Shmup sighting (Phoenix, AZ)

[Gozur]

The Gameworks at Arizona Mills has a crapload of NAOMI cabs and I'm pretty sure I saw a Zero Gunner 2 cab there.

[kccttzj]

Movie Theaters are also great places to look.

I've found Zero Gunner 2, Strikers Plus, Solar Assult, Several different Raidens. Then there's Galaga....always, always Galaga....

I notices you live in Ypsi. Are any of those games in that area?

Um...not so much. Zero Gunner was in a Kalamazoo theater when I was colleging at Western. Solar Assult was in another at the same city. Strikers was at some cinema near Grand Rapids when I was still with that girl. Raiden something was in Kzoo as well.

Come to think of it, There's a Raiden DX at Showcase Cenema by US23 on Carpenter. But the P1 stick doesn't let you move diagonal.
Strikers Plus would be at this place called Putters on Washtenaw.
There may still be a Solar Assult in Brighton at somethin' called Blasters off Grand River. $10 says that place has to be out of business by now.
Raidens...uhhh...I think I saw a Jet at Buffalo Wild Wings in Ann Arbor and the Ypsi-Arbor Bowling place a little bit down Washtenaw from the Putters. You know Pinball Petes right? South University A^2? They got the Raiden 2 and Fighters 1, probably still with the vortex sucking broken screens. I think an Aero Fighters 2 is there also. I don't remember being able to shoot though.


So where are you located? Where are your games at? Let us pool our knowledge 'n such.

I'm more in the Detroit area, but I'm going to school in Ypsi soon. I've actually played the machine in the Ypsi-Arbor bowling place, and I've heard about the machines at Pinball Petes. Someone told me about an arcade in Brighton that closed, I don't know if it's the same one though. They said it had Samba de Amigo, but didn't know if it had any shooters.

There's not too many places that I know of that still have shooters around here. There's Raiden Fighters Jet at Livonia Mall, and they have the Ultracade machine that has Truxton II and such. It's on the corner of Middlebelt and 7 mile. It's actually a pretty cool arcade, and all the controls work fine. Cici's Pizza in Garden City has a RFJ machine too. Either 1P or 2P doesn't work well though, from what I remember. We used to have Strikers 1945 II at work, but they took it out. I wasn't working that day, so I didn't get to see where they were taking it. I know they have Strikers 1945 II, Viper Phase 1, Zero Gunner 1 & 2, and Raiden Fighters for sure. I'm not sure where the machines are located, and when I call the main office they give me a hard time about it when I ask. Too much work I guess. I want them to get some other shooters too, but I'll have to talk to the owner about it.

[DJ Incompetent]

@DJ, how does Zoradius play? I've read it described as "Gradius III in First-Person". Unfortunately, no vids of it on Youtube.

Didn't forget about ya buddy. I've been working on getting my "not sucking in games" online and methinks I finally, finally pulled it off.

I just needed something to shoot a test video and remembered leaving you hangin'.

"Gradius 1 with NES Life Force powerbar...forcing use of all 4 face buttons." is more like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqOUjITFwG8


kccttzj, thanks for the info. Never been to Garden City...knowingly anyways. I'll have to hit up Livonia Mall next time I'm runnin' amok in <British snobby pronunciation> Novi </British snobby pronunciation> . Do they save the scores over there?

Good luck at WCC or EMU. If I bar-hop and discover anything else, I'll let you know.

Blasters is the Brighton arcade we're both talking about. It did indeed crash and burn. Yes they had every strange and probably rare game that was interesting for 10 minutes that you could find...as long as the game made you feel like an idiot playing it, Blasters had it. Blasters Family Fun Center is the Logo they went by, explaining the target audience.

The last 3 times I had checked up on that place, they didn't have a single conventional cabinet with a conventional arcade joystick. And this was a pretty huge place. I figured they only had Solar Assault because of some sort of paperwork error.

[RippleScythe]

Let's see there's a Gunbird 2 on a Japanese cabinet in Springfield Mall in Northern VA.

1943 and Life Force at a YMCA building in Petersburg (my hometown), that was 2 years ago really, Don't know if they took them out by now.

