The problem is that the big titles aren't going to stray too far from what is known to be profitable. If you want a chance at some originality the indie sector is the best bet, but again, there's a lot of wading through dross to find the gems.
My old school favourites are Jet Set Willy, or Quake 1, but I spent an extreme amount of time playing Interstate 76 / 82. Good times, man.
Loved Sega's outrun....now Im a Need for Speed junkie...lol.
"Do it with style or don't do it all"
Hard to really peg them but here goes my list of games I've played over and over again:
NES 8bit -Contra, Megaman 2, Super Mario bro 3.
SNES/SEGA 16bit -Super Metroid, Mario Kart, Super Punch Out, Sonic1&2
PS1 - Metal Gear Solid, Symphony of the Night, Final Fantasy 7, Darkstalkers
N64 - Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario 64, Orcarina of Time
PS2 - Disgaea, MvC2, GTA Vice City, Devil May Cry
I used to kick ass at Centipede. And yes Big Hank they still have arcades. There is one in the Deptford Mall in NJ that has been there since I can remember. Used to spend a lot of time and money in there.
I'd forgotten about that one, 5th semester of college I think I played that more than I did homework. I had something like 239 hours, mostly spent organizing materia for chain spells. I saw a youtube vid of some guy who organized his final match with Sephiroth, only entering 1 command that unleashed an entire series of spells that smoked him in 1 move. If they ever finish the HD remake of that game that they've been promising, I'll most likely be picking that one up.
Techmo Bowl (the original) and Mike Tyson's Punchout for the NES.