10 Best Arcade Video Games of All Time [Ranked]

Donkey Kong

Speaking about Donkey Kong. In my opinion, the original game absolutely deserves the title of the best arcade game of all time.

The thing that puts this game among the classic arcade games is the fact that it's incredibly simple, yet incredibly competitive at the same time. I was once super motivated and tried the single-life challenge but miserably failed. That's the reason why Donkey Kong's arcade game is considered one of the best Donkey Kong games of all time. Ironically, it's also the same reason why the game is notoriously controversial.

There probably isn't another arcade game that has spawned so many disputes regarding high scores as Donkey Kong has. The game is quite literally a drama magnet, with the latest drama happening earlier this year.

Street Fighter II

Apart from being one of the best fighting games of all time. Street Fighter II is also an arcade staple. Frankly, an arcade isn't complete if it doesn't have at least one Street Fighter II cabinet in it.

Everything is better when done with a friend, and that's exactly what made Street Fighter II one of the most iconic arcade games of its era. Most arcade games were single-player games, where different people would compete to set the highest score. Street Fighter II was different. Sure, you could still compete for the highest score, but the real fun was playing it with a friend.

That is the reason why Street Fighter II is often considered one of the best arcade games of all time. Win or lose, you were still having fun and making memories. It even spawned the fighting game craze of the 90s, which I absolutely love; as fighting games are some of the most fun types of games to play with friends.

Space Invaders

Technically, Space Invaders is one of the best alien games of all time. "Technically." It's actually a really really simple game. And yet, it was one of the most revolutionary games of its time. I remember when it came out it looked much smoother and more lifelike than anything that I've seen before!

In my opinion, Space Invaders is the textbook definition of a classic game. You have your "space-cannon-thingamajigger." You have the aliens that are invading. And you have some cover that gets progressively destroyed. In 1978, Space Invaders was the hottest thing around. I just wish I were alive back then so that I could experience the feeling firsthand. Ahh well.

Galaga

God. When I look back at it, I spent so much time as a kid just playing this one Galaga ripoff. The game was so good that even its ripoffs were amazing!

Galaga is undeniably one of the best games made by Bandai-Namco. And that's an undeniable fact. The fact that it came out in the early 80s makes it even more impressive to me. Arcade gaming would forever be changed after Galaga's release.

Funnily enough, Galaga was probably the game that inspired the textbook template that most modern free-to-play games use. You make a game that is repetitive, but, you make it just entertaining enough so the player keeps playing it. Finally, you make it rewarding enough so that they keep coming back. No wonder Galaga kept taking people's coins back in the 80s.

Pac Man

You know how there are certain sounds that live in your head rent-free? Well, for me, that's Pac-Man's "waka-waka-waka."

Pac Man is such a classic arcade game it's unreal. You have the simplest concept, a yellow dude that looks like a wheel of cheese, and you have some ghosts that are coming after him. That's it. It literally can't get any simpler than that. And yet, the gameplay is so addictive that it's insane!

Looking back at it. Clearing Pac Man's stages felt like winning a chicken dinner in PUBG. It was a tremendous accomplishment, especially if you were a kid and it was your first time.

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat was such a fun fighting game back in the day. Thankfully, the series is still going strong. However, back in the day, there was nothing like it at all.

As a fighting game, it pushed what could be shown in a video game. It was incredibly brutal and over the top, which naturally drew in the kids who wanted to get some of the action. It also drew the attention of parents who were concerned with what was being depicted in video games. As a result of that, we now have the ESRB, the biggest party poopers on the planet.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was such a cultural craze back in the late 80s. You had TMNT merch everywhere! So, naturally, a video game followed suit.

The thing that makes TMNT one of the best arcade games for me is the fact of how charming it is. Well, "charming" is a big word. Painfully frustrating would be more accurate. The game is notoriously difficult, just watch the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of it. And yet, it had some of the best video game music of the time. And the entire aesthetic of the game felt just right.

It's just a shame how arcade gaming relied on purposefully difficult games to survive. If a game was easy to beat, then nobody would be playing it after the first time around. But, if a game was notoriously difficult, then everybody would be throwing their coins just to have another go around.

Track & Field

I remember Track & Field as one of the more iconic console games of my childhood. Well, to be specific, a later NES version of Track & Field. Growing up I didn't have any arcades near where I lived, so I had to rely on console ports to get my arcade fix.

The thing that made Track & Field so charming to me was how many games it actually allowed you to play. It was technically 8 games all in one. Games based on the Olympics are something you don't really see anymore. So, looking back on Track & Field, you really get a feeling that it was a totally different time in gaming. A much "simpler" time. One that feels oddly nostalgic in a way.

Pong

You can't have a list of the best arcade games of all time without including the one that started it all.

I'm sure everyone knows this by now but Pong was the first video game ever made. Funnily enough, it was also the first video game to cause someone to rage quit, which is a fact that's just hilarious to me. It just goes to show that sore losers are always the same, regardless of the game they're playing. Even if they're playing something as rudimentary as Pong.

Missile Command

Missile Command really is a game of its time. It's a type of game that comes out only if there's the threat of an imminent nuclear war in the air.

Missile Command is basically USSTRATCOM the game. You play as a missile defense operator tasked with keeping the world in one piece. Easier said than done, however. I remember I used to play a ripoff version of the game as a kid. Well, "play" being a generous term here. I could never get the game to work, and when it did, it was so janky that it was unplayable. But hey, at least the arcade version was great for wasting a few coins.