Classic Game Room - CENTIPEDE Arcade Machine review

[@WideWorldofTrains]

I was the Centipede champ in this area from 80 thru 83 or so. They gave 4 tokens every time you broke the high score at the next towns arcade and the high was only 100,000 or so. So when i saw the prize every time I went there I broke the high by only a few thousand so I could keep getting free tokens. Did this all the way up to 1000000 which was my high score

[@polybius22]

At 1,000,000 the game resets to zero.

[@MotvnGM]

Scan-lines, and even the ghosting on black backgrounds was the best part about playing on a CRT, LCD is OK, but nothing will top CRT's.

[@MegaMuffindude]

Congrats on the Centipede! Looks pretty nice! One of my favorites in my collection. Personally, I prefer keeping the CRTs in the machines, it looks better with them.

[@Bigbooster126]

i picked one of these things up at a thrift shop for $150. It now lives in my living room.

[@KeeplookingUP777]

That is an amazing price. Hope the condition is great..? When did you purchase it? Question coming four years later now than your original post...😳😁. Here in 2019.

[@99ronmarsh]

Killer deal for sure

[@eddie8704]

Dude, that’s a steal! I thought I did good, got mine for $400. Works perfect, marquee light works, side art is beautiful.

[@virusinternationalmotionpi2477]

I just got one last night for 50 bucks fully working beautiful crt.

[@Retrogaming-yh1lx]

They offered the machine with a CRT for less money? I'm surprised. You should have gotten the CRT, even though they can be frustrating and need more TLC over the years.

[@mbizzlesnizz]

As a electronic tech with 20 years experience, AND a game collector I tell people to keep CRT's in their games. A used, working CRT arcade monitor is widely available in the US from for around $75-$125. Broken ones can often be found for cheap (or free) and are easily fixed with the DIY info on youtube for those that aren't technicians. The Happ arcade monitor in this video retails for about $350, and I rarely see LCD monitors and LCD televisions last more than 5 years in my business. Compare this to a 30 year old CRT monitor that is still kicking. You also have to factor in that the CRTs were used 24 hours a day for these games, while most LCD TVs are home use and don't get nearly the amount of playtime, but die much sooner. CRT's do get burn-in, but it can't be seen when the game is in play - it is mostly noticeable when the game is off. And if the game is going in your home, you won't be running it 24 hours a day and causing more burn-in. LCD displays also have mercury in them, so they are not environmentally friendly by any means. Buuut...most counties in the US require that all displays (CRT or LCD) be recycled anyway, so neither of these should be ending up in landfills and hurting the environment. CRTs are more reliable, longer lasting, easier to acquire, cheaper to fix, and equally bad for the environment. I recommend collectors and my customers to keep CRTs in arcades, at least until the LCDs drop in price and become more reliable. The only pros (currently) are that they are about 25lbs lighter and most (depending on model) are more energy efficient.

[@banj0smah0mie]

While I agree, it probably isn't wise to recommend others to use DIY a method for CRT repair - if you don't know what you're doing, it can be incredibly dangerous to attempt.

[@mbizzlesnizz]

"Incredibly dangerous" is greatly exaggerated. As long as one has the common sense to unplug the machine, the worst that one can get is a very unpleasant shock that would be fatal to only those with heart conditions. Additionally, all DIY videos are all going to start with a warning of the dangers of working with electronics and going to inform the user of these dangers.

[@banj0smah0mie]

mbizzlesnizz Discharging a CRT? That's not in even the intermediate hobbyist's range, the "very unpleasant shock" one would receive coming from a lack of experience as well as inappropriate tools for a dangerous job - high voltages aren't deadly (and I don't think I ever said they were), but even after a long time, CRT's can still act as a capacitor with enough charge that can arc out and shock you, and this isn't even when taking implosion into consideration. Not that it isn't impossible to do by yourself, but handling an old CRT is certainly on another level than your usual soldering/wiring hobby jobs. If someone is interested in a project that involves dismantling one, I would, for the first time at least, consult a professional in your area.

[@4real0316]

I grew up in the arcades, playing every game you can think of. I also owned the arcade games on several different consoles over previous decades and I think the Centipede arcade game with the lcd looks awesome. Kudos CGR I wish every day I went to work I could slave over a sweet arcade classic like that.

[@presidentsnow7315]

...my all time favorite arcade game!

[@broken1394]

Excellent choice - i got it in my top 10.

