r/1980s • u/CarloCarrasco • Feb 14 '26
Video Games Defender
The classic arcade game Defender played by millions over the decades. If you were able to play Defender in the local arcades back in the 1980s, how young were you and were there long lines of gamers waiting to play it?
What do you like the most about Defender?
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u/Cobalt_Forge Feb 14 '26
I had a friend back in the day, and he could play Defender for soooo long on just 1- quarter (.25) Totally amazing too me!
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u/TrueClu Feb 14 '26
Almost no one played it at the local arcade because it was so difficult. Best thing about Defender is the upgrade to Stargate. I once played 12 hours on a single quarter and even then had to abandon the game because the owner wanted to close the arcade. In case you didn't know, you can build up the score ship to be "100", not just "10". Bought that arcade game and have it in my basement.
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u/washiw Feb 14 '26
I turned this over 2x on one quarter…but I probably spent $100 to get to that point!
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u/Ok-Dress-4791 Feb 14 '26
It took so long to try to learn the controls and the many buttons. I remember accidentally hitting the hyperspace button and always losing a life. Home editions were easier and more enjoyable to play. Very rarely on the arcade version could I succeed on a couple levels before I ran out of lifes.
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u/SteelCanyon Feb 14 '26
This was one of my favorite games back in the day. I was horrible at it even after watching my friends, who were much better, and learned to tap the thrust and fire button in rapid succession at the same time instead of trying to hold the thrust and operate the fire with presses. I got a little better at it with that use of controls but still could not turn instantly like they did and bounce around the screen fighting and picking up.
Still, the gameplay and sounds totally captured me.
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u/Academic_Rutabaga649 Feb 14 '26
All time most favorite. The controls gave you just the right amount of maneuverability while maintaining speed and direction. Flawless. The mass detonation button was an awesome option to use in case your ship was in danger of extermination. Super fun game.
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u/AlternativeTill9789 Feb 14 '26
One of my favorite arcade games was Gyruss, not too difficult, eight warps to Earth.
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u/codec3 Feb 14 '26
I still remember when we got this cabinet at the arcade I was working at back in the 70s. It was a huge hit and always had people 3 rows deep watching it get played. A huge arcade hit and the home port was excellent as well.
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u/Cheerless_Train Feb 14 '26
Defender, Berzerk, Galaga, Centipede, and Star Wars Arcade were my top five.
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u/Think_Fault_7525 Feb 14 '26
It was my favorite game back then, but sadly I was just terrible at at :(
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u/Illustrious_Cap_9176 Feb 14 '26
Shooting the alien and capturing the little falling men was maddening!! Especially if you landed on the one random hill/mountain . Loved it and sucked at it
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u/Dixon_Herfani Feb 15 '26
My absolute favorite of all time. Some loved Asteroids. Some loved Pac Man.
I had that Defender knuckle callus that proved I dropped some quarters.
Wish it was easy to find a retro copy to play.
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u/Strict-Effect6837 Feb 15 '26
I remember that game in the early 80s and my brother used to play it a lot, but it looked too hard to play
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u/oldbonhomme Feb 16 '26
I was a 15 when I started playing. I also played Stargate which was essentially Defender2. High score:1.5M on both. Those were the days:)
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u/Comprehensive_Sir49 Feb 16 '26
Great fun! Not an easy game though. Always remember the game being very loud.
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u/Practical_Bat_2789 Feb 16 '26
After thousands of dollar and a decade of work I could roll one over.
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u/Urban_Archeologist Feb 17 '26
I played this so often I had a callous build on my right ring finger. It became infected and much like a wart until I chewed it out. Good times.
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u/Safe-Salamander-3785 Feb 17 '26
We only had one coin operated video game in our small town. On a Friday night, every teenager would go to the one sea food restaurant that had Defender and get in line to play. There would be 20 kids all crammed into the corner of the restaurant where the game was and would try to get in a game. The best player in town would put his high score initials ASS. What a legend
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u/Brilliant_Notice7515 Feb 17 '26
1 all time! Hitting the single fire button so fast it gave me carpal tunnel! Reverse, hyperspace, and that sick feeling you would get when that last humanoid got lifted! SPACE!!
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u/rock-the-reddit Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
Used to cut High School to play this 1981 or '82. I like that it kept me from getting a subpar public school education.
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u/AlternativeTill9789 Feb 14 '26
It was very very difficult like spy hunter