The best classic arcade games ever made

Dragon's Lair featured animation by Don Bluth. Dragon's Lair featured animation by Don Bluth. Photo: Cinematronics Inc. Photo: Cinematronics Inc. Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close The best classic arcade games ever made 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Brush up on your Defender skills and download the Buckner & Garcia hit Pac-Man Fever on your iPod. The California Extreme classic arcade games show returns in Santa Clara this weekend.

The Cal Extreme show is a time travel experience. You'll see kids dressed like extras from "Happy Days" playing pinball, heavy metal types resting in front of a big screen television watching Rush videos and a lot of people playing doubles on Asteroids, while debating the eternal video game geek question: What's the best arcade game of all time?

Below is a nine-best list, compiled by myself and fellow Chronicle video game critics Erick Wong and Christopher T. Fong. We stipulate that other gamers' lists will be different, and invite readers to add more to the comments section of the SFGate.com version of this story.

(Just don't argue with our Tron choice. If you didn't think that game ruled, then you didn't play it.)

9. Dragon's Lair (1983): So what if the game was difficult to play, repetitive and always seemed to always be broken at your local pizza parlor. The laserdisc game provided an unbelievable leap in video game graphics, the animation by Disney exile Don Bluth was amazing and Dirk the Daring made gangly guys look heroic. (Peter Hartlaub)

8. Battlezone (Atari, 1980): With its periscope monitor and radar-assisted, 360-degree combat mechanics, this tank fighting simulation was one of the first truly immersive video games. The vector graphics were awesome and the game looked simple but played complicated, so no two battles were the same. (P.H.)

7. Final Fight (Capcom, 1989): The game wasn't played for its typically bad 1980s story line but for its bad '80s arcade violence. Final Fight defined the term "button mashing," where the gamer honed their finger's stamina and dexterity. With its popularity, Final Fight was copied by others, ushering in a Golden Age of beat-'em-up action games. (Christopher T. Fong)

6. X-Men: (Konami, 1992): The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game may have provided the blueprint, but X-Men upped the ante by hosting six players at once with two monitors side by side for a widescreen experience. Some characters were less fun than the others (you'd think Cyclops would use his optic blasts more often), but the diversity made for a good team dynamic. (Erick Wong)

5. After Burner (Sega, 1987): The joystick itself was a standout - how cool were the separate buttons for missiles and guns, as well as the force feedback? But the sit-down version that rocked back and forth was as close as you could get to experiencing the dogfighting of "Top Gun" at the time. Well worth the then-extravagant 75 cents. (E.W.)

4. Robotron 2084 (Williams Electronics, 1982): The controls of this game were the big innovation - one joystick moved your character in any direction and a second joystick fired your laser cannon. But the simple survival horror game play was the biggest draw, providing a nonstop adrenaline-pumping experience. (P.H)

3. Tron (Midway, 1982): Probably the biggest no-brainer in gaming, and with the exception of the disc dueling (which would come in a later game), the four mini-games that you actually got to choose from captured the movie perfectly. And Wendy Carlos' film score probably sounds better here than in the movie. (E.W.)

2. Star Wars (Atari, 1983): You've got to love a video game that has Sir Alec Guinness doing the voice work. Even better, the game play was exciting and felt like you were immersed in the movie. You could play Star Wars for hours and never get tired of it. And did we mention we love vector graphics? (P.H.)

1. Donkey Kong (Nintendo, 1981): Nearly three decades later, they're making entire documentaries about this incredible video game. Donkey Kong helped launched Nintendo, which remains a video game juggernaut. And the game is still easy to pick up and nearly impossible to master, with no end of surprises. (P.H.)

Honorable mentions: Space Invaders (Midway, 1978); Defender (Williams, 1980); Food Fight (Atari, 1983); Omega Race (Midway, 1981); Tempest (Atari, 1981); Galaga (Midway, 1981); Sinistar (Williams, 1982); Punch Out!! (Nintendo, 1984); Gauntlet (Atari, 1985); S.T.U.N. Runner (Atari, 1989); Street Fighter II (Capcom, 1991); Alien 3: The Gun (Sega, 1993); Metal Slug (Nazca Corporation, 1996).

The California Extreme classic arcade games show is set for this Saturday and Sunday at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. For ticket prices, directions, a list of arcade games and pinball machines included at the show and other details, go to www.caextreme.org.