Nobody Played These Arcade Games! | ZX SPECTRUM | C64 | AMSTRAD CPC

[@SirHilaryManfat]

The sit-down Star Wars arcade machine is by far the best thing there. Simply because it's an iconic part of 80's culture that can't be replicated on emulation due to the arcade's unique analogue controller, and its relation to the movies which were an integral part of every Gen X's upbringing. For me, the original Star Wars arcade and Sega's Outrun were two of the greatest arcade machines of all time.

[@hellonpluto]

Star wars was an amazing game! Used to play it at the arcade and on the spectrum

[@mr.a8315]

And 'Gauntlet'. ♥

[@veritanuda]

Damn, you are lucky to have such an arcade nearby. Only ever used to that at fair that came once a year to set up at the top of our field. Honestly, thought, I have very fond memory of playing arcade games with my mates. Games I recall getting into and beating on occasion are Black Tiger, Golden Axe, D&D Mysteria, Outrun (love the Magical Sound Shower in that one), They were bonding experiences, especially with things like Gauntlet where you are trying to control your character with one hand while with the other reaching out to the change machine to change a 50p into 10s so you could stop from dying "Elf is about to die" Never heard of any of those games to be honest. But they don't look too bad. Back then we were easier to entertain simply because it was meeting up with you mates and didn't really matter what you played. Cheers for sharing,

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Cheers! I agree, so much fun with mates. Good Times!

[@Gamer_Guy_123]

As a child of the 70's, a fair would come to our town too, and set up on the local park grounds. Amongst the many rides, that would give a modern day health and safety inspector multiple hearts attacks, was an arcade. One summer holiday from school was happily spent, playing Space Invaders, Asteriods, Galaxians, Defender, and Bezerk. We had Gauntlet too, which took many cions from us, but gleaming and almost always surrounded, was "Dragon's Lair". It is impossible to imagine what a leap this kind of thing was, for children who up until then had been mostly playing hang man, eye spy, or board games, like risk or monopoly, to pass the time. When the Atari console arrived in the homes, it was a whole new world. But we secretly knew it was not a patch on the arcade machines.

[@Runnyplays]

Brilliant video bringing back memories. I played all of these back in the 80’s and Spectrum/ C64 conversions. Great games great times

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Glad you enjoyed! Cheers

[@dennyhaynes3]

Great video as always mate, i love the arcades. I used to go with my mate when his uncle would take us to Blackpool. We come across Space Harrier just outside the doors of the arcade, the wind behind our backs on a hydraulic version of the machine. The wind behind you made it feel you were literally flying, the ambience was perfect to play the game. The game was a new release for that year, our jaws literally hit the ground thinking how could it get much better than this. I think Peter Pack rat was better on the C64, Tim Follins soundtrack literally was worth the budget price on its own, wonder how many games we brought due to the music on its own. Your videos brought back so many wonderful memories i had back then, miss the arcades so much 👍

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Cheers as always Denny! That Space Harrier story is brilliant. I bet it felt unreal. I never played the hydraulic version but I remember a similar experience with the full afterburner cab. Blown away!

[@MrDirkles]

Great comment and I loved your space harrier story. I too miss the arcades though I think it's more the social aspect I miss more than the games themselves. I remember first don't dragons lair back in 83. Never have I seen so many people crowded round an arcade machine😂

[@frankowalker4662]

Looks like a fun place.

[@stuartdavidson162]

We have Retrodome in Rotherham nearby and I too search out the games with unique controllers or are otherwise hard to emulate> They also have the sit down Star Wars :)

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Retrodome! What a great name!

[@RabbitEarsCh]

Lovely video. Congo Bongo ended up at a fighting game tournament I went to once and I was hooked for the same reason you were - the game is just so chock full of charm! It's a little finicky but I think Sega had a lot of good ideas there.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Cheers, totally agree about Congo Bongo. Lovely little game.

[@DavidB-rx3km]

There's a place called Arcains in Liverpool (based in the old Cains Brewery) - we went for our works Christmas do thing, and it has about 200 cabinets across three or so floors. I'm not a bit arcade game lover, but was in there for about three to four hours and was disappointed when we all got dragged off to the Christmas dinner/drinks bit. It's well worth travelling to for a visit and is only about £15 for the night.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Sounds awesome. For 3 or so hours it's great value

[@SmoMo_]

Nice video, thanks for making it :) I think Peter Pack Rat was a conversation for an AtarI System 3 cabinet, the same one that ran Indiana Jones, Marble Madness and Road Blasters, so I don’t think it has side art anyway, just a generic Atari artwork Congo Bongo has an interesting backstory, you might think it has similarities to Donkey Kong and Zaxxon right? Well Congo Bongo was developed for Sega by Ikegami, and they were actually a Japanese company who subcontracted for other video game developers. They were the actual programmers behind Zaxxon, and you guessed it, Donkey Kong! The company is still going today.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Super interesting thanks, love that! Google "Peter Pack Rat Cabinet" . One image showed some glorious artwork but it might not be original as you say. Cheers.

