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[Evil Calvin]

I'm pretty old and grew up in NYC, and got to experience the arcade era from start to finish. Broadway, Coney Island, Chinatown... Manhattan, Brooklyn... an endless sea of arcades... I got to be there.

I have so many memories, but in general I have all these wonderful images and sensations of what arcades were like back then. There was this visceral grittiness, an almost magical smell that wasn't really a smell, bright neon glow colors eminating out of blackness, and the sounds, the sounds. Some, but not all, were very dark and felt like being in some forbidden cave in a fantasy world, and for quite a few years there was always something new and different around the corner.

I was really lucky to have been a kid back then.

Me too. Magic Castle......(I think they were called). was amazing............. totally full of bleeps and bloops.....you could instantly tell what games were there as soon as you walked in the arcade based on the sounds. The lights were crazy. It WAS magical. I grew up during that 1978-1983 golden age when I was the perfect age (10-14). Great times! That era also ushered in the home console wars of Atari vs Intellivision too.

 

[PsyEd]

TMNT...damn hearing the intro music made me look for quarter's. Never spent so much money on one single game....until TMNT2 came out. Nothing better than showing off to your friends how far in the game you can go with one credit....miss those days.

 

[Kazza]

Speaking of arcade memories, here's a great video from iRetrogamer. It contains all the things you remember from late 80s/early 90s arcades, such as:

4 Player Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Two Crude Dudes
80s mullets
Aliens
Dying at the final boss, running over to your mum/dad begging for another coin, then rushing back to the machine, only to realise that the 10 second timer had already counted down to zero
90s curtains
The beautiful cacophony of multiple machines playing at the same time



It's a shame iRetrogamer completely nuked his channel. He had so much cool content from the 80s and 90s (all filmed by his father).

 

[Bigrx1]

*sigh* reading this makes me feel that we've lost something, the magic, the noise, the lights, the crowds, Twitch isn't quite the same is it...

Totally true, nothing is the same. I haven't even played fighting games in a decade or more because I just don't get anything out of it like I used to at the arcades. It was the mix of in person competition, social atmosphere, joy and rowdiness at times that just all contributed to it. And it was kind of like an event going to do something, plus yes the noise and lights too.

 

[Bigrx1]

All the fights that used to break out at them. Those were great.

Getting threatened by someone 20 years older than you for beating them at Tekken 1 was hilarious looking back.

Or the certain arcades downtown you didn't want to go to because of gang members hanging out there and reports of stabbings.

Good times!

Holy shit this totally brings back a memory I had forgotten lol! Also when I was 15 one of the times at the arcade some boyfriend was playing MK1 against the computer and I just went and put my quarter in to fight him and hi instantly started yelling at me for doing so even before we started the match. His girlfriend was with him and she was hot -he was some buff dude. Anyway I was pretty scared to be honest but I won the first round and he was throwing a fit so I lost the second round on purpose and planned on losing the third too because I was scared he would beat me up lol. But I said fuck it and just handed it to him in the 3rd with fatality and all. OMG it's funny to think back on it - his gf literally was pulling him away as he was threatening me and then they left. hahahaha

 

[#Phonepunk#]

there was a cool arcade at Orlando, Florida Disney World in the early 90s. we went there around '93 or so and played TMNT and all the classics. i believe it was called "penny arcade" or something, tho the games cost the usual 25 cents.

 

[AgentP]

 

[TwiztidElf]

I pity young people who will likely never get to experience it.
My last time playing this properly was in 1996 at Blackpool.
Apparently Mikado still have it. I hope it's still there next year when I go there.

 

[Gander]

This girl with this cute face and ridiculous body that worked at my local arcade. I swear I was going sometimes just to see her.

 

[Berserking Guts]

Wasting my summer holiday back in '99 playing Time Crisis and Aliens vs Predator.

 

[Garnox]

Wouldn't say "best" as it wasn't really a great experience, but more so my earliest experience.

I was 7 and played Samurai Shodown 2 at a pizza place. I ran out of time on the character select screen and played Genan. My opponent was Earthquake and I got rocked.

My best experience, I really enjoyed playing MvC2 with my bud at Arcade UFO in Austin.

 

[Gander]

Wouldn't say "best" as it wasn't really a great experience, but more so my earliest experience.

I was 7 and played Samurai Showdown 2 at a pizza place. I ran out of time on the character select screen and played Gen. My opponent was Earthquake and I got rocked.

My best experience, I really enjoyed playing MvC2 with my bud at Arcade UFO in Austin.

SS2 was my favorite fighter for long time.

 

[Beerman462]

Best, but also kind of depressing.

I think it was a Jr High dance. I grew up in a small town, with a graduating class of 40. We had a gas station that would have a rotation of two arcade machines. After 30 minutes of the dance I went to the gas station to get a drink.(soda). I got probably $5 in quarters and started playing Ninja Gaiden Arcade. I had played it before and loved it. The grab button at the top of the joystick was awesome. So, I start playing and my best friend walks in and joins me. We kept pumping in quarters until we beat it. It was pretty good, just not "insert lewd Jr dance joke here"

 

[CaseyTappy]

So many, Space harrier the Luxe cab , Outrun, 6 Final Lap machines linked together pvp but also classics like Centipede, Donkey Kong, Arkanoid, Galaga etc.
And then about ten years ago I bought two candy cabs, found out about Japanese Shmups so ended up with a nice collection of PCB's that where still relatively cheap at the time .