# The 18 Greatest Arcade Games of All Time

> Cabinets that ate quarters for thirty years, and a few that just looked good in the corner. The pecking order was never settled.

*By YPB Team · Published September 22, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-18-greatest-arcade-games-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Pac-Man** — score 1000/1000
   Namco's 1980 maze chase that turned a yellow circle into the most recognisable character in games.
2. **Galaga** — score 794/1000
   Namco's 1981 fixed shooter, remembered for the tractor beam that let a captured ship fight alongside you.
3. **Daytona USA** — score 676/1000
   Sega's 1994 racer, the eight-cabinet linked setup that defined the mid-90s arcade floor.
4. **Space Invaders** — score 643/1000
   Taito's 1978 shooter that started the arcade boom and reportedly caused a coin shortage in Japan.
5. **Ms. Pac-Man** — score 566/1000
   The 1982 sequel with four mazes and smarter ghosts, widely held to improve on the original.
6. **Golden Axe** — score 566/1000
   Sega's 1989 fantasy beat-em-up with rideable beasts and a co-op mode people still remember.
7. **Gauntlet** — score 566/1000
   Atari's 1985 four-player dungeon crawler and its narrator announcing your health running low.
8. **Donkey Kong** — score 500/1000
   Nintendo's 1981 platformer that introduced Mario and made narrative a part of arcade play.
9. **Dance Dance Revolution** — score 423/1000
   Konami's 1998 rhythm machine that put the player's whole body on display in the arcade.
10. **NBA Jam** — score 423/1000
   Midway's 1993 two-on-two basketball game, all dunks, fire and commentary.
11. **Asteroids** — score 333/1000
   Atari's 1979 vector shooter and the company's best-selling arcade machine.
12. **Time Crisis** — score 333/1000
   Namco's 1995 light-gun shooter with a foot pedal for taking cover.
13. **Defender** — score 333/1000
   Williams' 1981 side-scrolling shooter, famous for a control panel that scared off casual players.
14. **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles** — score 333/1000
   Konami's 1989 four-player beat-em-up that turned a cabinet into a group activity.
15. **Out Run** — score 227/1000
   Sega's 1986 driving game with a hydraulic cabinet, branching routes and a radio you could tune.
16. **Mortal Kombat** — score 227/1000
   Midway's 1992 answer to Street Fighter II, built on digitised actors and finishing moves.
17. **Tekken 3** — score 227/1000
   Namco's 1997 fighter, the high point of 3D arcade fighting before the genre moved home.
18. **Street Fighter II** — score 0/1000
   Capcom's 1991 fighter that defined the one-on-one genre and kept arcades alive through the decade.

Tags: games, 80s, 90s, classics, arcade