Top 150 Arcade Games Results Thread

[jfbop37]

Along with MKII

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

10. Dragon's Lair

Dragon's Lair was one of the first laserdisc video games, released in June 1983 by Cinematronics. It featured animation created by former Disney animator Don Bluth. Most other games of the era represented the character as a sprite, which consisted of a series of bitmaps animated by playing them in succession. However due to hardware limitations of the era, artists were greatly restricted in the detail they could achieve using that technique; the resolution, framerate and number of frames were severely constrained. Dragon's Lair overcame those limitations by tapping into the vast storage potential of laserdisc, but imposed other limitations on the actual gameplay.

The game's enormous contrast with other arcade games of the time created a sensation when it appeared, and was played so heavily that many machines often broke due to the strain of overuse. It was also arguably the most successful game on this medium and is aggressively sought after by collectors.

Dragon's Lair features the hero, "Dirk the Daring", attempting to rescue "Princess Daphne" from the evil dragon Singe holed up in a wizard's castle. The screen shows animated scenes, and the player executes an action by selecting a direction or pressing the sword button with correct timing. The comedy of the game stemmed from not only the bizarre looking creatures and death scenes, but the fact that while Dirk was a skilled knight, he was somewhat clumsy in his efforts and was a reluctant hero, prone to shrieking and reacting in horror to the various dangers he encounters.

The attract mode of the game displays various short vignettes of gameplay with the accompanying narration:

"Dragon's Lair: The fantasy adventure where you become a valiant knight, on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon. You control the actions of a daring adventurer, finding his way through the castle of a dark wizard, who has enchanted it with treacherous monsters and obstacles. In the mysterious caverns below the castle, your odyssey continues against the awesome forces that oppose your efforts to reach the Dragon's Lair. Lead on, adventurer. Your quest awaits!"
Instead of controlling the character's actions directly, players control his reflexes, with different full motion video (FMV) segments playing for correct or incorrect choices.

A quote from a Newsweek article (August 8, 1983) captures the level of excitement displayed over the game during that time:

Dragon's Lair is this summer's hottest new toy: the first arcade game in the United States with a movie-quality image to go along with the action... The game has been devouring kids' coins at top speed since it appeared early in July. Said Robert Romano, 10, who waited all day in the crush at Castle Park without getting to play, "It's the most awesome game I've ever seen in my life."
Dragon's Lair was also one of the first arcade games to cost USD$0.50 (or two "credits") for a single play, twice as much as games traditionally cost up until that time.

Rick Dyer was inspired by the text game Adventure. This game gave rise to an invention he dubbed "The Fantasy Machine." This device went through many incarnations from a rudimentary computer using paper tape (with illustrations and text) to a system that manipulated a videodisc containing mostly still images and narration. The game it played was a graphic adventure called The Secrets of the Lost Woods.[1]

Attempts to market The Fantasy Machine had repeatedly failed. Allegedly, an Ideal Toy Company representative walked out in the middle of one presentation.

His inspiration allegedly came during his viewing of The Secret of NIMH, whereby he realized he needed quality animation and an action script to bring excitement to his game.

He elected to take a reserved but as of yet unscripted location from The Secrets of the Lost Woods known as The Dragon's Lair.

Dragon's Lair began as a concept by Rick Dyer, president of Advanced Microcomputer Systems (which later became RDI Video Systems). A team of game designers created the characters and locations, then choreographed Dirk's movements as he encountered the monsters and obstacles in the castle. The art department at AMS created storyboards for each episode as a guide for the final animation.

The game was animated by veteran Disney animator Don Bluth and his studio. Development was done on a shoestring budget, cost US$1 million and took seven months to complete. Since the studio couldn't afford to hire any models, the animators used photos from Playboy magazines for inspiration for the character Princess Daphne. The animators also used their own voices for all the characters instead of hiring actors in order to keep costs down, although it does feature one professional voice actor: Michael Rye as the narrator in the attract sequence (he is also the narrator for Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II).

Dirk the Daring's voice belongs to film editor Dan Molina, who later went on to perform the bubbling sound effects for another animated character, Fish Out of Water, from 2005's Disney film Chicken Little, which he also edited. Dirk shrieks or makes other noises on numerous occasions but speaks words only twice. First, he mutters "Uh, oh" when the platform begins to recede during the fire-swinging sequence, then he exclaims "Wow!" when first entering the Dragon's Lair and laying eyes on the slumbering Princess Daphne.

The music and many sound effects were scored and performed by Chris Stone at EFX Systems in Burbank. Bryan Rusenko and Glen Berkovitz were the recording engineers. The 43 second "Attract Loop" was recorded in a straight 18 hour session. Featured instruments, all keyboards, were the E-mu Emulator and Memory MOOG.

The original laserdisc players shipped with the game (Pioneer LD-V1000 or PR-7820) often broke. Though the Pioneer players were fine in quality, the laserdisc players just weren't built to undergo the strain Dragon's Lair imposed. Laserdisc players were designed primarily for playing movies, which resulted in a gradual movement of the laser assembly across the disc as the data was read linearly. However Dragon's Lair would seek to different locations on the disc every few seconds to access specific animation sequences as dictated by gameplay. The massive amount of seeking, coupled with the raw amount of hours the hardware was required to operate, could result in failure of the laserdisc player in a relatively short amount of time. The fact that the game was immensely popular and almost continuously played didn't help matters. As a result, the laserdisc player often had to be repaired or replaced.

It is rare to find a Dragon's Lair game intact with the original player. There are conversion kits available to use more modern laserdisc players in American games.

The original USA 1983 game used a single side NTSC laserdisc player manufactured by Pioneer, the other side was metal backed to prevent disc bending. The European versions of the game were manufactured by Atari under license and used single side PAL discs manufactured by Philips (not metal backed). Philips was also the supplier of the laserdisc players for the European games which were of course different from the American ones.

The European arcade version of Dragon's Lair was licensed to Atari Ireland (as was Space Ace later). The cabinet design was therefore different from the Cinematronics version. The main differences were that the LED digital scoring panel was replaced with an on screen scoring display appearing after each level. The Atari branding was present in various places on the machine (marquee, coin slots, control panel and speaker grill area), and the machines featured the cone LED player start button used extensively on Atari machines. Although licensing for this region was exclusive to Atari, a number of Cinematronics machines were also available from suppliers mostly via a gray import.

The original Fantasy Machine was later released as a prototype video game console known as Halcyon.

Various home computer adaptations of Dragon's Lair were released during the 1980s and 1990s but because of (at the time) high memory consumption due to the detailed animation of the games, not all the scenes from the original game were included. This led to Escape from Singe's Castle, a pseudo-sequel where Daphne is kidnapped at the moment of Dirk's victory by a shapeshifter, forcing him to venture even further into the castle to save her again. The game was comprised of unused scenes from the laserdisc version, though some portions (such as the lizard king and mud men) were shortened. The 8-bit versions were created by Software Projects, while Readysoft handled the 16-bit versions. These used video compression and new storage techniques, but came on multiple 3.5" floppy disks.

The game also led to the creation of a short-lived television cartoon series by Ruby-Spears Productions (in which the originally nameless Dragon was given the name Singe, and Princess Daphne now wore a long pink dress). Thirteen half-hour episodes were produced. The show was generally run of the mill, but boasted an unusual feature: to keep the show in the spirit of the game, before each commercial break a narrator would ask what the viewer would do to solve the problem facing Dirk. After the commercial break, the outcomes of the various choices were shown before Dirk acts on the correct idea (with the occasional exception) to save the day.

A comic book mini series based on the game, but incorporating elements from the cartoon series as well, like Dirk's horse Bertram, was released in 2003 by Crossgen Publishing, concurrent with a mini series based on Space Ace. Arcana Studio is currently publishing the entire comic book series in 2006 as there were three issues that were never before published.

The game inspired a sequel (disregarding the Escape from Singe's Castle as one), Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp, created shortly after the original, but released in 1991. It also led to the creation of 1984's Space Ace, another game animated by Don Bluth and his crew.

Dragon's Lair III: Curse of Mordread was made for Amiga and DOS in 1992, mixing original footage with scenes from Time Warp that were not included in the original PC release due to memory constraints.