[@ironman1478]

the room he films this stuff in is the coolest room ever

[@demonchacer]

centipede never gets old. i play it alot more than any of my other games.

[@JesseH76]

I LOVE the graphics on the side cabinet for centipede. I'm a big fan of the retro artwork.

[@akshizzy77]

One of my friends has a centipede machine laying around in his basement. It's pretty cool, this makes me want to play it now.

[@Greg_Ulmer]

Oh, one more thing. If you're going to pay a bunch of money for an individual, original, retro arcade game, you gotta keep the crt monitor. The one upside to having an original machine is that it's a collector's item, so you should keep it with as much of the original parts as possible.

[@Jamie.Laszlo]

If I had a choice, I wouldn't want a LCD screen. Give me the old tube monitors with the pixels any day. The 1980s graphics look too "boxy" on a LCD screen. The old school pixels actually round off the edges of everything. For example, Pac Man looks more round when pixelated. Plus, I like the curve of the older screens.

[@Zorn27]

This is why I love CGR! Keep doing a great job Mark :D!

[@TotalRaMpAgE981]

Ludlow Lamonsoff, Master Of Centipede.

[@iteratedofficial]

@the gangsters sam brenner😂

[@NeonXtremeE]

I love the way this guy talks. He makes me laugh! Keep doing those awesome reviews dude!

[@leeboy2k1]

Installing an LCD monitor for low rez retro games is just plain wrong Mark. The sprites were made at a certain resolution by the artists to be displayed on the correct amount of phosphour lines. When you output to a fixed pixel display, the image has to be stretched to fit every available pixel, otherwise the image would be in a small window in the centre. Also it removes the gorgeous black unused scanlines that were present and correct for the intended look of the art/gfx.

[@KeeplookingUP777]

Ultimate Favorite Arcade Game!!! Centipede Rocks!!! Would Love this in my Home! Lol Yes!!

[@KA-eu9sy]

I want one. Teenage years. Quarters. Fun, I remember. I want one!

[@WebVManReturns]

I remember a James Bond film was loaded with those Centpede machines.

[@eddie8704]

Never Say Never Again

[@RequiemVortex]

I for one want a modern remake of this game. The Human Centipede Arcade machine would be immensely popular in my opinion.

[@fahadkhanye]

when I was little I had the ps1, the n64, gameboy, and a whole other collection of other systems but all I ever wanted was a true arcade machine in my room. I always dreamed of having one and thought to myself, I would be the coolest kid in school if I had an arcade machine in my room

[@PhilFeedback]

centipede has always been one of my favorites!

[@akshizzy77]

I love CGR Mark always has something funny to say, and it always makes the game look fun even if it isn't.

[@KyleRichoux]

It's fun for the whole family! [explosion] [BOOP]

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

I played that with a CRT Monitor installed, and it looked just fine.

[@MaximRecoil]

Arcade monitors in most classic arcade games have the same resolution as typical CRT TVs (~15 KHz, AKA: "standard resolution"). The reason for arcade monitors' higher quality image is the pure RGB connection and [usually] non-interlaced video signal from the gameboard (~240p). TVs from the same era were normally fed an interlaced NTSC signal via an RF connection, which results in vastly inferior image quality.

[@celinesenden4142]

😭😭 i miss classic game room

[@ChadQuick270W]

Excellent. Spent many quarters on Centipede. I hope you plan to add a Millipede arcade game as it would look great right next to your Centipede machine.

[@BrianPicchi]

You should easily be able to change settings like the number of credits required and difficulty with the dip switches. No arcade repair experience necessary. Beautiful machine by the way.

[@electricadventures]

Wicked choice for an arcade cabinet. Both excellent artwork and really good fun game. Closest I can get to it is playing with a Wico track ball on the 2600, Atari 8-bit, 7800 or Coleco :( Excellent review as always, thanks.

[@MetalJody1990]

Maaan I wish I had a Centipede machine in my house. All I have is MAME. I just scored 31386 on my PS Vita and that was super difficult. Can't get far without a trackball. At least the colors looked extremely vivid. It's pleasing to see on an OLED. The game is fine on a mobile device, but it would be freakin' wonderful to have the real deal in my living room.

[@mannym777]

You need to get back into this again

[@WebVManReturns]

"Rock the trackball, Rock the trackball!" Oh, that would be an awesome song!

