What's the first arcade game you can recall playing?

Hygro

As I used to tell it, the first arcade game I played (though tbh I don't know if I actually played, I do remember messing about with it) was Defender and I was about 6 I reckon and it was in the Roma Grill in Phisboro ... but it was obviously Asteroids, unless there was a version of Defender out with no joystick??

o1s1n

The one which always stick out in my memory as quite possibly being the first is Operation Wolf. Although that may just be because it looked so awesome with the mounted gun.

sham69

It was in Phibsboro aswell.
Its where Des Kelly's is (used to be the ice rink, with arcade games upstairs)
I remember 3 games :

Boot Hill
Hunchback
Karate Champ

3 games from different years but I am guessing it was around 83-84 when I was there.
Then Caesars Palace (owned by Quirk(ey's)) opened and there was a huge selection of games, good times.

greendom

In a camping site in the South of France in the late 70s - don't remember what it was called but it was duelling cowboys in a High Noon scenario - very basic but fun.

Optimus Prime

First Arcade game i ever played was a Space Invaders cocktail table in the reception of the Sacre Core Hotel in Salt hill in Galway. Was there for a week on my holidays with the family when i was a kid. The hotel is closed now and who knows what happened to the table

Sagat06

The first I can remember playing until I was good was super sprint and then super off road in the leisureplex in Tallaght. That free spinning steering wheel is a thing of beauty. But Bubble/Puzzle Bobble is probably the first I can remember playing.

Myrddin

I think my first arcade memory is a beautiful sit-down OutRun cab in Bray. I have a serious soft spot for OutRun, & especially the sit down version of it. I remember the sun was blazing out, real seaside town atmosphere back then. Popped in a 20p & got to choose the soundtrack...bliss :cool:

Andrew76

EnterNow wrote: »

I have a serious soft spot for OutRun, & especially the sit down version of it.

Don't take a visit out to Mitch's so or you'll sell your soul for his one! Time I was there he had one all wrapped up, while ago now though.

Can't remember what the first arcade game was that I played, nor where.

/Edit: Like the sig. Great film that is! And I love the song that quotes it too. :cool:

old hippy

Pole position, back in the early 80s. Never got the hang of it. Last arcade game I played was in Japan last year, a modern variant of aforementioned game. Still rubbish at it!

Myrddin

Andrew76 wrote: »

Don't take a visit out to Mitch's so or you'll sell your soul for his one! Time I was there he had one all wrapped up, while ago now though.

Can't remember what the first arcade game was that I played, nor where.

/Edit: Like the sig. Great film that is! And I love the song that quotes it too. :cool:

Yeah he told me he had a mint sit down one all bubble warapped away MAJOR wantage set in for it upon hearing that!

Great film, great song, just greatness :cool::D

Dun laoire

Salamander.

Dr Bob

Asteroids in the back of a dodgy shop in Crumlin in about 83-84

unky chop chop

Mine was Rastan Saga in some beat up arcade in Cavan. Man the music for that game has to be one of the best of all time. Classic evil

pdbhp

Pole Position, don't recall where I played it or when but it was probably around 84' (ish). I sat on my dads lap and steered the car the wrong way for the whole time..:pac:

FearDark

Some Simpsons game where you could pick a member of the family, was a side scroller, no idea what it was called. Remember playing that and a WWF game the same day, very early 90's.

LoGiE

The very first game I can remember playing a Space Invaders II and that was a long time ago! All my fondest arcade memories come from games released in the 1986 - 1995 period, especially Taito games and CPS1 titles....:pac:

Retr0gamer

Ghost n'Goblins for me. Bit of a baptism of fire

Mitchomagic

Mouse trap in the local chipper,then Gorf.Must go did out the Mt board for a quick blast.Yep still have the outrun delux still all wraped up waiting for the day I have time to bring back to its former glory.Just picked a working set of boards for it.:D

Retr0gamer

FearDark wrote: »

Some Simpsons game where you could pick a member of the family, was a side scroller, no idea what it was called.

It's just the Simpsons by Konami. Damn fine side scrolling brawler.

johndoe99

the earliest i remember was that one with the ball bouncing between two bars that each player had control of. Remember thinking at time how great it was, we've come a long way now.

Andrew76

johndoe99 wrote: »

the earliest i remember was that one with the ball bouncing between two bars that each player had control of. Remember thinking at time how great it was, we've come a long way now.

Pong?

LoGiE

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Ghost n'Goblins for me. Bit of a baptism of fire

I fired this up at the weekend and I've become a little rusty to say the least.
My gf took a look over my shoulder and commented that it looked a tad crap... nonsense, so I fire up Ghouls 'n Ghosts, no dice. She asks me to call her if I fancy having my ass handed to me in Puzzle Bobble....Bloody heathen!

