AtGames Legends Ultimate 1 year review - In depth look at the ALU

[@exirokia1331]

Got the Sam's Club deal for $350 and this review solidified my purchase 👍

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Well... I hope I didn't steer you wrong!

[@CTJason]

It's definitely my favorite cab I have ! All the things you can do with it makes it the ultimate gaming machine , thanks for the video! I'm glad to hear you still enjoy it 😊

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

If I could pick only one, the ALU would still be it. It's not perfect (nothing is), but it gets so much right. Bang 4 buck wise, it still can't be beat.

[@ZAktheRipper357]

Is it difficult to add games via usb? How is the quality of the add on games?

[@CTJason]

@@ZAktheRipper357 it's very easy to add games. There's plenty of videos on how to do it. Easiest way , buy one of them usb sticks off of esty and it's pretty much plug n play . Best cab I have based on what you can do with it

[@ZAktheRipper357]

@@CTJason Hey much appreciated, Iv done some research on the subject but honestly Im clueless when it comes to a pc, I gave up shortly after the 500 free hours of AOL disc’s disappeared lol. It never occurred to me to search for a pre loaded usb. Very helpful.

[@CTJason]

@@ZAktheRipper357 type in atgames legends on the esty search bar and they will all pop up ... most of them are a little different so read the reviews n details before you pick one. I've bought 2 from 2 different people on there and i was satisfied with what I got. Good luck n I'm glad to be of some help. Some come with gun games if you have a aimtrak light gun to hook up , I've posted about that on my channel

[@krod7656]

Great review! I love mine and also highly recommended getting the 4" riser installed.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thank you kindly! And yeah, a riser is going to be needed if you're taller....

[@davidh4548]

Fantastic video! I really enjoy watching them even though I've been a happy ALU owner for a while now. I can't get enough of these types of review!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

David, glad you liked it!

[@knightmaremedia7795]

I gutted mine, cut some plywood put a bottom in it, installed pc components, replaced monitor and speakers. Loaded up launchbox with mame etc.. used the original alu control deck.. now it's amazing, 7k games all ran natively with outstanding performance. Boots right to big box . Has wifi and also can utilize the built in wired connection too though it's not required but No 5 uses , no subscriptions, no usernames or passwords.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Well, using is as a shell is a good idea too! Does the deck connect direct to the PC, or did you use an encoder?

[@knightmaremedia7795]

@@evilgeniusentertainment connects directly to motherboard via usb. Windows recognizes it as direct input device which is fine for things like mame but a pain for others.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

That's actually pretty sweet!

[@edstrazz2758]

These look so cool. Don't know who I'm hesitating to buy one at $599 + $100 shipping 🤷

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Oh, you can get one cheaper than that used for sure; cheaper than that if you get it at Sam's club....

[@resellerworldnj]

The CTR board on mine went, but luckily it was only $35 to replace and it's an easy swap. Missed not playing when it was down.

[@dallase1]

Sounds like AtGames has vastly improved since their days of all those Flash Back Systems. There is not a firmware upgrade to allow you to flip the screen?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

The ALU mini actually allows you to physically flip the screen from horizontal to vertical and vice versa. Otherwise, the normal ALU lets you change aspect ratios, but not completely flip the image.

[@GuillaumeBrien]

Do they sell something similar for rail shooter games?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

You could adapt the ALU (I have using a Wii) for shooters, but AtGames themselves don't make a specific shooter or driving cab (at least not yet). I'd take a look at buystuff,com

[@dallase1]

Another You Tube Video did a review on this system and did not like it, he said all the screws were loose in the box and one part of the cabinet was damaged plus he did not know there were USB and HDMI connections because the display bezel slid forward and covered them up, and only after contacting customer support did he discover he had to push the bezel back to expose the ports but he said after he did that the bezel kept sliding forward again, covering up the ports . Also he said the screen had real bad light bleed. This was in 2020 so could it be that AtGames improved the quality of the hardware for the Legends Ultimate since then?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

I have a gen1 ALU, so it's hard for me to know what the very latest units are looking like. I's like to think they've got QC issues under control for the ALU - it is afterall their showcase device - but every cab has potential to be jacked up.

