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[Taco_Human]

I went to Salem Willows Park earlier this week in MA with some family, and they have an arcade there. I haven't been there in a few years, and I was looking forward to playing the Beachhead arcade game they had there. Showed up there and it was gone. Turned itself into the normal gambling thing they do at kids places like chuck e cheese. Play for tickets. Arcade machines of mobile games.

I did find a small goldmine after my disappointment. This place still has some classic Namco machines. They had Pac-Man, Mrs Pacman, Galaxian, Galaga, Centipede. The usual famous ones, but they also had the Simpsons and the TMNT arcade game.

But what blew my mind was the Asteroids machine. Copyright 1979 it said. The splash screen burned into that screen. 4 buttons to play. It may not mean much but to me it was a sight to see. Of course I played it. What made me sad was that there was no high scores saved in it. Could be too old to save, or could have been reset lately. I don't know, but it felt really good to play. (did these arcade games use CRTs?) it felt really cool to me how the bullets you shot lit up on the screen. The music sounded like out of space invaders.

Such simplicity, I wish I owned a arcade cabinet.

Yeah, I don't know what else to say except I miss old arcades. Just felt like sharing. I should have taken a picture of it. I wish I knew a place with more classics nearby my.

 

[Timeless]

Asteroids arcade cabinets are nice. My childhood friend had one, and I've seen one in two other arcades. It's definitely true that all the ports of Asteroids don't look the same as the real thing.

 

[Hayama Akito]

Asteroids will be always awesome. My favorite pre-1980 videogame is Super Speed Race V by Taito.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I loved Asteroid as a kid. It must be years since I last played it

 

[Orayn]

Old arcade games really are the best. One of my friends is in the process of refurbishing a cocktail cab of Space Firebird, a 1980 arcade game made by Nintendo before they were famous for their other work.

There's a certain sense of reverence attached to having a playable piece of history, especially one that wasn't actually produced in huge numbers like modern cartridges and discs.

 

[Zenner]

4 buttons to play.

Space Invaders commonly had all buttons, too. I never got the knack of using buttons, instead of a joystick, on those machines. Clumsy left hand, or something.

 

[Boogdud]

We have one at our local arcade bar. One of the best games ever.

I still have the high score last I checked. 😜

It's also balls hard like most old quarter munchers. Seek defender for some punishment as well.

 

[SoldierIce64]

I used to have an Asteroids cabinet in the back of my house when I was a kid. My parents would reward my good behavior and grades with leftover pennies to use to play the arcade machine. Later on, my dad taught me how to access the coin panel and flick this little metal wire in order to trick the machine into giving me credits for the game. Good times.

 

[fred]

I really miss those days. When I was a kid the arcade on Broadstairs sea front in Kent had Asteroids and Space Invaders (the 'colour' version with different coloured see through plastic stuck on the screen so that the black and white invaders changed colour as they moved down the screen lol). They also had what has to be the best kid's ride that's ever been created - a Dalek you could sit in and move the plunger and gun around with a button that made it shout 'EXTERMINATE!!!'.

I would sell my soul to Santa to own one of those Dalek machines. :Oo

 

[DustyVonEric]

Man, used to love the Willows. It used to turn into punk central at night, but the arcade and the food there (dat pepper steak sandwich) always brought back sweet childhood memories

My friends and I camped the Gauntlet, Dragon's Lair, X-men, and Ms Pacman machines.

 

[quetz67]

Yeah, REAL vector graphics, something most of us have never seen.

 

[Mascot]

Surely Asteroids should have five buttons?
Rotate left, rotate right, thrust, fire, and hyperspace.

Btw: best arcade game ever. Perfect controls and those vector graphics haven't aged a day.

 

[Krejlooc]

I hate the wing style push buttons of the 70's and early 80's. They feel so flimsy and loose. I much prefer the mechanical microswitches of modern arcade machines.

 

[fernoca]

I had the honor of playing it during the 80s.

 

[DustyVonEric]

4 buttons to play.

Space Invaders commonly had all buttons, too. I never got the knack of using buttons, instead of a joystick, on those machines. Clumsy left hand, or something.

For me, I really, really miss trackballs. I am terrible playing Breakout/Arkanoid type games without one. It's the same as playing Ms. Pacman with an analog stick or directional buttons for me. I can't cut it; I need a arcade stick.

 

[blu]

Vector displays, where the electron beam does not scan the display in a raster, but actually connects dots on the screen. Back in the day we all imagined future 3D would all employ that tech.. Little did we know.

 

[ReBurn]

I bet it was boring.

 

[Mascot]

I bet it was boring.

Boooo! Gtfo.

 

[jaypah]

I want a Nintendo Arm Wrestling cab so bad. It just looks so dope and the game is so original. Were those cabs physically the same as Punch-Out!! ?

 

[Agent X]

Asteroids is another game that has truly endured the test of time. I had played it many times over the last three decades, and the 2600 version was one of the very first video games that I ever owned.

About two month ago, I visited an arcade in Red Bank, NJ called YESTERcades which had this game, among many others. Of course, I managed to get in a couple of games of Asteroids while I was there.

 

[7DollarHagane]

I played a real asteroids cab for the first time a few years ago and it really impressed me how bright and brilliant the vector monitor was for everything on the screen.

It really is something you can't recreate on anything else. Its like each line is so clear and bright that you almost have to squint at it.

 

[megalowho]

Asteroids looks lovely in its natural element and the gameplay is simple perfection. Vector monitors are still really pleasing to the eye. If you can find a Space Duel machine definitely try that as well, I think I like it more than the original.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Speaking of arcades, California Extreme 2014 is this weekend!

 

[nicoga3000]

I have a pinball machine, but I intend to own an arcade machine at some point. There's something awesome about cabinets that console games just can't capture.

 

[clem84]

Like this one?

Played a bunch on these. Last time I played one of them was probably like 30 some years ago.