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Remember video arcades?

Pearls&StonesPearls&Stones Posts: 585
edited September 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
Anyone else nostalgic for video arcades? A place to waste handfuls of quarters while our wives / girlfriends / mothers shopped at the mall. Sure you can find the old machines in a few places, but there hasn't been a new good game in eons, and full arcades are very scarce. Even if you go to a Dave and Busters (or some place like that), all the games are copyright 2001 or older.


Some of my favorites: Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, NHL Open Ice 2 on 2, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, The Simpsons, Ninja Turtles, Tetris, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Tekken, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter.

EDIT= almost forgot Double Dragon
I love my female wife...
we sit around and wonder exactly why our marriage should feel threatened by gay marriage
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Comments

  • Brain of mJBrain of mJ Posts: 786
    I was always partial to pinball myself, but I remember dumping in quarter after quarter in the late 80s and early 90s at arcades: NBA Jam, TMNT, WWF Wrestlefest, Street Fighter II, Clutch Hitter, Final Fight and more. There was an arcade where I grew up where you could have birthday parties on Sunday morning before it opened up for the public. Basically you'd have 2 hours to run loose in the arcade with unlimited tokens. They'd give you 4 at a time, so you'd just play 2 and put 2 in your pocket and keep going back. So by the end you'd have 2 hours of fun and 2 more weeks of tokens saved up. Those were the best parties ever.
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    Ahhh yes, that's how I wasted most of 1981-1984.....Atari's Kangaroo was one of my favorites as was an off-brand game called Amidar. Rampage also kicked ass.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • TrixieCatTrixieCat Posts: 5,756
    Oh jeez yes.
    Developed many crushes in arcades. :o

    What was the name of that game with the Knights or something???
    Prince Valiant????
    I loved! this guy one summer who played that game.
    le sigh.....
    Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
    And I don't feel right when you're gone away
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    I loved Space Invaders, Pac Man, Asteroids, and Pheonix.

    Arcades were no place for crushes :p
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • LizardLizard So Cal Posts: 12,091
    TrixieCat wrote:
    Oh jeez yes.
    Developed many crushes in arcades. :o

    What was the name of that game with the Knights or something???
    Prince Valiant????
    I loved! this guy one summer who played that game.
    le sigh.....

    I fell in love with my hubby when he was playing DigDug!!! :p
    So I'll just lie down and wait for the dream
    Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me
  • TrixieCatTrixieCat Posts: 5,756
    jamie uk wrote:
    I loved Space Invaders, Pac Man, Asteroids, and Pheonix.

    Arcades were no place for crushes :p
    Speak for yourself.
    While you guys were busy playing, we were checking you out.

    Dig Dug????
    grr...that game drives me nuts!
    Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
    And I don't feel right when you're gone away
  • jamie ukjamie uk Posts: 3,812
    TrixieCat wrote:
    Speak for yourself.
    While you guys were busy playing, we were checking you out.

    Dig Dug????
    grr...that game drives me nuts!


    :o I'm not sure that ever happened where I lived :o

    Never heard of Dig Dug :confused:
    I came, I saw, I concurred.....
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    TrixieCat wrote:
    Speak for yourself.
    While you guys were busy playing, we were checking you out.


    true story...

    i rounded second base with a girl behind a mortal kombat video game we all rigged to play for free at a local bowling alley's arcade :p


    we were a bad bunch, we rigged all the games to play for free, we ran that place :cool:
  • itsevobabyitsevobaby Posts: 1,809
    afterburner!!
    Look Alive,
    See These Bones
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    spy hunter was AWESOME

    and i still love pac man :D
  • restlesssoulrestlesssoul Posts: 6,951
    duuuuuuuuuude POLE POSITION was the best when it came out, my dad and i played it so much in the 80s.

    and what about that one with four trucks going around the dirt track? and there were 4 steering wheels that 4 people could play on?