God knows what the bowling alleys around have. They change their games like every 10 weeks or something.

[Skyline]

I saw a Strikers cab at a sports bar called Deadbeats in Scottsdale. Then while I was in Vegas over the week I played a shmup called Mars Matrix at New York New York's arcade. In the near future I'm going to have to take a trip out to Golfland. I haven't been there in years and would like to see what shmups they have that Castles doesn't.

I don't suppose you saw the ESPGaluda cab there by the DDR machines, did you?

That place also had Raiden Fighters around the same area.

[doctorx0079]

There's Raiden Fighters Jet at Livonia Mall, and they have the Ultracade machine that has Truxton II and such. It's on the corner of Middlebelt and 7 mile. It's actually a pretty cool arcade, and all the controls work fine.

Domo arigato for the info. I live in Toledo and I knew about Pinball Pete's, but I never would have known about the mall if not for you. I will definitely check it out sometime soon.

[kccttzj]

kccttzj, thanks for the info. Never been to Garden City...knowingly anyways. I'll have to hit up Livonia Mall next time I'm runnin' amok in <British snobby pronunciation> Novi </British snobby pronunciation> . Do they save the scores over there?

Good luck at WCC or EMU. If I bar-hop and discover anything else, I'll let you know.

Blasters is the Brighton arcade we're both talking about. It did indeed crash and burn. Yes they had every strange and probably rare game that was interesting for 10 minutes that you could find...as long as the game made you feel like an idiot playing it, Blasters had it. Blasters Family Fun Center is the Logo they went by, explaining the target audience.

The last 3 times I had checked up on that place, they didn't have a single conventional cabinet with a conventional arcade joystick. And this was a pretty huge place. I figured they only had Solar Assault because of some sort of paperwork error.

Thanks. Sadly, the machines don't save scores. At least not the ones that I play.

That place in Garden City doesn't have RFJ anymore either. I was there the other day and it was gone. I wasn't too upset though, because I like the machine at Livonia Mall better anyway.

As for Blasters, yeah, it seems like a lot of arcades do that. That's kind of how it is where I work. I'm trying to get them to get some good games, but it's hard to ask them to buy a shooter, because I know that only a couple people might play it regularly. I think I'm going to keep pushing for it anyway, because they're not as expensive as the other games they buy.

Domo arigato for the info. I live in Toledo and I knew about Pinball Pete's, but I never would have known about the mall if not for you. I will definitely check it out sometime soon.

You're welcome. It's a small arcade, but it's nice because there's never anybody there. The mall is dead even on Saturdays. It's nice to be able to play and not have all these kids running around going crazy.

[dave4shmups]

@DJ, how does Zoradius play? I've read it described as "Gradius III in First-Person". Unfortunately, no vids of it on Youtube.

Didn't forget about ya buddy. I've been working on getting my "not sucking in games" online and methinks I finally, finally pulled it off.

I just needed something to shoot a test video and remembered leaving you hangin'.

"Gradius 1 with NES Life Force powerbar...forcing use of all 4 face buttons." is more like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqOUjITFwG8


kccttzj, thanks for the info. Never been to Garden City...knowingly anyways. I'll have to hit up Livonia Mall next time I'm runnin' amok in <British snobby pronunciation> Novi </British snobby pronunciation> . Do they save the scores over there?

Good luck at WCC or EMU. If I bar-hop and discover anything else, I'll let you know.

Blasters is the Brighton arcade we're both talking about. It did indeed crash and burn. Yes they had every strange and probably rare game that was interesting for 10 minutes that you could find...as long as the game made you feel like an idiot playing it, Blasters had it. Blasters Family Fun Center is the Logo they went by, explaining the target audience.

The last 3 times I had checked up on that place, they didn't have a single conventional cabinet with a conventional arcade joystick. And this was a pretty huge place. I figured they only had Solar Assault because of some sort of paperwork error.

Thanks, man Zoradius looks fun! :

[IlMrm]

There's now an ESPGaluda machine at San Francisco State University.

[DJ Incompetent]

Went bowling last night. The Raiden Fighters Jet at the Ypsi-Arbor bowl was replaced with House of the Dead.

