Introduction Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire was developed and published by Capcom on CPS-2 arcade hardware, released in Japan in May 1997 as the third entry in the Darkstalkers series, following Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge. The game introduced the Dark Force system, a character-specific super meter that could be activated to grant unique temporary…
Introduction Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1996, its tongue-in-cheek title deliberately echoing that year’s own Super Street Fighter II Turbo despite having no other Puzzle Fighter games to distinguish itself from. Rather than a traditional fighting game, it is a competitive falling-block puzzle game in…
Introduction Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1996 as the sequel to 1994’s Tower of Doom. The game expanded on its predecessor’s D&D-based class system, adding a Magic-User and a Thief to the returning Fighter, Cleric, Dwarf, and Elf, giving up to four cooperating players…
Introduction Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1994 as the studio’s first game built directly on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop ruleset. Up to four players choose from character classes drawn straight from the D&D rulebook, including Fighter, Cleric, Dwarf, and Elf, each with distinct…
Introduction Aliens was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1990 as a loose adaptation of the 1986 James Cameron film of the same name. Up to three players take control of Colonial Marines fighting through a series of increasingly hostile environments overrun by the film’s iconic Xenomorphs, blasting through waves of acid-blooded…
Introduction Galaxian was developed and published by Namco, released in arcades in 1979 as the company’s answer to the runaway success of Taito’s Space Invaders the year before. Players control a starship at the bottom of the screen, firing upward at a formation of alien insect-like enemies that, unlike the steadily advancing rows in Space…
Introduction Altered Beast was developed and published by Sega, released in arcades in 1988 before becoming one of the launch titles for the Sega Genesis later that year. Loosely inspired by Greek mythology, the game casts players as a Roman centurion resurrected by the god Zeus and tasked with rescuing his daughter Athena from the…
Introduction Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was developed and published by Midway, released in arcades in 1995 as a significantly revised update to the same year’s Mortal Kombat 3. The game restored several fan-favorite fighters who had been left out of the original Mortal Kombat 3 roster, including Kitana, Mileena, Jax, and Scorpion, bringing the total…
Introduction Metal Slug 3 was developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, released in 2000 as the third mainline entry in the run-and-gun series. Building on the technical lessons learned from the sprite-heavy Metal Slug 2, the game refined performance while going even further creatively, introducing branching mid-level paths that…
Introduction Metal Slug 2 was developed and published by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS arcade system, released in 1998 as the direct sequel to the original Metal Slug. Players once again control members of the Peregrine Falcon Squad, running and gunning through hand-drawn, richly animated levels packed with rescuable prisoners, destructible scenery, and the…
Introduction Out Run was developed and published by Sega, released in arcades in 1986 under the direction of Yu Suzuki, who had previously worked on Sega’s earlier hit Hang-On. Players take the wheel of a red Ferrari Testarossa Spider convertible, racing against the clock through scenic checkpoint stages rather than against other cars, with a…
Introduction Space Invaders was developed and released by Taito in 1978, designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, who reportedly spent close to a year building both the game and the custom hardware needed to run it. Players control a small cannon at the bottom of the screen, moving left and right to shoot down descending rows of…