[@Sonic_Boomer_]

you think they would come out with a 4 way gate to not allow the joystick to move in the diagonal directions. that you could place over the joystick while playing games that used only up down left right.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

That's actually not a bad idea. I'm sure a gen 2 ALU will come down the line at some point, and having a built-in means to control the joystick, either electronically in the menu (which it does have for included games, but not CoinOps), or a physical one on the panel.

[@chrismccloy6539]

I’m thinking about getting a ALU. I already have iircades and 1ups.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

I love my ALU - lots of games, good controls, and you can actually play 2 person games without getting squished by the other player.

[@PDubsArcadeLoft]

This was fun...good job dude

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thank you brother!

[@DroidLocks6971]

The more research I Do On The ALU The More Play And PlaynEmulation Hard Drives Sound More Appealing .

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

All depends on what your needs are... All I can say is that if I could only own one cab, it would be the ALU: best stock controls, biggest screen/form factor, the most included games, coinopsx (at least for now), games packs, pinball, other AG consoles interactivity. It's not perfect (and of course then 2nd gen is coming down the line), but if you can pick one up used for cheap you might dig it.

[@jedklampet7471]

what about the ALU firmware updates and lots of complaints of the bricked machine and lack of customer service

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Jed, I've never heard of a new firmware update bricking anyone's machine. I have heard of people bricking ALUs by trying to retro-actively load older versions of firmware... which I'm pretty sure AG tells people not to do.

[@fkgoogle666]

I just ordered one last Friday, I can’t wait until it arrives

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

You should dig it! Of ll of the machines I've owner, it's still the king. A true 2 player machine....

[@pkhsiung304]

Thank you for the great review!!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thanks for watching PK, means a lot to us here at the channel!

[@mezsan309]

Hello i got the same in Mini version and i want to know is that possible to connect it to the computer for play Pinball FX ? cause my left pinball kit not detected with OTG so is that possible ? (Windows 11)

[@WagnersTechTalk]

Great review, spot-on!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thank you!

[@markbirchette8740]

Good Monday morning brother! I like it, it's a nice set up! Joust! Yeah!!🍻🍻

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

JOUST plays very well on it! If that's the one game you want, the Arcade1up DEFENDER partycade has it on there for less.....

[@johnmclain250]

Been looking into a home arcade machine. I really want a full scale mame arcade cabinet, but those cost about $3000 to $4500, which is just criminally overpriced given I can custom build one for about $1000. So then I figured I'd look for a 1up arcade cabinet for $300 that I could just mod the hell out of to get what I want for maybe $700 tops. I have several older PCs I can use for the guts, so all I'd need is a better display, controls, etc. But the size of 1uparcade is just "SO TINY" I'm 6'3 so it's like a child's toy. So now here I am looking for a cheap larger arcade cabinet and find this one. The size is MUCH better, it'd just need a riser and it's good. I'd end up throwing away the monitor and getting the largest display that I could make fit inside it, replacing the controls with high quality ones, completely scrapping the internals for a full-on mame emulator with one of my old PCs sitting around, and I'd likely add working coin doors for authenticity. May have to replace the speakers too depending on how good they are. All-in-all since I already have spare PCs, it'd be only $1000 or less to turn this into an "almost" ideal arcade cabinet. Ideally I'd like a 4 player control layout, but I usually don't have 3 other people over at once, usually just one or two, so not a huge deal. Saving me $2000 to $3000 in the long run. The cabinet itself + shipping costs are where the real issue lies, I just need a good shell.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Honestly, the ALU w/ Coinops X will take you very for down the road. It remains the single best multicade-style cab I've owned. Speakers, controls, screen size, overall size, number of included games, Coin-ops - there's so much to like

[@MuffHam]

Can retro shooter pandoras box hook up to this ?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

They might, but light gun games are finicky... let me ask around!

[@bp1208]

Hey JDV...love all your content... just subscribed:) Could you please tell me is that real brick, brick wallpaper or brick paneling in your background? Where did you get it? Looks fantastic!!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

B P - glad you dig the show! Far as the "brick" goes, My wife picked it up at Hobby Lobby (I think). It's just rolled paper, but don't tell anyone ;)

[@melvinsewak]

What would you suggest for best experience and minimum hassle: 1) using pc with retrobat hdd connected via hdmi and usb to ALU or 2) pc with batocera hdd conned via hdmi and usb to ALU?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Well, I don't use linux so it'd have to be retrobat! Truth is I don't run anything through the ALU - while it is great for what it is, the screen limits you on higher-end games. So I just keep the ALU stock.

