Arcade classics: the best coin-ops conversions sorted by release date

Dig Dug is a classic maze arcade action game that was first released by Namco in 1982 as a coin-op and later for a number of other systems. The gameplay of Dig Dug involves digging tunnels through the earth to reach and defeat the various creatures that inhabit the underground maze. The player has an air pump, which he can use to inflate the monste...

Bomb Jack is a classic arcade platform game developed and published by Tecmo in 1984. The goal of the game is to collect bombs while avoiding enemies; the whole game takes place in a fixed screen. Bomb Jack for DOS is a conversion from the arcade original version. The arcade and the conversions were a huge commercial success.

Boulder Dash is a classic action-puzzle video game that was first released in 1984 by First Star Software. In Boulder Dash, players control a character named Rockford as he digs through caves to collect diamonds while avoiding falling boulders and other hazards. The game is set in a scrolling, grid-based environment, and players must strategic...

Zaxxon is a classic arcade video game that was first released by Sega in 1982 for the arcades and later for a number of platforms. It is considered one of the pioneering titles in the shoot 'em up or scrolling shooter genre. Zaxxon was notable for its use of isometric graphics, which gave the game a unique 3D perspective.

Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the PDP-1 minicomputer; this is a DOS port, released in 1985.Spacewar! features two spaceships, controlled by players, that ...

Marble Madness is an abandoned isometric action game designed by Mark Cerny and originally published by Atari as a successful and iconic arcade game. It was later converted for many platform in 1986 and for IBM PCs in 1987 by Atari.

Arkanoid is a classic arcade video game that was first released in 1986 by Taito. It is a breakout-style game, which means that the primary objective is to break a wall of bricks or blocks by bouncing a ball off a paddle at the bottom of the screen. The game takes its name and inspiration from Atari's Breakout, which was released in the 1970s. ...

Paperboy was one of (if not THE) arcade hit of 1985. It was developed by Atari for the arcades and later published by Mindscape for DOS in 1988. More conversion were made for quite a few other platforms. Paperboy gameplay is peculiar: you control a boy riding a bicycle and your goal is to deliver as many newspapers as you can to a number of ho...

Bubble Bobble is perhaps one of the most popular (and cute!) platform arcade games of all times. The goal of Bubble Bobble is simple: clear each screen from various monsters and reach the final stage. In order to get rid of enemies, dinosaurs Bub and Bob can spit bubbles to trap them, then pop the bubbles to kill them.