Sunday, 17 June 2007

  • The Arcade of Your Dreams

    A visit to the local bowling alley a short while ago left my friend and I depressed in a profound way. We've all seen ourselves in dingy, run-down arcades, right? You know the kind -- where half the machines don't work and the ones that do inevitably break down after only a few quarters are pumped in? Where all the fun and wonder of arcade games can't help but get sucked into a vortex of slimy $4.00 pizza slices and long expired vending machines that border on the near criminal? Where pitiful electronic cries from long-abused, 15-year-old arcade speakers are matched only by the high pitched squealings of underpaid teenagers as they mop up the puke stains left over from a kids' birthday party gone wrong?

    Of course we have. But the sorry state of affairs at this particular bowling alley, where the floor made a funny squeaking sound and the girl working at the counter seemed a pay cut away from suicide, made me realize that the abuse and neglect of classic arcade machines should be outlawed. Amid the devastation, I counted roughly half the machines were either not working properly or completely non-functional. Only one side of the Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 console was up to snuff, the Ms. Pac-Man cabinet was suffering from some serious screen problems, the Air Hockey table could only manage to register one player's score and not the other's and, to top it all off, the management had apparently taken a run-down Super Street Fighter II cabinet (complete with a glut of dirt, grime and cigarette burns) and hardwired it to play Marvel vs. Capcom. Ugh...

    So I began dreaming about my ideal arcade -- a magical place where all the machines work, the lights are appropriately dimmed and Def Leppard's Hysteria gets constant airtime over the loudspeaker. And as for arcades, well, there would only be room for the best of the best:

    Super Battletoads
    The Simpsons
    Pac-Man
    Ms. Pac-Man

      

    Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
    Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
    Street Fighter II: Turbo
    Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
    Super Street Fighter II Turbo

    Mortal Kombat
    Mortal Kombat II
    Mortal Kombat 3
    Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

    Paperboy
    Terminator II: Judgment Day
    Bubble Bobble
    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    TMNT: Turtles in Time
    Mario Bros.
    Lucky and Wild

    So, what arcade games would you find in your ideal arcade room? Would you go for the tried-and-tested classics or opt for newfangled technical beasts with polygon counts in the millions? Street Fighter II or Tekken? Pac-Man or House of the Dead? Discuss.

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Comments (80)

  • Your list is pretty good, but my arcade would have to have at least a few old style pinball machines.  I can't remember any particularly good ones by name, but to me it's just not an arcade if you can't send a shiney chrome ball whizzin'.
  • Me? Besides "Revolution X" and "House of the Dead" I would have to say the (Beat Em Ups) you know, games like "Battletoads" "The Simpsons" "Final Fight" "Knights of the Round" and so many more.

  • Recently, I've seen an amazing gem for 80s arcade fans.  Its a mult-game machine that has about 36 classics on it like the Pac-Man series, Donkey Kong series, Galaga, Centipede, etc.  I've seen it twice and each time it only cost a quarter to play.  My dream arcade would have to have lots of 25 cent games.

  • My cousin down in Orlando recieved about a dozen old-school arcade machines from an elderly neighbor who moved away and had no space for them in his new house. He fixed them up, keeps about 3 for personal use (his room is amazing), and him and my Uncle went around town putting them up in Pizza Huts and movie theaters. It's pretty sweet.

    I'd have to go for the Mortal Kombat series and the Ninja Turtles ones. They're amazing

  • Your list hit most of my favorites, and my all-time, bubble bobble, but I agree, I would love to have a few classic pinball too!!  Many memories came from the classics in bigger than life form for a small person!!!  Great post!  =)

  • Can't forget air hockey and racing games! DDR is a must too =]

  • Hmm.. on second thought those weren't really "retro" arcade games... =P oh well
  • Sounds good to me but don't forget to add Dance Dance Revolution and Para para and all those other super awesome Japanese games.

