In this Source Gaming Roundtable we were asked by our Ultimate Patron, Mr. JBRPG, about our experiences with video game arcades. As the Source Gaming team is made up from writers across the world, growing up in different locations and from different generations, we each have a unique perspective on the arcade scene. And that’s what we are going to share with you all today!
Growing up in the UK, arcades were not quite as common a place I’ve always assumed they were in the US or Japan. Rather, you’d go to a pier by the seaside or go to a bowling alley by the cinema and then they would have arcade games there as a side piece. Thanks to this, I never really visited arcades frequently growing up although for the few that I did go to it was light gun games like House of the Dead and racing games like SEGA Rally that I played. Thinking about it now, SEGA really did make up a big part of my arcade experience, as it was the Dreamcast where I first played a lot of arcade original titles that had been ported over.
It’s a little different now that I am older though. While going to arcades isn’t a regular pass time, I do know a few local places that are dedicated arcades with both modern and vintage machines alike. I think my favorite machine is Bust-A-Move, the international name for Puzzle Bobble, which is one of the first Arcade Machines I reached the end of. I also got a high-score in 1942 so that shmup gets to live rent-free in my head.
When I was living in Japan though, I did visit arcades a bit more frequently as they were a lot more common and had unique games I had not seen anywhere else (like the Mario Party arcade game). Rhythm arcade games were the big one for me out there though, even though I am pretty bad at them. There is just a lot of variety and good music choices found in these machines, with Wacca in particular being a real favourite. I wish my local arcades had an import machine of that.
I always associate arcades with my childhood. This was the late Nineties; the bust hadn’t fully hit the U.S. There was a kind of odd magic to them. The smells and lights were intense, the games not that interesting on their own, but it was exciting seeing a wall of ones that I’d never seen and knew I’d probably never play outside of this space. There was this one early 3D hack ‘n’ slasher—Gauntlet Legends, maybe?—that was kind of mesmerizing. I was terrible at it, as I am for any control scheme on an arcade cabinet, but it was like looking into a totally new world from the NES stuff my sister gave me. I guess it led me to see these as very special, foreign spaces.
Of course, the arcade scene imploded just a couple years later, but I don’t think I would’ve gone regularly even if it hadn’t (or if I lived close to one). I found them a bit overwhelming, and it was just easier to play at home, with friends. I don’t go to any now, either. The last time was years ago at a barcade, and even then I ignored the games. But I don’t dislike arcades at all. They provide a nice “neutral” space. They let people play games without having to buy them. It’s a relatively public forum, and that’s really important for a medium that can be financially prohibitive. Their collapse was bad for the culture on top of bad for the developers who only made arcade games, and it’s good that we’ve seen a rise in arcades since. But I also think they’ve always been a bit flawed in that, so hopefully we’ll see a new kind of space to exist alongside this revival, too.
– The Original K-pop Dancers –
In the mid 00’s there was a time in my small hometown you could go to three different Arcades, and my group of friends were regulars on all of them, as each one had one kind of Rhythm/Dancing machines: A classic Dance Dance Revolution, a Pump It Up, a Korean machine that had five directional pads, and a Ez2Dancer, another Korean machine that had three pads and two sensors for hand motions, this last one was my favorite, because I wasn’t that well coordinated with my feet, but I tried my best to flail my arms to the rhythm… Every machine had their own banger songs, so I would totally recommend you to look up some playlist of them. I linked one of my favorites for every machine on their respective names. Not gonna lie, they truly bring me back, to the point my feet start to move on their own when a song starts.
But as said before, I wasn’t that much into dancing as my friends, so I gravitated into other kinds of games, like Bubble Bobble, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Tekken, among a long list of other classics. Having stories to tell with almost every game. Like that one time we beated a Jurassic Park Arcade shooter with a friend as therapy for a broken heart, A fun summer date that started by playing SoulCalibur and a friendship with a younger kid from my school that was forged in Metal Slug 2.
Sadly, those days came to past, I had to move to another city to get into university, the town changed, the arcade days started to fade off and one of those arcades became a nice pub with a train wagon theme, then other one became a regular hardware store, and the saddest one of the bunch became an unregulated pachinko-like trash-tier “cassino” that just exist to drain money from poor old people on the promise of maybe winning a meager prize… Now I can only wonder if a sad place like that could create the kind of memories those three arcades carved on my soul in those formative years. After all, every time I cross paths with some kids dancing to Korean music in the streets, I remember that we were the original K-pop dancers.
