Arcade and online slot games share many similarities. The bright, flashing lights and the loud noises. The bonus rounds. The ecstasy of victory and the agony of loss and defeat. Plus, of course, they’re both played on screens. In fact, to a casual observer, a bank full of modern slot games might not look to different to an arcade. These similarities mean that, over the years, there have actually been a surprising number of collaborations between arcade and slot game developers. But which are the some of the best?
This article will look at a range of titles that certainly qualify. From slots that are licensed tie-ins with some of the all-time classic arcade games, to some that are simply inspired by the vibe, to one that uses a modern classic to full effect, these are four arcade related slot games any arcade fan (of age) owes it to themselves to check out.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a Fighting Classic Reimagined
This 5×5 reel cluster pays slot is not only licensed by the iconic arcade game, but you can tell developer NetEnt put in a lot of effort to make it play in a way that uses the source IP nicely.
If you’re interested in playing this NetEnt slot game, or any others, you’ll want a casino with some decent bonuses too – so you can get some more value from your initial deposit. The bonuses available on this page for online casinos like Golden Nugget absolutely fit that criteria. Hit the reels with a bang and see what promos you can get hold of before you jump in.
As you stack wins on the reels, your health bar competes against a challenger fighter. Whenever you win, your character hits theirs – get the bar to zero and you’ll enter a Beat the Boss free spins mode. If you fail to make 10x your initial bet minimum from the bonus, you’ll be put into a pick ’em game that riffs on the iconic car smashing mode of Street Fighter II. Where you can win up to 500x, if you’re lucky.
As well as themed bonuses this slot game uses official sounds, characters and animations from the Street Fighter series, for a true-to-the-lore arcade slot game mashup you won’t forget in a hurry.
Space Invaders by Playtech is a Homage to the OG Arcade Game
Seeing as its been done, it had to be included on this list. The 1978 arcade shooter was the starting point for a whole generation of gamers, and this slot from Playtech faithfully recreates many aspects of the beloved original.
One uniquely gamified aspect to this slot is the “Area Clear” bonus. This freezes the reels and lets players pick an area to shoot extra Wilds onto, adding some strategy and skill to the slots formula. If you understand slots, you’ll know how this can potentially make big wins as Wilds can substitute for any other symbol to make a winning line.
Just like the Street Fighter II slot game this is a licensed title, so it uses (admittedly very limited) graphics, sounds and animations from the vintage original. And to great effect!
Max Damage Turns 80s Action Shooter Vibes to a Slot Game
Although not licensed like the other games on this list, Max Damage is too fun not to included. Aside from the pun-tastic title (you might be amazed to know has never been used before in a videogame, surprisingly) Max Damage is a wonderfully on-the-nose homage to classic arcade side scrolling shooters like Metal Slug and Metroid, but with a slot game twist.
The game also has no paylines, instead paying out based on the number of symbols that match four that are displayed above the reels on each spin. This is a rather unique mechanic, and one that gives this game a different feel to many slots.
On top of that the cheesy machismo of the title character and the over-the-top 80s action hero soundtrack creates quite a vibey slot game. Oh, and it has a potential max pay-out of up to 12,000x your stake. Max Damage indeed!
Asteroids is Another Licensed Tie-In with a Classic Arcade Game
For the last selection, no list would be complete without arguably the very original arcade game. Although not quite as era-defining as Space Invaders for many, Asteroids is widely considered a hugely pioneering arcade game at the time of its release.
And, many decades later, it now has a licensed online slot to tie in with it. This Pariplay game has an unusual reels layout – 3x4x5x4x3 – with 720 ways to win. On top of that is has a 7200x maximum win, and various features including free spins, sticky Asteroid Wilds and Expanding Wilds.
Once again, this game uses sounds and animations from the 1979 classic, including all the low tech bleeps, bloops and blodges many remember so fondly.