Mini Arcade Alert!

[NE146]

heh wow I kind of dig that LED Defender.. might just have to check that one out further.  

55 minutes ago, negative1 said:

numbskull galaxian:

 

 

Man I must be going crazy or something but are ALL the "standard" rom versions of Galaxian set at that hard difficulty? Or was that really the way that Galaxian arcade game was at launch in the states? 

 

That rom version (which I believe the arcade1up version uses also) has friggin three attacks within the first 6 seconds of gameplay (including the flagship formation!) with lots of bullets. The Galaxian I knew as a kid started out muuch more leisurely.

[simbalion]

I want that LED Defender myself. I was thinking it might be a copy of the old Entex unit, but it looks like they came up with a new design from scratch for this. Game play looks challenging and fun.

[wolfy62]

On 1/16/2020 at 11:48 AM, negative1 said:

Not a working game, but hallmark made a pac-man and donkey kong one,

this year, defender is out (clearance in some stores):

 

 

 

https://www.hallmark.com/ornaments/keepsake-ornaments/defender-ornament-with-light-and-sound-2299QXI3227.html

 

you can find it under $10 online most places.

 

later

-1

Thank you for the tip,I picked ut up at my local Hallmark for $6.!?

[Andromeda Stardust]

On 1/16/2020 at 10:49 PM, NE146 said:

heh wow I kind of dig that LED Defender.. might just have to check that one out further.  

Man I must be going crazy or something but are ALL the "standard" rom versions of Galaxian set at that hard difficulty? Or was that really the way that Galaxian arcade game was at launch in the states? 

 

That rom version (which I believe the arcade1up version uses also) has friggin three attacks within the first 6 seconds of gameplay (including the flagship formation!) with lots of bullets. The Galaxian I knew as a kid started out muuch more leisurely.

So, the roms are wrong? Galaxian is slower than Galaga so why is it so dang hard? Is this a dipswitch setting? The Arcade 1up version just kinda did it for me. if the Numskull is the hard rom, forget it.

[TrekkiELO]

10 hours ago, wolfy62 said:

Thank you for the tip,I picked ut up at my local Hallmark for $6.!?

Got mine online at Hallmark for $5.74, also bought some other ornaments on clearance as well! 

 

https://www.hallmark.com/ornaments/keepsake-ornaments/defender-ornament-with-light-and-sound-2299QXI3227.html

[Andromeda Stardust]

47 minutes ago, TrekkiELO said:

Got mine online at Hallmark for $5.74, also bought some other ornaments on clearance as well! 

 

https://www.hallmark.com/ornaments/keepsake-ornaments/defender-ornament-with-light-and-sound-2299QXI3227.html

I only bought the donkey kong ornament because nintendo won't license it. I'd kill for a donkey kong quarter arcade...

[NE146]

9 hours ago, Kosmic Stardust said:

So, the roms are wrong? Galaxian is slower than Galaga so why is it so dang hard? Is this a dipswitch setting? The Arcade 1up version just kinda did it for me. if the Numskull is the hard rom, forget it.

Dude fire up MAME and try out "Galaxiana.zip" attached. I've also attached the regular "Galaxian.zip" for comparison (and also because it's needed since the ROMS are split).

 

It's much more relaxed in the beginning where you have one single blue attack, then purple attack, then purple + flagship attack, all done individually.  "Galaxian.zip" on the other hand gets intense at much quicker pace where you're attacked by 3 formations right off the bat. 

