5 Reasons You Should Play Arcade Games in 2025

[@eelzap]

This is how I learned Espgaluda II was delisted. What a blowup

[@mistyzones]

It's a shame, isn't it...

[@whatamalike]

I always liken playing an arcade esque game more like listening to an album rather than the binge watching equivalent feeling with a big single player story driven title or even an online multiplayer title (fps in particular)

[@mistyzones]

Love the comparison!

[@whatamalike]

​@@mistyzones haha thanks. I had another one comparing story driven games to dedicated but potentially unhappy relationships with arcade games to hedonistic one night stands that become friends with benefits but didn't think it was as complimentary 😅

[@mistyzones]

😄🫢

[@FrMZTsarmiral]

I'm glad you mention how fun it can be to try to master an arcade game and clear it with a single credit or to at least try to get as far as possible with a limited number of credits. Too many people see arcade games as disposable "throw as many coins to finish it and forget about it afterwards" affairs. You really start to realize how great some of them are designed when you have to pay attention to everything to survive as long as possible and how many strategies can be created from seemingly inconsequential sections.

[@mistyzones]

Yes!! I was like that for a long time until I got into shoot 'em ups and that just opened a whole new perspective for me.

[@briannacluck5494]

any time I play a shmup, I do a run where I throw in as many coins as needed to complete it, and then start trying to see if I can get it under a specific number of credits. Can I do it in 5 credits? How about 3? Some day I'll beat dodonpachi on a single credit, but that day is not today.

[@kyral4978]

"we didn't gamify work... we workified our games" brilliant!

[@Unowdvalco]

Honestly, the aspect I always most loved about arcade games is mastering all the mechanics and seeing just how far I can go from mastering said mechanics, especially within more score based endless games that dominated most of the 80s arcade scene. Its why i still continue to replay games like Donkey Kong 3 and Mappy to this day

[@100hundert]

0:40 thank you for showing my favorite game of all time, Tetris The Grandmaster 🥰

[@mistyzones]

TGM rules! And the Big Block mode is such a fun bonus mode :)

[@syncr0904]

Love all your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@mistyzones]

Thanks, much appreciated!

[@hooksnfangs6006]

Awesome vid! I love that arcade games are very replayable. I might drop the arcade game to play something else, but when I return to play it again it's still fun. Also when I buy an arcade game, I actually feel like I get my money's worth because I play it over and over.

[@mistyzones]

Totally agreed!

[@briannacluck5494]

I've been a lifelong fan of arcade games, especially some of the older Bally-Midway games. There have been several occasions where I've introduced my friends to the game Bubbles and, after they get over the initial weird value of playing as a bubble cleaning a sink while avoiding ants and eating grandmas, it becomes a great party game. You'll have some people playing board games downstairs, and other people seeing how many levels of Bubbles they can beat upstairs. Also, tapper (I like the rootbeer variant because it's what I'm used to from my childhood, but the original version is equally good) is a great time if enjoy fast paced games but with almost zero learning curve and goofy graphics.

[@mistyzones]

That's really cool, thanks for sharing!

[@dr_ubo]

I'm a fan of your videos and have wanted to create a video just like this one for years. My only recommendation here would be to include the name of the game shown on screen on one of the corners for people who might not know the game already. Other than that, good video, Arcades Never Die! (in our hearts)

[@zhukov2116]

It's very interesting that the pay-to-play arcade style of games obscure the 'games are played for fun' aspect far less than a free-to-play style game in the modern era does. Capitalism turns entertainment into a commodity in both examples, but has less of an impact on the game that you have to keep pumping money into, as opposed to the game that is (potentially) completely free.

[@mistyzones]

There's definitely criticisms you can level at a lot of cheap/unfair arcade games, but at least they're not trying to trick or psychologically manipulate you...

[@DiscoMouse]

@@mistyzones Well, they are, but they’re not nearly as good at it, and the financial damage they could do was a lot less.

[@zhukov2116]

@ Definitely. Game production got a lot more focused and scaled up when it left the arcade model behind, rather than changed it's ideals. This doesn't mean that those arcade games aren't extremely different though.

[@Enki-nt9bf]

You REELED me in with puzzle uo poko in the thumb omg I love love love that game

[@mistyzones]

You and me both ^^

[@Sorrowful00]

Great video. I agree with your message and fully share your passion and enthusiasm. It's impossible to overstate the variety, beauty and sheer fun these games have to offer, especially for players who have the want to really commit to them. An arcade game can be a pretty picture to look at for a bit or an endless tunnel to dive into depending on the player's will. The video ends on a pretty foreboding note. While I do have concerns for the future of arcade game availability I ultimately don't think we will lose access to the title we can currently enjoy any time soon. The sites we currently know will disappear, but the games will come back in some other way. Our tools are breakable but the collective desire to share, play and collect the games isn't.

[@mistyzones]

Beautifully put! About the ending: as I said in the vid, I don't think we will lose access completely, but there are rising levels of inconvenience that have the power to shrink the audience even further... Though I'd love to be wrong about that.

[@GojiGuy]

Couldn't have said it better myself. I can play an arcade game for 5 minutes, or 5 hours. It's engaging regardless!