[@SmoMo_]

I just googled it and you are right, that does look really awesome. Is definitely the same shape cabinet as the regular System 3 games, that’s the only custom artwork I’ve seen though, they normally only have the ATARI text down the side, although even that looked pretty cool imo I actually had one, back in 1999, a friend found one in a shed and gave it to me, I didn’t have any keys but when I opened it up it had 180 pounds in the coin box It was Indiana Jones as well, a game I really liked playing on the Atari ST. Unfortunately, the coin mechanism wasn’t working so I tried to short the wires inside and ended up blowing the pcb somehow! So I never got to play the game even once, only got to see the attract sequence before I broke it :( But the cabinet was cool, the whole control panel just unclipped from the inside and then could be swapped out for a trackball control panel ( for marble madness) or yolk for Road Blasters etc..

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Interesting cheers! 180 quid eh! Shame it blew up ☹️

[@kevinchester0533]

Peter Pack Rat is genuinely a new one to me!

[@TPRErik]

At release time, in the United States, Congo Bongo was pretty common. Vindicators less so as it was a later game. Peter Pack-Rat was pretty rare, I think I only saw that one only once.

[@xxFORDIExx]

Always loved the graphics on Congo Bongo. Great little game for sure.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

It really is!

[@JamesD8888]

I don't remember ever seeing Congo Bongo in the arcades, but I like the look of it and it's pretty impressive for 1983 🙂

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Fun little game

[@WhatHoSnorkers]

I remember seeing the adverts for Vindicators but never saw it in the arcade. I first saw Congo Bongo at Play Expo Blackpool in 2019 and it's great fun! Pith helmet action!

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Yeah, great little game

[@WeSombreGhosts]

Have fond memory’s on Congo Bongo on the C64 back in the day,Had it on a dodgy recorded tape the only worked the odd time before crashing half way through the loading time but we were patient back then.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

We certainly were!

[@SweetStevieAaron]

Aw, man. I was in Milton Keynes with work last year by myself. Had I known about this, I’d have spent the night there!

[@SweetStevieAaron]

And is that the real Ludo?! Wow.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Ah man, yeah, worth going if you ever return. It is the real Ludo. The Star Wars bit (if the original 3 are your thing) is worth the entry alone 😁

[@SweetStevieAaron]

Yeah that sounds awesome.

[@pjcnet]

I've played Congo Bongo on the Commodore 64 (1983 version) and quite enjoyed it, but not in the arcade.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

That seems to be the version most people remember 👍

[@RetroSpectives]

That's fairly local to me. Nice to see it featured in a video. I've actually been to the sci-fi museum but couldn't go into Pixel Bunker as they were requiring pre-bookings. Been meaning to get round to visiting as I still haven't been. I'm hoping they still have the Paperboy cabinet. It's my (non-gamer) wife's favourite old game in emulation. I'd love to give her a chance to play the original cabinet.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

I didn't see it there this time but it was the first time I went. Might have been out for repair.

[@RetroSpectives]

@@SebsPlaceYT Lovely, thanks.

[@robertstalham4761]

This is almost a 3hr journey for me, but I'm going to have to visit. Looks ace. I'd also recommend the Arcade Archive in Stroud which is a little gem.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Hi - yes totally worth it. Do the museum too! I've been to the Cave and Arcade in Stroud. Fantastic place. Alex and the team have done fantastic things there. The Robotron felt like it was brand new!

[@johnbishop9188]

Happy 50th Seb! I visited there a couple of years ago, but it looks like it has a few more cabinets now. Lots of admiring the toys "ah, I used to have one of those!".

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Thank you! 😊 yes there was lots of nostalgia 🥰 loved it.

[@blatherskite3009]

Ooh, did I see a Parodius cabinet? Suh-weet. Happy to say I was aware of all 3 games back in the day, but the only one I owned was Vindicators, on the Amiga. Not as good as the twin-stick arcade version, but better than that Speccy version. About what you'd expect, then :) Yeah, Congo Bongo wasn't big over here. Looks like that was just the U.S. title, and it was called "Tip Top" in Japan and Europe. The fact that I as a Brit know it by its U.S. title suggests it didn't have much of a profile here. Don't think I played it until the arcade version turned up on an Xbox 360 Sega retro compilation, but even then it was overshadowed by games that I had lots more nostalgia for, like Zaxxon and Alien Syndrome.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Hi mate, roughly when did you think you saw Parodius cab. I don't remember seeing it and now feel like I've missed out 😁

[@blatherskite3009]

@@SebsPlaceYT Hi Seb :) 52 seconds in...

