The Best Midway Games List
Ranked By
2.6K votes
343 voters
2 reranks
- 1Jan 01 1994
- #770 of 842 onThe 100+ Best Video Games Of All Time, Ranked By Fans
- #35 of 132 onThe Best-Rated Super Nintendo Games
- #188 of 264 onThe Most Addictive Video Games of All Time
- 2
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Jan 01 1995Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game in the Mortal Kombat series, originally developed and released by Midway Games to arcades in 1995. It is an update of 1995's earlier Mortal Kombat 3 with an altered gameplay system, additional characters and stages, and some new features. Several home port versions of the game were soon released after the arcade original, although none were completely identical to the arcade version. Later home versions emulated the arcade original with more accuracy, including Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, which included the game alongside its predecessors Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II. Some versions were released under different titles: Mortal Kombat Advance for the Game Boy Advance and Ultimate Mortal Kombat for the Nintendo DS. The iPhone/iPod version recreates the game using a 3D graphics engine. UMK3 was well received and has been considered a high point for the Mortal Kombat series. It was later updated to include more content from previous games in the series as part of the console-exclusive Mortal Kombat Trilogy.- #33 of 132 onThe Best-Rated Super Nintendo Games
- #11 of 114 onThe Greatest Fighting Games Ever Made
- #5 of 24 onThe Best 2 Player Fighting Games
- 31993Mortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including the PC, Amiga, Game Boy, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and various PlayStation consoles. Mortal Kombat II was the second game in the Mortal Kombat series, improving the gameplay and expanding the mythos of the original Mortal Kombat, notably introducing more varied Fatality finishing moves and several iconic characters, such as Kitana, Mileena, Kung Lao, and the series' recurring villain, Shao Kahn. The game's plot continues from the first game, featuring the next Mortal Kombat tournament set in the otherdimensional realm of Outworld, with the Outworld and Earthrealm representatives fighting each other on their way to challenge the evil emperor Shao Kahn. The game was an unprecedented commercial success and was acclaimed by most critics, receiving many annual awards and having been featured in various top lists in the years and decades to come, but also perpetuating a major video game controversy due to the continuously over-the-top violent content of the series.More Mortal Kombat II
- #82 of 842 onThe 100+ Best Video Games Of All Time, Ranked By Fans
- #18 of 132 onThe Best-Rated Super Nintendo Games
- #10 of 114 onThe Greatest Fighting Games Ever Made
- 41993NBA Jam is a basketball arcade game published and developed by Midway in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The main designer and programmer for this game was Mark Turmell. Midway had previously released such sports games as Arch Rivals in 1989, High Impact in 1990, and Super High Impact in 1991. The gameplay of NBA Jam is based on Arch Rivals, another 2-on-2 basketball video game. However, it was the release of NBA Jam that brought mainstream success to the genre. The game became exceptionally popular, and generated a significant amount of money for arcades after its release, creating revenue of $1 billion in quarters. In early 1994, the Amusement & Music Operators Association reported that NBA Jam had become the highest-earning arcade game of all time. The release of NBA Jam gave rise to a new genre of sports games which were based around fast, action-packed gameplay and exaggerated realism, a formula which Midway would also later apply to the sports of football, and hockey.More NBA Jam
- #114 of 166 onThe Best Video Game Franchises of All Time
- #32 of 110 onThe Best Classic Arcade Games
- #40 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- 5Jan 01 1997Rampage World Tour is a video game released in 1997 and is the second game in the Rampage series. Up to three simultaneous players control the monsters George, Lizzie, or Ralph, created from humans who were mutated by experiments conducted at Scumlabs. They need to destroy all buildings in a high-rise city to advance to the next city. On their way they can destroy helicopters, tanks, taxis, police cars, boats, and trolleys, as well as eat people. The monsters can jump and climb buildings, and attack enemies and buildings with punches. Some buildings also take damage when jumped on. The player receives damage from enemy bullets, grenades, shells, etc., and from falls. Damage can be recovered by eating the right food, such as fruit, roast chicken, or soldiers. If a monster takes too much damage, it reverts into a naked human and starts walking off the screen sideways covering themselves with their hands. If the player continues, the human will mutate back into the monster with a full life bar. The game was developed as an arcade game for Midway by Game Refuge Inc. designers Brian Colin and Jeff Nauman, who conceived and designed the original back in 1986.
