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Retro Game Videos Videos of classic games from arcade, console and home computer.

26/12/2021

Xybots is a third-person shooter arcade game released by Atari in 1987. Two players control "Major Rock Hardy" and "Captain Ace Gunn", who must travel through a 3D maze and fight against a series of robots known as the Xybots, whose mission is to destroy all mankind.

The game features a split screen display showing the gameplay on the bottom half of the screen and information on player status and the current level on the top half. It was originally conceived as a sequel to Gauntlet, and includes a unique control scheme that involves rotating the joystick to turn the player's character.

25/11/2021

Boot Hill is a one or two-player western gunfight arcade game released by Midway in 1977.

Each player uses a joystick to move their cowboy up and down the play area, while a second joystick is used to aim the pistol and shoot. The game's single goal is to shoot the other player situated on the opposite side of the game area with the allocated 6 bullets. Wagons move up the middle and cacti litter the play area, these obstacles provide temporary cover from the opponent's gunfire but gradually disintegrate as they are hit.

The player may play against the computer, or another human in two player mode. The winner is the player with the highest score when the countdown timer reaches zero.

17/11/2021

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game released by Sega in 1985.

The player controls a jet-propelled human character in a surreal world composed of brightly colored landscapes adorned with checkerboard-style grounds and stationary objects such as trees or stone pillars. The objective is simply to destroy all enemies — who range from prehistoric animals and Chinese dragons to flying robots, airborne geometric objects and alien pods — all while remaining in constant motion in order to dodge projectiles and immovable ground obstacles.

The deluxe arcade cabinet is a cockpit-style hydraulic motion simulator cabinet that tilts and rolls during play.

The game was a commercial success in arcades, becoming one of Japan's top two highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade games of 1986. Critically praised for its innovative graphics, gameplay and motion cabinet, Space Harrier is often ranked among Sega developer Yu Suzuki's best works.

13/11/2021

NARC is a run-and-gun arcade game released by Williams in 1988. It was one of the first ultra-violent video games and a frequent target of parental criticism of the video game industry. The object is to arrest and kill drug offenders, confiscate their money and drugs, and defeat "Mr. Big".

The game's main characters are Max Force and Hit Man, who have received a memo from Spencer Williams, Narcotics Opposition chairman in Washington, DC dispatching them on Project NARC. Their mission is to apprehend Mr Big, head of an underground drug trafficking and terrorist organization.

The player controls either Max Force or Hit Man, who shoot or arrest junkies, drug dealers, and organized crime kingpins. Max and Hit are each equipped with an automatic weapon and a missile launcher. When an enemy is dispatched using the latter, they explode in a torrent of scorched and bloody appendages. Some enemies can be arrested after they surrender and then float away with "busted" over them. This is then added to a tally at the end of the level along with drugs and money confiscated from other enemies that they dropped when gunned down.

The main musical theme was recorded by the band Pixies and released as a B-side to their "Planet of Sound" single in 1990.

10/11/2021

Gauntlet is a 1985 fantasy-themed hack-and-slash arcade game released by Atari. It is noted as being one of the first multiplayer dungeon crawl arcade games.

The game is set within a series of top-down, third-person, orthographic mazes where the object is to find the exit to the next level.

Each player controls one of four fantasy-based characters: warrior, wizard, valkyrie or elf (named as Thor, Merlin, Thyra and Questor on the cabinet artwork). Each character has his or her own unique strengths and weaknesses.

The enemies are an assortment of fantasy-based monsters, including ghosts, grunts, demons, lobbers, sorcerers, and thieves. Each enters the level through specific generators, which can be destroyed. The most dangerous enemy is Death, who can only be destroyed by using a magic potion. Death will vanish automatically after it has drained a certain amount of health from the player.

The arcade version of Gauntlet was released initially as a dedicated four-player cabinet. Atari later released a two-player cabinet variant in 1986, aimed at operators who could not afford or did not have sufficient space for the four-player version.

08/11/2021

At Retro Game Videos we aim to show you what the game would look like for the average player - we don't have long plays, speed runs or record high scores.

Here is Defender - one of the hardest arcade games ever - and our player goofing up and losing all his humanoids in wave 2.

06/11/2021

Battlezone is a first-person shooter tank combat game released for arcades in November 1980 by Atari. The player controls a tank which is attacked by other tanks and missiles, using a small radar scanner to locate enemies around them in the barren landscape.

With its innovative use of three-dimensional vector graphics, the game is considered to be the first true 3D arcade game with a first-person perspective, the "first big 3D success" in the video game industry with approximately 15,000 units sold.

27/10/2021

An illustation of the clothing options for the "pit girls" in the arcade game Super Off Road.

