Favorite arcade of all-time

[AtticGamer]

Street Fighter 2 Champion Editon

Ms.Pac Man

Galaga

Elevator Action

Joust

Defender

Phoenix

Pac Man

Avp

Aliens.

[Vic George 2K3]

Nothing beats Friday and Saturday nights at the Cheap Skates/Chateau Complex rollerskating rink at Swansea, MA for videogaming entertainment in the early 1980s. With a variety of games that would get switched around now and then, including some unique clones of popular games like Galaxian, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong, plus some real sleepers and rarities, that got me all juiced up and ready to go. The only downside was that my weekly allowance at St. Vincent's Home in Fall River, MA was $1 -- and I used to get up to $3 during my last years being at Our Lady Of Providence in West Springfield, MA. So I spent most of my time looking at other people play their games while I wasn't rollerskating.

 

My second favorite place was the arcade in Providence, RI that was a few streets across from the old Bonanza Bus Line terminal (next to the Providence Civic Center). That also had a rotating selection of games which included some rarities and sleepers. Of course, near there was where I got mugged by someone who stole one of my bags that contained, of all things, a $50 Tron portable game that I just got as a Christmas present in 1982. Oh well...

[sportznutt38]

I always liked The Mr Do games and somedat hope to own one . I have the game for my atari but it doesn't do it justice

[HyperspaceArcade.com]

Me thinks some people don't understand the question. It wasn't "What is your favorite arcade game?" it was "What was your favorite arcade?" as in those places that used to exist everywhere that had games in them.

 

Prime example of why I don't like people calling arcade games "arcades"... it just confuses people...heh.

 

The one I miss the most was the Electric Cowboy Casino, a place in Garland, TX. So many of my all time favorites were in there. I also miss the old Aladdins Castle at Town East Mall in Mesquite, TX... the one that was so controversial in the early 80s that the SUPREME COURT actually had to step in and say they were allowed to operate (the city didn't want anyone under 18 playing video games in 1982...haha)

[Happy_Dude]

there where never realy arcades in my home town.

the closest machine was a Galaga standup and Football cocktail at the local pub

the galaga was in the front section but you had to slip into the drinking area to play football

(which wasn't worth it anyway)

 

Man I'v probably mentioned that galaga a million times on this forum

 

My fave arcade was actually a roller-skating place. They always had a small wall of games

and you could skate there when your joystick hand got sore.... bonus

I remember them having SF2:CE, MK1 (and later MK2) and T2 cabs.

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

I know there's a thread that has current arcades with classic games, but where was your favorite arcade of all time? Living in Long Island, NY, I'm about a 1 hour trainride from NYC. Inside the famous Pennsylvania (Penn) Station, there used to be 2 arcades. One I only saw once, as I was 13 and Pop wouldn't let me stop in, but through the glass windows was 6 Space Invaders games. You may wonder why it made such an impression in 1981 as SI was 4 years old. These six games were UPSIDE DOWN! They were on also, so it looked really cool. The other arcade, which is my favorite of all time, was called "Station Break". Mr friends and I, on every couple of Saturdays, would hop the train and go drop some quarters on the great old games. It's where I first saw Dragon's Lair, with an extra TV on top for people who didn't have the room to huddle around the cabinet. I had the high scores on Jungle King and Q*bert for the longest time. Sadly, it denegrated into a hole with no lights and seedy clientele. Much fun playing Punisher and someone interupting the game asking if I needed to be "hooked up". It finally closed some years ago and turned into a K-mart. There are two somewhat big arcades in NYC now, but they're littered with DDR games, so no fun.

 

sounds like you and me hung out in the same arcades! Im an hour from NYC and from long island. I used to hang out in the Sunrise mall TIME OUT so much that they actually gave me a job there when I was old enough!

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

I rememeber the first arcade that popped up in my town. it was a small, shady kind of a place. I think this was back in 1982-83. I mean, it was so shady that it had the neighborhood drug dealer hanging out in the back selling weed!

 

then, the bigger arcades popped up. 2 in the sunrise mall then a smaller one across the street in the flea market.

 

TIME OUT in the mall had all the latest games while GALAXY arcade had the oldies but goodies, it would give you an extra token for every dollar you got change for.

[CARTRIDGE STEALER]

Me thinks some people don't understand the question. It wasn't "What is your favorite arcade game?" it was "What was your favorite arcade?" as in those places that used to exist everywhere that had games in them.

 

Prime example of why I don't like people calling arcade games "arcades"... it just confuses people...heh.

 

The one I miss the most was the Electric Cowboy Casino, a place in Garland, TX. So many of my all time favorites were in there. I also miss the old Aladdins Castle at Town East Mall in Mesquite, TX... the one that was so controversial in the early 80s that the SUPREME COURT actually had to step in and say they were allowed to operate (the city didn't want anyone under 18 playing video games in 1982...haha)

 

 

well, everyone called them "arcade games". dont you remember the old atari and coleco commercials?

[[d2f]Iggy*SJB]

It wasn't called an "arcade", per say....it was a combination arcade/pool hall.

 

It was called, "Odyssey Game Center". I pretty much lived there in '82-84. It was owned by my then best friend's parents. I still have a mint-condition t-shirt from the place. I also have pictures that I took of it after it burned down. It's where I got my Lunar Lander and Paddle Battle machines from. I almost got my hands on Stargate, Donkey Kong, and Super Pac-Man.....but they changed their minds about them. The got rid of them a few years ago....which I found out about WAY too late. I wish I had known they were shit-canning them. They looked like hell(they were actually burned badly), but they still worked.

 

Just for the hell of it, I'll mention another place. Across the shopping center from Odyssey, was a pizza shop called "Loppo's". They always had one or two games in there. Among my favorites from there, were Skramble, Time Pilot, Battle Zone, and Rally-X.

 

Obviously, having burned down 22 years ago, Odyssey is no longer there...and I was devastated when the pizza shop changed hands(due to death of the owner). No other pizza place around here has ever come close to the quality they had.

 

*SIGH*

[lhfreak]

DETOUR FUN CENTER -- El Paso, TX circa '81-'83.....lots o $$$$$ obliterated there...