Proudest Arcade Achievement

[NOES3]

Was wondering what people viewed as their crowning glory back in the arcades?

For me it is 1ccing House of the Dead with my friend. By the end of game boss there was a crowd around us the magnitude you would only expect to see at a Taylor Swift concert. We felt like A listers as we swaggered away to claps and cheers.

What's yours?

Jon

 

[Spanky]

Well, apart from completing Out Run yesterday...
I completed Police 24/7 once. Think I pumped about two dozen pound coins into it. All the ducking gave my leg muscles so much exercise I couldn't take the stairs the following day.

 

[chubsta]

650,000+ on Sinistar - could usually get up around the 250,000 mark without too many problems but I remember one very hot day sweating absolute cobs as I got my high score, was literally dripping with sweat afterwards.
Bought a machine a few years back and could never get anywhere near even 250,000...

 

[69er]

While I have witnessed several amazing players of various video games in our arcades .. especially regular players who stood for ages at games like Time Crisis etc . Having only changed a single pound coin!!

For me personally it’s been a few times we installed a brand new unseen game and set the volume fairly loud on our own sites usually with only a few onlookers. However 3 occasions that do stand out was were new installations whilst I was an engineer for Associated Leisure where I was a part time freelance jukebox/pinball/video repair engineer for motorway services and arcade sites all over North west UK….

First around 1987 a large audience and the ability with access keys to load one of the first ever Operation Wolf shooters on M6 south motorway services at Knutsford in Cheshire… I got a bit carried away with my chain of keys dangling round my neck and the coin door still open , I sort of noticed a few heads in the glass reflection but didn’t realise till ‘You are finished here’ ended my credits beyond 2 levels , I turned around a bit red faced I think at about 40 onlookers? So know that feeling…..

A few years later early 90s? Similarly installing one of the first Jurasssic Park pinball machines direct from box , at a busy large pub in Warrington also for ALL..I set up the pricing and tested it… I wasn’t ready to feel the aggressive shaker motor effect of the TRex when it first rattled the machine and a few watchers laughed at my reaction ! I had owned & played numerous pins but this was a new one on me!

Finally still early 90s? our own second hand Mad Dog Mcree . I had already played this game a few time while repairing video cabs fo AL ltd …. So was quite predictive of all the target baddies…. Once again with the sound high a group of watchers had gathered and applauded wildly as I ended my test session .. they had not seen these interactive stand away shooter games before… you do get that celebrity feeling..

Just must mention though MY OWN quite sort of shocked/embarrassing moment equally in the 1970s I took delivery of my first coin op video game and never previously played ‘pong’ or other similar games in pubs.. I was a good long time pinball owner/player but this video - a horizontal variant of Atari Breakout … the wife and I played it all day and achieved scores of around 9-24 sort of high score we thought fairly skilful ? due to our hand eye coordination not being used to a rapid white ‘ball’ zipping towards the rotary controlled bat. !! ….. then , our friend Quentin, who had a Sinclair ZX version arrived home from work .. first credit he was through the wall and eventually used his 3 lives at about 695 … wow that was our turn in life to be the ones impressed by a hero player….
Obviously seen main impressive players since on all sorts of amusements but these 4 are perhaps the stand out ones? From memory ( long time passed since) !

I don’t recall any of my own high scores on anything but we have a Neo Geo puzzle bobble game in one of our home Jamma cabs and it’s the wife’s one time favourite and she has a high score of over 16,500,000 and that’s still with part of level 30 to finish… she has all the high scores 15 million plus 3 of which are all levels ended and 2 are level 29/30 which is end termination so can’t be increased and all at standard 3 life single credit plays. I think it’s version four ?

 

[69er]

I loved running our holiday park arcades as young customers looked on in amazement at some of the ‘whilst open’ quickie maintenance repairs which look more technical than they really are….. I have repaired so many forced feedback belts on drivers such as Need for Speed Carbon/ Underground and similar Namco games.. it’s about a 15 - 20 minute repair .. I would then stand to one side left foot on throttle flat out and left hand on wheel just drive them like it was just my normal way home at night?