In late 2002, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the original arcade release of the smash hit, Digital Leisure Inc. produced a special edition DVD box set of the three arcade classics that defined laser disc arcade games: Dragon’s Lair, Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp. All the scenes from the original arcade releases were included and optionally the player could select new scenes that were animated in 1983, but not included in any previous Dragon’s Lair release. The games were also updated to include higher quality video, authentic scene order and a new difficulty selection to make it more challenging for Dragon’s Lair pros. Digital Leisure worked with a small independent game developer, Derek Sweet, to release a CD-ROM 4-Disc Box Set for Windows based PCs.

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair was developed in 2002, as a 3D interpretation of the game for Microsoft Windows, Xbox, GameCube and the PS2.

In 2005, Digital Leisure created a new Dragon's Lair III which utilized 3D footage from Dragon's Lair 3D, but controlled via a system like the original arcade games.

In Late 2006, Digital Leisure released "Dragon's Lair HD", which features an all-new High-Definition transfer from the original negatives (as opposed to just sourcing the laserdisc). The original mono soundtrack has also been remastered into Dolby Digital 5.1 sound (on PCs that can support it).

According to Don Bluth and Gary Goldman a Dragon's Lair movie has been scripted and is ready to go into production once financing for the project is in place. The film will be in the classic, traditional 2D animation style.

On April 9, 2007, a Blu-Ray version of Dragon's Lair was released. This uses the same HD transfer as the aforementioned PC release, but went through a 6 month process to clean and remaster the image. Dragon's Lair Blu-Ray is the first title to fully utilize BD-J technology.[1] An HD DVD version has also been announced by Digital Leisure with an August 15th release date.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1991. A sequel to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) arcade game, it is a scrolling beat 'em up based on the 80s TMNT animated series. It was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time in 1992. That same year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist was released for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and featured many elements from Turtles in Time. The arcade version of Turtles in Time was also included as an unlockable bonus in the 2005 game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, but with different music, slightly altered graphics, and no score counter.

When a player starts a new game, the introduction cut scene of the game is played. It begins with April O'Neil reporting from Liberty Island. Suddenly, Krang flies in using a giant exosuit (which was also seen occasionally in the animated series) and steals the Statue of Liberty, moments before Shredder hijacks the airwaves to laugh at the Turtles. The Turtles jump into action in downtown New York and pursue the Foot to the streets and the city sewers (then to the Technodrome in the SNES version), where Shredder sends them through a time warp. The Turtles must fight Shredder's army in both the past and the future in order to get home.

Up to four players can take control of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. As usual in the 80s and 90s TMNT games, Donatello has slower attacks but a longer range, Michelangelo and Raphael have fast attacks but a short range, and Leonardo is a well-rounded Turtle with average range and speed. In addition to this, each Turtle has a special attack, an idea introduced in the previous console game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project. New features in this game include the ability to make a power-attack by hitting an enemy several times in a row, and the ability to grab Foot Soldiers and either use them as weapons to attack surrounding enemies or to throw them out of the game, towards the camera.

The controls are fairly straightforward. The eight-way joystick controls the movements of the Turtle, the jump button makes them jump and the attack button makes them hit in front of them using their weapon. In addition to this, some combinations are possible. By using the joystick in conjunction with one of the two buttons, or by pressing both buttons in succession or at once, the player can make the Turtle run, perform a slide or dash attack, jump higher, perform a stationary or directed air attack, or perform his special attack.

The levels of the SNES port of the game, discussed further down, were close to those of the original arcade game. The SMD/SG port of the game had drastically different levels, but did at times reuse parts of the arcade game's levels.

The first levels of the game are set in New York City, in the present. The game begins on a high-rise construction platform in the level "Big Apple, 3AM", and then moves on to the streets in "Alleycat Blues". Next is "Sewer Surfin'", the first of two surfing levels in the game. While it is a normal stage in the arcade game, in the SNES port it was changed to a bonus stage in which the Turtles can pick up question-mark pizza boxes and kill enemies for extra points. Furthermore, in the arcade version, this level has no boss. Instead, Shredder's face appears against the far wall, and he immediately sends the Turtles into the time warp. In the SNES version, the level has a boss, and in the following cut scene the Turtles watch as the Technodrome rises up from the ground, and they jump in.

Next in the SNES game is a two-part level set in the Technodrome and called "Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell!" This level is not present at all in the arcade version.[5] The first part of the level is a normal side-scrolling level, like most others in the game. The second part of the level is an elevator-type level, the only one of its kind in the game. The Turtles remain on the screen-wide elevator as it goes up, and at each floor new enemies come in to attack. When the elevator reaches the top level and the last enemies are defeated, the right-side door opens, and the Turtles exit to face another boss. After they defeat it, Shredder sends the Turtles into the time warp, and the game proceeds as in the Arcade version.

The first time-travel level of the game, "Prehistoric Turtlesaurus", is set in the distant past, 2.5 billion years ago. In the game, this time-period corresponds to the thick forests and caves of a world ruled by dinosaurs, although in reality this date is at the limit between the Paleoproterozoic and Archean eras, neither of which had dinosaurs nor vegetation. The next two levels are "Skull and Crossbones" and "Bury my Shell at Wounded Knee" (a play on the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), and they are set on a pirate ship in 1530 and a train in the American Old West in 1885, respectively.

The next two levels of the game are set in the future. The first, "Neon Night-Riders", is set in a science fictional version of 2020. It is also the second surfing level of the game, and in the arcade version is a side-scrolling level much like "Sewer Surfin'". In the SNES version however, it exploits Mode 7 to gain a third-person view from the back of the Turtles, save for the boss battle which switches back to the normal side-view. Furthermore, like "Sewer Surfin'", this is a bonus level on the SNES, and there are question-mark pizza boxes that the Turtles can pick up for extra points. Finally, the last time-travel level is "Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before"; where it takes place in the year 2100 on a space colony. The name "where no turtle has gone before" is a play on the famous Star Trek quote "Where no man has gone before".

The game returns to the present (1991) for the final boss battle of the game. Unlike the other levels, "Technodrome: The Final Shell-Shock" is composed only of the boss battle, and there is no area for the Turtles to walk through beforehand. The Statue of Liberty, which Krang stole in the beginning of the game, is visible in the background of the fight arena.

The majority of enemies encountered in the game are Foot Soldiers. These soldiers wear a different uniform colour depending on the weapon they carry. The most common of them are the purple Foot Soldiers. They are empty-handed, and attack by punching or kicking the Turtles. They also have the ability to grab and hold the Turtles by the shoulders, leaving them open to attack. Although they usually walk into the screen from the sides or enter from a door in the background like the other enemies, they also have at least one special entry method unique to each level of the game. For example, they can be seen jumping out of hiding places in the background, riding on-screen on the back of horses or velociraptors, or teleporting into action.

Foot Soldiers dressed in one of six other colours are armed with traditional ninja weapons, such as sai, shuriken, tonfa or nunchaku. Each weapon gives the Foot Soldiers a different attack range, strength, speed and strategy. For example, the Foot Soldiers armed with a katana tend to jump and attack the Turtles from above, while those carrying a boomerang will keep their distance and attack from afar.

After the Foot Soldiers, the most common enemies faced by the Turtles are the Stone Warriors. Unlike the Foot Soldiers, many of these enemies are armed with modern long-range weapons such as machine guns, bazookas, grenade launchers, or futuristic rayguns. They appear in all time-travel levels starting from "Prehistoric Turtlesaurus", with the exception of "Neon Night-Riders".

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the game features some level-specific enemies that only appear in one or two levels. They include the Chunky Cheese Pizza Monsters found in the "Sewer Surfin'" level, the futuristic A6 Annihilators that appear in the "Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before" level, and the boxing robots encountered in the arcade version of the "Alleycat Blues" and "Neon Night-Riders" levels. These boxing robots were eliminated from the SNES version of the game.

The SNES game featured two additional kinds of enemies.[5] The first are the Roadkill Rodneys, which replaced the boxing robots in the "Alleycat Blues" level and were in the extra "Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell!" level. And the second are the Mousers, found in the "Technodrome: Let's Kick Shell!" and "Neon Night-Riders" levels.

