New York Arcades + Question

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:26 pm

Hey guys, for reading break I'm going to be heading down (I'm coming from Montreal) to New York for several days... Since our arcade scene is deeply lacking here, I was wondering if anyone could recommend me an arcade thats not too hard to get to, with a decent selection of shmups. If anyone knows where there are any Cave units, I'd be really stoked since I've never seen one. Thanks much.

Oh, and on a completely different note, I did a search for a guide to get import/backups running on my 'ol ps2 phat, and came up with very little... Thinking about going the swap magic route, any help?

AraraSPAMWitch · Post by **AraraSPAMWitch** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:41 pm

Ha, there's like one good arcade in NY, Chinatown Fair, hidden in some obscure corner of Chinatown, and the only shmups they have, at least since I last visited there, are GigaWing and Raiden Fighters. No cave games, nothing particularly recent, but better than my local arcade, University Pinball in Philly where they only have a broken Raiden II machine.

Unless you like playing fighting games a lot, you can live without going there. That said, they've got some excellent new-ish fighting games, like MB:Actress Again and BlazBlue, but I think they cost a dollar which kinda blows. So yeah, if you only play shooters, you might not find it too awesome, but it's a cool place nonetheless. That said, maybe there's some really obscure place I've never heard of with a Mushi Mushi Pork right next to Raiden IV and where the joysticks always work but ha ha this is America, what am I saying...

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:47 pm

Damn! Well I do like fighters a bit... I read somewhere that in Texas there is a japanese-style arcade with several cave setups... I was really hoping something similar would be found in NY. Thanks for the tip though... Anyone else know of any?

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:48 pm

come to toronto and you can play futari and ketsui at my house on my new astro city's

and shoot me a PM and i will explain how to run imports/backups on a fat ps2 with an HDD

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:59 pm

pm'd, thanks for the help. I'd be too shy to play either of those while anyone was around, seeing as how I'd be credit feeding out of control....

jonny5 · Post by **jonny5** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:44 pm

no need to be shy.....they are just games.....they take practice....

originalz · Post by **originalz** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:39 pm

There used to be an arcade somewhere up in Queens with a lot of Japanese games, I think they had some shooters but I don't remember, it's been a long time since I went there. I want to say the name of the place is Peter Pan games...

Long Island had a few big ones, but I think they might have closed or gotten rid of most of the good games.

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 1:43 am

AraraSPAMWitch wrote:(...), but better than my local arcade, University Pinball in Philly where they only have a broken Raiden II machine.

That Raiden II machine has been broken like that (one joystick only works in a few directions) for almost 10 years. I'm not kidding!
I used to go there frequently back in '00 or '01 and it was broken then, and I regularly asked them to fix it. I even think it might have been messed up in like '99.

About a month ago was the first time I'd gone in there in a year or more, and sure enough it would figure I choose to use the broken controller on my first credit.

I ended up playing a really good new pinball game for awhile but I can't remember what it was?... Batman, I think.

On Topic
If you have the time or interest to go over into Brooklyn, Barcade is a fun little place. They have Middleswarth BBQ potato chips too - straight outa Pennsylvania.

roker · Post by **roker** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:38 am

they also have viper phase at the chinatown fair arcade

captpain · Post by **captpain** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:00 am

Anyone else find it a little depressing that one of the biggest and most diverse cities in the US doesn't even have shooters?

At least I know not too many people are having more fun than me.

Square King · Post by **Square King** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:42 pm

jonny5 wrote:

and shoot me a PM and i will explain how to run imports/backups on a fat ps2 with an HDD

PM'd

OdiousTrident · Post by **OdiousTrident** » Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:31 pm

There is a billiards place in Chinatown, somewhere on Mott St.(?) that has Strikers 1999 and a few other shmups ( I believe). I have only found the place once, although I have not looked too hard. If you are at all interested in IGS beat'emups like the Knights of Valour series and Oriental Legend, they have a ton of those.

NRS · Post by **NRS** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:45 pm

robthebanks wrote:... I read somewhere that in Texas there is a japanese-style arcade with several cave setups...

You're probably talking about Planet-Zero Anime Center in Houston. It's a really slick place, but there's not a lot in the shooter variety. Plenty of fighters (good ones, too) along with some racers and rhythm games.

Last time I was there (2007), all I can remember was Shikigami II and ESPGaluda II.

dmauro · Post by **dmauro** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:04 pm

He's probably referring to Arcade UFO.

SHMUPS (Shoot-em-ups)

* Death Smiles: Mega Black Label
* Espgaluda II
* DoDonPachi

And many more...

Dragoforce · Post by **Dragoforce** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:15 pm

Don't know about shmups, but Barcade in brooklyn have a lot of arcade games (or so I've been told) http://www.barcadebrooklyn.com/

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:37 pm

dmauro wrote:He's probably referring to Arcade UFO.

