Best/most memorable Arcade

[Dam]

There used to be two arcades in my small town, System Addict was a great little computer shop which had a room upstairs with about 8 cabs in it, of which 3 were usually some version of SF2. Then there was the slightly bigger Starcade, where you could get a plate of chips for 55p, and I once got stuck in the toilet and they had to call the fire brigade to get me out.

Both sprung up around the release of Street Fighter 2, and both were gone by the time Super Turbo came out Those 2 summers were the best time of my life.

[Black Ridge]

[quote="Dam"] System Addict was a great little computer shop which had a room upstairs with about 8 cabs in itquote]

When i was a 6years old there used to be a games store round the corner from me called System Addict where we would rent all our snes/megadrive/n64 stuff from. that was a good 18years ago.... Scary

[Freestyler]

Anyone have "fond" memories of being taxed in some strange Arcade?
That's why we eventually started travelling about in groups.

[theantmeister]

My all time favourite arcade would be Funland in Amanzimtoti (that's in Natal, South Africa geography fans). Right on the beach, it was seperated into 3 floors. They had everything from Dodgems to Pinball, plus there was a bar on the top floor. The main arcade section was stuffed to the gills with classics like STUN Runner, Aliens, Snow Bros, Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat, Offroad Ironman, Time Killers It even had a jukebox.

A close second is the arcade in Sandton City, which is a large mall in Johannesburg. While it wasn't as massive as Funland, it did boast the most amazing lineup of machines. There were the usual Street Fighters, Mortal Kombats and such, but there was also a Virtua Racing, Virtual On (which I'm sad to say I never actually played), Daytona, sit down versions of Tekken & Soul Calibur, Killer Instinct, an incredible lineup. That's where I played my favourite arcade game, Galaxy Force Ii.

Segaworld at the Trocadero deserves a mention too. Just taking that escalator ride to the top was an experience!

[SIR'86]

It's hard to imagine how omniprescent arcade games were back in the 80's. Everyone had them - arcades, chippies, pubs and record shops.

The arcade I most remember was was a record shop I used to visit when I was in the 6th. form at school (1982). It had a small backroom with several arcade machines. The ones I can remember playing were Gorf, Pengo and an obscure shooter called Tazz-Mania.

I used to love that little back-room, mostly because of the arcade games, but also because some of the prettier school-girls used to hang out there too. Not that I ever managed to get one of them to go out with me or anything. I guess my video-game warrior skills weren't impressive enough.

One of the great things about owning a stand-up cabinet is being able to play those games again in the same way they were played back then. I'm finally getting the hang of Pengo. That game is hard!

[SJ_Sathanas]

I can recall a couple, as well as Captain Commando on the pikey carnivals, but my most vivid memories were college dinner breaks at the Metro Cinema arcade in Ashton, nr Manchester. Tekken 3, House of the Dead, Time Crisis 2 and some others with McDonalds "food" (always chocolate milkshakes!)

[thebear]

Anyone have "fond" memories of being taxed in some strange Arcade?
That's why we eventually started travelling about in groups.

I didn't get taxed as was always with mates, but did once have a fight with some kid who thought he could take money off me on a weekend trip down to errr Poole I think it was

My mum and dad were fairly suprised when i came back with bruises on my hand and face as I'd only nipped over the road for half hour

[thebear]

couple of other good arcade memories, trying to be first in in case ghames gave free first credit

Always checking al coin slots as every now and then someone would leave a 10p

trying to work out the sequence on the horse racing game (the sequence that almost certainly didn't exist, but we looked anyway)

[psj3809]

I'm sure i probably did it when i was really young but seeing some kid on some arcade machine thinking hes playing it and when all the time its just flashing 'insert coin'.

[clarance]

The Pier Arcade at Hunstanton circa'85, nearside right-hand corner, something like this -



There was also a great rack of pinball machines at the opposite end of the arcade.

Been back since - all gone of course

[thebear]

I'm sure i probably did it when i was really young but seeing some kid on some arcade machine thinking hes playing it and when all the time its just flashing 'insert coin'.

hey, when my son didn't want to watch football I used to tell him it was a game and hand him a PS3 controller

[crusto]

Drayton Manor, the arcade in the centre of the fairground, spent more time in there than on the rides

+1

The arcade within Drayton Manor Theme Park gets my vote too for my favourite arcade from my childhood. It was HUGE and had such a great selection of arcade coin-ops including many full-size sit-down ones. Happy days!

I took my nipper to Thomas Land today so naturally I popped my head in to the "arcade". Amongst the huge number of gambling machines there were more games than I imagined there would be, although they were just shooters and racers. Never the less, it was the massive shadow of its former glory as I imagined it to be. Still, it did have a 1994 Sega Rally double cab in there which was a nice touch.

[noobish hat]

Were a couple of good arcades in Hunstanton, like Clarance says. One of them burnt down a few years ago, I think they rebuilt it, but I've no idea what's inside. Back in the 90s another one nearby had Lucky & Wild, a hydraulic cabinet for G-LOC I think it was, Pacman, and even a Victorian penny arcade machine or two.

[Phoenix]

Southend, definately Southend.

Back in the 80's there were 20 odd arcades all in a row, every one choc full of the latest (at the time) games. Star Wars, After Burner, Pole Position, Galaxian, Starfox, Hot Rod, Phoenix, Galaga, Double Dragon, NARC, Smash TV, Dragon's Lair, I wish I could go back, just one evening as my 17 year old self.

On a Friday I would duck out of 6th Form at lunchtime, head off down the A13 in my friend's Capri, drop in for a pint and a lunchtime stripper (pounds in a pint glass) then off to the arcades for some multi player action. Pint at 8pm, Watch the car races (and crashes) along the seafront from a pub called Papillon (staggeringly still there), and then off to Mr B's nightclub.

But its all gone now.

[Phoenix]

The Pier Arcade at Hunstanton circa'85, nearside right-hand corner, something like this -



There was also a great rack of pinball machines at the opposite end of the arcade.

Been back since - all gone of course

Respect is due for this diagram. MS Paint? Quality.