Now that's how to play classic games

I remember about 15 years ago, Nottingham indie cinema Broadway putting the PlayStation version of Tekken 2 on their big screen, but this (posted by one of my favourite websites, GamesYouLoved.com, on their Facebook page) is something else. This is the Super Nintendo version of Street Fighter 2 (probably the best conversion of the classic arcade game at the time) and the original Super Mario Bros playing on the IMAX screen at BFI in London. Absolutely incredible stuff.

MTW

Happy New Year 2013

Happy New Year coin-op junkies. Hopefully you've all had a good break and the opportunity to play the odd classic or two. This has been the first Christmas for years that I've had to work and although I had the new year off it is also my daughter's birthday, so between the two events my time is well and truly allocated. In fact, we only came back from visiting the in-laws in Scotland a few hours ago.

So what have I got lined up for Arcade Throwback in 2013? Well, I'm expecting it to be a bit of a slower year, as I don't have as much free time in my new job as I used to. As such, I'm replacing the last year's Boss Fight feature with a series of Top 10 favourites from each genre, as a way of quickly talking about some of my favourite games that I've missed over the passed 2½ years. That starts on the 15th. Of course I'll still be doing Classic of the Month, the first of which will appear in about half an hour (give this post a little while to get noticed), along with odd scraps of news and anything else I think might interest my fellow arcade throwbacks.

MTW

Arcade ambience

One of the things I love about Microsoft's forlorn Game Room service is the background sounds of other games being played.  It effectively recreates the buzzing, beeping ambience of an arcade that was such an evocative part of the experience - even if you didn't notice it at the time.

During this week's Giant Bomb podcast, the guys mentioned a website containing downloadable MP3s of arcade ambience.  Rather than just going for a generic mash up of games, the creator Andy Hofle, has chosen four years and used the sounds of classic games from those eras.  Each recording is about an hour long and was done using MAME.  The games you'll hear are as follows:

1981

Asteroids, Astroblaster, Berzerk, Centipede, Crazy Climber, Crushroller, Defender, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Galaga, Galaxian, Gorf, Missile Command, Moon Cresta, Mousetrap, Ms Pacman, Omegarace, Pacman, Phoenix, Qix, Rally X, Scramble, Space Invaders, Spectar, Tempest, Venture, Wizard Of War.

1983

Bagman, Bump n Jump, Burgertime, Congo Bongo, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong 3, Donkey Kong Jr, Elevator Action, Food Fight, Galaga, Gyruss, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Kangaroo, Mappy, Mario Bros, Millipede, Moon Patrol, Mr Do, Ms Pacman, Pengo, Pleiads, Pole Position, QBert, Robotron, Sinistar, Stargate, Star Trek, Tapper, Time Pilot, Track & Field, Tron, Xevious, Zaxxon, Zoo Keeper

1986

Arkanoid, Bank Panic, Bubble Bobble, Commando, Excite Bike, Flicky, Galaga 3 (Gaplus), Galaga, Gauntlet, Ghosts N Goblins, Gunsmoke, Hat Trick, Hogan's Alley, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jail Break, Kid Niki, Mag Max, Marble Madness, Ms Pacman, Pacland, Paperboy, Punch Out, Rampage, Road Fighter, Russian Attack, Sky Kid, Spelunker, Super Sprint, Star Wars, Tiger Heli, Time Pilot 84, Two Tigers.

1992

Altered Beast, Arkanoid, Cyberball 2072, Galaga, Golden Axe, Klax, Neo Geo (Magician Lord, Baseball Stars Professional, Nam 1975), Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pacman, Raiden, Roadblasters, Street Fighter 2, Smash TV, Tetris, TMNT, Toobin, Xybots. Pins: Black Knight 2000, Elvira, Fun House, Whirlwind.

I have to say, I think he nailed them all and chose some great years for coin-op games.  Even if you don't like all of the games used, there's no denying you have probably heard them playing in an arcade at some point during your childhood. Sadly, the website hasn't been updated for nearly 3 years and some of the mirrors no longer work, so if you want to have a listen, I suggest you do so pronto.

http://arcade.hofle.com/

MTW

Hello 2012

Hello and welcome to Arcade Throwback 2012 Edition.  I hope you've all had a good Christmas and New Year and you're ready to face the next 12 months. And yes, I know it's the 2nd, but my daughter's birthday is on the 1st of January, so you're never going to see a post that day, so tough.

Over the next twelve months I hope to keep up the snippets of arcade news I've been posting, as well as my features I introduced last year.  But wait, there's more, I some new have ideas for 2012, including a look at games that spawned new genres and a new regular feature about famous, interesting or downright bizarre boss fights (inspired by last month's glossary entry about bosses).  Hopefully I'll have time for everything.

Oh, and Happy New Year.

