The Arcade

It's sad really. The arcade room is where I got my first real taste of great gaming. Arcades are no longer around in the main stream, but was a great boost for the video gaming world. Since the systems are so advanced, it seems that there would be nothing to look forward to for the gamers that visit them. One of my favorite titles was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Some other really cool games were Magic Sword, Sunset Riders, and Rastan. I also liked My Hero and Satan's Hollow. Oh what fun it was...

When I was still in school there was an arcade across the street (this was just a few years ago) I spent every spare moment I had there, and always looked forward to going anywhere with an arcade during childhood.

In the arcade near the school I was part of the Marvel Super Heros Vs. Street Fighter 2010 crowd, and also the Marvel Vs. Capcom crowd, I still have a thing for quality 2D fighters. I could never really get in to Tekken or any of those. Although Soul Calibur rocks pretty hard.

Does anybody remember the game Tron? I remember the speed car parts were awesome!

Gauntlet Legends, awesome game, I have it for my Dreamcast, I just need to get it on a CD... erm... I mean... I have it for my Dreamcast

I've never played Gauntlet Legends, does it play pretty well?

the thing I found interesting about it was the ability to save your characters and resume playing at a later date, it was also four way multi-player. but yes, it played pretty smoothly in my opinion.

I should look into that game. The only Gauntlet experience I have is the NES cart that I have. It's pretty darn hard on the NES! It took me awhile to find out about the password thing, because I didn't have the booklet. I heard that it was in there. Maybe I should check the NESfiles.

Gauntlet is also one of the NES Games I need to get, I'm working on a large number of deals for carts at the moment, so I'll have to see what I get out of those, I should at the very least get the Ultima series.

I never was really attracted to arcades. Id rather just buy a system, and play it whenever i want without paying a stupid quarter.

The cool thing about arcades back then were how cool they were. Systems now are so good, that it would probably cost too much to make anything more advanced than what is out there. Street Fighter 2010, Mortal Kombat, and NBA Jam were among some of the jaw droppers. Plus all the games that had the guns on them. It was good because you knew that soon home systems WOULD look like that. It's definately a thing of the past now.

nothing beats having a dozen people crowded around you when you're getting the high score, or on your way to beating you're 10th person in a row on a fighting game. As much as I hate crowds, that feeling is awesome, no matter how lame you are, people respect you for that time. Not to say I was lame or anything

Yes! And if you were doing really good, and you ran out of quarters, somebody would usually spot you a few coins. There was some level of comradarie.

exactly, it just feels good to be in an arcade... before they became drug shops... which sadly, is the way most remaining ones are...

mmm i liked Double Dragon,Toki,Wonderboy ans some oldscholl stuff like Donkey Kong and Galaxian.

The old school stuff WAS cool. That old Super PacMan was awesome, as well!

Ja man true true,i like the older ones most,the new 3d stuff doesn't interest me at all.Looks the same over and over again.

I do, however, like the Carn Evil games. Those play great!

Metal Slug! that game rocks so hard it's not even funny! classic 2D graphics with beautiful animations and controls, I love that game.

another arcade game that I enjoyed until I beat it (and the arcade near me got rid of the cab) was some Alien Vs. Predator game.

but my all time favorite would have to be Marvel Super Heros Vs. Street Fighter 2010. those were some of the best arcade days ever. I could beat that entire game on a single credit

Does anybody remember the fighting games Samurai Showdown and Darkstalkers?

Those were awesome fighting games! They were really colorful, and had great characters. I used to play the h*ll out of those!

I remember them, I didn't have the opportunity to play them in the arcade though. MAME is a good friend of mine though

guauntlet is a great game...

i personally loved the n64 version the most its much easier then the nes version
the nes version is nearly impossible

guauntlet is a great game...

i personally loved the n64 version the most its much easier then the nes version
the nes version is nearly impossible

Actually, as far as I know the NES version doesn't end... which is great in my opinion. you can just sit down with three friends and play the night away. both of the Gauntlet games are quite high on my list of must-have games. (three if you include the unlicensed and licensed versions of the original)

Arcades in Germany are restricted for young people. You can't get in under the age of 18.
My first real arcade experience I made in Japan. I love Japanese arcades.

Arcades in Germany are restricted for young people. You can't get in under the age of 18.
My first real arcade experience I made in Japan. I love Japanese arcades.

Really? In the UK it seems that they are becoming more and more aimed at young children. I worked in an arcade a couple of years ago it seemed that a lot of parents were just dropping their kids off there while they went to the bar next door.