- 6Jan 01 1996Mortal Kombat Trilogy is a fighting game released by Midway in 1996 as an update to Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Unlike the previous title, it was not released in arcades, but was instead released for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Saturn and PCs. Further versions were also released for the Game.com and R-Zone. Mortal Kombat Trilogy features the same gameplay and story as Mortal Kombat 3, but adds characters and stages from the other three arcade games, including Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Some completely new characters were also introduced. New additions to the game included the "Aggressor" bar, a meter that fills during the course of the match and temporarily makes a player character faster and stronger. It also features a new finishing move called Brutality, a long combination of attacks that ends with the opponent exploding. The game was met with mixed reviews. The harshest criticism directed at the Nintendo 64 version, which did not have all the content of the other versions due to limited storage space on the cartridge.
- #24 of 225 onThe Best Nintendo 64 Games Ever Made, Ranked
- #137 of 842 onThe 100+ Best Video Games Of All Time, Ranked By Fans
- #21 of 114 onThe Greatest Fighting Games Ever Made
- 7Aug 01 1992Mortal Kombat is an arcade fighting game developed and published by Midway Games in 1992 as the first title in the Mortal Kombat series. It was subsequently released by Acclaim Entertainment for nearly every home video game platform of the time. The game introduced many key aspects of the Mortal Kombat series, including the unique five-button control scheme and gory finishing moves. The game focuses on the journey of the monk Liu Kang to save Earth from the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung, ending with their confrontation in the tournament known as Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat became a best-selling game and remains one of the most popular fighting games in the genre's history, spawning numerous sequels and spin-offs over the following years and decades, beginning with Mortal Kombat II in 1993, and together with the first sequel was the subject of a successful film adaptation in 1995. It also sparked much controversy for its depiction of extreme violence and gore using realistic digitized graphics, resulting in the introduction of age-specific content descriptor ratings for video games.More Mortal Kombat
- #7 of 110 onThe Best Classic Arcade Games
- #14 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- #50 of 132 onThe Best-Rated Super Nintendo Games
- 81998Gauntlet Legends is an arcade game released in 1998 by Atari Games. It is a fantasy themed hack and slash styled dungeon crawl game, a sequel to 1985's popular Gauntlet and 1986's Gauntlet II and marks the final game in the series to be produced by Atari Games. Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.More Gauntlet Legends
- #47 of 225 onThe Best Nintendo 64 Games Ever Made, Ranked
- #156 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- #26 of 58 onThe 50+ Best 90s Arcade Games, Ranked
- 9Jan 01 1982Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game from the Golden Age. It was produced by Illinois-based Midway Manufacturing corporation, the North American publisher of Pac-Man. Ms. Pac-Man was released in North America in January 1982, and is arguably the most popular arcade video game of all time. This popularity led to its adoption as an official title by Namco, the creator of Pac-Man, which was released in the United States in late 1980. Ms Pac-Man introduced a female protagonist, new maze designs, and several other improved gameplay changes over the original Pac-Man. Ms Pac-Man became the most successful American-produced arcade game, selling 115,000 arcade cabinets.More Ms. Pac-Man
- #8 of 110 onThe Best Classic Arcade Games
- #56 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- #352 of 842 onThe 100+ Best Video Games Of All Time, Ranked By Fans
- 10Jan 01 1999Hydro Thunder is a speedboat racing sub-series game, originally an arcade game and later released for the Sega Dreamcast as a launch title in 1999. It was also released for PlayStation and Nintendo 64 in early 2000. This game is part of Midway's Thunder series of racing games, which includes Offroad Thunder, 4 Wheel Thunder, and Arctic Thunder. Hydro Thunder Hurricane, a sequel to Hydro Thunder, was later released for the Xbox 360 on July 27, 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade.
- 11Jun 22 1996Quake is a first-person shooter video game, developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive in 1996 and featured music composed by Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails. It is the first game in the popular Quake series. In the game, players must find their way through various maze-like, medieval environments while battling a variety of monsters using a wide array of weapons. The successor to id's Doom series, Quake built upon the technology and gameplay of its predecessor in many ways. Unlike the Doom engine before it, the Quake engine offered full real-time 3D rendering and early support for 3D acceleration through OpenGL. After Doom helped popularize multiplayer deathmatches, Quake added various multiplayer options. Online multiplayer became increasingly common, with the QuakeWorld update and software such as QuakeSpy making the process of finding and playing against other competitors on the Internet far easier and more reliable. Various multiplayer mods were developed including Team Fortress and Capture the flag.