Bosses & Levels are:
* Baxter Stockman (Mutated Fly Form) - Big Apple, 3 A.M.
* Metalhead - Alleycat Blues
* None - Sewer Surfin'
* Cement Man - 2500000000 B.C.: Prehistoric Turtlesaurus
* Tokka & Rahzar - 1530 A.D.: Skull & Crossbones
* Leatherhead - 1885 A.D.: Bury My Shell At Wounded Knee
* Super Krang - 2020 A.D.: Neon Night-Riders
* Krang In A Spaceship - 2100 A.D.: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before
* Shredder - Technodrome: The Final Shell-Shock

All the bosses are characters from the TV series that was airing at the time the game was released, with the exception of Tokka and Rhazar who appeared in the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze. An odd addition to the boss line-up was Cement Man, a monster that was brought to life by Baxter Stockman in the episode "Curse of the Evil Eye"[11] and was never seen afterwards. In the SNES game, he was replaced by a more common character, Slash.

The battles against Shredder varies substantially between the arcade and SNES games. In the arcade version, Shredder, as he appeared in the cartoon, is the final boss of the game. In the SNES game, there are two battles against Shredder. The first one is at the end of a regular level, and is a unique puzzle boss battle. Indeed, the Turtles cannot attack Shredder directly, and must throw Foot Soldiers at his battle tank in order to damage it. The Turtles later face Shredder as the final boss, as in the arcade game. However, in the SNES and SMD/SG versions of the game, Shredder mutates himself into Super-Shredder before the battle. This mutation never happened on the cartoon series, and is inspired by the second TMNT movie.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

8. Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!! is a 1984 boxing arcade game by Nintendo. It was the first in a series of successful games that produced an arcade sequel known as Super Punch-Out!!, a spin-off of the series titled Arm Wrestling, a highly popular version for the NES originally known as Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, and Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES. The arcade game introduced recurring video games characters such as Glass Joe, Piston Hurricane, Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman.

In the game, the player assumes the role of a green-haired boxer, known by three initials the player chooses when the game begins. During matches, the player's boxer is viewed from behind as a wireframe (so the opponents can be seen). The player must time his punches, dodges and blocks in order to defeat the opposing boxer. Hints are given as to the opponents next move by subtle eye changes (the white of the eyes turn from white to yellow), but the player must ultimately predict what moves the opponent will make and react appropriately.

The figures in the game are cartoonish, but are appropriate for the game's genre. The player faces a total of six opponents, in the following order:
* Glass Joe
* Piston Hurricane
* Bald Bull
* Kid Quick
* Pizza Pasta
* Mr. Sandman

Once the player defeats Mr. Sandman, the opponents repeat, with the exception of "Kid Quick". "Pizza Pasta" does not return after his second defeat. On each successive round the opponents are harder and quicker. The player only has one round to land a KO. Technically, there is no TKO element for multiple knockdowns, but the "3 knockdown rule" is utilized nonetheless; no boxer ever gets up from his third knockdown. Additionally, a win by decision is not possible; an automatic loss occurs if time runs out. In the event the player loses, the computer controlled victor will taunt the player and the corner man for the player will try to entice the player to play again ("Come on, stand up and fight!") via the game's distinctive digitized speech. Players are only allowed one continue per play through. Like many games made during the Golden Age of Arcade Games, there is no actual ending and continuously loops until the player loses.

The game is a modified upright, and was unusual in that it requires two monitors, one atop the other, for the game's display. The top monitor is used to display statistics while the bottom one is the main game display (similar to Nintendo's Multi-Screen Game & Watch titles and the Nintendo DS). Apart from this, the game is more or a less a standard upright. The game has a joystick and three buttons. Two buttons control left and right punches, one for each arm (denoted by "Left!", or "Right!" when hitting the head, or "body blow!" when hitting the body with either arm). A large button on the console is pressed to deliver an uppercut or right hook, though the blow can be delivered only if a certain number of normal punches are landed on the opponent, so that the "KO" indicator on the display reads full. When the indicator reads full, it flashes and the corner man's digitized speech encourages the player to either "Put him away!", or "Knock him out!".

During the same year, an arcade sequel to Punch-Out!! titled Super Punch-Out!! was developed and released by the same company, which has fewer, but tougher boxers to fight against. In 1985, a spin-off called Arm Wrestling was developed and released in the arcades only in North America by the same company, which is based on real arm wrestling. In 1987, the growing popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) caused the development and release of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! for the NES console to happen. Several elements, such as opponents and their names, were changed for this version. In particular, professional boxer Mike Tyson was added as the game's final boss to promote his success in becoming a champion. The home game's graphics and gameplay are also significantly different, to the point it cannot be considered a direct port of the arcade Punch-Out!!. In 1990, when the contract licensing the use of Mike Tyson's name in the console version expired, Nintendo replaced Mike Tyson with an original character name Mr. Dream, re-releasing it as Punch-Out!! (a.k.a. Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream). Like Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream bore no further resemblance to the arcade version. During its release, the Game & Watch game called Boxing was rereleased as "Punch-Out!!", which used the front box art of the Mr. Dream version as its package art. In 1994, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System title, Super Punch-Out!! was developed and released. It was far more faithful to the arcade stand-up gameplay, however, it was not a direct port either.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

7. Super Street Fighter II Turbo

An update of Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II X — Grand Master Challenge (known as Super Street Fighter II Turbo outside Japan and abbreviated as Super Turbo, ST or SSF2T), was released in 1994 and featured enhanced speed and difficulty, as well as the first appearance of the then-secret fighter Akuma. It also was the first game in the series to have "super combo" moves. The game was ported to the 3DO in the same year, with an exclusive remixed soundtrack, which has since been added into other compilations of the Street Fighter franchise including the console version of Hyper Street Fighter II. It was later also ported to the PC, the Amiga (AGA only), the Sega Dreamcast as part of Capcom's Matching Service which allowed for head-to-head online combat, the PlayStation and Sega Saturn as part of Street Fighter Collection, and the PlayStation 2 and Xbox as part of Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2. A new version titled Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is scheduled for release on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in Summer 2008.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo introduced the concept of inputting a code to play as the old "Super" character if the player did not like the "Turbo" character. The character would play like how they would in Super Street Fighter II, with small differences. For example, Old Sagat can now cancel his short kick into any special move, whereas in Super Street Fighter II he couldn't.

This method has its strengths and weaknesses. Old characters cannot do the Super Combo moves and they cannot flip out of a throw. On the other hand, some features are considered welcome, such as at the start of a Dragon Punch, Old Ken and Old Ryu are completely invincible and cannot be hit out of it (Super Street Fighter II Turbo Ken and Super Street Fighter II Turbo Ryu can be hit out of it at any point).

Super Street Fighter II Turbo also saw the introduction of the series' first hidden character, Akuma. Should the player succeed in defeating all preliminary opponents, as well as Balrog, Vega and Sagat without using any continues (or to a greater extent, without losing rounds), he will reveal himself. Once the player reaches M. Bison, at the start of the round Akuma will warp in, and dispose of Bison using the Shun Goku Satsu. There is no name on Akuma's lifebar, the portrait is completely black and different music is playing. If you lose to Akuma and continue, you will fight Bison instead.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

6. Mortal Kombat II

Mortal Kombat II (also referred to as MKII or Mortal Kombat 2) is an arcade game and the second title in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. Storywise, the events before and during this game are portrayed in Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.

Mortal Kombat II is an extension of the game system of Mortal Kombat. A few normal moves have been added (crouching punch, for example). The roundhouse kick was made more powerful in part II, and like the uppercut, launched opponents into the air. Additionally returning characters gained new special moves. The game also introduced multiple fatalities, as well as additional finishing moves to the franchise. However, each character still shared generic attributes – speed, power, jump height and airtime – and all normal moves were similar between each character. As with its predecessor, the only thing differentiating each character were their appearance, special moves, hit detection, and finishing moves. This has also led to the similar criticism of the fighting system being very shallow and lacking any real character depth. However, the game plays slightly faster and much more smoothly than the original.

As with its predecessor, matches in the game are divided into rounds. The first player to win two rounds, by fully depleting his/her opponent's life bar is the winner. At this point the loser's character will become dazed and the winner is given the option of using a finishing move. In addition to the fatalities of its predecessor, the winner could also use babalities, friendships, and stage specific fatalities.

