1980s Arcade Game Mugs
1980s Arcade Game Vintage Space Rover Gamer Art Mug
by hunter_dunnhun
$13 $18
Description: Spy Hunter was a vehicular combat action game developed for video arcades in 1983. Designed as a vertical scrolling driving game with the player in the role of a spy driving a heavily armed super car, the object of the game was to travel the freeway, destroying as many enemy vehicles as possible while protecting civilian vehicles. Spy Hunter was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions, with the latter being more common. The game's controls consisted of a steering wheel in the form of a futuristic aircraft-style yoke with several special buttons, a two-position stick shift and a pedal used for acceleration. Spy Hunter was a success in American arcades, where it was one of the top five highest-grossing games for 84 and 85.
Description: Altered Beast is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game that landed in arcades in 1988 and was ported to gaming consoles and home computers shortly thereafter. The game is set in Ancient Greece and follows a player character chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from the demonic ruler of the underworld, Neff. By collecting three power-ups in a level, the player character transforms into one of five magical beasts, including a weredragon, a werebear, a weretiger, a werewolf, or a golden werewolf. Each beast form grants its own abilities. The dragon can unleash lightning bolts and an electric barrier, the bear has a petrifying breath that turns enemies into stone, the tiger can throw fireballs in a zig-zag pattern, etc.
Description: Q*Bert's Qubes is the 1983 sequel to the 1982 arcade hit, Q*Bert. The game features similar gameplay, but is now in three dimensions. Once again your goal is to change multicolored blocks to a target color, but now you must make sure all three visible sides of the blocks match the target color. You control Q*Bert on the playfield of blocks; Q*Bert changes the colors by jumping to a block, which will cause it to rotate in the direction of his jump. Unlike the original game, you don't need to change the colors of the whole playfield, but rather need to form straight line(s) of the target colors, and when you do, you can move on to the next round. The game achieved mild success, but due to the Gaming Crash of 1983, went relatively unnoticed.
Description: Prepare for a true arcade marvel! Our Zaxxon design captures the groundbreaking isometric 3D action of this legendary space shooter. Pilot your ship, destroy fuel tanks, and blast through enemy forces. Relive the unique perspective and intense challenge of this pixelated pioneer!
Description: Athena is a platformer arcade game developed and published by SNK in 1986. The arcade game was later ported to several consoles and home computers. Athena is the young, temperamental princess of the ancient Kingdom of Victory, and like all teenagers, she clamors for excitement, and is tempted to disobey her parents and enter the area of the Forbidden Door. Opening the gateway makes her fall from the heavenly kingdom to the realm below, a wild land ruled by the cruel Emperor Dante and his countless minions. The princess' only means of survival is to traverse a long, dangerous road and challenge the brutal Dante herself. Princess Athena has gone on to appear in later fighting games by SNK as a secret character or assistant to players.
Description: A high-energy vintage arcade illustration for Konami’s 1987 hit Contra, featuring two muscular commandos armed with heavy weaponry, blasting through alien enemies. In the background, a menacing extraterrestrial creature looms, adding to the game’s intense sci-fi atmosphere. The bold gradient logo, explosive muzzle flashes, and distressed texture perfectly capture the adrenaline-fueled, run-and-gun style of this iconic 8-bit era shooter.
Description: Contra is a legendary run-and-gun video game originally developed as a coin-operated arcade game by Konami in 1986 and officially released in 1987. The game quickly became a worldwide commercial success, ranking among the top four highest-grossing arcade games of 1987. Due to its massive popularity, Contra was ported to home consoles and computers in 1988, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), where it received both critical acclaim and commercial success. These home versions helped cement Contra’s status as one of the most iconic retro action games of all time.
Description: Joust is an action game developed by Williams that released in arcades in 1982, and began porting to consoles and PC's the following year. While not the first two-player cooperative video game, Joust's success and polished implementation popularized the concept. Player 1 rides an ostrich, player 2 a stork. Repeatedly pressing the flap button gains altitude, while a two-directional joystick controls direction. In a collision with enemy knights riding buzzards—or the other player—the higher rider dismounts the other. The game was well-received by players and critics, and the mechanics influenced other games. Joust was ported to numerous home systems and was followed by a more complex and less popular arcade sequel in 1986.
Description: Robotron: 2084 is a multidirectional arcade shooter released in 1982. The game is set in a fictional world in the year 2084 where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible. A two-joystick setup was implemented to provide the player with more precise controls, and enemies with different behaviors were added to make the game challenging. Gameplay was designed to instill panic in players by presenting them with conflicting goals and having on-screen projectiles coming from multiple directions.
Description: Tempest is an arcade game released in 1981 that is notable for being the first video game with a selectable difficulty. The game is a Tube Shooter, where the environment is fixed, but is viewed from a 3D perspective. The object is to survive while shooting aliens as they attack from the player controlled spaceship along the near edge of the playfield. The game has 16 unique screens, some of which are tubes that allow the player to fly 360° while others are left to right open fields. When all 16 screens have been played, the sequence repeats with different colors and increased difficulty. Each sequence of levels adds faster and more deadly enemies. The numbered levels stop incrementing after level 99 and become random.
Description: When it comes to fictional video games, it's hard to beat Quest For The Space Knife. Only briefly shown in the office of the Palace Arcade, the graphics absolutely nailed '80s arcade art to the point that you want to walk around to the front of the cabinet and see what this crazy-looking sci-fi game is about.
