Mortal Kombat

• Debut: 1992

Mortal Kombat is one of the most popular gaming franchises in history. While several ended up going straight to home consoles, the originals all came out in arcades across the United States and Japan. The very first one was released in 1992. It made history very early on in several ways. Due to its graphic violence, it was often assumed to be the reason for teen violence across America. On top of this, MK was the very first game to have a “secret fighter” that you could get as the player if you did all the game requirements. The MK franchise is very deep at this point, but it all began in the arcades. Most of their games were massive hits at the arcade, giving them the honor of being one of the best arcade games around with every new release.

Mario Bros.

• Debut: 1983

Every Mario game tends to be impressive and very well made. Nintendo always knew how to make a great series of games and it shows with Mario. The very first game hit arcades in 1983. Eventually, Mario Bros. as a franchise kept expanding. Several new arcade games came out in the 1980s and 1990s. However, once Nintendo had their infamous consoles, they often release the Mario games there around the same time as the arcade versions. That said, each Mario game was usually among the best arcade games of its time. They were always major hits for arcades and made people want to keep coming back to play.

X-Men: Children of the Atom

• Debut: 1995 & 1996

One of the single best arcade games in history, X-Men: Children of the Atom was based on the popular X-Men comic books of the time. Capcom decided to first release it in Japan in 1994, then it made it into American and European arcades by 1995. Almost immediately upon arrival, it was one of the most popular games at arcades. While there would be console versions of the game, the arcade controls and experience made people keep coming back to blow through their quarters. In this game, you could be either a member of the X-Men or a villain. Among the characters, you could choose: Iceman, Psylocke, Colossus, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Silver Samurai, Omega Red, Sentinel, Spiral, Juggernaut, or Magneto.

The Simpsons

• Debut: 1991

In the early 1990s, The Simpsons shook the television world with its adult-targeted animated wit. While it did go over the top sometimes, the show eventually became more family-friendly and has remained that way ever since. The popularity of the show resulted in Konami making an arcade about this family of four. You get to play as either Homer, Marge, Lisa, or Bart as they searched for a kidnapped Maggie in the game. This game has won a slew of awards and sold tons of machines due to its popularity, making it one of the best arcade games ever, hands down.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

• Debut: 1991

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actually began as a comic book series, but the popularity for the group truly came through its animated shows and movies along with the original live-action films. The Turtles in Time game was based on the comic series and some of the animated stuff. It had a pretty cool story from the start too. We find out Krang is now in New York in a giant exosuit and has stolen the Statue of Liberty. Meanwhile, Shredder has taken over the airwaves just to laugh at the turtles and what they lost. Now, the turtles must fight through the seemingly never-ending Foot clan to stop Krang and Shredder. You can play as either of the four turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, or Michaelangelo (Mikey)

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our Sources:

Nintendo

SEGA

Capcom

Konami Games

NetherRealm Studios

Bandai Namco Studios