Every year in my youth I would go on vacation with my family. My cousins and I would hit up the arcades, and there were lines of them across the boardwalk. I have distinct memories of trying out various fighting games, coin-prize games, pinball, and in particular I remember playing House of the Dead with them. There were plenty of light gun games for the Wii, including multiple House of the Dead games. I always brought my console on vacation. We had a Wii available. We could have surely saved a lot of money if we just stayed in our hotel room and played one of those instead, but nothing beat the feeling of being in there, in the arcade, barely being able to hear the speakers of the machine as they were being overpowered by the cacophony of other noises.
There are novel experiences at the arcade that you just can’t get elsewhere. Games with unorthodox controls; games with irregular screen aspect ratios; games with machines that move in response to your actions in the game! I still remember playing F-Zero AX at MAGFest and being so completely disoriented by the jostling of the seat that I came in last place. I did poorly in that game, but that experience left a lasting impression on me, one that is stronger than any memory I have of just playing the home console companion game GX.
These unique experiences are why I’m sad that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to go to an arcade any time soon. I am quite paranoid and with viruses going around still, I don’t risk going to closed spaces. Hopefully in the future, when we’ve been able to move past our current state of life, I’ll be able to return and get my ears blasted out once again.
When I was a kid it was a lot easier to find an arcade cabinet, specifically within a laundromat. On average, you’d find a Ms.Pac-Man and Galaga combo cabinet and my mom and I would play them all the time while waiting on our clothes. If you got really lucky, you’d find a fighting game cabinet and I did a few times, which served as my first introduction to fighting games. I don’t recall which I played first, but the common FG cabinet was X-Men VS Street Fighter or MARVEL VS CAPCOM. As a kid, I had no idea how to play them aside from button mashing so I would stay on it for about one round, lose, and then put in another two quarters to repeat the cycle.
Nowadays, none of the laundromats I go to have arcade cabinets and in general you have to go out of your way to find a place that specifically is designed for housing them. At least, that’s the way it feels in New York City. However, I did recently go to Round 1 in Virginia for my graduation present. It was absolutely amazing, I got to play rhythm arcade games like WACCA, Hatsune Miku Diva Arcade Future Tone, Sound Voltex, and Groove Coaster. There were also fighting games as well that I saw and played in person for the first time such as a Yu Yu Hakusho 3D Fighter, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Marvel VS Capcom 2, and Akatsuki Blitzkampf Ausf. Ausche – which is what I spent most of my time with.
Since pretty much all games, including arcade and arcade-style games, are on PC and console; it doesn’t feel right to say I have a favorite. I play a lot of fighting games that have been featured in arcades or came to arcades first, but I play their console counterparts which usually are the more popular versions anyways. But, if I had to choose a favorite game of that era, it’d have to be DigDug. It’s panic inducing fun with a catchy tune that I never get tired of.
For the most part, old-school arcades were long before my time. Having only been around starting with the 2000s, my relationship with arcades exclusively stuck to Chuck E. Cheese for the longest time. There, I always made time for all the available racing games, including ones themed after Fast & Furious, Nickelodeon, and of course, Mario Kart. Sure, we had Mario Kart Wii at home, but this one’s got Blinky!
Now, I kinda wish I could’ve tried the era where you could head to an arcade and come across characters and series you’ve never heard of. I’ve always been a Mortal Kombat kid, but what fighting game would’ve been my favorite if I was in front of those classic machines? Though, funnily enough, an arcade cabinet ended up being my introduction to an unexpected mascot: Mega Man. I knew absolutely nothing about him, in retrospect I’m surprised I even came across a machine headlining him of all characters, but that was my single point of reference for when he made his appearance in Smash.
Nowadays, I visit the likes of Dave & Busters pretty often, and these same games I’ve played exhaustively never get old. It’s always fun pretending Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is the Mario Kart 9 we really should have right now, those over-the-top, neon takes on games like Space Invader and Centipede are cool, Connect 4 Hoops is a perfect combination of two staples, the list goes on. Oh, can’t forget about air hockey, that one’s a masterpiece no matter how many times I lose. It would seem that, even though I missed out on the “golden age” of arcades, what I’ve grown up on wasn’t lacking at all.
