Arcades in Herne Bay, Kent

During the holidays we travelled down to Kent and spent a few nights in a caravan at Romney Sands.  On our way down to Romney, we stopped off at Herne Bay and checked out the arcades.

Caine’s Amusements

Located close to Herne Pier, this arcade has a good selection of the latest releases as shown at EAG Expo 2017, including Cruis‘n Blast, Space Invaders Frenzy and The Walking Dead.

It’s great to see Space Invaders back in the arcades.  Although it’s more of a ticket redemption game, I love the frantic gameplay and can’t resist a go whenever I see one.

It was the first time I’ve seen After Dark DLX, a fun fantasy-themed shooter released by UNIS / Universal Space in 2013.

With two gun turrets and a steering wheel for steering / dodging events, the set up is almost identical to Namco’s Dead Storm Pirates.  This deluxe version also features a motion seat.

Here is a video of the game.

Talk of the Town

The first machines you encounter in this arcade are Sega Rally 2 and Le Mans 24.  I enjoyed a couple of credits on Le Mans 24, a Sega game you don’t see very often.  I had a race with my four year old daughter, who ended up driving the wrong way around the track whilst on fire.

Next up was The House of the Dead III and Time Crisis 3, the latter was switched off.

As we headed towards the back of the arcade there were some awesome surprises.

I could hardly believe it, an OutRun DLX!

The machine had been converted to Turbo OutRun.  I love the marquee topper and have never seen one of these before.

Although it was great to see an OutRun Turbo DLX, it was also a little sad to see it not working and unloved, gathering dust and being used to prop up fire extinguishers. 

The machine had some cosmetic wear and tear.  At some point in time ‘Jilly T’ had felt the urge to inscribe her name on the seat. 

Despite this, I’m sure that with a bit of tlc the machine could be restored back to its former glory.

Well I never thought I’d see Thunder Cross II in an English seaside town arcade in 2017!

This Sega Super Megalo 2 had a bit of an identity crisis, with Virtua Striker 2 side art, The King of Fighters ’98 instruction strips and Thunder Cross II installed in the cab. 

Unfortunately the rear projector screen was damaged and the colours washed out, rendering the game barely playable.

There were two Electrocoin Duet cabinets with Cosmo Gang the Video and Wonder Boy.

The Dr Who and Fish Tales pinball tables were both switched off.

Overall Talk of the Town was a cool arcade with some interesting game titles and machines that you just don’t see anymore, but it was a shame some of the machines were in a bit of a sorry state.

Broad Farm Touring Caravan Park & Campsite Re-visit

We recently went down to Broad Farm in Fleggburgh, Norfolk to check out a band and see if there had been any changes to the arcade.

Something has survived!  On my last visit The Lost World was out of order, it was nice to see it up and running again.

For some reason the shooter line up and Dirty Harry pinball table were switched off.

The ‘arcade graveyard’ section remains largely unchanged, although the Crazy Taxi cabinet has gone.

It turns out there is another arcade next to the bar area.  This comprised mostly of fruit machines, but the awesome Virtua Racing was a nice surprise.

Unfortunately the left monitor wasn’t working and the machine was a little worn around the edges.  However Sega Model 1 machines are a rare find these days and it was great to see one still being operated.

I can’t comment on the band.  My daughter was getting pretty tired and grumpy, and we ended up going home before they had even finished setting up.

New Arrival - Atari Klax Cabaret

IT IS THE NINETIES AND THERE IS TIME FOR...

About The Cab

It seemed like this cab was for sale forever on Ebay and on Jamma+ and Ukvac arcade forums.  In the end I decided to buy it mainly for my wife, with Klax being one of her favourite games.  Plus I thought it would be cool having an Atari cab and would bring something a bit different to my collection.  When the cab arrived, I was short of space and it ended up behind the TV in the lounge for a while.  Then we moved house and all my cabs were put into storage during the transition.  Finally Klax takes pride of place in my new games room. 

