Most underrated arcade games

[Inky]

 

 

 

Aladdin's Castle, Spring Hill Mall in Dundee, Il. had one of these

 

I maybe played it once or twice bitd but way too advance for me at that time.

 

True story, I was at arcade auction in Rockford area (Il.) this was around '88 or '89. They had two, maybe three for a hefty price of $300. God, I wish I loaded up back then - if only I knew how rare these are going to become My buddy might still have the auction sheet with the prices.

Aladdin's Castle, Louis Joliet Mall, Joliet, IL had an I, Robot. I instantly fell in love with the game.

[+x=usr(1536)]

Aladdin's Castle, Louis Joliet Mall, Joliet, IL had an I, Robot. I instantly fell in love with the game.

 

I only remember ever seeing I, Robot in two places: one was an arcade in Los Angeles, the other an arcade (not the Trocadero) in London.

 

One thing that I am curious about is if there were ever plans to build them in Ireland. Haven't found anything from digging through Curt's documents that really says one way or another if this happened (or was intended to), but that is one cabinet I'd track down if it came to pass that they did.

[+GoldLeader]

My friend had an I, Robot cabinet in the 80's...We each had a couple of games in this auction house, which had an arcade area and it also had a furniture store in front...I had my Asteroids game and a Donkey Kong Jr. cab in there, and at times had Food Fight and Elevator Action there as well...

 

I also remember Two Tigers as our mall had it (with dual flight yokes), but I haven't thought of it in years...Fun game!

 

I can always count on Atari Age to bring back some great memories

[schuwalker]

My friend had an I, Robot cabinet in the 80's...We each had a couple of games in this auction house, which had an arcade area and it also had a furniture store in front...I had my Asteroids game and a Donkey Kong Jr. cab in there, and at times had Food Fight and Elevator Action there as well...

 

I also remember Two Tigers as our mall had it (with dual flight yokes), but I haven't thought of it in years...Fun game!

 

I can always count on Atari Age to bring back some great memories

 

 

Food Fight is another one worth some coin.

[+GoldLeader]

 

 

Food Fight is another one worth some coin.

 

Indeed!

 

I sold it for $1500 in 2017...

[mr.bill]

solar quest is an underrated game.

[Phasmatrope]

Hello all, apologies if I'm late to the discussion, but I came across this site/discussion while trying to Google some underrated/overlooked arcade games worth checking out/discovering hopefully using MAME.

 

Some good suggestions on here so far-- and I definitely appreciate the screen-grabs, since I haven't really found any good arcade databases that have them-- but here are some games I stumbled across/enjoyed in the arcade that didn't quite seem to catch on:

 

-Space Harrier (by SEGA; loved the graphics, imagination, and fast pace, although they did some console sequels, they never seemed to replicate the original, and it seems this property in particular could really be cool if they rebooted it in a VR version)

 

- Wild Fang aka Tecmo Knight: you played a knight who rode/could switch between different monsters (a giant tiger, a giant brute, and a dragon) in some kingdom that had been invade/terrorized by other giant monsters (minotaurs, Medusas, etc). It had similar gameplay (and brutal continue screens) like its "companion" Ninja Gaiden aka Master Ninja, but never caught on/became a franchise like that one.

 

-China Gate: this one was kind of an oddity, a 2-player beat 'em up/platformer where you could choose different cartoonish characters (a humanoid pig, monkey, and eagle) and fought other little monsters/bosses in vertically-oriented levels where you could knock/throw creatures off to their doom (the bosses would come back though).

 

-Time Soldiers: this was a basic Ikari Warriors-style 2-player shoot 'em up where you were a futurist soldier that could shoot/movie in all directions (like Smash TV) that traveled through different time periods (Rome, the World Wars etc) fighting armies.

 

[TableCaptainTJ]

In my humble opinion - 

1) Rygar - this is one of the all time greats and rarely gets a mention

2) Mr Do knocks the socks off Dig Dug.

3) Bank Panic - I didn't like this when I played it at the arcade, but it stands up well to a replay

4) Gain Ground - novel character selection system and good strategy required.

[+GoldLeader]

I thought of another one...Well at least maybe.  I Love Ultimate Qix on the Genesis and it is based on the arcade game VOLFIED from Japan, (Also known as Qix Neo (on PS1)).  I believe it only got an arcade release in Japan...So "unheard of" instead of "underrated" would probably be a better description.  Now, thanks mainly to Ultimate Qix on Genesis and the Taito Legends release on PS2,  I think some people have heard of it...

