The best home retro arcade machine and must-play retro games list

June 21, 2021

If you have started to look for a full-size arcade machine for your home you will have quickly realised it is much more of a difficult decision than you think – there are so many cabinet options and different game offerings for you to know for sure if you are buying the right machine for the right price.

Here at Arcade WOW we want to help you with that choice, and once you have decided on the machine you like we have thoughtfully compiled a killer list of arcade and console games – not the usual suspects – which are must play for you and your friends.

We have already done most of the hard work for you – here are two blogs which will help you choose the right video arcade machine for your home – ‘How to choose a classic arcade machine’ and ‘The best arcade machine for your mancave’ – but, in a nutshell, if you have 65cm width of wall space then get yourself a full size classic looking machine fully loaded with all the modern features, and most importantly choose the one that takes you back in time to that fondly-remembered arcade, leisure centre or sweet shop – the one that looks just like the machine you used to play, and the one your mates will love too!

Here are Just a few examples of our full-size multi-game retro arcade machines to get your memory jogged.

When it comes to the games you should get as many as you can. There is nothing worse than when your mates pop over and you’ve already told them you have just bought a multi-game arcade machine for £XXXX and they say ‘can I play ‘x’ … but it isn’t on. ‘OK then can I play ’x’, and that isn’t on either. You know your mates will challenge you SO IMPRESS THEM and get a machine that comes with as many games as possible.

Arcade WOW machines are delivered with 15,000 games – enough to play a different game every day for the next 41 years! You get all the classics, the consoles, and you even get retro pub quiz games (we love these).

Feel free to book an appointment at our Stockport showroom where you can check out the machines without pushy sales tactics – just play and ask questions! If you can’t make it to the showroom then drop us a line and we can do a live video call and show you the machines or chat through the options – we are here to help!

Here’s our killer list of MUST PLAY RETRO ARCADE GAMES

We are not going to rank games – everyone is different, and there are different game types to enjoy depending on mood so here is a list of games we just can’t stop playing – some of them will be new to you so are deffo worth checking out.
arcade & Console shoot-em up games (these are not ranked in order – just play them 😊

Wings of Wor (Mega Drive – only just, but has to be our overall favourite)
R-Type
Scramble
Defender
Galaxian
Centipede
Galaga
Phoenix
Moon Cresta
Sky Base
Star Wars
Star Fox
Space Invaders
Asteroids
Moon Patrol
Beserk
Gorf
Time Pilot
1942
Carnival
Missile command
Space Harrier
Air Busters
After Burner

Best puzzle and platform games (these are not ranked in order – just play them 😊

Pac-Man (trying not to say this is our best, but it still is, even though we’re smashing through the key stages it’s still, and always will be the best puzzle game we’ve ever played).
Donkey Kong
Qubert
Amidar
All Mario’s
Sonic
Crash Bandicoot
Rally X
Tetris
Bubble Bobble
Tutankham
Gauntlet
Dragon’s Lair
Altered Beast
Golden Axe