90s Arcade Games: 35 Iconic Beat-'Em-Ups, Fighters & Shooters You Can Play Today

Below are the 35 greatest 1990s coin-op games across four genres, why licensing keeps several of them off modern console stores, and how to map six-button fighters onto a two-controller TV setup.

1. Why the 1990s Were the Golden Peak of Multiplayer Coin-Op Design (And Why Some Are Delisted)

Between 1990 and 1999, arcade boards like Capcom's CPS-1/2/3 and SNK's Neo Geo MVS pushed sprite art far past home consoles, and the 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98) carries about 1,100 coin-op titles you can check by name first.

Compare a 1982 high-score cabinet with a 1993 mall arcade floor, and the change in game design is obvious. Eighties cabinets were solo score marathons built around three lives. By the early 1990s, operators needed spectacle that home 16-bit cartridges could not match, so studios built wide four-player cabinets, Capcom added QSound 3D audio to its boards from 1992, and head-to-head fighters took over the floor. You can explore cabinet wiring in our arcade cabinet types and JAMMA hardware guide and see how HDMI sticks replace bulky wood cabinets in our plug and play TV games guide.

Three forces shaped 1990s arcade gaming and explain why some classics are missing from modern digital stores:

• Four-Player Cooperative Brawlers: Konami and Capcom built wide cabinets with four color-coded joysticks (TMNT: Turtles in Time, The Simpsons, Sunset Riders, and X-Men). Four friends could drop quarters together and clear screen-filling bosses without waiting for turns.
• The 1991 Competitive Fighting Boom: When Capcom launched Street Fighter II on the CPS-1 board, arcade money shifted toward two-player rivalries where the loser immediately fed in another quarter for a rematch.
• The Licensing Vault: Brawlers like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (built on Mark Schultz's Xenozoic Tales comic, with Cadillac cars on screen) and Alien vs. Predator (a 20th Century Fox property) depended on outside licenses. Players widely point to those tangled rights as the reason neither game has ever been re-released on a home console.

Here is how arcade buttons line up on the stick's two 2.4GHz wireless controllers using the default FinalBurn Neo-style layout for six-button Capcom games:

2. How to Launch 90s Capcom, Konami & Neo Geo Classics on a Modern TV in 3 Steps

The 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98) sorts its arcade titles into six board folders, so there is no BIOS hunting, and its full 14,755-game list is public before you pay, backed by 2Bluebox LLC in Denver with a 30-day replacement guarantee.

Setting up a 1990s arcade emulator on a home computer often stalls when parent BIOS files (neogeo.zip, qsound.zip) are missing from the ROM folder. On the 64GB microSD card inside our 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro living room setup, the arcade titles come pre-sorted by board. I pulled that card and exported every title into the searchable 14,755-game Game Stick 4K list, so you can confirm a favorite is there before you order. Arcade files often use short MAME-style names (sf2ce is Street Fighter II': Champion Edition), so search both the full title and the short name.

Follow these three steps to start a two-player 1990s session on your TV:

1. Step 1: Open the Matching Arcade Board Folder. From the main menu, pick Capcom CPS1 (9 entries), Capcom CPS2 (19), Capcom CPS3 (523), FireBurn Neo (the menu's label for FinalBurn Neo, 19), Mame (13), or Arcade Classic (517). Capcom only released a handful of games on real CPS-3 hardware, so most of that folder's 523 entries are other titles and versions; the searchable list tells you exactly which.
2. Step 2: Tap SELECT for Credits, Then Press START. Once the attract screen finishes, press SELECT a few times on both controllers to bank credits, then press START on Player 1 and Player 2 to enter co-op.
3. Step 3: Save a State Before the Boss. Press SELECT + START to open the Quick Menu, where you can save before a tough stage or remap buttons. I've had to explain to my seven-year-old daughter why 90s games couldn't save anywhere, and a save state is what rescues a hard stage for her.

If you are comparing retro sticks for this, here is how the main buying options stack up on the four things that matter after checkout:

The 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98) plugs into your TV's HDMI port and includes two 2.4GHz wireless controllers, so you and a friend can start a 1990s cabinet tonight:

3. The 10 Best 90s Co-Op Beat-'Em-Ups (Including Delisted Comic & Movie Classics)

Early-90s arcades were ruled by two-to-four-player brawlers, several now delisted from console stores; the 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98) gives you free SELECT credits for them, and you can confirm each title on its public list first.

While our overview of 50 classic arcade games for your living room TV covers every era from 1978 onward, the 1991 to 1996 window produced a golden run of licensed comic-book and movie brawlers. Growing up on a SNES, my neighbor always got stuck with the sticky Player 2 controller; the arcade fixed that with identical sticks, and two matching wireless pads fix it at home.

"Tested on our unit" means we checked it on a device we own. "Manufacturer spec" means the maker states it and we haven't verified it ourselves. "Community reports" means players report it, and results can vary.