 

I think it's a rom revision thing, rather than a dipswitch setting.  MAME has the "harder" version as their main "Galaxian.zip" (thus causing everyone to use it as their reference obviously).  I would have imagined the first revisions of the game were easier, then later they jacked up the difficulty. But the easier one IS the Galaxian I first played in the late 70's, so I don't know if they're wrong, or I'm wrong,

 

 

 

 

galaxiana.zip galaxian.zip

[WyzGyz Entertainment]

On 8/16/2016 at 8:26 PM, simbalion said:

I just picked this up at Toys R Us this evening. A Pac-Man mini arcade made by Basic Fun for $16.99. It's LCD, but has the actual sounds from the arcade and even has the chase game mode the Coleco mini arcades had. My only nitpicks are that I wish they made the Pac-Man in it a bit bigger, the joystick is a bit stiff, and you only start with two lives! Also, the ghosts flash when you eat a power pellet, making them hard to locate at times. Even so, this game has had me sweating a couple times already and it will school you pretty well. Just like the original, it seems hard to get past the second round! It uses two AA batteries and I placed a AA beside it in the picture for size reference.

 

Have you seen the other mini-Pac Man game? It retails for $19.99 and I think I've seen it at both Cracker Barrel and maybe even Tuesday Morning.  I think it's LCD and is the Pac Man sit down table version of it.  And it's actually playable.  Though it's not practical if you want to do any serious Pac Man gaming, I think it's appeal and draw and market is targeted to those who are into cute and Retro stuff, blast from the past stuff you grew up with as a kid.

[Andromeda Stardust]

5 hours ago, NE146 said:

Dude fire up MAME and try out "Galaxiana.zip" attached. I've also attached the regular "Galaxian.zip" for comparison (and also because it's needed since the ROMS are split).

 

It's much more relaxed in the beginning where you have one single blue attack, then purple attack, then purple + flagship attack, all done individually.  "Galaxian.zip" on the other hand gets intense at much quicker pace where you're attacked by 3 formations right off the bat. 

 

I think it's a rom revision thing, rather than a dipswitch setting.  MAME has the "harder" version as their main "Galaxian.zip" (thus causing everyone to use it as their reference obviously).  I would have imagined the first revisions of the game were easier, then later they jacked up the difficulty. But the easier one IS the Galaxian I first played in the late 70's, so I don't know if they're wrong, or I'm wrong,

galaxiana.zip 7.01 kB · 1 download galaxian.zip 10.08 kB · 1 download

I am aware of this fact. I am curious exactly how prevalent these "hard" mode cabinets actually were bitd. I am up for challenge, but the difficulty level on the 1up version turns me off.

 

All of the cabs since pacman have a dip switch settings menu baked into the emulator. It would be simple to put both rom versions in and label them as "normal" and "hard". I don't know how these machines were sourced. Does Namco provide the roms themselves or does the company who licenses the games source them from wherever? The My arcade versions of the nes roms definitely have modified title screens, ie 1984 Namco is replaced with 20xx NBEI or something of that nature.

3 hours ago, WyzGyz Entertainment said:

Have you seen the other mini-Pac Man game? It retails for $19.99 and I think I've seen it at both Cracker Barrel and maybe even Tuesday Morning.  I think it's LCD and is the Pac Man sit down table version of it.  And it's actually playable.  Though it's not practical if you want to do any serious Pac Man gaming, I think it's appeal and draw and market is targeted to those who are into cute and Retro stuff, blast from the past stuff you grew up with as a kid.

You quoted a post that is over 3 years old. The quality is hit or miss across miriads of devices randing from $10 to nearly $200, nes roms, arcade roms, arm ports, and backlit lcd overlays which emulate the vfd displays on the Coleco minis. The arm ports are mixed bag and run the gamut from excellent to awful.

 

The updated pacman segmented lcd one that uses the backlight and colored overlay from thevcoleco mini is cool for the nostalgia factor alone. I grew up with gsmes that had segmented displays do these games are cool and nostalgic for me. The colored backlights are easy on the eyes though they sample arcade sounds instead of vintage blips and beeps.

[negative1]

has anyone seen the Hallmark Galaga for a decent price, ($30 or under),

haven't found one around the price range yet.

 

later

-1

Edited January 19, 2020 by negative1

[Andromeda Stardust]

49 minutes ago, negative1 said:

has anyone seen the Hallmark Galaga for a decent price, ($30 or under),

haven't found one around the price range yet.