The cab was made in Ireland, Tipperary town. 

Interestingly it looks like the cab has been operated in Germany, with Deutsche Marks on the coin inserts.

The Good

-The cab is fully working!

-There are some small marks from general wear and tear, but the cab is generally in excellent condition.

-The monitor is a Wells-Gardner, Model No. 19K7901, and the picture is great with no noticeable burn.

-Being a cabaret, the cab is nice and compact.

-The cab is funky, with nice side art and chrome T-moulding.

-The bezel is in great condition.

-The cab is extremely clean inside.  Other than a bit of a hoover up inside the base, I haven’t had to do anything to it.

-The instruction card is intact and attached to the rear door.

-It came complete with manual and keys

-With the cab being Jamma standard there is always the option to put other one button puzzle games in there as well.  

The Not So Good

-There is some slight cigarette burn on the left hand side of the control panel.

-A small section of side art on the right hand side has started to peel away.

-The coin door key is missing and one of the locks is missing the latch.

-My wife is very good at the game, and I’m not.

A massive thanks to Danscu (Ukvac) for this cab, I’m really pleased to add it to my collection.

Daytona Championship USA Hits The Arcades!

A local arcade in Great Yarmouth, The Golden Nugget now has a Daytona Championship USA twin set up.  It’s great to see the new Daytona hitting the arcades and I have dropped plenty of gold coins into it to give it a thorough testing. 

Below are my thoughts on the game and some general observations.

Cabinet Design

The cabinet is very striking, with its video billboard marquee, engine under the seat and cool colour changing LED lighting. 

The 47” HD LED screen provides a very immersive experience, although it does seem susceptible to glare and light reflections.

A pic of the cab shortly after arrival.

The cabinet utilises some parts from older Sega cabinets.  The gear shifter and foot pedal assembly are identical parts to those used on my OutRun2.

Graphics and Sound

Although the visuals don’t break new ground, the game does look good.  With bright, vibrant visuals and blue skies, the game is unmistakably Sega.

Three-Seven Speedway still features Sonic engraved into the side of the cliff face.  The slot machine banners are now absent.

The Jeffry statue on Seaside Street Galaxy has now been replaced with Akira.

The music is good with some nice remixes of the original Takenobu Mitsuyoshi tunes.

Video Billboard Marquee

A ‘Live-TV’ inspired video board allows spectators to see what’s happening in the race.  It also incorporates a live camera feed.  The billboard is a nice feature and really makes the cab stand out.

Gear Shifter

The cab still has the ‘up / down’ shifter as shown at EAG.  It looks as though Sega have made allowances in the design so that a four speed H-type shifter could be fitted. 

Tracks

Despite the all new cab and graphics, the game feels instantly familiar.  In addition to the three updated tracks from the original, there are three new ones.  The game now features two beginner, two advanced and two expert tracks.  Beginner comprises of eight laps, advanced six laps and expert one lap.  The new beginner track is Daytona International Speedway.  The track is very similar to Three-Seven Speedway and based on the newly renovated Daytona track. 

The new advanced track is Lakeside Castle Speedway.  The track is a mirrored version Dinosaur Canyon and features a picturesque moated castle, a purple sky sunset and fire works. 

The new expert track is Metro City International Raceway and is a mirrored version of Seaside Street Galaxy.  The cityscape track features a low-flying plane overhead and has a bit of a Ridge Racer vibe.

Gameplay

In single player there are two modes of play - Quick Race and Championship. 

On Quick Race, the aim is to beat the fastest time of the chosen track.  On Championship, the player must get in the top three in order to qualify for the next race.  This is no mean feat and so far I haven’t managed to get beyond the first race.

Overall

Daytona Championship USA is bound to divide opinion.  The game is more of a reboot, and those hoping for a fully fledged sequel may be disappointed.  The game has a strong nostalgia factor and is fun for casual and more serious gamers alike.  Personally I’m really enjoying it and happy to see Daytona back in the arcades.