Arcade Review: put yours in here.

[Flinnster]

I was in Looe (Cornwall) this past weekend so had to pop into Harbour amusements (next to the bridge with the 'Family Amusements' sign) to check out how things were.

Bottom floor pretty much entirely redemption and fruities. Top floor a mix, but happy to report a couple of good rows of DLX sit down drivers and gun games holding the redemption tat at bay.

Now, it was 'off season' I suppose but pretty much every driver twin had a side off / broken or dodgey which is a big shame. If everything was working properly, it would be a decent selection of 'experience' cabs.

In summary.... alright, but St. Ives Amusements (see earlier in this thread) is maintained better and has a better vibe, even if they don't have as many DLX drivers..

Flinnster2019-04-03 19:35:44

 

[Vamino]

Nice pics mate.

I'm amazed there's still some decent drivers out there.

Model 3 games seem scarce now though, glad I got mine whilst they were still fairly plentiful.

I'm not glad with the space they are occupying though!

 

[robotech]

Me and the family decided to visit weston super mare for the day
I used to go here every year as a kid there used to be some great arcades

And some good cabs, hang on fullsize ,time traveller ,firefox,outrun
Are some of the games i remember but we are talking 27 years ago
The pier used to.have a sit down star wars cab at the enterance and
Plenty of classics on the peir

These were all gone long before the fire in 2010
That wiped out the old peir arcade
they did sill have some fun late 80s early 90s stuff at the time of the fire

Sadly the high street
What was once a sea of neon lights and classic arcade cabs
Is now two arcades full of coin pushers and redemption games
All the other arcades seem to have dissapeared to be turned into restarants and winebars

I did find a few classic cabs on the peir
And some pins
But they were all in poor condition no sound bad controlls ect
And less said about the lcd converted space invaders and zac track and field the better

There was also an f355 delux on the peir but i never took a photo
As the que for the go carts was in that area

Sad that the peir used to be full of old classics and electro mechanical games when i was a kid
And now its down to a few poorly maintained cabs
some modern stern pins and a costa coffee

The peir charges to go on it now aswell and closes at six
Im sure it used to be open all night

I wont be rushing back anytime soon
I guess i still have my memories

robotech2019-05-13 03:03:16

 

[jimmerd]

The ones that stand out in my memory from the occasional day trip were the pier having Darius stand up version, with Nemesis to it's side and the Namco shoot away clay pigeon projection shooting game and one of those bubble ice hocky machines, and the fact you could drop your change thru the cracks in the wooden floor onto the beach if not careful!. The arcades on the high street had the latest stuff, including the sit down virtuality VR system with the plane flying game in it and a massive £2 a go.

 

[robotech]

Yes i remember the shoot away
And being able to drop your coins through the floorboards
It used to scare me looking through them as a kid at the sea when it was in

Showing my age now but there used to be a second peir full of black and white games and old pinball machines
When i was really young
I remember there being bits of old wood tied onto the floor to cover big holes in the floorboards
No health and saftey back then

 

[Bods]

Nice to see couple of old classics and always good there are some cool Sega Drivers, always worth being in arcade with those

When we tried to get some pics of the Simpsons Deluxe cab and a few other older machines in Skegness, they moaned about no Photo's, god forbid they get some free Publicity and may get more people visiting if others know they have some good machines still

 

[vids]

just back from gt yarmouth few old racers mario cart but mostly meh though me and the boy do like ghost squad grand kids like the halo game and the god awful massive space invader sh*te but it gives them tickets for crapola

couldnt be arsed to take any pictures

vids2019-08-20 10:49:54

 

[jonno5]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and have an arcade review to share.



A few weeks back we took a trip to Retro Replay in Norwich ( Retro Replay (Norwich) - 2021 All You Need to Know Before You Go (with Photos) - Norwich, UK | Tripadvisor )

This is a fairly big place across two floors of a shopping centre in the middle of Norwich. You can park there if you're willing to pay insane daytime rates (!), otherwise it's easy to find. They're using the shopping centre as a vaccination hub so it's a bit surreal wandering through there to find an arcade.

It's the biggest arcade I know of in East Anglia (and I've looked around the coast enough times) with something like 80 cabinets set to free play. They charge about a tenner for entry (no time restrictions) so you can come and go all day if you like. It seems like it's run by enthusiasts and is pretty well kept, i.e. concrete floors not sticky carpets

On the upper floor you're greeted with some great machines - on the left hand side there are: space invaders pt 2, galaxian, galaga 81, after burner 2 upright, DK Jnr, Mr Do, SCI, pacland, pacman, pacmania... most of these i played were in fairly original and good condition. Then a load of fighting machines in a more battered state - SF2 controls have had it but Tekken 3 was playable. On the other side of the upper floor you have some light gun games like point blank (well calibrated) HOTD (not well calibrated!) and an operation wolf 3 of all things. Along the middle I remember seeing a double dragon, punisher. Towards the back of this floor there's a working sega rally 2 player set up, another racing game or two and a guitar hero..!

