Your top 20 MAME games

[kristian]

Ok... I was bored... this is a completely useless topic... everyone always hates top-20 lists but still participate.... I created a list of my favorite MAME games + some more. I guess most of us have very different kind of favorites... of course there are tons of great games but these are probably my all time favorites... ok very Atari emphasized but what can I do... they are the all time best video game manufacturer without a doubt...!!

1. Gravitar
2. Star Wars
3. Xevious
4. Space Duel
5. Stargate
6. Tempest
7. Quantum
8. Black Widow
9. Wiz Warz
10.Raiden Fighters
11.Bal Cube
12.Pole Position II
13.The Empire Strikes Back
14.Asteroids Deluxe
15.Marble Madness
16.Bomb Jack
17.Money Puzzle Enchanger
18.Centipede
19.Track & Field
20.Liberator

Bubblin' under:
Star Force, Cosmic Chasm, Dig Dug, Crystal Castles, Tac/Scan, Asteroids, Robotron 2084, Defender, Ms. Pacman, Phozon, Mr.Do, Congo Bongo, Hyper Sports.

Classics I play and would like to learn better:
Battlezone (never really mastered it)
Tron
Discs of Tron
Killer Instinct

Games that I loathe but I still play them occasionally (because of nostalgia):
Kangaroo
Super Rider
Megazone
Arabian
TX-1
Buggy Boy

Let's see your list...!!

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

asteroids and sequels
bank panic
battlezone
crazy climber and sequels (CC2 and fire trap)
depth charge
discs of tron
frenzy
frogger
hat trick
ichidant-r and the sequel, tant-r
jungle king
lunar rescue
name that tune
roc 'n rope
tailgunner
tempest tubes
tron (gameplay-wise kind of a mediocre game, but it had that certain something)
uo poko

(close enough to 20)

i really wish they could have come out with a sequel to battlezone, a simple yet incredibly atmospheric and effective game. even moreso with the original cabinet, of course.

there was "stellar 7" for 8-bit computers, a brilliant game especially considering how quickly it followed battlezone. it was much more detailed and nuanced, yet lacked the essential sounds and feel of the original. later came the "spectre" series and "BZflag", adding network play and all kinds of powerups, but again, missing that clean design and vital atmosphere IMO. then you have the modern commercial updates... not very relevant because they're RTS's.

...

anyway, MAME. wish i could get into it again some time, but so many 100's or 1000's of games were emulated and so many of them were so forgettable that it became more trouble than it was worth to keep panning for gold on that claim.

...

side note: the TRON movie sequel is coming with jeff bridges! woohoo! (i think)

 

[kristian]

i really wish they could have come out with a sequel to battlezone, a simple yet incredibly atmospheric and effective game. even moreso with the original cabinet, of course.

It's definitely one of the few classics that I never mastered fully... I remember guys playing scores like 200.000 but somehow I never figured out the system. What is the best key combo for mame... the one that emulates the 2 joysticks?

there was "stellar 7" for 8-bit computers, a brilliant game especially considering how quickly it followed battlezone. it was much more detailed and nuanced, yet lacked the essential sounds and feel of the original.

It's the same story with all "remakes"... they will never capture the original feel and atmosphere. Pretty much the same thing with music, movies, etc.

I had Stellar 7 for Commodore but never really got excited about it.

MAME. wish i could get into it again some time, but so many 100's or 1000's of games were emulated and so many of them were so forgettable that it became more trouble than it was worth to keep panning for gold on that claim.

Yeah MAME has lots of shite... but there are tons of obscure gems as well... Wiz Wars, Bal Cube and Money Puzzle Enchanger are great examples of games that I never saw in the flesh... Major Havoc... fascinating game... and how about Quantum... isn't that an amazingly addictive game or what?

 

[StevOz]

Ok..let's see...

1. Defender, the original and best and before you mention Stargate the sequel, sequels are hardly ever as good as the original. I liked Stargate but could never quite master that inviso button also those 'bonus' waves every 5 waves were just plain annoying and why would anyone want to warp to far more difficult stages.

2. Galaxian Part 4 as it is called in MAME, but not the one that's officially in MAME, I have a hacked rom to emulate a bootleg version of the game that was around everywhere here in it's day. Basically it has faster shots, ship, aliens and mega squads of aliens after wave 2, whilst retaining the original graphics. I'll attach the hacked rom for you all to try, hacked by twisty, you will get an error message, though just select OK and it will run fine.

3. Joust

4. Q*Bert

5. Twin Cobra, wicked shooter. :)

6. Space Invaders

7. Cutie Q

8. Marvel vs Capcom, only came to know and like this one because of MAME.

9. Moon Patrol

10. 1942

Ah 10 more....

