Most played Coin-op?

[Alienblue]

I'm curious as to what was/is the coin-operated arcade game you played more than any other (I know, all these questions I come up with...I need a life!).... anyway, let me quickly define arcade game as a machine you played at some commercial site; i.e. Arcade, Mall, Bar, Resteraunt whatever - NOT emulated or translated home versions or ones you OWN. Which one did you drop THE MOST QUARTERS into?

For me the easy answer is Ms. Pac-Man. Although A favorite, this was not my #1 favorite game-no, it's just that the machines WERE EVERYWHERE in the early to mid 80's (I last saw one, in fact, in 1999!) ... so I dropped a washington in the slot wherever it was, at grocery stores, laundramats... gad Ms. Pac was EVERYwhere!

The second, runner up, would be the opposite...my fave coin-op, GAUNTLET. It was in a nearby conveiniance store in the mid 80's for about a year-only place I saw one-but I played it to DEATH! I recall walking down to the store at 5 am (when they opened) on freezing cold mornings in January just to play this thing for an hour (Always the Wizard!)...you can imagine how thrilled I was when the official NES version came out and the near perfect Genesis version years later...yet somehow, being able to continue non-stop at home made the game dull. Having to PAY for more health made all the difference!

Others?

[Quiet Flight]

TMNT and X-men took up most of my time. Also enjoy Operation Wolf and some submarine shooter game I can't quite remember.

[Michael Danehy]

I was especially obsessed with Yie Ar Kung Fu. Dropped many a quarter into that machine as a kid. Thing is, I've always been into pattern based fighters such as YAKF and Punch-Out. There's an addictive quality to figuring out strategies for all the different opponents.

 

YAKF might not seem like much today, but it still holds a special place for me and it's still fun. (Even after many attempts, I've yet to defeat Blues. He's a real cheap son of a...)

 

 

 

[Linkdude]

You know it's coming... Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

[Edward M]

I Guess Im younger than everyone here, as I didn't grow up in the arcade Age.  Infact, for much of my life, including right now, my city didn't have an arcade.

 

But I remember that during the great arcade revival of the early 90s, I was about 8 back then.  I always had to play Turtles in Time every time we went to the mall.  It is my favorite beatemup game of all time, despite not being as deep as other ones, its just pure fun, and I really hope that with the new TMNT movie, (which looks horrible) more great Turtles games will come.  But I'm so glad the SNES got a great port of it. 

 

But when I was 12, I moved to Omaha for a year, and they had an awesome arcade there.   I always played Time Crisis 2, and that is probably the arcade game I played more than anything.  I convinced my mom to let me go there once a week, and I probably dropped most of my quaters into that system.  It was new at the time, and I believe they wanted three quarters, but it was worth it.    At least until the awesome PS2 port came out.

[Steeforth]

     I did not grow up in an area with an arcade nearby, so pickings were scarce. Probably a good thing, no doubt saved me some cash. But there was a place where they had the original Super Mario Brothers in the lobby, and that was the ticket.

     I sometimes look at old arcade machines on EBAY and am tempted, but I think that would push my wife too far. But I think they are the easily the coolest collectible in gaming, and I enjoyed reading your arcade page, VGC. They would really make a good wedding present for the right guy (or gal?), you can't go wrong with a home appliance, right?

[JustLikeHeaven1]

[QUOTE=Steeforth]

     I sometimes look at old arcade machines on EBAY and am tempted, but I think that would push my wife too far. But I think they are the easily the coolest collectible in gaming, and I enjoyed reading your arcade page, VGC. They would really make a good wedding present for the right guy (or gal?), you can't go wrong with a home appliance, right?

[/QUOTE]

I couldn't agree more.  One day I will get an arcade machine...its the ultimate prize for a collector.  It just requires lots of money and space.

Anywho here are some of my favorites growing up.

Ms. Pacman - Timeless...one of the best uses for a quarter even today.

Mortal Kombat 2 - I remember playing this game like crazy down at the beach arcade.  There were so many myths and mysteries about this game, and the crowds it drew were amazing. 

Space Invaders - Can't go wrong with this classic shooter.  If I ever do get an arcade machine it might be this one.  I love it!

The Simpson's Arcade - What a great use of the Simpson's license.  I would kill for this to get released on Live Arcade or Wii VC.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - One of the few brawlers I actually beat in the arcade...it probably cost me $10 or so.

Afterburner - Sitting in the cockpit of Sega's classic jet franchise is one my fondest childhood memories.  Owning one of those would be a dream come true for me.

[Paul Campbell]

The game I played and enjoyed the most was apparently very rare because I have never seen it anywhere but the little corner market I played it at, nor have I heard of it anywhere else, arcade or console.  I was called Run Deep.  I'd say the graphics were about high quality 16-bit looking.  You were a ship at the top of the screen, and you dropped these slowly sinking explosives that would impact enemies in the water below.  The under water area was excellent looking, and the bosses were often 3 or 4 screens long, with many different targets on them.  TONS of fun.  Let me know if you have seen this thing anywhere.

Oh YEAH!!! I just went off in another window and found some screen shots of the game.  Maybe it is on MAME somewhere or something.  I think it is especially pretty looking for its year.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_id=10969


Sounds like it IS really rare.  I might go over to that market and just ask around for the heck of it.


Other than that, I spent the most money on Robocop, Golden Axe, Forgotten Worlds, and Ninja Turtles.

[a1]

TMNT (any) and the Simpsons took the majority of my quarters. I've also thrown quite a few into Galaga and Street Fighter 2.

[voor]

The only machine i've played was one of those Neo-Geo cabinets that had like 6 games.  I played Samuri Showdown a lot, Metal Slug a few times, but most of my quaters went to a weird game called 'Windjammers"--it's like an insame version of Pong with frisbees and special moves (if you can imagine).