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Your Old Arcade Spot - Then and Now
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leapinlew:

--- Quote from: Spock on January 26, 2011, 01:42:40 pm ---I was born in 1980, so I got the full gamut of the transition to home consoles from the really old school arcades (missile command, robotron, etc).  I lived in Springfield, MO at the time, so the place to go for arcades was definitely Aladdin's Castle at the Battlefield Mall.  It was tucked in at the food court (as is usually the case).  However, this one had some serious floorspace as well as a few party rooms.  Any nerd of decent stature HAD to have his/her birthday party there.  The owner was great, buying the newest games quickly as they came out.  I remember being perplexed at Dragon's Lair.  I remember also that I was about 12 when I first saw a Fatality.  It was the most awesome moment ever  :notworthy:.  Since I sucked at it, I gladly put quarters in to play against superior opponents just to see more fatalities.  Another notable game was Afterburner, complete with full moving cockpit (speaking of which, has anybody reconstructed one of those?  How cool would it be for a full barrel roll version of that.  You probably would have to plastic coat the interior  ;).)  I vividly remember actually winning the Tekken 4 Tournament (or was it 3), feeling very proud of myself that I beat the last guy that was wussing out and picking the laser beam "Devil" character (here's to those who beat cheap b#tches with real characters !!!).

Well, as is the case with everyone else, it was shut down and turned into a Chinese restaurant, a Chick-Fil-A, and some other relatively worthless waste of space.  To this day I still wish we had them like they were, as I HATE having the card swipe BS at places like D&Bs.  That and most of the games are driving, shooting, etc.  And that's why I'm building a MAME cabinet and naming it Aladdin's Castle, after my childhood hangout.  Call it my "Rosebud," I'm sure it is for many of us.

--- End quote ---

Springfield Mo has 1984 now, so... thats pretty good.
Vulgar Soul:

--- Quote from: yotsuya on January 26, 2011, 01:47:27 pm ---I love 'Circuit Circus' as a name. Would be a good project title!

The best place to play games was this barbecue chicken called 'Turks'. Not only was the food deliciously bad for you, but they had a side room that was a mini-arcade. We pretty much ate there every Friday night, and sometimes I'd go with my dad to pick up the phone order. That little room is where I first played games like Joust, Atari Football, and this little gem of a game called Star Wars.

Alas, "Turk's" changed owners, and the food was never the same. And that little game room ended up getting converted to a beauty supply store.

--- End quote ---

They got the hair store right inside a crack chicken spot?

Lol damn, talk about the dirty south.
Bootay:
I grew up in Michigan and the 3 arcades that I went to a lot throughout my childhood was called Galaxy Arcade, Space Shuttle Arcade, and Spanky's Arcade.

Spanky's was within walking distance so I went there most..it was kind of small though had maybe 10-15 games tops and it was also an ice cream shop. Now it is a hair saloon.

Space Shuttle was cool and it was huge...had at least 50+ games in it. The place was painted black with blacklight paint on the walls. All paintings were space related and they kept the lights off and the only lighting was blacklights. This was the first place I ever seen Jungle King before Taito had to change it to Jungle Hunt, and also the first time I ever seen or played a lot of classics like Donkey Kong Jr.. Now it is a Chaplin's Comedy Club.

Galaxy was just a little bit smaller than Space Shuttle and is the only one to survive. They closed down about 4 years ago though due to a fire. Now it is a jewelry store.
THE POKER BRAT:
All i can say is,..WOW!..Im already drunk from looking at the great looking bar!,..wheres the topless barmaid?? lol
anyway,...i live 10 minutes by train to CONEY ISLAND,..ahh,..the memories!,..i loved " FABERS FACINATION ARCADE" back in the 80's on surf avenue,..that arcade housed at its peak time ,..NO-JOKE,..OVER 150 MACHINES!!!!.. i included a sad vid from that once famous arcade,..heres the video...
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-veZ9fd5-HQ" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>



 
 


note the place now is much smaller than what it used to be,..they sold floorspace to other vendors over the years,..the arcade used to take up 90% of the building floor,..now its only at 10 % and then today closed forever,..sigh!,..    Lucky me,..i was there in the 80's were the best times for me as a kid,..nowadays,.. coney island amusement park is nothing but a toilet!..thanks to>>>>"THOR EQUITIES REAL ESTATE' <<(i hate them    

And whatever you do,..if anyone comes to visit NATHANS,..dont eat there!,...food tastes like crap!,..trust me ,..im in coney ever spring/summer,..ive tried out all the food in the nieghborhood ,.though its nice to stroll on the boardwalk to the baseball stadium,..(BROOKLYN CYCLONES)
And the aquarium,.and to play some handball and poker that im a champion at,..across from the famous asser levy park, which gives outdoor concerts every summer,..seen some great shows there,...aint like what it used to be!..anyway,..im just blabbin!..        
Spock:

--- Quote ---Springfield Mo has 1984 now, so... thats pretty good.
--- End quote ---

Awesome, I'll definitely check it out when I get back home.  Thanks!
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