Defender (1980)
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Defender was notoriously complicated during its release, because of the amount of control buttons you needed to use to play (which would be a doddle these days). For this arcade game, you had to move a spaceship up and down while blasting foes, which many found overwhelming at the time.
Pac-Man (1980)
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Sure, you might not have forgot Pac-Man existed, but with so many games these days, you might have forgotten just how much of a big deal this game actually was in the 80s – nothing compared to it. Even though you can still play it today, it’s just not the same as organically playing it in 1980 when it was a new phenomenon. Many have forgotten that feeling!
Donkey Kong (1981)
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Donkey Kong ended up becoming very big, which is why many might forget the original novelty of playing this 1981 game in simpler times. The game had a simple concept: control the character to jump up platforms and save the princess from Kong. Simple, but hard work at the time!
Tempest (1981)
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The 80s are known for two things: games, and arcades. Tempest brought the best of both. In Tempest, you controlled a spaceship that, unsurprisingly, let you blast everyone in your way! The graphics left something to be desired, but for 1981, it was a big deal.
M.U.L.E (1983)
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The sad thing about M.U.L.E is that it wasn’t really appreciated at the time of its release, and only grew more respected in recent years. Back then, the idea of having to harvest resources and use strategy was met with poor sales, but nowadays it’s respected as one of the most influential games of the 80s.
Boulder Dash (1984)
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Retro games are full of the simple ‘tunnel to collect gems or get killed by monsters’ format, and Boulder Dash was no different – but that didn’t mean it was predictably boring! The gameplay of mining for gems on a timer before the creatures got you was hugely popular – and addictive – in 1984.
Elite (1984)
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Elite was one of the first games that used wire-frame models in an outer space environment, and Elite went down a treat with its combination of space simulator and moral choices for the player. It’s also a classic game that’s inspired many modern video games, including No Man’s Sky.
Ultima IV: Quest of The Avatar (1985)
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Ultima IV wasn’t, by any means, the first RPG of the 80s, but it was certainly one of the first that pushed the key traits of roleplaying games, including having to make moral choices as the player. You can see a lot of Ultima’s influence in huge RPG’s of today, too.
Super Mario Bros (1985)
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Even though the very first Super Mario Bros game wasn’t as successful as the third, it was still one of the most important releases in platformer gaming. It was one of the first to set a precedent for many features that are used in games today, including something we take for granted these days: continuous sidescrolling!
Tetris (1985)
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Tetris is one of those games you forget about for ages, but as soon as it’s on your brain, you remember how good it is and want to play. So simple as a puzzle game, but one of the best, and due to the sheer amount of puzzles and piece shapes, you could play for ages without getting bored.
Metroid (1986)
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If there’s one popular theme for 80s games, it’s aliens – and Metroid had them! This game was unique in that, unlike other similar games, you could actually return to levels you’d already played once you’d levelled up your powers, as well as playing as Samus Aran, a forgotten heroine who was once as popular as Lara Croft!
The Legend of Zelda (1986)
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The Legend of Zelda is one of the biggest franchises to come from Nintendo – and the 80s – and it’s come a long way since then, which is why many people might forget the original 1986 experience! Its gameplay was considered revolutionary back then, and it was the first game to have a proper game save system.
Contra (1987)
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Contra was ahead of its time in terms of two-player co-op, because there weren’t many games around in 1987 that would allow you to play like this. Aside from that, the game was notoriously simple – big muscles holding a g*n, run and shoot! – but it became a fan favourite for being a game you didn’t have to use much brain power for.
R-Type (1987)
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One of the best side-scrolling shooters of the 80s – and beyond – this is actually considered one of the most difficult games… ever! For some people, that’s a big no, but for others it’s an amazing challenge. The game allowed for more complicated weapons systems, and you could even call it an 80s Dark Souls precursor in terms of how often you had to die to work out how to live!
Maniac Mansion (1987)
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One of the best game tropes is when you can bag multiple endings based on decisions made, and this was a novelty back in the 80s – and Maniac Mansion allowed you to do just that. The point and click game became one of the best from LucasArts, the game studio from the creator of Star Wars.
Wasteland (1988)
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Wasteland was the 80s predecessor to the modern day RPG, Fallout, set in a post-apocalyptic world where sometimes using your words was better than using your weapons. While it may be taken for granted today, it was also novel in allowing you to save and pick up exactly where you left off in the same position.
Mega Man 2 (1989)
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As these things sometimes go, it was actually the sequel that saw more popularity than the original Mega Man game, and ended up being a commercial success. One of the big reasons it was more a hit compared to the first was that the difficulty level had been lowered for a much more manageable gameplay.
Prince of Persia (1989)
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The Prince of Persia franchise began in the late 80s as a 2D platform game. You played as the prince as he navigates through dungeons and dangerous tombs. It was also the very first video game to use motion caption techniques which made the gameplay more realistic.
Super Mario Bros. 3 (1989)
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The third time’s a charm, as they say, and that was definitely the case with Super Mario Bros, which didn’t really find success as a franchise until the third game hit. The third offered all the perks of the first two, but expanded the idea with a more detailed gameplay environment.
SimCity (1989)
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It’s very easy to forget the impact SimCity had on the 80s. For the first time, you had a game that wasn’t about outer space battles or trying to shoot monsters, and a game that had an indefinite duration depending on how much further you wanted to develop your city. Addictive to say the least!
