ARCADE GAME CHRONOLOGY
Part 1 : 1984 - 1990

Every single Capcom arcade game listed in chronological order! I think they are all here but if anyone spots any omissions then let me know if you like. I have now added an emulation compatability column which is correct as far as I am aware. Let me know if you think any info is missing or inaccurate.

The 84-90 period was a great era for Capcom arcade titles with a wide variety of gaming styles and some real 'classic' games. Many of these games still stand up well today, and it's interesting to look at these titles in terms of graphical design as well as playability. Capcom were always ahead of the pack in terms of graphical quality in their titles, and always managed to squeeze every last ounce out any system they were developing for. Some of the System 1 games are still head-and-shoulders above many modern console titles with regards to in-game artistry.

1984 / 1985 / 1986 / 1987 / 1988 / 1989 / 1990

1991-1997 (next page)

1984

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
VULGUS	May 1984	Space shoot-em-up - Capcom's very first arcade shooter	Rogues Gallery	MAME
SONSON	July 1984	Very weird hybrid of platform game and horizontal scrolling shooter starring a Monkey and a Pig. (remember that TV show?) I kid you not..!	-	MAME or RAGE
HIGEMARU	Sep 1984	Block-pushing 'Pengo' clone set aboard a pirate ship.. Not really much to shout about.	-	MAME
1942	Dec 1984	Classic vertical scroller - Take on the whole Imperial Air Force in your lone P-38 Superfighter.	Rogues Gallery	MAME

1985

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
EXED EXES aka SAVAGE BEES	Feb 1985	Another space shooter - One of the first arcade vertical scrollers to feature parallax backgrounds.	Rogues Gallery	MAME
COMMANDO	May 1985	Famous 'soldier-em-up' - one man .. hundreds of enemy troops.. Very hard.	-	MAME
GHOSTS 'N GOBLINS	Sep 1985	First of another famous Capcom series - atmospheric platform action as you take on the dastardly spooks of the night. The game in which Capcom's artists first developed their distinctive graphical style.	-	MAME
GUN SMOKE	Nov 1985	'Commando' goes Wild West.. a fun but average shooter	-	MAME or RAGE
SECTION Z	Dec 1985	First of the Capcom 'Jet-pac hero' games - sidescrolling shooter which is great fun.. a classic.	Rogues Gallery	MAME

1986

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
TROJAN	Apr 1986	Side scrolling sword-based beat-em-up, the first of many in this genre from Capcom. Good fun, with some nice graphics.	-	MAME
SPEED RUMBLER	Sep 1986	Racing game - I have never seen this.	-	MAME
LEGENDARY WINGS	Nov 1986	Top-down vertical shooter set in mythical Greece, starring a couple of winged heroes. One of Capcoms weaker shooters.	-	MAME
SIDE ARMS	Dec 1986	Follow up to Section Z with better weapons and nicer graphics.	Rogues Gallery	MAME

1987

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
AVENGERS	Feb 1987	Scrolling beat-em-up - the precursor to Final Fight.	-	MAME (not fully working)
BIONIC COMMANDO	Mar 1987	Along with Strider this is a lot of peoples all-time favourite Capcom arcade game. Very original scrolling platformer with good graphics, nifty weapons and great music.	-	MAME
1943	Jun 1987	The sequel to aero shooter 1942.	Rogues Gallery	MAME or RAGE
BLACK TIGER	Aug 1987	Scrolling platform shoot-em-up with some quite original fantasy graphics.	-	MAME
STREET FIGHTER	Aug 1987	Never ever heard of this one before ... ;)	-	MAME
TIGER ROAD	Nov 1987	One of my favourites of the earlier Capcom games, Tiger Road is similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins gameplay wise but with lusher graphics and a superb Oriental atmosphere.	-	MAME

1988

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
F-1 DREAM	Apr 1988	Racing game.	-	MAME
1943 'KAI'	Jun 1988	Revamped version of '1943' with biplane sprites instead of WWII aircraft. Apart from that pretty much identical.	-	MAME or RAGE
LAST DUEL	Jul 1988	Shooting/racing hybrid- I've forgotten anything much about it.. (After looking at the emulation in MAME it looks rather good..a top down shooter with graphics reminiscent of some of Toaplan's titles, well worth checking out)	-	MAME
FORGOTTEN WORLDS	Jul 1988	Follow up to 'Side arms' - added the ability to buy weapons in 'shops' along the way. Not bad but a little weird.	Rogues Gallery	MAME
GHOULS 'N' GHOSTS	Dec 1988	Sequel to Ghosts 'n' Goblins with lusher graphics - spawned many a home version on various consoles and computer systems. One of the first Capcom games to utilize the new System 1 Arcade board.	-	MAME or CALLUS

1989

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
LED STORM	Feb 1989	Don't remember this in the arcades.. I think it was some kind of racing shoot-em-up.. not sure though. (I looked at the MAME version - It's a top down racer)	-	MAME (US version 'Mad Gear' but does not work fully)
STRIDER	Mar 1989	Fabulous scrolling beat-em-up/shooter with stunning graphics and some great bosses. One of Capcom's most remarkable games.	-	MAME or CALLUS
DOKABEN	Mar 1989	Beat-em-up.	-	none
DYNASTY WARS	Apr 1989	Scrolling hack-em-up set in ancient Japan.	-	CALLUS
WILLOW	Jun 1989	Scrolling platform shooter/beat-em-up based on the fantasy feature film.	-	MAME or CALLUS
DOKABEN 2	Aug 1989	My..that was a quick sequel! Beat-em-up. (Jap only).	-	none
UN SQUADRON	Aug 1989	Great side-scrolling shooter with cool anime characters and spiffy graphics ..ooh and some impressive bosses, especially the very last stage..	-	MAME or CALLUS
CAPCOM BASEBALL	Oct 1989	Er.. I'd hazard a guess at a baseball sim?	-	none
CAPCOM WORLD	Nov 1989	Novelty arcade game (released in Japan only)	-	CALLUS
FINAL FIGHT	Dec 1989	If you've never heard of this scrolling beat-em-up then where the heck have you been the last 10 years?	-	MAME or CALLUS
CAPCOM BOWLING	? 1989	Arcade bowling sim	-	MAME

1990

Title	Release	Description	Feature	Emulation
1941	Feb 1990	Dakka Dakka Dakka! Those courageous (foolhardy?) WWII fighter pilots are back again in the third instalment of the 1942 series.. Lovely graphics and some incredible bosses.	Rogues Gallery	MAME or CALLUS
CAPCOM QUIZ (aka CAPCOM QUESTION)	Mar 1990	Capcom enters the 'Pub Quiz' Market - an odd choice for them..	-	none
MERCS	Apr 1990	The sequel to 'Commando' - very good graphics and some smart millitaristic bosses.	-	MAME or CALLUS
MEGA TWINS	Jun 1990	Cute platformer Capcom-style. This game is a bit bonkers really but good fun nonetheless.	-	MAME or CALLUS
MAGIC SWORD	Jul 1990	Yet another scrolling beat-em-up/slash-em-up.. (yawn..)	-	CALLUS
CARRIER AIR WING	Oct 1990	OOO! Cool game! The sequel to UN Squadron was even better in my opinion with some fabulous graphics and end-of-stage bosses. One of my all-time favourite arcade shooters.	-	MAME or CALLUS
NEMO	Dec 1990	Very imaginative platformer set in a dream-world populated by childrens toys that have come to life.. Nice, rather surreal graphic style, almost creepy in places actually.	-	MAME or CALLUS
PANG	? 1990	Travel the world bursting lots of bubbles.. only in Japan could they have come up with this!	-	MAME