Short answer: The games that appear on nearly every list of the best arcade games are Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man and Street Fighter II, followed by Asteroids, Defender, Centipede and the four-player brawlers Konami made in the early 1990s. Most of them can still be bought as a full-size cabinet: as a used original, or as a new cabinet in the original artwork.
Ask anyone for the best arcade games of all time and the list starts the same way, because a handful of games defined what an arcade was. This list is built from that consensus: the titles that top player polls, sold in the largest numbers in their day and are still the ones people want in a games room. Where we have a cabinet for a game, the entry links to it.
The golden age: 1978 to 1984
1. Pac-Man (Namco, 1980)
Designed by Toru Iwatani and distributed in the United States by Midway, Pac-Man turned the arcade from a room of shooting games into something everyone played. One maze, four ghosts with distinct personalities and power pellets that turn the chase around: it is the most recognisable arcade game ever made and still the one most searched for. See our Pac-Man Arcade Machine by Midway – Used Original Cabinet. See our Pac-Man Multicade Upright Arcade – 60 Classic Games.
2. Space Invaders (Taito, 1978)
Tomohiro Nishikado’s game started the golden age: rows of descending aliens, four shields and a single cannon, with the march speeding up as the invaders thin out. It set the idea of a high score as something to chase. See our Space Invaders / Qix Combo Arcade Machine by Taito – Used Original Cabinet. See our Space Invaders Arcade Machine.
3. Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1981)
Shigeru Miyamoto’s first arcade game introduced Jumpman, the character who became Mario, and four screens of barrels, conveyor belts, elevators and rivets. It established the platform game and remains the reference for competitive high-score play. See our Donkey Kong Arcade Machine.
4. Galaga (Namco, 1981)
The sequel to Galaxian, Galaga added enemies that swoop in formation and a tractor beam that captures your ship, which you can win back to fly two at once. It is one of the most played cabinets still found in bars today. See our Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga Reunion Multicade Upright Arcade – 60 Classic Games.
5. Ms. Pac-Man (Midway, 1982)
Developed from Pac-Man by General Computer Corporation and released by Midway, Ms. Pac-Man added four mazes, moving fruit and smarter ghosts. Many players rate it the better game, and it outsold the original in North America. See our Ms. Pac-Man / Galaga Class of 1981 Reunion Arcade Machine by Namco – Used.
6. Asteroids (Atari, 1979)
Atari’s vector-display shooter, designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg, had players drifting and thrusting through an asteroid field with inertia that took real skill to manage. It was Atari’s best-selling arcade game. See our Asteroids Arcade Machine.
7. Defender (Williams, 1981)
Eugene Jarvis’s side-scrolling shooter used five buttons and a joystick, a scanner showing the whole world and humanoids to rescue. It was famously hard and hugely popular, and it made Williams a video game maker as well as a pinball one. See our Defender Arcade Machine.
8. Centipede (Atari, 1981)
Designed by Dona Bailey and Ed Logg, Centipede used a trackball to move a gnome through a mushroom field as a centipede winds down the screen. It was one of the first arcade hits to draw as many women players as men.
9. 1942 (Capcom, 1984)
Capcom’s vertical-scrolling World War II shooter, with its loop-the-loop dodge, became the template for a long line of scrolling shooters. See our 1942 Arcade Machine.
10. Crazy Climber (Nichibutsu, 1980)
Two joysticks, one for each arm, and a skyscraper to scale while residents drop flowerpots from the windows. Few games before or since have controlled like it. See our Crazy Climber Arcade Machine by Nichibutsu – Used Original Cabinet.
The late 1980s and 1990s
11. OutRun (Sega, 1986)
Yu Suzuki’s driving game put a Ferrari Testarossa on a coast road, let the player choose the route at each fork and the music on the car radio. The sit-down and cabaret cabinets are the most sought-after versions. See our OutRun Cabaret (Mini) Driving Arcade Machine by Sega – Used Original Cabinet.
12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Konami, 1989)
The four-player cabinet that let a whole group play at once, one Turtle each, through the cartoon’s cast of villains. Its sequel, Turtles in Time (1991), refined the same formula. See our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4-Player Arcade Machine by Konami – Used Original Cabinet. See our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time 4-Player Arcade Machine by Konami – Used Original Cabinet.