11. Asteroids

12. Bank Panic

13. Rally X

14. Centipede

15. Missile Command

16. Wonderboy

17. Exerion

18. Clowns

19. Arkaniod

20. Time Pilot

 

[kristian]

Marvel vs. Capcom, huh? I never understood the attraction of these fighting games... and there are very few NeoGeo games worth mentioning anyway. I know Marvel vs. Capcom isn't a NeoGeo but it belongs to the same genre with Samurai Showdown, etc. You've seen one, you've seen 'em all (imho). KI is not all bad though...!!

Karateka was the only fighting game I really liked... although it was actually an adventure game of some sort.... prequel of Prince of Persia.....however The Way of the Exploding Fist was cool when it first came out for C64.

I forgot to mention Bomb Jack Twin... it's actually a good sequel. Stargate is, imho, much more advanced game than Defender... it's basically the same game but more options, better graphics, better sound... I'm not that good with inviso, either... but my record is 165.000... nothing special but at least some kind of score.

 

[StevOz]

Yeah fighters are a lot alike, still I liked Marvel vs Capcom above the rest although The Last Blade comes a close second for me.

Well the deal with Defender was that I actually mastered the game, something I could not manage to do with Stargate. The gameplay and feel of Defender once the controls become instinct is hard to describe, electric is as close as I can think of. I did have a callous on my left thumb back then (reverse button).

Although I did master Defender, it was always still a challenge as arcade operators would increase the difficulty settings, still I managed to defeat them all. Also it's one of those rare games where no game is ever the same.

Which reminded me of the most amazing game I had many years ago after taking a bit of LSD, I got to about 300 000 odd before the LSD kicked in and still managed to get to 600 000 or so, now that was one amazing high voltage experience. :D

 

[kristian]

I know what you mean about controls and atmosphere... one game that has always fascinated me is Xevious... although the terrain resets back to the start there's still always something new that you have never seen before... after the 3rd mothership it's still a big mystery for me... the 3rd mothership throws those exploding balls and it's pretty damn difficult to get past... I have managed it two or three times though... but with very few ships left.

One of these days I'm going to play 1 million in Xevious... maybe it won't happen anytime soon but I never stopped playing it.

PS: Check this out... someone's private arcade... pretty damn amazing.

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[sleepy]

How were they getting 200,000 pt. on Battlezone? Were they just charging forward and gunning the flying saucers and homing missiles, or were they pulling back on the sticks running in reverse while rotating the turret to fire on the tanks?

I've tried both and I've tried hiding behind the triangular and cubic barriers, but my best score in the artcades was around 33,000 and that was just charging forward and nailing the saucers. With the homing missiles I anticipated them and when the appear, immediately Stop Moving and wait for them to move into the target zone, then fire.

 

[kristian]

How were they getting 200,000 pt. on Battlezone?

I don't remember... there was definitely some kind of idiot proof system that always worked. Maybe there's something on Youtube?

 

[TomcatLeader]

My top 20 are as follows:

1) Do! Run Run
2) Mr. Do!
3) Gaplus-Galaga 3
4) Galaxian
5) Guzzler
6) Burgertime
7)Tempest
8) Food Fight
9) Final Fight
10) Street Fighter II
11) Street Fighter III
12) Fighting Layer
13) Pac-Man
14) Ms. Pac-Man
15) Donkey Kong
16) Crazy Climber
17) Star Trek
18) Star Hawk
19) Bump & Jump
20) Super Dodge Ball

I scored over 600,000 over the weekend at Do! Run Run, my highest score ever: 637,780 with a diamond on Scene 9. I ended the game at Scene 35.

 

[kristian]

Do RunRun is my brother's favorite... it's a cool game. Mr. Do's Castle is a gem too.

Ever wondered how to play Major Havoc in "advancing fashion"... check it out... pretty amazing...!! Notice how he enters the warp codes and starts from 900.000 points.

YouTube - Major Havoc - advanced play - 1 of 2
YouTube - Major Havoc - advanced play - 2 of 2

 

[Phoenixx]

It took me years to create my 'Specials' folders, which only hold the IMO best-playable games. Im still not quite finished but i can show you what ive got so far. Its not really a Top20 list, but then i couldnt just pick 20 anyway since i like all of the good ones equally much. The playcounts are included but not fully accurate since they were accidentally reset some time ago.

