MARCO KERSTENS'S TOP TEN COIN-OP VIDEOGAMES m.kerstens@bw.kun.nl 10. Mappy (Namco/Midway) It's amazing, now I think of it. I got most of my arcade action not in your typical early eighies arcade hall. This game I played in a nearby cafetaria (the ones that sell fries and serve them with mayonaise, yummie!). Unluckily, I played Mappy in the time the cabinets started to disappear from places like this. Just when I started to get the hang of it, they removed Mappy too and replaced it with a stupid slot machine. Bah! Now I play it on my Game Gear, which is quite enjoyable too. 9. Crazy Climber (Nichibutsu) I didn't get to know Crazy Climber very well. This cabinet was located on the municipal swimming pool grounds, so I only got to play it once in a while. The few times I played it, I enjoyed it a lot though, with its freaky two-joystick action and crazy sounds. 8. Pang! (Buster Brothers) (Capcom) The only more recent game on my list. Reminds me of warm summer nights in mediterranean arcade halls where young kids are playing Mortal Kombat and other shit ;-) 7. Centipede (Atari) Widely known and appreciated for its face paced gameplay. I still like it better than the more advanced Millipede. Too bad I never got to play it with a trackball (the (generic) cabinet I played it on had an ordinary joystick...). Might have been higher on my list then. 6. Burgertime (Midway) My girlfriend goes crazy immediately after I start playing this. "Turn off that music!" The music makes the game though. Still quite a difficult game to master, even after hours of MAME practice. Great game chararcters! 5. Crazy Kong (Donkey Kong) (Nintendo) My first love. A friend and I even used French coins to play our favorite of the time as much as possible (we stole those coins from my friend's brother, turned out they were worth more than a guilder!) After much practice, I was quite good at it. Only game I've watched go berserk (screen tilting and all strange characters) after someone had been playing it continuously for almost an hour and a half. 4. Galaga (Namco) Everyone knows and likes this one, no need to explain. 3. Pengo (Sega) I never was very good at Pengo in the arcades. Later on, I got the Game Gear version, and was much better at it. When I tried Pengo again on MAME I realized that the Game Gear version is much simpler. I recently acquired a Pengo PCB, but I still need to solder a connector for it. One of the greatest tunes ever! And, of course, those intervals... 2. Lady Bug (Universal) Starting to see a pattern here? Yes, I'm a sucker for funny, cartoonesk skill/maze games. I remember playing Lady Bug while some of the local 'Lady Bug' hotshots were watching me closely. And I played better than ever before (pure beginners' luck, I'd say). A thrilling experience. I guess that's why I put it down as my runner-up. 1. Mr. Do! (Universal) Not a big surprise for people who know me. They know I'm a Mr.Do! addict. I've played this game almost on a daily basis for over a year. I was part of a group of 4-5 players that were visiting the cafetaria that had the game in a nearby shopping center, trying to beat the high score of the day. This game just has it all. It beats the crap out of its rivals. Fast action and pure excitement, especially when you have advanced to level 15+. So playable and enjoyable. Simply the best!