The Best Arcade Racing Games That Ate Your Allowance as a Kid

Publisher: LucasArts
Date Of Release: 2000
Multiplayer: Yes

The only good thing about Star Wars: Episode I was this gem of an arcade game. Every Star Wars fanboy seized on the idea of racing in a galaxy far, far away - the game took the best part of the film - the pod race - and turned it into every boy's dream come true. With an innovative, double throttle control scheme that placed you right in the cockpit, this arcade game had beautiful, Tatooine landscapes and dizzying speed in spades. The Force was certainly strong with this one.

Publisher: Sega
Date Of Release: 1999
Multiplayer: No

What a weird, manic game. Crazy Taxi took the most mundane task possible with a car - driving a cab - and turned into a fun, accessible arcade experience. Everytime you collected a customer, you were put on a timer - the faster you managed to deliver your customer, the bigger tip you received. This was a game that didn't take itself too seriously, preferring cartoon physics over realism. Only in Crazy Taxi could every NPC perform a diving roll to avoid your horrible driving.

Publisher: Atari Games
Date Of Release: 1996
Multiplayer: Yes

There's something to be said for racing in real life locations. It adds that subtle twinge of nostalgia in your heart, that satisfying feeling of recognition when you recognize the landmarks whizzing past you. San Francisco Rush accomplished this, and it included the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, downtown Chinatown among its notable attractions. Alcatraz Island may be a terrible place to live, but it's an awesome place to burn rubber.

Publisher: Sega
Date Of Release: 1994
Multiplayer: Yes

So much fun - old-fashioned, 'pick it up and play' type fun. Daytona USA was groundbreaking for the time - it had fully textured 3-D graphics and a wonderful attention to detail, especially for a game that was designed in the mid-90's. What really made this game cook, however, was the Nascar theming, which gave the game a level of raw authenticity. People watch Nascar to see the crashes, and this game had the same type of high wire tension.

Publisher: Midway Games
Date Of Release: 1994
Multiplayer: Yes

The 'wish you were here' postcard font of the title says it all. From the City of Angels to Appalachia - from the Grand Canyon to the Windy City - Cruis'n was a grand tour of the good ol' USA, from sea to shining sea. The soundtrack deserves particular attention - it was bouncy, catchy, and diverse, with "Bluegrass Boogie" being a particular standout. Country/Western never sounded so much fun.

Publisher: Namco
Date Of Release: 1993
Multiplayer: No

Before Sony turned Ridge Racer into the most embarrassing meme of E3, it was an incredible racing game with super speed, at times reaching F-Zero proportions. Ridge Racer had a smarmy announcer and a 90's dance track that we'd prefer to forget, but it's our childhood, for better or for worse, and we wouldn't want it any other way. Riiiidge Racerrrr!!

Publisher: Atari Games
Date Of Release: 1987
Multiplayer: No

Finally. A racing game that let us blow shit up. A precursor to the Twisted Metal franchise, Road Blasters was as much about destruction as it was about the finishing line - who needed skills when you had guns and explosives strapped to your hood? We'll never forget the plane that dropped out of the sky to pimp our ride, nor will we forget the most quickly draining fuel tank in the world, which had every kid spending their allowance to play more.

Publisher: Sega
Date Of Release: 1986
Multiplayer: No

With its moving, immersive arcade cabinet, Outrun was the game to play at the arcades. Armed with a bright red convertible and hot blonde in the passenger seat, you raced against yourself - the object was to get to the end of stage as quickly as possible while negotiating the roads' hairpin turns. In an early example of non-linearity, the game also offered a 'fork in the road,' allowing you to choose your route to the finish line.

Publisher: Sega
Date Of Release: 1985
Multiplayer: No

There are thousands of motorcycle deaths each year - it's definitely not the safest way to take to the roads. That's why video games are so great - they allow escapism into things that we would be too chicken to try on our own. In Hang-On, you got to play on top of a motorcycle, precarious tilts and all. The first of its kind, allowing you to steer by leaning left and right, this game put you right in a two wheeler, without the hospital bills that come along with it.

Publisher: Namco
Date Of Release: 1982
Multiplayer: No

We couldn't have a list without the king of all racing games. Pole Position may sound like a strip club to the average kid today, but to us, it meant a mountain of quarters and a lazy afternoon of fun. The highest grossing arcade game of 1983, Pole Position placed you in the role of a Formula 1 race car driver on Fuji Speedway, a real racetrack which lies in the foothills of Japan's Mt. Fuji. It looks primitive today, but Pole Position is quintessential car racing, reminding us of how far game development has come, and how far it still has to go.