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Your favorite lesser-known arcade games?

B

Buffy4ever

Banned
Joe Molotov said:
Legend of Valkyrie

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And bit more recent...

Planet Harrier

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this had a port on the PC Engine in Japan. Also Elvator action Return had a home port on the saturn. I guess some of the obscure games had Poerts in Japan, just many people don't know about them.
 
T

TheIkariWarrior

Member
I never got to contribute to this thread, so please don't be angry with me for 'bumping' it, k? :)

Metamoqester / The Ninja Master - Banpresto
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Guwange - Atlus / Cave
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Last Mission - Data East
(kinda like the little-seen Thunder Force I and overhead levels of TFII)
lastmisn-flyerb.jpg

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Bonk's Adventure / B.C. Kid / Kyukyoku!! PC Genjin / Ultimate PC Genjin - Kaneko
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M

Mar

Member
Dark Seal

darkseal1.png


Amazing game that I played far too much of. Also, one of the hardest games to beat on one credit back in the day. The last boss was BRUTAL. I kid you not, I would have a crowd of people cheering me on when fighting the last guy on one credit.

darkseal2.jpg


4 characters to choose from. This was the games way to mix up the gameplay as well as increasing the difficulty. The hardest guy to complete the game with is the knight. Fighting the last boss with the knight was so mother ****ing hard. You had to kill the second last boss in record time whilst wearing speed boots to ensure you had enough time with the boots to fight the last guy. It required a high amount of strat and skill.

darkseal3.png


One of the early bosses. The game was very faithful to D&D rules. You even had critical hits.

This game along with Cadash (much more well known) are some of the best fantasy D&D games ever made.
 
S

sphinx

the piano man
Martoo said:
Dark Seal
Click to expand...

this game was known as " gates of doom " at my local arcade.

I also tried to finish it with one credit and never managed to beat the final boss. It was just impossible. I thought the ninja was the only character capable of making it through the whole game til the end.

the bard and the knight were so slow that it was virtually impossble to get through the bosses without the boots which appeared once every death of a pope.

are you serious when you said you made it through the whole game with the knight with just one credit??? I can't believe it.
 
DCharlie

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
dark seal 2 isn't as good as dark seal 1 unfortunately.

Hmm...

did i already mention Penguin Brothers? That's pretty awesome.

The Outfoxies
Gunhooki
Ninja baseball bat man
Dancing Eyes
Great Ragtime Show
hmm.. there's a lot!
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
A lot of things mentioned here shouldn't be in this thread...

GhaleonEB said:
Ninja Warriors. I still have the music to the first level memorized. Such a great game.
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Sidescrolling action game, right? Released on the SNES in the US and Japan and the Sega CD in Japan... Sega CD is closer to the arcade version, I think. *checks* PC Engine too, in Japan.

_leech_ said:
Cyber-Lip...
...and Magician Lord.[/IMG]
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The Neo-Geo AES was a home system... sure, a very expensive home system, but a home system nonetheless. Only Neo-Geo arcade games that didn't come out on homecart would qualify for this thread...

I see a lot of Neo-Geo games being mentioned in this thread, not just these, and none of them (excepting a very few titles) should be. The Neo-Geo (AES) WAS a console!

big_z said:
California Speed -non shit version
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I've played it in the arcade, and I don't know if I'd say that the N64 version was THAT different. Even in the arcade, it wasn't as good as Cruis'n USA, much less Midway's best racing games of the time...

big_z said:
Alien Syndrome
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Released on the Sega Master System.


As for some of my own games that belong on this list, how about GunForce 2? The first GunForce game (mediocre Contra clone that I kind of like anyway probably due to nostalgia) had a SNES port, but the second one, which was made by the team that next developed Metal Slug, was arcade only, and awesome...
 
DCharlie

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
yup - if you like single screen platformers , also see Penguin Brothers.

I'm trying to get a small write up on it on my website - will post once done.
 
E

Emowii

Banned
Jambo Safari from Sega.

It was this fun animal catching game, where you drove a jeep around and tried to round up wild animals. It's was really quite awesome, and I was so dissapointed that it never recieved a Dreamcast port.


In fact, I was quite pissed that a lot of arcade games didn't get Dreamcast ports, considering how easy Naomi ports were at the time.



sJambo!_Safari.jpg
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T

TheIkariWarrior

Member
Aurail. a pretty obscure SEGA/Westone game on garden-variety SEGA hardware--same board that powered Altered Beast, Golden Axe among others.

very fun tank game.

