Most Requested Home Arcade Game Releases July 7, 2022

Posted by Maniac in Editorials.
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For the past few years we have seen a resurgence in the home arcade market. Several vendors including companies like Arcade1Up and iiRcade have recreated the classic arcade machines from the 70s, 80s and 90s and offered them to consumers to use in their own homes, no quarters or tokens needed. These home arcade machines feature the original cabinet art on the outside, but inside you’ll find modern LCD panels and integrated computer components. In some cases, the machines may not be as big as they originally were designed to be, but that makes them more affordable and easier to store in a home. If you have a basement or spare bedroom you’ve been dying to refurnish, these machines can make your dream of having an arcade in your home a reality.

As a child of the 90s, I have my own era of the arcade that I cherish the most. While some players remember games like Pac-Man or Galaga, I remember playing titles like Mortal Kombat, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons. While all these games have been rereleased as home arcade machines and can be easily obtained through your local electronics retailer or delivery site, I started to ask myself just what games would I want to see come back the most if I wanted to have my own home arcade.

So this is my list of games I feel should get re-released as a stand-alone home arcade cabinet. These are in no particular order and no arcade machine is off the table for consideration. Please note we are not going to include products that have either been released or ones that have been officially announced on this last. That means games like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, Dragon’s Lair and Time Crisis are not eligible, as they have either already been released or have a release confirmed.

With that all out of the way, let’s start the list.

Area 51 – Without a doubt this was my favorite light gun game of all time. Released by Atari, Area 51 puts you behind the barrel of a military special forces member as they attempt to retake the titular military base from an alien zombie invasion. It would be nice to see it bundled with the next game on the list, however I’m sure it would be more likely to see it bundled with the sequel/expansion Site 4.

CarnEvil – Another classic light gun arcade game from Midway where you fight your way through a haunted carnival. This game pulls no punches when it comes to its designs and would easily get an M rating in today’s market. Sadly, for being such a unique game this has never gotten a home release. In fact, I would not have had any idea this game existed if it wasn’t for a review/let’s play by the incredible Ross Scott of Ross’s Game Dungeon.

Splatterhouse – The original Splatterhouse put you in control of Rick, a man who must save his girlfriend from monsters with the help of supernaturally evil mask. Along the way you must use your strength and whatever weapons you find along the way to bash all the monsters that stand between you. This game is great on almost every level and its horror themes really helped it stand out at the time. While some consider it controversial, it’s practically tame by today’s standards. Personally, I would love to see a home arcade release also include the two official sequels that released on the Genesis.

Aliens (KONAMI) – Another incredible Konami side scroller at the same era Konami was developing other incredible games like The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. You can take control of Ripley or Hicks and blast away at hordes of Aliens, some of which never made an appearance in the original films. Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this game since I never played it in arcades back in the day and it never got a home release, but based upon the enormous outcry I’ve seen for this game to get re-released, this is something I’d like to check out for myself!

Star Wars Trilogy (SEGA) – I know what you’re saying, didn’t Arcade1Up already release the Star Wars Trilogy? Well, they did release the ATARI vector graphics games, but that’s not the games I’m referring to here. I’m referring to the SEGA Star Wars Trilogy that was released in the late 90s. The game allowed you to play out some of the best scenes from across the three films ranging from the Battle of Yavin, to the Battle of Hoth, culminating with a secret ending where you fight the Battle of Endor. Along the way you can even have QTE lightsaber battles with Boba Fett and Darth Vader. Sadly, if you find the game in the wild most of their screens suffer from horrendous image burn, but if you could look past the permanent Star Wars logo on your screen, you’ll find a fantastic game. Obviously, a re-release with newer hardware can be created to prevent that kind of image burn problem the original arcade machines suffer from. I don’t care if they choose to make it as a stand up or sit down cabinet, I would love to have this game in my basement.

Cruisin’ USA – This is without a doubt my favorite arcade racing game of all time. The game has you participating in an ultimate race across the US with the objective to finish first place in every leg. Starting point, Los Angeles, finish line, Washington DC. Now, I admit this game has seen several rereleases over the years staring with its N64 port in the mid-90s, but I want to see the original arcade graphics restored. There could be a disagreement over how this machine could be sold, as stand up and sit down versions were both available. In fact, there was a two-player machine as well. I personally prefer the sit down one-player version, but I want to see this game released so badly, I would probably get it regardless of how it shipped.

Donkey Kong Trilogy – Nintendo’s most popular arcade games and the titles that introduced us to the character of Mario have been ported to Nintendo’s home consoles many times over the years but to this day has not received a home arcade release. A three game home cabinet would be a no brainer, which could include Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr and Donkey Kong III. Perfect emulation on these games may not be possible, so it’s unlikely you’d be able to use it as an entry to become the next King of Kong, but I just want a chance to see this piece of Nintendo history and view the kill screen for myself.

House of the Dead – Time Crisis has already been announced as getting a home arcade release, but a friend of mine wanted to know if they could release that, what was stopping them from releasing a House of the Dead arcade machine? The light guns used in the Terminator 2 arcade would be a perfect fit for House of the Dead, and multiple games could be bundled in the system. Heck, if they wanted to be fancy they could even put a USB keyboard port somewhere on the front panel so people could plug in a PC keyboard to play Typing of the Dead, which you can be sure would be a major selling point for someone like me.

Mortal Kombat 4 – There have been plenty of Mortal Kombat Arcade1Up releases over the years that included Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (on top of other classic games including Rampage) but to this date not a single home arcade release has included the 3D graphics powered Mortal Kombat 4. I remember this game, when I first saw it in the arcades, made me drop my jaw. The ability to fight in a third dimension with graphics that could match and surpass the original PlayStation was just incredible. Forget about bundling eight Midway classic games with a Mortal Kombat rerelease, bundle MK4 with the next one instead.

So there’s our list! Is there anything we missed? Post a comment below with your thoughts and what games you want to see get a rerelease.