SHMUPS (Shoot-em-ups)

* Death Smiles: Mega Black Label
* Espgaluda II
* DoDonPachi

And many more...

Thats the one.

I'm definitely going to check out Barcade, it seems like a smart idea to mix a bar with an arcade... Anyone know what games they have?

Koa Zo · Post by **Koa Zo** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 2:18 am

robthebanks wrote:
I'm definitely going to check out Barcade, it seems like a smart idea to mix a bar with an arcade... Anyone know what games they have?

They have at least 2 dozen games at all times. I'm not sure if some are on rotation or if they are always the same.

Their focus is on classic 80's games, literally nothing from the 90's or later.
Everything is in excellent condition.

Last I was there I was so drunk I don't really remember what they had. The big screen TV was split into 4 screens with some sort of NES competition going on. I recall one 1/4 screen had Contra, and another had SMB...

My friend and I made dollar bets on who was better at some game or another, but I was too drunk to remember what it was now... I kept beating him, then on a "double or nothing" he punched the glass, and after we were reprimanded we decide to leave. Classy.

some games I do remember playing there were: OutRun, Berzerk, Tapper, Crystal Castles,... (and a whole bunch more), damn my memory is foggy.

edit:
from the Barcade myspace page:

Tapper, Q Bert, Ms Pac Man, Gauntlet, 1943, Robotron 2084, Toobin, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Crystal Castles, Star Wars, Arkanoid, Frogger, Centipede, Tetris, Galaga, Contra, Out Run, Rolling Thunder, Berzerk, Ghosts n Goblins, Punch Out, Moon Patrol, Super Mario Bros, Asteroids, Rampage, Tron, Tempest, 720, Zaxxon, Track and Field, Time Pilot, Donkey Kong Jr, Off Road, Space Invaders, Popeye, Stargate, Commando, Cosmic Avenger, Phoenix, Gyruss, Smash TV, Joust, Roadblasters, Rush'n Attack, Elevator Action, Burgertime, Ladybug, Mappy, Paperboy, Spy Hunter, Pole Position, Turbo, Timber, Karate Champ, Golden Axe, Gorf, Kangaroo, Carnival, Bump n Jump, Rally X, Space Duel, Lunar Lander, Missle Command, Millipede, Kung Fu Master, Marble Madness, Frenzy, Mr. Do, Pepper II, Food Fight, Lock n Chase, Mouse Trap, Venture, Dragon's Lair, Double Dragon, Congo Bongo, Choplifter, Bubble Bobble, Space Ace, Cheyenne, Defender, Red Baron, Pleiads, Crazy Climber, Wizard of Wor, Vanguard, Pengo, Jungle King, Zoo Keeper, Tutankham, Wacko

They definitely don't have all of those at once (they wouldn't fit inside the place), so like I thought, it seems they put games on rotation.

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:01 pm

ooooh! I hope they have Stargate and Contra while I'm there... Thanks for the tips. Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm also open to any recommendations for cheap food/cool places that fly under the radar...

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:33 pm

Okay, so I just got back from new york... It was an amazing trip... I checked out Barcade and enjoyed it for a bit (played some Zaxxon and 1943), but the real joy was the arcade in Chinatown. Hidden away on Mott St., this tiny yet great arcade had two sit-down SFIV units, every street fighter and KOF imaginable, Melty Blood, Guilty Gear, Gigawing, Raiden Fighters, and a BlazBlue (!) sitdown unit. Some dudes 1cc'd Gigawing right before me and my buddy credit-fed the shit out of it, but I had a lot of fun. Totally recommended for anyone in the area.

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:07 am

robthebanks wrote:Okay, so I just got back from new york... It was an amazing trip... I checked out Barcade and enjoyed it for a bit (played some Zaxxon and 1943), but the real joy was the arcade in Chinatown. Hidden away on Mott St., this tiny yet great arcade had two sit-down SFIV units, every street fighter and KOF imaginable, Melty Blood, Guilty Gear, Gigawing, Raiden Fighters, and a BlazBlue (!) sitdown unit. Some dudes 1cc'd Gigawing right before me and my buddy credit-fed the shit out of it, but I had a lot of fun. Totally recommended for anyone in the area.

Sounds like you had a great time. If I take a trip to New York in May to see Mono perform, I will definately check out that arcade in Chinatown, I've been wanting to play a SFIV and Blazblue cabinet for awhile now.

robthebanks · Post by **robthebanks** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 4:59 am

Yeah man, you really should, although I got worked on the SFIV units. Pretty embarrassing... You're going to see Mono eh? Those guys are nuts... From your avatar I assumed you were more into black metal

dmauro · Post by **dmauro** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:57 pm

Cool, I didn't know they had BlazBlue. I'll have to go check that out sometime. The weather is supposed to get nicer this weekend so I might be willing to leave my apartment to do something besides going to work.