As I get older, I don't wanna see new shit anymore. I don't want to look forward to stuff! I wanna be grumpy, and NOSTALGIC. Maybe we can have a thread just to talk about arcade stuff. Memories of them, and what their current state are where you live assuming they are still around.
Arcades were quite a big part of my life growing up. I've had my share of playing on random cabinets of Street Fighter, Tekken, Final Fight or whatever. Light gun games like Virtua Cop, and later Time Crisis.
Even in my teens I would still drop by arcades when I was out with my family for dinner/shopping. I'd even play games I owned on PS2, just so I had someone new to play with. I often did that with Soul Calibur 2, and I even managed to find a Fate/Unlimited Codes machine here and managed to find an opponent.
My favourite games were always those with unconventional setups or peripherals. One of which is:
Good old Virtual On. I remember my first time on it(I was pretty young, around 10 maybe, don't remember), I didn't realize there were triggers. So I just kept moving the sticks around and hitting the shoulder buttons which were used to boost. A random stranger came by and clicked the triggers and I was like oh. Then the game clicked.
Though almost everybody would struggle with Dorkas which was the third level.
The most time I had with the first VO game was during my teens. At my school we had something called activity week. Basically you choose an activity to partake in for the week rather than regular school. The rich ones would of course, go skiing in Switzerland or something. I however was not that rich. I did go to a local camping thing the previous year which involved jungle trekking and living in budget hotels, and I decided I didn't want to do that again and just do something near to home. So I signed up for ice skating at a local mall. We would basically have an hour or two of skating lessons, then we were kinda free to just continue skating or just piss off and do whatever until it was time to go.
That mall had a lot of these Virtual On machines and I had a week of fun schooling random people from my school. Before this I used to mostly play Viper II or Raiden cause they looked cool, but I decided to play Fei Yen as a joke and she kinda stuck. She was hella fast and had her hyper mode when your health dropped <50%.
I later discovered there was a sequel to this of course, my friend had it on Dreamcast. But well, I hated playing it on Dreamcast, I liked the twin sticks and cabinet and having shitty midi blasting into my ears. That friend also called it "Ontario Triangram", but it was actually "Oratorio Tangram".
I did discover some of these machines, in various states of wear and tear, often just a single pair. There weren't many of them in Malaysia, and I would make a mental note to visit them when I could. The one machine I played the most was quite far away though. There's a resort place my family would use to go yearly. It had theme parks and casinos, and one of the arcades there had this machine. Unfortunately one side was broken so you couldn't play VS. You could still insert coins and play on both sides of the machine, but one of the sides had faulty sticks and a broken trigger so you'd just lose to the CPU if you tried.
Interestingly I discovered a machine in an obscure local mall years later, and it had the same quirks as the hotel one. I was already in uni and my family stopped going on family trips and stuff, so I couldn't really confirm the status of the hotel arcade at the time. I wonder if it was the exact same machine that got passed around.
I have dropped by both locales between then and now and I can say both arcade centers no longer exist.
The last time I played these was actually in Akihabara, not too long ago actually just last month. I was there for some work related stuff, and had a free day. But unfortunately it wasn't the original cabinets, it was some sorta retrofitted type like in the image above. Still better than nothing.
Considering most of the machines were all account card with online functionality type jazz, I was happy to find something I could just shove 100 yen coins in and play without giving much of a shit.
I kinda wish PC had a way to play the Virtual On games, at least in a more updated way that doesn't rely on emulation or janky old ports. I know the PS4 got the Virtual On Masterpiece Collection. And I believe the games were also on XBLA. But I haven't been a console owner since the PS2.
Closing note would be Virtual On Force I guess. I hate it. You need an account card to manage unlocks and stuff. They simplified shit. But I did have a chance to play on the actual machines while in Hong Kong. It was pretty novel being able to coop play with a buddy though, due to the new 2v2 format.
===
Some other arcade rants: Lucky and Wild.
Basically you can drive! And shoot! But I didn't get a chance to play it because my brother was a douche. Sometimes my uncle would sorta chaperone our arcade trips, so he would drive. And my brother would shoot. Technically the first player was meant to drive and shoot, and the 2nd player could just shoot. But instead of letting me join on the 2nd gun, he said it was more money efficient to just play 1P. I faintly recall the total lives not changing whether you played 1P or 2P, so I think that was the logic - you could last longer on the same amount of money if you just played 1P. I guess?
My brother was still an asshole though, fuck him. I wish I could find one of these machines again and try them out.
===
I also just wanna talk about these for a bit.
