Japan Trip 2018: Mak Japan

A recent trip to Japan presented the opportunity to visit Akihabara. Taito HEY is still going strong and I had fun playing some Cave shmups there; however, I was saddened to see that the retro selections at Try Amusement Tower and Club Sega are completely gone. 

Also, the arcade shops G-Front and Try have basically disappeared and are now by appointment and/or mail order only, leaving Mak Japan as the only arcade specialty shop of its kind.

It's fun to look but the prices are pretty insane nowadays. I'll always regret not stocking up on common CPS2 B boards when Mak were selling them for only 3000 yen each 5 years ago. I also kick myself for missing the chance to get some relatively cheap Cave PCBs then too. 

Still, deals can be found as I bought these two MVS titles for a combined 1500 yen!

Random Arcade Cabs

I stumbled upon a few cabs at the back of a record shop. Unfortunately, almost all were either off or not in working order.

Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder

Living in Canada, the arcade community here is rather small and you rarely find anything good for sale. However, whenever I do find a good deal in Canada I tend to strike gold. Which brings me to my most recent pick up...

Golden Axe 2!!!!!!

Jurassic Park

Found this at the local mall a while ago and finally got around to playing it today, not bad!

Not to be mistaken with the earlier Sega games, this Jurassic Park arcade game was released in 2015. Raw Thrills is a spiritual successor of sorts to Midway and primarily releases license based shooter and racing games. It's great to see a company outside of Japan still releasing fun new arcade games.

New PCBs: Shinobi & Vendetta

Shinobi is an absolute arcade classic that I've been reluctant to buy due to its non-JAMMA format and suicide battery. However, my collection is beat-em-up heavy and lacking in skill based games, so I decided to buy a JAMMA adaptor and find a Shinobi board without the suicide battery.

Shinobi was at a local ski hill growing up and I remember watching the attract screen countless times. Now I finally own it. Keeping with the ninja theme, the controls are smooth and precise and the game has a nice flow to it.

Vendetta/Crime Fighters 2 lacks a cool license, which is probably why it's not as fondly remembered as other Konami arcade games of the era. I originally wrote it off as a poor man's final fight but, despite it's goofy tone and dorky character designs, it's actually pretty fun. The controls offer a good amount of variety, which is saying a lot for a 2 button game.

Astro City Model/Happy New Year!

I picked up this Astro City model while in Japan earlier this fall and gave it to myself as a Christmas gift. I haven't had the time to build it yet though.

I find myself with less time and money to devote to arcade stuff as each year passes. Still, I plan to keep updating this blog whenever I have something worthwhile to post about.

Road Trip: Eighty Three Arcade Bar

I went on a fun little road trip with my cousins today. Our main destination was Eighty Three Arcade Bar, a venue mainly stocked with 80's classics but that also had my all time favorite arcade game, Mortal Kombat 2!