Nothing so satisfying as the smile on children’s faces when you walk away leaving part of a played game and even a few spare credits on all types of amusement only games …. They may think back at these times and even be on here? Thinking about the guy who left free games on some videos in the camp arcades of Rhyl and Towyn

We can’t do that on cranes /roulettes / horse racers or any fruits it’s actually illegal to encourage gambling in any way but leaving a video half played saved time which we could do another job or get to the queue for change at the kiosk?
Such mercenaries at heart in reality !!!!!!
Ker-ching ….. game over ! 😁😁😁😁😁

However contrary to belief we gave away thousands of soft plush toys/teddies on cranes and probably millions of key rings /fridge magnets/ plastic toys and bracelets including some faux gold quality stuff on 2p pushers and bags and bags of love hearts refreshers & other sweets too!

Happy players who win something are more likely to return year after year . As are parents who get a fair cost child minder for a few hours day or night while they soak up rays at their caravans 👍 and a peaceful holiday break !

 

[battlechasers]

1cc Side Arms, golden sands Mablethorpe 1987. Never managed to repeat it.

 

[neoretro]

Scoring 48 million on outrun which I think would put me 4th or 5th in the world.

Behind 2 regulars in the arcade and a couple of disputable records

 

[2DForever]

Winning games of Street Fighter 3: 3rd strike in Japanese arcades. I felt like a pro!

 

[kingtreelo]

my only "achievement" was having to walk away from Iron Man Stewart after about an hour of playing realising the game had looped about 10 times and someone else might want a go, i would have been playing till the place closed that day

 

[favouredson]

It's a toss up between:

Playing Mousetrap for over 6 hours on one 10p whilst scoring well over 11,000,000 pts in the process.
(Not to mention getting paid double to stop playing and having food given to me by some of the local Grammar School kids.)

Completing Rygar for the first time and only realising after that I had done so with 1 life.

 

[John Bennett]

I was rubbish at most stuff as a kid. I did 1CC Golden Axe with another kid on holiday once (after much practice).

Recently I discovered I could 1CC the rather good redemption game, Wild West Shootout.
This would get me around 1000 tickets, which not only turned heads, but got me lots and lots of coconut ice and the odd crap toy for the kids.


To spice things up, I even 1CC'd it once using two guns, John Woo style.

Sadly the arcade owner cottoned on that the difficulty was set too low (probably as it must've dispensed a mile of tickets every day) and cranked it right up, so you got slaughtered in about 30 seconds, ending all my fun .

 

[Retroman839]

Getting a vitua striker up 2 flights of stairs .

I got cash out of silent scope
On the part where you shot
Falling bank notes shot £20



Beating the manger of Cortes englais Alacante
SF2 1up cab Until he could take anymore. About 10 times .

He told me he didn’t know how to play at first but was doing all dalsim moves on me and was just desperate for 1 win .. and I didn’t let him:

Runner up SF comp on games master live Earl’s Court circa 1996 Dexter fletcher era

Playing ryan hart on Tekken 5 dark.
At future entertainment show
Even though I got my arse handed to me I was still proud I got a game with him 😊 even though it was just for fun..
Players down there for the uk unveiling was some high level shit going down ..
Players I knew from godge street casino arcade, and the troq sega world .

Not arcade but also beat George best and Calum best fifa 96 mega drive . 2 vs 2 same show.
Prize
EA sports england shirt.

New York sf3 forbidden planet
Getting some wins that day .
Sep 2001

 

[69er]

I was rubbish at most stuff as a kid. I did 1CC Golden Axe with another kid on holiday once (after much practice).

Recently I discovered I could 1CC the rather good redemption game, Wild West Shootout.
This would get me around 1000 tickets, which not only turned heads, but got me lots and lots of coconut ice and the odd crap toy for the kids.
View attachment 61248

To spice things up, I even 1CC'd it once using two guns, John Woo style.