[@hardikpurohit6358]

Hey , I bought this machine and game options are moving to it’s left by itself. They asked me to reset it. It’s still doing the same. By chance do you know how to fix it?? Thank you.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

The spinner, joystick, and buttons can all move the menu around, so I'd guess one of them has a stuck switch. At least, that's what it sound like to me!

[@hardikpurohit6358]

@@evilgeniusentertainment thank you for the reply. It works fine for 10-15 seconds and then suddenly start acting weirdly as mentioned before options moving on left..

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Hmmmm - maybe a loose and/or crossed wire? If you bought it new, I'd def open up a ticket with AtGames (heck, I'd do it even if you bought it used). Depending on how handy you are, I'd think about taking a look see under the hood just to see if it's anything obvious like a bad switch/loose wire.

[@95Comics]

What are the specs inside these legends machines? Are the different models different inside the machine?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

There's only 2 main models for the ALU, the 1.0 and the 1.1. I far as I know, they are identical in terms of hardware/computing firepower. You can play Playstation/N64 games using coinopsx, but not if you update to the very newest firmware. But I assume any ALU you buy new will have the older firmware. Hope that helps.....

[@95Comics]

@@evilgeniusentertainment yes thank you for the information one last thing. When you download the bills do you have to extract every single game in order to use them because they don’t come single games you have to take an entire pack so like I have an entire PlayStation packed downloaded, and the entire N64 collection downloaded, but in order to use them I think I have to extract every single game and I can’t figure out how to do them all at once, but then when I get through that the addon app has an option for multiple games but when you click it, it doesn’t make sense. It allows you to choose things but it doesn’t allow you to choose multiple games or a file containing multiple games and if you try to do it one at a time I can get the games to appear on the legends mini but when you click on it to play it, the screen just flashes and goes back to normal as if I hadn’t clicked on it, so for some reason, I’m still only allowed to play the games that came in everything that I tried. Downloading fails is there a certain procedure for formatting the USB stick? Fat32 that is

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Did you mount the USB stick w/ coinops x?

[@95Comics]

@@evilgeniusentertainment I’m downloading that now i was using awesome sauce and atgames addon tool. But where would I mount it in the video game itself? I just plugged in the USB and then clicked on bring my own games and it was there. Is there a specific procedure to mount it?

[@justinbailey6515]

Had the control panel fail on me 40 days in and was told the warranty expired (30 day at the time). Yet I was able to return to Sam's club since they had a 90 day return policy. Let that sink in.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Right off the bat, the warranty is 90 days from AtGames, so whoever told you this is in error. Email me and I'll try to have someone from AG contact you.... www.atgames.net/arcades/warranty/

[@nacuda9]

Is the before or after CTR board replacement? Lots of people are having issues with all the updates causing controls to freeze making machine unplayable. I've had mine 2 yrs and now I have to replace the CTR board because the warranty has ended. Do you research updates screwing up machines.

[@justinbailey6515]

The warranty period for those machines is very short, I suspect the ctr board is a known issue and part of their profit model having people constantly buying repair parts from them.

[@etownAndy74]

Sorry if I missed a prior comment but you held the dongle and said it was hdmi and you connect a “little USB” to it. Can you elaborate?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

In JDV-speak, little here mean "short". And USB cord should work, but the short ones make for a cleaner look.

[@UBA-FCE]

Great video!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thanks Diego, and thanks for watching!

[@bigmacfullerton7870]

What a great review! Thanks! I was thinking about modding an Arcade1Up with a Pi but why do all that when I can have it all with this thing? Only thing is I wish the screen flipped but I have a jamma modded arcade1up with a vertical screen already so I'm good there.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thanks! The one thing the ALU won't be great at is those vertical oriented games like GALAGA and PAC-MAN. One of the things I've learned since jumping into the hobby is that you really do need at least 2 cabs to get the best experience - one with a nice horizontal screen, and one with a vertical.

[@etownAndy74]

I don’t mind the orientation but that’s because I like playing with the bezels turned on. It’s a decent compromise.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Yeah, the bezels are a nice little add-on. Going to try to put in a 32" screen which should make the OG aspect ratio even better.