- 12Oct 11 2006Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is the seventh main video game in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. The PlayStation 2 version and Xbox versions were released in October 2006, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America. The Xbox version was not released in PAL territories. Chronologically the final chapter in the original Mortal Kombat storyline, it features virtually every character from the previous games. Players select one of them and battle a selection of the other fighters to determine the fate of the Mortal Kombat universe. The gameplay retains many of the same elements from the previous Mortal Kombat titles Deadly Alliance and Deception, including characters' multiple fighting styles. Instead of the pre-scripted Fatalities of the previous games, players can now create their own Fatality from a series of gory attacks. They can also design a custom character using the "Kreate a Fighter" mode. The game also includes the story-based Konquest mode from Deception, now casting the player as the warrior Taven, who must defeat his evil brother Daegon.
- 13Apr 01 1997Doom 64 is a science fiction horror-themed first-person shooter for the Nintendo 64 that was released by Midway Games on March 31, 1997. It is part of the Doom series of video games.More Doom 64
- #4 of 25 onList of Space Marine Games
- #70 of 225 onThe Best Nintendo 64 Games Ever Made, Ranked
- #9 of 18 onThe Most Ridiculously Valuable Nintendo 64 Games
- 14
NFL Blitz
1997NFL Blitz is a series of American football themed video games by Midway featuring the teams of the National Football League. It began as a 1997 arcade game but was eventually ported to home consoles and spawned several sequels. Rather than being designed as a realistic interpretation of the sport of football, like Madden NFL or NFL 2K, the Blitz series was created as an over-the-top, exaggerated version of the sport, inspired by Midway's own NBA Jam basketball games. In 2005, following the loss of the NFL license, the Blitz series was relaunched as Blitz: The League, featuring fictional players and teams in a fictional league with slightly more realistic on-field play and a focus on the seedy behind-the-scenes lives of the players. On October 18, 2011, a reveal trailer for the relaunch of NFL BLITZ was uploaded to YouTube. The game's release date is January 4, 2012, and is available on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The game took the series back to the original style of NFL BLITZ, but removed the late hits due to input by the NFL. - 15
Cruis'n USA
1994Cruis'n USA is an arcade racing game originally released in 1994. It was developed by Midway Games and published and distributed by Nintendo. It is the first game in the Cruis'n series and features locations around the United States. Although Cruis'n USA was advertised as running on Ultra 64 hardware, it was actually implemented on the Midway V-unit hardware. The hardware consisted of a TMS32031 CPU clocked at 50 MHz, an ADSP-2115 DSP clocked at 10 MHz for sound and a custom 3D chip that could render perspective-correct but unfiltered quads at a high resolution. Along with Killer Instinct, it was planned as a launch title for the Nintendo 64. Neither game made it out for Nintendo 64's launch, however, primarily because the arcade versions of both games were done on hardware that was very different and somewhat more powerful than the console. Cruis'n USA, although impressive in arcades in 1994, got panned in 1996 when it was finally released on the Nintendo 64 because the port was less polished than the arcade version and its technology had already been surpassed by other games. - 16Mar 08 2004The Suffering is a psychological horror video game, developed mainly by Surreal Software and published by Midway Games, released in 2004 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. The game featured monster designs by Stan Winston.More The Suffering
- #52 of 256 onThe Best Third-person Shooter Games Ever Made, Ranked
- #43 of 111 onThe Best Horror Games Ever Made, Ranked
- #30 of 101 onThe 101 Scariest Games Ever
- 17Oct 04 2004Mortal Kombat: Deception is a fighting game developed and published by Midway as the sixth installment of the Mortal Kombat series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2004, and for the Nintendo GameCube in March 2005. Mortal Kombat: Deception follows the storyline from the fifth installment, Deadly Alliance. Its story centers on the revival of the Dragon King Onaga, who attempts to conquer the realms featured in the series after defeating the sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, the main antagonists in the previous game, and the Thunder God Raiden, defender of Earthrealm. The surviving warriors from the previous titles join forces to confront Onaga. Twenty-six characters are available to play in the game, with nine making their first appearance in the series. Deception contains several new features in the series, such as chess and puzzle games with the MK characters and an online mode. The Konquest Mode returns from Deadly Alliance, but follows the life of Shujinko, a warrior who is deceived by Onaga to search for artifacts to give Onaga more powers.
