Best Games on MAME?

[Andy_Bogomil 749]

Hey all,

Looking for some good MAME games to play. Preferably ones that are easy to run or that I likely already have (I have a 'full' MAME game list). Going through my list there are a number of games that are broken but I've cleaned it up a lot and have most of the classics running. I would definitely like some more suggestions of some of your favourite games. I like pretty much everything: shooters, run n gun, beat em ups, puzzle, fighting, etc.

Some of the titles I play regularly...  TMNT, MK, Street Fighter (2/Alphas), Tekken, Final Fight, Contra, 19XX, GI Joe, King of Dragons, AvP, Simpsons, X-men, X-men v Street Fighter, Wrestlefest, Double Dragon, Tetris, Puzzle Bobble, Snow Bros., Sunset Riders, Ninja Baseball Batman, Metal Slug, etc.

 

Thanks

[ifightdragons 234]

Lots of great games on that list. I'll just link you to the games in my collection here: https://backloggery.com/games.php?user=ifightdragons&console=ARC

I think they're all amazing. Definitely recommend checking some gameplay videos and reviews on YouTube if there are any of the titles you're not familiar with already.
Pretty much guaranteed to be something you'll enjoy.

On a side note, I wish setting up MAME was a lot easier. It's very tedious work to get games running, and the sea of tutorials out there do a pretty poor job explaining how and what works.

Edited March 8, 2020 by ifightdragons

[Magus 169]

O man, the list is long. I am about to build another MAME cab now. Here are some good ones off the top of my head.

Esp Ra.De series
R-type
Dungeons and Dragons series
Smash TV
Dragon Breed
The Punisher
Black Tiger
Cadillacs and dinosaurs
Windjammers
Dragon Blaze
Dodonpachi series
Night slashers
Shadow Force
Star Gladiator/Plasma Sword
NBA Jam
Gunbird
 

[ErickRPG 42]

I have 200 mame games on a stick for my arcade legends.  I could list off tons of them or direct you to youtube "top arcade games" lists.  But I will instead list my favorites A-Z

• Aliens
• Aliens vs. Predator
• Asteroid
• Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja
• Bagman
• Baseball Stars 2
• Bomb Jack
• Bosconian
• Buster Bros
• Cabal
• Chase HQ
• Contra
• Dig Dug
• Donkey Kong
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Double Dragon
• Dragon Breed
• AD&D Shadow over Mystara
• Frogger
• Golden Tee
• Gyruss
• In the Hunt
• Jouse
• Jungle Hunt
• Kid Niki
• Mappy
• Micheal Jackson's Moonwalker
• Mortal Kombat
• Mr. Do!
• NARC
• NBA Jam
• Ninja Commando
• Pac Mania
• Pac Man
• Pengo
• Popeye
• Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon
• Punch Out
• Rampage
• Rampart
• Rygar
• Shinobi
• Shock Troopers
• Smash TV
• Strikers series
• Super Pac Man
• World Class Bowling
• WWF arcade series

[Andy_Bogomil 749]

3 hours ago, ifightdragons said:

Lots of great games on that list. I'll just link you to the games in my collection here: https://backloggery.com/games.php?user=ifightdragons&console=ARC

I think they're all amazing. Definitely recommend checking some gameplay videos and reviews on YouTube if there are any of the titles you're not familiar with already.
Pretty much guaranteed to be something you'll enjoy.

On a side note, I wish setting up MAME was a lot easier. It's very tedious work to get games running, and the sea of tutorials out there do a pretty poor job explaining how and what works.

Yes, it is tedious. It took me a while even to get a good version of MAME with the appropriate game list. Then there are obviously 1000s of games on the list. At least it's easy to fliter out the broken games. From there I just started playing the games I knew and fix the ones that were not working which surprisingly wasn't all that many. It's annoying though as the broken ones I tend to just download the ROM that has the exact name and size and it usually fixes it. Not sure why that is.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I've checked out a few lists on YT too for 'arcade hidden gems' . Lots of good games out there.

[nesmaster14 413]

Been awhile since I had my MAME machine running, but here are some of the more memorable (unusual) titles I played:

PuLiRuLa

Trio The Punch

Boogie Wings

Salamander 2

Metal Black

Chelnov

 

 

[Andy_Bogomil 749]

Thanks. Gonna check out some of these later tonight. 

[Sumez 2,292]

MAME is literally just a multi-emulator that'll emulate any system.

A better request (and less legally dubious) could be just "best games". Or "best arcade games" if you do want to be more specific (mame plays various consoles, though).