 

Still,  I thought it bore mentioning as many people reading this are looking for cool games to play...Arcade or otherwise.  FWIW,  Ultimate Qix is my Absolute Favorite game on the Genesis!  It's one of those rare games,  filled with depth, strategy, and fun that I can pop in anytime and come back to again and again.  For the record, I don't play to beat it,  I play to try for 99.9% on a screen for massive points before moving on...Which is tricky because filling in 80% or more will cause you to move on;  So you need to get close but not connect a lot of pieces,  then trap the boss in a tiny section, before closing him off...It's so much more fun than it sounds.

[zzip]

3 hours ago, TableCaptainTJ said:

2) Mr Do knocks the socks off Dig Dug.

Completely agree,  would rather play this than Dig Dug any day!   I think it might be "too cute" for some people though.

[+GoldLeader]

5 minutes ago, zzip said:

Completely agree,  would rather play this than Dig Dug any day!   I think it might be "too cute" for some people though.

Couldn't agree more!!

 

Once you view your character, the clown,  as a serial killer of monsters,  it becomes even more fun!

 

I'm reminded of this..."I'm not trapped in here with You!   You're trapped in here with Me!!"  ?

[ChildOfCv]

On 1/17/2019 at 12:54 AM, ChildOfCv said:

So, there's one arcade game I used to like, but it's apparently so "underrated" that I can't even match it back to its title. It's basically a re-skin of Xevious from around 1985, using an F-14, with even variable geometry wing animations. You had a shoot button and a strafe button, so that you can attack both aerial enemies and ground targets. It had "stages", though it just flowed from stage to stage with no real "congrats" screen. Kinda similar to Section Z in that respect, but always a vertical scroller of course. One of the attract mode screens starts at the point where you have to navigate a hail of missiles, shooting what you can't dodge.

 

I wish I could find anything about this one, but I've only seen it at the local supermarket way back when.

Well, Youtube finally came through, only took few years.  I finally got a recommendation for an arcade board someone picked up.  It was made by a company called UPN and distributed by UA (a movie theater company), likely a way to pick up cheap arcade games to place in their theaters to give customers another chance to spend money before the movie starts.  The game is called Misson: XX

[roots.genoa]

Crack Down, the true successor to Shinobi (according to their own creator) and the sole top down "stalk and gun" as far as I know.

[RJ]

18 hours ago, roots.genoa said:

Crack Down, the true successor to Shinobi (according to their own creator) and the sole top down "stalk and gun" as far as I know.

Crack Down is great! I always describe it as a futuristic Gauntlet. Was the only Sega cab I played regularly 

[Keatah]

On 1/26/2019 at 3:41 PM, schuwalker said:

Aladdin's Castle, Spring Hill Mall in Dundee, Il. had one of these

I loved playing that there. That and Dotron. Not long before they closed up. Only establishment in town I knew of that had it. So sad when they got rid of it, and eventually closed down. Some 10 -15 years later (wow was it that long?) it would show up as a dedicated emulator and then in MAME.

 

Those were the days though - every time MAME came out with some cherished arcade game we'd have a party of a sorts. It was like having an injury and letting it heal naturally. Then having surgery years later to really REALLY fix it just right.

[Keatah]

On 12/30/2018 at 7:45 PM, thetick1 said:

Well maybe I should have picked some better wording. Obviously the games I listed are very well know by almost everyone here. What I should have said is what games don't get mainstream pop culture love like the biggies do. For example my wife nor my parents ever heard of the four I listed.

I was sort of thinking the same thing. For example Liberator and Assault.

 

No one ever hardly talks about these games. Yet I found them quite playable. Each one of Assault's levels was different enough from the previous one to really lend a sense of progression through a large world. Additionally I thought that making a modern 3D FPS version would've been a neat thing. The levels are complex enough to warrant that.

 

Liberator was very novel to me back in the day. The reverse MissileCommand style, and rotating planet. It was one game I would have actually liked to see cut-scenes or short FMV clips. Something other than alternating between the two playfields. There just wasn't enough of the game.

 

Same for Tac-Scan and Gyruss. And most of us love Gyruss. But not enough game in either. Both needed more patterns or somehow some sort of background activity going on.

 

Furthermore, instead of all the new shit mobile and over-the-top PC games coming out, I'd prefer continuations and upgrades of select old arcade games. Minus the pixel-art effects. Just take the roms as they are and expand the game. I'd be all over Gyruss II or Tac-Scan: Mission 2.