    i loved turtles II arcade and the x-men too.
    Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II, Vegas I+II '24
  • normnorm Posts: 31,146
    tempest!
  • bigbadbillbigbadbill Posts: 1,758
    Does anyone remember 720? I used to love playing that game. Of course the graphics weren't as sophisticated as Tony Hawk's games, but it was still cool to me back in 1987. What about Space Ace and Dragon's Layer?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNh4DtYBBpQ&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cin-w3ZKt2U&feature=related

    Space Ace

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTgs2oHdKj0

    Dragon's Lair

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6s7f7Lp4bk&feature=related
    11/6/95, 11/18/97, 7/13/98, 7/14/98, 10/24/00, 10/25/00, 10/28/00, 6/2/03, 6/3/03, 6/5/03, 7/6/06, 7/7/06, 7/9/06, 7/10/06, 7/13/06, 7/15/06, 7/16/06, 7/18/06, 10/21/06, 4/10/08, 4/13/08, 9/30/09, 10/1/09, 10/6/09, 10/7/09, 10/9/09
  • merkinballmerkinball Posts: 2,262
    cutback wrote:
    tempest!

    First game I thought of too! Spent a lot of quarters on Battlezone, Sinistar, Tron, and Robotron too. Mrs. Merkinball would add Galaga to the list.
    "You're no help," he told the lime. This was unfair. It was only a lime; there was nothing special about it at all. It was doing the best it could.

    http://www.last.fm/user/merkinball/
    spotify:user:merkinball
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    NBA Live... the 2-on-2 game that NEVER had Jordan on the Bulls for some reason
  • azwyldcatsazwyldcats Posts: 710
    Alladin's Castle, Iowa City, IA 1980. Ahhh memories of playing Journey's Escape, Food Fight, Tempest, Galaga and Tron.
    And I'm not living this life without you, I'm selfish and clear
    And you're not leaving here without me, I don't wanna be without
    My best... friend. Wake up, to see you could have it all
  • jasonwjasonw Posts: 424
    run and get your quarters in.......
  • Pearls&StonesPearls&Stones Posts: 585
    Brain of (M)J wrote:
    I was always partial to pinball myself


    I apologize for forgetting pinball. So many great pinball machines.

    I have to admit, I do get depressed when I go to the mall and the closest thing they have to an arcade is a Dance Dance Revolution machine, that Deal or No Deal Game, and a bunch of claw machines.
    I love my female wife...
    we sit around and wonder exactly why our marriage should feel threatened by gay marriage
  • SENROCKSENROCK Posts: 10,736
    Pearls&Stones wrote:
    Anyone else nostalgic for video arcades? A place to waste handfuls of quarters while our wives / girlfriends / mothers shopped at the mall. Sure you can find the old machines in a few places, but there hasn't been a new good game in eons, and full arcades are very scarce. Even if you go to a Dave and Busters (or some place like that), all the games are copyright 2001 or older.


    Some of my favorites: Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, NHL Open Ice 2 on 2, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, The Simpsons, Ninja Turtles, Tetris, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Tekken, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter.

    EDIT= almost forgot Double Dragon

    I used to spend SO much time playing Street Fighter while my chick frenz got their nails done nexxxt door and shopped. I LOVE playing Centepede!!!! Thats my game right there. Its rare to find these games anymore.
    ~~~~~~ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME~~~~~~
    Sir Mike McCready is....THE MASTER!!! WAHHH!!!
    EVENFLOW PSYCHOS H.N.I.C~FEEL THE FLOW!!!

    "Pearl Jam fans are obsessed, they'd see the boys in HELL if tickets were sold."-CROJAM95

    It takes balls to put out a UKE album!
  • South of SeattleSouth of Seattle West Seattle Posts: 10,724
    Tron
    Dragon's Lair
    Karate Champ
    NBA Jams
    Gauntlet

    The nickel arcades were the best. Except for in high school when they'd kick us out for smelling like contraband :D
    NERDS!
  • JasonTeckJasonTeck St. Louis, MO Posts: 179
    I used to spend a crazy amount of quarters back in the day. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Virtua Fighter, 720, Q-Bert, Golden Axe, Rampage....man those were the days!!!!

