Hunters of the Lost Arcades

Now for something completely different! We’re the Hunters of the Lost Arcades. We scour the arcade scene to find the best and worst arcades. Let’s start with introductions first since this is the first article.

Kat has been playing video games including but not limited to cabs, pinball, claw machines, and consoles since 1987. Her first two home systems were the original Nintendo and Game Boy. She (sadly) played Balloon Fight so long she glitched out the game. Kat also played a lot of Gyromite, Hogan’s Alley, and Duck Hunt. School roller skating nights would be spent pumping quarters into the Rampage and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles machine at the local roller rink. She’s owned most game console systems and still has most of them in pristine condition (due to her OCD and not lack of use). Her most notable piece in her gaming collection is her R.O.B. the Robot, so mint the papers are untouched on the gyros because, well, no one really liked using R.O.B. for games. She has 27 years of gaming experience both in and out of the arcade. She may not be the best in the arcade, but she sure knows a good arcade when she sees one. Her first and favorite RPGs were Final Fantasy VI (Terra) and VIII. Kat has a concentration in human computer interaction and competitive intelligence from Drexel University. Most of college was spent playing Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike, and Quake III. Today you’ll see her on the look out for Puzzle Bobble and running the pinball walls of the arcade. In Japan, she is the crazy lady pumping yen into all the Miku Hatsune and Nyanpire skill machines to try to win their action figures or plushies.

Hunter has been gaming since 1988 starting like most of us playing Duck Hunt and Super Mario Brothers. Hunter was a typical mallrat that spent most of his time in the arcade playing After Burner (sit in cabinet), Bucky O’Hare, and Virtual-On. Hunter also spent a lot of time at his Japanese neighbors playing Super Famicom Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Kondo wa Puzzle de Oshioki yo!. He spent most of his time in high school playing Dreamcast. His favorite video game characters are Mega Man (Rockman) and Sonic. He currently works at a retro video game store and has an extensive knowledge of console, cab, and pinball games. To say that he puts hours into gaming per year is a severe understatement. Both Kat and Hunter helped run the video game room at Katsucon between 2004 and from 2010. Today you can find him playing anything from Halo, GTA, Dynasty Warriors, or Starcraft. Hunter’s most prized possession is his Virtual Boy collection including but not limited to the Blockbuster hardcase for Virtual Boy. His favorite arcade cab ever is the Gundam Battle Pod Game he played in the Taito Arcades in Japan.

The Hunters both had the honor of playing during the golden age of arcades in the 80’s. To say the least, it has been a sad state of affairs to watch what has happened to some of the best arcades. At one point, there were so many arcades, there would be references in movies and TV shows about “Just what this town needs, another arcade” (Goosebumps – “The Werewolf of Fever Swamp”). There was an entire movie dedicated to three kids working their way across the country playing in arcades to prep for the ultimate video game championship (The Wizard). Tron and Tron: Legacy (2010) were movies dedicated to life inside an arcade cab. Tron: Legacy was the perfect example of what has happened to these once great arcades. Today, you literally have to call to find out if places are still open. Old phone numbers and addresses are still available, but when you drive an hour out of your way to find a place, you may find out they closed 5 to 10 years ago.  Not only do you run into arcades that have shut down, but when you do find one that is open, the cabs and pinball machines are in such a horrid state of affairs, you wonder why you even bothered to show up.

So you may wonder why we haven’t given up yet? We know there are some gems out there. About three to five years ago, there seemed to be an influx of people that felt retro needed to be the new thing. Anything from the 1980’s-1995 was suddenly cool again. Those of us waiting for the revival of the arcade, comics, and something not on an IPad were finally seeing an appreciation for the things we had grown up with. We are going out in search of these great and not so great places. Each arcade will be rated on a total score from 1 to 10 HLA Tokens. For example, this would be a 10 out of 10 rating.

HLA Rating – 10/10

If there is a bowling alley that has an arcade, we will be there to evaluate it. Sometimes you find some of the rarest games in the strangest of places. For now, we are going to be staying local, about a 100-200 mile radius from Philadelphia, PA. There are already two reviews in the works so be on the lookout. Do you have a place you think we should review? Email us at [email protected] or if you have questions or comments please feel free to email us at [email protected]. We plan to be totally fair to each arcade. We aren’t in this to defame anyone. We hope this can serve as a benefit to both gamers and arcade owners alike to let them know the best places to go as well as the type of games and general conditions of the arcades and machines. We aren’t settling for those ticket machine holes anymore. We want real arcades!! If you have a claw machine, there better be some chance in hell to win.

Both of us had the opportunity to go to arcades in Japan in 2010. The cabinets were in perfect condition, the places were packed with customers, and people were actually winning things out of the skill and claw machines. The attendee would actually reset the machine so you would have a chance to win. Games took actual skill!!!!! We both have a very high bar for what we think is the optimal arcade. We are hoping we can bring our years of collective gaming experience to the table and give you the best reviews.

So what are we taking into consideration?

• Number of Cabinets (non music simulation)
• Number of Pinball Machines
• Number of Music Simulation games
• Number of Dim Screens
• Number of Broken or Unplugged Machines (with details)
• Available staff
• Cost
• Cleanliness
• Payment method (Quarters/Tokens/Store Card/Flat fee/By the hour)
• Overall Machine Conditions
• Notable Machines (hard to find/excellent condition/etc)
• Hours
• Holiday Hours
• Food/Restrooms/other available

So that’s us in a nutshell. Stay tuned for our first review, 8 On The Break in Dunellen, NJ. This one is going to be a hard review. They were one of the places impacted by Hurricane Sandy. It’s difficult to write a review on a place that is rebuilding especially when you’ve seen them during the top of their game in 2003. Make sure to go like Hunters of the Lost Arcades on Facebook along with The Captain’s Page Insufficient Scotty on Facebook. Til next time…

The Hunters Of The Lost Arcades scour the arcade scene to find all the best and worst arcades. What are their credentials and criteria for these reviews? Check them out on the Hunters of the Lost Arcades Overture. You can Email The Hunters or follow The Hunters on Twitter @wheresmyarcade or Facebook