[Zoyous]

Ladybug - I think it's gotten overlooked as time has gone on and the Pac-Man series has been established as the quintessential maze game, but Ladybug adds some cool elements like rotating doors that give it a lot of strategic depth.

Zoom 909/Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom - It can be considered the predecessor to Space Harrier. Its gameplay is faster and simpler but it's a visual riot of rainbow-colored gradients that has to be seen and experienced.

Time Pilot '84 - As someone else said previously, it's not immediately as visually striking as the original Time Pilot, but it's got so much depth, to the point where you learn that you can cruise around for points or you can go ahead and quickly initiate the boss battles.

Juno First - Visually, it seems like Konami is riffing on the style of Williams games here. But the gameplay has a cool element where you can essentially regulate the speed of the approaching enemies, or even reverse away from them.

Exerion - Essentially it's similar to other vertically-oriented shooters, but the background graphics give a clever illusion of depth and you have to factor in a lot of inertia in your ship's movements.

Ninja Spirit - At a glance it looks like a standard side-scrolling platformer, but enemies are coming from all angles and your jumps are so high and floaty that it really plays like a hybrid between a platformer and a shmup.

[zzip]

Here's a few of my favorites that never seemed to be all that popular in the arcade:

 

Roc N Rope

Elevator Action

Donkey Kong 3

Vanguard

 

[Chris+++]

I love Elevator Action as well. I really dig games in which the player is free to follow his own route and call upon improvisational skills, rather than connecting the dots, so to speak.

I also think Konami/Stern's Turtles (not the teenage-mutant kind) is underexposed, as it's quite an original idea and it's highly enjoyable. It "feels good to play," as it were. Certain games just have that superb movement balance. If you throw in an original idea, or at least a combination of familiar elements that wind up making the overall game unique, I'll give it a huge chance.

Pirate Ship Higemaru, an early Capcom game, is like Pengo except much better. The reason that might not get much attention is that it contains some elements that aren't instantly apparent, so it helps to read instructions of some kind before playing. But damn, it's fun!

I could really go on about this. Up'n Down, Time Pilot '84, Solar Quest...there's a lot of gold out there! Thank goodness MAME exists!

[+wongojack]

On 12/30/2018 at 10:51 PM, NE146 said:

Pinball Action is also an underrated game in my book.. I put in many hours playing it as a kid and trying to visit and beat all the playfields with the Poker, Bowling, and Slots themes. Great fun.

 

 

 

I'm replying to an old post, but that's what these forums are for right?  I consider myself above average when it comes to knowledge of video pinball games, and yet, I have never heard ANYONE ever mention this one.  I've also never seen it among the many shows and arcades I've visited.

I am making a MAME appointment to check this out right now.

[SlidellMan]

Championship Sprint - Oft-overlooked follow-up to Super Sprint.

Metal Black - Who can forget its haunting soundtrack and beam duels?

X Multiply - The progenitor of Dark Shmups.

Rastan Saga

Arabian Magic

[TheDevil'sCompass]

I'd have to say:

Lost Tomb

Tutankham

Lode Runner

[Steven Pendleton]

I can't think of a better example than Andro Dunos. It was dismissed in its time for its graphics and now only 2 types of people even know it exists: Neo Geo people and shooting games people.

 

The game is excellent. Imagine Thunder Force + Gradius/Salamander + a little bit of R-Type. Play it.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Steven Pendleton

[Razzie.P]

2 that come to mind for me are –

Speed Rumbler
Ali Baba and 40 Thieves

 

I always thought Speed Rumbler was one of the greats, but none of my friends seem to have heard of it.  Then came the internet, and I started seeing a lot of “that game was terrible” type of talk, so I dunno.  I still love it, and think it’s a pretty great game, but doesn’t seem to have a lot of love otherwise.

 

I had never heard of Ali Baba and 40 Thieves (well, not the game at least) until playing around with a Mame Cabinet a few years ago.  Took a few minutes to figure out how to play, and I was hooked.  One of my favorite “maze” games now.
 

 

 

[+wongojack]

I just want to thank @NE146 for the recommendation on Pinball Action.  I played it for several hours this weekend, and I really like it.  It does a nice job of being a fun pinball table without mixing in a bunch of extras to take away from the pinball-ness of the thing.  I also found out that there is a Super Pinball Action from 1991 that takes the original, upgrades the visuals & sound and also adds some 16bit boobies in the way of ladies who strip for you if you achieve specific goals on the table.  It was gimmicky but the tables were still solid and fun.  Since I can't really think of any other arcade games quite like them (maybe Atari Video Pinball comes close), I agree that they both qualify as excellent hidden gems.