13. The Simpsons (Konami, 1991)
Konami applied the Turtles formula to Springfield: Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa fighting across town to rescue Maggie, four players at a time. See our The Simpsons Arcade Machine.
14. Street Fighter II (Capcom, 1991)
The game that built the fighting-game genre: eight world warriors, six-button controls, special moves and combos. Capcom revised it repeatedly; Street Fighter II′ Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992) is the faster version collectors look for. See our Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting Arcade Machine by Capcom – Used Original Cabinet. See our Street Fighter 2 Arcade Machine.
15. X-Men (Konami, 1992)
A beat-’em-up with a four-player standard cabinet and a famous six-player deluxe version with a dual-screen display. Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and the rest against Magneto. See our X-Men 4-Player Arcade Machine by Konami – Used Original Cabinet. See our X-Men Arcade Machine.
16. Mortal Kombat II (Midway, 1993)
Digitised fighters, fatalities and a faster, deeper game than the original made Mortal Kombat II one of the biggest earners of the fighting-game boom.
17. NBA Jam (Midway, 1993)
Mark Turmell’s two-on-two basketball with real NBA rosters, no fouls and players who catch fire after three straight baskets. It was the highest-earning arcade game of its year. See our NBA Jam Arcade Machine.
18. Cruis’n USA (Midway, 1994)
Eugene Jarvis’s cross-country racer, from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., in a sit-down cabinet with a force-feedback wheel. It is one of the driving games people most want at home. See our Cruis’n USA Sit-Down Driving Arcade Machine by Midway – Used Original Cabinet.
19. Metal Slug 2 (SNK, 1998)
Hand-drawn sprite art, vehicles to commandeer and relentless run-and-gun action on SNK’s Neo Geo hardware. The series is still a favourite of two-player cabinets. See our Metal Slug 2 Arcade Machine.
20. Marvel vs. Capcom (Capcom, 1998)
Tag-team fighting with Marvel heroes against Capcom’s own characters, assist attacks and the high-flying pace the series is known for. See our Marvel vs Capcom Arcade Machine.
Just outside the twenty, and on many other lists: Frogger (Konami, 1981), Q*bert (Gottlieb, 1982), Joust (Williams, 1982), Dig Dug (Namco, 1982) and Tempest (Atari, 1981).
Street Fighter II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons and X-Men are all in our fighting and beat ’em up arcade machines collection, as original used cabinets and as new cabinets in the original artwork.
Owning one today: original, new cabinet or multicade
There are three ways to put one of these games in a room. An original cabinet carries the period board, monitor and artwork, and is sold used; we list ours under used, vintage and classic arcade machines. A new cabinet in the original artwork has new controls and a modern monitor, and is usually sourced to order. A multicade holds dozens to thousands of games in one cabinet and is the cheapest way to play many of these titles; see multicade arcade machines. The home arcade machine buying guide compares the costs, and the Pac-Man guide explains the four machines that one name can mean. For the lowest prices in stock right now, see affordable arcade machines.
Quick answers
What is the best arcade game of all time?
Pac-Man is the one most often named, with Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Street Fighter II close behind. Pac-Man is also still the arcade game people search for most.
What are the most popular classic arcade games?
Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Asteroids, Defender and Centipede from the golden age, and Street Fighter II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, X-Men and NBA Jam from the late 1980s and 1990s.
What were the top arcade games of the 1980s?
Pac-Man (1980), Donkey Kong (1981), Galaga (1981), Defender (1981), Centipede (1981), Ms. Pac-Man (1982), 1942 (1984) and OutRun (1986).
What were the top arcade games of the 1990s?
Street Fighter II (1991), The Simpsons (1991), X-Men (1992), Mortal Kombat II (1993), NBA Jam (1993), Cruis’n USA (1994), Metal Slug 2 (1998) and Marvel vs. Capcom (1998).
Can you still buy these arcade games?
Yes. Most are available as a used original cabinet, as a new cabinet in the original artwork, or as one of the games on a multicade.
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