the final stage, the Simpsons must defeat first Smithers and then Mr. Burns, who uses a mobile battle suit equipped with a variety of weapons

5) Splatterhouse: The main reason to own a Turbografix 16. In fact it was the only reason. This was the first true side scrolling horror inspired video game. And it was fantastic. I would play this one for hours. I loved it then, and I do all these years later. There have been sequels but the first one is still the best one and a must play game for anyone. Its like playing an 80’s horror game complete with a great score and lots of blood. Two students at the local university, Rick Taylor and Jennifer Willis, take refuge from a storm in West Mansion, a local landmark known as "Splatterhouse", for the rumors of hideous experiments purportedly conducted there by Dr. West, a renowned and missing parapsychologist. As they enter the mansion and the door shuts behind them, Jennifer screams. Rick awakens in a dungeon under the mansion having been resurrected thanks to the influence of the "Terror Mask", a sacrificial artifact from West's house which is capable of sentient thought. The mask attaches itself to Rick, fusing with his body and transforming him into a monster with superhuman strength. With the mask's encouragement, Rick goes on a rampage through the dungeon and the mansion grounds, killing hordes of monsters

4) The Punisher: If you don’t own an Arcade1Up machine, you really should. There fun, well made, use the original artwork, and if you buy the Marvel Superheroes one you can play The Punisher. A side scrolling beat em up where you can play as The Punisher of Nick Fury. Or two players can team up. This is hands down the best superhero arcade game ever made. It’s a fun and challenging great time. It was ported onto the Sega but finding a copy of it will cost you a pretty penny. U.S. Marine Captain Frank Castle enjoys a picnic with his family in Central Park. The Castle family accidentally discovered a mob killing. Fearing any witnesses, the killers gunned down the family. To avenge them and all others like them Frank becomes The Punisher. The game begins in an illegal casino and the streets of the New York City, with the merciless vigilante Frank "the Punisher" Castle (optionally partnered with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury) in pursuit of the Mafia enforcer Bruno Costa who ordered the killing of Castle's family; the chase ends with a fight against Chester Scully (a minor villain from the comics). Frank "interrogates" Scully, gets the information he needs, and then promptly shoots him. Still on track of Bruno, the Punisher infiltrates the mob's resort in Florida via a water duct. He breaks into a hotel and corners Bruno, who is suddenly killed by a robot called Guardroid, who tells Frank the Kingpin is behind all of this. Leading you on a quest to stop him.

3) Final Fight. The greatest bet em up in the history of beat em up’s. My friend and I played this so much we went from dropping about ten dollars each to win to usually being able to finish with only 75 cents. We would play this for hours in the arcade. I had the Super Nintendo as well as the superior Sega CD port, and now I have the Arcade1Up cabinet. This is hands down a timeless game that everyone will love. Did you know it was originally going to be a Street Fighter sequel but changed to a beat em up game. Set in a fictional city on the Atlantic coast in the United States named Metro City, the city's crime rate has reached alarming levels. But since the election of pro wrestler turned politician Mike Haggar as the new Mayor, Metro City was changed and cleaned up drastically. Under his run, Haggar managed to suppress the crime rate of the city to its lowest points. While the citizens of Metro City were thankful for Haggar's hard work in curbing crime, one gang, the Mad Gears, would not go down so easily. Under the leadership of the crooked businessman, Belger, the group attempted to bribe Haggar with a large payoff to keep him from going after them, which Haggar refused. The Mad Gear responded by abducting his daughter, Jessica, and creating further unrest among the citizens of the city. When Haggar found out about his daughter's abduction, he becomes furious, and decides to take his fight against Mad Gear to a personal level. Seeking additional manpower, Haggar recruits Cody Travers, an expert fighter and Jessica's boyfriend, as well as Guy, a ninja in training and Cody's good friend. Together, the three dedicate themselves to the complete eradication of the Mad Gear gang, as well as the safe rescue of Jessica from their clutches

2) WWF Wrestlefest: Wrestling games in the arcade were very hit or miss. Sadly mostly miss. But not Wrestlefest. It had amazing graphics, the superstars of the WWF and even commentary when you played. You could do battle as a tag team in the Saturday Nights Main Event Mode, or take your chances in the Royal Rumble. Its s button mash compared to todays games but it is still the most fun wrestling game out there. It had announcing and cut scenes even a boss fight in tag team mode if you made it to the end. It was very ahead of its time and I spent many hours playing this one. The game features ten selectable wrestlers. Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Big Boss Man return from WWF Superstars. Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Earthquake, Mr. Perfect, Sgt. Slaughter, Demolition Smash, and Demolition Crush, are available as new characters, with The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) making an appearance as a non-selectable boss tag team. Each wrestler has their own signature maneuvers. My favorite version is Royal Rumble and I can say if you played it today you would play it for hours.

1) Contra: No shock here, the greatest Nintendo game ever made. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start you entered that before the select screen appeared and you got 30 men for three continues so 90 guys in total. In the beginning I needed them, but after hours and hours of playing I would end up finishing the game with more lives than I started. A side scrolling shooter this is a classic game that spawned several sequels. This is still the OG however. It was a good arcade game but the Nintendo port was definitely the greatest Nintendo game ever made. The game has spawned merchandise over the years and is considered one of the greatest games of all time. It never gets old. Contra is set in the distant future of the year 2633 A.D., when the evil Red Falcon Organization have set a base on the fictional Galuga archipelago near New Zealand in a plot to wipe out humanity. Two commandos, Bill Rizer and Lance Bean of the Earth Marine Corp's Contra unit (an elite group of soldiers specializing in guerrilla warfare), are sent to the island to destroy the enemy forces and uncover the true nature of the alien entity controlling them