This game also drops the point system from its predecessor, in favor of a win tally.

The characters of Mortal Kombat II have a less digitized and more hand-drawn look to them than in the first game. Both the theme and art style of the game are slightly darker, although with a more vibrant color palette employed. Also, the graphics system now uses a much richer color depth than in the previous game. Mortal Kombat II also strays from the severe oriental theme of its predecessor, though it does retain the original motive in some aspects, as in some of the music. Finally, the nature of the game is slightly less serious with the addition of trivial and 'joke' fatalities and the addition of the alternative finishing moves.

Returning characters are:
* Johnny Cage (Daniel Pesina): A Hollywood movie star who joins Liu Kang in his journey to Outworld.
* Liu Kang (Ho Sung Pak): The Shaolin monk who is the reigning champion of Mortal Kombat. Travels to Outworld to seek revenge for the death of his fellow monks.
* Raiden (Carlos Pesina): The Thunder god who returns to Mortal Kombat to stop Shao Kahn's evil plans of taking the Earthrealm for his own.
* Reptile (Daniel Pesina): Shang Tsung's personal bodyguard.
* Scorpion (Daniel Pesina): The Hell-spawned spectre who returns to the tournament to once again assassinate Sub-Zero, the man who he believed to be the murderer of his family.
* Shang Tsung (Dr. Phillip Ahn, M.D.): The evil sorcerer who has convinced Shao Kahn to spare his life after losing the last tournament, with a new evil plan to appease his master Shao Kahn, who in turn also restores Tsung's youth, making him more mobile and agile.
* Sub-Zero (Daniel Pesina): The younger and merciful brother of the original Sub-Zero, sent to assassinate Shang Tsung.

New characters are:
* Baraka (Richard Divizio): Tarkatan warlord, responsible for the assault to the Shaolin temple.
* Jax Briggs (John Parrish): A member of the U.S. Special Forces and a longtime comrade of Sonya Blade, who enters the tournament to rescue her from Shao Kahn.
* Kitana (Katalin Zamiar): Shao Kahn's personal assassin and stepdaughter.
* Kung Lao (Anthony Marquez): Shaolin monk and best friend of Liu Kang, who seeks to avenge the destruction of the Shaolin Temple.
* Mileena (Katalin Zamiar): Shao Kahn's personal assassin and clone of Kitana.

Boss and sub-bosses are:
* Shang Tsung
* Kintaro (Stop-motion)
* Shao Kahn (Brian Glynn, voiced by Steve Ritchie)

Hidden Opponents are:
* Jade (Katalin Zamiar): Green palette swap of Kitana who was invincible to projectiles.
* Noob Saibot (Daniel Pesina): Dark silhouetted ninja who was a lost warrior from the first Mortal Kombat tournament.
* Smoke (Daniel Pesina): Gray palette swap of Scorpion who emitted puffs of smoke from his body.

Sonya Blade and Kano are the only playable characters from the first Mortal Kombat to not return as regular fighters, though they do appear in the background of the Kahn's Arena stage, chained and on display.

There are a total of ten different backgrounds to fight on:
* The Dead Pool - When an opponent is defeated on this stage, he/she can be uppercutted into the acid bath, burning away the flesh and leaving just a skeleton behind. (In early revisions it was not possible to perform a stage fatality in The Dead Pool this ability was added in Rev 3.1)
* Kombat Tomb - When an opponent is defeated on this stage, he/she can be uppercutted into the spikes on the ceiling. Additionally, if both joysticks are immediately held down after knocking the victim into the spikes, the victim will gradually slide down the spikes.
* Wasteland
* The Tower
* Living Forest
* The Armory
* The Pit II - When an opponent is defeated on this stage, he/she can be uppercutted off the bridge where they will meet their demise on the rocky bottom below.(also interesting is that in this stage the boss "blaze" from the latest game can be seen in the background facing off against a liu kang like character. Blaze was called torch but for legal reasons(fantastic 4) he was renamed blaze.
* The Portal - When Dan "Toasty" Forden appears on this stage, hitting down+start would access Smoke.
* Kahn's Arena (In early revisions Kahn, Sonya and Kano are not present in this stage the platforms are both empty as is Kahn’s chair)
* Goro's Lair - Returning from the original Mortal Kombat, this stage is only accessible when the player is fighting one of the hidden opponents.

Following his defeat to Liu Kang (in the first Mortal Kombat game), Shang Tsung begs his master, Shao Kahn, to spare his life. He tells Shao Kahn that the invitation for Mortal Kombat cannot be turned down, and if they hold it in Outworld, the Earthrealm warriors must attend. Kahn agrees to this plan, and restores Tsung's youth. He extends the invitation to Raiden, who gathers his warriors and takes them into Outworld. The tournament is dangerous, as Shao Kahn has the "home field advantage", and an Outworld victory will unbalance the furies and allow Outworld to subsume Earthrealm.

Mortal Kombat II follows Mortal Kombat and precedes Mortal Kombat 3. The story is similar to Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, though some fans argue that the latter has many contradictions to the events in the Mortal Kombat storyline.

[Gopher Mod]

So, the Top 5 are the Simpsons arcade game, X-Men, and 3 others....

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Countdown Update:

150. Arch Rivals
149. Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
148. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
147. Super Off Road
146. Primal Rage
145. Moon Patrol
144. Mortal Kombat 4
143. Submarine
142. Big Buck Hunter
141. Toki
140. Vs. Baseball
139. San Francisco Rush
138. Sunset Riders
137. NBA Jam
136. Golden Tee Golf
135. WWF Wrestlemania
134. Hogan's Alley
133. CarnEvil
132. Kung Fu Master
131. Berzerk
130. Tekken 5
129. Puzzle Bobble aka Bust A Move
128. Time Traveler
127. 3 Count Bout
126. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
125. Mr. Do!
124. Crisis Zone
123. Captain America and The Avengers
122. Joust
121. Track & Field
120. P.O.W.: Prisoners Of War
119. Area 51
118. Virtua Cop 3
117. Dig Dug
116. Gauntlet
115. King of the Monsters
114. ESP Ra.De.
113. 1942
112. Mercs
111. Street Fighter III: The New Generation
110. Out Run
109. Mappy
108. The Real Ghostbusters
107. Street Fighter Alpha 3
106. Saturday Night Slam Masters
105. Virtua Fighter
104. Elevator Action
103. Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
102. World Heroes
101. 10-Yard Fight
100. Cruis'n Exotica
99. Tetris
98. Frogger
97. Mat Mania
96. Cruis'n World
95. Defender
94. Arm Champs II
93. Centipede
92. Yie Ar Kung Fu
91. Burgertime
90. Cabal
89. Hang-On
88. Ninja Gaiden
87. Crazy Climber
86. The House Of The Dead III
85. Arkanoid
84. Race Drivin
83. Tron
82. Revolution X
81. Mortal Kombat 3
80. Golden Axe
79. Dungeons And Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara
78. Marvel Super Hereos
77. Samurai Shodown
76. Time Pilot
75. WWF Superstars
74. Paperboy
73. Star Wars
72. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom
71. 1941: Counter Attack
70. Virtua Tennis
69. Die Hard Arcade
68. NBA Maximum Hangtime
67. Silk Worm
66. Dead or Alive
65. Asteroids
64. Gauntlet Legends
63. Mario Kart Arcade GP
62. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
61. Time Killers
60. Alien vs. Predator
59. Time Crisis 3
58. Space Invaders
57. Silent Scope
56. Cruis'n USA
55. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
54. A.P.B.
53. Virtua Fighter 3
52. Crazy Taxi
51. Atari Football
50. Pole Position
49. Virtua Fighter 4
48. Contra
47. Space Fury
46. Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja
45. Harley Davidson & LA Riders
44. T-Mek
43. Ms. Pac-Man
42. Sinistar
41. Magic Sword
40. Rampage
39. Hydro Thunder
38. Tekken 3
37. Killer Instinct
36. Smash TV
35. Q*Bert
34. The House of the Dead 4
33. X-Men vs. Street Fighter
32. The Punisher
31. Karate Champ
30. Time Crisis II
29. WWF WrestleFest
28. Shinobi
27. Soul Calibur
26. Altered Beast
25. Donkey Kong
24. Spy Hunter
23. Marvel vs. Capcom
22. Daytona USA
21. The House of the Dead
20. Time Crisis
19. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
18. Soul Edge
17. The House of the Dead 2
16. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
15. Galaga
14. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
13. Mortal Kombat
12. Pac-Man
11. Double Dragon
10. Dragon's Lair
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
8. Punch-Out!!
7. Super Street Fighter II Turbo
6. Mortal Kombat II

Here are the clues to the final five games

* Defeat M. Bison

* Jessica Has Been Kidnapped By The Mad Gear Gang

* Save Maggie

* Tonight I Dine On Turtle Soup

* Welcome To.....Die!