Downstairs things are a bit eclectic: lots of cocktails including a space wars (I'd not seen that before), invaders and a few more. Some neo geo cabinets that seemed in good condition and then it takes a turn... lots of home consoles set up including a CD32. They've got some modern consoles connected to LCD's on the walls above a bar area (see picture and forgive me the strong bow) - presumably this is for the smash bros crowd - and a few random bits like a DDR, a chase HQ upright and a more modern looking star wars sit down machine.

This was our 2nd trip and they had changed some of the machines around since Sept 20 (1st visit). Most things seemed in a decent state for their age, knackered controls notwithstanding... i suppose you couldn't call it an arcade if everything worked!!

I'd massively recommend the place. The business model of paid entry & free play works really well, the people running it seem to give a damn and it's got tons of variety. I bought an overpriced & oversized t-shirt because you have to support the things you love right?

Be good to hear other reviews of the place.

Cheers

 

[J69]

Was at ghetto golf in Newcastle last night. The had a few cabs. Couple of LCD monstrosities, but also original Ms Pacman, HOTD and Point Blank.

The Ms Pacman was in surprisingly good condition. Tight joystick and good screen

 

[Cobra]

I've noticed that after COVID almost all the arcade cabs that used to be in London are now up North.

 

[kingtreelo]

that retro replay in Norwich looks amazing

 

[SquidDude]

I just saw that post and thought it never looked that good the last time I went lol. Just checked their site and apparently they have a Raiden II cab (but seem to have got rid of R-Type?), so maybe I'll pop down at some point soon and have another look

 

[Wools]

I've recently got back from a week long holiday to Arcade Club and had the (Gaming) time of my life!

For the past 3 years in a row, me and my Brother have taken a few days off from work during the Summer to travel from the South of the UK up to Bury to visit Arcade Club. First time was in 2024 for 3 days; 2 for travel to and from with 1 full day at AC. Second time in 2025 for 4 days; 2 again for travel but then for 2 full days at AC. This year we went for 5 days; 2 for travel, 2 again at AC Bury but this time we went for 1 day at Arcade Club Blackpool.

We had a fantastic time at AC Blackpool on an early September's Thursday. The venue is smaller than AC Bury but it has a different atmosphere. The selection of games is similar but had some more Sega goodness like 2 player F355 Challenge that I spent a long time playing, getting a time at Monza. The layout of the cabinets is done really well and the game selection is well curated. I don't think I've ever seen Atari's 720 Degrees machine in the wild before, it was great to use its unique controller for the first time, but took awhile to adjust my brain to it! Played the hydraulic Ice Cold Beer and got lost trying to get that marble up up as high as possible, my Brother was far more adapt than me. Talking of balls, their selection of Pinball tables was excellent and in an over 18's area so kids couldn't be damaging to them. They had a brand new Pokémon game by Stern and I don't think I've ever seen a Pinball machine look and play so new and crispy! Despite all the pinball machines, I really enjoyed the Jurassic Park machine, it just played so well and I got into a long groove with it.

Before I knew it, the last orders were called and me and my Brother had to leave, catching a Taxi back to our Hotel on the seafront. Arcade Club Blackpool is exceptional; Great building, amazing selection of authentic and correctly restored cabinets, fantastic staff and a good little bar and restaurant. The next day we drove the hour or so over to Bury, settled in and then had 2 full days at Arcade Club Bury, Friday night being over 18's night, then the full day on Saturday.

As this was our 3rd visit to AC Bury, it's easy to be blasé about it all but it's worth reiterating; AC Bury is Europe's largest Arcade, with machines and cabinets that are sympathetically restored, with CRT's, Vector Monitors and original or repaired controllers. All this, within the confines of a beautiful old Mill over 4 floors. I literally never imagined such a venue would exist again in my lifetime, it still makes the hairs on my arm stand up when I walk up the cobbled Manchester streets and see the Mill with the neon yellow Arcade Club logo. As someone who adored Arcades growing up in the 80's and 90's, Arcade venues, machines and the games themselves hold a special place in my heart. However, it used to brake my heart walking into the last remnants of Arcades along the UK's seafronts and seeing not a single Videogame in sight in this modern era. But to walk into Arcade Club, where CRT's are giving off a warm glow, Vector Monitors burn your retina, the force feedback of Sega Rally's steering wheel pulls you an opposing direction, a pinball flipper clicks into life, it's a tactile museum of a culture and place that no longer exists. Except now, you're walking through it all like a dream come to life. I can't tell you how much me and my Brother adore the place.

48 hours somehow flies by and before you know it, we're checking out of our hotel to come home. If anyone reading this has never visited Arcade Club Bury or Blackpool, you must try and find the time to visit one of the greatest gaming Arcades there's ever been.

Took some photos of both Arcades, along with a video of me walking round Floor 4 of AC Bury, just before closing time.