10 Best Arcade Shooters of the 1980s, Ranked

When video games first appeared in arcades in the 1970s, one of the biggest genres was shooters. Today, most people likely think of first-person shooters when they hear “shooter,” but throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, “shooter” encompassed a whole bunch of sub-genres. These included light-gun, rail shooters, run-and-gun, shoot-’em-ups, fixed-shooters, and so many more. We looked at 75 shooters released in the 1980s and ranked the top 10. They’re ranked based on contemporary critics’ reviews upon release, how much fun they were to play, and their overall impact on the genre as it developed.

10) Tempest

Tempest is a 1981 tube shooter that uses vector graphics to represent 3D space. The player controls a claw-shaped vehicle that moves along the tube’s sides, from segment to segment, using a spinner. As they do this, enemies approach the player, who shoots and destroys them along the way. Tempest is a classic of the Golden Age of Arcade Video Games and one of the hardest shooters of the early 1980s. That didn’t make it any less fun, as it’s incredibly challenging to do well, which keeps you motivated to keep upping your game through its SkillStep feature, which lets you select your starting level.

9) Centipede

Centipede is one of the earliest fixed shooters to do incredibly well after its 1981 release. It was a huge hit, both commercially and with critics, and involves shooting up at an ever-approaching centipede. There are mushrooms blocking its way, altering its path, and you will die if a spider or another hazard hits you as you move about, using a trackball, firing up at the centipede. If it reaches the bottom and touches you, you’re dead, but if you kill all of the segments, play proceeds to the next level. Centipede was cloned several times over the years, and it spawned a sequel, Millipede, in 1982.

8) Contra

While it’s best known for its release on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Konami initially released Contra to arcades, and the games are the same. Contra is a run-and-gun game that allows for up to two players to run across a series of levels, some of which are fixed-shooters while others are platformer-style side-scrollers, and kill aliens galore. The game was a massive success and is best known today for giving 30 lives via the Konami Code. The success of Contra led to the establishment of a franchise, though the first game is often considered one of the best.

7) Robotron: 1984

As the title suggests, 1982’s Robotron: 2084 is set in 2084, a dystopian world where robots have turned against their human masters — that old chestnut. Gameplay involves shooting endless waves of robots, rescuing humans, and earning points. The game is a twin-stick shooter, which wasn’t incredibly common in arcades. It allowed the player to move about using one joystick and shoot in various directions with the other. Robotron: 2084 was a commercial and critical hit upon release and was highly influential on the shooters developed in the years that followed.

6) Missile Command

Missile Command is a 1980 shoot-’em-up that you can tell was made at the height of the Cold War. The game involves controlling a missile defense system using a trackball to protect six cities from intercontinental ballistic missiles. The gameplay progressively gets faster and more difficult, as was common throughout the early 1980s, and it’s not easy to excel at. Regardless, Missile Command is widely regarded as one of the best games of the Golden Age of Arcade Video Games, and its influence can be seen in numerous similar titles released over the years.

5) Moon Patrol

Moon Patrol is a 1982 horizontal side-scrolling shooter, where the player controls a lunar rover that drives across the lunar landscape. As they move along, they must shoot at obstacles and jump over holes and rocks. You also shoot straight up to hit any enemy flying saucers, and the game lays out several checkpoints before reaching the end of the course. Moon Patrol is a fun game to play, but it’s also notable for being the first game to include full parallax scrolling, which gives it a far more realistic look in terms of depth expressed across the background.

4) Star Wars

Unsurprisingly, one of the best shooters of the 1980s was the very first Star Wars arcade game. The game uses vector graphics to create a sense of depth as you pilot your X-Wing fighter through several stages to simulate the attack on the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin. It featured a specialized yoke controller that enabled realistic flight maneuvering, and Star Wars is widely regarded as one of the best games of the era. In 1985, a conversion kit modified the cabinet to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, but the OG rail shooter is the one most people remember.

3) Commando

While it came out the same year, Commando has nothing to do with the Arnold Schwarzenegger film of the same name. Still, it’s about a commando running through the jungle shooting up bad guys, so there’s that. The run-and-gun title helped popularize military-themed video games, eventually paving the way for shooters like Call of Duty that would arrive in the decades that followed. It features excellent level design and enemy AI and was a huge hit with critics and players, making it one of the most successful arcade games of the year.

2) Space Harrier

Sega released the rail shooter Space Harrier in 1985, which featured impressive graphics for the time. The third-person shooter centers on a jetpack-powered human shooting up all manner of beasts in a fantasy setting. Gameplay was controlled via a flight stick, and the deluxe cabinet featured a cockpit and a motion simulator that pitched and rolled during gameplay. Space Harrier was a huge success and performed well on home systems, but it’s best remembered for its innovative gameplay, which was difficult to develop given the technical limitations of the time. Despite hardware limitations, Sega produced a great, highly influential game.

1) Galaga

Of all the shooters released in the 1980s, the one that was best-rated and remains as fun today as it was when it was released in 1981 is Galaga. The fixed shooter is a sequel to 1979’s Galaxian, and features several gameplay improvements over its predecessor. The tractor beam ability that pulls a ship in adds a dynamic way to play. By shooting the alien vessel, you could recover your ship, latching it onto yours for double firepower. That alone made Galaga a standout game throughout the 1980s, where it became one of the most successful shooters throughout the Golden Age of Arcade Video Games.

What’s your favorite shooter from the 1980s? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

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