[GateofThunderforceIII]

I was at the World Famous Body Shop last Thursday night. Played Raiden II in between some hot lap dances.

[CodeMonkey]

I was at the World Famous Body Shop last Thursday night. Played Raiden II in between some hot lap dances.

That's how you do it.

[GateofThunderforceIII]

Indeed, buddy. Needless to say, I didn't do so well playing Raiden 2. And maybe I should've sprayed the joystick with disinfectant...aww shit!!!

[doctorx0079]

Domo arigato for the info. I live in Toledo and I knew about Pinball Pete's, but I never would have known about the mall if not for you. I will definitely check it out sometime soon.

You're welcome. It's a small arcade, but it's nice because there's never anybody there. The mall is dead even on Saturdays. It's nice to be able to play and not have all these kids running around going crazy.

Finally made it there yesterday. Wow is this mall dead. At least half the stores are empty and closed. The arcade is called Time Zone and it's by what used to be Mervyn's, across from what used to be the movie theater. It's kind of neat although not perfect. Very clean. The monitor on RFJ is a little messed up. The Ultracade's monitor is too green and has some glare from the lights. Probably not fixed from lack of $$ and knowledge. They also have one of those modded Ms. Pac-Mans that are illegal now. Two Bit Score/pacman.com made the ROM's, they have Piranha and a bunch of other Pac-Man games on them. (Namco owns the domain pacman.com now.)

The guy with glasses who works there got over 90 mil on RFJ. I got high score on Ghosts 'n' Goblins on the Ultracade. If you see "DRX" on the score table it's my score. I would've stayed longer but my friend had to watch the Michigan game on TV.

What I'm afraid of is that this ghost mall will suddenly close and the arcade will go bye-bye. That's what happened to a lot of other arcades. The owners just sell the machines to collectors or put them in the basement for the kids, rather than try to open a new place. A laundromat down the street used to have Blazing Star and Raiden DX, but the owner decided he could make a lot more money by just selling the machines. He claims to have an original Star Wars in his basement.

[ParegoricKid]

Ah man I found this arcade downtown that has 2 Ketsui's, 2 ESPGaluda IIs, DDP, DOJ, DOJ Black Label, Ibara, Ibara Black Label, Dangun Feveron, 2 Pink Sweets', Guwange, ESPrade, Battle Bakraid, Battle Garegga, Batrider, Raiden Fighters Jet, Raiden DX, Raiden III, Viper Phase One, 19XX, G-Stream, 2 Shikigami no Shiro III's, 2 Triggerheart Exelica's, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, Giga Wing 2, Strikers 1945 II, Strikers 1945 III, Strikers 1945 Plus, Sonic Wings Limited, Truxton II, Detana! Twinbee, Gradius III, Gradius IV, Prehistoric Ilse 2, Salamander 2, Blazing Star, Darius Gaiden, G-Darius, Shienryu, Fire Barrel, Dragon Spirit, 4 Senko no Ronde DX's, Thunder Dragon 2, Layer Section, and some other shooters I can't remember! You guy's gotta check it out next time you're in Japan!

:guffaw!:

Wow, we had no idea shooters were so much more popular in Japan. I feel so much better knowing that there isn't a single shooter cab within 50 miles of me. Thanks!

He's fucking teasing us, and he loves it!!

But really judging from what I read here the scene in the US doesn't seem to be sooo bad, you guys have shooters in malls, laundromats, movie theaters and all kind of public places besides arcades.
Could be alot worse, like here in Switzerland arcade is plain dead, so run-down it isn't even funny anymore. Forget malls and movie theaters...last one generally I saw was like 2 years ago an old Ghost n'Goblins in a big mall.
The last city I lived, about 80'000 residents, had 2 aracdes. One had Raiden, Ashura Blaster and 1941. Played also Time Crisis and Wonderboy on a real worn-out sitting cab. This arcade has closed 3 years ago and the other smaller one only has soccer/billard tables, fruit machines and 2-3 racing games nowadays.
Just last week I had to drive somewhere for business reasons and in the evening saw this casino sign. I had time on my hands and while standing before (it was a floor below) some lady goes in and I ask her about the casino. Turns out she works there, she said enthusiastically "oh yes we have lots of nice video games down there" so I follow her and man was it a sad sight. Like 50 fruit machines, some billard and there it was, a sole cab with MsPacman and Galaga. Gheez...I quickly left...no I didn't...I played 2 rounds of Galaga and then I quit for good.

