RolandSubject: Egret II, Subject: Arcade Interior, Developer: Taito, Year: 1996, Year: 2018, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara

Bullet Hell

RolandSubject: Egret II, Subject: Arcade Interior, Developer: Taito, Year: 1996, Year: 2018, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara
Bullet Hell
20200203 - Egret II..Arcade Interior - Man playing arcade games on candy cab - Taito - 1996..2018 - Taito Hey - Akihabara - Resized.jpeg

(Originally published 2020 Feb 3)

Your glasses spike the screenlight at your face like a kid burning ants. HUD branded on your cheekbones.

Game’s all you can see. Bullet patterns all you can think. Game backgrounded by more games, bullets by more bullets, noise just piled onto piles of noise, so you actually can’t see, think or hear at all.

Death without the paperwork – and just ¥100!

Continue. Continue. Continue. Continue. Until eventually you let the count run down.

Photographer and writer covering Tokyo arcade life – the videogames, the metropolis and the people

RolandSubject: Egret II, Developer: Taito, Year: 1994, Year: 1996, Year: 1997, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara

Flying Power Disc

Flying Power Disc (or, stupidly, Windjammers outside Japan) shows you a future of total sports perfection. This ultimate sport combines the pseudofunctional fetishwear of beach volleyball with the hardpolished maple of the NBA with the candyised plastic bodyarmour of the NFL with the circle going back and forth of Pong.

RolandSubject: Egret II, Developer: Taito, Year: 1994, Year: 1996, Year: 1997, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara
Flying Power Disc
RolandSubject: Street Fighter Alpha 3, Subject: Street Fighter Zero 3, Subject: Egret II, Subject: Arcade Interior, Developer: Taito, Developer: Capcom, Year: 1993, Year: 1996, Year: 1998, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara

Blood Warrior

Mortal Kombat was supposed to be a Jean-Claude Van Damme game. No JC in the end, so they went for guys in pointy hats and balaclavas pulling each other’s spines out. And lo, born was a multimedia franchise up there with Care Bears and My Little Pony.

RolandSubject: Street Fighter Alpha 3, Subject: Street Fighter Zero 3, Subject: Egret II, Subject: Arcade Interior, Developer: Taito, Developer: Capcom, Year: 1993, Year: 1996, Year: 1998, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara
Blood Warrior
RolandSubject: King of Fighters, Subject: The King of Fighters ’96, Subject: Egret II, Developer: Capcom, Developer: Taito, Developer: SNK, Year: 1994, Year: 1996, Year: 2000, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara

Fight, Sing

Teeth bared; talons out. But look at the posture of their right hands. Claws, but relaxed claws, ready to swoop at the attack buttons with quite a travel. Wouldn’t your response be quicker if you started nearer the buttons? It’s not that kind of reflexes. You play with rhythm, where the travel helps. Reflexes are to quickly change rhythm. If fighters were music games they’d be jazz duo jam sessions.

RolandSubject: King of Fighters, Subject: The King of Fighters ’96, Subject: Egret II, Developer: Capcom, Developer: Taito, Developer: SNK, Year: 1994, Year: 1996, Year: 2000, Arcade: Taito Hey, Location: Akihabara
Fight, Sing
RolandArcade: Taito Hey, Developer: Capcom, Location: Akihabara, Subject: Egret II, Subject: Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Year: 1996, Year: 1999

Restart Mission?

I’m hearing bad things about the independents. Even Sega is shutting shops. Akiba 2-kan – iconic! – is gone. Photos of staff bowing outside in thanks for years of patronage from also-bowing, clapping crowds.

RolandArcade: Taito Hey, Developer: Capcom, Location: Akihabara, Subject: Egret II, Subject: Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Year: 1996, Year: 1999
Restart Mission?