The 10 Best "One Hit Wonders" From The 1980s
January 9th, 2021
Believe it or not, video games did actually exist 30 years ago. They weren’t nearly as cool as what gets put out today, but they were a lot of fun back in the day.
Even though there were a lot of good ones, here were some of the most popular video games of the 1980s:
Super Mario Bros
You can’t start any list of video games from the 80’s without recognizing the king of all games. Yes it came free with the OG Nintendo, and since millions of kids had an NES, almost every kid from the 80s had it or at least played it at their friend’s house.
Another monster hit from the 1980s was “The Legend Of Zelda”. As Link you spent hours trying to save Princess Zelda and bring peace to Hyrule. If Super Mario Bros was Nintendo’s signature game, this game was definitely a close second.
This was probably the first video game I ever played, so it holds a near and dear place in my heart.
The idea is that there are missiles coming from the sky down to the earth to blow up your bases. Your job is to defend the bases by shooting missiles into the air to explode those that are incoming.
It starts out very easy, but it gets harder over time. Not only do more enemy missiles start coming at you, but they get faster and start traveling shorter distances.
Mrs. Pac Man
Make no mistake- Pac Man was the original. But considering the great success of the arcade classic, its designers decided to broaden the market by making another game with Mrs. Pac Man chomping ghosts instead of her hubby.
Mega Man 2
Let’s face it- Mega Man isn’t what he used to be. But back in the day, he was THE Man. His ability to absorb the weapons from enemies he beat was pretty cool.
Final Fantasy
Considering that this game kick-started one of the most successful RPG franchises in video game history, we absolutely had to throw this in here.
Need More?
There were more good ones that came in the 80s than just these. Metroid, Ant Attack, and Tetris are just a few.
If you’ve never played any of these games, try finding a good emulator for the PC and give them a shot. You won’t be disappointed, as these games are all fun- especially the first time you play them!