[Gopher Mod]

So, TMNT, Street Fighter II, The Simpsons, Final Fight, and X-Men are the Top 5....

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

5. Street Fighter II

Street Fighter II is a 1991 competitive fighting game by Capcom. It is widely credited with launching the fighting game genre into the mainstream and extending the life of the worldwide arcade scene for several years with its unique six button "combo" controls and revolutionary "loser pays" competitive gameplay. Its popularity far eclipsed that of its comparatively obscure predecessor, thanks in part to its inclusion of eight selectable characters (a number which would increase in subsequent updates) with their unique playing style and refinement of the unique play controls featured in the first game, setting the template for future fighting games. Its success also led to the production of several updates of the game (including home versions), as well as merchandising and cross-media adaptations (including two separately produced theatrical films).

Street Fighter II was followed by a prequel titled Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and a sequel titled Street Fighter III: New Generation. Both games also inspired their own series of updates.

As one of the most popular games of the early 1990s, Street Fighter II, released on Capcom's CPS-1 arcade board in March 1991, shaped the direction of arcade games for nearly a decade to follow. It is widely acknowledged as the premier fighting game of its era, due to its game balance with regard to the timing of attacks and blocks, and due to "Special Moves" in which players could execute by moving the joystick and tapping the buttons in certain combinations. The game featured a six button layout, with punch buttons consisting of 'jab', 'strong', and 'fierce' and kick buttons consisting of 'short', 'forward', and 'roundhouse', in ascending order of strength. This was not new or exclusive to fighting games, but the way in which the game relied on them was. These fighting moves were given names, such as the Shoryuken (the Rising Dragon Punch), the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku (the Tornado Whirlwind Kick) and the Hadouken (Surge Fist or Wave Motion Fist)

The game features eight fighters that players can choose from: Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Zangief, Dhalsim, Guile, E. Honda, and Chun-Li, plus four bosses (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison). The character known as M. Bison in the original Japanese version was considered a legal liability by Capcom USA, because his name, backstory and appearance were very similar to that of professional boxer Mike Tyson. In order to pre-empt any lawsuits on the part of Tyson, the names of all the bosses except Sagat (who was carried over from the original Street Fighter), were re-arranged, something which has since caused no shortage of confusion when attempting description. For the sake of reference, the characters known as M. Bison, Balrog, and Vega in Japan became Balrog, Vega, and M. Bison in overseas versions respectively.

The original version of Street Fighter II featured a roster of eight playable characters that could be selected by the player. Out of the eight character in the roster, only Ryu and Ken were taken from the original Street Fighter. The others were created specifically for this game.

The single player tournament mode also features four CPU-controlled opponents whom the player face after defeating the other main characters. The bosses in the Japanese version were: M. Bison, an American boxer; Balrog, a Spanish clawman; Sagat, the former champion from the original Street Fighter; and Vega, a mysterious crime lord. When Street Fighter II was released overseas, the names of the bosses were rotated, fearing that the character of M. Bison resembled Mike Tyson (whom Bison was modeled after) too closely, but also because Capcom USA's marketing team believed that "Vega" was a "weak-sounding name" for the final boss. As a result, the boxer became Balrog, the clawman became Vega and the final boss became M. Bison in the localization. The initial in M. Bison originally stood for "Mike", but its meaning was lost to western players. From Champion Edition and onward, the boss characters became playable, expanding the selectable roster to twelve.

Super Street Fighter II introduced four new characters from previously unrepresented nationalities to the pre-existing roster: Fei Long, Cammy, T. Hawk and Dee Jay. The new characters were designed by Capcom's internal artists in Japan except for Dee Jay, whose original design was contributed to the game by American designer James Goddard. The character roster was now increased to sixteen.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo featured another new character whom the player faced (upon meeting the required conditions) in the game's final match instead of M. Bison. This character, who was unnamed within the actual game, was officially referred as Gouki in Japan and as Akuma in the English version and the different names were stuck in those territories. Akuma becomes selectable only by entering a special cheat code in the character selection screen.

Playable characters are:
* Ryu (Japan)
* Ken (USA)
* E. Honda (Japan)
* Chun-Li (China)
* Blanka (Brasil)
* Zangief (Russia)
* Guile (USA)
* Dhalsim (India)

Boss characters are:
* Balrog (USA)
* Vega (Spain)
* Sagat (Thailand)
* M. Bison (Thailand)

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

4. Final Fight

Final Fight is a 1989 beat-em-up arcade game released by Capcom. The game was directed by Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda and originally produced for the CPS arcade hardware. Producer Yoshiki Okamoto considers Final Fight as his company's take on the beat-em-up genre first popularized by Double Dragon, which he cites as an inspiration, and is considered to be a precursor to the numerous beat-em-ups that dominated the arcade and console market during the early 1990s, including some that were produced by Capcom themselves such as Captain Commando, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Punisher, and Alien vs. Predator, prior to the fighting game boom started by Capcom's own Street Fighter II (designed by the same team which did Final Fight).

Final Fight is set in the fictional American city of Metro City sometime during the late 1980s or early 1990s. The story centers around the kidnapping of the newly-elected Mayor's daughter, Jessica, by the dominant street gang in the city known as the Mad Gear Gang, which seeks to bring the Mayor under their control. The Mayor in question, a former pro wrestler named Mike Haggar, doesn't give in to the gang's evil request and sets out to rescue his daughter with the help of her boyfriend, a martial artist named Cody and his friend/rival, Guy

Final Fight is an archetypal scrolling beat-em-up game. One or two player characters move from left to right through each level (most of which are split into 3 or more scenes), fighting with the enemy characters who appear, until they reach a confrontation with a stronger boss character at the end of the level. Once said boss is beaten, the players automatically move onto the next stage. Enemies appear from both sides of the screen and from out of doorways or entrances set into the background, and the player(s) must defeat all of them to progress. If the players try to simply travel through the levels without fighting, the screen will stop scrolling until all current enemies have been defeated, before allowing the players to continue progress. Enemies may move outside the confines of the screen, but players may not. There is a time limit to each stage, but, like most beat-em-ups from this era, this is merely a failsafe device to ensure that the arcade cabinet did not suffer screen burn if a player abandoned the controls in mid-game. Typically for a game of this kind, there are no characters in the game who are not antagonistic towards the players.

Final Fight featured very large and detailed sprites for its day, and the controls were quite fluid and simple. The game also introduced the strong/fast/average character trinity copied by countless other games: Haggar (very powerful yet very slow and vulnerable to attack), Guy (very agile, can hit and run, yet has weak offensive power), or Cody (who balances strength and speed, being an excellent choice for beginners). It also featured very long levels populated by crowds of enemies using various fighting tactics against the player.

Final Fight (and both of its sequels) featured a notorious continue screen in the vein of the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden. In Final Fight, once the player has lost all his lives, the screen changes to the character tied to a chair with a bundle of dynamite ready to explode in his face. If the player does not insert a coin within the ten second countdown, the bomb will detonate, causing the screen to flash black and white. In Final Fight 2, the character is locked in a well with water slowly rising towards his head. Final Fight 3 pays tribute to Ninja Gaiden's continue screen by lowering a giant spike press on top of the character, who is tied down in the same way Ryu Hayabusa was in the arcade version. Unlike Ninja Gaiden, instead of a scream being heard at the end of the countdown, a sound effect was heard. (An explosion, a splash, etc.)

Final Fight features three selectable characters.
* Cody
The lead character and Jessica's boyfriend. A well-rounded martial artist who is the only character who can stab enemies with a knife at close range.
* Haggar
Jessica's father and the Mayor of Metro City. Haggar is a professional wrestler who can use techniques like the Piledriver and Backdrop.
* Guy
Cody's friend and rival. He is the successor of the fictional Bushin-ryû Ninjutsu style. He can do an off-the-wall jump kick.