13/10/2021

R-Type is a horizontally-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987. The player controls a spacecraft, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in their mission to destroy the Bydo, a powerful alien race bent on wiping out all of mankind. The R-9 can acquire a glowing orbicular device called a "Force", protecting it from enemy fire and providing additional firepower.

The development team drew inspiration from Gradius, Aliens and works by H.R. Giger. The game's title stems from the word "ray", as in a ray of light, in reference to the player's raylike weapons used throughout the game.

R-Type was commercially successful and celebrated by critics for its graphics and addictive gameplay, although it would receive criticism for its high difficulty level. It is commonly cited as one of the best shoot 'em up video games, as well as one of the greatest video games of all time.

10/10/2021

Galaga is a 1981 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco (released by Midway in North America). It is the sequel to Galaxian (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower.

Galaga received critical acclaim and went on to become one of the most successful arcade games ever. It is widely regarded as a classic of the golden age of arcade video games and one of the greatest video games of all time. Critics applauded its gameplay, innovation, addictive nature, and improvements made over its predecessor. It was followed by a sequel in 1984, Gaplus.

Galaga has appeared in several films, including WarGames (1983). A Galaga arcade machine was delivered to Matthew Broderick's home so he could practice for the scene.

06/10/2021

Super Hang-On is a motorcycle racing arcade game released by Sega in 1987, a sequel to 1985's Hang-On. There were two versions of the arcade cabinet - a stand-up/upright version, and a sit down/mini ride-on version. In 1991, a version in a full simulated motorcycle cabinet (similar to that used by the original Hang-On) was released as Limited Edition Hang-On.

The gameplay in Super Hang-On is like the original Hang-On, but there is now a choice of four tracks to race on: Beginner (Africa), Junior (Asia), Seniors (Americas) and Expert (Europe). Also, there is a new turbo button added; should the player reach the normal maximum speed of 280 km/h, this button allows the player to reach an even higher top speed of 324 km/h. When the player starts a race, they have their choice of four songs that will play during the race, a feature borrowed from Out Run.

18/09/2021

Ms. Pac-Man is a 1981 maze arcade game published by Midway. It is the first sequel to Pac-Man (1980). Controlling the titular character, the player is tasked with eating all of the pellets in an enclosed maze while avoiding four colored ghosts. Eating the larger “power pellets” lets the player eat the ghosts, who turn blue and flee.

Ms. Pac-Man was acclaimed by critics for its improvements to the original gameplay and for having a female protagonist. Critics have described it as superior to Pac-Man. It has been listed among the greatest video games of all time and as one of the most successful American arcade games ever made.

31/07/2021

Track & Field is an Olympic-themed sports arcade game released by Konami in 1983.

Players compete in a series of events, most involving alternately pressing two buttons as quickly as possible to make the onscreen character run faster. It has a horizontal side-scrolling format, depicting one or two tracks at a time, a large scoreboard that displays world records and current runs, and a packed audience in the background.

The game was a worldwide commercial success in arcades, becoming one of the most successful arcade games of 1984. It was followed a sequel, Hyper Sports.

Because the game responded to repeatedly pressing the "run" buttons at high frequency, players of the arcade version resorted to various tricks such as rapidly swiping a coin or ping-pong ball over the buttons, or using a ruler or pencil to "see-saw" over the buttons.

24/07/2021

Space Invaders Part II is a shoot-em-up arcade game published by Taito in 1979. The sequel to Space Invaders (1978), the player controls a laser base that must destroy formations of descending aliens, while avoiding their projectiles. New features have been added, such as aliens that split into two when shot, and short cutscenes in-between stages.

21/07/2021

After Burner is an arcade aerial combat game released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's stages by destroying incoming enemies, using both a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles. Sega's game designer, Yu Suzuki, was inspired by the 1986 film Top Gun.

The game was available in two cabinet types: a standard upright, and a deluxe cockpit model which featured a hydraulic motion simulator. (The deluxe cabinet appears in the 1991 film "Terminator 2".)

After Burner was a commercial success, and was acclaimed by critics for its impressive visuals, gameplay and overall presentation. An updated version with the addition of throttle controls, After Burner II, was released later the same year.

09/07/2021

When England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 played Italy 🇮🇹 in the "SNK Cup" on Retro Game Videos' page last year, they lost 0-2 (game starts at 6:51). Could this be a prediction for the European Cup final on Sunday?
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

09/07/2021

July 9 1981: 40 years ago today Donkey Kong made its debut in Japanese arcades. The character of Jumpman later took the name "Mario" - and would go on to become the mascot of Nintendo!

