cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/61531915
I was watching some random YouTube video that was listing arcade games for some reason (I honestly don’t even remember what the video was) and they mentioned a game called Cyber-Lip. I’d never heard of it before but it looked cyberpunk to me so I had to dig deeper. Apparently it’s a Neo-Geo arcade game made by SNK in 1990. It’s basically a mix between Contra and Metal Slug, except Metal Slug came out in 1996 (also made by SNK). So I guess this game must’ve been SNK trying out the Metal Slug formula.
Anyway, I have no idea what “Cyber-Lip” means, and I’m not entirely sure this game is cyberpunk beyond the first level. Except the main character is definitely a 90’s cyberpunk:
But this game got me thinking… what other cyberpunk arcade games are there? As obsessed as I am with cyberpunk, I can only think of a couple titles that are close. There’s the Tron and Discs of Tron games, although those are mostly cyberpunk-by-proxy due to their relation to the movie. But what else is there? The Aerosmith rail-shooter Revolution X?? There’s a shoot-em-up called Last Resort whose first level looks cyberpunk to me but I don’t think the rest of the game is. And that’s all I can come up with! That’s crazy to me.
Cyberpunk was in its peak of popularity while arcade games were still popular and yet I’m not aware of any other cyberpunk arcade games. I’m obviously thinking more of the “retro” arcade games here but even if I include modern arcade games, nothing comes to mind.
So help me out, what arcade games can you remember that even might be cyberpunk?
Speaking of Metal Slug, Gunforce 1 and 2 are other spiritual prequels to that game (especially 2) and might fit as cyberpunk for you - or at least sci-fi (they even have some screams that were later reused in MS)
I would say that Strider fits cyberpunk. Osman is a similar game and might also fit
Not sure Numan Athletics would fit, but I can totally see it as “official sports in a cyberpunk world”
Undercover Cops has a very gritty aesthetic (also reminiscent of Metal Slug) and the first boss is a cyborg.
Something to note is that a lot of sci-fi in Japan in the late 80s and early 90s started to mix with magic and demon stuff, or some sort of alien biotech, it’s very easy to find examples of that in anime and games (like contra 3), but these themes were rarely consistent through the entire game, it was more common to find a bit of everything thrown together
Not arcade, but Neon Inferno might be worth checking out