Visiting arcades was always thrilling when I was young, since every one always had at least one new, surprising thing to show me. Seeing magicians grind through dark dungeons, or buff soldiers gun down aliens, or a green, electric monster fight martial artists was exciting, showing how wild and diverse gaming can be. The games you control with a steering wheel or light gun were awe-inspiring, delivering experiences I’d never get at home. Even seeing polygonal athletes play tennis was valuable; there’s room in this medium for “normal” things. Oh, and I occasionally “won” a cheap toy or piece of candy from those claw machines—that felt like winning the lottery.
Still, I primarily stuck with a handful of favorites. Games like Pac-Man and Frogger aren’t easy, but their premises are timeless and digestible (side note: never play the Xbox 360’s Frogger 2). They also made for a fun bonding experience with my dad, whose high scores I have yet to surpass. Of course, some other coin-ops, those starring characters I recognized, also demanded my attention; Marvel vs. Capcom introduced me to the concept of crossovers. Sometimes, an arcade classic even gave insight into characters I knew from console gaming, which was always nifty.
Nowadays, I rarely visit arcades. There aren’t many near me. I also generally prefer playing games from the comfort of my home. But I’m glad arcades still exist. They left a strong impact on me, on countless others, and on this industry as a whole. And I always have fun when visiting an arcade, especially when I can coerce my friends to play Pac-Man Battle Royale with me—none of ‘em have ever beaten me, by the way!
Arcades were a semi-rare occurrence for me even when I was young, already being spoiled by the convenience of home consoles. Still, going to the odd Chuck E Cheese, Boomers or GameWorks (rip) would bring me back into the fold of coin operated gaming for a short while, which did leave lasting memories on me. No one (at the time of my submission) has mentioned Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, which is borderline blasphemous. A classic rail shooter adapting scenarios from the Original Trilogy, it’s the one arcade game I remember gleefully gravitating towards whenever it was available. Last time I saw one of those was a small arcade in Mexico seven years ago and the joystick was kinda screwy on it.
Tangentially related is how most of the arcade memories that truly stuck with me have come from Sega. The aforementioned Trilogy Arcade sticks out the most, but there was also also House Of The Dead 2 (which realistically I shouldn’t have played at the time), The Ocean Hunter (a neat underwater rail shooter no one ever really mentions), and a runner up for most memorable arcade game in my memory, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Real tough dinosaur themed (duh) shooter made harder than its peers, if I recall correctly, through the moving seats in the cabinet (though I could be misremembering games there).
Another gem in my sparse list of arcade memories is Point Blank, the Namco-developed, nonviolent shooter which can be described fairly simply as WarioWare with a gun; ergo, a collection of minigames that vary up how and what you shoot. Dumping bullets onto a speeding train, shooting cardboard ninjas that pop out of many locations, a simplified Where’s Waldo that also references other Namco properties like Klonoa and Splatterhouse, protecting a hapless doctor from volcanic rocks, and so, so much more. There’s three games, but hell if I knew that at the time.
Naturally, with how real life has gone lately (and my limited time from having a job), I’ve never felt much incentive to step foot into an arcade. That being said, I know there’s one relatively close by. Perhaps if I’m graced with a day off, it could become a spot to visit.
As the resident old man at Source Gaming, it should come as no surprise that I spent quite a bit of time in arcades growing up. Now, I’m not so old that I can talk about the first wave of arcade madness from the late 70s and early 80s, but the arcade craze of the mid 90s is a time I hold near and dear to my heart.
I wasted a lot of quarters on Street Fighter II back in the day – and I clearly remember when Mortal Kombat released. I didn’t know much about the game, I think I read in Game Pro that a character could rip another character’s spine out, and I my first glimpse of it was someone fighting single player against Goro at what was a go kart racing track and arcade (Grand Prix Race-O-Rama for any other South Florida kids) that has long since shut down. Most of my arcade playing was at the local mall, however. I have fond memories of riding my bike to the mall with some friends in middle school and taking turns trying to beat the story mode in the original Marvel vs Capcom.
Beat ‘em ups were always my favorite genre for the medium, though. Golden Axe and Final Fight are classics, but it’s oddly the licensed games that really stick out in my mind. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, its sequel Turtles in Time, The Simpsons, X-Men. Man, Konami really was on fire back then?
I visited arcades less and less over the years, but the fun communal experience it provided has never really been replicated elsewhere. Online play is fun, but meeting up with some friends to grab a slice of mall pizza and then seeing who was the literal King of Fighters, or taking a girl out and making a fool of myself at a DDR machine, these are life experiences that are core to who I am today.
I’m going to take a different approach from the rest of the gang and say that my favorite aspect of the arcade experience is the community.
