Pac-Man, originally called Puck Man in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The player controls Pac-Man, who must eat all the dots inside an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating large flashing dots called « Power Pellets » causes the ghosts to temporarily turn blue, allowing Pac-Man to eat them for bonus points.
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflecting a ball towards it without letting the ball leave the bottom edge of the playfield. Some blocks contain power-ups that have various effects, such as increasing the length of the Vaus, creating several additional balls, or equipping the Vaus with cannons. Other blocks may be indestructible or require multiple hits to break.
Altered Beast is a 1988 beat ’em up arcade video game developed and manufactured by Sega. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworld, Neff. Through the use of power-ups, the player character can assume the form of different magical beasts (wolf, dragon, bear, tiger, and golden wolf). It was ported to several home video game consoles and home computers. It was the pack-in game for the Mega Drive when that system launched in 1988.
Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game released by Sega for arcades in 1989, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware.[5] Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year’s Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.
Pang , originally released in Japan as Pomping World[a] and known in North America as Buster Bros., is a 1989 action game released by Mitchell Corporation for arcades in 1989. It was the tenth game released for Capcom’s CP System arcade hardware.The basic gameplay is identical to a much earlier 1983 Japanese MSX computer game called Cannon Ball (also released in 1983 on the ZX Spectrum as Bubble Buster). Cannon Ball was made by Japanese publishers Hudson Soft, and it was licensed by Mitchell Corporation six years later to make Pang.In the game, players must finish a round-the-world quest to destroy bouncing balloons that are terrorising several of Earth’s landmarks and cities. The fight to save the Earth begins on Mount Fuji, Japan, where the players must pass all three stages before moving on to the next location.
Shinobi (忍) is a side-scrolling hack and slash video game produced by Sega, originally released for arcades on the Sega System 16 board in 1987. The player controls ninja Joe Musashi, to stop the Zeed terrorist organization from kidnapping students of his clan.Shinobi was a commercial success in arcades; it topped the monthly Japanese table arcade charts in December 1987, and became a blockbuster arcade hit in the United States, where it was the highest-grossing conversion kit of 1988 and one of the top five conversion kits of 1989. It was adapted by Sega to its Master System game console, followed by conversions to the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine, and home computers. It was re-released as downloadable emulated versions of the original arcade game for the Wii and Xbox 360. The arcade game joined the Nintendo Switch in January 2020 through the Sega Ages series. Shinobi’s success inspired various sequels and spin-offs of the Shinobi series.
1941: Counter Attack is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game by Capcom, released in February 1990. It is the prequel to 1942, and the third game in the 19XX series. It was ported to the SuperGrafx in 1991 and to GameTap. It was released on Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for the PlayStation Portable and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was followed by 19XX: The War Against Destiny in 1996.
Final Fight is a side-scrolling beat-’em-up video game produced by Capcom. Originally released as an arcade game in 1989, it was the seventh title released for the CP System hardware. Set in the fictional Metro City, the game lets the player control one of three street fighters: former pro wrestler and city mayor Mike Haggar, expert brawler Cody Travers, and modern-day ninja Guy. The trio set out to rescue Jessica (Haggar’s daughter and Cody’s girlfriend) when she is kidnapped by the Mad Gear Gang.
Captain Commando is a 1991 futuristic side-scrolling beat ’em up originally developed and published by Capcom as an arcade video game, and later ported to several other platforms. It was the seventeenth game produced for the company’s CP System hardware. The game stars the titular superhero who was originally conceived as a fictional spokesman used by Capcom USA in the company’s console games during the late 1980s.[citation needed] On September 13, 2018, Capcom announced Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle with Captain Commando being one of seven titles and released digitally for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on September 18, 2018.
Double Dragon (Daburu Doragon – Sō Setsu Ryū) is a beat ’em up video game series originally developed and published by Technōs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game Double Dragon in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight against various adversaries and rivals.The original Double Dragon was a hit arcade video game, ushering in a « Golden Age » for the beat ’em up genre, resulting in a flood of beat ’em ups during the late 1980s[3] to 1990s that followed the conventions set by Double Dragon.A 1993 animated series and 1994 live-action film adaptation were produced; these adaptations were widely-panned by critics and audiences.The franchise is now the property of Arc System Works, the company that ported the original Double Dragon to the Master System console in 1988.
