Pac-Man

Also known as: Puck-Man (Japan), Hangly Man (Bootleg), Ghost Muncher (Bootleg), Munchyman (Bootleg)

Developer: Namco

A study would have to be done to confirm this, but I'd be willing to bet a decent sum of money that despite other game characters surpassing Namco's yellow mascot over time, including a certain Italian plumber, that Pac-Man is still the most recognizable character in video game history. A lady that I used to work with, who does not know anything about video games, knew what Pac-Man was....and she had fond memories of playing the arcade game on dates when she was younger. Heck, back in the day, even the ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde) were household names. But anyway, Pac-Man is one of those very rare titles that if you have a young kid play it today, they're likely to understand why people loved it back when it was released. Pac-Man was designed so well that it seemingly doesn't age. That doesn’t happen often, mind you. When given games to play from the early days of video games, younger folks often wonder why anyone would enjoy it. Eating pellets and running away from ghosts is a universal enjoyment that all generations seem to enjoy. All that said, the AI followed set paths, making this game easy to beat if you've managed to memorize them...But that's honestly the only real flaw that I can think of. Ms. Pac-Man improves on the formula found here to about as perfect as one could get...But Mr. Pac-Man is still pretty dang great and has aged incredibly well over the near four decades since he originally was released.

Review added: 07/17/2019

Paradise

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Yun Sung

Paradise is basically Qix…but with topless lady folk and a mild twist on the formula. That twist is that instead of trying to clear the entire board, you’re really only trying to clear the silhouette of the lady in the background. As you unveil her, she’s a green tint…probably because like the Hulk when he becomes enraged, she’s quite angry that you’re playing this game. Anyway,, you don't need to clear ALL of her silhouette most of the time, just a certain percentage of her.  Once you get that specified percentage of her revealed, then all of the enemies on the screen die and you get rewarded with the green photo becoming a color photo. I like to imagine that the enemies on the screen are all basement-dwelling fellas that have never talked to a lady before , so once you reveal her, they don't know what to do and simply faint from the stress that you've caused. Also worth mentioning are the bizarre bonus games that pop up…like match the convict’s foot print. How matching the footprints of criminals ties into this game is beyond me…unless of course, you consider that it’s a crime that this game was released instead of something that relied more on gameplay and less on boobs…in which case, match those footprints away, amigo. In fairness, though, since Qix is a decent game and this is a clone of it, Paradise is still one of the better adult-oriented games that I’ve played…but that really isn’t saying much.

Review added: 10/19/2019

Phoenix

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Amstar

I've known about Phoenix and briefly played Phoenix before…but I never really appreciated this game until I sat down and gave it the time for a proper review. At first glance, it's easy to write Phoenix off as a Space Invaders clone with elements of Galaxian (which had been released earlier in the year) mixed in. However, Phoenix takes everything a little further. Phoenix consists of five stages that loop. The first two stages are similar to typical Space Invaders fashion, with a formation of small ships that need to be destroyed, with some occasionally diving down towards your ship, like you'd see in games like Galaxian. The next two rounds you'll see eggs on screen. The goal is to quickly shoot as many as you can, because if you wait too long, the eggs hatch and you're left shooting at some full-grown phoenixes…which must not have a high life span if they mature into an adult that quickly. Anyway, these phoenixes, for added strategy, can only be killed if you shoot the body. If you hit their wings instead, the phoenix will remain on screen and eventually regenerate its missing wing(s) until you manage to end its suffering. Once you finish two rounds of being attacked by those giant space birds, you get to the final stage, which really made Phoenix stand out - a boss battle against a giant UFO, where you'll find yourself chipping away at the bottom of the ship while avoiding enemy fire and the small ships dive bombing you. This is one of the first boss battles in a shooter, and considering that the UFO takes up roughly a quarter of the screen, it's a pretty memorable one. If that was all that Phoenix had to offer, it would still be a great game…but on top of everything else, Phoenix also introduces the ability to use a force field to protect themselves from enemy attacks. The force field only lasts for a few seconds, then takes a while to recharge before it can be used again, but it's a nice option to have when you find yourself in a situation where you're about to get blown to smithereens. Put everything together and you've got a game that took everything from the shooters that came before it, improved upon those things, and added a few bells and whistles to make it stand out on its own. If you enjoy older shooters and never gave Phoenix a try, I definitely recommend tracking a cabinet down and giving it a try.