Naturally our gamer instincts drives our competitive desires. Everyone, at least once, wants that lone-wolf Pinball Wizard-like experience of strolling up to a random cabinet and aiming for top score. But my favorite moments of any arcade experience always include a friend or three. Spending an unnecessary amount of credit on whatever awful card system the establishment uses and just hopping from game to game. Usually barely paying attention to the actual game and just goofin’ off and cracking wise. That’s the best.
The arcade is to games as the theater is to movies. A place to play, talk, see, hear and breathe videogames. And hopefully it’s an institution that continues to live on whether it be through modern businesses like a Round 1 or even just a giant gathering of playable cabinets at a convention.
By the time I was born, arcades were no longer a phenomenon. At least, not in the way classic movies depict. Instead of Space Invaders or Pac-Man, I had motorcycle racing games where you leaned to turn, DDR, and… an air hockey table. This was a mix of being born in the 90’s where classic arcades were dead, and my only option being a small section within a movie theater. It wasn’t bad, but different to the “original experience”. Despite few entertainment options available, I didn’t grow attached to that arcade. It was essentially a distraction between waiting for the movie or waiting to be picked up, and I didn’t see movies much.
So “going to the arcade” wasn’t an event with my friends, even though most of us played/owned video game consoles. That last statement is probably why. We could play a House of the Dead knock-off… or play James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire with four friends, grappling claws, and remote-controlled missile launchers. Or play Super Smash Bros. Melee or Kirby Air Ride (City Trial mode). Heck, years earlier I played Banjo-Kazooie at McDonald’s. The majority of arcade games were antiquated compared to what we had access to. That experience of watching one guy beat everybody in Street Fighter II didn’t exist. There simply weren’t enough people playing nor did they offer highly competitive games to cultivate that environment.
There was one other place as a kid/teen. The details are a bit fuzzy (it was short-lived and I visited once), but it was a modern take of 80’s arcades. It had cabinets of recent games (5th generation consoles, maybe 6th too, can’t recall).
One might wonder why that was fascinating when Blockbuster still existed. Well, I could rent any N64/Gamecube game I wanted… but not PS2, because I didn’t have one. Many kids (my friends included) were one-console households. To enter a place with the quality of modern games, the novelty of exclusives, and plenty of variety, was magical. It was small, but being able to walk around and bump into a whole other world of video games wasn’t something I could experience at home. I only remember one game I played, but that excitement of seeing what was on the other side, “Wait, they have Digimon games on Playstation? That’s awesome!” was unbelievable. I didn’t experience the community aspect, but I got a glimpse of what arcades had to offer, and partly what made them special.
Arcade games rule. I love the unique games with special-made hardware you can only experience at an arcade, like Cho Chabudai Gaeshi. Overall arcades here in Japan are on the decline though, especially due to COVID. Warehouse in Kawasaki was super cool but it closed down, MM Land in Shimokitazawa was the only place nearby I could play Windjammers but it closed down, SEGA arcades are now GiGO and occupied more and more by UFO catcher games, etc. Everybody knows, and says what a shame, but it’s hard for arcade games to compete with other more convenient entertainment nowadays. Hopefully arcades don’t go away completely and can consolidate or “transform” into specialty locations with some unique draw or experience that’s compelling enough for people to come in. Tournaments, events, membership systems, collaborations, multiplayer VR spaces, specialty or seasonal collections like an art gallery, connect with people at home via Twitch, sell merch (Mikado already does this)… They’ll come up with something!
I didn’t really have much access to arcades themselves growing up in a rural area, but I do have fond memories of playing Street Fighter (one of the Alpha games) and Daytona USA at a pizza parlor in town. Now that I’m in Japan, I love checking them out and playing Taiko no Tatsujin or Mario Kart when I come across them. On the other hand, I love arcade ports and games clearly inspired by the arcade days. Something like Mr. Driller (I’m a big fan of the GBC version) or shmups; anything from Cave really jives with me because I can pick them up and practice for a quick session or spend hours trying to beat my high scores. That kind of versatility has only made me enjoy them more as I’ve gotten older. Especially when credits don’t equal quarters. They’re more like progression markers nowadays in the eternal quest to master a game. When I think arcade games now, I think of games that get you into the fun quickly. Games like Donkey Konga, Soldier Blade, Yoshi Touch and Go, and Sol Cresta may not have been arcade releases, but these and many more draw on that legacy for a fun gameplay loop that will still be relevant and fun long after arcades are totally dead and gone.
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