As with most games in the genre, Final Fight features a variety of enemy characters the player must defeat in order to progress through the game. Although there are numerous small fry characters thorough the game, only seven of them are actually unique in terms of appearances and fighting style, while the rest are head swap/palette swap counterparts with more or less vitality. There's also six unique boss characters, one for each stage.

Underlings are:
* Bred, Dug, Simons and Jake
They serve as the game's standard thug characters. They are dressed in matching pants and tanktops (with jackets for Simons and Jake), with Bred dressed in gray, Dug in red-orange, Simons in gold, and Jake in blue. They have no distinguishing characteristic or attack other than their ability to push oildrums. Bred appears in the first bonus round after the player trashes his car (in the GBA version, a palette swap of Dug in a grey outftit appears instead of Bred). Only Jake and Simons can perform a jump kick.
* J and Two. P
A pair of punks dressed in baggy pants and jackets. J is dressed in yellow and blue and has an atomic biohazard symbol on his back, while Two. P wears orange and green and has a dragon symbol on his back. They tend to strike when the player has their back turn on one of them.
* Axl and Slash
A pair of bikers named after Axl Rose and Slash respectively of Guns N' Roses. They are the only enemy characters that block the player's attacks. They loosely resemble their real life counterparts, with Axl having blond shoulder-length hair and red bandanna, while Slash has black curly hair. Axl wears a grey uniform, and Slash wears brown.
* Holly Wood and El Gado
A pair of knife-wielding fighters dressed in camouflage garb and ski caps. Their fighting style is described in one of the Japanese manuals as being based on dancing. Their most powerful attack is the jumping knife strike. Holly Wood wears orange, and El Gado wears yellow. There are versions of Holly Wood dressed in red that often shows up to throw Molotov cocktails at the player.
* Bill Bull, G. Oriber and Wong Who
A trio of obese men. Their attacks consist of a charging headbutt and a kick. Bill Bull has a Mexican look and wears grey pants, G. Oriber has Arabian look and wears blue pants, Wong Who has Chinese look and wears green pants. According to the manual for the Japanese Super Famicom version, G. Oriber stands for "Graham Oriber".
* Poison and Roxy
Two scantily clad women with gymnast-style attacks. Poison has pink hair and wears pink cheeky shorts, a white tanktop cut just below her breasts, and a matching black hat an high heels. Roxy is a palette swap who has orange hair and wears red cheeky shorts. The English localization of Final Fight for the SNES and GBA replaced Roxy and Poison with male counterparts named Billy and Sid. When Final Fight was under development by Capcom, both Poison and Roxy were planned to be female. However, they were later revised to be transsexuals, when Capcom's U.S. division objected to having the player hit female gangsters (fearing it encouraged domestic violence). The instruction manual for the Japanese Super Famicom version of Final Fight describes Poison and Roxy as transsexual women or "newhalfs"; however, the character profile in the English language version of Capcom Classics Collection only describes Poison as a transsexual female and Roxy as a regular female.
* Andore
A pro-wrestling thug modeled after André the Giant. He wears a shocking pink-colored leopard-print outfit and attacks with pro wrestling techniques, including a charge attack, a pile drive and choke attack. He has numerous palette-swapped counterparts in the game, with Andore Jr. (dressed in red) appearing alongside him in nearly every instance. Grandfather (blue) and Father (yellow) appear as sub-bosses in the second level of Round 3, along with Uncle (dark grey) who appears only when there is a second player. Andore appears in Street Fighter III video games under the name of Hugo.

Bosses are:
* Damnd (Thrasher in some versions)
The boss of the Slum area (Round 1). A Caribbean thug with dreadlocks, who serves as Mad Gear's informant, though he is apparently also an informant for the FBI and a worshiper of Mammon. He is the one who calls Haggar in the opening intro and can be seen carrying Jessica at the start of the game. When he takes a certain amount of damage, he summons his underlings to fight in his stead by whistling, while he sits in wait before waiting for the opportunity to strike the player. His name was changed to Thrasher in the English localizations of the SNES and Sega CD versions.
* Sodom (Katana in some versions)
Sodom is the boss of the Subway area (Round 2), a Caucasian American who is a Japanophile that speaks in broken Japanese. He is dressed in samurai-like protective gear (including a blue kabuto helmet that conceals his face) and is armed with twin Masamune blades. The player can disarm him and use his blades against him, but he will counteract this with a rush attack. His name was changed to Katana in early English localizations of the SNES and Sega CD versions, as well as the SNES version of Street Fighter Alpha 2. Sodom would reappear as a playable character in the Street Fighter Alpha series.
* Edi E.
A corrupt police officer who serves as the boss of the West Side area (Round 3). Edi E. looks similar to Ray Traylor, better known as Big Boss Man from the WWE. He attacks the player with his nightstick and when he's low on health, he will draw his revolver and start shooting randomly. The gum he spits out just before starting to fight will restore a lot of health if needed. Makes a cameo appearance in a couple of Cody's win poses in Street Fighter Alpha 3.
* Rolento
Rolento is a former member of the Red Beret special forces who is now in charge of Mad Gear's drug plant. The boss of the Industrial Area (Round 4) attacks the player with his club and grappling techniques. When he is low on health, he will resort to "shadow dashing" around the arena and throwing many grenades. Stage 4 and Rolento were absent from the two SNES ports, although Capcom compensated this by making Rolento the only returning boss character in the SNES-exclusive sequel, Final Fight 2. Like Sodom, Rolento would be turned into a playable character in the Street Fighter Alpha series, starting with Alpha 2.
* Abigail
The boss of the Bayside area (Round 5). He is a head swap of Andore who wears a white/silver outfit and has a face paint and mohawk (like the wrestler Animal). He tends to literally turn red when angry and charges towards the player with a punch. When he's low on health, the charge attacks become more frequent.
* Belger
The final boss and leader of Mad Gear is Horace Belger. He poses as a disabled old man on a wheelchair in order to trick his enemies and attacks the player with his crossbow. When he first appears, he is holding Jessica on his lap. When the player defeats him, he is thrown into his window and falls from the high rise building and into the ground. In the English localization of the SNES version, his wheelchair was redrawn into an office chair. He reappears as a cyborg in Mighty Final Fight and as a zombie Final Fight Revenge. His older brother, Father Bella, serves as the antagonist of Final Fight Streetwise.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1989. It is a scrolling beat 'em up based on the popular comic and animated series of the same name. As with all merchandise relating to the Ninja Turtles, the name of this game was altered to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Europe, due to censorship issues involving the word "ninja." The Japanese release of the arcade game bore the subtitle of Super Kame Ninja, which was omitted from the later Famicom version of the game.

The player chooses from one of the four Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael. After Shredder kidnaps the turtles' friend April O'Neil and their mentor Splinter, they must give chase, save their comrades, and defeat their nemeses.

The majority of the enemies the Turtles must face are the Foot Soldiers. They wear a different colored uniform depending on what weapon they have.

Up to four players can take control of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. As usual in the 80s and 90s TMNT games, Donatello has slower attacks but a longer range, Michelangelo and Raphael have fast attacks but a short range, and Leonardo is a well-rounded Turtle with average range and speed.

The controls are fairly straightforward. The eight-way joystick controls the movements of the Turtle, the jump button makes them jump and the attack button makes them hit in front of them using their weapon. In addition to this, some combinations are possible. The Turtles can throw soldiers overhead, and by pressing the jump and attack buttons, a special attack is performed. Raphael rolls along the ground and finishes with a kick, while the other Turtles do a jump attack with their weapons.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

2. X-Men

X-Men is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1992. It is a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the characters of the same name under license from Marvel Comics. The animation of the X-Men and the supervillains is based on the 1989 X-Men pilot episode titled Pryde of the X-Men.

The player chooses one of six X-Men: Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, or Dazzler. Their objective is to stop the villain Magneto from wreaking havoc on human civilization. They must fight through an army of hundreds of Sentinels and supervillains such as Pyro, Blob, Wendigo, Master Mold, The White Queen, Juggernaut--who strangely wields a bazooka in his boss fight-- and Mystique, who was also a boss enemy in the game, although she simply took the form of Magneto and attacked players with punches and kicks. Later, Magneto kidnaps Professor X and Kitty Pryde, prompting the heroes to go on a rescue mission.

