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Arcade Machine Games

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Arcade machines (emulated via MAME) were the showcase of gaming — the best graphics and ideas of their time. Pac-Man, Street Fighter II, Galaga and hundreds of other coin-op legends.

  • Since: 1980
  • Play via: EmulatorJS

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Tekken 3▶Tekken 31997Arcade (MAME)Cadillacs and Dinosaurs▶Cadillacs and Dinosaurs1993Arcade (MAME)World Rally▶World Rally1993Arcade (MAME)Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter▶Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter1997Arcade (MAME)Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes▶Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes1998Arcade (MAME)Street Fighter EX2▶Street Fighter EX21998Arcade (MAME)Tumblepop▶Tumblepop1991Arcade (MAME)Soul Edge▶Soul Edge1996Arcade (MAME)Pac-Man Plus▶Pac-Man Plus1982Arcade (MAME)Space Panic▶Space Panic1980Arcade (MAME)Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder▶Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder1992Arcade (MAME)Tekken▶Tekken1994Arcade (MAME)Blood Bros.▶Blood Bros.1990Arcade (MAME)Red Alert▶Red Alert1981Arcade (MAME)Street Fighter Alpha 3▶Street Fighter Alpha 31998Arcade (MAME)Tecmo World Cup '90▶Tecmo World Cup '901989Arcade (MAME)New Rally-X▶New Rally-X1981Arcade (MAME)Tetris Plus▶Tetris Plus1996Arcade (MAME)Ridge Racer 2▶Ridge Racer 21994Arcade (MAME)Dancing Eyes▶Dancing Eyes1996Arcade (MAME)Time Crisis▶Time Crisis1997Arcade (MAME)X-Men vs. Street Fighter▶X-Men vs. Street Fighter1996Arcade (MAME)Vendetta▶Vendetta1991Arcade (MAME)Capcom Sports Club▶Capcom Sports Club1997Arcade (MAME)Air Duel▶Air Duel1990Arcade (MAME)64th Street: A Detective Story▶64th Street: A Detective Story1992Arcade (MAME)Bomber Man World▶Bomber Man World1992Arcade (MAME)R-Type Leo▶R-Type Leo1992Arcade (MAME)Marvel Super Heroes▶Marvel Super Heroes1995Arcade (MAME)Run and Gun▶Run and Gun1993Arcade (MAME)CarnEvil▶CarnEvil1998Arcade (MAME)Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara▶Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara1996Arcade (MAME)J-League Soccer V-Shoot▶J-League Soccer V-Shoot1994Arcade (MAME)Street Fighter EX▶Street Fighter EX1996Arcade (MAME)City Bomber▶City Bomber1987Arcade (MAME)X-Men: Children of the Atom▶X-Men: Children of the Atom1995Arcade (MAME)Spider-Man: The Video Game▶Spider-Man: The Video Game1991Arcade (MAME)Crime Fighters▶Crime Fighters1989Arcade (MAME)Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle▶Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle1995Arcade (MAME)Tank Force▶Tank Force1991Arcade (MAME)Dead Connection▶Dead Connection1992Arcade (MAME)Street Fighter EX 2 Plus▶Street Fighter EX 2 Plus1999Arcade (MAME)Alien vs. Predator▶Alien vs. Predator1994Arcade (MAME)Tech Romancer▶Tech Romancer1998Arcade (MAME)Gradius III▶Gradius III1989Arcade (MAME)Three Wonders▶Three Wonders1991Arcade (MAME)Astro Fighter▶Astro Fighter1979Arcade (MAME)

Arcade machines were never general-purpose computers. Each cabinet was purpose-built hardware designed to do one thing at a level home systems could not match, and to do it convincingly enough that you kept feeding it coins. That produced a rate of technical progress nothing else in gaming matched: Namco's first video game, Gee Bee, appeared in 1978 as a black-and-white block-breaker designed by Toru Iwatani, who went on to make Pac-Man. Fifteen years later the same company was shipping textured 3D racing hardware. Because the boards were all different, arcade preservation depends on MAME, the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, first released in February 1997 with the explicit goal of documenting how this hardware worked before the surviving boards died.

What our arcade catalogue actually holds

Our 805 arcade titles lean towards the late 1980s and the 1990s rather than the golden-age canon. Capcom's CPS-1 and CPS-2 boards are well represented: the beat 'em up Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, the two Dungeons & Dragons arcade games Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara, the fighters X-Men: Children of the Atom and Marvel vs. Capcom, and the vertical shooters 19XX and 1944: The Loop Master. Namco supplies the 3D era with Tekken, Tekken 3, Ridge Racer and Time Crisis. Konami is here with Vendetta, Crime Fighters and Salamander 2. And the catalogue covers the bullet-hell lineage properly: Toaplan's Batsugun, then CAVE — founded by former Toaplan staff — with DonPachi, DoDonPachi and Guwange. Earlier hardware appears too, including New Rally-X, Lady Bug, Super Xevious and Hang-On.

Playing arcade games in your browser

441 of the 805 arcade titles here run directly in the page, with the emulator recreating the original board inside your browser. Nothing is installed and nothing is downloaded. Worth knowing before you start: arcade games were tuned to take your money, so difficulty ramps steeply and continues were the business model. Credits are free here, which changes the experience — but it is also the only practical way most of these machines can be played now.

FAQ

What is MAME and why does it matter?
MAME is the Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator, first released in February 1997. Unlike most emulators it is a documentation project first and a way to play games second: the goal is to describe how each arcade board worked in enough detail that the knowledge survives the hardware. Original boards fail over time — batteries die, custom chips degrade — so this documentation is the only long-term record for many machines.
Which arcade games can I play here?
441 of our 805 arcade titles are playable directly in the browser. The collection is strongest on Capcom's CPS boards, Namco's 3D hardware and the CAVE and Toaplan shooters, so <a href="/en/cadillacs-and-dinosaurs">Cadillacs and Dinosaurs</a>, <a href="/en/tekken-3">Tekken 3</a> and <a href="/en/dodonpachi">DoDonPachi</a> are good starting points.
Why are arcade games so hard?
Because they were designed to be. A cabinet earned money by ending your game, so difficulty was tuned to give an average player a few minutes per credit, with continues offered at the moment you were most invested. Playing with unlimited credits, as you effectively do here, produces a very different experience from the one the designers balanced for.

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