The 30 Best Arcade Video Games of the 1990s

Image via Getty/Lynn Johnson

Year Of Release: 1990

Genre: Action

A top down action shooter that barely squeaked into the 90s. The graphics screamed mid-80s, Motley Crue tour bus, but that didn't make the game any less fun. Hell, it's almost prescient in its prediction of the invasion of the surveillance state and the all-encompassing pervasiveness of reality television. 

Year Of Release: 1995

Genre: Shooting

Yes, it was silly and ridiculous (we're pretty sure high explosives wouldn't just be sitting around a base to be shot at), but blasting aliens to hell with a light gun is a cornerstone of the gaming industry. 

The graphics certainly don't hold up to modern standards, but if we ever see one of these sad machines lonely occupying the corner of a dive bar, we can't help but get down with a little Kron Hunter.

Year Of Release: 1992

Genre: Shooting

Well, if you didn't want to get shot, then you shouldn't have stood up then, huh? Aside from looking the rejected one sheet from a Cinemax after dark film, the game wasn't that much fun.

This light gun beauty put you in the hands of two officers of the law trying to stop crime on the mean streets. Dibs on the blue gun.

Year Of Release: 1996

Genre: Shooting

Sure, it was a rail shooter, but there was a sense of kinetic frenzy that almost made you forget about it. This massive Sega cabinet had you as a gunner in a helicopter as you traversed a future city gunning down cybernetic terrorists. Our arms are still shaking from this one.

Year Of Release: 1994

Genre: Fighting

The controls sucked ass (who the hell holds buttons and wiggles the joystick around to pull combos), but there was no louder fighting game in the arcade. The roars were thunderous and the hits were brutal.

Plus, it had a monkey that farted, pissed and barfed for special moves. What else could you possibly want? Oh, controls that actually respond? No.

Year Of Release: 1996

Genre: Racing

Cruis'n USA was awesome, but the sequel was even better. Another monstrous rig that took up precious floor space on arcade floors, the sequel inhaled quarters at pretty much the same rate as the first title. Tour the world in radical cars and get that announcer's voice trapped in your head for the rest of the afternoon. Make sure to tap the gas twice on big jumps for a surprise.

Year Of Release: 1995

Genre: Shooting

Reload! Reload! Virtua Cop 2 was like Lethal Enforcers, but with less of a low rent, 'I just arrived in L.A., oh my god is this a porn' set vibe. Sega knew what was up back in the day. So much fun we didn't mind the blocky graphics. Make sure you shoot off the screen to Reload! Reload!

Year Of Release: 1993

Genre:  Racing

Daytoonaaaaaaa! The massive arcade rig was best enjoyed with six other racers, each in their own plastic stock, car by your side. Daytona USA was arcade racing bliss. The major downside being that machine decided to forgo your quarters and happily inhaled dollar bills instead. Blue skies and empty wallets.

Year Of Release: 1999

Genre: Racing

Ya, ya, ya, ya, ya! The Offspring shall forever be associated with this racing game from Sega. We'd also like to go on record stating that The Offspring is a terrible band. Throwing physics, traditional tracks, and good taste in music out the window, Sega manufactured another arcade classic.  We're pretty sure we've experienced taxi driving like this in NY, unfortunately.

Year Of Release: 1991

Genre: Run and gun

Capcom's interpretation of what the American Wild West must have been like during our westward expansion. Native American genocide was left out for some reason. Weird.

Sunset Riders was a killer run and gun title. Capcom had you shoot first and dodge pink bullets later. Cormano was our dude.

Year Of Release: 1991

Genre: Shooting

Blasting T-1000's to hell has never been so satisfying. The kick-back mechanic of the machine gun was one of the many highlights of this quarter gobbler. With a Guns N' Roses heavy soundtrack, this game helped define the early 90s arcade experience. John Connor would be proud.

Year Of Release: 1994

Genre: Fighting

A 3D fighter that featured DOZENS of polygons. Sarcasm aside, it was pretty dope for the early 90s. Virtua Fighter 2 was another Sega joint that dropped back when they were still making hardware. It featured two new characters (we love us some Shun-Di), as well as quicker and more precise combat than the original.

Year Of Release: 1994

Genre:  Fighting

Better than the original in every way, Samurai Showdown 2 was the crowning achievement of the four game SNK cabinets back in the day. A 2D fighter that capitalized on the early 90s explosion of Manga and Anime in the Western  mainstream.

The potential of your weapon breaking in battle was also a nice touch.

Year Of Release: 1992

Genre: Beat em up

There were two versions of this beat em up in the arcades. The amazing four player cabinet, and an even more epic six player stand up. Needless to say, it's the six-player one that we fondly remember. The roster of Chris Claremont era Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, and, of course, the last players got stuck with Dazzler.

Year Of Release: 1998

Genre: Shooting

One of the most ludicrous light gun shooters. Sega just said 'fuck it' in regards to paying anyone to write any sort of script. Which is fine, the cabinet still managed to suck us bone dry. When we were feeling particularly wealthy, we'd pay out the player 1 and 2 slots and use both guns. No big deal.

Year Of Release: 1998

Genre: Fighting

Possibly the greatest King of Fighters of them all (hell, it's possibly the greatest SNK fighting game of them all), KoF 98 was a great alternative when more popular fighting games were swarmed with players. Fight on.