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when I played this game emu'd for the first time a few years back, I yearned for a 16-bit sequel to Herzog Zwei with System16 quality audio-visuals :D


Emowii said:
Jambo Safari from Sega.
Click to expand...

I was very irritated that one didn't come home :(
 
M

Mar

Member
sphinx said:
are you serious when you said you made it through the whole game with the knight with just one credit??? I can't believe it.
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Yeah. As I said, it was unbelievably hard, and you had to literaly throttle past the second last guy to ensure you had enough speed boot time left for the last guy. Even then, the boots usually ran out about half way through the fight. I wasn't joking when I said I used to attract a crowd for that particular fight. My friend could also do it and was the first to finish it with the knight on one credit in our area. You should have heard the cheers erupt in the arcade when he did it.

It was nearly impossible and remained my greatest gaming achievment for many years.

The Bard is actually the easiest character to finish the game with. He's the 'jack of all trades, master of none' character. Meaning he's average at everything yet fast enough, tough enough and does enough damage.
 
W

woxel1

Member
TheIkariWarrior said:
that game is VERY well-known.
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Listen, I played it and fell in love with it but I couldn't figure out its name for a while so it's magical to me. Also I have no friends who know what a S.T.U.N. Runner is so, um, point noted?

TheIkariWarrior said:
I was very irritated [Jambo Safari] didn't come home :(
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That game would be perfect on the Wii. Driving and casting... damn.
 
T

TheIkariWarrior

Member
woxel1 said:
Listen, I played it and fell in love with it but I couldn't figure out its name for a while so it's magical to me. Also I have no friends who know what a S.T.U.N. Runner is so, um, point noted?
Click to expand...

okay, okay. it's cool.
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
Ebenscrux said:
Gotta agree with Stun Runner. Add Cheyenne and that's my list.
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I'm assuming that Midway Arcade Treasures 3 doesn't count, then (or Midway Arcade Treasures 1 for the earlier mentioned Toobin')... I know it wasn't exactly the greatest port (S.T.U.N. Runner had speed problems), but it was released anyway...
 
I

Ignatz Mouse

Banned
Mad Planets
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Reactor

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Cosmic Chasm

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I agree with Vanguard above as well.

Pretty much a whole ton of pre-1985 arcade games not made by Atari, Midway, Williams, Namco, Konami, Capcom, or Nintendo. Those companies have all done collections, but companies like Gottlieb, Universal, Cinematronics, and smaller companies have had their games vanish over time. Sega and Taito have many uncollected games as well, such as

Star Trek

yStar_Trek.png
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
Ebenscrux said:
Hmm...didn't realize that Runner was in a comp.

Cheyenne never saw a release on a home system though. Bad game though it was, I still loved it.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?...C&game_id=7325
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Midway Arcade Treasures 3 was pretty horribly badly done technically, sadly... unconfigurable controls (I hope you like R for accelerate in all eight games...), speed problems in STUN Runner, long load times in Off-Road Thunder and some others, horrible framerates in 4-player race and stunt modes in Rush 2049, no multiplayer for games that had multiplayer via linked arcade units (the only multiplayer is for single-system multiplayer games, namely Badlands and Super Off-Road, and console ports, namely Hydro Thunder and Rush 2049 (which are badly done straight ports of the DC versions)... Off-Road Thunder and Rush the Rock: Alcatraz Edition, single player only? What the heck?

So yeah, it was a horribly dissapointing collection. S.T.U.N. Runner and Super Off-Road (along with its track pack) almost make it worth getting though... (Ironman Ivan Stewart's, sans "Ironman Ivan Stewart's" in this port) Super Off-Road is one of the great arcade racing games. :) I wouldn't really call it 'unknown' though, so I don't think it really qualifies here... it was pretty popular, I think.
 
S

speculawyer

Member
Space War.

Yeah, I know . . . it is a very famous game in computer game history due to its 1962 appears on the PDP-1, but the arcade game seemed relatively rare.
 
A

Andrew2

Banned
KyanMehwulfe said:
The two Dungeons & Dragons games and Knights of the Round Table.
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I agree with those.... but anyhow....

Warzard - Capcom
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9625

Cadash - Taito
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=C&game_id=7254

Star Wars Trilogy Arcade - SEGA
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9777

Lost World: Jurassic Park - SEGA
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=L&game_id=8457


Alien Front - SEGA

Emergency Call Ambulance - SEGA
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=E&game_id=7706

Virtua Fighter Kids - SEGA
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=V&game_id=10334

Sonic Champions - SEGA
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=S&game_id=9625

Metamorphic Force - Konami
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8680

Tokyo Wars - Namco
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=T&game_id=10142



Of those, I would Metamorphic Force kicked butt. If anything I would say the game piss on and rape Altered Beast in every other way.