These two games hold a special place in my heart. Giant massive vibrating machineguns, what's not to like? I thought only the first Gunblade existed for the longest time. I have a friend that I used to compete with on Gunblade, it had a kill counter at the end so we'd try to get more kills than the other. The game also wasn't that hard or long, and I could get pretty good mileage on a single continue.
Gunblade was very common where I'm from. Most arcades had one or two lying around. Heck, the mall where I work currently has one, though they charge quadruple since I was a kid(20+ years ago, inflation I guess, but damn that machine is run down and the CRT is burned to fuck, I did go a few rounds on it but I feel cheated every time I do).
On a family trip to South Korea at Lotte World, I would discover that LA Machineguns existed. It was Gunblade 2! It had more shit! More levels!
That friend whom I competed with, we did manage to find one where we live and we did a full playthrough together. We were a lot older and we were questioning why they were using high tech military hardware to rob a damn casino. The hardware probably cost more than the money they stole. But I'm sure the devs didn't give a shit and just wanted to make a Las Vegas level.
===
Currently arcades are pretty dead where I'm from. There's still a few centers, but they mostly have racing games(Initial D or Wangan Midnight) and some account based rhythm games - I think it was called MaiMai. Some of the AEONs maintain an arcade of some sort on the kid's level. There aren't too many games, buncha random old lightgun games and rail shooters like Deadstorm Pirates. Though one of the major malls here has this new Pokemon arcade thing which dispenses chips and stuff. Seems like there's a local crowd hooked on it. It looks kinda dumb though, and I think it's just an evolution of the card collecting arcade games like Mushiking.
Japan still seems to be clinging on a little to arcades, even though the iconic SEGA red buildings have 'closed down'. Well technically they just changed management and the actual locales seem to still be operating. Taito Stations are still running. But it looks like the centers mostly thrive on account/online type games with a recurring player base. Many floors of these arcade centers are also dedicated to UFO catcher machines.
One arcade I visited had a whole floor dedicated to some new Gundam game - Arsenal Base, but I had no idea how it worked. You had to buy cards and there was a central machine where you could observe the overall battlefield, and it was many vs many. It is a bit annoying how what is probably the last of the few new arcade machines/developments are incredibly inaccessible to newcomers. But I get that you probably do want something with a recurring player base to stay competitive against other forms of entertainment.
I heard that in the states there are some arcade centers that operate on an entrance fee all you can play basis, and I would love to visit one of those someday....
Arcades were quite a big part of my life growing up. I've had my share of playing on random cabinets of Street Fighter, Tekken, Final Fight or whatever. Light gun games like Virtua Cop, and later Time Crisis.
Even in my teens I would still drop by arcades when I was out with my family for dinner/shopping. I'd even play games I owned on PS2, just so I had someone new to play with. I often did that with Soul Calibur 2, and I even managed to find a Fate/Unlimited Codes machine here and managed to find an opponent.
My favourite games were always those with unconventional setups or peripherals. One of which is:
Good old Virtual On. I remember my first time on it(I was pretty young, around 10 maybe, don't remember), I didn't realize there were triggers. So I just kept moving the sticks around and hitting the shoulder buttons which were used to boost. A random stranger came by and clicked the triggers and I was like oh. Then the game clicked.
Though almost everybody would struggle with Dorkas which was the third level.
The most time I had with the first VO game was during my teens. At my school we had something called activity week. Basically you choose an activity to partake in for the week rather than regular school. The rich ones would of course, go skiing in Switzerland or something. I however was not that rich. I did go to a local camping thing the previous year which involved jungle trekking and living in budget hotels, and I decided I didn't want to do that again and just do something near to home. So I signed up for ice skating at a local mall. We would basically have an hour or two of skating lessons, then we were kinda free to just continue skating or just piss off and do whatever until it was time to go.
That mall had a lot of these Virtual On machines and I had a week of fun schooling random people from my school. Before this I used to mostly play Viper II or Raiden cause they looked cool, but I decided to play Fei Yen as a joke and she kinda stuck. She was hella fast and had her hyper mode when your health dropped <50%.
I later discovered there was a sequel to this of course, my friend had it on Dreamcast. But well, I hated playing it on Dreamcast, I liked the twin sticks and cabinet and having shitty midi blasting into my ears. That friend also called it "Ontario Triangram", but it was actually "Oratorio Tangram".
