Arcadin' around the world

[Smacktard]

I'm in a quiet city ATM and I found a sort of video game museum/arcade. It had a bunch of games, but its biggest selections were in pinball games and lightgun games. I played the whole Rambo lightgun game, a little bit of Lethal Enforcers II, and some futuristic Taito game I'd never heard of. I wanted to play House of the Dead, but my trigger finger was exhausted.

I also played a few other games that were AWESOME to play on proper hardware. I enjoyed arcades, but never felt like I *had* to have an arcade cabinet. Until I played Monaco GP. This game was awesome. Controlled super well. Great variety of gameplay. Very fun. I could see myself returning to it.



There were also some really cool mechanical games. I learned how to nail baskets in this game every shot.




There was also a mechanical proto-(light)gun game called Vietnam which came out in 1979. The game was absolutely beautiful. You could see the elements and enemies like helicopters and troops popping up among the foliage. Didn't play amazingly, but still pretty impressive and very beautiful.

 

[MC74]

I'm jealous. I miss the days of playing arcade games.

 

[Crystal]

Incredible!! And yeah...jealous!

 

[Smacktard]

Do either of you have arcades nearby? I can't remember which state Crystal is from, or which province MC is from. I want to say Alberta, but I have the feeling it's Ontario?

 

[Crystal]

Do either of you have arcades nearby? I can't remember which state Crystal is from, or which province MC is from. I want to say Alberta, but I have the feeling it's Ontario?

Arizona, and there are some starting to pop back up, but not many. Some breweries that are arcade-themed but they're a long drive from me.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

Sounds like a great time. The exhaustion thing is real, though. The whole point of arcade machines is that they were too difficult to play on for very long because you'd run out of money. Completing one, whether it be a light gun game or anything else, is genuinely tiring.

There aren't very many traditional arcades in the UK anymore, but they've been replaced by two other things. The first is arcades within places like bowling alleys, which are still fine, but focus very much on racing and shooting cabinets where the experience you get is different to home video games. Which makes sense, because arcade games haven't been able to compete technologically with those games in a very long time. The days of arcades having the most technologically advanced games are very, very far in the past.

The second is essentially arcade clubs, where there will be a collection of arcade games under one roof. You pay an entry fee and all of the games are on free play. Those tend to have much more traditional games, depending on the size. I went to one a few years ago in Norwich when I was away for work which was great, and there's a smaller one in Hull that we go to now and again when us passing through there on the way to seeing family coincides with it being open. There are some much larger ones around in the country though, and one is just under an hour from me. My sister and I have been meaning to go there for ages, but it's just about finding the time. We've said we'll do it sometime in November, so I'll obviously report back if we do.

 

[Smacktard]

If you do go at some point, share some of the games you come across there! I know there's a huge, legendary arcade in, I think, Illinois in the US? It's called Galloping Ghost, and if I ever am in the state, I plan on spending a full day or two checking it out.

Meanwhile, I want to start looking up Monaco GP prices >_> I have nowhere to store something like that though. My parents would kill me if I bought one haha

Edit: apparently I found a cabinet going for $350??? There's no way; that feels much too low.

 

[shortkut]

to store something like that

Now you know what your next purchase should be

 

[Crazy Jamie]

If you do go at some point, share some of the games you come across there!

Well, obviously.

 

[dimmerwit]

NQ64 is a national chain and is a mix - you have to book but it's free outside of peak hours and they run on a token system. They also offer to book out the whole place for "fuck off groups", which apparently is the official term for 20 people. I've never been though, and I've heard from people that have been that it's got a strong bar vibe and can get loud and busy. They do close at 3am after all.

There's also Four Quarters in London which has a small but decent selection and actually runs on US quarters. The original Peckham outlet is small but there are several outlets and apparently there's a bigger one in Elephant & Castle, which I need to clarify is a real place. It seems like Newcastle is their only current location outside London.

 

[Crazy Jamie]

NQ64 is a national chain and is a mix - you have to book but it's free outside of peak hours and they run on a token system. They also offer to book out the whole place for "fuck off groups", which apparently is the official term for 20 people. I've never been though, and I've heard from people that have been that it's got a strong bar vibe and can get loud and busy. They do close at 3am after all.

I've been in to one of those early when it was dead, in Manchester. Nice enough selection and vibes, but yes, I can well imagine it gets very loud later on.