Are there any Londoners here who know arcades in West End ?

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kennyrh
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Are there any Londoners here who know arcades in West End ?

Post by kennyrh »

I live "up norf" in Sunderland but I'm coming down to the West End next week. It's been 3 or more years since I was there and I'm guessing that a fair few of the arcades have gone west.

I know that Casino and Trocadero are still there . . .but I was wondering if anybody knows of other decent arcades in the Central London area ??
Shoot, dodge, collect . . .it's the ONLY way to be !!
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thegreathopper
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Post by thegreathopper »

That is about the lot... there is one other play2win on Oxford St..
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Leeram
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Post by Leeram »

I work in Sunderland but live in Boro :-)

If you're ever in Leeds they have Gigawing 2 in Mill Hill Amusements (about one minute from the train station).

I only ever found three arcades in London and they were the ones already mentioned.

Cheers

Leeram.

PS. If there are any other Northerners here maybe we could organise a small shmupmeet at someone's house? I have a supergun with Armed police batrider, Gradius III and some metal slug games (1, 3 and X), I also have a japanese PS2 with DDPachi Daioujou, Mushihimesama and Gradius V, A pc Engine duo with a fair few shmups including Sapphire, A Dreamcast with Ikaruga and a Saturn (no radiant silvergun though, I sold all 5 of my originals (it's a long story)). If others have more we could make a night of it.

Trouble is I have two children so I can't turn the volume up!
ill6
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Post by ill6 »

Theres a few Play 2 Wins too, the best is probably the one on Oxford St opposite Rathbone Place - it had Raiden Fighters and Metal Slug 4.
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DEL
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L

Post by DEL »

kennyrh - At the moment, Casino is probably the only London arcade worth bothering about next week. (Mushihimesama, Progear, RF Jet etc).

Trocadero will close soon, as its been sold. They only have Strikers 1945, Raiden II and K Tiger II.

Oxford Street arcade has DDP II Beestorm.

(The Casino Engineer came to me the other day with a request for a shortlist of games to buy for the arcade - to win-back customers. Obviously this shortlist will have to include Tekken 5 and SF Thirdstrike for the London VS players, but of course I will include IBARA, Under Defeat, Ketsui).

Regs, DEL
kennyrh
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Post by kennyrh »

Okay, thanks for the info guys. Casino has always been THE best arcade outside of Japan for my money. Only problem is they seem to have gone the way of many of the arcades - well what's left of 'em - in the resorts where I live and just rely on what they've already got.

Is it still a test site by the way ?? Gawd, I can remember when I got down to London more often they had an arcade full of new Jap games every 3 months !!

We used to have a place up norf in Whitley Bay where all the machines were just 10p (including Ridge Racer 2 ) and, although some of them weren't exactly mint condition, you could still play the likes of Gradius, R-Type and even an original Space Invaders. Sadly, last time I went it had closed up and that was the bitter end for me.

There used to be a good arcade in Soho, near Raymonds Revue Bar (if they still call it that) and i've seen some good shooters there over the years. It's the only place I ever saw a Parodius and they had rare stuff like Strahl and Vimana and a V-Five. Sadly it's now full of fruit machines . . .sob !!!!
Shoot, dodge, collect . . .it's the ONLY way to be !!
ill6
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Re: L

Post by ill6 »

DEL wrote: (The Casino Engineer came to me the other day with a request for a shortlist of games to buy for the arcade - to win-back customers. Obviously this shortlist will have to include Tekken 5 and SF Thirdstrike for the London VS players, but of course I will include IBARA, Under Defeat, Ketsui).

Regs, DEL
Not sure I would go with Ketsui, its not got much stickiness for the money.

I would like to play Trizeal (and its cheap). Espg II, Ibara and Under Defeat.

Some of the AW titles seem to be very popular too (Fist of NS thing and KOF XI and NGBC).

They need to sort out thier cabs.
Last edited by ill6 on Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Leeram
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Post by Leeram »

What's happening to Trocadero? Are they keeping it as an arcade? Do you know when it will shut?

I'm planning to come to London on the 29th October specifically to do the 'cades.

Cheers

Lee
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DEL
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Post by DEL »

Trocadero should still be open at that time.

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I will also put Raiden DX on the list for games to re-appear at Casino. They should still have it in their stockroom. I want to watch Mills play it again. That 3rd Loop is MAD!
I'm putting Ketsui on the list, as its a cheap option when compared to IBARA and Under Defeat. The Boss of Casino doesn't want to spend much on games at the moment, he knows he won't get the money back if he buys a new title.
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MovingTarget
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Post by MovingTarget »

I have to get my ass down to london sometime, prolly october/november... never seen a real live arcade shmup before! haha

Would be nice to see some of you there too, never seen another shmupper either :lol:
Know thy enemy attack pattern.
ill6
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Post by ill6 »

I am very happy to lend them Ketsui for a while if they agree to replace it if they break it. They can keep all profits.
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Ex_Mosquito
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Post by Ex_Mosquito »

Apparently the troc Funland arcade is staying open, complete with a major revamp.

http://www.shoryuken.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99422
My Arcade 1-Credit Replays
http://www.youtube.com/user/exmosquito
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