Wednesday
Mar242010
Arcade UFO impressions
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 07:00AM
I was recently in the Austin, Texas for a family spring break vacation. I had heard about there being a Japanese-style arcade in the area, and was very interested in checking it out. I had read the game list beforehand and seriously couldn't wait to be there. As I mentioned earlier, it was a family trip and I didn't get to explore the place nearly as much as I desired. My mother is into gaming, but my father less so. He would rather be browsing anime DVDs than watching us two play games. We all went in together, and only spent about forty-five minutes. I feel as though I have only scratched the surface of the arcade.
First of all, how on earth was I unaware that a real Japanese style arcade was this close to home? I have gone to Austin several times over the past three years, stopping by at places such as Austin Books and Comics and Dragon's Lair. I asked the author of http://www.austinotaku.com/ about it, and he had even written about it. I can't believe this completely missed my radar. From what I've read, there had been an arcade called Einstein's which shut down. The regulars wouldn't let their hang-out die, and bought their machines to start a fresh arcade- Arcade UFO.
When we drove up to the site, we reached a small, completely unassuming building. Perhaps we had driven here before, and I had completely missed it? Inside was a place like I never imaged was only a three hour drive away. The lights were dimmed and the place was illuminated by the screens of the games. The cabinets sat next to each other in neat rows with a small stool in front of each one. It was wonderful to walk in and instantly be surrounded with the sounds of all the various games.
I grabbed my quarters and began to browse the titles. Plenty of fighting games, with popular titles such as BlazBlue, Tekken 6, Guilty Gear, and Melty Blood. I was especially impressed with six linked Street Fighter IV cabinets. Admittedly fighting games are not a genre than I am too experienced with. It comes with the territory of being a console player all by their lonesome. Outside of getting people to play Smash Bros, there isn't much interest within my circle. Still, I had to give Arcana Heart a try due to appeal of some loli shootan action. I enjoyed it very much, and was surprised at how much value three quarters got me. Unfamiliar with the arcade scene, I expected a fighting game that I wasn't experienced with would quickly eat through my cash as I tried to learn it. I actually didn't run out of play, I just knew I wasn't going to get to stay too long and wanted to try out some other games. When I got home I ordered the PS2 one from Amazon though.
From there, I decided to give puzzle games a try. After a few rounds of the familiar Puzzle Bobble and Mr. Driller, I went ahead and plated Money Puzzle Exchanger. I was getting pretty into it, but not quite sure I completely understood the system. Keep in mind, these are Japanese arcade games. Cutesy Japanese puzzle games are kind of my thing, so I was right at home in this territory. If I lived in Austin, I don't know how I would stay away from these games. Also, I noticed that my mom was playing Puyo Pop and Tetris.
Finally, I sat down to a game of Death Smiles for my shmup fix. As a fan of danmaku shmups, I was in love. The game was excellent, as expected from CAVE. The games difficulty is determined by the paths you choose after each level, marked from one to three. For a shmup, it seemed accessible enough while still catering to the hardcore fans.
Sadly, that is about all I did at the arcade. Like I mentioned, it was a family trip and we had a lot to do and bored dad. Next time, the plan to drop him off and devote a large chunk of time. I only wish such a place was local, I would certainly be a frequent customer. In fact, ever since being there last week, I have wondered about how possible it would be for me to start up such a business in Corpus Christi..
First of all, how on earth was I unaware that a real Japanese style arcade was this close to home? I have gone to Austin several times over the past three years, stopping by at places such as Austin Books and Comics and Dragon's Lair. I asked the author of http://www.austinotaku.com/ about it, and he had even written about it. I can't believe this completely missed my radar. From what I've read, there had been an arcade called Einstein's which shut down. The regulars wouldn't let their hang-out die, and bought their machines to start a fresh arcade- Arcade UFO.
When we drove up to the site, we reached a small, completely unassuming building. Perhaps we had driven here before, and I had completely missed it? Inside was a place like I never imaged was only a three hour drive away. The lights were dimmed and the place was illuminated by the screens of the games. The cabinets sat next to each other in neat rows with a small stool in front of each one. It was wonderful to walk in and instantly be surrounded with the sounds of all the various games.
I grabbed my quarters and began to browse the titles. Plenty of fighting games, with popular titles such as BlazBlue, Tekken 6, Guilty Gear, and Melty Blood. I was especially impressed with six linked Street Fighter IV cabinets. Admittedly fighting games are not a genre than I am too experienced with. It comes with the territory of being a console player all by their lonesome. Outside of getting people to play Smash Bros, there isn't much interest within my circle. Still, I had to give Arcana Heart a try due to appeal of some loli shootan action. I enjoyed it very much, and was surprised at how much value three quarters got me. Unfamiliar with the arcade scene, I expected a fighting game that I wasn't experienced with would quickly eat through my cash as I tried to learn it. I actually didn't run out of play, I just knew I wasn't going to get to stay too long and wanted to try out some other games. When I got home I ordered the PS2 one from Amazon though.
From there, I decided to give puzzle games a try. After a few rounds of the familiar Puzzle Bobble and Mr. Driller, I went ahead and plated Money Puzzle Exchanger. I was getting pretty into it, but not quite sure I completely understood the system. Keep in mind, these are Japanese arcade games. Cutesy Japanese puzzle games are kind of my thing, so I was right at home in this territory. If I lived in Austin, I don't know how I would stay away from these games. Also, I noticed that my mom was playing Puyo Pop and Tetris.
Finally, I sat down to a game of Death Smiles for my shmup fix. As a fan of danmaku shmups, I was in love. The game was excellent, as expected from CAVE. The games difficulty is determined by the paths you choose after each level, marked from one to three. For a shmup, it seemed accessible enough while still catering to the hardcore fans.
Sadly, that is about all I did at the arcade. Like I mentioned, it was a family trip and we had a lot to do and bored dad. Next time, the plan to drop him off and devote a large chunk of time. I only wish such a place was local, I would certainly be a frequent customer. In fact, ever since being there last week, I have wondered about how possible it would be for me to start up such a business in Corpus Christi..
Reader Comments (1)
I think I might have been there once!