Obscure Arcade Games of the 80's: 1985 - 1986

[@GaryRetroGamer]

NOTE: As @SonicMania999 pointed out, a few of these titles were made available via "Hamsters Arcade Archives" on modern platforms, which makes them not so obscure. Just skip over those instead of taking the time to complain with "This isn't very obscure..." comments

[@ObiKKa]

Hey. Could you make a playlist for these demonstration videos of obscure arcade games, or even any and all videos of arcade games, please, please, please?

[@GaryRetroGamer]

One has just been created! Please search the playlists on this channel for one called "Arcade Videos". Admittedly, it's not very big - there are only 7 videos on it, but the plan is to extend this channel with more arcade game coverage in the future, so please stay tuned!

[@ObiKKa]

Very good! Thanks. Seeing these titles could help with research into what MAME can or cannot emulate of these 'old' arcade games, ;).

[@cosminsavenco6911]

Hey Gary! Thanks for your videos I watched them and subscribed to you! I need help I can't remember this game. It was an old pc game shooter-horror from 90s - 2000s I think and I remember it's cover had the main character - a guy with a weapon I think, and side by side with it is something like a demon with what looks like horns and "goggles" and you can play as that demon too by shapeshifting and when you play as it you shoot fireballs or something like that. And you fight zombies and other creatures and solve puzzles if I'm not mistaken. I also remember at some point a house is on fire and is haunted and you gotta get out of it. Tried to search for it all over the place but really couldn't find it. Do you know what it's name might be? The best indication is the game cover... A man with a demon side by side

[@GaryRetroGamer]

@@cosminsavenco6911 The closest game I can think of to match that is "Evil Dead Regeneration" - but that would have been much later - 2005. If that's not it, I have no other ideas. Sorry!

[@taesu8]

Thanks to your video, I can finally remember the name of the arcade game I was fascinated with at the Arcade in 1980s Korea!

[@chano7053]

I started going to arcades around 1984. Before that, however, I was lucky enough to have a neighbor kid whose father owned coin-ops that he rented out to some coffee bars and youth centers. Under the house they had a small warehouse where they kept the aforementioned coin-ops that were awaiting rental or repair. the aforementioned kid often invited me to play those coin ops for free. later that small warehouse was transformed into an actual arcade. There were two other arcades in my town plus several youth centers with small arcade rooms. Back then i played many of the games showed here: City Connection, Kiki Kaikai, Ufo Robo Dangar, Tokio, 4-D Warriors, Boulder Dash, I'm Sorry, Pinball Action, Spelunker, Mat Mania, Rock 'n Rage, Empire City 1931, Tank Busters, Knuckle Joe, Repulse, Flashgal, Teddy Boy Blues, Typhoon Gal, Ninja Emaki... Thanks for making me remember, fella.

[@matstodon]

your dedication to your channel is just unbelievable. love your contents very much!

[@sonicmania9993]

Thanks for the Steamkey! It's THE HAUNTED ISLAND, A FROG DETECTIVE GAME, released in 2018, which is a lo-fi humorous mystery-puzzler with very high Steam reviews. Cheers! This video is amazing with some really cool games from the era. You know ... it's strange: I was still going to the arcades in 85-86 (though my heyday was early 80s), but I played literally none of these games in the arcade back then. I lived in a pretty big town in the US Midwest, so our arcades were always dominated by games marketed by Chicago companies (Bally/Midway/Williams), and though we had a lot of the classic Japanese cabs from the early 80s, I think local arcade owners had just stopped buying them by 85. It's a shame really, because there are some super-interesting games here! Though I never played any back in the arcade, I've been enjoying some of these via Hamster's Arcade Archives series on Switch & PS4: Ikki, City Connection, Wiz, Argus, Mr. Goemon, Soldier Girl Amazon, XX Mission ... some really decent shooters especially.

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Ah, interesting - I wasn't aware that these were available on the Switch/PS4. If I was aware, I would have omitted them! Thanks for letting me know - I'll have to check with Hamster before I make any more "obscure" lists...

[@ddewittfulton]

I LOVE CITY CONNECTION! It was the very first game I ever played on an emulator!

[@lilwyvern4]

3. Technically in the same universe as Punch-Out! It even has the same green-haired player character as the arcade game. Very interesting cabinet with a robotic arm on it. Must be a hell of a thing to keep in working order. 10. Part of the same series of games as Crossbow and Chiller. All of these gun games started with C. 13. Trying to cut away before your ball lands in the water, eh? I'm onto you! 20. That's a blatant Xevious clone if ever I saw one. 22. Wow, that game looks incredible for 85! Were those scaling sprites I noticed? Predating Space Harrier? 31. Seems pretty sedate for Mayhem. 34. Quite addictive. The "powerups" are really more like credits, though. You have to ration them very precisely or you can't finish levels. 39. Sega made this? Not Atari? 74. God this game is screwed up. Yet curiously it gets LESS screwed up as you go along. The third level has only one objectionable target and fourth and final level is remarkably tame. 84. Is the game keeping your score in Japanese numerals? Fascinating. 90. I believe this was unreleased. A shame, it has some great stuff. 91. Also known as Pocky and Rocky. Between the solid color graphics and ear-rapey sounds, there's something remarkably uncanny about a lot of these games.