Other than that its kinda sad that Konami haven't done a thing with MF seeing how great the game was and its deserving of a sequel....
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
speculawyer said:
Space War.

Yeah, I know . . . it is a very famous game in computer game history due to its 1962 appears on the PDP-1, but the arcade game seemed relatively rare.
Click to expand...

Do you mean (Nolan Bushnell's) Computer Space? It was pretty much Spacewar arcade.

"IN THE HUNT"
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Ported to the PSX and Saturn...
 
T

TheIkariWarrior

Member
Kageki by Romstar, Taito (also translated to the MegaDrive-Genesis)
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.

a somewhat rare breed of game; horizontally scrolling WWII shmups.

USAAF Mustang by UPL (translated to the MegaDrive, as Fire Mustang)

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.

P-47 Freedom Fighter / Phantom Fighter (translated to the NEC PC-Engine)
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.


P-47 Aces (arcade-only)
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S

SickBoy

Member
A couple of games I only played a couple of times but had a blast playing:

Strikeforce, which was a Defender-style game with sort of Smash TV-era art style and crazy powerups (including little Marine dudes who'd hang off your ship and shoot at crap).

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=9845

...and Diet Go-Go, which was very much in the vein of Snow Bros., but it seemed really ludicrous at the time and playing it with friends was hilarious.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7580

Others that are better known include Exciting Hour... and I'm not sure if it's well known or not (or if it's really actually a good game), but I loved the premise of Time Soldiers... or really any game which featured time travel (hi, Time Pilot!)
 
I

Ignatz Mouse

Banned
coldvein said:
Lucky & Wild.


somebody else find and post pics please.
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klov.com

BTW, there was Space War in the arcade as well as Computer Space. It was one of the first videogames I remember playing, although it must have been after Asteroids came out, because I thought it was inspired by that. Of course, I had it backwards, and it's older than Asteroids.
 
S

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
Caliber .50 bitches..
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.
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.
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I remember being amazed at all the shells flying everywhere everytime you or an enemy fired. Also you could kill the livestock IIRC
 
S

SonSon2

Member
flyersm.jpg


Is that Andy Dick?

Anyway, see if anyone can figure out this one that has haunted me a while:
Early to mid nineties space shooter in the vein of asteroids on steroids so to speak. The ship had three forms you could change into at any time, a large, medium, and small ship. If you got hit in any form, you lost it. You get hit in all three forms, game over.
 
T

Trakdown

Member
China Gate by Romstar
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Fun, but damn short (4 stages only), with 2 player co-op.

Operation Thunderbolt
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Sequel to Operation Wolf, with two player support. I remember it for the loud voice you heard upon dying:

"YOU ARE DEAD."
 
M

muckhole

Member
I had a pretty intense love/hate relationship ship with Hippodrome.

hippodrome3.jpg


hippodrome.jpg


hippodrome2.jpg


Frustrated me to hell and back, but I played it every time I went to the arcade. I don't think I ever did beat it.
 
O

onegoodlogan

Member
KONAMI%20-%20METAMORPHIC%20FORCE%201993.jpg


I blew a ton of quarters on this one at the movie theater back in the day.
Man, I miss the overabundance of 4-player beat-em-ups in the 90's.
 
D

Dr Zhivago

Member
SonSon2 said:
Anyway, see if anyone can figure out this one that has haunted me a while:
Early to mid nineties space shooter in the vein of asteroids on steroids so to speak. The ship had three forms you could change into at any time, a large, medium, and small ship. If you got hit in any form, you lost it. You get hit in all three forms, game over.
Click to expand...

Blasteroids?
 
D

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Most of these are fairly popular games.

Not sure it's been listed, but ProGear No Arashi, by Cave and published/distributed by Capcom is a gaming experience no shooter fan should miss. Plays perfectly on the PSP too.

pgnagy1.jpg
 
P

PepsimanVsJoe

Member
DaCocoBrova said:
Most of these are fairly popular games.

Not sure it's been listed, but ProGear No Arashi, by Cave and published/distributed by Capcom is a gaming experience no shooter fan should miss. Plays perfectly on the PSP too.
Click to expand...

Damn the intro to that game was sad. All those people get killed as you fly out of the hangar.
Only thing I didn't like about the game was that all of the bullets were the same color.
 
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