Blog Archives
Donkey Kong (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Donkey Kong
Arcade
1981
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
The original arcade Donkey Kong has become one of the most famous games in the world. It stars two of Nintendo’s world famous mascots and has been the focal point of films like The King of Kong. Behind all the nostalgia and popularity lies an entertaining game. Although it’s not as in-depth an experience as later Mario or Donkey Kong titles would become, the original Donkey Kong is a game that manages to hold its own. While it was never worth the price of what a full price game is today, it was, and still is an easy way to lose a lot of quarters.
Solomon’s Key (Arcade)
Video Game Review
Solomon’s Key
Arcade
1986
Developed by: Tecmo
Published by: Tecmo
Arcade games are supposed to be experiences to last just long enough to keep the player interested and entice them to keep plunking down quarters into the machine. Puzzle-platformers don’t exactly fit into the mold of what an arcade game should be. However, Tecmo did a really good job with Solomon’s Key at creating a frantic puzzle-platformer that is quite difficult but makes the player constantly want to spend their quarters in the hopes of beating the level they’re stuck on. The action on screen is hectic (which at times is a good thing and a bad thing), the puzzles are quite clever, and the game is a lot of fun.
Mario Bros. (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Mario Bros.
Arcade
1983
Developed by: Nintendo
Published by: Nintendo
Back before Mario became a household name, there was Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong was incredibly popular in the arcades and Nintendo was constantly looking to keep their properties strong and profitable. Donkey Kong became a strong franchise with multiple sequels. His nemesis, Jumpman also made the leap into his own game. Mario Bros. was the first Mario game that didn’t involve the big ape. It was a basic game that was quite fun. It also took on a new dimension when a second player got involved. For those wondering where Nintendo got the idea of multiplayer co-op for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, you should take a look at this title.
Q*bert (MB Hall of Fame Inductee)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Q*bert
Original Release: 1982 (Arcade)
Developer: Gottlieb
Publisher: Gottlieb
While Pac-Man has become the symbol of arcade gaming from the early 80s, it’s way to forget that Pac-Man had competition. Namco’s most famous character had mass-market appeal beyond the video game realm. But it wasn’t alone and it had fierce competition. For years, it competed with Gottlieb’s Q*bert for the hearts and minds of gamers.
Defender (MB Hall of Fame Inductee)
Defender
Hall of Fame Inductee
Original Release: 1980 (Arcade)
Developer: Williams Electronics
Publisher: Williams Electronics
Defender has slowly become one of the forgotten titles of the arcade era. It’s not as memorable as games like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong. Yet in 1981, even while the world was suffering from Pac-Man fever, Defender made more money than the ghost-hunting pie guy. Defender is one of those games that despite its difficulty and its complex gameplay (for the time), it still pulled in the quarters.
Frogger (MB Hall of Fame Inductee)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Frogger
Original Release: 1981 (Arcade)
Designer: Konami
Publisher: Sega, Gremlin
It’s weird how the simplest of concepts that have no business of becoming popular find their way to the front of the mass-market audience. Konami’s Frogger is an example of this. Considering it was released in 1981, an era where the best games involved shooting at things or had at least more than one screen, Frogger was very modest in contrast. It only had one screen and the goal was to get a frog to run across traffic to go home. On paper it sounds like a dud. In reality, it’s a game that became an icon in the industry.
Donkey Kong (Hall of Fame Inductee)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Donkey Kong
Original Release: 1981
Designers: Shigeru Miyamoto
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
While there were games that were more popular during their time in the arcades and games that made more of an impact in the world of gaming, Nintendo’s Donkey Kong is important for a variety of reasons. The first is that, while it didn’t become as big a mass market icon like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong was still plenty popular and was a staple of any arcade worth going to. Another reason is that the battle over Donkey Kong between Nintendo and Universal was the first example of a small video game company not bowing down to the movie industry and coming out on top. Most importantly, though, it introduced the public into the most popular video game icon of all time.
Toobin’ (Video Game Review)
Video Game Review
Toobin’
Arcade
1988
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Domark
While it’s very easy to remember the great games from the arcade era because there were so many amazing coin-op games, there were plenty of bad ones we try to forget about. Domark’s Toobin’ is one of them. While it tried to do something by adding a bunch of bells and whistles to what seemed like a simple formula, it offered little entertainment and wasn’t worth the quarters it cost to play the game.
Pac-Man (MB Hall of Fame Inductee)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Pac-Man
Original Release: 1980
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco/Midway
It would be an understatement to say that Pac-Man is a first-ballot hall of famer. Pac-Man, prior to the video game crash of 1983, was the pinnacle of video games. Pac-Man had become the mascot of the arcades. Even thirty years after its release, the original Pac-Man is incredibly popular and remakes and spin-offs are still profitable ventures for Namco.
Pong (MB Hall of Fame Inductee)
Hall of Fame Inductee
Pong
Original Release: 1972 (Arcade)
Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
If there’s one video game that most people recognize that came out prior to the home console rebirth in 1985, it was Pong. It wasn’t the first video game nor was it eye-catching. However, it was easy to get and fun to play with another person. Pong got people playing video games and laid the foundation for the entire genre of entertainment.
