The 20 Greatest Arcade Games Of 1983

[@ItsCrapContent]

Definitely my childhood here ....loved going to the arcades and finding the newest game

[@mattikuokkanen]

I don't recall playing any of those games on arcade cabinet. But I got couple chances to play Crystal Castles on computers in 1980's. Of course I got to play a number of other arcade games from other times.

[@thelairdslair]

Never played Star Wars in the arcades? Man you missed out. Surprised too as it was everywhere back in the day.

[@mattikuokkanen]

@@thelairdslair Wasn’t in Finland

[@thelairdslair]

What arcade games did you have in Finland in 1983 then? Genuinely interested to find out.

[@mattikuokkanen]

@@thelairdslair Don't know about that year as I was only 2 at the time. I know I saw a bunch in late 80's and early 90's. But honestly I didn't memorize all the games I saw. I can at least name Space Invaders, Golden Axe, and Ninja Turtles. Bunch of racing games too of which I can name Outrun and Final Lap. Later I played few newer games too, like Metal Slug. Otherwise I'm drawing blank, sorry.

[@nashvillan4lif]

This was a loaded year for sure. Lots of great titles not mentioned. Major Havoc, Donkey Kong 3, Wacko, Pole Position II, Nibbler, Mappy, Mad Planets, Journey, Discs of Tron, Cloak & Dagger, Cliff Hanger, Domino Man, Arabian, Champion Baseball, and Blaster.

[@itsalwayssunnyinpahoa7631]

Awesome, another banger. We’re all super grateful.

[@Kig_Ama]

What a great list!!!!! Brings back so many memories!

[@rubbersoul420]

Love these lists, they present a lot of good looking games that fly under the radar. Thanks for making these!

[@bradleymcavoy3432]

I praise your inclusion of most of the games here ( Gyruss has one of the best soundtracks of all Time!) but NOT having Discs of Tron is a GLARING Omission! Xevious said copyright 1982 and had limited release cabs in fall/winter of that year so I don’t see how it counts as ‘83. 🙄 DOT was way ahead of its time with better ( Reflective) pseudo 3D effects than Exerion and also had a 16 bit processor just for Dolby surround sound alone! The Environmental ( Almost enclosed sit down) cab is considered the Holy Grail for arcade enthusiasts and collectors! 😎

[@bryndal36]

From memory, I think you covered most of the games I enjoyed as a teen.

[@aleks1939]

I'll never forget buying some kind of arcade game strategy magazine and it revealing all the locations of the hidden underground structures and flags. That blew my mind and amazed a lot of people at my local arcade. So much fun!

[@robmoonlite961]

Gyruss, Elevator Action, Congo Bongo, back in the day mind-blown!

[@joejacobsonwales]

Man, there are very few games if any that beat a Star Wars sitdown.

[@blargblarg5657]

My dad worked at an arcade on the side repairing the machines and connecting the quarters. I remember when track and field first came out. It had several trophies inside the cabinet. I wish i still had the one my dad gave me but i was five and it was cheaply made.

[@Jacky_man542]

Glad we have the Arcade Club in Leeds.Have been three times and every time was amazing.

[@tomy.1846]

Spy Hunter is one of my favorite games of all time! Awesome game play!

[@williamhaynes4800]

Spy Hunter was my favorite. I remember going to the mall arcade, dropping in a quarter and playing til they closed. One of the arcade workers would offer me free games on other machines to open up SH to other players. He asked me how I could play so long; I told him I drove like I would on the interstate if I could get away with it.

[@mcorleonep]

So many classics from this year, most notably, Elevator Action, Sinistar, Gyruss, Crystal Castles, Congo Bongo and of course Star Wars. I was never sold on the laser disc fad. Still a gimmick to this day…

[@sverrekvernmo]

What a key year this, starting watching your vids from here (blindly looking for a game I couldn't remember the name of, later found). Juno First looks friggin' amazing, never had the chance to try it! Had plenty fun with Xevious mind, that was mindblowing when it arrived. "Textured" tiles, great anims & SFX, fair enough playability. Gyruss though - maybe the best sound design integration in any arcade game, that thing was HYPNOTISING - even just watching someone play. =)

[@victorhernandez8723]

Fun fact: the music that plays in Spy Hunter is the Peter Gunn theme, written by Henry Mancini.

