A few posts ago I mentioned Shinjuku Sportsland’s 32-cabinet Gundam setup. Well, here it is.
If you say the machines don’t need to be cleaned on the parts people don’t touch then that’s your thing, I guess. If you think it’s OK to laminate a “Watch it! Bagsnatchers!” Sign over the urinal instead of creating an establishment where it doesn’t happen, your call.
But…
That Sega logo does well standing out in this Higashi Shinjuku square. The brand is so clear it’s like this here is the label on the insideout city of Tokyo.
Game Spot 21 is a real-deal arcade. Finger-crossing that it comes back post-Covid – and dirtier than ever.
Easter eggshaped image from the loserdrop stairwell that squeezes you between the prize machines and a Chinese into a Fight Club-style fighting-game fight club.
In times gone by, when Sega made consoles, it felt like there was a clear path from arcade to home release. Back then, Gunslinger Stratos would have been ported to Saturn or Dreamcast and come with dedicated controllers.
Gentlemen reading this will know that sometimes there are splashguards and sometimes there aren't. In either case you just look straight ahead and mind nothing but your own business. But don't mind it too closely or you will raise questions.
The 2D fighter: as a genre, perfect. Almost nothing pushes the edges of the concept: everything’s definitely a fighter or definitely not.
Looks like the modern Space Harrier. Fit for an old-school one-coin-stand. But the JP arcades don’t go for that these days.
Fate: Grand Order – who *isn’t* playing it?
How to be sure you’re in Tokyo
Gundam Extreme Vs. absolutely does not give a shit about the modern world. Let’s go back: before Japan’s superfuture tech got caught pants-down by the smartphone era.
Oh, c'mon! They're practically jumping into the claw!
In your capacious Western home you probably have *two* display cases for prizes you have won in UFO catchers: one for the Japanese schoolgirl figurines and one for the model aircraft-carriers.
Code of Joker was a Trading Card Game from Sega – purveyor of some longstanding and well-loved TCGs. But what's that sign on the top? It says "free to play". Are they giving out free starter decks?! Yes!
A two-part taped-up standee of Cloud Strife has producer signatures for expert nerds like me and a simple nametag for the rest: Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife.
Pokemon means pocket monsters. Tekken means iron fist. Therefore: Pokken means pocket fist. Named for the scooping of hundredyens – or the skulking home in the cold.
Get in the bustle. Tokyo street.
It tells you something about the purpose of Japanese arcades when you see multiple cabs on Tetris: you don’t always come here for the games.
A controller dangling off the front of an arcade cabinet? What a flimflam! Like a Toys R Us demo booth with a coinslot.
