23 Arcade Games You Definitely Played Growing Up In The '90s

So many tokens well spent.

1. The Simpsons

jourtodd / Konami / Via instagram.com

Whether you watched the series or not, this game was a staple of the '90s arcade scene.

2. NBA Jam

Midway Games

Everything about NBA Jam brought out the competitive spirit in gamers. From the "Boom shaka-laka!" shouted after a filthy dunk, to hitting a few shots in a row and getting your player on fire, this remains one of the most unique, iconic sports games ever.

3. Mortal Kombat/Mortal Kombat II

Midway Games

So many quarters were fed to this machine as you mastered your favorite character's moveset, hoping to learn the different Fatalities.

4. Street Fighter II

damani_dp / Capcom / Via instagram.com

Even button mashers got lucky from time to time, randomly pressing their way to a victory.

5. Daytona USA

jana.orsolic Sega / Via instagram.com

Many who played this weren't old enough to operate an actual vehicle at the time, so pretending with a steering wheel in one's hands was the next best thing.

6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time

dylanssnow / Konami

This was another game that could be found in pretty much any arcade, and it was quite popular on home gaming systems as well.

7. Virtua Cop 2

Sega

Controlling police officers who are taking out bad guys in this blocky-graphic-having first person shooter was always a joy.

8. NFL Blitz

Midway Games

This was NBA Jam but for football, and it changed the way many of us watch professional football, because we can't figure out why more teams don't run that infamous "Da Bomb" play.

9. X-Men: The Arcade Game

Konami

There was nothing better than controlling your favorite mutants as you did usual beat 'em up game activities, walking around and opening cans of whoop ass on your enemies.

10. Metal Slug

SNK Playmore

There were many shooting games in arcades back in the day, yet this managed to be one of the more popular ones, even having a new game released in 2009.

11. Virtua Fighter 2

Sega

Yes, there were many a fighting games at the arcade, but this one had some interesting characters, like Shun Di, who a super intoxicated old man who fittingly uses Druken Kung Fu against his opponents.

12. Marvel vs. Capcom

Capcom

It was unreal to see all of these characters you loved cross paths, and be given the opportunity to make them beat the crap out of each other.

13. Tekken

Namco

There were only eight different characters, but you could control each fighter's four limbs individually. Punch with the right, kick with the left, it may be whatever now, but back then that was a groundbreaking factor for the fighting game crowd.

14. The House of the Dead 2

Sega

Shooting monsters in between eating pizza and winning prizes never failed to be a joyous occasion.

15. Cruis’n USA/Cruis’n World

Midway Games / donshal / Via instagram.com

Racing on streets that were loosely based on real-life US locations was fun, but Cruis'n World took it to another level with new cars and tracks all over the world.

16. Area 51

liquid00

Shooting bad guys in other games was fun, but it was more exciting when your targets were zombie creature thingies.

17. Prop Cycle

Namco

Prop Cycle let you sit in a seat and pedal your heart out, watching your character fly around on screen with solid graphics that felt mesmerizing at the time.

18. Time Crisis

Namco

Few things in life recreate the level of badassness felt when you were holding that plastic gun and saving the world in a dimly lit arcade.

19. Aliens

Konami

It was simple and fun — move forward and shoot all of the aliens.

20. Alien vs. Predator

Capcom

This allowed you to play as human soldiers and/or Predators, beating up the masses of Aliens.

21. Star Wars Trilogy Arcade

Sega

You felt like in control, piloting an X-wing fighter and gliding around with the joystick while shooting down your adversaries.

22. WWF Wrestlemania the Arcade Game

Midway Games

This delivered the brutality of Mortal Kombat but with wrestlers! Though there weren't many to choose from, when it comes to wrestling arcade games, this earned the title of the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.

23. Crazy Taxi

Sega

Something about hopping in that little arcade cabinet and driving around recklessly, trying to get these characters where they needed to be in a certain amount of time provided such an adrenaline rush. Surely there are some elite Uber drivers on the road today, solely because they wanted to live out their Crazy Taxi fantasies.