Arcade Otaku - アーケード オタク

This are the top ones (not in order) I managed to buy on PCB and will treasure forever.

Ghouls n Ghosts
Altered Beast (Yes I love it. Only crazy people don't! )
Rush n Crash (AKA Speed Rumbler. A dream purchase for me)
Prehistoric Isle in 1930 (much more fun and with more variety than the sequel)
Double Dragon (Legendary)
Rainbow Islands
New Zealand Story
R-Type
Neo XYX
Breakers Revenge
Blazing Star

I also really enjoy Pacman, Robotron 2084, Space Harrier, Outrun. One day I hope to get a Robotron cab

1. Gunnail
2. Hotdog storm
3. Atomic robokid
4. Ninja spirits
5. In the hunt
6. DDP DOJ
7. Deathsmiles
8. Outzone
9. Tatsujin
10. Batrider
11. Dragon breed
12. Guardian force
13. Chase HQ
14. Ridge racer
15. Space harrier
16. After burner II
17. Stun runner
18. Maze of the kings
19. Forgotten worlds
20. indiana jones and the temple of doom

very random list!

Damn, thinking up 20 games is freaking hard. This took a long time.
I can't even put the games I own because I really don't think some of these have that much of an impression on me. Not even those "grail" games like Truxton 2 or Gunnail.
A lot of the reasons why I chose some of these games, some of which I don't own (in *) is because growing up I had free access to all of these arcades on account of being family friends with arcade owners. We had some of these machines in our homes growing up.

Games I dont own in (*)

1 Mystic Warriors
it's really one of those games I can play again and again, the music is also 98% of why I keep playing this

2 Metal Slug X
first game I 1ccd, just the perfect length too.

3 Last Resort
one of my favorite MVS games, it's just such a confident attitude filled game, 90s time capsule

4 Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting (*)
We actually had street fighter I and II cabinets every holiday seasons in our home for a time growing up. It's a toss up between CE and HF. but HF had the most vocal play times, so yeah HF.
I own CE due to nostalgia of the early years, but when it came to raw gaming memory and fun I had with my friends and family, HF all the way.

5 Battle Garegga
I suck hard at this, but there's so much to learn.

6 Golden Axe
I actually like this more than the Revenge of Death Adder, huge gaming memory. I remember playing this in Australia with friends and the ending really cracked me up. Also 15 minute play-throughs are perfectly bite-sized. The music is super iconic.

7 Knights of the Round (*)
The childhood memory of this was just too good, an arcade operator friend of ours had Lunar New Year at his place and this game was one of the several dozens on at the time.

8 TMNT Arcade
I went into the effort of making a cab for this, the early memories of this left such an impression on me.

9 Galaga '88 (*)
Even as a kid I knew this was a great game. Strangely it didn't have a lot of play in the arcades where I was.

10 Bubble Bobble (*)
Seeing my bro and a friend clearing this game (twice) was a huge gaming memory

11 Snow Bros
Always an arcade staple. As much as I love the arcade game the Mega Drive one will always be the better game.

12 Dragon Breed(*)
This is a recent game for me, just the visuals and gameplay makes it stand out amongst other shooters. I am not interested in any other M72 game actually. If I can buy this on its own I definitely will.

13 Final Fight
Again another arcade staple sad part is I own 2 boards of this and both are not working due to the faulty C board, super common problem.

14 Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder
When I saw this in an arcade in Perth in 1994, I knew I had to try and play it again. I never got to see it ever until much, much later (2015) via Mame. Thankfully I managed to score the PCB fairly well priced (bout 180 euros).

15 Valkyrie no Densetsu
The game really charmed me with its visuals, but I fell in love with it because of both the music and gameplay. I just think it's such a positive game. Technically I don't own this game, but I say I do because I converted a Namco System 2 board into it.

16 Star Wars Arcade Game (*)
Completely blew me away as a kid, and it was a few years after the game was released too.

17 Space Harrier (*)
Whenever I saw this in an arcade I had t o go play it, also always brings a smile to me.

18 In the Hunt
I have to admit, the first time I saw this was on the PS1, but getting the arcade pcb finally was one of those milestones in collecting. I just love the richness of the game, even as a kid.
Super surprising how much its shot up in price.

19 Bucky O Hare
A game I always wanted, mainly because I was actually a fan of the cartoon series, and played and own the NES for a long time. After the series was cancelled I was surprised to find out they released the arcade game. Never beat it, until recently when I bought the pcb. Didn't realize that the arcade game was the conclusion of the Bucky O Hare story! My 12 year old self shed a small happy tear then.

20 Sagaia (*)
First time I saw the 3 screen set up was Sagaia, blew me away with its visuals. Even playing it recently on the same 3 screen setup, it felt the same way. That extra real estate makes it feel so much richer. It's not the same at all on a HD television.