[@PATRIOTSXXX6]

Which StarWars version does this have in it?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

It has the 3 Sega Genesis games.

[@seinerok4072]

Screen colors looks a bit nicer on the iircade on your video and the legends looks a bit washed out? is that because of scanlines? Anways, I'm really interested in the Legends, I just want to play games right now

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

The iiRcade might have a bt more contrast and/ot color fidelity (I never have scanlines on); the Dell 20" definitely does. BUT I think the screen on the ALU looks very good none the less. Snag one up used if you can't swing a new one - they are pretty sweet!

[@EQOAnostalgia]

Should also point out that a lot of older games, especially the shmups games for whatever reason have a washed out look anyway. That game looks like it was going for a more drab and realistic art style. His iiRcade looks like it was running a more modern game. When he plays burgertime you can tell the colors improve drastically. Look at the end of the video, you can see another shot of a much more colorful display.

[@wyldelf2685]

You are dedicated to your games man , Kudos , ,your day job must be cool and interesting 🤔👍👍

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Kinda - I make B monster movies!

[@wyldelf2685]

@@evilgeniusentertainment awesome 👍😎👍

[@Shned]

Nice as always

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thank you!

[@kevinaguilar3843]

I love my ALU mini with arcade box modd

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

I want to pick one of those up and keep it in vertical mode....

[@daekey6109]

Yo this thing has some big potential but I have a problem can you make a video on it I have a problem getting into the QR code I don’t know what to do can you make a video about that thank you😢

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Never used the QR code myself - just manually put in the password.....

[@jtslife9820]

I have pacman on mine. Other than the screen being small I had no issue playing it. I enjoyed it too. 😉

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Thinking about putting in a 32" screen in the ALU (which you should be able to do on gen 1 machines) for vertical games alone....

[@MrSteveonbroadway]

So just how cold is it in there?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Well, when I run the heater it's not too bad most days. But it's been 'round 20-25 for highs for most of the last month, so it ain't warm! It was so cold one day that the LCD monitors wouldn't turn on. I've been a bit more generous with the heat since then....

[@95Comics]

I have to allow internet access for these machines? I planned in dumping all the games it comes with and using roms for n64 playstation ect. Is that not possible?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

I'm pretty sure you want to use the 5.68 firmware build - it was the last one where you didn't have to be on-line for sign-ins for coinopsx.

[@95Comics]

@@evilgeniusentertainment ok thank you, so i download that, then just put on the usb and im good or do i need to do something to the usb like use rufus or anything? What is the addon tool used with? Thanks man ive had this over a year and im trying to get it working to give to my niece and nephew for Christmas but not with the games it came with, they are terrible

[@ViN1988-m6w]

Boss how is this holding up still?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

It's still rocking on - I just re-did the graphics on it, which really adds a lot: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJiceWewgLmLpLMfeature=shared

[@ViN1988-m6w]

@@evilgeniusentertainment I regret not getting this cade , or I regret listening to my wife. Lol.

[@gargamel3966]

Do you still own it? Still recommend?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Yup, still do - played it last night as a matter of fact! Getting ready to do a little series on how to give the ALU a make-over, but bottom line is that it is still the king of the multi-cades. Pu another way, if I could only have one machine, it would be the ALU.

[@gargamel3966]

@@evilgeniusentertainment nice. My alp has a lot of lag with coinops. Will look out for video and try to find an unit second hand. I ordered a polycade but it will be a while I think.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

I never really used coinops for the ALP. I mean, I had it, but never really used it. Pretty much just ran the stock tables on the ALP. Never had an issue w/coin ops on the ALU after the initial set-up (be aware though that there's no coinops x allowed on the newest firmware of the ALU).

[@hudson2441]

Can you hook a game console to the HDMI port and use the screen?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

You sure can! That said, unless it's a compatible AtGames console (like the flashback), you wouldn't be able to use the ALU's controllers.

[@hudson2441]

@@evilgeniusentertainment So it won't work if I hook up a PS3 to the HDMI port AND a USB between the PS3 and ALU controller?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

As far as I know, the answer is no. BUT that is exactly how you'd hook up an AtGames console.