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Ooooh it is!

[@arostwocents]

Congo Bongo is great, i played a few versions a little while ago for Retroachievements.

[@HypercatZ]

Oh! The famous Spectrum loading screen of Peter Pack Rat!

[@SebsPlaceYT]

So weird!

[@monkeymanbob]

My local arcade had Vindicators it was one of the machines similar to Gauntlet and Xybots in that it felt like a coin gobbler. I do have this the Steamdeck via emulation. I never saw Congo Bongo in the arcade but version 2 was owned by a mate a school, but not my cuppa tea. Never saw Peter Pack Rat outside of comic books ads, though the arcade graphics look nice.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

It is a bit of a gobbler I reckon.

[@davidretrogamesplayedbadly3533]

Recall playing vindicators in the arcade and on the speccy, your thoughts about the speccy conversion were spot on, very meh. Don't recall Congo bongo. Peter pack rat rings a bell, fairly sure I've played it. Can't beat visiting the arcades mate.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Indeed you can't. Cheers mate

[@stuartdavidson162]

Vindicators rocks! Used to play it in when holidaying in Skegness - Great sound which was synonymous with Atari arcade games at the time with games such as 720 degrees and APB :D

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Brilliant game! The sort of cabinet I would love to own!

[@Zhixalom]

Okay... I'm now absolutely convinced that if there's a bright arcade-machine lid center to this side of the planet, I'm in the place which is farthest from.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

😪

[@LordmonkeyTRM]

I got my first taste of arcade games at Woughton campus leisure centre. The Pixel Bunker looks fab

[@SebsPlaceYT]

It really is 🙂

[@GamerbugUK]

As a kid I spent so much time in the arcades in Skegness, may as well have just lived there. There were about 5 or 6 notable ones and the range of games was impressive, nowadays those that survived are all full of slot machines, penny pushers, whatever those stupid ticket games are and then a few of the big sit in or shooting cabinet games. Zero actual decent games like you showed off at this place. As for the games you mention, I played an insane amount but I have never heard of Congo Bongo or Peter Pack Rat. Vindicators I did know, play and enjoy especially with a mate. I was very disappointed by the lazy Spectrum conversion, but that was true of most arcade conversions. I think my 11yo brain thought they'd somehow be the same.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Ha yeah, 11 year old me was the same. Not sure what I was expecting!. And yeah those ticket things nowadays..... took my youngest to one, spent a fortune getting hundreds of tickets just to win a pot of slime......

[@GamerbugUK]

Oh I know that feeling, thankfully I can bribe the kids with an actual toy.🤣

[@SebsPlaceYT]

😂😂

[@SelfIndulgentGamer]

Went there a year ago, want to go again, also heard there's a good one in Cambridge.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Oooh! Where in Cambridge? Do you know?

[@TrashfordKent]

I seem to remember having Congo bongo on my vic20. Graphics seemed pretty good for the Vic

[@SebsPlaceYT]

I'm currently restoring a vic20... might seek that out, cheers!

[@TrashfordKent]

@@SebsPlaceYT yeah I'm doing the same, just done the sidekick 20 mod, game compatibility is so, so. Might see if there is a later release on GIT and give it another shot.

[@NorthWay_no]

Memory is a funny thing. I could have sworn CB on the C= 64 didn't have that angle of its isometrics. And the 1985 version has a graphical style that is more reminiscent of 2010 if you ask me - I thought that was a modern remake...

[@SebsPlaceYT]

😁

[@delboy3k1]

Lol it's funny as I've been to the pixel bunker twice and played all the games here. Living 30 miles from MK you may know that we have a travelling fair every year and only 1 game I played of the 3 here and that's Congo bongo and yep I only had the early 1983 ga.e on the c64. I had an amiga 1985/6 so that makes sense. I did play Peter pack rat and vindicators at upper Heyford army base and it's twin at croughton. Happy memories. Excelsior

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Nice Del! I'm about 50 minutes from MK. I reckon a pixel bunker meet up should be on the cards! You managed to play some great games at those locations then! For me, the travelling fair was pretty much it!

[@stuartdavidson162]

I didn't know Peter Pack Rat was an arcade game - I only know it from the Speccy and loved it :)

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Yeah I had no clue!

