Donkey Kong
1981 - Nintendo - Platform - Raster
What can I say about this game? Nothing I guess... One of the most famous titles of videogames history. Nintendo's most famous hero, Mario, first appears in this videogame. The concept was actually developed by Falcon but Nintendo took the game mode once more. Our hero has to save his kidnapped girlfriend by a gorilla and has to cross many filled platforms with falling barrels. The game has then become one of Nintendo's masterpieces and was then cloned hundreds times with various names. It's still one of the most famous videogames: most of retroplayers all around the world recollect of it because of its features, gameplay and lasting playability. A real milestone.

Frogger
1981 - Konami - Misc. - Raster
A great videogame from Konami. The concept is really simple: you move a frog and try to let it cross a road and then a river... Simple? Not at all! Having a good time synch and, above all, reflex coupons are necessary. The game has become a big classic in his simplicity, because of it being ported on platforms such various as computers and handhelds, and still holds the comparison with the time with a renewed version in 3D format. A classical one in every point of view - extremely entertaining.

Gorf
1981 - Midway - Shooting - Raster
This is a peculiar kind of shoot' em up. I remember it in a special way, because it's been the first game I've ever played on Commodore VIC-20... Its arcade version was foreseeing a multi-stage structure, the first being a kind of "Space invaders", the following four (with some recall to Galaga?) being a battle facing the enemy mothership. A few nice display effects (the core of the mother ship, for example) besides a good playability deserve to be mentioned.

Jump Bug
1981 - Rock Ola - Misc. - Raster
Nice concept, this one. You drive a jumping car and your target is to collect as many dollars bags as you can. Every sack has its own value and it's obviously better to recover the most valuable ones. The game hasn't been certainly become famous because its graphics or loud, but its concept has been taken again later in few videogames which exploited the idea. Quite funny.

Kick
1981 - Midway - Misc. - Raster
Another odd concept... Your target is to bang lots of balloons dropping from the top of the screen (the sky). The hard part of the game is in that you operate a clown on a monocycle, and his movements are rather slow. If it was not such frustrating, this would have been one of the best titles of 1981. However, the game is fun once you get practised.

Lady Bug
1981 - Universal - Maze - Raster
A son of Puck Man... well a daughter actually! You operate a trapped ladybug in a maze and try to collect all the scattered dots around. There are obviously lots of other insects trying to make your bug their dinner, so you'd better always think what you're about to do. There's a little enhancement since Puck Man: some walls can rotate, changing the maze's paths. Another classic feature are all those bonuses: score multipliers, characters, specials, etc. Quite fun, give it a try...

Mahjong
1981 - Taito - Misc. - Raster
Uhm... This is probably the first "mahjong" game on Earth. Game is really odd and you'd better search the web for instructions in case you have no idea about game rules! It's basically a sort of domino game and your target is to build series of card kinds. Don't ask me more because I hate mahjong and I never learnt how to play it... You know... you can be an arcade lover as I but it's almost impossible you love every kind of games. ;-) I say it's a milestone because it's the father of an enormous number of mahjong-style games released in late 90's, so this is the begin of everything. Anyway, if you're a real mahjong fan, don't miss this one!

New Rally-X
1981 - Namco - Maze - Raster
This was one of my favourite games. You drive a car in maze and you must collect all the flags on the screen in order to complete stages. There's a little radar helping you understandwhere the flags are. There are opponent cars too, making living all but easy. When you're in trouble and are chased by enemies cars, you can release smoke to confuse them for a while. This game has a nice concept, which was then reprised in lots of games. Try it.

Omega Race
1981 - Midway - Shooting - Vector
Another great vectorial game, a sort of opponent to Atari's Asteroids. Game concept is quite similar: you operate a starship in a battle against enemy ships. Your ship moves in a strange way: after accelerating, it's subject to intertial force so it becomes quite hard to maneuver it. Also, enemies sometimes go crazy and begin to randomly move around the screen. I think this game has a really hooking vectorial graphics (one of the most beautiful chapters in arcade history). It was the only vector game made by Midway, and has a really high gameplay. I'm sure that once you try it you can't stop playing.

Qix
1981 - Taito - Misc. - Raster
This game has a really original concept. But there's also something coming from maze games. You move a little... er... a little... I don't know, I guess it's a ship... but it has a square shape so, let's say you move a "square" within a screen, leaving a trace behind it. Your mission is to enclose portions of the screen with the trace, and fill at least the 75% of the screen. Enemies chase your square by moving on the trace you created. This game gave birth to a big vein in arcade history, especially in the late 80's and early 90's. There's a little issue you have to know: you cannot beat the computer... and there's no price for winners! Try it.

Robby Roto
1981 - Midway - Maze - Raster
Another great concept: you move a miner trying to rescue his pals from the underground, being hunted by spiders. Each time you find a companion, you have to take him outside avoiding the spider's paths. This game is really fun and gameplay is terrific. I believe everyone should have this game in their own collection.

Turbo
1981 - Sega - Race - Raster
Sega's long career starts here... It will then lead the software house to masterpieces like Out Run. This game represents a new way to drive a car inside of a colourful scenario. Well, I know... the car's movement is quite unreal, but those scrolling red stripes reproducing the road will then become a common feature of all driving games of the following decade. You race against time, trying to pass as many cars as possible. Scenarios change repeatedly and there are also perspective changes due to hills and turns. A great racing arcade.