MTW

In the year 20XX

Happy New Year fellow arcade throwbacks and coin-up cohorts, welcome to 2011, a year which-according to pretty much every sci-fi book and film--is THE FUTURE!  However, in games, another year is frequently quoted as being the future and that is 20XX.  Now I'm not exactly sure when 20XX takes place, other than some time between now and 2100, but what I do know is some of the things arcade games have taught me to expect:

According to Irem's vertically scrolling shmup Image Fight, in the year 20XX the moon will explode into four massive meteors, destroying the military bases on it.  This vile act will be perpatrated by aliens from the Boondoggle Galaxy. The bastards!

And it isn't just arcade games.  Perhaps the most famous game set in 20XX is Capcom's Mega Man, but more recently retro platformer Super Meat Boy is also set in that same year.  As fun as these games can be, I'm still a little worried about what it will mean for the average Joe on the street.  From exploding moons to foetuses in giant robot suits, it really doesn't look good.

But that's not going to stop Arcade Throwback from rabbiting on about old coin-op games.  For the new year I want to do more features and more monthly posts, including a new glossary of arcade terms and a look at sequels that somehow slipped under the radar.  All this and more, right here on Aaaarcade Throwback!

MTW

50 Greatest Arcade Cabinets

Whilst idly browsing the internet tonight, I came across this article on I-Mockery from a couple of years ago. Every fan site likes to do compilation of their favourite things, but I-Mockery takes that to an impressive level with their compendium of the 50 greatest arcade cabinets of all time.

The article includes photos of all 50 machines, which although small, do give you a sneak peak of the wonderful designs of both the side art and the mechanical aspects of the machines.

While I think there are a few glaring omissions (no Space Harrier or G-Loc 360) and I'm not sure about number 1, it is a great reminder of what made arcade machines so special. They weren't just games, we had games on our Commodore 64s and Sega Master Systems, they were tailor-made, mechanical works of art.

Check out the full article here: http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/50arcadecabinets

MTW

Michael Jackson's arcade

We all have fantasies about what we would spend out money on if we were multi-millionaires.  Super cars, mansions and luxury yachts are par for the course and sure, that stuff would all be great, but one dream I've had since I was a kid was to have my own arcade.  The machines I would put in it have changed over the years, but long-term favourites such as Street Fighter, R-Type, Gradius, Sega Rally and Space Harrier have always been high on the list.  And it seems I am not alone; the late king of pop, Michael Jackson, owned such an arcade.  Now you can say what you like about his personal life, but his private arcade was truly the stuff of dreams, as this incredible virtual tour demonstrates:

http://pinsane2.com/pinorama/events/MJ_09/kr/michael_jackson_arcade_entry.html

MTW

Arcade Throwback reviews

I've been thinking, 'What's a games website without reviews?' So with that in mind, I want to write the occasional review for Arcade Throwback. The trouble is, new arcade machines are few and far between, so I will need to review things like ports, remakes and any other new, arcade-related games I encounter.

It's common for review sites to put a score at the bottom, but I think that's pretty much meaningless, so inside I'll end my reviews with two bullet point lists, one for the highs and one for the lows.

Look out for upcoming reviews under the http://arcadethrowback.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Reviews label.

MTW

Welcome to the Arcade Throwback blog

These days games are everywhere, from the Nintendo Wii becoming the must have console of the last decade to Angry Birds on smartphones in people's pockets. However, not so long ago, if you wanted to play the best games around you had to go to an arcade. Sadly, arcades are a rare sight now. Even seaside resorts have surprisingly few games and the ones left tend to be decade-old Dance Dance Revolution, Time Crisis and Daytona USA machines.  

I'm sure many of you are thinking, Why do you care? Why play Commando when you can play Call of Duty? Well, just think back, the big screens, graphics and sound that were years ahead of home computers and consoles, the custom cabinets, often with custom controls, the neon lighting and the sound of dozens of other machines bring played around you, getting your initials on a high score for all other patrons to see (not that my initials, MTW, appeared at the top very often), going to an arcade was an event and put simply I miss it, mourn it even. If that sounds dramatic, think about this: how would you feel if there were no more concerts or cinema? It does not matter how good your home music system or home theatre is, it just is not the same and if you enjoy going to concerts and the cinema, you'd mourn their end too.

So Arcade Throwback is a blog about those lost, classic arcade games, from the early 8-bit days to the beginning of polygonal graphics. Games like Space Invaders, Galaxians, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, Paper Boy, R-Type, Gradius, Wonder Boy, Gryzor, New Zealand Story, Final Fight, King of Fighters, Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, Tekken, Twilight Zone pinball and many, many more. This isn't a review site, just a place to talk about what made those coin-op games so memorable and celebrating the origin of our beloved hobby.

MTW