80s arcade racing games

Sega offered all the 80s kids the chance to ride a motorcycle with their deluxe version of Hang-On. It was a motorcycle, you had to sit on it, operate the handlebars and lean left or right to turn.

This was brilliant, an awesome experience that made kids across the world part with the loose change and pocket money in their pockets. Oh, and the Music was awesome too.

Super Hang-On Followed in too. From racing superbikes to dirt bikes and it is all thanks to Sega again. Very similar to Hang-On in many aspects and again with a standard and a deluxe version but this time you can pull wheelies. When I visited my last gaming convention, I took my then 10 year old son who played this game for the first time. He had a blast, and I could see the magic of the arcade right in front of me.

He was racing and pulling wheelies to jump logs and obstacles and having a great time. Sometimes simple changes can make a familiar style of game feel different and Sega achieved that with Enduro Racer. It is the most obvious title to mention but it absolutely deserves to be mentioned and celebrated. It is an iconic game in fact a gaming classic with its famous music and of course the iconic Ferrari but it is also highly playable. You want to get to the end of the race; you want to try the different routes and you want to get better at OutRun.

It is probably the most well-known and recognisable racing game in the world. Again, the ultimate arcade outrun experience is in the deluxe moving arcade cab. However, there was also a standard moving cab which was still great fun as well as the standard upright cabinet. I would be surprised if you are reading this and had never played OutRun as it is game and series that has never really gone away.

As we enter the end of the decade the racing fun does not stop, in fact it will continue right through the s and into the s but that will probably be another article. Improved scaling graphics from Atari and added guns. Throwing together the ingredients that made Pole Position and Spy Hunter a success and you should have a hit. You have the jeopardy of your fuel and backup fuel tank running out which will end the game making it essential to get to the next checkpoint for a fuel bonus.

The first racing game released in the s by Namco, Rally-X was also one of the first arcade games produced in Japan that Namco imported over to the US. Compared to your average racing game, rather than racing against other players or a CPU, Rally-X had players collect flags around a maze-like course.

The inaugural game to the Street Fighter franchise, Street Fighter would be the first competitive fighting game released by Capcom in In single-player mode, players take control of a young Japanese martial artist named Ryu against eight different CPU-controlled enemies, but in 2-player mode, players could play as either Ryu or his rival, Ken.

Even now diehard fans and newer players can enjoy the popular fighting series, as Street Fighter V was just released in for PlayStation 4 and Windows. Armed with only a lance and a flying ostrich, players focus on defeating hordes of buzzard-riding knights while avoiding an indestructible pterodactyl in Joust. One of the few arcade games to tout itself as a co-op, second players can join in on the fun as a knight riding on a stork. However, this arcade game is available on mobile devices for those who want a trip to memory lane or for those who are curious.

Not to be confused with Super Mario Bros, which was published in , Mario Bros was published for arcade games in by nintendo. Given its success with the arcades and in its succeeding ports, Mario Bros. The first arcade game to appear on a live television commercial, Zaxxon is an isometric shooter where players pilot a space ship through two space fortresses, evading enemy fire while taking down enemy gun turrets, ships, and even fuel cans to keep ongoing.

Different factors help in giving Zaxxon a more 3-D effect, such as a shadow beneath the ship which shows its approximate height. And you ran out of gas all the time. It wasn't the most lasting relationship, but it was awesome while it held your brief, infantile attention as you blew everything in your way to Kingdom Come.

Photo Credit: Atari. Suggested By: Brian, The Life of. You were just a mild-mannered child, but now you're a hard-driving super spy. Do you have morals? Hell no! You drop oil slicks on people with morals! Even with the alienating top-down view, and the pitiful by modern standards graphics, Spy Hunter really grabbed you. Of course, it made you into a bastard, but that was part of what made Spy Hunters so great.

Suggested By: waveridin Why it's rad: The red, yellow, and blue positions looked ready for players, and the three endlessly-spinning steering wheels were inviting, but the screens were always black. That's a shame, because everyone loves Super Off Road. This might explain my auto insurance rates. I was the worst video game driver out of my friends but I probably had the most fun because I LOVE arcade racing games!

Even today when I get a chance to sit down and lose big-time on a classic arcade racing game, I take it! Formula One? More like Formula FUN! If you never played this sweet arcade race riot then you need to stop reading this, find the nearest arcade with the game and play it- NOW! Pretty awesome game right? Pole Position was one of the very first arcade racing games and considered to be one of the most influential arcade games ever made! Selling over 21, machines it was the highest-grossing game of The game came in 2 versions: an upright arcade cabinet and sit-down cabinet with a cockpit.

Players first qualified by completing a time trial lap and then would compete against 7 CPU competitors in a championship race. Classic and timeless, Pole Position paved the way for the arcade racing games that followed and follow they did! The vertically scrolling, James Bond-Inspired racing game featured an overhead view of your G Interceptor sports car as you dodged and shot enemies in helicopters, cars and boats!

An action-packed arcade game, Spy Hunter let players score points by staying alive and destroying enemy vehicles in explosive style. A weapons van could be periodically called via a blinking button to get 3 special weapons: oil slicks, smoke screens and surface-to-air-missiles to defeat your enemies. These helicopters where the bane of my arcade existence! So no matter how many enemies you obliterated or road forks you navigated the fun never stopped!

A great blend of missile shooting action and aggressive driving skills, Spy Hunter was like watching an action movie with yourself in the starring role! Speaking of arcade games that were ahead of their time, GP World by Sega was a fusion of video games and the real world race track video footage.