- 18Jan 01 1996NBA Hangtime is a basketball video game published & developed by Midway and released for arcade in 1996. Home versions followed for Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, and Windows. A version for Game.com was cancelled. Hangtime was the third basketball game by the original development team behind the NBA Jam series. The title was changed due to the NBA Jam name being acquired by Acclaim Entertainment, the publisher of the games for the home market. Acclaim's NBA Jam Extreme was released the same year as Hangtime. Features introduced in Hangtime included character creation, alley oops and double dunks. A software update known as NBA Maximum Hangtime was released for the arcades later in the life cycle. The ending of Maximum Hangtime promises a new, 3-D basketball title from Midway, which was eventually released as NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC.
- 19Sep 16 2005Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is an action adventure beat-em-up fighting video game based on the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games. Shaolin Monks was developed by Midway LA, Midway - San Diego, and Mortal Kombat Team - Chicago, and published by Midway Games for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It was released September 16, 2005 in the United States and September 30, 2005 in Europe for both platforms. The game centers on two members of the Shaolin Order, Liu Kang and Kung Lao, as they travel through the realms in an attempt to thwart Shang Tsung's plans to dominate Earthrealm. The player can control these two characters in either single mode or co-op mode as they venture through several environments fighting enemies. Despite being an adventure game the engine incorporates multiple elements from the Mortal Kombat series such as finishing moves and combos that can be upgraded. A versus mode also allows the players to fight against each other. Midway developed Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks due to their desire to have an adventure game that would appeal to Mortal Kombat gamers. The game has sold over one million copies as of 2008 and it also received positive critical response.
- 20Jan 01 1983Spy Hunter is a 1983 arcade game developed and released by Bally Midway. It has also been ported to various home computers and video game systems. As a cabinet-style arcade game, Spy Hunter was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions with the latter being more common. The game's controls consist of a steering wheel in the form of a futuristic aircraft-style yoke with several special-purpose buttons, a two-position stick shift, and a pedal used for acceleration. It is a single-player game.More Spy Hunter
- #23 of 110 onThe Best Classic Arcade Games
- #121 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- #42 of 66 onThe 65+ Best Game Theme Songs
- 21Jan 01 1995Mortal Kombat 3 is a fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995 as the third game in the Mortal Kombat series. As in the previous games, it has a cast of characters that players choose from and guide through a series of battles against other opponents. The game avoids the tournament storyline of its predecessors, as various warriors instead fight against the returning Shao Kahn, who has resurrected his bride Sindel and started an invasion of Earthrealm. The third installment of Mortal Kombat retains the blood and gory attacks that defined the series. It introduces new types of the Fatality finishing moves, including Animalities. Other features new to the series were combos, predefined sequences used to perform a series of consecutive attacks. A "Run" button was also added, allowing players to briefly dash toward the opponent, as were "Kombat Kodes", an unlockable content system using various symbols that can be entered before two-player matches to achieve certain effects. Some characters from the previous games returned and new characters were introduced into the series.More Mortal Kombat 3
- #70 of 224 onThe Best Classic Video Games, Ranked
- #316 of 842 onThe 100+ Best Video Games Of All Time, Ranked By Fans
- #30 of 114 onThe Greatest Fighting Games Ever Made
- 22Feb 17 2006Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition is an arcade compilation released exclusively for the PC on February 17, 2006 in North America, and on March 17, 2006 in PAL regions. It is a compilation of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which had both been previously released on consoles only. Unlike the previous two volumes, it includes the original Mortal Kombat. In the two months after its release, two official patches were released for the collection, one to fix missing music for half of the games that was accidentally left out of the shipped version, and a second one to correct a button function oversight that prevented Random Select and Smoke battle easter eggs in Mortal Kombat II. A few pieces of additional artwork for Wizard of Wor and Primal Rage were made available as supplements on the Midway website. Like the previous release, the Deluxe Edition's Primal Rage content suffered from emulation issues.
