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Video game consoles come and go, but arcades were always there to provide entertainment for a single quarter, or two. As a kid, walking into a crowded arcade was the most epic gaming experience, unless I had no money.
Let’s face it -- arcade games were meant to suck your pockets dry, so reaching the end was a costly feat. “Unlimited” continues really meant unlimited quarters, and after playing for a while you thought to yourself: “one… more… game…”
The first arcade game I beat was Sega’s Golden Axe, but I had picked up someone else’s run that was almost to the end. So, I basically just beat Death Adder and saw the ending. It doesn’t really count.
The first game I beat in its entirety was Konami’s The Simpsons in 1991. My sister and a friend from school went to the local arcade, pockets full of change and $1 dollar bills, and played the crap out of that game. The fourth player was random people who joined and eventually ran out of quarters. Not us, we came prepared!
Fighting games were easily beat with a single quarter if you had decent skills, so finishing Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat wasn’t that big a deal. Reaching a high skill level on them, though, required some patience and money.
Which arcade games did you beat?