[@astrotter]

I have Centipede cocktail cabinet I inherited from my grandfather's Holiday Inn lounge, but the picture tube is broken and the trackballs are stuck. I'd love to resurrect it -- best arcade game in history, imo.

[@NerdKore64]

Bout damn time you scored some arcade machines to review.

[@MaximRecoil]

... or look for a classic original monitor that is burn-free (such as a G07 or K4900). Or you can do a tube swap on one that has screen burn. Or you can look for new examples of a Happ Vision Pro CRT monitors (they stopped making them a couple of years ago, but new and like-new examples are still out there). I have a Missile Command, Ikari Warriors, and a Street Fighter II that all have new Vision Pro CRT monitors in them, and they are beautiful.

[@99ronmarsh]

2 of my favourite games ever

[@sonicmario64]

I've actually played the original arcade cabinet in a pizza restaurant in Corydon, Indiana! :D

[@TheFloodFourm]

The other day I went to an arcade with a 25 cent centipede game. It was the best moment of my life.

[@janchapman1969a]

most video games have a free play mode. just use the dip switch setting. if the game doesn't have a free play mode, just wire a button through the coin return slot to press to "insert a coin"

[@yandman26]

cgr made me care and enthuse about centipede :)

[@leeboy2k1]

Continued..which also adds depth, making the overall image more 3-D. Also CRT's have much faster response times, resulting in very minor smearing..if the phosphours/tube is good, not to mention the coulur fidelity is much more natural to the human eye. Lastly CRT's have a shadow mask grille over the phosphours, which aren't perfectly square, this makes the sprites less jagged/square, giving the sprites/tiles a much more shaded cartoon finish.. CRT ftw!

[@Oche76]

Awesome Mark...super cool.

[@Teeheehee093]

Anything with the word ''centipede'' in it can't be taken seriously by me anymore. Thanks alot Tom Six

[@weichiang89]

You don't choose between playing any of those two... you combine them to make THE awesome CENTIPEDE FRENZY!

[@ArgoDave]

Are you going to do a review of the Frenzy machine? I loved that games and it's predecessor Berserk.

[@Chaoitcme]

Nice. I remember playing this as a kid at Chuck E. Cheeses.

[@broken1394]

This is an Apex arcade game and the cab is stunning.

[@Captain-Obvious]

Pretty cool. I would've gone with a Millipede arcade machine myself. Centipede was a great game but Millipede was quite a bit better. The arcade version of Millipede was an absolute joy to play (If you were any good and I was!) because the precision of the rollerball was significantly improved from Centipede. This meant you could often snatch victory from the jaws of certain defeat with some deft maneuvers. Centipede was a great earlier game. Millipede was how I mispent my youth.

[@DocSicnarf]

or you can keep the coin door unlocked and just hit the lever on the inside that the coins move when they are inserted. That is probably the easiest way. My friend had a space invaders cabinet and that's how we used to do it.

[@garion333]

That cabinet is in amazing condition.

[@MaximRecoil]

It isn't a matter of input lag; LCDs are ugly, especially when displaying the simple graphics of classic arcade games. Centipede is 256 x 240 (240p) resolution, and 19" LCDs start at 1024 x 768 resolution, so it has to be stretched/scaled to fill the screen, which has inevitable artifacts. Also, LCDs are designed to show fine details. This makes e.g. the Pac-Man sprite look blocky/jagged instead of round. Try 8liners for a new chassis mounted on a burn-free tube.

[@Ninten70]

Do you have a Killer Instinct Arcade Cabinet? Hopefully I would love to see a Review of it!

[@davidalexander7725]

Steve is one of my favorite games

[@rainbowcemetery]

you can see the dip switches in the upper-right @3:28, check them out on your other arcade boards to enable freeplay

[@FluffyGameplay]

I love Centipede and Millipede!

[@aaowens97]

Are you going to review the Rolling thunder and frenzy Arcade machines too?

[@bobnudd]

Got myself a original dragons lair machine and would give my left hand for a spaceharrier but we dont have that many good companys in the uk selling , great vid m8 keeo em comming :)

[@jasoncslaughter]

I've been a fan of the show for years, and I generally love all your reviews. That being said, I will have to agree with some of the previous comments that a CRT is the best way to go (provided it is in good shape, of course). It seems to be the trend to put LCD's in arcade machines now, but the bottom line is that the game was designed for a CRT. You wouldn't replace the trackball with an analog stick, would you?

[@Lxrdwolf666]

Centipede was fucking awesome!

