Arcades

[Booyakasha]

...have any of you gone to an arcade, lately?

My best pal Shane and I went on a road-trip/pilgrimage to this place in Mad City------Geeks Mania. It's every arcade, but better. You pay fifteen bucks at the door, and then the games are free.

We played all of 'Area 51', and 'Sunset Riders', and 'Simpsons Arcade', and we played that beat-em-up 'X-Men' game. Man. Their version of the six-player X-Men arcade game takes up an entire room. The screen is projected across a whole twenty-five foot wall. It's friggin nuts. (I don't care what anyone says-----Dazzler is still rad. If you think Cyclops is better you can just shut up your dumb face.)

We did skee-ball, and air-hockey, and pool (Shane took me to church, man. I didn't know I sucked at pool.) It was a real good time. Like, I'm not bothered that I killed fewer monsters in 'Area 51'------‐-Shane had never played 'Hydro Thunder' or 'Crazy Taxi' or 'Episode 1 Pod Racer' (clearly never owned a Dreamcast, poor lamb), so I got to show him that stuff. (EDIT: Also while we were playing 'Pod Racer' we were talking all kinds of sh*t about the prequels. 'Hey, Shane, you should try spinning------I hear spinning's a good trick.' 'Stop being mean, Boo---------you're breaking my heart.'

[Luther]

Hmmm!! I have been to an arcade fairly recently as well. It was also a retro game shop/hang out, too. Some folks over there were playing what I assume was D&D (or just a tabletop game in general), but in the back, you could pay for some tokens to play at their arcades. They had a decent selection, they had a Nintendo Selects arcade, one of those Multicades that have a bunch of arcade games you can pick from, one of the Time Crisis games... they even have a few obscure ones, like Bishi Bashi Special.

They also had Minecraft Dungeons Arcade. It had an interesting gimmick where every play/continue gives you a card that you can scan on the arcade to apply the equipment to your character. Most of them were cosmetic, but some of the weapons and pets did have some differences in them.

[CaptHayfever]

Yes! I was on vacation a couple weeks ago, & a museum we visited had an arcade in it. I played some pinball, & my wife played some Tetris.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

No, especially not a dedicated arcade. Some local pizza places still have a few arcade cabinets, but otherwise I don't remember the last time.

Actually, as I was writing this I remembered I went with my friend to one a few months back. We played Killer Instinct 2 and some Jurassic Park light gun game, plus a horror game that scared the crap out of me. It had those "4D" effects and they caught me off guard.

Before that it's been decades probably.

[Booyakasha]

I forgot how much I love pinball. Any pinball. Geeks Mania has ten-odd different machines, most of them based on dumb nineties flicks (I wouldn't be surprised if their 'Addams Family Values' pinball was the same one from my local bowling alley arcade back when I was a dippy kid).

It's easy to forget the feel of an arcade. I buy 'Galaga' every time it comes out, but there's nothing quite like 'Galaga' in the arcade, with all the other games cooking off in your periph. Kids laughing, people arguing and all. All that was missing was the stink of cigarettes and the sound of change machines.

[Heroine of the Dragon]

Coincidentally, I went to an arcade last weekend, and played pinball, a lot of digital games, and one that shoots water. I had a heap of fun!!

Galaga was, and always will be, my favourite arcade game.

[Booyakasha]

...we played all of 'Die Hard Arcade'. You know, the entire reason I bought a Saturn was so I could get 'Die Hard Arcade', and I have never seen a physical copy of 'Die Hard Arcade'. I want it! Dang you, world, just place it before me!

It is literally one of the only things I want on Earth. I want 'Die Hard Arcade' and the Caribbean Clipper. I ask so little.

[Deku Tree]

I haven't been in a while with the exception of taking my daughter to birthday parties that include an arcade, but the day pass model is probably the only way I would. Paying for a single round always seemed too painful. As a kid mostly my arcade experience was looking at the title screen and demo loop and wishing, so the activity doesn't come with a lot of nostalgia, but it was exciting to learn there were places with unlimited play deals.

There are a few good places around town for that, but they do get sort of crowded with tipsy folks later into the night.

[LexDiamonds81]

only real arcade I know or have been to in last twenty years is Barcade.

[Booyakasha]

...I will say, I'm pleased that the games at Geeks Mania were free, but I surely do miss arcade tokens. It would have been a pointless middle step to have free token machines so you could put tokens in the machines, obviously, but tokens are neat, and putting a token into a game machine is a cool feeling.

One of the many, many reasons Dave & Buster's sucks is that you don't put tokens into their terrible games to play them; you have a card you scan, as though you're getting on a municipal bus. Whee! Whimsy and delight! You know, tokens are fun, Dave and Buster. They sparkle and jingle, and if you have a big cup full of them, you kind of feel like Lucky the Leprechaun. There's a childlike glee to tokens. Meanwhile scanning a card makes people feel like they're clocking in at their boring 9-to-5. Also---------no tickets (*flings Dave and Buster out the zeppelin window*). You guys suck, and your food, entertainment and games are worse even than what Chuck E Cheese has.

[CaptHayfever]

I led a school field trip to a local arcade a few months ago. They just charged a single admission fee, & then it was unlimited play inside.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Booyakasha]

^Nice. Bet the kids had the raddest time of their lives. What were the games like, modern fare or old-school hotness? You can tell us, we're all friends, here.

I mean, naturally we'll all be strawberry jelly you got to go to an arcade for work, your awesome job where you already get to mentor kids like a cool guy, thou lucky fink, but otherwise we'll cope.

[CaptHayfever]

It was a mix. Classic stuff like Cruisin & Kangaroo, newer stuff like a cool shooting range game I spent a long time on, physical stuff like skee-ball & air hockey, and possibly bootleg stuff like a Super Mario cabinet that looked like it was running on an emulator.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"