Taito HEY Arcade in Akihabara: Shmup Paradise

[cj iwakura]

Thought you all might enjoy.

Wall to WALL rarities, including massive Darius Burst CS and classic Darius cabinets.







They love their fish:



I didn't play much, but let's just say the skill leve of the average player there is terrifying.

Some bonus rare stuff I saw:





I bought SnS1 on sight:


And its artbook:



A must-visit if you're ever in Tokyo. No other arcade came close to that level of classic. They also had a huge beat'em'up section with Aliens VS Predator, Splatterhouse, Final Fight, D&D Tower of Doom, etc.

[MarioNintendo]

Jesus. It's like the Japan of my dreams!

[The Armchair General]

The forum guide rules say you cannot upload porn onto this forum.

[trap15]

Saidaioujou on PCB with headphones must be the most miserable experience ever conceived.

[boagman]

Thought you all might enjoy.

Wall to WALL rarities, including massive Darius Burst CS...

Darius Burst Chronicle Saviours is out in arcades? I thought Another Chronicle and its EXs was the last arcade release for the DB series.

[MintyTheCat]

Looks like the Shmup dream, brothers. I would spend a lot of time there.

[cj iwakura]

Thought you all might enjoy.

Wall to WALL rarities, including massive Darius Burst CS...

Darius Burst Chronicle Saviours is out in arcades? I thought Another Chronicle and its EXs was the last arcade release for the DB series.

Oh yeah... maybe I have them mixed up. (I'm sure I do)

I'll share images of that cabinet once I sort out the pictures.

[SMC]

If I had something like that here I'd never leave. I'd just live there.

[AxelMill]

Could anyone tell me the name of the closest shmup to the camera in the second image? The one with the huge "laser".

[trap15]

That's Progear, it looks like a laser because camera.

[KAI]

Not even a single milestone cab
Beatiful pics tho.

[AxelMill]

That's Progear, it looks like a laser because camera.

Oh, right, that's the stage 2 boss. Too bad. I hoped it was some 'new' amazing hori.

[Softdrink 117]

Not even a single milestone cab
Beatiful pics tho.

When I was there a couple weeks ago they had Karous and Radirgy on cab, if I remember correctly. Would be surprised if they weren't still there.

And yes, good shots cj! I thought photography wasn't allowed or I would have taken a few during my own trip. :V

[Icarus]

And yes, good shots cj! I thought photography wasn't allowed or I would have taken a few during my own trip. :V

You can, as long as you're not blatant about it. ^_-

A small handful from a bigger set from when I was in Tokyo in November 2014. Hey's STG floor.







Bet you've never seen "player timecards" before, lol.



Top floor at retro gameshop SuperPotato. More of a variety arcade than anything, but it had Dodonpachi.



Third floor at Matmouse in Kanagawa. Ketsui, DOJ and CC NESiCA on this floor, among others, as well as their streaming and recording equipment. Notable regulars here include Kamui and SPS.
Spot Yusemi-SWY if you can, lol.

[cj iwakura]

Not even a single milestone cab
Beatiful pics tho.

When I was there a couple weeks ago they had Karous and Radirgy on cab, if I remember correctly. Would be surprised if they weren't still there.

And yes, good shots cj! I thought photography wasn't allowed or I would have taken a few during my own trip. :V

Yep, Karous was there. Never saw Radirgy or I'd have played the heck out of it. Didn't know you couldn't take photos... Only thing I saw that said no photos was the Cave set up with the giant speakers.

[jujukun]

Thought you all might enjoy.

I'm curious about those boxes with LED screen on the control panels? What is this?

Great pics BTW!

[Shepardus]

I'm guessing they're autofire gadgets.

[limpan]

No, that's the new ePayment solution that you can use instead of 100YEN-coins:

[Shepardus]

Ah, I stand corrected. Neat!

I'm not familiar with arcades, so do they have more or less the same selection at all times (barring out-of-order games and stuff like that), or do they have games they rotate in and out on a schedule?

[Icarus]

I'm not familiar with arcades, so do they have more or less the same selection at all times (barring out-of-order games and stuff like that), or do they have games they rotate in and out on a schedule?

Depends on the arcade. At Ebisen, Ebi-tencho will swap out games at request. Hey's "featured game" cab changes frequently and randomly. Most arcades will leave popular selections in, and switch out lesser-played games on occasion.

[jujukun]

No, that's the new ePayment solution that you can use instead of 100YEN-coins:

Thank you for the information, that's interesting. No more ¥100 coins then...

[Feedbacker]

Bet you've never seen "player timecards" before, lol.

What are these for?

The arcade floor at SuperPatato looks just super comfy with the plants hanging from the ceiling.

[rancor]

Thank you for the information, that's interesting. No more ¥100 coins then...

They still take ¥100 coins.

[Terramax]

During my visit to the Tokyo area last December, this was probably the only arcade I didn't care to enter, because I was distracted by the takoyaki stand across the street, and also didn't know it was HEY at the time. Yeah, well, fuck me.

It was also interesting to see that none of the 20-something mainstream arcades I visited had any shmups, AT ALL. I only found one SDOJ cab.

You think that's bad? I've been walking past this arcade every other weekend for the past 3 years and I've never bothered to take a look. XD

Indeed, old skool arcades in Japan are pretty much dead. There's no interested in retro gaming period. Even most retro game stores in Akiba have either packed up and converted into AKB48 fanservice shops, or have downsized considerably to make way to selling other stuff i.e. mobile phones or modern games.