5 Arcade Games We Used To Play

By say.jeremykk | February 14, 2019

Before owning game consoles became a common thing, most gamers would spend time in Arcades across Malaysia, honing our skills and trying hard to get our names onto leaderboards. Here are 5 Arcade Games we spent hours (and lots of money) playing with our friends all these years:

5 Arcade Games we used to play with our friends

 

  • Daytona USA

 

The granddaddy of arcade racing games, SEGA’s classic Daytona USA was given a limited Japan-only release in 1993 before having a global launch in 1994 – and the world hasn’t looked back since.

The mechanics were simple: Up to 8 players could test their driving skills against each other across a selection of tracks & scenarios. Everyone started with the same car, and the only option you had to “tune” the car was choosing between auto or manual transmission. This often lead to players choosing auto transmission and adopting a pedal-to-the-metal, “what are brakes?” mentality, bouncing off their friends’ cars in order to take corners more efficiently – my circle of friends did this every time we played.

Thankfully, none of us drive IRL like we do in-game.

 

  • Time Crisis

 

An on-rails First Person Shooter, Time Crisis saw players assume the role of V.S.S.E agents, tasked with eliminating any threats in order to save the world. The basic mechanics were simple: point the gun to aim & pull the trigger to shoot, but don’t forget to take cover to dodge bullets and/or reload.

The on-rails mechanic, however, meant that players had to clear all enemies in a set area before the game would allow them to progress to the next area. In classic Arcade fashion, players had limited time to beat stages – often finding themselves running low on time if they played it too safe and didn’t take risks to clear stages quickly. I guess you could call this situation a…Time Crisis.

 

  • House of the Dead

 

House of the Dead operated on mechanics largely similar to the Time Crisis series – but the only real difference was shooting zombies & monsters instead of anonymous bad guys.

While Time Crisis games generally only had two endings (you beat the game or you die), House of the Dead typically had multiple endings, with the ending you achieve being based on your performance: civilians rescued, shooting accuracy, lives remaining, and total score. There was even a “bad” ending which involved one of the characters you encountered during the story turning into a zombie.

 

  • Initial D Arcade Stage

 

While casual gamers would gravitate towards Daytona USA’s pedal-to-the-metal and “what are brakes?” gameplay, tryhards would gravitate towards the arcade version of  Initial D, which allowed players their choice of car and the option to modify the car to their liking.

Featuring legendary cars like Mitsubishi Lancer Evos, Mazda RX-7s & RX-8, Nissan GTRs & Silvia, Subaru Impreza WRXs, Toyota Trueno & MR2, as well as the EK9 variant of the Honda Civic Type R, we can’t help but feel this game helped fuel the interest of many car enthusiasts in Malaysia.

 

  • Dance Dance Revolution

 

No introduction is required for this mainstay of arcades worldwide. Drop in a token (or two), pick a song, and dance to the beat – although the footwork for harder difficulties tends to not follow the beat or make any sense at all.

Wildly popular since the release of the original way back in 1998, the DDR series continues to receive regular updates, with the latest release being as recent as 2016.

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