More on point, the best arcade games are Rainbow Islands, Ghouls n Ghosts, and Tetris The Grand Master 2. And I'm not sure that's up for debate at all.  
The rest of the Bubble Bobble games (BB, Bubble Symphony, and Bubble Memories) are amazing games also.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Sumez

[Redmond 118]

Splatterhouse.  Maybe more style over substance but still a classic in my book.  And then if you like that one check out 2-3 on the Genesis.  I've heard okay things about the PS3/360 one as well.

[ErickRPG 42]

@sumez I guess that's right I don't know.  But MAME is generally known to be arcade games in the emulator community.  Whether it's technically right or not.

[Magus 169]

On 3/9/2020 at 8:17 AM, Sumez said:

MAME is literally just a multi-emulator that'll emulate any system.

A better request (and less legally dubious) could be just "best games". Or "best arcade games" if you do want to be more specific (mame plays various consoles, though).

More on point, the best arcade games are Rainbow Islands, Ghouls n Ghosts, and Tetris The Grand Master 2. And I'm not sure that's up for debate at all.  
The rest of the Bubble Bobble games (BB, Bubble Symphony, and Bubble Memories) are amazing games also.

That isn't entirely true. Originally MAME for the first 18 years was exactly what the name stood for. Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator.

Essentially emulating all the different types of arcade units that were out in one easy to use program. 

Eventually it incorporated MESS (Multiple Emulator Super System) into MAME in 2015, and now it does other consoles. 

But it is pretty much obvious when someone refers to MAME, they are referring to arcade games and not consoles. 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Magus
Spelling

[ErickRPG 42]

Thanks for clarification.  Since I got into roms years ago.  That's why I didn't see the difference.  Yes MAME was called what Magus called it.  You had things like SNES9x for snes, Kega Fusion for genesis and sega CD.  mame was arcade.  Until Retroarch came along, you had to get all of your separate emulators.  I remember having several folders separated by system emulator, and system roms.

[Sumez 2,292]

2 hours ago, Magus said:

But it is pretty much obvious when someone refers to MAME, they are referring to arcade games and not consoles. 

There's still a major difference though, considering "MAME" implies games playable in mame, which covers a lot of stuff (even before MESS) - But it definitely does not cover all arcade games, with a lot being unemulated for either technical or practical reasons.

I wasn't really trying to argue semantics about what "MAME" is or does, but rather the context of the request. Like, if you're playing on an emulator, it doesn't really matter if a game was an arcade game, a megadrive game, or a game for an arcade system based on megadrive hardware. It's all funneled through an emulator that you run on, presumably, a PC.
Maybe OP is looking for good games to put on a special machine dedicated to this emulator, or maybe they aren't very experienced in classic arcade games, and are looking for recommendations on this specifically, and just used mame as an umbrella term because that's how they are used to playing them.

It's hard to tell, but I assumed it was the latter.

[Magus 169]

2 minutes ago, Sumez said:

There's still a major difference though, considering "MAME" implies games playable in mame, which covers a lot of stuff (even before MESS) - But it definitely does not cover all arcade games, with a lot being unemulated for either technical or practical reasons.

I wasn't really trying to argue semantics about what "MAME" is or does, but rather the context of the request. Like, if you're playing on an emulator, it doesn't really matter if a game was an arcade game, a megadrive game, or a game for an arcade system based on megadrive hardware. It's all funneled through an emulator that you run on, presumably, a PC.
Maybe OP is looking for good games to put on a special machine dedicated to this emulator, or maybe they aren't very experienced in classic arcade games, and are looking for recommendations on this specifically, and just used mame as an umbrella term because that's how they are used to playing them.

It's hard to tell, but I assumed it was the latter.

I never said it covered ALL arcade games, that is fairly obvious, just that MAME is very commonly referred to in the hobby for arcade titles and it has been that way for 2 decades.  Despite whether it can play other consoles NOW or not. 

No offense, but I don't think anyone here besides you was confused on what he meant. Hence all the replies recommending him arcade titles. 

In my many years with MAME and forums i have never heard anyone mention it for non arcade titles or console emulation like you seem to be taking it, like retroarch for example. Since MAME was launched it has always had a particular accepted meaning when someone is talking about it. The point being MAME has a very accepted meaning in the hobby and has for a long time now, so when people refer to MAME it is understood what they mean. 
 

[Sumez 2,292]

i just thought it was a strange phrasing to drop the name of an emulator upfront, not trying to start an argument, man.

To me it's like starting a thread asking for the best Nesticle games, that's all.

[arch_8ngel 1,597]

Willow (arcade) always deserves a nod as an excellent arcade game that never had console release.

If you have multiple players, Quartet is another good one.

 

Does Zaxxon have a compelling console release?  If not, that one is a pretty unique shooter.

 

 

The two AD&D beat-em-ups are probably better played on their re-release from a few years ago.  (has acheivements, save games, etc)

[ifightdragons 234]

8 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Willow (arcade) always deserves a nod as an excellent arcade game that never had console release.