23Jan 01 1991Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a gun shooting video game based on the film of the same name produced by Midway Manufacturing Company for the arcades in 1991. Home conversions were released by Acclaim Entertainment for various platforms under the title of T2: The Arcade Game in order to avoid confusion with the numerous tie-in games also based on the movie.- 24Nov 16 2002Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is a fighting game developed and published by Midway for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. It was the first all-new Mortal Kombat fighting game produced exclusively for home consoles, with no preceding arcade release. Deadly Alliance is chronologically the fifth main game in the Mortal Kombat series. Its story focuses on the titular alliance between sorcerers Quan Chi and Shang Tsung and their schemes to revive an ancient army to conquer Outworld and Earthrealm. Two different Game Boy Advance games based on Deadly Alliance were released. The first version, also titled Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was released on November 2002, during the same week as the home console versions, while the second GBA version, Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition, was released on August 25, 2003. Although the GBA games feature 2D sprites, they were also the first portable Mortal Kombat games to feature 3D style gameplay.
- 25Jan 01 1998Off Road Challenge is a video game developed and published by Midway Games. The game was originally released in 1997 for arcades using the Midway V Unit hardware. It is part of the Off Road series which began with Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road. The game was eventually released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998 developed by Avalanche Software and published by Midway Games. The Nintendo 64 conversion included several unlockable tracks and an added circuit mode.
- 26Jan 01 1997Mortal Kombat 4 is the fourth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 is the first title from the series and one of the first made by Midway overall to use 3D computer graphics. Eurocom later ported it to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, and Game Boy Color during 1998. An updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold was released exclusively for the Dreamcast the following year. The gameplay system of Mortal Kombat 4 is similar to that of the previous games; one of the most notable additions is the use of weapons and objects during fights. The storyline chronicles the attack from the corrupted Elder God Shinnok against his former comrades who trapped him in the Netherealm many years prior to the beginning of the series. The other 17 playable characters take part in the battle between good and evil, with the forces of light trying to stop Shinnok and the forces of darkness from conquering all the realms. While developing the game, the Midway staff had problems making the graphics as it was one of the first 3D fighting games they developed.
- 27Sep 26 2005Midway Arcade Treasures 3 is a compilation of arcade and racing games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. It is the third and final installment following Midway Arcade Treasures and Midway Arcade Treasures 2.
- 28Jan 01 1999Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is a boxing video game developed by Midway and published in 1999 for the Dreamcast, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Nintendo 64. The success of the Dreamcast version led to it becoming one of the few Sega All Stars titles. Like Nintendo's Punch-Out!! series, it features many characters with colorful personalities; however, unlike the Punch-Out!! series, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is in 3D, thus allowing for more control over one's character in the ring. Also unlike Punch-Out!!, players can choose whichever fighters they want from a rather large selection. Throughout the fights in the game, there is a special RUMBLE meter which fills up, one or two letters at a time, until the word "RUMBLE" is spelled at the bottom of the screen. Letters can be obtained by successfully landing hard blows; most such actions will yield one letter, though some particularly strong punches may yield more. Once the meter is full, the player can power himself up, enabling access to a special combo called "Rumble Flurry", activated by pressing a button combination.
- 29Jan 01 1996Cruis'n World is the 1996 sequel to the 1994 arcade racer Cruis'n USA. As the title implies, Cruis'n World allows players to race on various tracks around the world. The game also features more cars than Cruis'n USA. This game introduced stunts to the Cruis'n series. They served to dodge obstacles, take close curves and so. If the stunt makes the vehicle fly in the air, the game gives the player extra seconds of time. The game also uses small rocket boosts to speed up. The game was later released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, being the best received of the Cruis'n ports.
- 30Jun 14 2004Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a video game developed by Midway Games for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows PC platforms. The game was released in North America on June 14, 2004; the European release followed on October 1, 2004. A traditional shooter in many respects, Psi-Ops banks on its ragdoll physics and variety of psychic powers to differentiate itself. In Japan and Southeast Asia/East Asia, the game was marketed by Capcom as Psi-Ops: Psychic Operation. In the game, the player is Nick Scryer, a "PSI-Operative" whose mind has been wiped to allow him to infiltrate a terrorist organization. However, he is captured and must fight his way out with the help of Sara, a double agent. As he progresses, he regains his PSI powers. On June 9, 2008, the full version was offered as a free download hosted by FilePlanet with in-game advertising, but also allowing to purchase the game in order to remove the advertising. A FilePlanet subscription is required to receive the game.