[@originalfred66]

Star Wars was definitely #1 for me. Crystal Castles was probably #2 as it was a pretty fun take on a Pac-Man style game. I also remember enjoying Xevious, Spy Hunter, and Track & Field.

[@everneil4326]

Some classics here m8

[@cheeseparis1]

Thanks, great video, I played de hell out of those games. Idea : use the actual coin insert sound effect when introducing then next game

[@thelairdslair]

I originally did, but the adding a credit sound seemed a lot better when I played it back.

[@cheeseparis1]

Yes I guess it's much more consistent to use the same sound. I will watch the other years, 1980 is on my playlist

[@neilthomas6042]

It shows how more advanced arcade were than home version. Having said that I never played arcade games; too self conscious. Due to my OCD, ASD(not diagnosed at the time.) and poor hand eye coordination.

[@white-dragon4424]

Congo Bongo and Mr. Do's Castle are two of my favourite arcade games, with Food Fight being my all time fave arcade game! I found all three to be vary rare, which is unfortunate.

[@thelairdslair]

Mr. Do's Castle is so underrated and Food Fight is one of my favourite games ever too.

[@HiNRGboy]

1983 was awesome man, My two favorite Atari games were released that year, "I Robot" and "Major Havoc"... I always mention those two games if anyone asks me what are my top 10 favorite games of all time.

[@ousley421]

Galaga, Cosmic Alien... Games where a quarter could last 20 minutes or more. Spent about $50 a week in the arcade and never saw half the games on your list

[@jasonz7788]

Awesome thanks

[@j.l.robert]

Sad that the Star Trek Strategic Operations Simulator failed to make this list.

[@themidcentrist]

Hamster needs to hurry up and release Gyruss on the switch!

[@victorhernandez8723]

Dragon’s Lair was the very first QTE video game!

[@mikebell2112]

The graphics in Star Wars didn't look quite right... the trench and the giant graffiti on the Death Star.

[@johneygd]

WooooW no donkeykong 3? Am stun.

[@thelairdslair]

Never thought it was particularly good.

[@colinmcdonald2499]

Nice video. Without the slightest doubt you missed Nintendo's 'Punch-Out!'.

[@thelairdslair]

Punch-Out! was 1984, but I didn't include it in that list either.

[@colinmcdonald2499]

@@thelairdslair google and wikis I quickly looked at said 1983... I probably played a full roll of quarters on a long indoor motor lodge hotel dome staycation in Feb of 1984

[@thelairdslair]

Arcade History Database (which is what I use as a reference for these videos), KLOV and Wikipedia all have it as 1984.

[@miked3712]

Question, I remember playing a shoot em up vertical arcade game in 1983 but don't know the name of the game. I tried searching on Google and KZbin but no luck. It's a game where a plane/jet goes vertically and shoots at various enemy and towards the end of the round/stage, a bunch of crap comes out from the top of the screen hurling towards you. It takes a lot of discipline and management not to freak out and die. Do you know what game I'm referring to? Thanks!

[@thelairdslair]

Is it Moon Cresta? Only game I can think of that fits this description at the moment.

[@miked3712]

@@thelairdslair Thanks for the guess. It's not Moon Cresta. It had a light background and the craft flew through the background instead of a static background. Also, I played it in 1983 so the game probably came out that year.

[@thelairdslair]

Hmmm, you've really got me thinking now - possibly Exerion or Espial?

[@miked3712]

@@thelairdslair It was kinda like Espial but definitely not Exerion as that has a dark background

[@thelairdslair]

The only other game I thought of was Star Force, but that came a bit later.

[@Barghaest]

No Krull? Arabian? Space Ace? 😜

[@thelairdslair]

Nope, not a massive fan of any of those.

[@Barghaest]

@@thelairdslair Fair enough. I do feel Space Ace was a step above Dragon’s Lair because it allowed multiple paths to victory unlike the original being so linear. You could beat the game as Dexter without ever becoming Space Ace when given the opportunity but you could also beat the game using Space Ace when the option was available.