Why Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993) and Alien vs. Predator (1994) Never Got Console Re-Releases

Walk into any retro arcade forum and two names top almost every wishlist: Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and Alien vs. Predator. Both run on Capcom hardware with QSound audio, and both gave each hero a deeper moveset than earlier brawlers:

• In Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (Capcom, 1993): Jack Tenrec, Hannah Dundee, Mustapha Cairo, and Mess O'Bradovich each have their own dash attacks, flying kicks, and throws, and one stage puts the team behind the wheel of a Cadillac. With the comic license and the car brand both in the mix, Capcom has never brought it to a home console.
• In Alien vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994): Capcom added dash-cancels and a dedicated ranged fire button. Playing as Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa or a Predator, you can launch Xenomorphs into the air and keep juggling them.
• In Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara (Capcom, 1996): Four players choose from Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, Thief, Elf, and Dwarf, using a live item ring to cast spells and pick branching routes.

4. The 11 Greatest 90s 2D Fighting Games (Capcom CPS2/CPS3, Midway & SNK Neo Geo)

Capcom, SNK, and Midway defined 90s one-on-one fighters, and the 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98) ships two wireless controllers for versus play; six-button Capcom games use the shoulder buttons, so set that mapping once before your first match.

Throughout the 1990s, three studios pushed 2D fighting to heights that still look sharp on modern displays: Capcom (moving from CPS-1 to CPS-2 and the CD-based CPS-3), SNK (a decade of tournament hits on the 1990 Neo Geo MVS cartridge board), and Midway (digitized fighters and Fatalities in Mortal Kombat).

5. Top 14 90s Run-and-Gun Shooters, Bullet-Hell Shmups & Arcade Sports Games

90s arcades also produced run-and-guns, bullet-hell shmups, and two-button sports games; the 2D ones suit the 2Bluebox Retro Game Stick 4K Pro ($59.98), while 3D boards like NFL Blitz need the PC-powered 2Bluebox Portable HDD Super Console 500GB ($64.99).

8 Iconic 90s Run-and-Gun & Vertical Bullet-Hell Shooters (Games 22-29)

Mid-1990s shooter designers split into two styles: SNK and Nazca crafted the hand-drawn run-and-gun mayhem of Metal Slug, while Cave, Psikyo, and Seibu Kaihatsu refined vertical shooters, with Cave's danmaku ("bullet curtain") games shrinking the player's hitbox:

• 22. Raiden (Seibu Kaihatsu, 1990): Fast vertical dogfighter where swapping between the red spread shot and the blue laser keeps two players alive through tank battalions.
• 23. Aero Fighters 2 / Sonic Wings 2 (Video System, 1994): Pick from a cast of quirky international pilots (including Spanky the dolphin) for quick, replayable vertical stages on Neo Geo MVS.
• 24. Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 (Nazca / SNK, 1996): A showcase of hand-drawn 2D animation where Marco and Tarma rescue POWs, grab the "Heavy Machine Gun!", and pilot the SV-001 tank.
• 25. DoDonPachi (Cave, 1997): The blueprint for modern bullet-hell shmups, shrinking your ship's vulnerable hitbox to a tiny point so you can weave through dense bullet patterns.
• 26. Shock Troopers (Saurus / SNK, 1997): Top-down eight-way commando run-and-gun on Neo Geo MVS with a dodge-roll and three-character "Team Battle" switching.
• 27. Strikers 1945 II (Psikyo, 1997): World War II fighter planes with charge attacks against giant transforming bosses.
• 28. Metal Slug 2 (SNK, 1998): Added playable heroines Eri and Fio, the Camel Slug, and the mummy and fat transformations.
• 29. Metal Slug X (SNK, 1999): A reworked Metal Slug 2 that cut most of the slowdown and remixed bosses, enemy placements, and weapon drops.

6 Legendary 90s Arcade Sports & High-Speed Party Classics (Games 30-35)

Modern sports games bury you in menus. 1990s arcade sports cabinets used two or three buttons, so anyone at a party could jump into a five-minute match:

• 30. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Midway, 1994): Two-on-two arcade basketball with no fouls, rim-rattling dunks, and "He's on fire!" streaks.
• 31. Windjammers (Data East, 1994): Supersonic Neo Geo MVS flying-disc duels that mix Pong wall bounces with special throws.
• 32. Puzzle Bobble / Bust-A-Move (Taito, 1994): Bub and Bob aim a bubble launcher to match three colors and dump garbage onto Player 2's side.
• 33. Super Sidekicks 3: The Next Glory (SNK, 1995): Fast Neo Geo international soccer built for short, arcade-length matches.
• 34. Neo Turf Masters (Nazca / SNK, 1996): One of the most approachable golf games ever made, with a quick swing meter and a breezy soundtrack.
• 35. NFL Blitz (Midway, 1997): Seven-on-seven arcade football with 30-yard first downs, turbo passes, and over-the-top late hits.

Here is the quick decision guide for playing 90s arcade games at home:

Not sure which one fits your setup? Compare our three preloaded systems below:

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The 1990s were the last decade when the arcade floor set the direction of video games, giving us four-player brawlers, tournament-grade 2D fighters, and hand-drawn Neo Geo pixel art that still hold up thirty years later. With an HDMI stick and two wireless controllers, your living room becomes a 1994 mall arcade where every credit is free.

Power on your TV, tap SELECT on both controllers to bank some credits, and finally clear Cadillacs and Dinosaurs or Metal Slug X from the couch.