[@monkeylick]

Fantastic video. Working a job that involves a lot of emotional labour, I also value that arcade games let me get to the core fun of a gaming experience - no masquing, context, or any other details necessary. It feels like accessing something very fundamental.

[@mistyzones]

Yes! I enjoy the honesty, so to speak, of arcade games. What you see is what you get.

[@HerbieChuckNorris]

I feel strongly about all these points. In fact, I personally have dedicated my 2025 and beyond to recalibrating my Video Gaming - exploring arcade games and unplayed classics. Complaining about the state of the industry, and AAA games is nothing new but making a personal decision and exploring new shores and seeking out the experience that better suit my life and tastes is a goal for me and having started getting the ball rolling in 2024, the fun of the arcades is going to be as refreshing as ever.

[@HerbieChuckNorris]

Also Happy New year!

[@mistyzones]

That sounds cool. For me the pivot to arcade happened by accident, but it has really made me reflect on all the games I play and what I want from gaming in general. Oh, and happy new year too!

[@soratheorangejuicemascot5809]

Arcade games are fun. Figuring out how they work is always fun for me.

[@ira_zone]

I had a similar experience. I started playing arcade games 3 years ago. Beating with one credit Kung Fu Master and Deathsmiles gives me the boost to enter this world. Last year I finally beat DaiOuJou with Exy and Ghouls'N Ghosts 2 loops, achivements some years ago I would seen as imposible. It's hard to turn back after that step. It's all about the fourth point of the video, you'll struggle to find experiences as focus as the ones you get in arcades in other gaming formats.

[@mistyzones]

Thanks for sharing, and congrats on your "impossible" clears! Beating the original Dodonpachi is what got me into this some three years ago, so we have somewhat similar stories.

[@belojah2]

Dr. Mario is my arcade game. I'm trying to play games that I share with my wife. She loves it but we're good enough that we scare our friends away to play with us. It's this weird zone we're in where we have this accessable game for us but can't rope our friends in to join us. She didn't grow up playing video games and I'm sad that when friends come around the group games we play she isn't into. Why am I saying this all here? I dunno, but I'm going to look at more arcade games to find the one that brings everyone together, that pick up and play, then put done and play boardgames like Arcs

[@mistyzones]

Thanks for sharing! I love Dr. Mario :) During lockdown I learned how to play the GB version at level 20 high speed, lol. As for arcade games that can bring people together, maybe try action puzzlers like Bomberman or Puzzle Bobble?

[@kylestyle5693]

I like how you frame shots with plants. Also, what happened to all your shmup videos?

[@mistyzones]

Thanks! Nothing happened, this is my other channel :)

[@kylestyle5693]

Oops… thanks for the response!😂

[@sumonedum]

Me am simply ape, garegga- good. Banana- good. Fire- bad

[@mistyzones]

This comment like banana for my monkey soul.

[@chasepalumbo2929]

Such a good video.

[@mistyzones]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lazorsbear7068]

Wtf? They really delisted espgaluda 2 Edit: they also delisted Mushihimesama 😓

[@mistyzones]

@@lazorsbear7068 yeah I think their license expired or something :(

[@mmpsp693]

I really like arcade games, but most are quite cheap to make sure you spent tons of credits. So it is hard to set a goal and "finish" them

[@mistyzones]

I get that. What really helped me with this was getting into shoot 'em ups and realizing how to actually practice section by section before aiming for a 1 credit clear.

[@mmpsp693]

@mistyzones A 1cc clear can be very, very time consuming and frustrating, exactly not what I am looking for in arcade games. Maybe the community can create some targets for each game, like 5cc is the "easy" difficulty

[@mistyzones]

@mmpsp693 yeah that's both the beauty and the challenge of arcade games, where you need to decide the goal yourself. With shoot 'em ups I like going for 1cc's but for a lot of other stuff it's mainly about seeing how far I can get. But it really depends on the game.

[@LoveXKnife]

long live arcade games

[@xarq0n]

definitely missed a chance to talk about golden age arcade games (pre crash) i see games from that era more as trainers and actually own 2 of them (asteroids and defender.) asteroids is great for training you how to lead projectiles while defender is an excellent reaction and critical thinking trainer.

[@mistyzones]

I wanted this video to be about home play (to be about stuff accessible to everyone) and imo those older games really hurt when not played on the original cabs. I adore Centipede and Defender but they just look, sound and control wrong on anything else but the real thing.

[@radiokunio3738]

Uo Poko Sweep

[@clashmanthethird]

Fightcade is one of the big reasons I got into arcade games. I love just being able to explore such a vast library of arcade games with a buddy over a discord call and end up getting way more into something than we expected, find a diamond in the rough, or just laugh at a kusoge fighting game for a couple minutes before moving on in an instant.

[@mistyzones]

Yeah, one of the cool aspects of arcade games is that you can "channel surf" them and just try out stuff very quick!

[@_Majoras]

arcade games will always be superior to indie games

[@mistyzones]

Now that's a spicy take!

[@eightcoins4401]

You still have arcades with real games? Every arcade here is just shitty mobile games oversized.

[@Unowdvalco]

I mean there's a cidercade like 30 minutes from me with legit arcade games new and old along with some pinball stuff

[@mistyzones]

Yes, and I'm really grateful for that, because it's definitely not the case everywhere.