[@ObiKKa]

(39.) Activision made Pitfall II, but Sega reprogrammed it as an arcade game on their System 1 board. The levels in the Sega arcade game were either redesigned or different to anything in the other versions. You could play this arcade port on the Sega SG-1000 home console (or play it on an Everdrive cart on the Sega Master System). (90.) Joust 2: Survival of the Fittest was definitely released as an arcade cabinet to the market. You can play it in one of the Midway arcade collections.

[@simonebernacchia5724]

@@ObiKKa There was also a reprogramming of Choplifter

[@simonebernacchia5724]

I seen a good amount of those in italian arcades in the 80s and early 90s

[@Phed98]

grandioso

[@andreinoooo]

Alpha Denshi surely kicked a lot of asses back in the days. How strange I never heard about them before early 2000s (I started going to the arcade from 1988-1989)

[@SeanNaNaNa]

I had no idea City Connection was an arcade game- thought it was just for NES. Good stuff

[@danpatrick7176]

Nice list. I haven't heard of basically any of these. A lot of these look really fun! I'll save this video for later to see what roms to add to my collection.

[@interesting_output]

Trivia: "Ikki" by Sun Electronics, later known as Sunsoft, would be referenced both in field theme and by name in Blaster Master Zero 2. Consider it an obscure easter egg, if you will.

[@aodhablackheart]

Exidy made an excellent series of lightgun games all beginning with C :) Chiller is the most notorious for its edginess. Crossbow was my favourite.

[@chiissu]

These games are like Larry the Looter in that Simpsons 90s episode in look and feel and sound. I was aware of around 10 of em but some Sequels I didn't know existed like Pitfall 2 or Lode Runner 3. Weird thing is, the other day I was thinking of Chiller when Writing a review on that 60s horror film Mr Sardonicus, where I came up with a Sequel movie/Video Game of it. I've got like over 600 Movie reviews on my blog and around a dozen Game Review Compilations where after I beat a game, I write a blurb about it, and when I got around 20 blurbs, I post it on my blog.

[@douro20]

It's amazing what Alpha Denshi managed to do with just standard TTL chips...

[@miked4377]

nice job...i really like obscure games the best!wish icould go back ..

[@simonebernacchia5724]

And BTW Gigas is the inspiration together with Arkanoid for the Amiga game Crystal Hammer

[@hellbenderdesign]

Chiller looks... fun.

[@dimviesel]

The “city connection” logo looks the same as the old “Love Connection” gameshow logo

[@frankschalk7790]

I need to go through this list on my retropie 👍

[@mauldin128]

Been looking for #87 for over 30 years.

[@simonebernacchia5724]

Alien Sector is also known as BaraDuke Guardian was known also as Getstar Land Sea Air squad as Storming Party

[@ZEUSDAZ]

Very nice useful video, is 1987-1988 edition coming up soon?

[@GaryRetroGamer]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHXLXqNmh5aAsLs

[@arqfran75]

unique video, thx mate.

[@marcelotorricomendez7723]

Just amazing!!

[@quasarblast653]

Never saw about 95% these at local arcade. Mat mania was everywhere and skykid at 1 or 2 places. The rest in list obscure or heard about but never saw in the wild.

[@douro20]

I'm trying to figure out which hardware "Shanghai Kid" runs on. I wonder if it may had been some variation of the hardware Burger Time runs on?

[@treqdubu6065]

Thank you sir,

[@savagekurtain5710]

1:16 Altough a simple and little clunky game (still not a bad game, in my opinion), Chanbara could be catalogued as one of the first games with dismemberment mechanics.

[@cabelo85masamune58]

City conection joguei muito eim rsrs

[@javaykirk2688]

Mat mania was surprisingly available for the Atari 7800.

[@marioserna3564]

¿Chiller? WTF!!!!😨😨😨

[@douro20]

Doki Doki Penguin Land looks like an SG-1000 game. Cop 01 would had been a good NES game.

[@noname5725]

Some of these looks good,i hope they work on emulator that i used.

[@juanes3013]

Which emulator do you use?

[@johnnycats5157]

I remember Gladiator, and what a pain in the @ss it was to play

[@ripast2605]

The Lost Castle In Darkmist it´s a Taito Game.

[@YAWN....]

You need to enable the THANKS button...

[@GaryRetroGamer]

Wow. I actually didn't even know the Thanks button was a thing until I saw this comment! It has been enabled. Thanks for letting me know!

[@AstralShine]

It's amazing to see how many of these games straight up ripped off Xevious and Arkanoid

[@loboapaixonado5675]

já joguei quase todos e zerei também... (cheats do mame, te amo)

[@meganchoi9097]

ゼビウス

[@john2001plus]

Most of these look not very good. Top Gunner reminds me of "Tail Gunner" from around 1979.