The 10 Coolest Arcade Cabinets

Millions have played the games, but what you miss out on when you play a typical M.A.M.E. is the lengths at which game companies strove to make their arcade game a unique gaming experience. In order to stand apart from every other cabinet in those musty old arcades of the 70's 80's and 90's, some were specially built to add a unique twist to the typically boring black box. Let's take a look at the coolest cabinets ever made and see if they're still worth your quarters.

10. Exterminator

This little house is an excellent example of video game companies overcompensating for crap software. You are... a hand. And the goal of the game is to use said hand to squish, crush and splat every bug in a string of obscenely rundown houses. Needless to say, it's as boring to play as it is gross to think about!

9. Seawolf

Ever want to use a periscope to blow away enemy ships, but don't want to enlist in the Navy? Well prepare to be disappointed! This very basic game (kind of like an upside down missile command) allowed players to look through a "periscope" as they take down enemy "ships". It's cool to look at, but the gameplay is a bit monotonous.

8. Ms. Pac-Man

Some gamers consider this to be the pinnacle of arcade fun. But most people overlook how unique a simple paint job was back in the day. In a dim room lit only by black lights, this blue and pink work of art really drew the eye. In a sea of black boxes, Ms. Pac-Man always stood out.

7. Computer Space

How crazy is this guy?? This was the very first arcade game. As in ever. How in the world did we go from these crazy looking things (it kinda resembles the water creature from the Abyss) to the boring black boxes? Who knows.

6. X-Men

Before Brian Singer, before Hugh Jackman, before X Men was a multimillion dollar franchise, there was this behemoth. To a comic book fan in the early nineties, this was as close to mainstream as it got for Cyk, Kitty Pride and Nightcrawler. Add to that an unprecedented SIX PLAYER CO-OP, and you get all the ingredients for a 12-year-old fanboys wet dream.

5. Time Traveler

It kind of looks like a baby MRI machine, but look how the name of the game is about half the size as the single word on the marquee, "HOLOGRAM". That's because this thing produced an honest to god, Jetsons-like hologram image of live action characters that you got to control. Was the game fun? Hell no. But this was the future baby. It didn't need to be fun, it was spectacular... as long as you were standing in the exact right spot, at the exact right height, and had about 8 dollars worth of quarters.

4. Tapper

Let's be clear, this wasn't "Root Beer Tapper", this was the real deal. This was a video game officially sponsored by Budweiser. While the game play might be exactly the same as the Root Beer version, this gorgeous cabinet was meant for bars more than arcades. Look at that fake wood grain, and brass foot rail, and stained glass window marquee. The best part, though, is the actual beer tap controllers that gave you the feeling of actually pouring each glass.

3. Maneater

Was it trying to cash in on the success of Jaws? Sure. Was it uncomfortable to play, with giant teeth where your arm should be resting? Absolutely. Does it matter? Nope. It's a game in a shark. Here's my quarter.

2. Star Wars

True, it felt more like sitting in a Tie Fighter than an X-Wing, but regardless, this was the closest nerds could get to being Luke Skywalker. The graphics looked like some crazy Star Wars laser show, and the voice chip sounded like Obi Wan was trapped inside R2, but nobody cared. One quarter and I get to blow up the death star??? Sign me up.

1. Tron

I honestly consider this to be the birth of Meta. Was it a game based on a movie? No it was the game FROM the movie. No matter who you were or where you were playing, in your mind, you were Flynn at Flynn's Arcade. And you were an arcade god.

End of line.