Review added: 02/23/2026

Play Girls

Also known as: LA Girl (bootleg)

Developer: Hot-B

Play Girls was a pleasant surprise…I honestly expected a lame, adult-oriented game with a focus on pervy stuff instead of gameplay. While Play Girls isn't perv-free in terms of content, there's zero nudity here, at least from what I saw while playing. Essentially, you're playing Breakout, with the goal of clearing the screen of blocks so that part of the picture is revealed. It initially looks like you're playing to see perverted material, but you quickly find out that you're just playing to reveal a harmless drawing of a female. One photo (the second level) in particular contains a woman sitting in a drinking glass with a straw, with liquid up to her shoulders. I guess as you complete each level, you take a victory drink to lower the liquid level? As you do, you find her wearing a bikini. So, yes, it's questionable why a woman would be lounging around in a beverage like it's a pool…and why you'd be drinking said beverage since some people find it acceptable to pee in pools…but, for the most part, Play Girls is mostly harmless. Aside from the typical Breakout gameplay, there are also an assortment of power-ups, power-downs, and point boosts to get, if you can manipulate the ball to bounce over to a treasure chest in the level….including the ability to change the paddle into a tank, ninja, or dragon with the ability to shoot away remaining blocks for a limited time, which can be handy when you just can't quite get a specific block. Overall, Play Girls isn't an awful game, and it shows that if the focus is on actual gameplay instead of pervy content, you can make one of these styles of games entertaining to play…either that, or adding a visual of a bikini-clad woman sitting in a wine glass full of Hi-C Ecto Cooler simply makes everything better…I suppose both things can be true.

Review added: 11/16/2025

Pong

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

Pong wasn't the first video game, but without out it, one could definitely argue whether that form of media would ever take off or not. While other games had come out before Pong, none of them were as easy to immediately pick up and play. Pong's strength is its simplicity - it only takes a moment to realize that there are two paddles and you're playing a digital version of ping pong with someone else. I've also heard air hockey as a comparison due to the ball being able to bounce off of the top and bottom of the screen. Either way you'd like to describe Pong, the concept is still simple - bounce the ball back and forth until the player on one side or the other is unable to get their paddle to the ball in time before it disappears off screen. While the concept of Pong is simple, the gameplay was still deep enough to keep things interesting. This isn't a game where you simply bounce the ball back and forth on the screen, but based on where the ball hits the paddle, you may send it straight at your opponent, slightly at an angle, or in the complete opposite direction that you see that they've got their paddle at. The key to victory is to both try to keep your paddle in the center as much as possible, while also trying to hit the ball in areas that may be difficult for your opponent to reach…or, in regards to the small gaps at the top and bottom of the screen, aim for those areas since the paddles will not reach that far to prevent a score. The catch is that hitting the ball with the edge of the paddle is often what makes it difficult for your opponent to hit and/or helps you get into those non-defended corners…but when going for that, you're also at risk of missing the ball completely and giving up a point. If it sounds like if two players play it safe, the game will never end, Pong has that covered, too. The ball gradually gets faster as there are more and more volleys, so unless you've watching two Pong masters at play, it's likely that a match won't last too awful long once that ball starts cruising back and forth. Anyway, while it seems laughable that such a simple-looking game had such an important place in gaming history, especially when compared to games released today, for its time, Pong was video games. And, quite frankly, if you've got a buddy around, it's still pretty fun to play today.

Review added: 11/17/2025