07/06/2021

Double Dragon is a 1987 arcade beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito.

Double Dragon introduced several additions to the beat 'em up formula, such as two-player cooperative gameplay, the ability to arm oneself with an enemy's weapon after disarming them, a continuous side-scrolling world adding a sense of progression, and the use of cut scenes to give it a cinematic look and feel. The game's title is a reference to the two-player gameplay and Bruce Lee's martial arts film Enter the Dragon (1973), which was a major inspiration.

Double Dragon was one of the first successful beat 'em up games, becoming Japan's third highest-grossing table arcade game of 1987 before becoming America's overall highest-grossing dedicated arcade game for two years in a row, in 1988 and 1989. Its success resulted in the creation of two arcade sequels and several spinoffs, and it ushered in a "Golden Age" for the beat 'em up genre, establishing the conventions for a wave of beat 'em ups from other companies during the late 1980s to 1990s.

09/03/2021

Frogger is a 1981 arcade game developed by Konami and published by Sega. The object of the game is to direct frogs to their homes one by one by crossing a busy road and navigating a river full of hazards.

12/02/2021

Ford Racing Full Blown is a arcade racing game which centres around racing modern and vintage Ford cars and trucks through various tracks, while competing against computer-driven opponents.

We hope you've enjoyed the acade driving games series; this is the final video in that playlist for now. And, being only 15 years old, it is also the least "retro" game we have featured to date!

05/02/2021

Rave Racer is an arcade racing game that was released by Namco in 1995. It is the third arcade title in the Ridge Racer series and the follow-up to Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer 2.

03/02/2021

Sega Rally Championship is a 1994 racing arcade game developed by Sega. The unique selling point of the game was the ability to drive on different surfaces, with different friction properties, with the car's handling changing accordingly. As the first racing game to incorporate this feature, Sega Rally Championship is considered to be one of the milestones in the evolution of the racing game genre.

02/02/2021

Daytona USA is a racing game released by Sega in Japan in 1993 and worldwide in 1994. Players race stock cars on one of three courses. The first game released on the Sega Model 2 three-dimensional arcade system board, Daytona USA is one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time.

31/01/2021

Ridge Racer is a 1993 racing arcade game developed and published by Namco. The player can choose one of four levels, automatic or manual transmission, and the aim is to finish in first place.

Upon release, Ridge Racer was well received. The 3D polygon graphics which introduced texture mapping and Gouraud shading were described by critics as being revolutionary and the most realistic video game graphics seen up until then. It was also praised for its soundtrack and drifting-based gameplay.

28/01/2021

Virtua Racing is a Formula One racing arcade game, developed by Sega and released in 1992. Though the use of 3D polygonal graphics was predated by Namco (Winning Run in 1988) and Atari (Hard Drivin' in 1989), Virtua Racing had vastly improved visuals in terms of polygon count, frame rate, and overall scene complexity which all contributed to a greater sense of immersion.

Virtua Racing introduced the "V.R. View System", allowing the player to choose one of four views to play the game. The Deluxe version has a 16:9 aspect-ratio monitor (the first use of a widescreen aspect ratio monitor in an arcade game).

Virtua Racing is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, for laying the foundations for subsequent 3D racing games and for popularizing 3D polygonal graphics among a wider audience.

27/01/2021

Hot-Rod is a top-down arcade racing game developed by Sega. Released for arcades in 1988 in Japan and in 1989 worldwide, the game was available in a four-player cocktail-style cabinet as well as a three-player upright cabinet.

The catchy "Shop" theme used in this game would also be used in later Sega racing games, including Turbo Outrun.

25/01/2021

Hard Drivin' is a 1989 driving arcade game where players drive a sports car around a racetrack. The game features an accurate simulation of car handling via a cabinet with a force feedback steering wheel, and was one of the first to feature a 3D polygon driving environment.

The player can take one of two routes around the track - a speed track which emphasizes speed, or a stunt track which features a jump, stunt loop and banked curve. Completing the course within a certain qualifying time awards the player the opportunity to race against the computer controlled car, Phantom Photon. If the player wins, their route is saved and future qualifiers will race against their "ghost" car.

23/01/2021

Super Off Road is an arcade game released in 1989 by Leland. The game was endorsed by professional off-road racer Ivan "Ironman" Stewart.

In the game, up to three players compete against each other and the computer in racing around several top-view indoor off-road truck tracks of increasing difficulty. Cash bonuses are awarded for the faster drivers, which they can use to upgrade their trucks or buy more nitro.

20/01/2021

Power Drift is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1988. Like Sega's earlier racing games, Power Drift makes use of sprite scaling to give a 3D feel, but the hardware on this game also allows individual sprites and the background to be rotated adding an extra dynamic to the visuals.