I did discover some of these machines, in various states of wear and tear, often just a single pair. There weren't many of them in Malaysia, and I would make a mental note to visit them when I could. The one machine I played the most was quite far away though. There's a resort place my family would use to go yearly. It had theme parks and casinos, and one of the arcades there had this machine. Unfortunately one side was broken so you couldn't play VS. You could still insert coins and play on both sides of the machine, but one of the sides had faulty sticks and a broken trigger so you'd just lose to the CPU if you tried.
Interestingly I discovered a machine in an obscure local mall years later, and it had the same quirks as the hotel one. I was already in uni and my family stopped going on family trips and stuff, so I couldn't really confirm the status of the hotel arcade at the time. I wonder if it was the exact same machine that got passed around.
I have dropped by both locales between then and now and I can say both arcade centers no longer exist.
The last time I played these was actually in Akihabara, not too long ago actually just last month. I was there for some work related stuff, and had a free day. But unfortunately it wasn't the original cabinets, it was some sorta retrofitted type like in the image above. Still better than nothing.
Considering most of the machines were all account card with online functionality type jazz, I was happy to find something I could just shove 100 yen coins in and play without giving much of a shit.
I kinda wish PC had a way to play the Virtual On games, at least in a more updated way that doesn't rely on emulation or janky old ports. I know the PS4 got the Virtual On Masterpiece Collection. And I believe the games were also on XBLA. But I haven't been a console owner since the PS2.
Closing note would be Virtual On Force I guess. I hate it. You need an account card to manage unlocks and stuff. They simplified shit. But I did have a chance to play on the actual machines while in Hong Kong. It was pretty novel being able to coop play with a buddy though, due to the new 2v2 format.
===
Some other arcade rants: Lucky and Wild.
Basically you can drive! And shoot! But I didn't get a chance to play it because my brother was a douche. Sometimes my uncle would sorta chaperone our arcade trips, so he would drive. And my brother would shoot. Technically the first player was meant to drive and shoot, and the 2nd player could just shoot. But instead of letting me join on the 2nd gun, he said it was more money efficient to just play 1P. I faintly recall the total lives not changing whether you played 1P or 2P, so I think that was the logic - you could last longer on the same amount of money if you just played 1P. I guess?
My brother was still an asshole though, fuck him. I wish I could find one of these machines again and try them out.
===
I also just wanna talk about these for a bit.
These two games hold a special place in my heart. Giant massive vibrating machineguns, what's not to like? I thought only the first Gunblade existed for the longest time. I have a friend that I used to compete with on Gunblade, it had a kill counter at the end so we'd try to get more kills than the other. The game also wasn't that hard or long, and I could get pretty good mileage on a single continue.
Gunblade was very common where I'm from. Most arcades had one or two lying around. Heck, the mall where I work currently has one, though they charge quadruple since I was a kid(20+ years ago, inflation I guess, but damn that machine is run down and the CRT is burned to fuck, I did go a few rounds on it but I feel cheated every time I do).
On a family trip to South Korea at Lotte World, I would discover that LA Machineguns existed. It was Gunblade 2! It had more shit! More levels!
That friend whom I competed with, we did manage to find one where we live and we did a full playthrough together. We were a lot older and we were questioning why they were using high tech military hardware to rob a damn casino. The hardware probably cost more than the money they stole. But I'm sure the devs didn't give a shit and just wanted to make a Las Vegas level.
===
Currently arcades are pretty dead where I'm from. There's still a few centers, but they mostly have racing games(Initial D or Wangan Midnight) and some account based rhythm games - I think it was called MaiMai. Some of the AEONs maintain an arcade of some sort on the kid's level. There aren't too many games, buncha random old lightgun games and rail shooters like Deadstorm Pirates. Though one of the major malls here has this new Pokemon arcade thing which dispenses chips and stuff. Seems like there's a local crowd hooked on it. It looks kinda dumb though, and I think it's just an evolution of the card collecting arcade games like Mushiking.
Japan still seems to be clinging on a little to arcades, even though the iconic SEGA red buildings have 'closed down'. Well technically they just changed management and the actual locales seem to still be operating. Taito Stations are still running. But it looks like the centers mostly thrive on account/online type games with a recurring player base. Many floors of these arcade centers are also dedicated to UFO catcher machines.
One arcade I visited had a whole floor dedicated to some new Gundam game - Arsenal Base, but I had no idea how it worked. You had to buy cards and there was a central machine where you could observe the overall battlefield, and it was many vs many. It is a bit annoying how what is probably the last of the few new arcade machines/developments are incredibly inaccessible to newcomers. But I get that you probably do want something with a recurring player base to stay competitive against other forms of entertainment.
I heard that in the states there are some arcade centers that operate on an entrance fee all you can play basis, and I would love to visit one of those someday....
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