Here goes:

SpecialsVS

SpecialsVER

SpecialsOTH

SpecialsHOR

SpecialsFIG

There are of course others i play very often like Phoenix, Galaxian, Pooyan, and all the other 80s classics. The reason why they do not appear in any 'Specials' folder is because i originally made them only to pick out the good post-80s ones, and since i sort by year the classics are all neatly listed downward from the beginning of the 'Working' category anyway. But eventually i will either add them all to 'SpecialsOTH' or make a 'SpecialsCLA' (for classics) folder extra for them,...

 

[kristian]

Cool list Phoenixx... the first screen capture has all the games that I always ignore though. :D

Others... cool... I like those SNK shooters as well... but the Raiden Fighters series rule...!!

What's the attraction with Golden Tee Golf... they're pretty cool with a mouse but nothing THAT special (imho).

 

[Phoenixx]

Cool list Phoenixx... the first screen capture has all the games that I always ignore though. :D

I like them. And i have many more of them. Ever heard of MUGEN? Thats practically the VisualPinball of the VS genre. Somewhat difficult to install and to set up but tons of great game packs made by a very dedicated community. The fights are brutal at times due to the insane difficulty of some packs but the action is definitely great.

...but the Raiden Fighters series rule...!!

Agreed. I have yet to see a better vertical shooter than RFJet. The reason why ViperPhase1 outcounts it on the screenshot is only because the playcounts got reset some time ago and i needed to start the game dozens of times to adapt its video settings to the resolution im running MAME games at now. Otherwise the Raiden games would be leading by far.

What's the attraction with Golden Tee Golf... they're pretty cool with a mouse but nothing THAT special (imho).

I dont know, i just like them. They are the perfect games to play while youre waiting for your Pizza. Very relaxing. :ballbounce2:

 

[Phoenixx]

BTW, i never figured out how someone would manage to get past level 3 in Defender. Im certainly no slouch when it comes to video games, but this game always gives me the horrors. Either they shoot you or they fly right into you, (especially Mutants), so how someone could last longer than 5 minutes in this game (without cheats) is beyond me,...

 

[kristian]

Am I really the only one who plays Xevious?

I mean, that must be the most revolutionary shooter in the existence... a HUGE legend in Japan. Pure skill game, just like Gravitar.

@Phoenixx: Since you like those shooters... try old Star Force... that's actually hell of a good game.

 

[sleepy]

Hey Phoenixx, I see you have Shuffleshot. Do you have a trackball controller?
If not, then how do you get the game to play? I found that I could use a combination of the mouse and an analog stick, but it gets tricky that way.

 

[kristian]

BTW, i never figured out how someone would manage to get past level 3 in Defender. Im certainly no slouch when it comes to video games, but this game always gives me the horrors. Either they shoot you or they fly right into you, (especially Mutants), so how someone could last longer than 5 minutes in this game (without cheats) is beyond me,...

It's all about controls... and hell of a lot practice.

I have never been good Defender player though... my top score is only 56.000 or so... I play Stargate much better for some reason

My key combo for both is (if I remember correctly):

A=up
Z=down
-=thrust
Right Shift=fire
Space=reverse
Enter=smart bomb
X=hyperspace

It comes naturally for me... from Asteroids/Space Duel/Gravitar/Cosmic Chasm/Zektor keys because I play all those games a lot.

Arrows / ALT / CTRL might work too... I dunno how SteveOz plays it... would be interesting to hear.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

It's definitely one of the few classics that I never mastered fully... I remember guys playing scores like 200.000 but somehow I never figured out the system. What is the best key combo for mame... the one that emulates the 2 joysticks?

two joysticks, yes. being able to control the treads independently gives a little more control. in terms of input, i usually use keys or maybe a gamepad. "sarge" is also an awesome game if you get into that 'double tread' thing.

i've gotten over 200K a couple times in MAME. usually that involves continually backing away from the enemy tanks (esp. when they become super tanks), keeping them in your forward vision or just outside of it, dodging just enough after they've fired, and pouncing on that short time period that occurs regularly where you can afford to stand line them up and get a shot off.

saucers, i hunt them down and kill them, but i balance that with staying alive. sometimes there's opportunity (like between enemy tank kills) to go after them and sometimes they're basically a trap which will lead to your death.

electric razors, i keep backing up, get his left and right movements centered, and watch his pattern and timing. on his last pass, just before he kills me, i fire just as he's briefly in the middle. people who can time it better can probably fire earlier.

the biggest problem with my 'backing up' strategy is that i'll occasionally bump into an obstacle. i just try to slide off it real quick, but sometimes the delay is fatal. there's probably a way to play it foolproof, but i kind of like having built-in obsolescence. the game can get rather boring after 100K or so, after all...

oh yea, and if you manage to reach the volcano, you win an enormous prize. :)

It's the same story with all "remakes"... they will never capture the original feel and atmosphere. Pretty much the same thing with music, movies, etc.

there are a lot of remakes that i liked better than the original. in MAME for example, i liked deluxe asteroids, galaga 3, frenzy, various space invaders sequels, various pac man sequels, super bagman, etc better than the originals. "oids" was also a totally awesome remake / update of gravitar, although it's a computer game, not arcade.

