I guess I should start by saying, I am definitely, an arcade gamer. I had consoles growing up, but I really never cared much for them outside a few gems. For example, I never owned more than 12 or so games for any console I had, and by the time DreamCast came out, I was buying consoles for specific games. This is not to say that didn't spend an enormous amount of time playing NES, Genesis, and SNES, because I did.
So here comes the story. Make some popcorn.
As far back as I can remember, (early to mid 80s) there were games like Frogger, Donkey Kong, Centipede/Millipede, Pac-Man, Paperboy, Q*bert, Karate Champ, sometimes the much older 70s games, etc, wherever I went with my family. I'm 31 years old, so I got to experience the golden era of arcades, and witness the sad decline during the entire formative years of my life. While I played these games, I never really enjoyed them. They just seemed like something to do when I went places with my family, like hotels, casinos, boardwalks, malls, the typical places.
The first game to really suck me in to arcade gaming was Rampage. The building smashing monster game that devoured quarters. I think I only ever played this at Harrah's in Atlantic City. I don't remember ever seeing it anywhere else, except the basement at YesterCades...it's coming...But anyway, I would stand behind the barn door style entrance to the nursery off the side of the arcade at Harrah's, watching others play, waiting for my turn. It was pure torture. The NES translation was a satisfying conversion, however woefully imperfect. It was had to match the charismatic appearance of such a fine game with so few colors and low resolution, as Rampage had exceptional graphic detail for what it was worth.
The next game to really capture my attention was Bubble Bobble. It was at the Middletown pool club (which is not being converted into an ice skating rink). In one of the cabanas was a snack bar area, and I saw a crowd of people standing around an arcade machine, with the music blasting. It was Bubble Bobble. The music from that game has haunted me for 27 years. So, I waited my turn, got to play, died immediately, and was quickly pushed away by the older kids. I never got to play it there again. I also played BB at an Irish pub called Briody's in Rumson NJ, as my aunt worked there and my family frequented the restaurant. This place also had a kick ass 2 on 2 hockey game called Hat Trick. Very fun, and I don't like sports games. It will never go away. The NES port of this game was also very playable in its simplicity, but like Rampage, just not the same. No NES game really could be. I still play Bubble Bobble almost every time I go to YesterCades (high score of 2.6 million, 44 stages without dying on player 1 btw for anyone interested).
Other games to mention in this time frame (1986 and before) -
Spy Hunter: Generally a diner game, sometimes in small arcades I'd run into this. Always liked the intro music.
Punch-out! - A staple at Harrah's Casino arcade. Always hated it and prefer the NES style much more
Gauntlet - Played this for the first time at Monmouth Race Track in the late 80s.
Mat Mania - At a local grocery store where my grandmother worked. I could never get passed the second character with the mask. I remember these twins who would come into the store and harass me. I was 5 years old standing on a milk crate, and they would pick on me. I yelled at them once, "Get out!" because my grandmother hated them. "O-U-T OUT!" and one of them said "That's not how you spell out."
Indiana Jones - My mother loved this one, it was at Playcade on the south side of the boardwalk in Atlantic City. A dirty little arcade with skeeball in the back, those idiotic quarter stealing machines that make it look like you'll get a bunch if the pushing mechanism hits right after your quarters are added to the pile, and fake slot machines for kids. I would return to this arcade many times over the years, and as of maybe 2005, it was still there.
Arkanoid - another diner staple. This was everywhere and I hated it. It was my least favorite incarnation of these "Brickle" type games, as I felt it had the worst physics, obviously designed to devour quarters.
All the various Nintendo arcade cabs, Super Mario Bros, Vs Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, etc. Duck Hunt I never got the hang of until I started playing it at YesterCades. As a child I could not hold the gun up high enough to get it in line with the screen to make the shots accurate. After about 15 minutes at YesterCades, I got through 7 rounds and only miss one duck. Round 7 I believe starts the 3 ducks.
The Main Event - Saw this one around everywhere. Most notably I played it a lot at a Ramada Inn where my mother, grandmother and aunt all worked for a little while. Got my ass handed to me by older kids all the time. Wrestling games were meh usually. I'll get to the grand daddy later. Also got in a lot of RoboCop here.
The next major notable is Quartet. I really don't think many of you, even in the golden age of late 20s to 30s are familiar with this game, but it was so charismatic looking and fun to play. Another Harrah's exclusive, as I never saw it anywhere else. I played the Hell out of this game, and it was multiplayer. Fighting over weapon power ups was a must and kids would get so upset if you stole the laser weapon from them. The music in this game was really good and futuristic. If you have the chance to play this game, try it. There's also a Quartet 2, but I'm not sure if there's any real difference. "Destroy the Boss. Only a key opens the door. Open the door!"
Contra - Eatontown Roller Rink mostly. Surprisingly never saw this title many places. I think I saw Super Contra more frequently.
