Arcade Warehouse Lincoln Tour June 2021

It’s great to be out and about visiting arcades again, and we recently went to a brand new one, Arcade Warehouse in Lincoln.  Join me and my two trusty sidekicks, Cookie Gamer and Pizza Arcade Gamer Boy as we check it out. 

The arcade has a nice selection of machines, including a lot of relatively modern dedicated cabs.  Highlights include Dariusburst, H2Overdrive, Star Wars Battle Pod and Behind Enemy Lines.  My boy looked particularly at home wielding the gun turret, mowing down enemies on Behind Enemy Lines, Sega’s uncommon on-rails shooter. 

 

We had a two hour session.  Pizza Arcade Gamer Boy was excited to play Luigi’s Mansion Arcade, but unfortunately someone hogged it for the duration.  This is the only thing which slightly tarnished the experience, but that’s down to inconsiderate people, not the fault of the venue.  Apart from that we all had a fantastic time.  The venue is very family orientated, and it was great seeing people of all ages enjoying the machines. 

Awesome New Pick Ups

It’s that time again to show my pick ups from the last few months.  First we have an awesome delivery from Japan. 

The King of Fighters games for the PS4 were purchased from the SNK Online Shop and included some very nice extras.  KOF 2002 Unlimited Match Complete Set came with a mini version of a Neo Geo stand which would have been displayed at Japanese game centers.  The stand lights up, once I find a suitable button battery that is. 

 

KOF XIV Ultimate Edition Complete Set came with a mini Neo SC-19 cab.  The lower section has a door, and the internal space is designed to hold ten PS4 sized games.  The stickers were a bit of a nightmare to apply, especially the screen, but it’s super cool and looks great in the games room.  Also it’s roughly the same scale as the sign which is nice. 

Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future Limited Edition for the PS2 has been a title I’ve been meaning to pick up for years.  It comes with the game, Gamest Mook game guide, a special DVD featuring replays and bouts and a 300 piece jigsaw.  It’s in great condition, and I really love the Chun Li box art. 

I was also pleased to get hold of a couple more coasters from a Cave event held at Tokyo Video Gamers Bar in Akihabara.  To get these coasters you had to buy a drink, and they came in a sealed bag meaning the design you got was random. 

 

Now from the far east to the south east!  Here are some more pick ups from my awesome local game shop in Norwich, Last Level Games.  They’ve been getting some very cool items in recently, and their prices are always very reasonable. 

 

First up is a great little selection of Megadrive titles.  I was especially pleased to find Castlevania: The New Generation, it was a real surprise to see one locally.  Oddly enough I visited an old arcade Op the very same week and found a Haunted Castle board.  It was a pretty awesome week for pick ups! 

Next we have a nice little selection of survival horror, spanning across three console generations.  My PlayStation collection is primarily Japanese, but I’ve been on the lookout for Pal horror titles recently as these are games I’d really like to play, but would prove very difficult for me in their native language. 

Clock Tower is a pretty uncommon title.  I also have the third instalment on the PS2, which got me thinking about the second game, as I couldn’t recall ever seeing it.  It turns out the international release is actually the Japanese sequel.  The first instalment was released on the Super Famicom in 1995 and later re-released for the Japanese PS1 in 1997 as Clock Tower: The First Fear and has never had an official release outside Japan.