Maybe we should set up a shmup sighting database with a globe, where one can click on countries and cities to find a place where to get the next fix!

[JBC]

Castles n' Coasters at Metrocenter has an Ultracade cab now with like, tons of cool stuff on it. It even has Outzone on there.

[kccttzj]

Domo arigato for the info. I live in Toledo and I knew about Pinball Pete's, but I never would have known about the mall if not for you. I will definitely check it out sometime soon.

You're welcome. It's a small arcade, but it's nice because there's never anybody there. The mall is dead even on Saturdays. It's nice to be able to play and not have all these kids running around going crazy.

Finally made it there yesterday. Wow is this mall dead. At least half the stores are empty and closed. The arcade is called Time Zone and it's by what used to be Mervyn's, across from what used to be the movie theater. It's kind of neat although not perfect. Very clean. The monitor on RFJ is a little messed up. The Ultracade's monitor is too green and has some glare from the lights. Probably not fixed from lack of $$ and knowledge. They also have one of those modded Ms. Pac-Mans that are illegal now. Two Bit Score/pacman.com made the ROM's, they have Piranha and a bunch of other Pac-Man games on them. (Namco owns the domain pacman.com now.)

The guy with glasses who works there got over 90 mil on RFJ. I got high score on Ghosts 'n' Goblins on the Ultracade. If you see "DRX" on the score table it's my score. I would've stayed longer but my friend had to watch the Michigan game on TV.

What I'm afraid of is that this ghost mall will suddenly close and the arcade will go bye-bye. That's what happened to a lot of other arcades. The owners just sell the machines to collectors or put them in the basement for the kids, rather than try to open a new place. A laundromat down the street used to have Blazing Star and Raiden DX, but the owner decided he could make a lot more money by just selling the machines. He claims to have an original Star Wars in his basement.

I was afraid of it going down with the mall too. I really don't even know how that mall is still open.

I used to work at an arcade in Westland Mall, but last Thursday we were told that we're closing and Sunday was our last day. The owner was going to get Ketsui, he had all the information to get it, and the mall ended up screwing us over on our lease. I still work for the company, because it's actually an amusement company that owns a few arcades, and has machines at all different places, so there still might be hope. I'll be working for the other arcade and still collecting at some locations, so I'm going to try to get them to get it at another location.

[doctorx0079]

I used to work at an arcade in Westland Mall, but last Thursday we were told that we're closing and Sunday was our last day. The owner was going to get **Ketsui**, he had all the information to get it, and the mall ended up screwing us over on our lease. I still work for the company, because it's actually an amusement company that owns a few arcades, and has machines at all different places, so there still might be hope. I'll be working for **the other arcade** and still collecting at some locations, so I'm going to try to get them to get it at another location.

WHERE WHERE WHERE???

Understand that I have *never* played Ketsui.

directions plz

[kccttzj]

They still haven't gotten Ketsui. I requested them to get it at the Westland location, because I knew people in the area (especially me ) that would put money into it. If it doesn't make enough they end up rotating it to some other location, or putting it in storage. They have accounts all throughout SE Michigan, so I was trying to figure out where would be best to put it, since that location is no longer open. When/if it actually happens, I'll post and let you know.

[doctorx0079]

Okay, I'll rephrase. Which one do you work at, and what do they have??

[kccttzj]

Sorry. I forgot to mention that. It's called the "American Fun Center", and it's in Oakland mall (Troy, MI). I only work there on Sundays, and I haven't started yet. I haven't been there in a while, since it's pretty far away from me. They have no shooters, but they have Time Crisis 4, House of the Dead 4, ITG2, Beatmania IIDX 8th style, Pop'n Music Animello 2.... I can't think of anything else that they have for sure.