The objective is to finish each race in third place or better in order to advance to the next stage. The tracks have a roller coaster feel to them, with many steep climbs and falls, as well as the possibility of falling off higher sections of track.

19/01/2021

Chase H.Q. is an arcade racing game released in 1988 by Taito.

The player assumes the role of a police officer driving a black Porsche, who must catch fleeing criminals in high-speed pursuits. At the start of each level the player is informed who they are pursuing - they must apprehend the criminal before their time limit expires.

19/01/2021

APB ("All-points Bulletin") is a driving arcade game released by Atari in 1987. The player assumes the role of "Officer Bob," a rookie police officer. As Bob, players drive around the city, ticketing motorists for minor infractions and pulling over more serious offenders. Some levels also give the player the task of arresting fugitive felons.

The game was criticized for its difficulty; the game's developers later admitted that a long development cycle had resulted in the gameplay growing more complicated than originally planned.

12/01/2021

RoadBlasters is a combat racing arcade game released by Atari in 1987. The player must navigate an armed sports car through 50 different rally races, getting to the finish line before running out of fuel. The player's car is equipped with a cannon that can be used to destroy enemy vehicles and roadside gun turrets for extra points. A drone occasionally flies overhead and drops a power-up item, which the player can pick up.

A promotional giveaway was accessible on the original arcade version, where players could send in their name and "personalized secret code" after completing rally 50 and receive a free RoadBlasters T-shirt.

10/01/2021

Continental Circus is a racing arcade game created by Taito in 1987.

The arcade cabinets (both upright and sit-down models) feature shutter-type 3D glasses hanging above the player's head to give a stereoscopic 3D image.

09/01/2021

Super Sprint is a racing arcade game released by Atari in 1986. Up to three players drive simultaneously on a circuit against opponents controlled by the computer. The circuits are viewed from above and always fit on the screen, so the game never scrolls.

09/01/2021

WEC Le Mans 24 is an arcade racing game released in 1986 by Konami. The game is based on the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race and was offically approved by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest. The lap is split up into three sections, during which the time of day changes between day, dusk, night and finally dawn.

The deluxe arcade version was a sit-down ride that would actually spin the gamer around a 360° spinning base, turning left or right depending on the corner. The game is known to be challenging - any slight contact with an opposing race car will result in a spectacular flip in the air.

04/01/2021

Buggy Boy is an arcade off-road racing game developed by Tatsumi in 1985.

The object of the game is to drive one of five courses (Offroad, North, East, South or West) in the shortest time possible. Each course has five legs, each filled with obstacles such as boulders and brick walls. Points are awarded for driving through gates and collecting flags. The player could also hit logs and tree stumps in order to jump the buggy over obstacles, gaining extra points while airborne. Extra points are also awarded for driving the buggy on two wheels.

The original, cockpit version of the arcade cabinet had a panoramic three-screen display.

03/01/2021

Spy Hunter is a vertically scrolling arcade driving game developed by Bally Midway in 1983. The player takes the role of a spy driving an armed sportscar. The object of the game is to travel the highway destroying as many enemy vehicles as possible while protecting civilian vehicles.

Following periodic forks in the road, players can enter new regions with different terrain or weather conditions. Players can also augment the car's standard machine guns with other weapons by entering the weapons van.

It is possible for the player to convert the car into a speedboat for brief periods by driving through a special boathouse which occasionally appears at the side of the road.

Originally the game was to be based directly on James Bond and have the James Bond theme as in-game music, but the license could not be acquired. Instead, Henry Mancini's Peter Gunn Theme plays throughout.

02/01/2021

Pole Position is an arcade racing game that was released by Namco in 1982 (licensed to Atari for manufacture and distribution in the US).

The player controls a Formula One race car, and has to complete a time trial lap within a certain amount of time to qualify for an F1 race at the Fuji Racetrack. After qualifying, the player races against seven other CPU-controlled cars in a championship race avoiding collisions with opponents and billboards along the sides of the track.

Pole Position was the first racing video game to feature a track based on a real racing circuit. It was also the first game to feature a qualifying lap.

01/01/2021

Turbo is an arcade racing game released in 1981 by Sega. It was the first ever full-color, sprite-scaling racing game and the first game to feature the now common 3rd-person perspective (action is viewed above and behind the player's car).

01/01/2021

Retro Game Videos would like to wish all our followers a very Happy New Year!

We have dusted off the steering wheel, and in January 2021 we will be posting some videos from classic arcade racing/driving games.

Let us know in the comments if you have a favourite retro arcade racing game you would like to see us play.

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