Sadly the arcade owner cottoned on that the difficulty was set too low (probably as it must've dispensed a mile of tickets every day) and cranked it right up, so you got slaughtered in about 30 seconds, ending all my fun .

EXACTLY !!! … not familiar with that one but I hated loading tickets into the dispensers… some hold several packs and each pack has a peel back sticker one the end ticket to join packs end to end .. tricky loading some?
Also if the arcade has not got a ‘ticket eater’ you have to hand count (assess) quantity and stop locals ferreting the bins for discarded tickets free to trade? You can still get thousands some days !! I HATE REDEMPTION !!! It’s next thing to going cashless on phone credit ? CAMPAIGN TO KEEP THE COINS …(and notes) it’s part of the play fun of all coin op machines!!

Now the coins are smaller and weigh less they don’t pull your trousers down winning on the pushers but don’t push so much distance as the old big penny (240 for a pound pre’71 decimalisation) on ‘penny falls’ original log style sideways coin pusher of the 1960s. And other great penny push games of yesteryears…. 2p is an ok coin for present day games - just cheap fun 50 pushes for a pound ….. where else is that value ? .. it costs a pound to unchain a shopping trolley!

 

[69er]

@Retroman839
Getting any large cabinet / pooltable / juke or other collectible hobby home item , even a train layout etc up or down any staircase is always an ACHIEVEMENT! for sure

So many wallpaper rips and odd black fingernails can be the outcome but we never learn and still acquire such things for such places?

 

[Retroman839]

@Retroman839
Getting any large cabinet / pooltable / juke or other collectible hobby home item , even a train layout etc up or down any staircase is always an ACHIEVEMENT! for sure

So many wallpaper rips and odd black fingernails can be the outcome but we never learn and still acquire such things for such places?

I was asked on jamma + years ago
“ mum & dad have had all new decoration wall paper hall stairs & landing “

Need cabs removing from my old bedroom at parents
Deal is to get em down without a single scratch to expensive wall paper . We did it and they were all so happy and such a nice family to boot .. the guy was very kind and offerd me a couple games for free it was a lovely time, everyone was happy

 

[69er]

Don’t want to drift off the topic but… Installing hundreds of home pool tables (same applies to video cabs) it’s always handy to have an odd piece of thick cardboard or old carpet to protect door frames, walls, and especially pool table’s worst enemy the laminated floor,,, “”” Don’t scratch the laminate”””” soon as you lean on the table to break , off it goes , walkabout by a few inches…
Remedy we used to buy odd carpet tiles from BnQ cut into 4 small squares and pad each foot with the non slip rubber backed carpet tile else scratching was unavoidable!

 

[John Bennett]

EXACTLY !!! … not familiar with that one but I hated loading tickets into the dispensers… some hold several packs and each pack has a peel back sticker one the end ticket to join packs end to end .. tricky loading some?
Also if the arcade has not got a ‘ticket eater’ you have to hand count (assess) quantity and stop locals ferreting the bins for discarded tickets free to trade? You can still get thousands some days !! I HATE REDEMPTION !!! It’s next thing to going cashless on phone credit ? CAMPAIGN TO KEEP THE COINS …(and notes) it’s part of the play fun of all coin op machines!!

As a player, I don't like redemption as the games usually seem skewed to get obscenely hard really quickly so you get naff-all tickets. It felt very odd to be able to 1CC a redemption game.

 

[leeram]

Not exactly back in the day. A few weeks about got a perfect and 3 apples on Hyper Sports Archery (at Arcade Club, Bury). I took a picture of the score, framed it and have it in my front room

 

[Alpha1]

Completing Rodge Racer Full Scale drifting like a pro with a huge crowd around me.

 

[jerryspaghetti]

Getting 524k in 1hr time limit at the 1st UK Kong Off this year. It was the highest score posted in the 1hr time limit rounds.

Couldn't quite get it together in the final but finished 6th overall which was nice given the level of the guys in the final.