Arcade Memories

A little drive down memory lane for some of my favorite arcade games.
On
September 28, 2015
Before the time of HD gaming and 60-80' televisions in our homes, the best thing to in your face gaming was the good old arcade. A place where you could spend your weekly allowance within an hour.

Oh how I remember the arcade so fondly. The rows and rows of games, the pings and dings of different machines, it was music to my ears. Some even had a place to order food such as pizza and burgers and all this other kind of junk food. What more could a 8 year old kid want? You have video games and junk food all in one wonderful area.

Sure kids of today are much better off with the Xbox One's and their PS4's but they will never understand a simpler time when you gather your friends up and actually see and talk to each other in person than over the internet. There was nothing better than 4 of you going to the arcade and finally conquering the game that had beaten you so many times.

So with that, here are some arcade classics that I grew up with.

1. Fatal Fury


Fatal Fury was the first arcade game I actually ever played. I was actually born in another country and when I first came to Canada, my parents started working at a laundry mat and we had a arcade beside us. I was not allowed to stay home alone so I had to go with my parents and stay there while they worked. I was so bored until one so I saw some kids playing in the arcade. I asked my dad for some quarters and I went and started playing with them. They were so cool and nice to me and I made some new friends, all because of an arcade machine.

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


I am sure all of you arcade goers have played this one before. I played the original one for the Nintendo and I was blown away. TMNT video game, HECK YEA!! It was so much fun playing it on the Nintendo that when I saw the arcade machine, I lost my SH%^! I always picked Leonardo because he had the sword. Man I lost a lot of quarters in this game. Me and my brother used to play this one a lot.

3. The Simpsons Arcade Game


OK, a little breather here. I no for a fact everyone has heard of this one. like OMG!!! I played Bart Vs The Space Mutants on the NES but OMG a Simpsons arcade game. I swear this game made me loose more quarters than any other game. After all these years, I could never beat it. This was one of the only games my sister would ever play with us. I was always Bart, she was always Lisa and my brother was always Homer. We would beg our parents to take us to the arcade specifically for this game. Each time we went, we would make it a bit further and further. Unfortunately before we could beat it, we moved away and there were not any arcades in the area we were living in so I could not play it any more. This one holds a sentimental memory for me as it was one of the only times me my bro and sis would actually work together instead of always fighting "Sigh"
4. Street Fighter 2


Alright guys, final one. The grand daddy of them all. Street Fighter 2. This game made you feel like a champ. I was a arcade veteran by then and I was up for any challenge. I could always beat my brother and my friends, but this game always brings me back to my best and worst arcade memory of them all.

Here is my final story:

So we were in Chucky Cheese and it was my sisters birthday. I was going around and playing games and happened to walk across SF2. There was this one kid playing and he was damn good. I watched him play for a bit and he always picked M. Bison and always did the same move over and over again and I figured out how he played. He kept beating so many kids that I got upset and wanted to take him down. One problem though, I had run out of tokens. So I go to my dad and ask him for a dollar and he said No! He said he was tired and wanted us to leave and asked me to find my sister and brother so we could leave.

As I was looking for them, I look down and see a token on the floor. It was a sign, I said to myself, I dont care, I am taking this and going to beat that "M. Bison" kid. I went to the SF2 machine and he was gone but some other kid was playing. I was like "no way man" he'll come back so I popped my token in and challenged the kid playing. I beat him and kept playing the computer. Then another kid came and challenged me and I beat him. Then his friend came and I beat him too.

Word got around that there was some kid (me) that was kicking ass in SF2 so people started lining to play me. At one point, I looked back and there was like 8-10 kids lined up. I just kept winning and winning. I swear I won like 15 games in a row.

And then I looked back and there he was!!! The M. Bison kid. He was next in line after this one kid that just challenged me. I was like, this is it man! I am gonna get this guy. As soon as the I started my match with some kid my dad comes over and stars yelling at me to leave as I had not realized an hour had gone by since he told me to find my bro and sis. I tried to explain to him what was happening and I was becoming a legend and he didn't care.

Here comes the sad part "sniff Sniff". He started hitting my buttons and MADE ME LOOSE!!!!! Right before I could have my fight with the M.Bison kid. I felt like crying. As I was walked away, I looked up at the M. Bison kid and he gave me a little smerk. He knew he would have lost, I know it and he knew it. One of the saddest days of my life. I could have been a legend at Chucky Cheese.

I was so sad for the rest of the day and so mad at my dad. He still didn't understand the importance of this situation.

Sorry for the length of the story but I wanted to try to put you in my place.

Well thanks for reading and I hope this brought back some of your arcade memories.
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