Year Of Release: 1996

Genre: Run and gun

SNK's finest arcade title, this run and gun war game was like Contra, if Contra hadn't been taking itself so seriously. There, we said it. Mission complete!

Year Of Release: 1994

Genre: Fighting

Distinctly memorable for its impressive combo system and the satisfying rejoinders of the announcer when a successful combo was executed, or, interrupted, Killer Instinct was yet another welcome respite from the Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat queue. Killer Instinct stole fighting game hearts, and quarters, at the same time. With the recent announcemen of an updated Killer Instinct inbound for the Xbox One, expect a fresh spate of nostalgia for this fighter.

Year Of Release: 1998

Genre: Action, shooting

Spanning the original trilogy, players were treated to reenacting their favorite battles on Hoth, Endor, Yavvin, and the Death Star. This arcade title was crushingly dope for a few reasons: blasters, lightasber, and Bobba Fett. We played this thing so often we should have taken it to prom.

Year Of Release: 1997

Genre: Fighting

Introducing new characters (and reintroducing Chun-Li), Third Impact is the most solid of the already concrete Street Fighter III legacy. Offering a much richer technical component to the overall outing made the game instantly popular. It wasn't released that long ago, so it's not uncommon to run across a still functioning cabinet.

Makoto is the shit, BTW.

Year Of Release: 1997

Genre: Sports

All the fun of NBA Jam but on a football field. We even remember the combination cabinet which housed both Blitz and Jam together. A football game that appealed to both the devout and the laymen, Blitz could be picked up by anyone and played. 

Always remember to watch out for the Sub-Zero play.

Year Of Release: 1997

Genre: Fighting

Our pick for the best Tekken of the 90s. This now classic fighter served as a welcome palette cleanser to the Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter dichotomy that dominated arcades in the 90s. Unfortunately, it also introduced the world to Eddy Gordo. Button mashing would never be the same again.

Year Of Release: 1999

Genre: Fighting

To many the Dreamcast port was infinitely better. The arcade version wasn't too shabby, but to most Soul Calibur was one of the titles that defined the Dreamcast. With its diverse characters and new, at the time, 8-way run system, the game was offering another outlet for fighting fans to put their money where their mouths were. Our soul still burns for this classic fighting game.

Year Of Release: 1997

Genre: Shooting

The best light gun shooting game of the 90s. Period. The massive Time Crisis 2 cabinet always had the longest lines and the flashiest lights. The game allowed two players to play, encouraging cooperation. Shoot the guy with the briefcase. He's evil.

Year Of Release: 1993

Genre: Fighting

Mortal Kombat II took everything we loved about the original and magnified it by about a million. It had more fatalities, more balanced combat (Oh, we're sorry, "kombat") and secrets galore. We still love this game. Toasty!

Year Of Release: 1991

Genre: Beat em up

The best Simpsons game by a mile. The Simpsons Arcade Game allowed you to play as Bart, Lisa, Marge, and/or Homer as you fought non-canon citizens of Springfield in order to rescue baby Maggie. A perfect four player cabinet that was ideal for getting your parents to play if they decided to stick around the arcade. Marge's vacuum for the win.

Year Of Release: 1991

Genre: Beat-em-up

The second greatest beat-em-up ever (yes, we did say second), Turtles in Time was better than the first turtles game in every single way. Better controls, better graphics, better level design, and the inclusion of time travel all combined to make the second four player arcade cabinet superior to its predecessor. The boss fights were, also, excellent. Big Apple, 3 A.M. for life.

Year Of Release:  1993

Genre: Sports

Yeah, we're calling it. NBA Jam is the best arcade sports game ever. The wildly unrealistic, but endlessly playable title could be heard from any corner of the arcade.

The decision shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone with a pulse and an affinity for Dream Team era NBA. Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and everyone else from the early 90s were playable in this two on two arcade joint.

With turbo pushing, slam dunks from the free throw line, and ("Oh, my! He's on fire!") all a part of this game, it's little wonder that people still look back at it so fondly. Can't buy a bucket!

Year Of Release: 1992

Genre: Fighting

You can't have a discussion of the arcade scene without bringing up Street Fighter. The title which planted the seeds of competitive fighters becoming what they are today. EVO 2013 showed us that withour Street Fighter II we wouldn't have champions like FS.EMP|Flocker and Justin Wong. 

Competitive fighting was defined by Capcom's series of Street Fighter games. The only, only, reason that Street Fighter isn't sitting in the number one spot has nothing to do with its level of playabilty or enjoyment. There is no arguing that point. The number one slot goes to a titles that literally dragged video games from the arcades to the front page of The New York Times and left a dent in the cultural perception of video games as a medium.

Year Of Release: 1992

Genre:  Fighting

The mother of video game violence as the scapegoat for the crumbling decline of America's youth. Senate hearings, full page screeds in major American newspapers, and one of the driving contributers behind the establishment of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), Mortal Kombat irrevocably changed the landscape of the medium, at least in the public sphere, for good.

It made 'fatality' a commonly apporpriated buzz word for the percieved impact video game violence had on arcade dwelling youth and became a pop-culture reference akin to late night Tonya Harding and Michael Jackson jokes. The game itself took moments to learn and a lifetime to master, offering a completely different aesthetic and combo system to learn.

It's unfortunate that it is because  of all these reasons we wanted to play the game that much more.

Plus, finally learning Sub Zero's fatality was as close to winning the Olympics a weird indoor kid could get at the time.