Although Final Fight set the standard[citation needed] for scrolling fighters, X-Men contained several 'improvements' including the ability to hit fallen opponents to prevent them from getting back up (as first seen in the arcade game Crime Fighters by Konami (1989) and its sequels), as well as a character-specialized "mutant power," which could clear most of the screen of enemies (like the 'crowd control' attack in Final Fight achieved by hitting both the jump & attack buttons together). Those mutant powers can be stored like items (similar to Golden Axe's magic powers), but if there are none stored the mutant power can still be used, but it slightly reduced the player's health.

Depending on the machine, the maximum number of simultaneous players varies from two to six. The six-player version used a multiple screen set up, similar to The Ninja Warriors.

Note: I could not find a picture for the 6-player version so I had to use a 4 player version pic instead.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

and #1............





1. The Simpsons

The Simpsons: The Arcade Game is an arcade game produced by Konami in 1991. It is a beat 'em up based on the cartoon series of the same name. The voice actors of the immediate family (Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, and Yeardley Smith) provide their talents for their respective characters. It uses the same engine and therefore has similar overall gameplay as the very popular 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, also made by Konami. The game was ported to the Commodore 64, and PC.

After stealing a giant diamond from Springfield Jewelers for Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers bumps into Homer, whose family is conveniently walking down the street. The encounter knocks the diamond out of Smithers' hand, and Maggie snatches it in her mouth (in place of her pacifier), prompting Smithers to grab Maggie (rather than just the diamond) and run off. The Simpsons must give chase, but hundreds of goons in matching suits stand in their way.

The player chooses from one of the remaining four Simpsons: Homer, who punches and kicks; Marge, who swings her vacuum cleaner; Bart, who wields his skateboard; and Lisa, who uses a jump rope like a whip. They must fight through the employees and chase Smithers as he escapes through various Springfield landscapes. The game's levels are based on the streets of Springfield, Krustyland, a graveyard, Moe's Tavern, Springfield Gorge, a dream world, the Channel 6 studio, and the Power Plant. Each level ends with a boss whose speed and strength would increase after taking a set amount of damage.

In Stage 4 (Moe's Tavern), there are several arcade machines, including one of the Simpsons arcade game. There was also an Aliens arcade game that revealed the Alien to be Marge wearing a costume. Aliens was made a year earlier by Konami.

Although the game is one of many beat 'em ups produced after Final Fight, it contained many innovations, including the option for two players to team up and attack enemies in tandem, with the exact attack differing slightly depending on which two characters were being used. Food could be used for healing, and various weapons and items could be obtained for use for a short time or for a one-time projectile attack. These items were often brought into the game by other Simpsons characters, and the Simpsons' own pets could be used as thrown weapons at various points in the game. The Japanese version of the game also included small scale nuclear bombs that, when thrown, clear all on-screen enemies, as well as a life bar that can be doubled by eating food when your character's health was full. The main characters also retained their voice actors from the show (although Burns and Smithers' voices are noticeably different).

The game features two occurrences of a minigame between two of the levels, in which players competed against each other to be the first to finish a task (inflating a balloon shaped like their character in the first game, waking up their character in the second). The minigame was based on repeated button-pushing, with the player who pushed the buttons fastest winning. If less than four players were present, the player or players competed against 1-3 computer-controlled characters in these minigames.

The game featured many strange enemies, ranging from the infamous men in the purple suits, to battles with Bongo-like rabbits. The game included battling fat, old men; miniboss-like firemen; and even giant donuts.

When electrocuted, Marge's skeletal silhouette shows rabbit ears similar to the Life in Hell rabbits. According to several DVD commentaries, before The Simpsons became a full series, Marge was supposed to be a Life in Hell rabbit in disguise as an in-joke.

At the beginning of each level, Binky the Rabbit appears on the family's television and does something related to the upcoming levels:
* Skates down the street with a boombox (Stage 1 - Downtown Springfield)
* Juggling (Stage 2 - Krustyland)
* Grim Reaper (Stage 3 - Springfield Discount Cemetery)
* Extremely drunk (Stage 4 - Moe's Tavern)
* Wearing lederhosen and yodelling (Stage 5 - Springfield Butte)
* Dressed as a wizard (Stage 6 - Dreamland)
* Manning a TV camera (Stage 7 - Channel 6)
* Glowing green with radiation (Stage 8 - Springfield Nuclear Power Plant)

Regular enemies are:
* Henchmen (Royd and Stan for "standard" goons, Clovis and Victor for hat-throwing goons) - the most basic enemies, commonly seen through the game. They will rely mostly on basic punches and kicks, sometimes even using sliding kicks, flying kicks, backward grabs and even Moonwalker-style hat throws for a distance. In later levels these guys can throw objects (such as bombs) or use "weapons" such as hammers, umbrellas and brooms. Henchmen will come in purple (for Royd and Clovis) or green suits (for Stan and Victor).
* Fat Guys (Rupert) - another enemy commonly found, they wear pink with beige and their attacks are true to their build: punches, kicks, slaps, grabs, jumping belly flops and a deadly Zangief-style Spinning Clothesline (their best attack). Just like Henchmen, Fat Guys can also grab and throw heavy objects and use mallets. Players are advised to priorize this guy's downfall.
* Firefighters - appearing only late in Stage 1, they are not much of a real threat, but their concentrated shots of CO2 are still a force to be reckoned with.
* Clowns (false Krusties) - they only exist in Stage 2, and their attacks range within jumps and kicks aided by their colored balance balls. They are easy to beat.
* Bongo Rabbits - like Clowns, they only appear in Stage 2. They attack with treacherous punches and kicks and a deadly "ear slap". They are just normal henchmen in rabbit costume.
* Phantoms - hanging from trees in Stage 3, they are only regular henchmen disguised in white blankets. A single hit breaks their disguise, causing them to drop into battle.
* Undead Witch - an other enemy exclusively from Stage 3, and she is fought only once. She is relatively easy to destroy, despite her powerful claws.
* Undead (Zombie and Ghoul) - another enemy found only in Stage 3. They sprout out from the earth to attack the player. Their actions consist only on silly slaps and jumps; Ghouls can also hide and move under earth to reappear and attack stealthily. Zombies have green clothes and "default" flesh, while Ghouls have brown clothing and "tanned" flesh.
* Gorillas - a very cheap reuse of Homer's sprites, re-drawing them to create the aspect of a gorilla / yeti creature. Being redrawn from Homer, it has the same actions and patterns from the Simpson family dad, only slightly stronger and less intelligent.
* Farmer - existing only late in Stage 5, they can be dangerous due to their greater aggressiveness and big tree logs as their preferred weapon of attack.
* Giant Donuts (G. Donut) - an enemy presented only in Stage 6, they can fly, roll like a wheel and "spit" smaller donuts as homing projectiles. Really weak enemies.
* Radioactive Suits (Rad. Suit) - empty protective suits from Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. They can be a real pain because of their extended hit points and good horizontal reach of their lead pliers. Flying and "diagonal" attacks are safe choices against them.
* Saxophones (Sax) - flying saxophones which attack only by dropping musical notes on the player's head. Fitting to their air nature, only air attacks can hit them.
* Devil Barts - hellish counterparts of Bart, they fly and cast heavy lightning storms on the players. Just like Saxophones, they only exist in Stage 6 and only air attacks can affect these nasty creatures.
* Marge Clouds - another enemies exclusively from Stage 6, they only spring out from the "ground" to slap their victims with their long hairdoes. They can be defeated.
* Alien Bot - another "one-stage-only" creature, found late in Stage 7. This enemy can be particularly dangerous enemy due to their extendable arms and powerful plasma discharges. Once defeated, his head can be thrown as a projectile.
* Ninjas (Senza and Kouji) - the "top" condition of the regular henchmen, they use several acrobatics and ninja moves, with the addition of throwing shurikens. Very dangerous enemies, however careful players can safely predict their actions and unleash a good counterattack. Senza wear purple ninja outfit while Kouji wear green ninja outfit.