    Cool site to look through http://www.arcade-museum.com/
    1992 - Lollapalooza - St. Louis
    1994 - St. Louis
    1998 - St. Louis
    2000 - St. Louis
    2003 - St. Louis
    2007 - Lollapalooza - Chicago
    2008 - Eddie Vedder Solo - Chicago
    2010 - St. Louis
    2011 - Eddie Vedder Solo - St. Louis
    2014 - St. Louis
    2016 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
    2018 - Wrigley Field - Chicago
    2022 - St. Louis & Oklahoma City
    2023 - Chicago N1 & N2
  • LizardLizard So Cal Posts: 12,091
    SENROCK! wrote:
    I used to spend SO much time playing Street Fighter while my chick frenz got their nails done nexxxt door and shopped. I LOVE playing Centepede!!!! Thats my game right there. Its rare to find these games anymore.

    Dude!! The Gameworks by MGM in Vegas has a bunch of old school games in a backroom--including Centipede!!

    I liked Frogger too!
    So I'll just lie down and wait for the dream
    Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me
  • SENROCKSENROCK Posts: 10,736
    Lizard wrote:
    Dude!! The Gameworks by MGM in Vegas has a bunch of old school games in a backroom--including Centipede!!

    I liked Frogger too!

    REALLY?????? :eek: Theres a gameworks not too far from me. :eek: oh no......
    ~~~~~~ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME~~~~~~
    Sir Mike McCready is....THE MASTER!!! WAHHH!!!
    EVENFLOW PSYCHOS H.N.I.C~FEEL THE FLOW!!!

    "Pearl Jam fans are obsessed, they'd see the boys in HELL if tickets were sold."-CROJAM95

    It takes balls to put out a UKE album!
  • catefrancescatefrances Posts: 29,003
    oh i was such a fiend for galaga. sometimes id lose track of time and forget to go back to work. god i loved that game. still do, though its been a while. my brother used to get so pissed he could never beat me. actually now that i think of it, i was damn unbeatable. :D:D
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • pjoasisrulepjoasisrule Posts: 3,412
    LUCKY AND WILD...............no other game is worth mentioning compared to this one

    http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8462
    Alpine Valley 2000
    Summerfest 2006

    "Why would they come to our concert just to boo us?" -Lisa Simpson
  • Drowned OutDrowned Out Posts: 6,056
    JasonTeck wrote:
    I used to spend a crazy amount of quarters back in the day. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Virtua Fighter, 720, Q-Bert, Golden Axe, Rampage....man those were the days!!!!

    Cool site to look through http://www.arcade-museum.com/
    SKATE OR DIE!!!!
    That site is cool...

    Maybe someone here can help me remember the name of a game that is eluding me...drivin me nuts.
    ...probably mid-late 80's...it was a horizontal scrolling game, you played a kinda cyclops robot...you couldn't stop running, only slow down or speed up...jump over things, collect stuff. It was addictive as hell, and I haven't been able to remember the name for years.

    restlesssoul - I was trying to remember the name of that game too...was looking on that site above. think it was a spin-off for the game I put the most quarters in, hands down - Super Sprint. After that, probably Gauntlet.

    Adam's Family pinball in high school.

    I could geek out on this topic forever....Karate Champ!
    Anyone remember the Journey videogame? http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8242


    I've gotta get more familiar with the simulators. I managed to get one for Space Harrier working on my old PC a while back :cool:
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    azwyldcats wrote:
    Alladin's Castle, Iowa City, IA 1980. Ahhh memories of playing Journey's Escape, Food Fight, Tempest, Galaga and Tron.
    LOL...I almost forgot about the Journey video game...what a hoot!!!
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • PatrickBatemanPatrickBateman Posts: 2,243
    hell yeah
    Zaxxon, Pitfall, Jungle Hunt, Centipede, Tempest, Tron, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Time Pilot....
    If a man speaks in a forest and there is no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
  • rival.rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    so many memories with clutch hitter, simpsons, TMNT.
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    LMAO our Arcade was called Galaxy World! I bet I can beat all your arse's at Tempest still!!!! Anyone for Atari or PONG? lol I remember having pong when I was like 5 playing for hours... doh!
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