Towards the late 80s early 90s there was a sub shop a block from my grandmother's called O'Rourke's that had Golden Axe. I use to go there for sandwiches with my great grandmother who would give me rolls of quarters to try to beat Golden Axe. I got really good at that game and could eventually beat it on maybe a couple dollars. They also had a game called Blandia, which was a bizarre side scroller, where the screen moved on its own. You were a knight fighting flying enemies, and other knights, losing armor as you got hit. A very interesting fact about this game, is on the boss's you would attack to knock off the armor, and then try to stab in the exposed area to win more quickly. Vs the female knight, in the Japanese version, you can actually beat her by completely disrobing her, in which she forfeits the battle, and you move on like nothing happened. In the US version, you have to beat her...by killing her. This place also had a side scroller with a character that had a boomerang I believe, on an island, and I cannot remember the name. If anyone knows it, please post.
Double Dragon, Heavy Barrel, various side scrolling shooters, bringing us through the mid to late 80s. Altered Beast, for some reason I really enjoyed, but while a pretty game, it's honestly pretty horrible.
Final Fight was a huge game for me. I played it everywhere although today it doesn't hold up that well for me. I think I resent the fact that Haggar has never been in a worthwhile fighting game, and don't say MvC3 because it's an embarrassment. Haggar FTW. This game was also at O'Rourke's.
This brings me to a section on beat em ups. TMNT, Turtles in Time, the Simpsons, X-men, Sunset Riders, the Combatribes, Captain Commando etc etc. Wow these games were everywhere and rightfully so. How wonderfully addicting. I wish I could list all the places I played them and I sure can remember a lot of them, but just know, these games were the shit. Harrah's casino had them all, as it was one of the best arcades I've ever been to, with a constantly updating list. I will never forget the sounds of Punch-Out and a pool game where a character says "Quit talking and start chalking" If you take too much time to make a move. I got to Krang for the first time at this arcade, and saw the X-men 6 player panoramic cab for the first time here as well. CapCom I would play at a comic shop on Staten Island with my cousin whenever I'd visit him. TMNT was a game I would salivate for. Rest stops, boardwalks, movie theaters, casinos, video stores, everywhere, you name it, they had it, and it became one of those games that made me want to go to boring places with my family, if I knew I could get in some TMNT on the way.
Along the lines of beat em ups, would be wrestling games. WWF Superstars I remember playing for the first time at a place called Pal Joey's Pizza on Staten Island, iirc, Forest Avenue. it wasn't until years later that I realized Andre said "No one can beat, Megabucks..." There was something very surreal about it because until then, all the wrestling games I ever played in the arcade had made up characters. This was the real deal and would only be trumped by what is considered the ultimate arcade wrestling game, WrestleFest. Pure scientific simplicity. Random lock up advantage, mash for counters, keep the heat by being fast, insert quarters to recharge, 5 out of 12 of the wrestlers in it...dead. I loved this game. My mother would complain, much like when I would play Rampage years earlier, that I sweat like a pig when playing it. These are mashing games folks, and you gotta put in what you get out of it.
While many players like the Mortal Kombat style of WrestleMania arcade, WrestleFest still reigns supreme as the best pure wrestling game. I had such wild anticipation when going to places that I knew had it. Another Harrah's story, I inserted my quarter to Buy In during a Royal Rumble where a few other kids were playing. I picked the Big Bossman, locked up with one of the other kids, he threw me towards his friend and back dropped me out! I was done in seconds and not happy. Needless to say, I probably logged more hours on that game than any other human being. I made it a point to go to Keansburg Boardwalk constantly with my family, even though I hated it, just because I knew it was there, and also at a local Quick Stop, where they had...SFII:CE.
I guess I should start getting into the fighting games. There are plenty of other games I played over the years and I could go on an on with specific stories about every game, Mercs, NARC, Rolling Thunder, Vigilante, BAD Dudes, King of the Monsters, Saturday Night Slammasters, Tetris, all the SNK NEO GEO games, but I was never big into the stand up shooters, or sit down racers. I believe the staleness and over saturation of these games, while some very fun, and the advent of the Playstation's "borderline" arcade perfect ports contributed to the death of arcades. They were all the same, they all took up enormous amounts of space. What was once a room with 50 arcade machines, became a room of 10 racers, 5 shooters, and 5 crane games. You MIGHT have seen an MvC2 in there by the early 2000s.
But if anyone is still reading this, the fighting games are probably what you're looking for. That will unfortunately, have to wait for another day! There's just way too much to type right now, as my arcade experience spans about 15-20 years, just for fighters, and it never really stopped. It took a big dive in frequency, but there's a lot even in the 2000s when I got into the FGC. I'll make sure to get into my first experience's with every MK arcade game. I am forgetting tons and tons of mentions, as my brain cannot handle the flood of memories.
Tune in next time.
Made a good living there as a 14-15 year old kid 
