Another example of an early arcade concept updated years later with more modern gameplay enhancements, Arkanoid updated the concept of Atari's 1976 Breakout with powerups, enemies and colorful graphics, which turned a relatively dated gameplay mechanic into something exciting and new upon its release a decade later. Tied to a storyline in which the player's paddle is a spaceship fighting its way home, the game's key innovation is the ability to grab falling capsules that cause the Vaus ship to grow wider, gain laser weapons, capture the ball and more. The levels also feature a wide variety of creative block designs, aliens to destroy, blocks that require multiple hits and more. The simple but addictive update to the formula made Arkanoid an enduring hit in 80s arcade and beyond.

Considered by many to be one of the best games of all time, Bubble Bobble combines cute characters with simple but satisfying gameplay mechanics to create a game that seems like it came from Nintendo, but didn't. The game sends Bub and Bob, two chibi-styled, bubble-blowing dragons, through a series of 100 platform levels within the Cave of Monsters, defeating enemies by encapsulating them within bubbles and then popping them (which then causes them to turn into food). The level designs and enemy challenges become increasingly complex as the game continues, culminating in a single epic boss fight. Bubble Bobble would go on to pop out many sequels for consoles, as well as the hit spinoff series Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-a-Move).

The spark that set the beat-em-up genre ablaze in the late 80s, Double Dragon pits martial artists Billy and Jimmy Lee (also known as Hammer and Spike) against the Black Warriors gang as they fight to rescue mutual love interest Marian. Though not the first game with beat-em-up mechanics, Double Dragon brought a gritty martial arts atmosphere inspired by Bruce Lee movies and more complex fighting mechanics to the genre, and was cited as an inspiration for Final Fight and other well-known beat-em-ups. Developed by Technos Japan and distributed in the US by Taito, the game spawned two sequels, a spinoff Neo Geo fighting game, an animated series and a live-action movie, and is still a classic for its simple yet satisfying style and gameplay.

Operation Thunderbolt picks up where predecessor Operation Wolf left off, featuring not only improved graphics and gameplay but the addition of a second player to the shooting mayhem. The plot is more specific this time, bringing in Hardy Jones to join the original's Roy Adams to rescue American hostages from a hijacked airliner that lands in a fictional African country. The sequel adds pseudo-3D forward-scrolling levels featuring sprite scaling graphics, including scenes where you are inside a moving vehicle, where your submachine gun is somehow more than enough to defend you against fighter jets and their missiles. Hostages are even more of a focus here, forcing you to make split-second firing decisions to avoid friendly fire. All in all, Operation Thunderbolt delivers another simple but enjoyable rail shooting experience from a time before 3D graphics.

Developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer, Taito's Qix was actually an American release, a challenging and unusual puzzle action game that's difficult to master. Players must take over the playfield by drawing boxes to capture it one piece at a time, while avoiding the menacing fractal-like Qix entity that floats around the remaining area and keeping ahead of its Sparx helpers. The strategy balances risk and reward, with the ability to earn more points for captured areas based on how fast you draw your lines (contact with the Qix or Sparx, or a fuse that lights when you stop moving, all spell death). The original game had an abstract quality that was either attractive or intimidating, depending on your point of view – later descendants such as Super Qix and Volfied added more options and personality, but perhaps lost something in the translation.

The Ninja Warriors was unique in late-80s arcades, featuring a novel display system that created the illusion of an extremely wide display using three monitors and mirrors to create an almost seamless experience. The game featured relatively high-res graphics as well as an unusual amount of blood for its time, but both the premise (two ninja-like androids are sent to take down a tyrannical US government) and the oddly slow pace of the game worked against expectations. The game's undeniable 80s cool factor, including a fantastic synth soundtrack, has given The Ninja Warriors an ongoing cult status.

Arguably the love child of Qix and Arkanoid, Volfied takes the core gameplay concept of the former and adds a storyline, visual style and power-ups reminiscent of the latter. Travelling back to his home planet of Volfied, the pilot of the spaceship Monotros discovers the planet has been overrun with an alien presence, which he must push back by literally carving it out of the surface. Much like in Qix, the player must venture from the safe edges of the screen to reclaim sections of the playfield, while a menacing alien and its minions roam around and cause trouble. Enclosing power-ups on various parts of the surface grant you special abilities, such as equipping lasers, stopping time and speeding up your ship. Each level features a different alien type, minions, power-ups and level design, adding new life to an early 80s game concept. This overlay features new bezel art in the spirit of the original cabinet.