[@kokhen]

@@evilgeniusentertainment does ALU's controller work if you hook up a pc to the hdmi and play games on Steam?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

@@kokhen hacen't tried it, but I'd guess not - the built-in controls will work with other AtGames products, like the Flashback consoles & Blast dongles, but not with PCs.

[@svenop]

How are doing light guns on the ALU

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

What I did is hookup a Nintendo Wii through the HDMI input. I just put the sensor bar at the bottom of the screen.

[@jackveasey7925]

Where can I buy the usb that has extra games?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

There's a bunch of different versions on Etsy (and maybe on Amazon?)

[@etownAndy74]

Got mine on Etsy and love it.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Oh yeah? I didn't know people were selling them on Etsy... I will have to check it out. And I agree 100% - it's a great cab, honesty the one everyone should start with. If only they'd come out with a few more skins for it....

[@etownAndy74]

@@evilgeniusentertainment couldn’t agree more. I got mine unboxed, saw the art and immediately WTFd at it. It’s a Horrible design. It was a mistake to use titles and characters. They should have used some kind of high tech (80s style) glowing line art thing or something. Neon colors.

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Andy, I'd say it's a not very pretty design, but it works great. Def function over form. Realistically all they need to do is issue some more skins, maybe a slightly different design for the "wings" of the cab and it'd be good to go. But for sure it's not as pretty as A1up cabs.

[@TheBigb1973]

Best arcade to buy PERIOD Deep discount right now at Sam's club online!

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Oh yeah, that Sam's Club deal is fantastic. And I agree with you - if I could only have one cab, it would be the ALU. Most included games, on-line games, on-line high scores, good sound, biggest screen in segment, biggest cab, and of course coinopsx, all still make the ALU the king of 3/4 scale cabs.

[@joseconcepcion7337]

Do you need wifi for this?

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

Nope! Just for leadboards and/or firmware upgrades (and of course their on-line games). I rarely use the wifi on mine (my internet is super slow).

[@Kilroy_5150]

One thing you cannot deny about LU vs 1UP is that the Atari games on the 1UP are far superior looking. I've set them, side by side, and compared. The 1UP Tempest (multi game) has a wider display and MUCH "crisper" graphics where the LU (once you look at the 1UP) looks somewhat blurry and jagged. Also, it's not got the best controllers in the world either. Even the CoinOPS "Sauce" import can't compare visually to the 1UP. I will tell you this. I have been on with what you might call their guy who "puts out fire" (yeah, he's American) and he's, straight-up, admitted to me that the technicians are not only asses but can be wrong at times when it comes to certain things. No, he didn't say that verbatim, he had to dance around it. LU techs waste WEEKS when you catch them being wrong and they don't like having to admit it. Believe me when i tell you, they take it BADLY. I ordered outside sourced controllets to put into my machine simply because the spring and the 4/8 gateway is a necessity for better play. What pisses me off is mine came with a "smudge" UNDER the outer glass on the screen so i would take to (literally) take the machine apart just to wipe it off. I also recommend this guy (www.buystuffarcades.com/) who makes special cables to "rework" the HDMI/USB ports where they can be sent to the back where they BELONG "out of the way" and you can get more enjoyment out of your machine. The LED marquee is cool but overpriced i think. When it gets down to around $100 then that's when it will be what i call a bargain for what it's really is. On the standard they've taken a cheap/programmable LED sign and put a special board into it where it will relay info off the software. Be careful when ordering the "back-screen" mod (for the Pinball) because you can end up with damaged/wrong parts for it and it took me forever to get a "wrong" replacement part for the bad one. At that point, i gave up on this company. The idea is great (with a few exceptions) and that's what makes this machine tolerable and fund. The fact that you can add THOUSANDS of games (for free) with CoinOps Sauce is GREAT (but NOT their idea, they just allowed it) and makes it better but the machine has a lot of "low quality" parts within it. I love arcade but do NOT play favorites and each machine has to answer to it's own issues.

[@DroidLocks6971]

And Dont ayou Have To Pay $1.00 Per Hour To Play Lime Other Reviews Have Said ? If So They Are Crazy Cause That Is The Ultimate Deal Breaker .

[@evilgeniusentertainment]

No, not for the built in games or coinopsx. I never use arcadenet, so I don't know how much it costs.

[@DroidLocks6971]

@@evilgeniusentertainment ok thank you