Playing it again makes you appreciate the simple things in life like being able to shoot upward or being able to predict where an enemy will appear. Along with pac-land this shallowed alot of coin in a dingy arcade in Skerries. They even had an original cab an artwork if I rememebr correctly.

heffomike54

The first arcade game I can remember playing is Metal Slug on holidays somewhere in Ireland but cant recall where The game stuck with me and I went a got versions on the playstation & PC, loved that game, honorable mention must go to Time Crisis, played that so much when I was younger

Stretchryan

Gorf and Karate Champ with my older borther. On my own was Bank Panic and still one of my all time fav games Wonder Boy

CiDeRmAn

My first was Space Invaders back in the day.
I don't remember the year but it was when the machine was current.
I have pleasant memories of playing Battlezone on the way to Wales and Donkey Kong in the caravan park when I got there!

Optimus Prime

Is battlezone the one with the Tanks in a maze?? If so I think that might have been played before space invaders for me, flash back there! They had two cocktail versions of that in "The Lawns" pub in ballyfermot years ago, its called Tim Youngs now.

Hygro

I think it's amazing how chippers and the like had arcade games, nowadays you just see poker machines

Once I started playing games regularly I guess the list of games looked like this (up until say 87)

In one of the the local newsagents!! (though they only had one in at a time).
Pole Position
Karnov
Time Soldiers
Rastan
Wonder Boy

Green Baize on Bolton St
Karate Champ
Kung Fu Master
Green Beret
some driving game which looked like the car was stuck to the screen and you moved the track?? Am I going crazy or does anyone else remember a game like that.

Amusments arcade on Moore St
Driving game (think it was Sprint 2, was defo b&w anyway and I'm sure there were 4 steering wheels)
Pac Man
Galaxian
Mr Do
Dig Dug
Dragons Lair
Pac Land

Jebus, if those dudes had held onto those machines they'd be minted by now! :pac:

Dorset Leisure
1942
1943

Got threatened by some bloke with a knife in there, so never went back. I was only about 12!!

After that it was onto Caesars Palace in Phisboro during the second coming of the Video Arcade!!! (circa 1989 - 1993).

Optimus Prime

Yeh its mad they used to be everywhere, off the top of my head other than the two cocktail ones i mentioned in the lawns pub in ballyfermot, there was a sweet shop down on the main road that had Afterburner in it, then street fighter 2 a few years later.

invinciblePRSTV

My very first arcade game was i think Ghosts 'n Goblins in a pub in downtown Kanturk sometime in the very early 1990's. It was one of those arcade games built into a table so i'm not actually sure if it was GNG but if not it was something very similar to it.

Retr0gamer

LoGiE wrote: »

I fired this up at the weekend and I've become a little rusty to say the least.
My gf took a look over my shoulder and commented that it looked a tad crap... nonsense, so I fire up Ghouls 'n Ghosts, no dice. She asks me to call her if I fancy having my ass handed to me in Puzzle Bobble....Bloody heathen!

Tell her she's allowed have an opinion if she can beat the first level

pdbhp

LoGiE wrote: »

I fired this up at the weekend and I've become a little rusty to say the least.
My gf took a look over my shoulder and commented that it looked a tad crap... nonsense, so I fire up Ghouls 'n Ghosts, no dice. She asks me to call her if I fancy having my ass handed to me in Puzzle Bobble....Bloody heathen!

Playing it again makes you appreciate the simple things in life like being able to shoot upward or being able to predict where an enemy will appear. Along with pac-land this shallowed alot of coin in a dingy arcade in Skerries. They even had an original cab an artwork if I rememebr correctly.

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Tell her she's allowed have an opinion if she can beat the first level

Exactly Retr0 let her see if she's "man" enough to handle one of the hardest levels known to mankind.

I for one am loving playing G&G again even though it's a serious challange and will test your "Billy Mitchell" big time:pac:

Lab_Mouse

Ikari warriors and double dragon,in an arcade in kilkee co clare

ondafly

my memory is a little fuzzy - but it was either playing Outrun in an arcade in Strandhill, or Bubble Bobble on the ferry to France. I have clear memories of Chase HQ & 1942 on a Ferry, Sunset Riders in some arcade beside Quirkeys, and of course Wonderboy in Trabolgan.

like already stated, there were always somewhere you could find an arcade machine. I remember in France, table tops and pinball machines in every pub. Strandhill in Sligo full of amusement arcades like Bray ! but now alas, theres barely anything anywhere.

Mr.Saturn

Alot of the Street Fighter cabs around Quirkey's. It must've been mid-nineties, as the only SFII cab knocking around still was Super Turbo and everything else had moved on to crossovers and the Alpha series. Mind, the arcade scene was dwindling even then. I was in there recently, the games are relegated to the back, and there's about ten to choose from, nine of which are coin suckers and the sensor on their Silent Hill cab is off, thus rendering your reaction times redundant.

bob skunkhouse

Arkanoid - a true classic. Only 2 of us in the town ever played it. During the summer it was like a mini competition to see which one of us got the highest score. Played it so much ended up completing it a few times! Good auld laugh it was...

Duggy747

Ah, earliest one I can think of is probably Final Fight or Chase H.Q. down at seapoint in Galway. Super Sprint and Street Fighter 2 - World Warrior were other early ones too.

I can still remember the layout of that place and where certain cabs where. The sit-down Chase H.Q. cab was just inside by the left entrance as you entered the arcades section

*sniff* meeeeeeeeem-mo-reeeees!