My own personal arcade memory is playing the simpsons all the way through to the end with a friend of mine. I loved that game and have just rediscovered it with MAME.

Tell me about it! I remember when I was stationed on Mt. Fuji, and got to go off base for the weekends, there was a town about 20 min. away. Walking around the town, I noticed that some of the arcades had games OUTSIDE! I thought that was the coolest thing ever... (by the way, the best player of Street Fighter 2010 I ever say was a Japanese child... )

yeah those are some pretty great shooters at arcades i think its very different lol

When you go in a typical Japanese arcade... yes, first you notice the noise.
There are thousands (... dozens ) of UFO catcher machines. Those are really loud.
And there are socalled "purikura" ("print club") machines, where you can take photos of you and have them printed on sticker sheets.
(try the google image search for those: )

Then you have machines where you can change your money to 100 Yen coins. (very important)

Besides of that, there are all sorts of game machines. Which games there are, depends on the arcade you are in.
Most Japanese arcades are not dark or gloomy (like most German ones).

They are a place where families go.
And they are all very loud, but I already wrote this above.

That's interesting!
How long were you in Japan? I wish I could've gone to Japan in my military serVice.

That's interesting!
How long were you in Japan? I wish I could've gone to Japan in my military serVice.

I was actually stationed in Hawaii, and we did two different "pumps" (deployments) to Okinawa. Each one was six months long, and we went to mainland Japan two different times, at about three months apiece, if I remember correctly. At the time, I only had a Game Boy, so I wasn't really big into games. I did, however, get some Ozzy music that wasn't released in the U.S., and did my share of the night life in the Roppongi District.

Oh that's so cool.
Being so long in Japan and even get paid for it.

DDr all the way the best Arcade game that i see in an arcade now-a-days

I remember my first arcade game was a racing game. I don't remember which one. The Pre-School I went to had an arcade room, it was used for like an entertainment part of the day.

i never went to Pre school an di think yer lucky

Are you sure I think everybody must go to Pre school.

I didn't go to a pre-school...

I didn't go to pre-school, too.

HAAAA and now i wish i had but i have a DDR hardmat at my house so im all good

Well, I had the good fortune to go to a Pre School, although I didn't like it.

I always loved arcade games. They always looked so much cooler to me than home systems (I realize now it was the RGB). And developers could do things with them that couldn't be done on a home system. I loved SNK's rotating joysticks for guerilla war. I always loved the NES game, but when I got hold of those rotating joysticks in a theater lobby once, I was floored. Someday I will have a supergun and Guerilla War board and spend the rest of my life in eternal bliss.

Aaaahhhh... last night at my gig we ordered a pizza. When we walked about a block away to get the pizza, there were two arcade games in there! I made my guitarists' girlfriend wait on me so I could jam on Ms. Pacman and Centipede. Man, it was SO nice playing a couple of arcade machines. I'm going to have to remember that for next time we play in that small town

i just missed it but it was an auction i saw(not on ebay) i forget the site, but it was Sunset Riders Arcade machine 320 dollars.

Yeah, I miss the arcades, too. Yesterday we went to a Pietro's pizza parlor and there was a pinball machine, and one of those new stand up games that has oh, about 30 classic arcade games in one, and as fun as it was, it just wasn't the same. I recall that feeling NES-Luke was talking about. I was once getting a giant score on Defender and everyone was staring like they couldn't believe it. From that time on, everyone would give me quarters just to watch me play. I didn't have to pay for a game for about 2 months, and never matched that Defender score!

My first arcade expirience was Star Wars (ya know the Vector graphics one...)and that's what did it for me, for many years now I have been avidly collecting every system, console, etc...that has ever been released....I never knew what I was trying to achieve...now I understand though...I was simply trying to bring the arcade expirience home...I use to live at arcades...

I remember that Star Wars--the one with the steering yoke and some of the vocals from the movie, right? That was a cool one. Nice use of the vectors; BattleZone got a little boring after awhile.
~EDIT~ I need to edit after playing Black Widow last night. In my opinion, a fantastic vector game, and not talked about much!
Geez. I forgot about the 2 Asteroids and Tempest, also. Sometimes, less is more.

Hell yeah! Star Wars was awesome!!...and yes vector graphics were just plain cool...when I was a kid it seemed like living neon or something there wasn't any other way to describe it ...especially because the spot I used to hang out and play this thing at was a typical seedy, dark, smokey arcade of way back when......"R2 I'am hurt bad but I think I'am still ok!"... I think that's what Luke yells out before your about to die...correct me if I'am wrong...