 

later

-1

How many halmark arcade ornaments are there? Are these in stores still?

 

Edit: the galaga ornament is from 2009. Collectors are gonna go nuts. They can have them at the going rate... ??

Edited January 19, 2020 by Kosmic Stardust

[+save2600]

Believe there's just the 4 Hallmark arcade ornaments so far. I have them all and here are the releases in order:

 

Pac-Man (painted my own t-molding on)

Galaga

Donkey Kong

Defender

 

...put them on the tree every year and they go back in their boxes when we finally take it down. Funny to see Galaga going for so much. Will gladly sell mine for $100 when the time comes.  ?

 

 

[NE146]

Oh god my Galaga ornament is totally abused and dusty. I think I got it for 10 bucks. 

[negative1]

Excellent price for the myarcade Namco Collection;  $70

 

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Arcade-Namco-Museum-Mini-Player-pc/dp/B07L3YYPZN/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+arcade+namco&qid=1579464355&sr=8-1

 

Target

https://www.target.com/p/my-arcade-namco-museum-mini-player-retro-arcade/-/A-76474749

 

If you like Namco games, and some genesis ones, this is the best portable unit to get so far,

even with all its flaws.

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

10 hours ago, save2600 said:

Believe there's just the 4 Hallmark arcade ornaments so far. I have them all and here are the releases in order:

 

Pac-Man (painted my own t-molding on)

Galaga

Donkey Kong

Defender

Thanks. The older ones will get rarer eventually. Especially considering the release date predates the whole "mini arcade" collecting fad, a lot of people collecting mini arcade games will want those.

 

I have Pacman, Ms Pacman, from quarter arcades, and Galaga on the way.

 

The Donkey Kong was a special case because I know hell will freeze over before Nintendo licenses Donkey Kong. I'd kill for a Quarter Arcade Donkey Kong (with option menu for US / Jap stage order) but until then, I can play to my heart's content on the switch. I'd love if someone fabricated a labo style mini arcade with a donkey kong marquee and joycon control.

 

**********

 

Also I picked up Spy Hunter today at Walmart and put a deposit on a 1up TMNT cab. In store pickup tomorrow. I'm hoping they got one in the back because it ain't on the shelf. Birthday present to myself.

 

The Spy Hunters are on the toy isle, $20. Someone said they were hard to find, I guess their just trickling in. I had no idea it was a racing game...?

Edited January 20, 2020 by Kosmic Stardust

[BitMerge6502]

Sorry if this information is posted elsewhere, but does anyone have the most recent numbered list of Basic Fun Arcade Classics? How many have been made to date total, & what titles? 

[negative1]

58 minutes ago, BitMerge6502 said:

Sorry if this information is posted elsewhere, but does anyone have the most recent numbered list of Basic Fun Arcade Classics? How many have been made to date total, & what titles? 

Watch one of Glen Planimentos videos on youtube. Like the recent one for defender, he goes through them.

later

-1

[King_Salamon]

1 hour ago, BitMerge6502 said:

Sorry if this information is posted elsewhere, but does anyone have the most recent numbered list of Basic Fun Arcade Classics? How many have been made to date total, & what titles? 

1 - Pac-man

2 - Space Invaders

3 - Centipede

4 - QBert

5 - Frogger (or is this #6?)

6 - Asteroids (or is this #5?)

7 - Pac-Man (similar to #1 but with 4 colours I believe)

8 - Joust

9 - Galaga

10 - Rampage

11 - Ms Pac Man

12 - Fix It Felix Jr

13 - Dig Dug

14 - Pac-Man (now an actual rom style game)

15 - Mortal Kombat

16 - Spy Hunter

17 - Defender

 

More than likely we will see another two games released in the summer... August/September is my guess.  As for the titles?  I think we may know in the next month after Toy Fair.

