Retro Arena: Arcade Classics Pt3

[Leon Retro]

So I'll just pretend to get ready for school and latter before my gran came in, I'll walk around the block, with school bag and knock the door to be let back in lol.

Dennis the Menace was your role model.

Gaming has always dominated my life, to the point where I'd usually put it first above other things. As soon as I got my first computer I fell in love with gaming and knew it would always be my passion in life. I've never been addicted to or obsessed with anything else.

The things I love are:

1. Gaming




2. Rock & Heavy Metal
3. Football
4. Films & Television
5. Women

I'll never change.

[ZipZap]

I think I'd go...

R-Type
Ghouls n Ghosts
Chase HQ
SCI
New Zeland Story

...but it's not a list I'm hugely enthusiastic about.

I enjoy the New Zealand Story, but I don't think it reaches the heights of Bubble Bobble or Rainbow Islands.

I loved Chase HQ as a kid. Going back to it now, the chase element doesn't seem quite as exciting as it once did and I'm not sure it's as good as Outrun in other aspects.

Given my love of Chase HQ, it makes sense I'd love the sequel. I haven't played it much in recent years, but I think it would just squeeze in my top 5.

I love the graphics and music on Afterburner and it still has a certain exhilaration, but it's not great gameplay-wise. I'm a massive Sega racing fan, but Power Drift never quite did it for me (I'd probably have preferred Turbo Outrun here).

And so on to R-Type. Back in the day, my local arcade had Salamander and R-Type side by side. Salamander was always my go to game. I loved the power ups, and the level designs seemed so interesting. The organic growth in the first stage, then on to the asteroid-field, and best of all the huge flames on stage 3. I never got any further than that, so I didn't realise Stage 4 was a bit buggy and Stage 5 was kind of dull. Despite it's problems, I think I still prefer Salamander, but I've been playing R-Type a lot lately with the goal of getting a 1CC. I think R-Type is probably better designed from a gameplay perspective, but I still love the level designs of those early Salamander stages so much more!

[Leon Retro]

I enjoy the New Zealand Story, but I don't think it reaches the heights of Bubble Bobble or Rainbow Islands.

As much as I really like NZS, I would agree that Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands are better games.

I loved Chase HQ as a kid. Going back to it now, the chase element doesn't seem quite as exciting as it once did and I'm not sure it's as good as Outrun in other aspects.

I also think Chase HQ isn't as exciting as it once was. OutRun definitely stands the test of time much better, but Chase HQ is still reasonably enjoyable to play now and then.

Salamander was always my go to game. I loved the power ups, and the level designs seemed so interesting. The organic growth in the first stage, then on to the asteroid-field, and best of all the huge flames on stage 3.

I probably should have included Salamander in the previous Arcade Classics thread. It's definitely one of my favourite shooters from that period. The poster art is also really nice.

[ZipZap]

The poster art is also really nice.

I agree! And I particularly love the transparent Famicom cartridge, possibly the nicest looking cartridge of all time!

[Leon Retro]

I agree! And I particularly love the transparent Famicom cartridge, possibly the nicest looking cartridge of all time!

Yeah, it looks really cool.

[Team Andromeda]

Gaming has always dominated my life, to the point where I'd usually put it first above other things. As soon as I got my first computer I fell in love with gaming and knew it would always be my passion in life. I've never been addicted to or obsessed with anything else.

Funny thing was, I loved school, but would hate Thursdays with double PE in the afternoon and that would always be a day we'll look to bunk. Loved gaming too and it was a great time, when in my school always everyone had a Master System, the Atari ST was also really huge lol and lots had a Mega Drive, even on the school bus the talk would be of games. I still remember the Atari ST/Amiga section of fans on school bus talking about how wonderfull Strider looked on the Mega Drive, when it was featurned in a Games Master Golden joystick challenge.

It was great as our gang of close mates each had an advantage for gaming, when it came to our Parent/Parents. You could use my house to bunk off school in the day, my mate Dale parents would sleep throught a World War and so we used to game up his house on the sownstaris TV from midnight untill 3AM and still go to school My next door neighbour parents would stuff you with food and drink all weekend long (and his father used to love watching us play Vs sports games and then Johnathan parents were always away... So we would make a pack with his older brother, that as along as said nothing about him using Mum and Dads room to bang his girlfriend and smoke weed, he'll let us have the downstaris to our selfs and play games on the Big TV (back then it was always about gaming on the BIG downstaris TV)

Brilliant times untill we started to turn 17 and then drink and trying to pull girls took over and I was never that great at both.

[Leon Retro]

Brilliant times untill we started to turn 17 and then drink and trying to pull girls took over and I was never that great at both.

Yeah, things change when you leave school. People move on to more important things than just focusing on games. Uni, college, training schemes, jobs, driving, drinking, girlfriends etc... Gaming was still my #1 passion though, so some people thought I was weird. I really haven't had any other obsession/passion in my life. Other things have always been secondary. I still get a massive buzz out of all sorts of computers, consoles and games.

[Asura]

Gaming was still my #1 passion though, so some people thought I was weird.

Yeah; I freely admit that I am envious of those people today, who are going through the ages of 16-21 in an era where that isn't seen as unusual. I don't begrudge it though - I'm happy for them.

[Leon Retro]

Yeah; I freely admit that I am envious of those people today, who are going through the ages of 16-21 in an era where that isn't seen as unusual. I don't begrudge it though - I'm happy for them.

It must be nice to be young now that gaming is far more socially accepted. You even get top footballers live streaming games when they're under 30 and don't feel any social stigma towards gaming.

When I said some people thought I was weird, it didn't bother me. I appreciated that some people just didn't 'get' gaming like I did, so they weren't enthusiasts. But there were certainly lots of 'enthusiast gamers' during the 80s and 90s to make it reasonably easy to find like-minded people to be friends with.

I think it was more a case of some people thinking my fixation on gaming was a bit weird, rather than them thinking playing games was something weird per se.

Anyway, I've always had a deep appreciation and enthusiasm for computers, consoles, and games. I've never contemplated toning down my obsession -- and I don't think I ever will. I'll hopefully reach 80 and still be a gaming enthusiast.

[Team Andromeda]

Yeah; I freely admit that I am envious of those people today, who are going through the ages of 16-21 in an era where that isn't seen as unusual. I don't begrudge it though - I'm happy for them.

I think we grew up in the better era. We had proper Arcades and where Arcade games were anywhere (even local pubs and chippy) and an era where importing game was totally wonderful and special, where we even had some nice gaming TV shows and gaming journalism in the UK was world leading and incredible, I'm so glad I grew up in the era I did.

[Leon Retro]

I'm so glad I grew up in the era I did.

Yeah, we're lucky we were kids in the 80s and teens in the 90s. The rapid evolution of computers and consoles was incredibly exciting. You also didn't have the internet, so having to buy magazines gave gaming more mystique. Then you had arcades, which were a huge thing that offered cutting edge games you dreamed of playing in the home. Not forgetting tv shows like GamesMaster that really helped make the hobby fun. The 80s & 90s really were a magical, golden age of gaming. I've always enjoyed gaming but I cherish those days as extra special.