Bosses are:
* Professor Werner Von Brawn (Boss of Stage 1, Springfield Downtown) - a professional wrestler from the episode "Bart the Daredevil", although many people mistook him for Barney Gumble). For a first boss, he can be somewhat distressing due to his physical power. He uses lots of powerful wrestling moves and can often break free from combos. His shorts constantly fall down, provinding an excellent moment to strike.
* Krusty Balloon (Boss of Stage 2, Krustyland) - a hot air balloon shaped like Krusty the Clown, he is best damaged from the flanks and rear because of its enormous, deadly hands. It sometimes can fly up and hit hard the ground in hopes to smash the player. This boss also spits out smaller balloons containing powerful bombs. Avoiding his slaps and smashing flies are the best strategy to win the battle.
* The Bounce Brothers (Bosses of Stage 3, Springfield Discount Cemetery) - twin bouncers (these two appeared in the last two levels before you actually fight them). They attack mostly with individual punches and kicks but can also use some combination attacks (such as when the bigger one "throws" the smaller one towards the player through the necktie, in the fashion of a yo-yo). Oddly the smaller one usually has some more hit points (or resistance) than the bigger. Once defeated, they allow access into Moe's Tavern.
* Drunk Dennon - (Boss of Stage 4, Moe's Tavern) - a drunk at Moe's Tavern who looks a lot like an awful Carl Carlson. He walks on his wobbly legs but has painful punches, nasty sneezing attacks and a powerful fire-breathing attack. He is not as dangerous as Werner Von Brawn but is still a hard boss the player must be smart-calculated to deal with.
* Bear (Boss of Stage 5, Springfield Butte) - a "bear" similar to the one from the episode "The Call of the Simpsons" (really a henchman in a bear suit; it should also be noted that a similar bear escapes from its cage earlier in the game which might be that bear). This ferocious being attacks the player with claw slashes and bear rolls; there is also a constant "rain" of massive boulders which can hit both the player and the boss. Short combos, flying attacks and specials, when correctly used, can turn the tide to the player's benefit.
* Ball Lord (Boss of Stage 6, Dreamland) - possibly Homer's "Happy-Go-Luck" bowling ball in giant scale. This boss has three distinct phases, each evidenced by a long "chain" of smaller balls which forms either "solid" twin arms (second phase) or a single serpent-like arm (third phase). This boss arrays several different attacks: a rolling smash for the first phase; a jumping smash and a spit of homing bowling pins (second phase); and the same attacks from second phase with addition of a whip attack. When defeated, Ball Lord ultimately explodes like an old-fashioned bomb and shrinks down to normal size before vanishing.
* Kabuki Master (Boss of Stage 7, Channel 6) - a martial arts sensei dressed like a kabuki actor. This Kyoshiro Senryo "clone" swings his long halberd with great skill and accuracy, even using it to block attacks. His Spinning Halberd Strike is a dangerous technique that players are advised to avoid at all costs.
* Waylon Smithers (Boss of Stage 8, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant) - a cruel, caped and blue-haired version of the same character from the TV series. This "evil Smithers" only runs around the room tossing powerful handheld bombs - the blue smaller ones remain still for a few seconds until detonation unless the player can rapidly grab and toss them back to Smithers, causing good damage. He can also shield himself behind his cape, thus blocking the player's attacks. The best moment to attack him is while he runs around, but obviously having proper caution not to be hit by any incoming bombs.
* Charles Montgomery Burns (Final Boss) - after his "guard dog" Smithers goes down for good, Burns himself shows up in an ominous robotic suit. This plutonium-fueled thing has 3 different phases, whose attacks can vary from robotic claws, laser cannons, small homing missiles and even a nuclear warhead which causes very heavy damage. The player must have sharp reflexes and extreme patience to definitively end Burns' menacing plans. Once his robot suit is destroyed, Maggie is safe and the game is completed.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Countdown Update:

150. Arch Rivals
149. Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
148. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
147. Super Off Road
146. Primal Rage
145. Moon Patrol
144. Mortal Kombat 4
143. Submarine
142. Big Buck Hunter
141. Toki
140. Vs. Baseball
139. San Francisco Rush
138. Sunset Riders
137. NBA Jam
136. Golden Tee Golf
135. WWF Wrestlemania
134. Hogan's Alley
133. CarnEvil
132. Kung Fu Master
131. Berzerk
130. Tekken 5
129. Puzzle Bobble aka Bust A Move
128. Time Traveler
127. 3 Count Bout
126. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
125. Mr. Do!
124. Crisis Zone
123. Captain America and The Avengers
122. Joust
121. Track & Field
120. P.O.W.: Prisoners Of War
119. Area 51
118. Virtua Cop 3
117. Dig Dug
116. Gauntlet
115. King of the Monsters
114. ESP Ra.De.
113. 1942
112. Mercs
111. Street Fighter III: The New Generation
110. Out Run
109. Mappy
108. The Real Ghostbusters
107. Street Fighter Alpha 3
106. Saturday Night Slam Masters
105. Virtua Fighter
104. Elevator Action
103. Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
102. World Heroes
101. 10-Yard Fight
100. Cruis'n Exotica
99. Tetris
98. Frogger
97. Mat Mania
96. Cruis'n World
95. Defender
94. Arm Champs II
93. Centipede
92. Yie Ar Kung Fu
91. Burgertime
90. Cabal
89. Hang-On
88. Ninja Gaiden
87. Crazy Climber
86. The House Of The Dead III
85. Arkanoid
84. Race Drivin
83. Tron
82. Revolution X
81. Mortal Kombat 3
80. Golden Axe
79. Dungeons And Dragons: Shadows Over Mystara
78. Marvel Super Hereos
77. Samurai Shodown
76. Time Pilot
75. WWF Superstars
74. Paperboy
73. Star Wars
72. Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom
71. 1941: Counter Attack
70. Virtua Tennis
69. Die Hard Arcade
68. NBA Maximum Hangtime
67. Silk Worm
66. Dead or Alive
65. Asteroids
64. Gauntlet Legends
63. Mario Kart Arcade GP
62. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
61. Time Killers
60. Alien vs. Predator
59. Time Crisis 3
58. Space Invaders
57. Silent Scope
56. Cruis'n USA
55. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
54. A.P.B.
53. Virtua Fighter 3
52. Crazy Taxi
51. Atari Football
50. Pole Position
49. Virtua Fighter 4
48. Contra
47. Space Fury
46. Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja
45. Harley Davidson & LA Riders
44. T-Mek
43. Ms. Pac-Man
42. Sinistar
41. Magic Sword
40. Rampage
39. Hydro Thunder
38. Tekken 3
37. Killer Instinct
36. Smash TV
35. Q*Bert
34. The House of the Dead 4
33. X-Men vs. Street Fighter
32. The Punisher
31. Karate Champ
30. Time Crisis II
29. WWF WrestleFest
28. Shinobi
27. Soul Calibur
26. Altered Beast
25. Donkey Kong
24. Spy Hunter
23. Marvel vs. Capcom
22. Daytona USA
21. The House of the Dead
20. Time Crisis
19. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade
18. Soul Edge
17. The House of the Dead 2
16. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
15. Galaga
14. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
13. Mortal Kombat
12. Pac-Man
11. Double Dragon
10. Dragon's Lair
9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time
8. Punch-Out!!
7. Super Street Fighter II Turbo
6. Mortal Kombat II
5. Street Fighter II
4. Final Fight
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2. X-Men
1. The Simpsons

And that is all for this list. See ya next month.

[RoloSolo IV]

I enjoyed looking at this list. However I should voted since I see no mention of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

[Al Wilson Lives: Thread Killer]

Jun 15, 2008 21:46:41 GMT -5 RoloSolo IV said:

I enjoyed looking at this list. However I should voted since I see no mention of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

I realized I'd forgotten to include it after the countdown began. I am so ashamed.

[nate5054]

Very nice list.

I still think Street Fighter 2 is vastly superior to the 4 above it, but hey, that's just my opinion ;D

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

I thank everyone for the praise as this list was something I had wanted to do for a long ass time just because I, like many of you, have actually hung out at an old arcade and I dont know how many quarters I have lost from those damn machines and I have only been able to win three games on actual arcades (The Simpsons, Bucky O' Hare, & Time Crisis 2)