[@OperationPhantom]

"Local amazing Arcade"? Nice!

[@andyhodgson7692]

The C64 version of that Peter Pack Rat would be worth the budget price just for the Tim Follin music.

[@dennyhaynes3]

Agreed Tim Follins was so different to all other sid musicians, the guy was a genius.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

I'll have to seek it out. Cheers

[@frishnit]

Peter Pack Rat! I had that for mh Amstrad, thought it was great. Fired up the emulator after this... hasn't aged well!

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Oh...lol. yeah it's a bit sluggish but okish.

[@st04bez]

I had Congo Bongo on my C64 back in the day. Pretty frustrating gameplay. I struggled to get my positioning right and died … a lot.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Yeah can be fiddly

[@gedbyrne8482]

What happened to the music for Peter Pack Rat on the CPC? The C64 had Tim Follin tunes.

[@plisskensghost2951]

Loved Vindicators, never played it in the arcade but Domark actually did a great conversion for the Amstrad. Didn't pay full price for it either, who did back then? I got it in our local market The Barras, i was still going down there to get pirate ps1 games years later ha

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Haha the good old markets eh!

[@plisskensghost2951]

@@SebsPlaceYT ha aye, came in handy when there was a full price game you wanted and the parents said no.

[@lurkerrekrul]

I never saw any of these games in an arcade. To be honest, I didn't get to go to arcade much, and there weren't that many around. There was one up past the local mall, but it was far enough away that I would have had to take two buses to get to it. The mall had a small arcade for a while with maybe two dozen games, some pinball and some physical games, but it wasn't there for long. Vindicators - I had a copy for the Amiga, but didn't like it much. I didn't think it was particularly well done. I never had it for the C64. Congo Bongo - I used to play the C64 disk version occasionally. It never held my interest all that much though. Pack Rat - I didn't even know this game existed. I never had it for the C64.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Hi - I was the same, nothing near me apart from when the fair was in town. Vindicators is very much about the cool controls I think. Worth playing if you ever see it now.

[@lurkerrekrul]

@@SebsPlaceYT The Amiga version could have been good, but it falls into a category of games that just aren't that playable. The animation is kind of choppy, and it's virtually impossible to avoid the enemy shots. It seems like no matter what you do, you're always getting hit.

[@tonyp3824]

Ah… Arcades… I grew up in Redcar and have such fond memories of them. Some are still there but don’t have games- just gambling games. Shame.

[@stewsretroreviews]

Looks like a great place Seb, played the 3rd one on the speccy, it was ok 👍

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Hi mate, yeah ok pretty much sums it up!

[@mamehaze]

Congo Bongo was created by the same developer as the original Donkey Kong arcade, so can really be seen as a sequel of sorts even if it doesn't carry the more famous title (due to Nintendo holding the rights to the DK characters) The relationship between Nintendo and the developer broke down after Nintendo reused Donkey Kong code for Donkey Kong Jr without permission (resulting in a lawsuit against Nintendo) so Sega got Congo Bongo. The similarities aren't by chance. If you study many elements of Congo Bongo, such as the style of the bonus counter you'll see that they're the same as Donkey Kong.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

I had read about similarities but didn't realise to what degree. Thanks, super interesting.

[@chris.hinsley]

Oooo. Star Wars machine !!! Nice.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

The sit-down one is so cool 😎

[@chris.hinsley]

@@SebsPlaceYT yeah. I always wanted one.

[@nuNWO]

Vindicators I played to death in a pub in Newcastle.. you really needed the second player to get through... I have it on an Xbox1 combo but there isn't a single "arcade" game from the 80s & 90s that plays well with the xbox controller.. and my X-arcade lump can't be used on it... grrr.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

I have an x arcade thing! Brilliant kit!

[@arostwocents]

Milton Keynes has an arcade? 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@SebsPlaceYT]

It does indeed 🙂

[@doodemog]

Got Congo bongo on my Atari 800

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Great little game!

[@LondraCalibro9]

vindicators is great!

[@Mucker-le6ld]

Do they have R-Type?

[@SebsPlaceYT]

They definitely had R-Type Leo as I played it. Not sure about just R-Type

[@Mucker-le6ld]

@@SebsPlaceYT I'm not that far from Milton-K so might check it out. R-type Leo is good but it ain't R-Type. Love your channel, keep up the good work.

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Cheers mate

[@slimofbonar1978]

Couldn't pass the double dragon 🐲🐲

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Classic!

[@mr.a8315]

❤ 🍺🍺

[@MP-vg7ug]

you are never 50 years old!

[@SebsPlaceYT]

Ha, thank you. You can stay.