    And I agree with those above me; pinball is a must.
  • Besides House of the Dead, some sort of crazy racing game, and of course a pinball machine somewhere in there, I'd definently need Pac-Man, Mario Bros. TMNT, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat II, and the occasional Namco Museum. ^_^ I'm much more a classic gamer than a new one.
  • oh, in addition to the crazy racing game, you do need a typical gun-slinger die-hard cop game too... it's just not the same... of course, virtually all arcades in any towns close to me are non-existant unless i travel to the west edmonton mall - where there's much more to do that waste my time in a dingy little arcade...

  • Centipede!!  err, um....and Gauntlet!!....oh boy, now you have me dreaming...my brother recently bought 3 tall stand arcade games for his office (yeah, he has a kick ass job in post production...)...I'm very jealous.  But he's on his way to his own dream arcade for sure....

    I'd have to even add a pinball machine in there too....

    LOL, the real question is - do you still charge your friends the 25 cents it used to cost?  hehehehe......
  • You forgot jungle king, dig dug, asteroids, crystal castle and frogger. Don't forget joust. I mean I rock tekken 3 too...

    You know how they have oldies stations that play songs from the 60s for near retirees?

    What do you think the oldies stations will play when WE are in our 60s? Drum n bass and red hot chili peppers, and kids will laugh and change the channel to some godawful noise.

    The world keeps turning.
  • every pin ball machine ever made.

  • Ms. Pac-Man
    Joust
    Root Beer Tapper
    Galaga
    TMNT
    Space Invaders
    Satan's Hollow
    Rampage
    Q-Bert
    Sinistar
    Spy Hunter
    Frogger
    Moon Patrol
    Donkey Kong
    Dig Dug
    Millipede
    Arkanoid
    1942
    Dragon's Lair

    One day i'm gonna win the Lottery.... and this will be what fills my basement.

    I might add a few machines like DDR, air hockey, pool tables and dart boards.... but whatever I put down there, I'll have a continuous loop of 70's and 80's music over a speaker system.

    My basement will be an exact recreation of the arcades of my youth.

  • Oh!

    I forgot the most important part.

    A damn back-up generator so my high scores remain forever!!! :)
  • I spent many a day, and my moms quarters, in arcades...or convenient stores and pizza shops with arcade games. I would have to add Dig Dug and Zaxxon to the mix.
  • I love the classics - Donkey Kong, Q-bert and Ms. Pac Man.

  • I still have a thing for that monochrome classic, Asteroids.  Gauntlet, Joust, Dig Dug, Mario Bros., 1942, and Tempest are the other classics I can think of off the top of my head that would have to round out my list.  I might add Dragon's Lair for the forward thinking jump.  Maybe a couple of street racing games too like San Francisco Rush or Ridge Racer.

    Great write up, btw.  I really enjoyed it.

  • I absolutely loved this entry. My arcade would have  Galaga, Centipede, Frogger, Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, all the Mortal Kombat games, Donkey Kong, and of course my favorite all time game, Pinball. It would be a place where food is cheap and 80's rock gets constantly played.
  • nice that would be a great arcade. dont forget the game where you have the claw to get stuffed animals....

  • I'm a big shooter fan, so I would love to see Galaga, Galaga '88, Space Invaders, any Gradius, Raiden, Metal Slug, House of the Dead, Time Crisis games in my dream arcade.  That would be awesome.  Not to mention a real Ikaruga arcade machine... *drools*

    lol   great article!!  :D

    and I agree with everybody that pinball machines rock!!  :D

  • Pinball machines, a DDR, Pac-Man, and some sick Japanese fighting games. Not picky which ones...And every rock/punk song ever sang or recorded would be playing in the background...
  • No virutual "Out Run" arcade car? Come on man!
  • Oh my brother ADORES the Simpsons arcade game. The local movie theater thanfully has a fully opperational machine, as well as a few other fun ones! Only once I've seen a racing one out of order. Ah, movies and pixilated blood. What more can a girl ask for?
  • Silent Scope and Virtua Cop, as well as one or two hunting games, NFS:Underground, South Park Pinball, and Galaga. Plus your list. Yeah.

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