If you have multiple players, Quartet is another good one.

 

Does Zaxxon have a compelling console release?  If not, that one is a pretty unique shooter.

 

 

The two AD&D beat-em-ups are probably better played on their re-release from a few years ago.  (has acheivements, save games, etc)

I'll second Willow. Not played Quartet or Zaxxon.

The D&D games are fantastic. They're not under the Advanced (AD&D) moniker though, as far as I know? Just simply D&D. I'm not sure why a lot of people seem to think they're AD&D.

[arch_8ngel 1,597]

38 minutes ago, ifightdragons said:

The D&D games are fantastic. They're not under the Advanced (AD&D) moniker though, as far as I know? Just simply D&D. I'm not sure why a lot of people seem to think they're AD&D.

Looks like you're right.  I played them in arcades as a kid, and since that was contemporary to AD&D (early/mid 2nd edition) that was just what stuck in my head.

(also, probably because all of the SSI gold box games were AD&D, specifically)

[Sumez 2,292]

15 hours ago, ifightdragons said:

They're not under the Advanced (AD&D) moniker though, as far as I know? Just simply D&D. I'm not sure why a lot of people seem to think they're AD&D.

I had no idea it wasn't the same thiing XD.
Does it even make a difference in a derivative video game that's largely based on the lore and setting of D&D? Is that also different in AD&D? Asking because I'm curious. I have both of the D&D arcade games, but I never actually played the pen and paper variants.

[ifightdragons 234]

18 minutes ago, Sumez said:

I had no idea it wasn't the same thiing XD.
Does it even make a difference in a derivative video game that's largely based on the lore and setting of D&D? Is that also different in AD&D? Asking because I'm curious. I have both of the D&D arcade games, but I never actually played the pen and paper variants.

Honestly, I have no clue 

Edited March 13, 2020 by ifightdragons

[ErickRPG 42]

What's all your guys childhood favorite arcade game?  I am old enough to remember arcade venues (We had a large one called Galaxy World) and our bowling alley had an arcade room with like 30+ arcades.  The game for me was Shinobi.  I played that game SO much as a kid.  I've never even beaten it because the later levels are so hard.  But I'm a master at the first 4 levels lol.  And I do have that game loaded up on my atgames legends machine so I still play it from time to time.

[ifightdragons 234]

7 minutes ago, ErickRPG said:

What's all your guys childhood favorite arcade game?  I am old enough to remember arcade venues (We had a large one called Galaxy World) and our bowling alley had an arcade room with like 30+ arcades.  The game for me was Shinobi.  I played that game SO much as a kid.  I've never even beaten it because the later levels are so hard.  But I'm a master at the first 4 levels lol.  And I do have that game loaded up on my atgames legends machine so I still play it from time to time.

As a child I was really impressed by both Mortal Kombat II and Asterix, as those were the only real good games I could find around our little town. I remember gawking at older players pulling off special moves and fatalities, wondering how the heck they knew the secret inputs.

Today I'm still impressed by Asterix, as it's a really good and beautiful game. Mortal Kombat feels a bit too archaic to still enjoy like back then.

[ErickRPG 42]

I still enjoy old MK because of it's simple system of block, uppercut, sweep, special move system.  Today's MK is too complex with me with it's combos.  I still do like it and I own MKXL on PS4 and MK11 on Switch.  But I still enjoy the 1-3 classics.  I have trilogy on my DS actually.

[cj_robot 479]

14 hours ago, ErickRPG said:

What's all your guys childhood favorite arcade game? 

I was always enamored with sit-down racing games. The first arcade game I can remember really falling in love with was Pole Position at our Chuck E Cheese. I probably would've like OutRun, but I never saw a sit-down version of it. Of course I eventually became obsessed with Virtua Racing and then Daytona USA.

Besides those, I usually spent the most time with Konami beat-em-ups (TMNT, X-Men, Simpsons, etc.) and the Time Crisis games.

My first job was at a movie theater which had an arcade with a Dance Dance Revolution machine. The entire staff got hooked on that and we would stay for hours after closing playing each other. I have to say it was a hell of a lot of fun. I actually got pretty damn good at it, but that was like 20 years ago now (yikes!)

Man, so many great memories with a lot of friends at a lot of places! I really miss that kind of atmosphere we had back then.

[cartman 183]

I think Magic Sword: Heroic Fantasy is awesome it's not really all that highlighted among Capcom's games but i have a lot of fun with it. The adventure in climbing the stairs and strategizing between opening a lot of cells vs sparing keys for extra points that give extra health, upgrading the ally characters and choosing wich one to have along with you. But you have to limit the credit input to really get into the fun if you keep feeding that motherfucker then there is no game at all.