Retro Arcade - Warrington

We recently headed down to the fantastic new Retro Arcade, located under the arches of Central Station on Crown Street, Warrington. 

The arcade features an awesome selection of titles from the eighties, nineties and noughties.  All the main genres are well represented.  We went along on a Saturday, and the arcade was busy, but never felt overcrowded.  The machines line each side of the arch, leaving plenty of space for people to move round and giving quite a spacious feel to the venue.  Pay on the door and all of the games are set to free play.

Here is a walk round video of the arcade.

Here are some of my gaming highlights.

Time Crisis 3 – Namco – 2002

We had a real blast playing this through to the end, although we were guilty of credit feeding.

Commando / Senjō no Ōkami (JPN) – Capcom - 1985

We really enjoyed this run and gun, vertically scrolling shooter.  The old school Video World cabinet was very cool as well and seemed like a great match for the game.

Pole Position Cockpit – Atari, Inc. / Namco – 1982

This is the cab we kept going back to for one more go.  By the end of the day we were taking it in turns to play, seeing who could get the highest on the score board.  A stunning cabinet and a true classic, but just so frustrating when you crash and explode in a ball of flame!

Astro Fighter – Data East – 1979

This is another stunning cab I really enjoyed playing. 

In this classic space shooter, the player faces four waves of enemies which behave differently, including diagonal flying green ships which bear a resemblance to TIE fighters.  If one or more ships get past, the player has to start the wave over, but with their ship higher up the screen.  This makes the game more difficult and is a neat twist on the Space Invaders formula.  At the end of each level is the Master.  Destroying it will refill the player’s fuel tank, and the game begins again on a higher difficulty.

I love the cabinet artwork.

Super Monaco GP DLX – Sega – 1989

For me, this is the gem in the collection and was worth the trip alone.  An incredibly rare machine, I have vague memories of playing one back in the day on Britannia Pier arcade, Great Yarmouth.  I remember seeing the girl in the yellow bikini on the attract sequence and thinking it was a bit raunchy!

There is a cool story behind this machine.  It had been rescued out of a Yorkshire barn where it had been stood rotting for twenty years.  The circuit board had to go to America to be repaired, and the cabinet has been totally stripped down, checked and rebuilt again.  It’s been kept as original as possible.

The machine was in a sorry state when it arrived.

This image remains the copyright of Retro Arcade.

The player must first complete the shortened qualifying track, which determines the grid position in the main race.  Here is a video of the game in action.

In previous Sega DLX cabinets, electric motors were used via various mechanisms to drive the machine.  Super Monaco GP DLX uses the Air Drive system, in which compressed air is utilised to give a quicker response.

The Air Drive system is used to turn the seat to the left or the right, upward and downward.  Crash the car and the seat moves from side to side to give the sensation of the car spinning.  Brake and the seat jolts forward.  The cabinet features an air compressor at the front of the cab and the compressed air is stored in a tank.  The air is released or stopped from being released by means of an electromagnetic valve controlled by the CPU.  This causes the air cylinders to operate and drive the cabinet. 

Another noteworthy feature is the steering gear centering mechanism.  Through the use of an air cylinder in the steering wheel mechanism, the machine simulates the feel of driving an actual car.  I love the innovation on display here.  Sega were constantly pushing boundaries to give players new experiences.  It’s certainly a unique experience, and a fantastic piece of Sega history.  It’s an awesome machine to play again after all these years, and I must say the yellow bikini lady has aged incredibly well!

Toobin’ – Atari Games – 1988

Another fantastic and unique game you don’t see very often.  The game is loads of fun, and I love the cabinet design, featuring unique controls, cool artwork and an incredible cascading waterfall marquee.  I’d love to have one of these in my collection.

The cool Electrocoin Goliath line up, featuring Wonder Boy, Hyper Olympic ’84 and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike.

The arcade also has a console area and a nice selection of pinball tables.

Some more pics of Retro Arcade.

Insert predictable “I’ll be back” comment here!

We had a fantastic time at Retro Arcade, with its great atmosphere and awesome selection of games.  Since my visit, I’ve noticed on the Retro Arcade Facebook page that they’ve now added more machines to the line up, including RoboCop, Robotron, The Simpsons and Video Pinball.  I’m already looking forward to my return visit to try them out!