Arcade Hits: Joust & Defender

If you’re really looking for arcade hits, you can’t get much bigger than JOUST and DEFENDER. Lording over the game halls in the days after PAC-MAN and DONKEY KONG had lost their luster, these two giants revolutionized gaming forever. JOUST casts you in the role of a noble knight from the future mounting you on an ostrich and sending you off into battle. Making full use of the ostrich, you’ll try to gain altitude and get your opponent from above, collecting magical eggs for extra points. DEFENDER puts you in the pilot’s seat of an aerodynamic space ship and shoots you through the expanses of a futuristic city under siege. You’ll have to fend off other spacecraft, utilize a whole lot of impressive weaponry, and keep the civilians from turning into ugly mutants. Both games are notable for their influence over those to follow, and both are replicated in fine detail for the Game Boys Color. Challenge the computer, or link up and do battle with a friend.