[Tanooki]

Spy Hunter and Defender are definitely now trickling in.  I tried a couple Walmarts and the 2nd had a few Spy Hunter's so I grabbed one.  I get the weapon setup is a bit different, but it doesn't bother me given they counter balance it by having the big cars not bulletproof and the chopper only sticks around to toss one bomb instead of repeating.  It's tricky but fair.  I got like 32-33K on my first try, not so nice the second time around.  It's compromised but not horribly so as it's still amusing.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I distinctly remember as well some of the games had multiple versions, ie a centipede with segments and one with graphics. Ditto for he aforementioned pacman. I still kinda want to get all the segment displays, dumb as that sounds.

 

And I am pretty much done with the tiny arcades. Basic fun and my arcade are both better quality games for like a few dollars more.

 

And now they got the quarter arcades vs the 1up bartops which are cheaper but inferior quality. My head is spinning. I have spent too much already. I got a tmnt cab waiting to pick up at walmart so I can set it up in my studio.

 

I am such an addict... ??‍♀️

[Tanooki]

Well I was basically the same, done, wasn't going to pay those prices for an one off I'd rarely but ever use and that was like what about 2 years ago now?  I told off all my Tinys but 1 (the 3 in1) and like 8+ of those Basic Fun ones too.  The only exception I ever made was Rampage since it made the game full over the NES, and Spy Hunter because of how they designed it I enjoy it even if it's a bit off with one weapon only at a time.  Since then I was gifted the Tiny Tetris at Christmas, but I had no intention of grabbing it for anywhere near retail.  I was annoyed when they did that skimpy arcade BF/MA sized wannabe VFD Tetris as it's not very good, speed caps low, and easy to top the score but had that gone LCD I'd have been all over it.

 

Strangely I as I said have a few of the BF units again, but I don't mind a $5 or less thrift grab for a shelf rat.  I'm just not going to actively hunt them as it gets overkill and expensive.  I am struggling with it.  I really really want that modern BF Ms Pac-Man as it's fantastic and with that license in like trouble currently with ATGames playing games with that license you never know.

 

The only one I admit a splurge on was the Neo Geo, but even that was $70 off ($50) and I do use it so it made more sense given the library as it's not a one off.

 

[negative1]

I will never stop buying, mini, micro or mid sized units as long as they are titles I like.

 

I would love to see sinistar, robotron, marble madness, arkanoid, and more if they would

ever come out.

 

Of course, I would wait for them to go on sale, no point in pre-orders, or picking them up at retail price.

 

later

-1

[negative1]

Mini pinball:

 

 

 

later

-1

[Andromeda Stardust]

7 hours ago, Tanooki said:

 

Strangely I as I said have a few of the BF units again, but I don't mind a $5 or less thrift grab for a shelf rat.  I'm just not going to actively hunt them as it gets overkill and expensive.  I am struggling with it.  I really really want that modern BF Ms Pac-Man as it's fantastic and with that license in like trouble currently with ATGames playing games with that license you never know.

 

GCC did the arcade coded version of Ms Oacman. The ports are namco owned I believe, why they stick the nes version into everything.

 

Iirc, GCC gets royalty on every device that used the arcade code, but the nes namco port is exempt? Namco owns the characters, but gcc the code to the rom. This licensing situation only applies to the arcade rom.

 

GCC also programmed the syperior nes tengen port of ms pacman i believe. Surprise surprise, you can't get the tegngen version at all.

 

I am positive atganes will botch u whatever device they throw the rom on now that they haveexxlusive rights to it.

 

Get the quarter arcade ms pacman while you can...

[Tanooki]

I saw that American Girl pinball machine I think last year at the shop down in TN, also they had this bowling alley and it's big, quite big, and fully functional with a counter and everything for 2 bowlers.  Given the price, vs the toy store models you get elsewhere and the totally crappier quality, the AG one is worth the dough if you want a mini bowling alley or pinball at home.