[@flightofthebumblebee9529]

It sucks.

[@MegaBatmanbeyond]

man you are amazing , you are the best

[@clunette]

When you gonna put up the review of the box that it came in?

[@frbrosch]

michigan, home of amazing arcade machines...and cars.

[@leoabreuphoto]

Nice CGR upgrade.

[@Packerscorner]

Man....do I love this game!! I need one in my man cave....I mean my someday man cave!! Awesome!!

[@MyNostalgias]

I've heard that LCD monitors are nothing like CRT and different resoultion and colors kill the "spirit" of the 80's. But I want to try using it in the one I've been working on. So do you happen know what kind of LCD monitor can be used or at least what is the diagonal size of the standard LCD-screen for the aracade machines like Centipede? Thank you in advance!

[@clubtj]

Incredibly cool, no doubt. But the best value is to make a MAME cabinet yourself or buy an old empty cabinet and go from there. I put one together for less than $700 and it has hundreds of games. It's not the flashiest, but it works for me.

[@sinistermoon]

Look into DIP switches. Those are what will allow you to set the game to free play and other things. Not hard to find on the board at all. Either way, nice looking Centipede.

[@GeorgesChannel]

have fun with your machine...i got jealous now..:) Review a Pheenix machine, if you find one, that was my all time favourite game! But Centipede, Dig Dig, Pac Man, Vanguard..etc..never will die.

[@theawesomegamr]

WOA THE ARCADE MACHINE! nice, ive never seen one of those before, but ive seen alot of others including the pong one :D

[@SvenOkonomi]

NOOOOO I thought I escaped from its retched clutches in the 80's, but centipede haunts me still. Like an angry pirate ghost, it demands quarter and wont go away!

[@CarnEvilCrazy]

Centipede rules.

[@mrsockesocke]

i envy you mark, such a nice game on such a nice arcade cabinet...wish i had it too lol.

[@leeboy2k1]

Yes, I own 5 crt' t.v.'s and 2 arcade machine's 1x(sega naomi sitdown) and 1x (atomiswave) with quad sync CRT, does low res 15khz 256x224 upto 1024x768.

[@bobopatchigglerrulez]

"It's fun for the whole family" *dies* "#@$%!"

[@Captain-Obvious]

Yeah Millipede was one of those games if you did master it (and I would roughly term mastering it as gettting to the point of having multiple spiders on the screen) you could almost never stop playing. It was too intense and made other games seem slow and almost boring. The key though is to not really target the millipede coming down so much as to always be clearing a path of the nearest mushrooms so you had room to manuever.

[@ifrit35]

I could not agree more. Especially with an original PCB

[@Nettacki]

You know they made this into a slot machine? It'll be released sometime in May.

[@WebVManReturns]

I paid $1 for Atari Anthology on PS2 and Centipede looks just as good on my LCD T.V.

[@denBlackie]

you also have a frenzy now ? awesome :D Now make classic Arcade Room !

[@LocalAnonOnTheInternet]

Looks like it's time to make a trip to the Classic Game Room, just to play arcades for free!

[@LeShark75]

Very nice machine.

[@jupreindeer]

I've invested a few dollars out of this and that paycheck for a Ms. Pac-Man. E-Bay's been great on acquiring the various guts for a decent price. However, the actual body and CRT are on the waiting list. Simply put, no room for them...YET.

[@IGIAISI]

this artwork on the machine is good for a tatoo

[@iamuriah]

when are you continuing the story now Im interested

[@TheFabFour99]

everyday you go to work? best job ever

[@Trisky]

how much did this cost to buy?

[@fszron]

He has the top 3 scores!

[@captain593]

Your comment is so...Sublime.

[@99ronmarsh]

2 great machines there and very hard to find

[@delaney65uk]

Would love to get some arcade machines just not enough room :( am very jealous

[@GIJosep]

Any thoughts on the Arcade 1Up version?

[@chenrikl]

I love how Atari calls it an amusement machine.

[@Greg_Ulmer]

Silly Mark, you just have to change a dip switch on the pcb to make it free-play. Hardly a "conversion"

[@Gamers266]

old school but a great one!!!!

[@TimTams_64]

lol how do you ever get any work done mark?.

[@janchapman1969a]

i just checked, centipede does have a free play mode in the dip switch setting

[@polybius22]

Correct, they all have this option

[@mechaluigi7]

I wish I had an arcade machine...more specifically a Galaga arcade machine!