A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V W X

The future arrives with a tiger uppercut to the jaw in Street Fighter II, and the era of the one-on-one fighter kicks in. Mortal Kombat amps up the gore to “Fatality” level, while Virtua Fighter and Tekken take the combatants into three dimensions. Virtua Racing and later games like Daytona USA bring new levels of realism to racing games, while the trigger-happy arcade-goers get to take their shots at aliens, zombies and more in hits like Area 51 and House of the Dead. NBA Jam gives average joes control of their favorite slam-dunking superstars, while the all-stars of the future hone their skills on hoop-shooting basketball games. Video games get faster, louder, and more realistic, but at the end of the decade, Crazy Taxi reminds us what the arcade has really always been about: wacky, unbridled fun.