...Quantum... isn't that an amazingly addictive game or what?

yea, interesting game. kind of a moving version of qix.

 

[StevOz]

BTW, i never figured out how someone would manage to get past level 3 in Defender. Im certainly no slouch when it comes to video games, but this game always gives me the horrors. Either they shoot you or they fly right into you, (especially Mutants), so how someone could last longer than 5 minutes in this game (without cheats) is beyond me,...

My longest game on Defender was around about 4 hours, clocking the machine 3 times and ending on a score of 999 975, so 3 999 975 points. Why you may ask, well you just have to get past wave 255 and see for yourself when the game difficulty resets.

Mutant killing is best done with a flick of the reverse button, reverse/release thrust/fire/reverse/thrust, whilst travelling at full thrust, takes a while to master that combo.

That was not the longest arcade game I ever played I did try to clock Joust once, but after 6 hours and a score of over 7 million I just couldn't keep going and just ran all my extra men into the lava.

Oh and how do I play Defender, like it was intended to be played with a real custom built arcade controller built by http://www.ozstick.com.au/

 

[Shockman]

BattleZone was one of my favorite games, Nic. Not the original, but the sequel. It was nothing like the original though, just used the name.

The games listed by others here include my favs. as far as MAME games.

Having the right controlers is key, I believe, to enjoying these games. Pac Man with a 4 way, wheels and paddles, etc. for example.

 

[Phoenixx]

My key combo for both is (if I remember correctly):
[KeyboardControls]

Thing is, i cant play worth a damn with a keyboard. Its a true controlling nightmare for me, not only with MAME, but generally. (Especially when it involves WASD-like direction controlling.) I always have the feeling im going to break my fingers, and my reaction is about that of a 100er Valium. Hence when a game has no other means of controlling i mostly dont even bother. (O.K., there are a few exceptions where i can still manage (when its mainly mouse and only a couple of keyboard keys) but thats really only a handful of games and my gameplay is still pretty suboptimal then.)

Have to admit it; im a joypad guy through and through. With a PSX DualShock style pad im in full control because i have direction plus 8 controls directly under four of my fingers. (Plus four more controls in direct reach.) Reaction is no problem at all that way, and unlike with a keyboard to play is actually FUN.

But with Defender not even a gamepad does me any good. The setup is like this:

 Left Thumb          Right Thumb
    [UP]                [HS]
 [XX]  [XX]          [FI]  [SB]
    [DN]                [TH]


                  Right Indexfinger
                        [RV]

My right thumb rests on [TH] and its tip on [FI]. Smartbomb and Hyperspace are right next to them so they are quickly reached as well. But even though reaction is no problem that way i just dont manage to get anything done in this game. My ships are going down one by one like the proverbial flies until i finally reached another GameOver. If i dont get shot i get rammed, or vice versa. 3xBoom - The End.

The funny thing is that with other games i dont have this problem at all. I can play a lot of games with one hand tied behind my back, but Defender,...like i said, horror,...

Hey Phoenixx, I see you have Shuffleshot. Do you have a trackball controller?
If not, then how do you get the game to play? I found that I could use a combination of the mouse and an analog stick, but it gets tricky that way.

No Trackball, i play it with the mouse (1600DPI Laser) and 2 keyboard keys.

Y-Axis is assigned to Mouse-Y

LeftMouse is Zoom and RightMouse is Wax.

X-Axis is digitally assigned to Y/X keys. (Z/X on US boards.)

MiddleMouse is StartButton.

 

[kristian]

Wanna see some insane Xevious playing... without firing a shot...!! Holy shit...

YouTube - Xevious (Arcade) ノーショット (Without firing a shot) 2/2

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

just stumbled upon this-
recently, 2,000 people got to see this at a site in england. i too would have liked to play VP and pacman on the side of a mansion:

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8-kqovVjss[/url]

 

[TomcatLeader]

I'm using a PSX to USB adapter and a PS controller for MAME, as well as my other emus. It works quite well when playing Do! Run Run when you have to let the ball bounce in a tight place for the 3000 points. As for games like Battlezone and Robotron, not so well. Crazy Climber, impossible. I have to resort to the keyboard then.