Another sad day story

SuperBee4406

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Every so often, my job takes me on interstate 81 in Virginia. Most times I am driving from Maryland to Ronoke VA, and back again. And I got in the habit of stopping at a certain truck stop for a break. They also have a small arcade. The arcade mostly has newer fighting and shooting games, but back in the corner there was a Centipede. I always made it a point to stop here, gas up, grab something to eat and then play some Centipede. Well, today I had to make that trip and I stopped here to find out the Centipede is gone, and some fighting game its its place. I felt sad leaving there thinking another classic taken out of action, to make room for a fighting game. Sad Day...:(

Anybody out there have a similiar story were you knew there was a classic still out there on the street, but then one day you find out its gone?
 
There was always a Galaga at Taco Via at 95th and Antioch that I played for years, I made a point to always feed it a quarter while waiting for my food. It had been there for years and there was always a really good set of high scores on it.

One day I go in and something looks different, I then realized the Galaga was replaced by a Class of 1981. Not exactly horrible, but not the same as the original. I don't feel nearly the desire to support it, it just doesn't have the same soul as the old one.

On the plus side, another Mexican restaurant added an original Galaga and it turns out to be the very same one I traded an operator. It had a full metal plate installed over the entire front of the cabinet before I'd gotten it to prevent break in's when it was on location at an unsupervised laundry. I repainted the front, put a new overlay on it and rebuilt the guts. It's a very recognizable machine and I get a kick out of seeing it on duty.
 
wow how long ago was that galaga at taco via i have not been there in ages and its right up the street lol guess i should have stoped in for some greasy tacos



there is a laundry mat in olathe thats got a neo geo and a pacman cabret
(santafe and ridgeview)
they are bolth beat to snot tho


you know of any other classics in the wild out here
 
And then you checked the games for the operator's number to find out what happened to the Centipede and ended up getting it cheap or saving it from a Tekken 3 conversion, right?
 
And then you checked the games for the operator's number to find out what happened to the Centipede and ended up getting it cheap or saving it from a Tekken 3 conversion, right?

I did look for an OPs number but never found a sticker or anything. That game was in great shape, just needed a new CPO, and the track ball needed some adjustment, but I
remeber it was in good condition.
 
Most of the good classics were for sure gone in late 1986 around here with some

exceptions. There was a small arcade in a little mall in Winona, Mn that had a Ms. Pac, a

Gorf mini and I believe a Galaxian, too; along with some newer games(this was in 1992). I

had just gotten out of the Navy and was surprised to see a Gorf out on route yet.

I went to Vo-tech in Winona and would often stop by the arcade during lunch or after

classes. This went on for 2 years, and then sometime in late '94 I went to the arcade and

all the games were gone and the room closed up and empty. No warning or anything. It

was sad. It would be another 4 years before I played Gorf again; this time it was in the

privacy of my own home.
 
And then you checked the games for the operator's number to find out what happened to the Centipede and ended up getting it cheap or saving it from a Tekken 3 conversion, right?


That's how I got my Circus Charlie. Walked into a laundry mat. Blank screen, but I could hear the monitor hum. Called the owner and he wanted it out of there. Picked it up for $100. And all it was, was the power supply. And everything is playing as it should. That can be a hard game at times.


Back to topic:...I remember growing up, our dairy queen would have a donkey kong jr. A lot of fun to play, until one day I went in there and they replaced it with those stupid "instant gratification machines" (no not THAT kind of instant gratification...). It's where a plastic chicken would cluck and a stupid prize would drop out. I was pretty disappointed they got rid of the DK.



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That's how I got my Circus Charlie. Walked into a laundry mat. Blank screen, but I could hear the monitor hum. Called the owner and he wanted it out of there. Picked it up for $100. And all it was, was the power supply. And everything is playing as it should. That can be a hard game at time.

What's your high score so far? Here's mine:

modessitt.jpg
 
What's your high score so far? Here's mine:


My best right now is around 365,000. That damned evil Dolphin level, gets me quite a bit, as I mis-judge when they go over and under. I look at twin galaxies and I wonder how they hit 990,900. I know that's probably the highest it(the game) can keep a score. But that is alot of points. I suppose you just keep doing the trapeze over and over again till you die or hit as high as it will allow. Or does the game "END" so to speak, when you hit the max points? hmmm.... would be nice if this game would save the high scores. Oh well. Must go play some more....:)

;
 
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I bought my Moon Patrol off location at a Laundrymat. (well, I bought it off eBay, but that is where it was at when it sold). It was about 180 miles from me, but I got to talking to the seller and he has a vacation house about 15 miles from me, and offered to bring the game to me when he came up in 5-6 weeks if I was in no hurry for it, and I jumped on the offer.

Short story, 5-6 weeks was actually 2 months, and game sat on location until the day it was delivered. Beautiful game, new monitor, ect. We talked for about an hour and he said he loved the classics but they wasnt even paying the electric. He emptied the coin box right before loading and had about $5 in quarters for 2 months. Kids play the hell out of the newer fighting games but ignore the "old" stuff
 
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